– Spoiler Review –
It seems it’s not just Vader, Crimson Dawn, or the Rebellion looking to take out the Empire’s Sith-ly mastermind, but also now the Schism Imperial?! And what dark plans does the Sith Lord have after his run in with the Scourge entity? Find out what it’s all about in my review of Darth Vader #42 (Vol. 3).
Introduced in the final pages of last issue, which was also wrapping up the series’ time with the Dark Droids crossover event, the Schism Imperial is the latest in a long line of threats to Ol’ Sheevster Palpatine’s rule of the Empire, as they are unhappy with his, and his dark minion’s, chaotic machinations despite claiming the Empire’s goal is Order. It makes sense, as Palpatine has always viewed the Empire only as a means to an end, not something he cares about or actually wants to rule, so of course for those who prescribe to the government’s alluring promise of order instead of chaos, he is a prime target of disdain and machinations of their own. This cabal within the Empire consists of, as far as we know by the end of this and the previous issue, Sly Moore, Governor Tauntaza, Captain Corleque, an unnamed metal-mouthed Imperial officer, and maybe…Darth Vader?! Moore and Tauntaza were last really at the forefront during the Crimson Dawn days of the series, mainly in some confusing intrigue, so at least this time everything seems a little more straightforward given we know what they want and what they stand for. Corleque is an Imperial only seen a handful of times in Vader (Vol. 3), though we were seemingly left to believe he died in issue #38 so I guess maybe he didn’t? And I look forward to meeting the Imperial with the lower-metal jaw! As for Vader being part of the group, he doesn’t agree to joining by issue’s end, but Sly Moore is doing her best to convince him, sounding a bit like Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn as she reveals their number is many and they hide in plain sight, amongst what is seen only as the cogs of the great Imperial machine, not some group of Moffs or high ranking officials. Given the Sith’s penchant for betraying one another, and Vader’s always on the lookout for ways to take out his Master as he amasses more power, it doesn’t seem outside the box he’d join with the group, considering he also aligned himself a bit with Crimson Dawn and those operating in Qi’ra’s sphere for the same purposes during those storylines. Because of that similarity, it dampens this idea’s possibility, as it feels like much the same we’ve seen over the past 40-some issues, just now it’s Imperials for the Empire’s sake who are looking to kill the Sith at the top, not because they are part of some idealistic cause Qi’ra dreamed up with the Dawn. Here’s hoping this all ends up feeling different, as it has the potential, but we aren’t seeing it just yet.
As for Vader himself, he’s got his own plans in motion that might just line up with the Schism Imperial’s mission. While the series seems to have moved on completely from the Dark Droids crossover, once again robbing the event of some of its muster considering mentions are relegated to the crawl/a editor’s note, what Vader learned from the Scourge remains. If you picked up Revelations (2023) #1, then you already know what Vader is planning to do with his new ideas, as Greg Pak’s short story both has the best examination of what the crossover all meant for droids and reveals the Rebellion’s powerful cyborg team Vader plans to target. We get to meet the M.A.R. Corps (Madine’s Augmented Rebels? Mothma’s Augmented Rebels?) here briefly, involved with a rebel operation taking down an Imperial Star Destroyer/garrison and caging up Lieutenant Enric Pryde (yes, the same from The Rise of Skywalker and Shadow of the Sith fame), though we don’t see them in action much/ever learn their personalities before Vader has his way with them. Sure, they put up a good fight with Vader, though the double page depicting this battle is confusing to some degree, but once readers flip the page, Vader’s virus vectors take over their brains, with one able to fight free for just a moment so we can learn their names before she succumbs to the takeover again. Are they really deadly? Where has the Rebellion used them before? How successful where they? And what were they like? Will we ever know or care to know before they outlive their usefulness, as is inevitable? Much like the Schism Imperial, there’s undeveloped promise waiting to be explored, and I hope the series can get there, if for a moment with them.
Returning to the series on art is Adam Gorham, joined again by Federico Blee on colors and Joe Caramagna on letters. As I mentioned earlier, the battle with Vader and M.A.R. Corps is depicted across two pages with a series little obtuse triangle panels in the backdrop of a damaged, beaten Vader, and while I get it’s chaotic to show how crazy their battle is, it’s hard to follow and overall doesn’t seem like it was really that difficult for Vader, to the point it almost doesn’t seem right he’s as damaged as he is in the forefront. I will say I quite enjoyed his damaged look by Gorham, from the ripped sleeves to the sparking parts, with Blee dousing him in the glowing red of his blade to almost make it feel like a bloody experience for the Sith Lord, adding a lot of anger to how he’s feeling from the confrontation. Caramagna’s sound FX are what really make all the little panels work the most, as it sounds like a knock-down, drag-out fight, some type of brutal brawl. One of my favorite pages happens early in the issue, as two little insert panels tease the big main image, first as we see the Star Destroyer tilting downwards, followed by rebellious shouts of excitement, Caramagna eschewing word bubbles and giving us big, red lettering for the shouts, and then the main image: the Star Destroyer impacting with the surface, explosions billowing up, a big SFX rumbling the page, Pryde’s little, bolded scream of “No!” adding to how screwed and defeated the Empire is in this moment. The look of the Destroyer crashing into the planet has some amazing sense of scale, recalling the iconic shot seen first in The Force Awakens’ second teaser trailer of the Destroyer buried in sand, and this almost makes it feel like you could see how one could end up becoming part of the landscape like that one on Jakku was.
Here are a few other things:
- I’m really hoping we’ll learn this and the Star Wars series are coming to a close sometime this year with their 50th issues, as it really feels like time to move on from the era overall as Bounty Hunters and Doctor Aphra come to a close. I discuss this and much more in my 2023 comics year-in-review, out early next week!
- This didn’t quite feel like Pryde yet, especially with how he’s been portrayed in the books, so I’m curious if we’ll get more of him and it’ll seem closer to what we’ve come to expect.
Darth Vader #42 (Vol. 3) introduces some promising ideas for what’s to come in the series, though we’ll have to wait and see if it can deliver.
+ Schism and cyborgs’ potential
+ Cool sense of scale in art
– Feeling remains we’ve seen this from a different angle 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 | #41