– Spoiler Review –
Darth Vader #12 (Vol. 3) both deals with the fallout of Vader’s discoveries on Exegol, but also serves as a Prelude issue for the coming War of the Bounty Hunters crossover.
From the ginormous fleet of (Final Order) Star Destroyers and their planet killing weapons, supplied by a mountain-sized kyber crystal tortured to fulfill the Siths’ will, to the vats of who knows what Emperor Palpatine is making, Darth Vader’s trip through Exegol proved his Master had control over power and a strength he can only fathom. Thus ends his little rebellious streak, with his hate lashing out for its next target as Palpatine has him rebuilt, the fresh influx of pain from the repairs/surgery fueling his return to power and hate. But whom could be worthy of Vader’s renewed faith in the Sith, his Master, and his new connection to hate and suffering? As he looks at the path that brought him to kneel once again before his Master, he realizes his son, Luke Skywalker, should be the latest target of his hate. The boy is weak, weak for relying on his friends for so long, as Vader grew stronger without his friends (or so he thinks), and while he sees power still within Luke, the power on Exegol is what Vader wants more than anything else now…and there’s no room for Luke if he’s to take it or be part of it, considering he’s been put in his place and can’t fathom taking down his Master anymore. If we were still seeing those meditation scenes like we had in Charles Soule’s Vader run, the roiling sea with the little blue butterflies representing what little good is left in him, we’d likely see only 2-3 remaining, most blotted out now by the Emperor’s show of might and power. As big and as wild as some of Greg Pak’s run has gotten so far, it always comes back to this internal voice for Vader, clueing us in on why he’s making such decisions, and this feels like a natural progression from everything that’s come before and what’s yet to come.
I keep coming back to the conversation between Vader and Luke on the forest moon of Endor, after Luke’s surrendered himself to Vader. It’s basically what this series is heading towards, if you think about it, the entire series of events of Return of the Jedi are unavoidable but I find their conversation on the bridge to be vital to Pak’s plans here. By the time they chat, Vader doesn’t necessarily even want Luke dead, saying Palpatine will become his Master. In this issue, Vader is eager to be the one to share in ol’ Palpy’s power, ready to kill Luke if he has to when securing his place, so how does he go from wanting Luke dead, wanting that power, to acknowledging his son will take his Master’s side? It’s what the giant monster in space over Exegol showed him would be his death, his son killing him and joining Palpy, so has he made peace with it by then? Or is his act to block Palpatine’s saber first a reaction to what he saw, one last attempt to retain his place, to show his worth, which would only add to his choice moments later, to save his son, killing the man both of them are intertwined with, and gain a glimmer of redemption in the process. Part of me really hopes this run will go right up until that moment, as Pak’s writing and this introspective content would really add so much more to those moments in the film and would feel like the perfect ending to the volume (and a perfect end for no more Vader comics for a while).
As this is a War of the Bounty Hunters Prelude issue, Vader’s new goal of hurting Luke and his friends means he’s ready to go after Jabba’s soon-to-be prized possession: the frozen Han Solo he gave up to Boba Fett. He takes Ochi with him and they talk with a new Hutt, Bokku, a name first revealed in August’s solicitations; as for why or how they’ll be important to the story going forward remains to be seen, but they are one of the first new characters meant to be part of the sprawling story. However, because this series has to be part of the crossover, we see a little scene of Vader tracking down Han after the Death Star explosion, but he loses him in a repair field of YT freighters. I found this scene both kind of funny, Vader’s might powerless against such a simple trick, but also a little unnecessary because I felt there was enough with a glimpse at Vader having Han tortured before carbon freezing to remind us of Luke’s friends and Vader knowing who Han is. Hopefully the crossover stuff is integrated a little less clumsily in upcoming issues or doesn’t give us extraneous scenes like this.
Series artist Raffaelle Ienco steps away here and while Guiu Vilanova has his moments, especially with anything besides faces, I thought we were finally away from facial tracing but it rears its ugly head here again. I think Han Solo was Chevy Chase, maybe John Candy, when seeing Vader across the landing pad, while the Emperor is ripped from several scenes in Return of the Jedi, or even Mas Amedda looks…like someone human. It’s a shame, as the main series artist has been so excellent and not using such methods, so it was sad to have to see this type of work again, not seen since the original Vader run. Otherwise, I did like letterer Joe Caramagna’s big explosion effect for the Death Star, or Dean White with Giada Marchisio’s colors for all the new takes on the Falcon, while Vilanova’s work in the splash of scenes from The Empire Strikes Back were a delight in the end.
Here are a few other things:
- June begins the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover proper, with the first issue of the miniseries dropping June 2, and spiraling out into the rest of the series afterwards. If you want to glance ahead a bit, we have solicitations for issues out until August. Check them here: June, July, August. Otherwise, we’ll have a monthly round-up to discuss what’s happened in the crossover, so in case you’re just sticking to one series, are having trouble keeping up, or are just curious what’s happening, you can check those out too! Expect the one for May early next week!
Darth Vader #12 (Vol. 3) awkwardly preludes War of the Bounty Hunters but interestingly continues the series’ psychological focus on Vader’s choices leading him to Return of the Jedi.
+ Vader’s new purpose
+ Leading to Return of the Jedi one step at a time
– Art’s facial tracing
– War of the Bounty Hunters Prelude Awkwardly Added
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.
WAR OF THE BOUNTY HUNTERS CROSSOVER
May: Alpha #1 | Star Wars #13 | Bounty Hunters #12
DARTH VADER (VOL. 3)
Dark Heart of the Sith: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 / Arc Review — Into the Fire: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11