– Spoiler Review –
Events get too convoluted for their own good in Darth Vader #15 (Vol. 3), the latest entry in the series’ tie-in to the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover event.
Last issue, Darth Vader #14 (Vol. 3) ended with Vader crashing Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn’s auction of the frozen Han Solo, and if you’re reading the crossover, be it the miniseries or all its tie-in issue too, we saw the aftermath of his gatecrashing: Qi’ra steps up to battle him when he lays claims to Han despite Jabba the Hutt’s winning bid. Instead of picking up where the series and the larger story left off, this issue backpedals in time to deal with a somewhat confusing game of loyalties and tests, because even if you only read this series, there’s whiplash to be found, and I wish the opening credit page or even first panel provided a note to clarify when this issue too place, much like the Bounty Hunters series did. It’s not hard to figure out we’ve gone back in time to some extent, but it makes the tests by Vader more convoluted than necessary, muddling their outcome and leaving readers more confused on why it was done this way rather than what the revelations mean for the larger story.
Last issue, we found out Vader learns of the auction thanks to Sly Moore after he comes knocking for her head, so it was strange to see Vader task Ochi of Bestoon with beating up another syndicate to another invite and question Bokku the Hutt about it. As of issue #13, Bokku was already seemingly deferent to Vader and his bidding in issue #14 (and seen in War of the Bounty Hunters #2) looks to be exactly what Vader wanted, to expose Bokku to Jabba and humiliate the upstart Hutt. Issue #15 fills in those marching orders from Vader/Ochi to Bokku, with the extra detail it’s all in a bid to give Bokku a greater chance of besting Jabba, as he’ll seem powerless now, causing Jabba to turn his back on the Hutt and he can strike then. Vader isn’t totally convinced Bokku’s subservience is legit and tasks Ochi with uncovering if he works with anyone else. Ochi battles a bunch of mysteriously masked individuals sneaking away from Bokku’s Palace and learns the Hutt is actually working for Crimson Dawn already. Due to all this convoluted back and forth of the timeline, the revelation is certainly interesting but lacks surprise, as it was clear Sly and her group weren’t working with Bokku when he was trying to help IG-88 end Vader’s life in issue #13, while it makes sense to the larger story of the Dawn’s growing web of informants. I’ll still be curious to see how this plays out for Bokku, and while we know he won’t take out Jabba, maybe there’s still room for him in the next part of Qi’ra comeback trilogy.*
Reluctantly, I finally came around on Ochi last issue and he didn’t disappoint me here. His antics are very Deadpool-esque, the way others told me they view him that helped me not mind all his “of Bestoon” shouting, as he confidently flips around and blasts at the overwhelming odds against him. He knows his death now (thanks to the summa-verminoth) and instead of that debilitating him like it initially did, he now owns it, giving him a cocky swagger that only makes his death by quicksand/underground worm even more ironic. Vader wasn’t just testing Bokku when he literally dumps Ochi out his ship, but he was also testing the assassin, seeing if he’d team up with the Dawn because he already knew/suspected that’s who Bokku was really working for/with. By the end of the issue, it seems like all the scheming is finally over with and this series can get back to the present of the larger story in its next issue.
Artist Raffaele Ienco, with colors by Jason Keith, has had some truly menacing panels of Darth Vader and this issue is no different, be it when Vader ignites his blade to clarify Bokku has no choice in listening to Vader’s orders or later his shadowy appearance in the fog as he approaches Ochi, as each one has a frightening, intimidating effect to them, from the billowing cloak and its almost jagged lines in the first to the shadow with igniting lightsaber recalling the opening to Rogue One’s hallway scene; you know something’s about to go down but not exactly what. I really loved the series of panels with Ochi flipping around and battling the Dawn soldiers, him literally being upside down in one added to the sense of humor, while the overwhelming amount of blaster fire and his nonchalant avoidance of it plays into the meta knowledge we have he’ll survive this moment. Letterer Joe Caramagna plays into the slapstick nature of Ochi’s part with his boisterous laughter SFX for the Dawn soldiers after he thinks he’ll scare them by telling them who his master is or even the SFX he provides when Ochi’s unceremoniously dumped out the shuttle by Vader. Keith’s colors bring a certain darkness and feeling to the night-set scenes, moon-lit like one might expect in real life, primarily seen during Ochi and the Dawn’s fight, that I really loved, while the shadowy red he brings to Vader’s saber as he approaches Ochi is chilling. Two smaller things that caught my eye were the Dawn member swirling the dust in front of Ochi to make the point of how vast their network was, as it was just a neat effect that almost made it look like it was swirling right on the page, while the oxen-like creatures were just dang neat and medieval looking.
Here are a few other things:
- *Just last week, after Qi’ra dueled Vader and lived to tell the tale, it was revealed she’d make it past the entire War of the Bounty Hunters storyline to star in Crimson Reign, a comic miniseries by Charles Soule! Even more surprising, it’s part TWO of a trilogy specifically about her return! If Crimson Reign takes place before Return of the Jedi still, could the third part be post-RotJ?! We’ll just have to wait and see!!!
- We’ll have our monthly Hunters’ Guide, a recap for the entire WotBH crossover, out sometime next week in case you need to be caught up on the events from the other series!
Darth Vader #15 (Vol. 3) provides some Ochi-fueled laughter but tangles itself up more than necessary as it reveals more treachery abound in the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover.
+ Ochi filled humor
+ Art adds to humor and seriousness
– Too convoluted for its own good
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
August: 4-LOM & Zuckuss #1 | Bounty Hunters #15 | War of the Bounty Hunters #3 | Star Wars #16 | Doctor Aphra #13
July: Bounty Hunters #14 | Doctor Aphra #12 | War of the Bounty Hunters #2 | Darth Vader #14 | Jabba the Hutt #1 | Star Wars #15 / Hunter’s Guide for July
June: War of the Bounty Hunters #1 | Bounty Hunters #13 | Star Wars #14 | Darth Vader #13 | Doctor Aphra #11 / Hunters’ Guide for June
May: Alpha #1 | Star Wars #13 | Bounty Hunters #12 | Darth Vader #12 | Doctor Aphra #10 / Hunters’ Guide for May
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