It’s a trap!
Creative Staff:
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Salvador Larroca
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
What They Say:
With resources vital to the Empire on the line, Vader makes his move…but Cylo and his forces are looking to show him up before he can! Full-scale warfare on the surface of Sho-Turun!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The current arc of Darth Vader may be lacking in a little something I can’t quite put my finger on, something which may be related to the reading it issue by issue as opposed to a trade, but it just feels like it’s missing a truly cohesive element about it. But even with that there in the back of my mind tickling me, each installment continues to be a whole lot of fun. Gillen is plainly enjoying the events that get to unfold here and the dialogue of it all, particularly with his droids, and Larroca is just executing some simply gorgeous artwork that Delgado brings to life with the color design. These are exciting adventures of Darth Vader that pushes him a little further into the action realm than we usually think of him but manages to pull it off.
With him now leading one of the delving machines down into the ore baron’s realm of Shu-torun, there’s a lot to like in seeing how they all prey to Rubix’s trap and end up in a massive field of action about to hit. Visually, it reminded me a lot of some of the stylings of the Clone Wars era – both film and TV show – and that gave it the right kind of scale. Seeing how Vader takes command and forces his will through it works very well. I also love the way things take that twist that has been building with him having droids that were built. Considering how many he eliminated back in the Clone Wars, seeing him and Triple-Zero putting this into motion is the right kind of karmic moment that’s properly surreal. Combining that with the stormtroopers and the forces of Rubix on the field and it has the right scale.
On the more personal side there are two events playing out well here. First is seeing Triple-Zero making his own play to bring a dangerous creation of his to the battle. It’s something that feels like it’s being danced around a bit, but it represents something that would take the droids from the Clone Wars and supercharge them in a deadly way. Vader’s reaction to this is definitely something that pushes him too far and watching the way Triple-Zero so completely backs off reminds us that even he knows some limits. Similarly, we see Queen Trios dealing with her new position and those that aren’t in favor of it, which impacts the fight that’s going on with her ally in Vader. Trios has been an engaging character overall in this arc and the annual so seeing her becoming a further partner in crime of sorts with Vader here by assuming more control over the planet is really great to see.
In Summary:
While we also get the start of a new fight with Vader and the two subordinates of Cylo’s, that’s more setup for what’s to come next time around – as wonderfully illustrated and laid out as it is. This issue keeps the events of Shu-Torun moving forward well and I like that this detour is giving us a look at how a particular planet and its uniqueness is being handled while also show just how involved Vader will get from time to time in such things. There’s always been more a sense of a hands off and implied threat through the original movies, so seeing him digging into it and doing the dirty work as necessary really is great. It makes his time in A New Hope all the more interesting under Tarkin’s leash and wondering just how controlled he was – and what Tarkin had him doing.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: March 30th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
