A new tool surfaces for Vader to use.
Creative Staff:
Story: Charles Soule
Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Daniele Orlandini
Colors: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
What They Say:
“FORTRESS VADER” continues! The Tale of LORD MOMIN! Plans are drawn…a foundation is laid…and darkness rises on MUSTAFAR!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the series closing in on its finale, this arc is definitely an interesting place to try and bring things to a close. Charles Soule has given us some good material in how Vader essentially acquired Mustafar and the why of it between him and Palpatine while Camuncoli and Orlandini have delivered some really good material here with fun layouts and a look at this dark and foreboding planet. Giving us a look at some of what exists here in the present and in the past is intriguing and the artwork side of it has been able to work with some fun concepts. This installment expands on all of it well while being a mostly self-contained side story but it serves the bigger picture well.
Vader’s discovery of what was going on with the architects was interesting previously, as was seeing their designs, but the reveal of the helmet and what it represents is something a bit new if familiar to other works. Having the being known as Momin infused within the helmet, or at least an echo of him, provides for a good story between him and Vader as Vader sees him as a useful tool for his own ambitions. Realizing where the design came from and learning that it’s a key to tap into the dark side energies of this world, it will allow Vader’s own projects to move forward – projects which one suspects are related to his true love on some level as well as likely dealing with Palpatine. But there’s obviously a level of distrust that exists between the two simply because that’s how the Sith work and I like that kind of baseline understanding.
The bulk of the issue focuses on Momin as we see him in some distant past where as a child he was of a cruel nature, disassembling the family cat and eventually creating some disturbing pieces of artwork that are never shown. The idea of a psychopath at a young age that will grow into something dangerous isn’t new but the almost montage-style approach works well here as he’s imprisoned for some time but his reputation truly spread out into the galaxy. Showing how a Dark Side user named Shaa found him and took him on, only to be betrayed by him, is what one assumes the story of most Sith are like just with different trappings. But having Momin narrate this works really well as we get into his head a bit and understand the scale of his own designs, and how he slowly but surely ended up in this position that he’s in now. It’s a good standalone piece overall but also factors in, as mentioned above, to the creation of what Vader wants here for his own projects. It’s a bit blunt in some ways but it still serves as a good expansion.
In Summary:
There is an endless wealth of stories to tell prior to the prequels and I’m hopeful that things will start loosening up on that soon so that we can get beyond what we usually read about in terms of characters and settings. Charles Soule gets to do that in brief here to good effect as Momin’s story is a familiar one to how the Sith operate but it delivers a look at a darkly disturbing operative. I like the way that it colors the world that Vader is taking hold of and the implications down the line and have hopes that there’s more neat things to come in all of this before the series ends. It’s a good standalone tale that enhances and adds and that’s what I wanted out of the run.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 17th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
