– Spoiler Review –
Darth Vader #10 (Vol. 3) finds the Sith Lord facing his latest obstacle to the Emperor’s secrets on Exegol…a giant space monster with psychological attacks. But will he manage to defeat this latest foe in a more spectacular fashion than his future son-in-law did many years before?
I only ask if Vader can do better than Han Solo vs a giant space monster because the strange, giant squid in front of the Red Nebula, the last stop to Exegol, is a subspecies of summa-verminoth, the behemoth lurking along Han’s infamous Kessel Run, as canonically seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story. It’s far smaller, and while it hunts others of its species, even its bigger cousins, it doesn’t attempt to take them down with strength alone, but rather drive them crazy by borrowing into their minds; you thought you had terrible and annoying cousins! How or why it’s now an obstacle on the way to Exegol is never explored, but I’m guessing Palpatine and the Sith Eternal over-powered it and…commandeered it (from a certain point of view) for the purpose of blocking all those who either stumble or attempt to get to Exegol. It was also a surprise to see some of the Imperial Navy there as well, but I wasn’t sure if they were stationed there or if the Umbaran Administrator* brought them, knowing Vader’s ultimate goal. Regardless, Vader decides it’s better to face whatever threat the monster poses than the hundreds of TIEs streaming his way, despite Ochi’s warnings, and they evade its multiple arms (many TIEs don’t) and enter the all-consuming red mist of the Nebula.
As for that question again, the answer of Han vs Vader is: Yes and no. No, since he doesn’t actually destroy the creature, and yes because he ends up overwhelming it and riding it to the Sith Eternal compound we’ve seen in The Rise of Skywalker; making a giant like that as your next ride is slightly more impressive than forcing a giant to sink into a black hole. Before he takes over, it throws some interesting visions at him, different but similar to the Eye of Webbish Bog’s riddles/faces, repurposing scenes from Revenge of the Sith and The Empire Strikes Back and melding the two, where Luke Skywalker replaces Obi-Wan Kenobi as Anakin loses his limbs on Mustafar, and slowly it’s Luke in control of all their encounters, overtaking his father and killing him. As Vader’s corpse supports Luke’s lightsaber, aka Anakin’s saber, Palpatine takes Luke under his wing, quickly forgetting about Vader. The vision isn’t totally far from the truth of Vader’s death, Luke is involved at some point, but it doesn’t seem to faze the Sith Lord much, instead emboldening him. If that’s how he’s supposed to die, then so be it, it at least won’t happen now so he can barrel forward without concern for his health or reprisals from Palpatine if he uses the Force again, despite the warning at the beginning of this punishment; hence him using the Force and dominating the giant monster, using it for a ride across the less stormy surface of Exegol.
As for what these means for Vader going forward is the far more interesting bit to explore from this issue. For starters, in a way Vader is clued into the meta knowledge us readers have, as we know he can survive all this stuff constantly being thrown at him in this comic and now he knows it too, making our tiredness over these obstacles/the lessening of their stakes Vader’s as well. Despite this new-found confidence and assurance his fate will come today, he’s still cowed by the Emperor’s power by Return of the Jedi, resigned to fate…does he assume the vision is correct, especially since his one about Padme was correct (or at least he made it so) or does what he find in the bowels of Exegol enough to make him believe he can’t escape the death he saw. It would certainly make more sense why he’s no longer seeking Luke’s help in overthrowing the Emperor, instead basically telling Luke on Endor that he’ll become the Emperor’s next apprentice, because he believes there’s no way to change the fate he saw from the Red Nebula. Answering how he comes to believe totally in that fate remains, but he’s at least sure now it means he’s free from death for now (but definitely not more harm, though he can deal with that). I found the choice of Vader saying “my son” in the patented black panels with the red speech bubbles, twice over, to be important to how he views this vision of Luke killing him, as one could take the phrase to mean he’s either sad his son will turn out like him or that happy he’ll live, despite joining the Emperor. Which brings me to another point his newfound knowledge raises: Vader’s decision to rescue Luke, to rise above the fate laid out before him, could be seen as even more consequential now, as he’s not only turning to the light out of love for his son, but he’s realizing fate is what he makes it, not what it determines for him; his last mistaken moment trusting a vision cost him everything, including most of his soul, and now he’s not going to make the same mistake. Lots to come from such a small and hastily passed moment!
As much as there can be to unpack from this issue, this second arc unfortunately continues to strain its welcome at times, especially with the lack of substantial stakes to all these threats, and how Vader faces them and overcomes them in a span of an issue, is getting a little rote. If there hadn’t been two other volumes (and a miniseries) starring Vader, if this volume stood in a vacuum, maybe these obstacles and victories for him would’ve felt a little more impactful, but for now it just feels like a “monster-of-the-week” type of show, and while it might be a way to show his resilience and prowess, it’s not like we haven’t had him face psychological trials before (be it his imprisonment in his own suit by Dr. Cylo or walk through a dark side nexus deep within Mustafar) or physical ones (like taking down all of Cylo’s replacements or his battle with Kirak In’fila); in fact, having him in on the stakes, while compelling to explore for what’s to come, lessens the threats around him even more. There’s obviously different aspects to unpack with the obstacles Vader’s faced in this latest volume, as you can see above it’s an engaging enough topic to explore his mindset after Luke rejects him on Cloud City and how it comes to align with the Vader we see on the second Death Star, but flying through so many interesting topics and ideas seemingly in one arc feels like none of it has proper time to sink in for readers. Writer Greg Pak has promised there’s tons more to come and to reveal, contrary to some of my thoughts in previous issues, and I’ll be curious to see what comes next, I just hope it’s at a slower, more impactful pace.
While it’s not the flashbacks we’re used, saturated in red, Raffaele Ienco and Neeraj Menon, with Joe Caramagna on lettering, providing some arresting and interesting new framing to scenes from Episode III and V with the creature’s visions to Vader. One of the most interesting of choices is the simplest: the panels where the creature has control of Vader’s mind are not broken up by traditional lines, but rather what looks to be the various arms of the creature, the ends only getting more complex and tighter as it continues to have hold over Vader’s mind. The scale of having Vader approach the creature once they all arrive on Exegol, and how he looks like a tick on the thing’s head as he rides it to the compound, were really awesome displays and I appreciated the way it put it all in perspective. Of the visions, I really loved the final two pages, the one where Luke hangs his head after driving his saber into Vader’s body and the one after where Luke joins Ol’ Palpy, just because it’s always compelling to me to see what-if or alternative scenarios (which reminds me of the excellent and spell-binding scene in Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith #5).
Here are a few other things:
- The final part of “Into the Fire” (incorrectly called Part V on the final page considering this is V) won’t arrive until April, as the series is taking a little break, much like other series have this year.
- *I honestly didn’t make the connection that the Administrator was Sly Moore, as seen by Palpatine’s side in the Prequels. Looks/seems younger here, weirdly enough!
- It was curious to see Exegol with clear skies and no lightning…I wonder if that doesn’t happen until Palpatine’s Contingency plan for himself kicks in or if it’s something that happens thanks to whatever Vader gets up to next issue.
- I wonder what Ochi saw, because if he also saw his death, it highlights the differences between the two, as Ochi is still scared of what’s in front of him despite knowing it’s not actually how he’ll die. Too scared by knowing he’ll die, especially without knowing when it’ll happen, his death only makes Ochi more frightened, which is probably what normally happens to the creature’s foes/targets. Then again, I can get Ochi’s fear over his death if the cocky Bestoon spouting idiot saw he’ll go out like a punk, a nobody, due to quicksand and a giant serpent.
- Speaking of stories that feel a little familiar, I recently review the VR series Vader Immortal for the Oculus Quest 2. Besides the story, which has its moments, overall gameplay is solid and the lightsaber dojos are fun challenges!
Darth Vader #10 (Vol. 3) provides some food for thought with its intriguing visions; I just wish I didn’t fly through it at such a reckless pace.
+ Visions and what to make of them
+ Arresting visuals of what-ifs/love the little lining switch
– Vader in on the stakes lessens them even more
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 | #8 | #9