– Spoiler Review –
Armed with the revelation their latest target was operating under Emperor Palpatine’s orders, Darth Vader and his new shadow Sabé journey to gain the truth in Darth Vader #28 (Vol. 3), but like anything with Ol’ Palpy, his next plans push them in a new direction, while familiar faces return to save their friend.
Despite having Vader dead to rights, just like she wished for so long, Sabé decided to save him like Padme wanted, believing she’s making a difference to the Dark Lord. It did seem like she was last issue, but once Vader and Sabé go to the Emperor on Coruscant, per her advisement for ‘Anakin,’ as she likes to call him, to confront the problem directly, the Emperor puts everything in perspective. Well, not everything, as he doesn’t confirm or deny his involvement with Governor Tuantaza’s plans, meaning whether she’s really Crimson Dawn or a double-agent or anything we should still care about remains unclear. But he does laugh a lot, at Sabé and her plans, pointing out her insistence of calling Vader ‘Anakin’ only reminds him of his grief, his pain, his loss, his weakness and she’ll gain no reward or help from him because of it. When Ol’ Palpy has his guards attack her, to see if she’s as ruthless as he’s sensing, she’s alone but certainly doesn’t seem to need the help, using their blind attack of her to make them almost kill their Lord, who kills them in return (maybe it’s because they are new guards after Crimson Dawn killed the last batch?). Her quick thinking earns Sheev’s curiosity and flips the table on Sabé, saying Vader will teach her how to serve the Empire and mold her as he sees fit, something she thinks she’s been doing this whole time together. If this felt like a test run of the throne room scene in Return of the Jedi to you, you’re not alone, as I was already guessing last issue whatever happens with Sabé will help Vader see and make the choice he does to kill the Emperor when it’s his son’s life on the line. This was a not-so-subtle way to show he’s not there yet, his heart isn’t quite open yet, Sabé hitting all around the bullseye and missing the key ingredient to crack his shell.
As resigned as she is to this new development, it’s clear she’s not ready to give up her principals yet, though I’m curious how much of an influence being around Palpatine already had on her. The way this run has been so focused on her and her goals of uncovering the good inside Vader Padmé believed was there, and it’s been strongest when she’s in the picture, it makes me wish this had been a Sabé series and her a main character more and more. Thankfully the time is running out for Vader to be a main/lead character in upcoming comic books as they move forward in the timeline, but I hope they give the Sith Lord a break soon. Especially because I can only imagine how much more interested it’d be to have Sabé’s point-of-view more often, from her and her fellow handmaidens’ plans in the opening arc to her breaking off and going alone to save Vader, she’s had the more interesting and trying story so far. Regardless, when faced with the prospect of killing all the pirates attacking an innocent ship, Sabé uses the excuse they’ll lose out on information from them about their latest target, Jul Tambor, the grandson of Wat Tambor (yes, this story development comes out of nowhere), allowing her a chance to keep her moral high ground for now. The longer she’s with Vader the harder that’ll be, but at least now she’s off to chase after a pirate survivor and infiltrate their group, getting away from his direct influence.
And maybe walking into the arms of old friends. We cut to Naboo, a captured Ochi of Bestoon, sent by Sabé to find Tauntaza, being interrogated about… Sabé. Ochi has his moments and this was one of them, the dialogue here sharp and funny, from his surprise they want to ask him about her and how she totally should’ve been dead earlier, much to his disappointment. When he informs the mysterious interrogators Sabé’s joined with Vader, they puzzle over the information, trying to make sense of it. Ochi asks who they are and they reveal themselves…the rest of the handmaidens! Initially escaping after the failed Amidalans attack on Vader at Polis Mossa, Sabé’s been the only we’ve seen since despite knowing they survived, and it’s been a hanging thread for the series to pluck up for some time now. And according to solicitations for the 30th issue, their return might not last for much longer, but regardless I can’t wait to see them try to save Sabé from Vader and his influence, to see if they can help her see he’s changed her much as she thinks she’s changed him.
It’s largely been Raffaele Ienco’s splendid art that’s carried this third volume of the Darth Vader series and he delivers another great display in issue #28, alongside colorist Carlos Lopez and letterer Joe Caramagna, but he’s taking a break for an unknown amount of time after this one, so enjoy it while you can! Ienco’s Palpatine is a favorite of mine for the character in the comics, as he captures the Sith Master’s many duplicitous sides, his kindly smile despite his scars, the anger when using his Force lightning, and even a false demure when he points how he knows Sabé wants to kill him. For Sabé, there’s true shock when Vader lifts her up in Palpatine’s presence, as it’s clear it’s not the way she thought things would go, imagining Vader would end up killing the Emperor after pressing him for information about Tuantaza’s machinations, while I liked the angry look she has the more Palpatine talks and is frustratingly right. One of the first panels is a delight, Vader’s anger over recent events bubbling out and exploding his bacta tank, glass and bacta shattering everywhere, his eyes open and pissed, Caramagna’s SFX jittering across the damage and outside the page, Lopez’s colors giving Vader’s eyes a scary, piercing yellow, lined in dark, haunting red. I also really liked the panel of Palpatine shocking his guards, the lightning wrapping around them like a snug hug of static voltage, Caramagna’s SFX drawn so it almost looks like it’s about to come out of the page and at us, while Lopez’s colors offer a lighted glimpse at Palpatine’s chair because of the brightness of the lightning (surprised Palps isn’t blind by now!).
Here is one other thing:
- It is weird the whole Tuantaza thing just slips by, never brought up in the throne room, and we’re already onto the next subject. Pak has a penchant for revisiting things down the line, but it was left too confusingly unclear what is all going on there, spy or no spy, I’m almost happier it’s gone than continued right now.
Darth Vader #28 (Vol. 3) brings back the handmaidens and injects better possibilities for the story moving forward, focusing on the tug and pull Sabé and Vader have on another.
+ Tug and pull between Sabé explored even more
+Ienco goes out on top
– Brushing past stuff
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 | #10 | #11 / Arc Review — War of the Bounty Hunters: #12 | #13 | #14 | #15 | #16 | #17 — Crimson Reign: #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 | #22 — The Shadow’s Shadow: #23 | #24 | #25 | #26 | #27 — Return of the Handmaiden