– Spoiler Review –
Commander Sabé (wait, what?!) fights alongside Darth Vader to root out the Crimson Dawn enemies embedded within its enormous machine, and Darth Vader #24 (Vol. 3) explores the depth of the Dawn’s plans as well as finally digging into how Vader’s dealing with Sabé’s return in a way reminiscent of the series’ beginning.
Vader is now committed to help this little village of freed Tatooine slaves Sabé led him too, which includes childhood friends like Kitster and Wald, after it’s clear he can help her and the Empire itself, as village is being screwed over by a double agent Imperial Governor. Sabé, now christened Commander like Ahsoka Tano was under her time as Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice, fights not only for her friends and her mission to uphold Padmé’s memories by freeing all these slaves, but also to poke at the soul of Vader to help make using him against the Empire easier. Like they did at the beginning of the series, they step into battle alongside each other, this time it’s a personal mission not just for Vader, but for Sabé too, and seeing them in battle together, Sabé even rushing to his side when he’s surprisingly incapacitated, a sight to behold and probably one Vader wishes he could see himself, bringing order alongside his wife’s shadow. It turns out the Imperial Governor turned Dawn spy isn’t in her command ship anymore, instead hiding out in the planet’s capital, testing a deadly new weapon when Vader and Sabé burst onto the scene. While the new weapon leaves Vader dazed, they abandon it during the raid, as not only does Sabé and the troops fight their way through the governor and Dawn forces, Ochi of Bestoon does his typical Ochi-shtick and inserts himself into the fray even if he’s not needed. While the governor gets away for now, the truth of the planet’s withering state comes clear: forced to work for her, the governor had conscripts construct a weapon that drains power from living things, including entire planets (sort of sounds like the beginning of Starkiller Bases’ technology, leeching power from a nearby sun). This version is even more powerful than the one that previously took out a planet, hence why Vader’s left subdued to some degree after a direct hit, which he foolishly takes because he believes nothing can stop him. Vader doesn’t wait long after he learns the weapon’s power, taking off on Ochi’s bike, ssoooo not here for his antics, and takes off after the governor.
The moment Sabé came back into the picture, I’m been curious to learn more about how Vader feels about having her back in his life again, calling for a return to the red-tinted panels of memories and internal thoughts of the series’ earliest issues as recently in my review of issue #23. Before the issue’s over, these glimpses of Vader’s thoughts return, finally exploring the impact Sabé’s having on him. As the revelation the unwitting scientists’ snuffed out millions of voices reminds Vader of the Death Star, and then of all the terrible things he choose to do like killing the younglings, first Sabé then Padmé appears to confront him within his mind. She’s a constant reminder, a constant voice in his head, there’s still good inside of him, but he denies it, pushing her behind a wall similar to his meditation chamber. As she’s behind the wall, calling for him to find the light inside, his red soaked thought bubbles, bathed in a stark black panel around it, paint a different picture: she believes she’s turning him back to the light, but he says in reality she’s done something far different…with the internal vision ending on the door holding back Sabé exploding. Has she unleashed his anger instead? Has pushing as hard as she has made it even harder for him to accept the truth inside? Returning to these thought panels adds a sorely missing dimension to this series and invites readers to dig deeper than just Vader swinging his saber around, lost in different conflicts and conspiracies.
Taking over for Raffaele Ienco this issue is Marco Castiello, alongside colorist Carlos Lopez and letterer Joe Caramagna, whose style might be discernibly different, but how he draws and frames the events and action unfolding makes it feel closer to how this series typically does with Ienco. There were several times where I almost forgot Castiello was drawing instead of Ienco, to be honest, be it the full page of Vader being struck by the Governor’s new weapon or Ochi’s big arrival, he knew the assignment and proceeded to ace it. In the page of Vader struck by the weapon, there’s crackling purple lights around him and a few giant swirls just in front of him from the discharge and it’s a great shade by Lopez that really sticks out, showing how unique and different the weapon is immediately, while the blurring effect in the swirls gives the panel a sense of speed to Vader being pushed back by the blast, the impact crater, the cracking wall behind him showing how hard he hit, along with Caramagna’s scraggly, large SFX for the weapon’s sound, all combine to make a lasting impact on the reader that this really messed with Vader. Caramagna’s SFX in the internal sequences are large and elongated, giving their sounds an echo-y feel, an otherworldly sound to the environments to further the knowledge you’re inside Vader’s head. The panel switch from Vader/Sabé to Anakin/Padmé, from how one says Lord Vader and the other says Anakin to Anakin’s mouth hung open, revealing Vader/Anakin’s surprise at her appearing in his thoughts, was such a cool way to show how she continues to arrest him, no matter how much he tries to bury her, or shove her behind walls in his mind. The way one page of these thought visions shows Tarkin’s orders to destroy Alderaan and then another has Anakin committing terrible acts succinctly details he started down this path, was already carrying darkness, long before he fell into lava, which is where his mind goes next, which is where Sabé/Padmé appears to try to convince him there’s good before all that.
Here are a few other things:
- If you want more Ochi of Bestoon, that both honors his portrayal in this series and what could lead him to his death, then look no further than the recent release of Shadow of the Sith! It also includes some references to a story earlier in this series…
- Vader had quite the appearance in the Obi-Wan Kenobi show’s finale!
Darth Vader #24 (Vol. 3) explores the real threat of the Imperial turned Dawn spy poses while opens back up the deeper psychological aspect of the series to see how Sabe’s return affects the Dark Lord.
+ The threat of the Governor’s weapon
+ Return of the Vader mindscape
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 | #25