“Soldiers for the Schism”
Creative Staff:
Story: Greg Pak
Art: Adam Gorham, Paul Fry
Colors: Federico Blee
Letterer: VCs Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
RISE OF THE MAR CORPS! DARTH VADER is picking up the pieces after the SCOURGE wreaked havoc. But could a REBEL SQUAD of cyborgs bring chaos to the DARK LORD of order?! Who are Vader’s new TROOPERS? Find out here!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With another event behind us and things still getting ever closer to the next film, the Darth Vader series moves into its next storyline while still dealing with the big-picture arc of the character. Greg Pak is doing what it needs to in working on Vader himself with a lot of it and hanging out with some interesting characters and new threats. With this issue, Adam Gorham steps in for the artwork once again – with Paul Fry as well – and delivers a pretty strong book overall as expected. His art style works well in carrying the tone and style so that it feels like a part of the big picture. Federico Blee handles the color design for their work here and that helps to bridge things together as well while also having some nicely stylish moments.
The further we get into this storyline the more I’m left feeling wary about it. The concept itself is fine but the execution of it has created this kind of mood, which is probably intentional, of not being able to trust anyone with what they’re doing. But, more specifically, it’s created a distrust as to understanding what the goal is here because nobody is being truthful. Vader and Palpatine are working their own missions and are aware of what the other is doing so it’s kind of in the open but not quite a challenge yet it is. Moore is standing amid it with the schism and it’s not clear just how much Palpatine knows but the idea is that he’s all-knowing most of the time so you basically bake in that he does. So it’s like a super powerful cat toying with a meek mouse – and that mouse is Darth Vader. Again, I like the idea of a schism within the Empire where a group has realized that Palpatine is more harmful toward what they believe the Empire should be, and after twenty-plus years, this is all that a lot of them know.
This issue focuses mostly on a former Imperial named Fabarian that has seen a lot in his years and ended up kick out of the ISB only to end up in a data processing role. A bad ticket got him to be booted from that by a Baron but this is all part of the master plan to get close to him as Fabarian is working for Moore and used the chance to see the Baron to get data that Vader and the others needed. That it revolves around a new model battle droid is a bit unnerving but you can see how Vader would use this information to bolster his own forces on top of other things he’s acquired. We see this unfold in small ways across it but the varied cast we get here that haven’t been formed well enough combined with the larger game Moore is playing just leaves me unsettled.
In Summary:
There’s always an element of “nothing matters” because we know how this story ends but you can really enjoy a good expansion on the period between. And I like the idea here but the execution hasn’t worked for me because it goes back to the story between Vader and Palpatine that has dominated the book for quite a long time now. It’s not a bad rivalry to focus on considering they’re Sith and all, but it’s been the totality of things outside of some brief excursions into event books. It feels like we’ve not gotten enough shorter or standalone Vader stories that aren’t part of a vast conspiracy and that’s just made everything too big too regularly.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics
Release Date: March 13th, 2024
MSRP: $4.99
