– Spoiler Review –
The chase is on in Darth Vader #25 (Vol. 3) to take down the corrupt Imperial governor, as her dangerous new weapon and Crimson Dawn leanings put her squarely in the sights of Vader, but also too of Sabé and her hopes of redeeming the Dark Lord.
The initial blast from Governor Tauntaza’s new weapon staggered Vader last issue and it doesn’t seem like it’s left much impact on the Dark Lord, as his relenting pursuit showcases his considerable might laced with anger. He blocks off a super-powered blaster shot from a special mini-pack the governor developed, begins to destroy circuitry inside her and the Dawn’s escape ship while pulling it down, and later he stabilizes an Imperial shuttle against a deadly, man-made storm. I wasn’t sure if we’re supposed to think this weapon is somehow hindering Vader or not, as he’s unable to pull down the escaping ship as easily as he was the shuttle in Obi-Wan Kenobi, while the artwork implies the weapon’s handiwork is at play here due to the colors used also come from the weapon when it’s used, a light purple with a solid white interior. Either way, Tauntaza does get away and Vader decides to finally visit her flagship, his brusqueness surprising the crew, and when they are unhelpful (to be fair, he does break in a slice them up a bit, in another show of his powerful anger), he has Piett mark their ship for destruction if he doesn’t come back and countermand his order after dealing with the governor. Though by the way she’s stirring up her planet-sucking ship, which looks like a smaller, more refined/land-based design of the World Devastators from Legends’ Dark Empire comic, it looks like she won’t be giving up or laying down without quite the fight.
Ochi catches up with ZED, Sabé, and Kitster’s group and he’s once again at odds with Sabé, resulting in some hilarious moments and exchanges throughout. While Sabé’s been able to keep him in line and cowed here and there, he’s emboldened by the chance to take her down and get back in Vader’s good graces, but this time she has an ace up her sleeve: she now outranks him, by Vader’s command, and the Imperials around them follow her orders instead of his. He takes it with the grace you’d come to expect from the Dealpool-esque Ochi of the comics, so none at all, and he doesn’t relent for the rest of the issue. It all leads up to the best moment, when the storm Tauntaza’s ship is brewing throws Sabé from her speeder, and Ochi deadpans “Wow. So sad,” and gets the troopers to retreat from breaking into the governor’s ship. Their little tiff has been fun here and there, but this issue was my favorite bout between the two, as essentially right now they are like little voices on Vader’s shoulders, one the light, the other the dark, and it’s very easy to figure out who’s who. We all know the actual voice that’ll sway him one way or another, when the light and the dark are either his son or his Master, so I’ll be curious just how far Sabé will be able to go with swaying Vader in the meantime, and what people like Ochi (and it seems like Palpatine as well, per October’s recent solicitations) will do to slow any progress she makes.
Despite his best efforts, the manufactured storm produced by Tauntaza’s big device takes down his shuttle, and with the speeders not a viable means of transportation, Vader has basically no options left before him to stop the device before it destroys the world. Imperial reinforcements would take too long. And no ships remain on the world per the governor’s orders. But there is one option, and I should’ve realized it when it was first presented, and now I’m jumping with excitement to see it happen: Kitster’s podracing. That’s right, Vader attacking a strange, world-sucking device really is podracing!
Rafaelle Ienco returns this issue and just in time to showcase Tauntaza’s plans with the appropriate scale they deserve. Seriously, the world sucking vehicle Tauntaza is using is a giant, shiny, silver monstrosity, and Ienco gives the scale via two panels of Sabé, Ochi, Kitster, and a few Imperials approaching via speeder bikes, as they look like tiny specks, even when we’re close to them, against the hulking size of the planet-sucker. And it show how deadly and dangerous such a giant machine can be, without needing an armament on its surface, there’s a chaotic amount of purple lightning, with big SFX by Joe Caramagna hiding in the strikes to let them remain the focus. My favorite panel of the issue is what felt like a callback to The Phantom Menace, a collection of battle droids and Imperial officers on the other side of a door, waiting for a lightsaber wielding foe to emerge, though while there’s a brief misdirect in TPM with the server droid, Vader bursts through and brings chaos with his blade immediately. The way Vader’s red blade blares against the hallways of the Star Destroyer, a menacing shade picked by colorist Carlos Lopez, really gave the moment some Rogue One hallway scene vibes. Some of Ienco’s facial work for tertiary characters is beginning to look reused here and there, but the depth of Padmé, aged, with a hint of Kiera Knightley he brings to Sabé’s face is exceptional, from the concern on her face as the storm’s threat looms or the anger and confidence as she stands up to Ochi.
Here are a few other things:
- Regardless of my feelings about how Ochi’s been portrayed in this comic, and I’ve come around by now, if you’ve been curious to learn more about how this fearsome hunter could end up dead under the quicksand of Pasaana, look no further than Shadow of the Sith, which builds off of stuff in this run and pays it off excellently for a full character portrayal. It’s also just a really good book in general that clears up some lingering questions after The Rise of Skywalker’s revelations, so make sure to check it out!
Darth Vader #25 (Vol. 3) finds the two voices on his shoulder bickering as the corrupt governor’s danger grows.
+ Ochi and Sabé’s tiff and place on Vader’s shoulders
+ Art showcases the dangers ahead!
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 — The Shadow’s Shadow: #22 | #23 | #24