Yesterday saw the release of the epic final issue of the third volume of Star Wars: Darth Vader from Marvel Comics, and below are my recap and thoughts on this installment.
Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) #50 is divided into four individual (and all equally compelling) parts, each of which is written by Greg Pak and illustrated by a different artist– namely Raffaele Ienco, Paul Fry, Luke Ross, and Adam Gorham. The first chapter, entitled “Destroyer,” serves as the conclusion to the main storyline we’ve been following for the past 50 issues, culminating in a grand battle between the titular Dark Lord of the Sith and Emperor Palpatine himself. But first Vader must reclaim his Kyber-fueled weapons from Administrator Sly Moore, whose “Schism Imperial” has been striving to depose Palpatine and take the reins of the Empire. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker escapes Carathanax B. with the help of the M.A.R. Corps, Sabé the former Naboo handmaiden, and the Force-sensitive thief from Jedha, Warba Calip.
After a brief confrontation with Sabé, Vader commandeers Governor Tauntaza’s death machine and uses it to suck the life out of the planet and funneling it into himself so he can go up against Palpatine’s army of stormtroopers, Sith Eternal, and juvenile Summa-Verminoth creatures. There’s a pretty-awesome multi-page battle between these forces and then a one-on-one between the two Dark Lords, which of course concludes with Vader kneeling before Palpatine once again (how else would this comic lead into the events of Return of the Jedi?), much to the disappointment of everyone who’s rooting for there still to be some good left in Anakin Skywalker. Then in chapter 2, Ochi of Bestoon is tasked by Sly Moore– who apparently was secretly working for the emperor the whole time– with getting Vader’s groove back by pitting him up against a couple more of those deadly, Lovecraftian Summa-Verminoth, but this time without the help of those Kyber weapons.
In chapter 3, Sabé finds Ochi’s battered (but still living, as he must survive to kill Rey’s parents later on in the timeline) body and then sets off to briefly kidnap Princess Leia and test the rebel leader to make sure she wouldn’t join Vader’s side if given the opportunity. And lastly, Pak follows up on the story of Kitster and Wald– the two slaves from Tatooine who we first met in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace– as they return to their home planet and sell some of the energy rods they stole before escape the final battle we saw in the first chapter. They use this money to free the other slaves they were friends with as children– namely Amee, Melee, and Seek, though now that they’re reunited they all start to wonder whatever became of their pal Anakin who left decades earlier to become a Jedi.
There’s a semi-touching moment here at the very end after Ochi of Bestoon steals back the remaining energy rods for his master Lord Vader and reports that he overheard Wald, Kitster, and company talking about a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. Vader demonstrates a tiny bit of mercy as he allows his old friends from Tatooine to continue living, telling Ochi that there’s no need to pursue the lead any further, as Anakin is dead. What Pak conveys here in the final panel of his 50-issue run on Star Wars: Darth Vader is that there is indeed some good left in Anakin Skywalker, as the former Jedi’s son Luke will go on to prove definitively in Return of the Jedi. And– like issue #50 of Marvel’s flagship Star Wars title that came out last week– I was happy with how outside-the-box this conclusion turned out to be, opting to focus more on the fates of the supporting characters instead of simply prepping Vader for his role and position in ROTJ, though that is accomplished as well. Will there be more Darth Vader comics in the future? Like I’ve said before they’d have to go back in time again to fill in some of the other gaps in the character’s story, which is admittedly somewhat appealing, but for now I’m pretty satisfied with what we have. And ready to move on to the next exciting chapter of Star Wars storytelling in Marvel Comics.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #50 is available now wherever comic books are sold.