– Spoiler Review –
Darth Vader and the Schism Imperial’s march to defeat Emperor Palpatine takes the group to Tython, where the Schism confronts an overly eager new member and Vader a spectre of someone very close to him in Darth Vader #45 (Vol. 3).
Enric Pryde, played by Richard E. Grant in The Rise of Skywalker, received some lovely backstory from author Adam Christopher in both Shadow of the Sith and later “The Steadfast Soldier” in From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi, and now we’re seeing more of his service to the Empire in Darth Vader #45 (Vol. 3). His pride, which writer Greg Pak doesn’t shy away using as a pun to some degree in the issue, is annoyingly funny, as the other Schism Imperials can’t stand his belief in Vader and the ultimate Order the Empire will provide. He’s the idealistic version of a fascist, sure of those above him and eager to serve and it’s funny, yet interesting to see the inverse of the Rebel idealistic we typically see. And I actually enjoyed hearing everyone sort of justify their hate of Vader, working with him, and still believing in the Schism’s goals, as it feels like quite the number of hoops to jump through yet this sort of clarified some of it for me.
The last time we saw the Martyrium of Frozen Tears, Doctor Aphra tricked Darth Vader into it, allowing herself to escape from his clutches (and prevent the Empire from finding Hoth sooner), a moment alluded to when she worked with him earlier in this series to obtain the Zaly shield. Returning to it now, he’s ready for it and its visions, as Sly Moore sees some of the lesser confessions, making fun of the Jedi who have come to bare their sins, and it all seems rather harmless this time around. It all quickly changes when Vader finds Luke Skywalker amongst the visitors, where we also learn the Rebellion ended up using Tython briefly for a base, and the Sith Lord tries to strike down the apparition of Luke with his lightsaber, so he doesn’t have to hear his son. Obviously it doesn’t work and Vader hears Luke’s confession, where he mentions how his father asked him to join him and he easily rejected it, but there are times when he wonders…something, though Vader never hears him say exactly what he’s wondering. Though Vader doesn’t hear it, he sees it, as a vision of what Luke saw in the dark side cave on Dagobah, his face peering out from Vader’s helmet, and Vader turns off his saber and the vision fades. He takes off from Tython without much word to everyone, leaving them to harvest the Martyrium’s kyberite (attaching it to a shuttle before they head to Exegol), but when the issue checks in with him, I love the juxtaposition between what Pryde is telling his fellow Schism members and what Vader’s thinking: Pryde thinks no one will stop Vader from bringing Order to the Empire, yet he’s mournfully thinking of his son, how he rejected his father, and calls out to Luke. It’s a nice hint of how Vader’s dark heart is chilling and how Luke will be able to cut through when the time comes.
Next issue artist Raffaele Ienco returns, which means unfortunately issue #45 includes the final work of Adam Gorham, alongside Paul Fry, for the series, while they are joined by the usual Federico Blee on colors and Joe Caramagna for lettering. Once we get into the Martyrium of Frozen Tears is where some of my favorite visuals of the issue exist, especially in the panel of Vader approaching the center of the chamber, where the many Jedi who came before are ghostly, transparent, goldish-white images behind him, both to denote all those who have come before and the body count he’s left behind. They whisp away, leaving only one, a kneeling Luke Skywalker, only for Vader to slice through this vision, his growl one which completely breaks with Caramagna’s usual word bubbles for the character, showing how angry he is and how eager he is not to hear what Luke will have to say, likely fearful of what it might unlock in him. The issue shifts to the famous scene where Vader reveals to Luke the truth of their relationship, but what stood out more of course was the image of Luke inside Vader’s helmet, a surprising and striking visual all these years later, but I never considered what Vader might make of it had he seen it. We don’t quite learn either right away, or 100% clearly, but we get a hint of it in the final page, where a few panels take us back to Cloud City and him asking his son to join him, this time seen in the series’ typical red-tinged flashbacks (and not the more pristine looking visions he saw on Tython), playing out with the aforementioned juxtaposed dialogue from Pryde.
Here are a few other things:
- I’m disappointed we learn the M.A.R. Corps are mentally screaming and those with the Force can hear them, but then we don’t revisit the thread at all this issue. I hope we’ll get to see more from them, or learn anything about them, before they get used and discarded in Vader/Schism’s efforts.
- Over the last few issues, it’s felt like this series is building towards something big, something it can’t quite come back from, and would likely come to a close afterwards, and it seems the solicitations for an upcoming trade paperback releases which collects issues #46-50 is promising just that: the end is near! My feelings about this series haven’t been much of a secret, as I talked about closing it up in both my 2022 and 2023 year-in-reviews, so to know we’re finally heading towards an ending, and my feeling about where this storyline is going confirmed, is very nice news. As for when this will end, the most I would say, given the solicit, is issue #60, while #55 would be more preferred, though if they want this era to end before 2025, issue #53 would be the final number. We are left wondering the same thing for Star Wars (Vol. 2), whose similar paperback hints it’ll be ending soon as well. I’m really eager for the comics to head to a new era, but thankfully The High Republic and the recent prequel-focused ones like Jango Fett and Mace Windu have been spicing things up!
Darth Vader #45 (Vol. 3) gives the Schism a chance to justify their choices, while Vader’s confrontation with a vision of Luke offers hints of his choices to come.
+ Pryde’s enthusiasm
+ Luke’s confession
– Moving on from the M.A.R. Corps stuff
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, 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 — Schism Imperial: #42 | #43 | #44