Lit Lets talk Space Vikings (a discussion about the Nihil)

I just rewatched SOLO with my kids (what a lot of fun it is when you see it after two seasons of The Mandalorian without all the baggage!) and had that suggested Nihil connection in mind. I don't see it, though. The Cloud Riders are, well, partly a riff on the early Marvel SW comics, but mostly their "look" is a misdirect, with Enfys having some almost comically "villain" dialogue in her distorted voice -- "ENOUGH!" -- all of which is meant to dissipate once she unmasks. She also has a line where she says she inherited "the mask" from her mother. I think we're supposed to take them as a long line of really noble fighters for what's right in the galaxy, via some desperate methods... nothing about them says to me that they used to be actually baddies like the Nihil, and it actually feels quite the opposite. If anything, they're more righteous in their methods than Saw's partisans, although still more "underworldy" than the proper Rebellion.

 

For me, its more by look rather than who they are as people and how they interact with others. From the descriptions given in both novels, the Nihil appeared in my head to resemble the Cloud Riders from Solo - and really, its probably the masks more than anything.

Ironically though, its been stated that the Nihil are comprised of beings of many different species - abit like the Cloud Riders too.