– Spoiler Review –
When the corrupt Imperial governor brought out her big, storm making weapon, Darth Vader once again failed to bring her in, losing old friends and new alliances, mainly Sabé! In Darth Vader #26 (Vol. 3), we find out how effective Sabé’s plans have been on the Dark Lord’s mind, as he must decide to destroy the governor or finally save someone he cares about.
As they rushed to take down the governor and her sandstorm creating machinery and machinations last issue, Ochi, Kitster, Sabé, and some stormtroopers are separated or lost to the storm, with Ochi abandoning the mission when he happily sees Sabé lost. The only option left on the planet to take on the vicious storm and save those who were allied with him: Kitster’s podracer! As Vader readies himself to ride it into the sandstorm, a swirling reminder of sand and its role in his life, memories seep through. A good portion of this issue is spent on flashbacks or new memories, exploring what weighs on Vader due to the current situation. In the past, Anakin has been adamant he wasn’t going to leave his mother, something we see in a new memory of his childhood, adding even more sense of loss when he packs off and leaves with Qui-Gon Jinn, the issue covering his conversation with his mother and later the one with the Jedi Council, and then losing her to the Tuskens. Despite following his dreams, leaving her led to her death, or so he equates within these swirling memories. Then there’s the moment Padmé falls out of the gunship on Geonosis, the pursuit of Count Dooku and his commitment to the Order deemed more important than going back to rescue her, and again leaving her is just one more step closer to the moment he lost her forever. Every time Vader’s followed orders or done something for the greater good, he’s lost those he cares about, not just to time or distance, but to death.
All this weighs on his mind as he navigates the storm on the podracer, coming to find Kitster who is frantically trying to save Sabé but coming up short. As he pulls debris off her, the storm picks up and begins to bury her and Kitster, and not even using the Force is enough to hold back the onslaught of the coarse and rough material. So Vader has a choice to make, use the Executor to destroy the governor’s flagship or save Sabé…and he demands Piett to fire on his location to disrupt the storm. For once in Vader’s life, or at least since losing his mother, he’s finally saved someone from dying, with no help from the Force like he was initially promised by Darth Sidious he needed. But Palpatine senses what happens, cackling away at Vader thinking he can finally save someone, save Sabé, his own dark plans beginning to form to mess with Vader once again, to erase what Sabé’s influence has wrought on him. If not for Sabé, Vader would’ve left Kitster in the sand, moving on to attack and destroy the governor, and in reality he likely wouldn’t even have met his old friends, letting them die if it meant pursuing and destroying the governor. And now that he puts saving Sabé over finishing the mission, her influence is clearly taking hold, as he’s letting other emotions beyond anger and fury back in. But his attempt to save her will go the way all the others have, especially if Ol’ Sheev has something to say about it, because it’s missing one fundamental ingredient not even Sabé and her influence can coax out of him: to let go. By saving Sabé, he continues down the path that led him to the dark side anyways, as the fear of letting go, the attachment, means he’s not ready to not only let go of others, but still unable to let go of this world as well. Saving Sabé was just as much an altruistic action as it was a selfish one, finally proving to himself he can save someone and to keep someone he cares about around…as long as he’s there alongside them. To truly save her, or anyone else from the Emperor’s machinations, he must let go and sacrifice himself in the process, if need be. And we know when he’ll actually do that, so I fear Sabé’s days are numbered.
Vader brandishing his lightsaber atop a podracer is an image seared into my brain now thanks to Raffaele Ienco’s art, Carlos Lopez’s colors, and Joe Caramagna’s lettering. Sure, there’s so much swirling sand it’s hard to tell Vader’s making any progress, but the simple image of him igniting his blade, slashing at debris that threatens to take him off his mount, a giant-ass podracer built by his childhood friend Kitster, is so pure adventure, so over-the-top Star Wars, so fantasy sci-fi, it’s hard not to cheer for the Dark Lord as he rides the podracer. The red-tinted memories, once again an intriguing hue by Lopez, are great recapturing of memorable movie scenes, even the oft-memed conversation about sand, while the new memories, moments, or images capture Anakin’s sadness regarding leaving his mother and later losing her, hammering home how much grief he still feels about them even if all we see now is his black mask. I loved the motif about the sand in his hands, the little grains he can’t escape, as he buries his mother and later even after he rescues Sabé, a sly tell of how this will likely end up like all the other times he’s tried to save those he cares about. Caramagna’s work is what really brings the intensity of the storm to life, all the various SFX simulating swirling wind and dangerous debris whipping about, though his SFX for Palpatine’s laughter in the final panel stands out the most, each set of “ha” its own shade, overlapping one another, taking over the entire panel besides the two Royal Guards looking at one another; Palpatine has plans and it’s going to be another brutal reminder for Vader of his place in all this.
Here’ s one other thing:
- Rahzzah’s cover of Vader sinking into sand…brilliant. He has quite the collection of covers coming up in the next couple issues too, so we are blessed before even opening the issue.
Darth Vader #26 (Vol. 2) find Vader finally able to save someone he cares about, while riding a podracer again, but it’s clear this won’t go the way he thinks.
+ 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 | #22 — The Shadow’s Shadow: #23 | #24 | #25