Comics Commentary: Darth Vader 7, 8

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Dennis reviews Parts I and II of  Darth Vader Book II: Shadows and Secrets.

This review and commentary contains general spoilers for issues #7 and #8 of Darth Vader.

Darth Vader #7, #8

Writer: Kieron Gillen | Artist: Salvador Larroca | Colorist: Edgar Delgado | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna | Cover Artists: Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado

Issues seven and eight of Darth Vader start the second book of the series. While book one of the series was often closely integrated with the events of the core Star Wars title to tell the story of how Darth Vader learned of the secret identity of the rebel pilot that destroyed the Death Star, and how Vader discovered the Emperor’s secret plans, the second book now focuses on what Darth Vader chooses to do with that knowledge as he builds his own base of power, to not only reclaim his rightful spot as the Emperor’s heir and right hand, but to perhaps someday challenge the Emperor himself.

Fresh off of learning the identity of the mysterious rebel pilot that destroyed the Death Star in issue six, Darth Vader, accompanied by Dr. Aphra, BeeTee and Triple Zero, have returned to Tatooine to investigate the Lars homestead and Ben Kenobi’s hut. Having found nobody at either place, Vader learns through the Force that Luke had fended off Boba Fett and that he was indeed strong in the Force. Vader instructs Dr. Aphra to wait, and that he will have a mission for her. In the meantime, Vader sees to a raid on a smuggling operation on the planet Son-Tuul. Upon completion of the raid, Vader has his troops load a small fortune of ingots onto a cruiser for the benefit of the Hutts and the Empire. Nearby, Aphra approaches a group of bounty hunters including Bossk, Beebox, IG-90, and Black Krssantan about hijacking the shipment from Son Tuul, leaving the reader to wonder whether Aphra has betrayed Vader.

Dr. Aphra turns out to be devious indeed. After tempting the bounty hunters in issue seven with the promise of a big score, she leads her motley crew in an a raid of the Imperial Cruiser Son-Tuul’s Pride near Anthan Prime, which is hauling the ingots that Vader had secured from the cartel. The raid is staged to look like the result of a collision with an asteroid field. Dr. Aphra, with the assistance of BT-1, Triple Zero, and Black Krrsantan, dupes the rest of the Bounty Hunters (Bossk, IG-90, and Beebox) into believing that their haul was not as large as anticipated. Having divided up the spoils with the bounty hunters, Aphra turns over the rest of the haul to Darth Vader. After taking stock of their progress, Vader sends Aphra on a mission to confirm information with a threat that she should report back within a month or else. Vader then returns to Grand General Tagge’s command ship, where he and Cylo-V’s minions have been summoned to receive their orders. New plot lines are set in motion as the Astarte twins are given the task of rooting out the Plasma Devils, a rogue organization causing trouble for the Empire, Karbin is given the task of apprehending the rebel pilot that destroyed the Death Star, and Vader is assigned the task of finding and punishing the thieves that stole…the cargo of the Son-Tuul’s Pride. Furthermore, Vader is assigned a new adjutant to replace the recently deposed Oon-ai.

Read alone, issue seven was not particularly engaging. The individual events portrayed therein (Vader’s investigation on Tatooine, the raid on Son-Tuul, and Aphra’s engagement with the Bounty Hunters), while interesting, do not culminate in a story that is particularly intriguing unto itself. However, when paired with issue eight, seven becomes a far better issue. The only scenes that retain a transitional feel are the opening scenes of Vader investigating the Lars homestead and Obi-Wan’s hut. The middle and final act of the issue lead nicely into the events of issue eight.

The issue seven cover was very nostalgic. It brings to mind one of the early teaser posters for The Phantom Menace in which Anakin Skywalker cast Vader’s shadow against a hut on Tatooine. Beyond that, it was ominous and symbolic. The Lars homestead is charred and has smoke rising from it. Vader’s shadow looms against it. Although he didn’t know it at the time, he was responsible for the carnage that ensued there after he commanded stormtroopers to find the droids that has escaped from the Tantive IV. The opening panels also reflect the mood established by the cover. Is Vader perhaps a twinge regretful for the death of Owen and Beru? His response to Aphra’s declaration that the homestead has been dead exhibits a little hesitation. Was he staring into the suns because he was composing himself behind his mask? It will be interesting to see in future issues if Vader reflects on this moment much the way he has reflected on past events with Padmé, and whether any feelings of regret or longing emerge.

It was somewhat surprising that he did not reflect on his mother in these panels. After all, Shmi was buried at the Lars homestead after Anakin retrieved her from the Tusken Raiders. Speaking of whom, it was probably best that Luke in issue six, and Vader in issue one, had scared them off.

Gillen did a wonderful job creating enough ambiguity as to Aphra’s motivations at the end of the issue that it was unclear whether the good doctor was actually betraying Vader and the Empire, or whether she was carrying out the delicate task that Vader mentioned earlier in the issue. With a few exceptions in earlier issues, Aphra has maintained a fairly level demeanor throughout this series regardless of the situation. Invading Geonosis or Cylo-IV’s headquarters? Not a problem for her. Escaping from the traps on the Quarantine World of III? Piece of cake. The only thing that really rattled her was activating her homicidal droids BT-1 and Triple Zero. Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable to believe Aphra could casually suggest a ploy to rob the Empire of a fortunate to a gang of blood thirsty bounty hunters.

Gillen and his crew maintain the illusion that Aphra was working for herself in the opening pages of issue eight. However, it is soon revealed that the heist was carefully and expertly done to 1) make the Empire believe the lost contraband from issue seven was the result of an accident, and 2) if the Empire did discover the theft, misdirect them from discovering the identity of the thieves. This becomes key when General Tagge assigns a new adjutant, Inspector Thanoth, to Vader. Whether Tagge knows that Vader had and Aphra had anything to do with the heist is unclear, but it is clear that Thanoth has his suspicions after Vader is assigned to investigate the theft of the contraband from the Pride of Son-tuul. The chess match between Vader and Tagge for supremacy in the Emperor’s New Order has resumed, and both Tagge and Vader have put their pawns in action.

Some unexpected development for a supporting character occurs in these issue. Black Krrsantan gets a fair amount of attention. First, the other bounty hunters note in issue seven that while most wookiees have to be captured and sold to the fighting pits, Krrsantan is the only wookiee they know that kills to get into these contests. Second, Krrsantan has a mysterious past that even he doesn’t understand. Aphra has promised to help him discover who was responsible for “cutting him up.” One other thing is clear: Krrsantan is an outcast from his own kind, and he delights in getting revenge on other wookiees. Gillen and Marvel have planted the seeds for future stories with this character.

One other piece of speculation: Tagge assigned the task of locating and retrieving the pilot responsible for destroying the Death Star to Karbin, the Mon Calamari that has been altered to become a cyborg in the style of General Grievous. There is a good chance that Karbin will encounter Luke in the pages of Star Wars. However, there is another possibility. Jason Fry, author of the Servants of the Empire series, has a new young adult novel, titled The Weapon of a Jedi, set to release on Force Friday in which Luke will have a duel with “a strange new villain.” It has been reported in some places that this will be Luke’s first lightsaber duel. Could it be that Luke encounters Karbin not in the pages of Star Wars, but rather in Fry’s new story?

Issue Seven Best Panel:

Larroca continues to impress with the quality of the art issue in and issue out in the Vader series. This issue is no different. As usual, there are so many good panels to pick from, but my favorite is the first panel after the opening crawl. Vader is perched on the a rise outside the Lars homestead staring off at Tatooine’s twin suns—the very same place that Luke stared into the suns in A New Hope. One can almost hear John Williams’ Force theme.

Issue Eight Best Panel:

The art in issue eight was steady. While all the panels were generally good, there were none that really stood out above the rest as far as the quality of the art is concerned. There was an interesting stylistic choice made when Aphra and the bounty hunters began their raid on the Son-Tuul’s Pride. Their point of entry was on the ventral side of the ship. In the Star Wars universe, where capital ships typically travel as if they were oriented by gravity, this means the group was “upside down.” So, Larroca depicted the group upside down in their space suits in first panel of the raid on the Imperial Cruiser. Caramanga took the panel one step farther and even lettered the dialogue upside down. It was a nice touch that added a little whimsy to the issue.