Canon Comic Review: Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith #18

– Spoiler Review –

Grand Moff Whilhuff Tarkin is hunting… Darth Vader?? Find out why in Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith #18, “Bad Grounds,” an electrifying coda to the “Burning Seas” arc.

Tarkin and Vader being pals of sorts, maybe frenemies is a better word, has been extrapolated from their time together on the Death Star in A New Hope, and it continues to be built into their pasts as well, from Anakin and Tarkin meeting one another during the Clone Wars, to their buddy cop stuff in the Tarkin novel. But nothing has gone quite as deep as Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith issue #18, which is surprising considering it’s only a single issue of a comic book, compared to TV shows and novels, so it speaks volumes for how well Charles Soule’s writing works this issue.

During the Clone Wars, as we got to see thanks to the TV show, it was rather obvious Anakin respected Tarkin, from valuing the military man’s strategy to agreeing with his opinions of the War and the Jedi’s role in it, though they clashed at times as well. As much as Tarkin would come to admire Anakin’s abilities and viewpoints, his role as a Jedi prevented Tarkin from ever fully respecting Anakin, but both have changed alongside the rise of the Empire. Anakin is now Vader, unhinged of his Jedi trappings, free to go to the lengths Tarkin got close to using and dreamed of during the Republic’s rule, while Tarkin’s effective ruthlessness has now been unleashed, as he’s allowed do as he pleases to strike fear into the galaxy to ensure order. Could Vader now gain the admiration of Tarkin that Anakin could never get, and could Tarkin come to see the importance of Vader that he could never see with a Jedi named Anakin?

Dark Lord of the Sith #18 manages to answer the question, though the how is way more intriguing and exciting than I ever imagined. In issue #16 of the series, Tarkin makes the bold move of demanding Vader listen to his orders during the Imperial invasion of Mon Cala, and while Vader complies, he ensures Tarkin is in his debt. I love how issue #18 waits until the very end, just when you really begin thinking the events within must be an alternative reality (much like we got in issue #5 with the kyber crystal’s vision) or dream-sequence or VR-like thing, because even though I’ve read the blurb so I knew Tarkin was repaying his debt to Vader, this whole thing still went much further than I ever anticipated, in the best way possible. Vader asks Tarkin to try to kill him, and while he offers no further explanation, we spend the entire issue with Tarkin’s narration, and he extrapolates his reasons why Vader made such a request. Tarkin believes Vader, bereft of worthy enemies as he and the Inquisitorious dismantle the remaining Jedi they know about, is looking to see if he can still be challenged in a Jedi-less galaxy, if he can be beaten. I think Tarkin was close to the truth, but off by a centimeter, as I imagine this had more to do about his ever eventual showdown with Sidious and learning his biggest weaknesses so that eventual battle could be winnable. I could be wrong though, as I’m not quite sure Vader’s faith in his Master’s abilities has been shaken yet, like we saw happen in the original Vader series (issue #20 has an amazing moment between the two where Vader basically calls the Emperor out for not being all powerful), and maybe Tarkin is way closer than either of us realize…for now.

The hunt is a mesmerizing thing of violence and beauty, and makes Vader out to be a far more frightening and powerful being than the Rogue One hallway scene; that’s not even hyperbole, people, this is legitimately the most frightening, chilling, badass we’ve ever seen Vader. It all begins with the art from Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils), Daniele Orlandini (inks), and David Curiel (colors), as they do some exceptional, freaky things that make this hunt into a bit of a horror movie. Vader has never looked so animalistic and deadly, from the use of the flames reflecting off his helmet bringing a nightmarish look to him to the ghostly way they show him moving with the animal skin cloak that basically turns him invisible, as you can barely see his outline, to the haunting image of the cloaked Vader hunting the hunters from above, à la Predator. Heck the final few panels with the lightning strike, out on the “Bad Ground” this issue gets its name from, are all sorts of the epic this art team has been bringing non-stop from issue #1 and they really outdid themselves here. Heck, even the letterer, Joe Caramagna really gets in on the action, with the usage and placement of Vader’s breathing that sent chills up my spine.

This issue is essentially Predator set in the Star Wars universe, except Vader is the Predator, and it’s both through the art and the tactics Tarkin and Vader use that proves Vader is the ultimate Predator, though Tarkin is not far behind at all. We get a bit of a montage regarding Tarkin’s plans so far in his hunt of Vader, from using flamethrowers (he notes Vader’s fear, but he doesn’t quite figure out Vader is Anakin until the Tarkin novel, which takes place after this issue), finding a way to steal Vader’s saber, and testing the literal reaches of Vader’s Force abilities. Vader’s counter-attacks would strike fear into lesser beings (see me, as I was legit scared in certain moments), like how he uses Tarkin’s team of audio trackers against them and then him TURNING OFF HIS BREATHING MACHINE SO HE CAN SNEAK UP ON THEIR CAMP IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? I’m literally going to have nightmares for years about this, because sweet mother of moons, it’s about the most frightening thing Vader has ever done. As Tarkin puts it, Vader is basically killing himself JUST so he can kill them, to prove he always wins. If that’s not scariest thing you’ve ever read, you are either lying or have much thicker skin than I.

Though Tarkin seems to come out on top, Vader proves he still has some fight left in him, thus proving once again he can’t be beat…even when he is thought dead. That could be taken on many different levels, including that his legacy will live on and destroy others long after he’s dead, like how it messes up Leia’s life once his secret gets out or how Kylo Ren becomes such a fanboy of his grandfather, but I’m not quite sure that was Soule’s intent, though it was certainly something I took away from the events here. But the ending does allow these two to really begin their (re)newed ‘friendship,’ as Tarkin understands the importance of Vader and highly regards his contributions to the Emperor, while Vader finally gets Tarkin’s respect, like he’s always wanted, that Anakin never could receive.

Issue #18 seems to be one of the final ones original Star Wars editors Jordan D. White and Heather Antos were involved in, as they get credit here, and I thank them once again, but Tom Groneman (Assistant) shares the credit as well.

Here are a few other things:

Tarkin mentions his childhood on Eriadu, how its savagery gave him impressive skills for hunting, hence his near win against Vader here, which was a great connection to the Tarkin novel from back in 2014.
Now that this coda has arrived, expect a full arc review of the “Burning Seas/Bad Ground” stories very soon!
Charles Soule seemed rather proud of the work he did for this issue and I’d like to say he damn well should. Once again, I’ll update once he release’s notes on the issue over at his site. UPDATE: His notes are in, and he describes the process of writing this issue and the pretty cool detail he didn’t receive any notes from the Story Group about the issue. He’s been writing consistently great Star Wars for awhile now so it’s not terribly surprising it’s second nature to him now!
Soule also mentioned we’ll know why, on purpose, they made a time jump after issue #12 once “Fortress Vader,” the next arc, begins. However, he is replying to a tweet about the time jump being three years, though that was found to be an error and it’s actually one year or so, but it makes me wonder if that creates any issues with when “Fortress Vader” is supposed to take place or not. We’ll see soon enough!
Also, where is the Ninth Sister? Is she still alive? I NEED TO KNOW, SOULE!

Predator meets Star Wars for one of the most chilling and thrilling issues I’ve read in quite some time. Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith issue #18 proves why this series is a must-read, though since every issue always proves that, there’s no excuse for not jumping on at this point.

+ This one will give you nightmares, for sure
+ Tarkin’s deductions and methods
+ The art brings the horror alive
+ Vader turning off his breathing apparatus

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.

Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith||
The Chosen One (#1-6) | The Dying Light (#7-10) | The Rule of Five (#11-12) / Arc Review | Burning Seas: #13 | #14 | #15 | #16 | #17 / Arc Review | Fortress Vader (#19-25) / Arc Review | Full Series Review (by Chris and Ryan) | Annual: #2

Canon Comic Review: Darth Vader – Dark Lord of the Sith #18

+ This one will give you nightmares, for sure

+ Tarkin’s deductions and methods

+ The art brings the horror alive

+ Vader turning off his breathing apparatus

Check out the rest of our Canon Comic Reviews here!

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