SPOILER JELENA'S REVIEW OF DARTH VADER #24

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Story by Kieron Gillen
Art by Salvador Larroca
Colors by Edgar Delgado


• Vader is lost in his inner mindscape, lost in visions of the Force!
• Is he truly more machine now than man?
• Or can he fight his way back from the brink?


When we left Darth Vader at the end of the last issue, Cylo has disabled his mechanical suit and seemingly incapacitated him. Cylo is certainly under the impression that he defeated Vader. Even without the rest of the Saga, we could have known that he was going to regret that illusion.

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Vader finds himself reliving events from his past: the duel on Mustafar, the duel on the Death Star and his last encounter with Padmé.

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While part of him that used to be Anakin desired death and blamed Obi-Wan for not killing him, Vader has no such desires. In his eyes, Obi-Wan made the mistake when he left him alive, allowing Vader to get revenge and rob him of his own life. Interestingly enough, a part of him still regrets killing his old master. Anakin and Vader duel. Vader is victorious and leaves the scene while Anakin screams “I hate you!”.

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The final encounter is with Padmé who urges him to turn away from his path and stay with her. Vader wins again by choking Force apparition as he did in the real life. Vader effectively rejects his old life again and wakes from the Force vision. Using the Force and strength of will, Vader raises again much to Cylo’s short-lived surprise.

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After Cylo-V’s death, another clone – Cylo-VI – wakes up and escapes the Executor. Vader reports to the Emperor who tells him to tie the loose ends and return quickly because they have much to discuss.

With Vader in pursuit of Cylo-VI, the Emperor gets the unexpected visitor – Doctor Aphra.

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There is so much to unpack in this short issue. First, Anakin side of Vader isn’t completely gone. It seems that, while Anakin’s presence is still weak, he is still part of Vader’s personality. It is hard to say if Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé are simply Force visions or are the regret, self-hatred and grief emotions that Vader still feels deep down. In any case, it seems that Anakin appears whenever Vader is weak and he has to fight to rid himself of emotions that are not hate or rage. Effectively, it seems he has to kill part of himself over and over again.

It is interesting to experience the Force internally and from the Sith side. With the way Story Group explores the Force and its influences in the new canon, hopefully we will see more of it in the future.

Like with the previous cyborgs, I hoped that Cylo’s end would be more gruesome, but it seems that effectiveness is Vader’s motto. But, when Cylo-VI woke up, I threw my hands up in the air. Are you kidding me?! How many of these there are? I have never cheered for Vader more in my life.

I cannot make up my mind if Aphra is brilliant or utterly insane, though I am leaning towards the latter. Think about it, what does she have to offer Palpatine? She can disclose the fact that Vader learned of the existence of his son, Luke Skywalker, as well as everything else he did since Palpatine brought cyborgs into the picture. I find it hard to imagine that Palpatine would be grateful and even if, by some miracle, he was, Vader will not react to betrayal well. Why she didn’t take the opportunity to run and take Leia up on her offer, I would never know. I hoped otherwise, but I am afraid that we will see the end of Aphra in the last issue.

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I can’t help it, I adore Larroca’s art. He always draws very naturalistic and expressive faces, but the likeness to the characters from the movies was incredible. Delgado’s colors make Larroca’s pencil come to life – Vader was never so badass as emerging from the lava.

We are coming to the end of Darth Vader run. While comic had its ups and downs like most comics do, it was a genuine pleasure to follow the Dark Lord of the Sith on his infamous adventures. In addition to little insight into Vader’s mind and his relationship to Palpatine, Kieron Gillen also gave us several new, unforgettable characters: Doctor Aphra, Triple Zero and Bee-Tee.

Let’s hope that Darth Vader ends with the bang, because both the character and the story deserve that. The end comes in…


THE FINAL ISSUE:

Darth Vader 25 Variant Cover by Salvador Larroca

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It has all built up to this! Vader’s trials against Cylo’s creations! His machinations against the Emperor! His covert missions with Doctor Aphra and her murderous droids! All comes to fruition in an oversized 40-page issue by the stellar team of Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca! You won’t want to miss this ending!

Happy reading!

 

I see what you did there.

And I wholeheartedly agree.

 

Technically, you were not wrong. He initially used the Force and then, after killing Cylo, activated the button. I don't think even Vader could maintain the suit function with the Force permanently. In that case, he would survive Endor.

I don't think Vader would overlook Aphra, I just think getting back in Palpatine's favor and therefore in power is his priority. I'm sure he'll get back to Aphra in time, that is, if Palpatine doesn't end her first.

I like the word Sithy. It should be in a dictionary.

 

They are on the same ship, but I figure if Vader could power suit with the Force he could feel one pesky space archeologist. Cylo deactivated only the suit, I don't know how he planned to deal with Palpatine - so, so arrogant.

 

I am afraid we will have to wait longer:

http://www.newsarama.com/30519-darth-vader-han-solo-more-star-wars-titles-delayed.html