The darker side of the Force.
Creative Staff:
Story: Kieron Gillen
Art: Salvador Larroca
What They Say:
Ever since Darth Vader made his first on-screen appearance, he became one of the most popular villains to ever haunt an audience’s dreams! Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of “Star Wars: A New Hope”, (and the pages of the new Star Wars comic book), into his own series, showing the Empire’s war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side! Writer Kieron Gillen and artist Salvador Larocca bring us a peek behind the mask of evil!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The best villains are almost always the ones where you can empathize with them to some degree, where they don’t see themselves as the villains but are following their own journey. They may not see themselves as the hero of their own story, but an important player or someone doing what must be done for what they view as the greater good, even if that good is considered evil by others. Darth Vader is a difficult character to write for, especially because the voice we hear for it is so present within the pages as we read books like this. With this new ongoing series, we get a very, very welcome start to events here as it ties to the movies as well as the ongoing main Star Wars book as well.
Following the events of A New Hope as well as the first two issues of the other ongoing series, Vader is in a very difficult position. What we learn is that because of all of these events and losses, now that the Rebellion is fully unified and feeling like they have a chance, the Emperor is supremely displeased by the losses. And rightly so, as the Death Star was the culmination of nearly two decades of work that helped to wash away the remaining skeleton of the Republic in order to fully cement the Empire. The loss of it is significant, both from perception and the material loss along with the sheer number of deaths of very useful personnel. Vader is getting the blame for that and events on Cymoon, which now has him being demoted for a bit for his punishment. Amusingly, the man taking his place as the primacy is that of Tagge, which we saw on the Death Star before being Force choked by Vader. With him having been off the Death Star, it’s a great way to bring a character back that could have a rich story.
Vader is also realizing that as this is going on, the Emperor is keeping him out of the loop on other things as well, which gets under his armor in a big way. Competitiveness is simply a part of the Sith, but these two have gained such power and position that it feels like it’s very different. So in order to ensure his own position, even as apprentice, we see Vader making some strong plays going forward here. Bringing in Boba Fett and a Wookie bounty hunter, he sets them on the path of getting this mystery man that the Emperor is dealing with as well as sending them to capture the boy rebel that he faced on Cymoon that is bringing a lot of his own past to the surface. With some very amusing dealings with Jabba the Hutt, which has the expected “callbacks” to movies that take place in the future, it’s fun to see the repetitive nature of this universe but with the twists that come from it all.
In Summary:
The opening installment here gives us a double-sized issue that’s simply strong and engaging throughout. With some well placed flashback panels to the films, nods to Vader’s own past in the prequels, and a forward looking approach to things, he really comes across as a character in a very big and fluid situation looking for any advantage he can get. It complements the films well, even if it alters your perceptions of many scenes in them, but that helps to bring a new life to those works as well. Kieron Gillen hits the right tone here as he moves us between several times and places, bringing in new and old characters – and giving some small characters a new life. The story sets the tone well for what they can do and I’m excited to see how they carry it forward. Lucky for Gillen, he’s got Salvador Larroca working with him here at the start. Larroca does a great job in bringing Vader to life without trying to emphasize the action side, which always looks wonky. Here, it’s about the imposing nature, the threat and filling in the tapestry of this universe. While we have familiar settings here, we get tastes of others starting to come into play well and I’m hopeful that both Gillen and Larroca get a chance to inject some of their own creativity in a huge way. If what they’ve done so far is any indication, it’s going to be one really grand ride.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: February 11th, 2015
MSRP: $4.99
