– Spoiler Review –
Darth Vader #8 (Vol. 3) leads the Sith Lord into the Eye of Webbish Bog’s layer, forcing him (and readers) to confront some deep, mystifying questions about his place in all the events leading up to, and after, this moment.
Darth Vader #8 is a dense, complex issue that flies by a little too fast, covering some interesting concepts but not always allowing them to really set in, though a second reread helped me understand its purpose and intent a tad more. Inside the Eye of Webbish Bog’s lair, a spider-like creature which sits atop a giant’s head (the less questions you ask, the better), Vader faces not only Mustafarian beetles and other monsters, but probing questions from the Eye, and those are far more difficult for him. For most of his life as Vader, Anakin has been content with powering through enemies, foes, and problems with his anger leading the charge, rarely slowing down to think of the consequences, least his conscious catch up with him from all the terrible things he’s done, now buried deep, deep inside. The Eye first questions this method, and while Vader has tried less brutish tactics from time to time, be it having a castle built to try to resurrect Padmé or building his own personal army behind the Emperor’s back with Dr. Aphra’s help, his response to the eye here makes it seem like he thinks forward attacks and movements are the best…at least at first. The Eye won’t have anything to give him if he powers over it, so towards the end, he has to slow down and accept the growing list of questions and uncomfortable memories/ideas they dredge up like the Mustafarian lava bubbling up around him.
Now I’ll admit, this is where I got a little lost in the first read-through and, while I feel I have a better grasp now and typing it out helps even more, I’m not completely sure my take on what occurs is exactly what writer Greg Pak was aiming for, but here goes nothing! The Eye throws questions at him like an automated pitcher does at a batting range, but Vader can’t hit a single one, as they bombard him and force him to think on his past, present, and future. He begins to think over his choices, his path in life, and just how much agency he has over what’s happened to him/what he’s done. He thinks he still has a choice, in all that he does, but the Eye’s questions and the visions appearing before him suggest, to some extent, otherwise. Was it all Palpatine’s doing, manipulating him from the start? Was it Anakin, and later Vader’s, decisions which brought him to this point, this pawn in Palpatine’s game? Why did he end up the chosen one, when not even he would’ve chosen himself for the part? Vader tries to push away all these questions and ideas, fighting through them like he does everything else, but they weight down on him more than he realizes. There’s a particular page, where the Eye’s giant’s face changes between what he wants, needs, or the face which makes it all moot, that really stands out and points out how pulled and torn he is right now. Does he want to be Anakin, the chosen one still, does he still need his son Luke, to help him in his goal of overthrowing his master despite Luke rejecting him, or is the Emperor’s machinations, and his recent sting, a telling sign Vader’s needs or wants won’t matter compared to the fate laid out for him by his Master. Vader claims to make a choice and the Eye gives him a Wayfinder, much like the one Kylo Ren gets from the Eye on Mustafar in The Rise of Skywalker.* It’s hard to tell if the Eye works with Palpatine, as the Wayfinder which could lead Vader to Palpatine’s ultimate plans and therefore could give Vader the option to bring them crumbling down, though is this path the wrong choice, his ability to choose still important no matter the outcome? It’s basically the question the Eye poses to Vader before he grabs the Wayfinder: “Do you think you passed this test…or failed it?” Is this choice truly what he needs and wants or is it the one his Master hopes he takes, to show him just how powerful and insurmountable he is?
Considering Vader seems pretty damn subservient to Palpatine by Return of the Jedi, no longer trying to convince his son to join him or revolt against Palpatine, telling Luke to give into him even, that it’s pointless to resist, means we know where this is heading: Vader won’t believe he has a choice for much longer. But how and why, if his beating at Palpatine’s hands wasn’t enough just yet? I’ll be very curious to find out and I feel like this is the right creative team to explore that, even if I feel like this series rushes through events a little bit. Vader’s confrontation with the Eye, and the questions or monsters pestering, felt over before they really started; there’s no question we’ll enjoy how this overall story beat lands, it just feels like it could slow down and let these individual ones marinate a bit more.
As always, the art team of Raffaele Ienco (art) and Neeraj Menon’s (colors) really finds its groove when it dives into Vader’s psyche, so of course this issue was no different, especially with the aforementioned panel regarding that giant’s face changing between familiar faces. How they bring Vader’s confrontation with Obi-Wan on the Death Star, and Luke on Cloud City, really adds to the questions from the Eye, those failures coming to blinding red life before him. I even enjoyed the skirmishes with the beetles and whatnot, as quick as they might be, as the team makes the destruction swift and easy to follow.
Here are a few other things:
- *No, you didn’t miss something if you’ve only ever watch TROS, the novelization is where the scene between Kylo and the Eye exists! Kylo has it a little easier, as he just has to fulfill Vader’s parameters and the Eye gives up the Wayfinder, though he does warn Kylo he’ll find his true self if he follows the path. I appreciate a little more nuance here!
- I’m really curious about the unnamed Umbaran who shows up on Mustafar, seemingly a go-between for Palpatine to Ochi, and how they play into all this. Watching them put Ochi’s over-enthusiastic nature in place was a nice little moment.
Darth Vader #8 (Vol. 3) pushes Vader’s psyche hard, along with the reader’s, as the Eye pesters him with questions which seem destined to lead him towards how he is in Return of the Jedi.
+ Some tough, complex ideas and questions coming Vader’s way
+ Art knocking it out of the park with some memorable panels/pages
– Bog visit come and gone too quick
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
DARTH VADER (VOL. 3)
Dark Heart of the Sith: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 / Arc Review — Into the Fire: #6 | #7