– Spoiler Review –
Ochi, Vader, and their new team of assassins and revolutionaries begin the hunt for the Dawn, and while Darth Vader #19 (Vol. 3) doesn’t quite end with anything terribly new, it does finally start to deal with Ochi’s duplicity.
Since the end of Darth Vader #17 (Vol. 3) and Crimson Reign #1 confirming it, Ochi of Bestoon is playing both sides, though it’s been weird how the two series have seemingly different feeling versions of the character. In the Darth Vader series, he’s still very Deadpool-esque but in Crimson Reign his first appearance was spooky and unsettling and very quiet, though he was seen crafting the blade Rey Skywalker will use to find her way to a Wayfinder. Seeing his death has changed him but it’s not always clear how much, and while that doesn’t quite get clarified here, it’s at least more obvious he’s working both sides. It’s subtle, to some extent, from how he hangs back from the action, not wanting to take down Qi’ra’s soldiers to trying to destroy the base they find so there’s no evidence while acting like he’s just following Vader’s orders, so it’s clear his heart is with Dawn. As for why: could it be seeing his death has him joining Dawn in hopes they can prevent it from passing, knowing working with the Sith will lead to his demise? I hope we get a little more from his point-of-view in the future, and if it happens in Crimson Reign, let’s hope readers of Vader aren’t left out of the loop, while I’ll be curious how much Shadows of the Sith (an upcoming novel) will dive into this aspect of Ochi as well.
Last issue, while I liked the variety and designs of many of the new characters, the lack of substance left me apathetic to their part of the story. Issue #19 doesn’t add much more to them, beyond another set of introductions, though how they view a partnership with Vader carries more intrigue. On some backwater planet, the Revengers, the group who lost their homes to Dawn’s stooges, get in the way of Imperial soldiers about to shoot helpless locales that just want to mourn their dead. Vader protects the Revengers and kills the soldiers, a flashback to his younger days showing he’s thinking of Padm saying they might be on the wrong side, claiming they were working for Crimson Dawn, which it later turns out they were when Ochi finds a hologram by them. The Revenger’s response is to look at Vader as a hero of some type, especially given the stories they’ve all heard about Jedi back in the day (that they have a laser sword), and in a way that’s how Vader sees himself still, clamping down on the disorder Dawn brings to the galaxy. We went down Vader as a ‘hero’ road before in the much maligned and controversy-ridden Vader: Dark Visions, and other than commenting on how Vader can view his actions here, I don’t know how much further writer Greg Pak will go with this idea. Hopefully the Revengers and the other assassins get a little more panel time other than brief (re)introductions.
This issue acknowledges the storyline unfolding/beginning in the Bounty Hunters series: Beilert Valance, rebuilt by Vader to do his bidding, black mailing him with the fact he can extract the cyborg’s memory of where the Rebellion base his ex is at. Valance doesn’t do much this issue but I did LOVE Ochi calling him “Balance” and waving it off when corrected, especially since I’ve been uninspired about the character since he was brought into canon. Darth Vader #19 (Vol. 3) also deals with the thread regarding the Dawn’s spies within the Empire, uncovering the list of operatives. While it does move the story forward, it doesn’t read like much of a surprise or anything terribly new because we already knew they had spies all within the Empire. Maybe some names could’ve given this moment more weight or prevented it from feeling like more of the same, but at least the characters have a list to go after and there’s targets for them to focus on in the issues ahead. And also disappointingly, this issue doesn’t deal with Sabé’s tantalizing return, but we thankfully won’t have to wait much longer for that.
For issue #19, Guiu Vilanova takes over on artist duties, though Alex Sinclair continues on colors and so too does Joe Caramagna for lettering. Last issue’s artist Leonard Kirk had a few panels where the action wasn’t easy to follow at times, but Vilanova’s few action scenes are clearer though still chaotic in a good way. The image of Vader riding G-90 through the battlefield, slicing and dicing at laser shots coming his way, was a highlight of the issue for me, as it looks both absurd but also really cool. I liked the expression Vilanova brought to characters’ faces, from Ochi’s grin or Valance’s shock when they see the list of Dawn operatives, while we get a little more detail on the Revengers to help flesh them out visually at least. The flashbacks to scenes from Vader’s earlier life still have a creepy, red-tinged haze from Sinclair’s colors, one of my favorite ways they’ve done flashbacks in the comics so far, considering it’s now the lens through which he sees those interactions. Caramagna’s letters get more SFX fun with the few battle scenes, making the chaotic feel even more so, while showing how under pressure the Revengers were before Ochi is thrown into the mix and Vader rolls into action (puns, both of them, you’re welcome).
Here are a few other things:
- Sometime early January, we’ll have our annual Star Wars comics year-in-review, so keep your eyes posted on the Manor for a big look back at 2021’s stories!!
Darth Vader #19 (Vol. 3) begins to have some fun with Ochi’s duplicity but doesn’t provide much plot momentum.
+ Ochi of Duplicity
– No plot momentum
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 — Red Revenge: #18