– Spoiler Review –
Darth Vader #41 (Vol. 3) finds the Sith Lord at the Scourge’s whims…or is he? What does the Dark Lord of the Sith have in mind playing with powers maybe beyond his control? Find out in my review of this series’ Dark Droids storyline finale.
I understand where writer Greg Pak is heading with this series, as just like the two before his, there’s a change of tone in Vader between two films that we’ve not seen explored. In the first series, it was Vader going from disgrace over the Death Star’s destruction to being an important part of the Imperial war machine again, while the second series took him from his infamous “no” to a “yes” about being Vader now instead of Anakin Skywalker. For this series, it’s all about Vader asking for his son, Luke Skywalker, to join him and overthrow the Emperor, only for him meet his son on Endor and claim it’s all useless to resist now. What happened in the 6 months or so since the ending events of The Empire Strikes Back? We’ve been seeing that play out over the past three years, with Vader taking hit after hit every time he attempts to overthrow his Master, ol’ Sheevy Palpatine himself, and while it makes sense this rebellious spirit would have to be beaten out of him, it’s getting a little too long in the tooth for when we’ll see it finally be enough for Vader. The way this issue ends promises something a little different, as has been teased in the solicits for awhile now, so hopefully some Imperial intrigue will spice things up a bit.
At least the Sith Lord teaming up with the Scourge to find a new way to go after his Master feels original this time, but it only comes after he was already beaten down last issue. I was surprised Vader was willing to submit to the Scourge last issue, but he proved he had bigger plans this issue as he engages a special feature on his suit and isolates this portion of the Scourge from the rest of the group, making his own virus vector droids and taking over ones the Scourge already controls, creating his own network. It’s sort of a wild, almost too out there idea to see, but it’s very interesting and I like how it allows him to sort of use the Force through their eyes. It’s obviously too much for him, as it’s already almost too much for an entity like the Scourge, and as it sends more of its own droids after him, it tries to whittle him down, urge him to give in to its might, to join it and get all the power he wants. Last time Vader did that, look how well that turned out? He was burnt to a crisp, rebuilt by a Sith, more machine than man. The Scourge tries to feed into those feelings, those issues, but Vader rejects it, accepting that no matter if he’s flesh, if he’s machine, or if he’s winning or losing to Palpatine, he’s still Vader and that matters to him. He might not be able to beat his Master, but he’s Darth Vader and it’s the last thing he can cling to in this tortured existence. It doesn’t feel like this is the first time this series has tried to make this point either, but it was at least an interesting way we arrived to it.
The issue ends with an introduction to the Schism Imperial, which at least in this issue, includes Governor Tauntaza (who we last saw issue #29), Sly Moore (who has been part of all sorts of intrigue all series), and an unnamed Imperial whose mouth is replaced with a cybernetic one (Director Barsha, is this you?). The solicits have teased Enric Pryde, first seen in The Rise of Skywalker (and was expanded on in Shadow of the Sith/From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi), is also among the group, so how vast is the conspiracy? More importantly, what are their goals? Bring Order, like the Empire promises, not the chaos the Sith overlords bring, sort of doing what Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn tried, but they’re considering recruiting Vader to their cause…or killing him. We’ll find out more in the issues ahead!
Vader (Vol. 3), much like all the other series so far in their final Dark Droids arc issue, the moment the Scourge and its story is no longer needed, it’s done and out of mind. I hope the next issue for each series at least acknowledges things have ended, because if you’re just reading this series, at this point it just suddenly seems like it’s all done and over with, no context included. This lack of dwelling on Dark Droids’ threads and its potential consequences and deeper exploration of what it meant for droids and cyborgs alike leaves me with a feeling of…why did we even sneak this crossover in during this era then? It’s been fun, don’t get me wrong, but it takes some wind out of its sails for everything to move on so quickly. I’ll discuss this more in my 2023 comics year-in-review, but I was surprised the same day this issue came out: the Revelations (2023) #1 story {review coming soon} from Greg Pak at least sort of covered some of the deeper story potential about droids and consciousness/sentience these stories have avoided.
There’s a sequence late in the issue that really hammers home the overwhelming nature of the Scourge’s power and it’s all thanks to the art team of Raffaele Ienco, colorist Federico Blee, and letterer Joe Caramagna. It all starts on a single page, Vader hunched over, clenching his fists in the foreground and behind him are a legion of droids, with the signature Scourge purple eyes, staring uncaring and unnerving behind him, Blee drenching the page in a dusty, consuming pale brown, and Caramagna’s dialogue boxes for the Scourge walk us across the arrayed droids, fitting in with how it’s talking about there are more minds to keep track of than Vader could possibly imagine. The next page, the ever present haze thickens, the colors darkening, the droids turning into shadows, haunting him in the haze like they haunt his mind, the red swirling vision mist of his mind licking around him, threatening to take over as well. On the next page, as he begins to resist the Scourge’s temptations, he begins to stand at his full height, the haze backs off a little bit, and his first burst outwards to fight back the droids gets a panel encompassing, but still not as big as we’re used to in this series for him, sound FX, which I love how Caramagna deployed it in an arch that feels like it’s actually pushing back the droids. The next page is as big and bombastic as we expect, Vader back in full control of his might, explosions around him like volcanos erupting, the SFX shaking the panel.
Darth Vader #41 (Vol. 3) shows Vader’s coming to terms with where he is right now in life, while his latest gambit to rebel against his Master was at least unique this time, as the series moves on from the Dark Droids crossover.
+ Scourge’s overwhelming abilities played up well by art team
+ Vader’s plans with the Scourge’s abilities was a neat idea
– Still feels like we’ve been here before
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: #1-5 — Into the Fire: #6-11 — War of the Bounty Hunters: #12-17 — Crimson Reign: #18-22 — The Shadow’s Shadow: #23-27 — Return of the Handmaidens: #28-32 — Unbound Force: #33 | #34 | #35 | #36 — Dark Droids: #37 | #38 | #39 | #40