The balance is further upset.
Creative Staff:
Story: Charles Soule
Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Daniele Orlandini
Colors: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
“FORTRESS VADER” – PART 5 Darkness rises above MUSTAFAR as the brutal designs of LORD MOMIN begin to take shape. But the planet’s inhabitants cannot take this desecration lightly, and shape plans of their own.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Fortress Vader storyline has had some unusual movements to it in how it’s come about but Charles Soule has worked a creative way to tap into the past without really tying the creation to anything too specific. The exploration of its creation has been fun and seeing how Giuseppe Camuncoli and Daniele Orlandini have brought it to life has been a real treat. This one doesn’t quite get into montage material with the various designs for it but what we do get is really great with how it’s all presented and as we get to the final one.
Vader’s work on Mustafar has him intent on really tapping into the power that exists here and has been hidden all this time. His path and reasons are what drives him to such lengths and watching as we go through the construction of the fortress and then testing out the dark interior is exciting. That it doesn’t work and has to be gone through with several iterations is where it feels just a little odd as one can imagine that there’s a great passage of time for a lot of this get accomplished that isn’t clear. His work with Momin really does create a kind of surreal aspect to all of this as Vader is putting a lot of faith into his designs working. So when Vader does reach his limit and has his insistence that it must work I love the little change to it in how Momin is thrown onto one of the Stormtroopers for his physical presence to get it all done.
The accessing of the powers of this world isn’t without its cost, however, and we see that with the local sentients that are struggling with the result of it. The world is even more on fire than it was before and that’s causing various groups to strike at the Fortress and those around it. They’re ineffective overall in these smaller numbers but it’s all building up to what’s to come as they sense that the endfires are getting to a level where it has to be dealt with. I wish we had a better connection to these locals in order to understand their story more and what they’ve been through but the time is given over more to the montage pieces and some really great stuff in seeing Vader attempting to open the door. With this being similar to the one that the Emperor has access to that we saw in Star Wars Rebels, which has you really wondering what Momin’s motives are, it’s thoroughly engaging.
In Summary:
I’m lamenting the impending end of this series as Charles Soule has worked some great expansion in the Star Wars universe through it as we get to know the Sith and their machinations more. Vader is establishing more of himself in this arc in a way that really cements his growth in power as he’s reaching for things that the Emperor is capable of. At the same time, it’s all driven by something far more personal than what Palpatine is operating under and that colors it in these early days of the dark lord of the Sith. This installment works great and I love that it looks like the artists were supplied with prototype designs for the Fortress to use here as the various failed designs of Momin’s. It’s a nice little nod that lets us look at what could have been in a fun way.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: November 14th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
