“The Shadow in the Fire”
Creative Staff:
Story: Greg Pak
Art: Raffaele Ienco
Colors: Carlos Lopez
Letterer: VCs Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
The shadow in the fire! For decades, Sabé, Handmaiden of Padmé, schemed to assassinate Darth Vader, whom she believed murdered her queen but Sabé has learned Vader’s greatest secret, and now she fights at his side, believing that someday, she may prove there is still good in him. What happens when the Handmaiden finally comes face-to-face with the Emperor, who knows all of her secrets? The Queen’s Shadow enters the crucible! Will Vader let her burn?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The current storyline is one that certainly makes a lot of sense to be happening amid other events between films and but it’s also feeling like it’s eating itself with all the characters involved. Greg Pak has made it interesting to see how it flows thanks to those that are aligned around Vader, but what’s holding it together for me is the use of Sabe and how this installment finally reveals itself. Raffaele Ienco continues his strong run on the book with this issue and we get some solid stuff with the cast involved and just the way he handles Vader using the Force. Just the overall style of movement and intensity works well and Lopez’s color design also works really well, especially in the more Imperial aspects of this installment, making for a solid design overall.
One of the things that’s definitely delivering for me in this storyline is the use of Sabe. While some aspects of it aren’t clicking completely, it’s enjoyable watching her trying to navigate this world. So seeing her thinking she’s making inroads on turning Vader against Palpatine, or just trying to get him to remember who he really was, it all turns upside down when she goes with him to confront the Emperor only to realize that Vader has brought her to him instead. It’s a little funky due to the space considerations of a single issue but it ends up working out well as she shows her earned skills over the years in dealing with some of the guards and then realizing that her only course of survival is to continue to work under Vader. You know/hope that she’s still trying to find a way to honor Padme after all these years and knowing her origin from the novel side helps. It definitely puts her in a hard place to operate and to deal with her own morals.
That comes clear when they’re sent to the world of Skako Minor where the Tech Union is making waves again, reminding us of how Vader killed one of the leaders at the end of the Clone Wars. With a grandson now trying to reclaim power away from the Empire here, the team is sent in to deal with it and that puts Sabe in the difficult place of working as Vader does, which is brute force first and then figuring things out. It unfolds well as he forces her to reckon with her belief system but it’s just the opening moment of this story. The book also wants to deal with Ochi a bit as he continues to try to find out more about the mission he’s been sent on that has taken him to Naboo where he’s been captured. It is, amusingly, the rest of the Handmaidens though none are formally named here, making me really interested in seeing what comes next and who has managed to survive until this day.
In Summary:
This storyline has done well overall to work some small nudges in getting Vader to realize once again that the Emperor is always toying with him and humiliating him in his own way. But also that he’s completely bound to his master. This helps to set him seeing a real chance at change by bringing Luke on down the line to bring about his vision of order to the galaxy but also why he won’t sacrifice his son to Palpatine. I really liked the moments of knowing how Sabe stands next to Palpatine and both have memories of Naboo decades earlier in a very different context. It’s another nicely done bridging moment that loops people back in that we never thought would have an impact in this era of storytelling.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: October 19th, 2022
MSRP: $3.99
