Darth Vader #11 Review

2.2K

This issue is all about honesty, suspicions, and a game of shadows. Read on to find out how and why.

Warning; This article contains spoilers for Darth Vader #11.

Darth Vader #11

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

Darth Vader issue eleven resumes the multi-faceted story of Vader attempting to thwart Inspector Thanoth’s investigation into the theft of Imperial credits from the Son-Tuul that Vader and Dr. Aphra orchestrated, Vader’s attempts to locate his missing son, and his attempt to consolidate his own forces so that he might reclaim his rightful position by the Emperor’s side. Aphra has returned to the information broker known as the Ante, and whose operations are on the Spire. Inspector Thanoth complicates matters when he informs Vader that he has discovered the local information broker, who is the Ante, and demands that they strike at once. Aphra learns of the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker from the Ante just as the Empire strikes the Spire. Aphra flees, but not before the Ante identifies her to Thanoth, not by name, as the party responsible for the theft of the Son-Tuul. Just as the Ante was about to name her, Vader subtly manipulates a blaster shot through the Force to strike and kill the Ante. As Thanoth and the stormtroopers move to capture Aphra, Vader out maneuvers them and intercepts her first. He is prepared to sacrifice his secret agent, but she manages to save herself by revealing she knew where Luke was, but would only reveal that information later. Vader lets her live and covers her escape. Aphra and the droids escape from the Spire only to run into a fleet of TIE Fighters causing her to retreat into the storms around the Spire. Thanoth promises it is only a matter of time until they have their hands on her…

So, the plot thickens. Thanoth is nearly openly challenging Darth Vader by the end of this issue. He now knows that Aphra was involved in the theft of the Son-Tuul (as an aside, the declaration of a dead man without corroborating evidence may not be admissible in a court of law, but this is the Empire, and they don’t appear to bother themselves with such trivialities). All that is left is for Thanoth to get his hands on the good doctor, and he appears to have her cornered in the dangerous storms that surround the Spire.

Vader had made it appear as if Aphra had set a trap, which allowed her to escape his clutches. Thanoth seems to see through that when declaring that he had set a trap of his own by precisely blockading the Spire to prevent escape. This is as good as telling Vader that he expected to find more than just the Ante as part of their raid. He almost openly taunts Vader by remarking that once they do have Aphra in their hands, “then we’ll see what she has to say, hmm?” At an earlier or later time, it is hard to imagine the terrifying Lord Vader suffering such insolence. At this point, he has no choice as he is subservient to Grande General Tagge, and Tagge wants Thanoth closely monitoring Vader. Still, this technique seems misused against Darth Vader. Someone who is fearful might be compelled to confess, but not a dark lord of the Sith.

The use of pregnant pauses by Darth Vader is a story telling device frequently used by Gillen to convey Vader’s reactions. Many times, they are in response to something someone said, and that person has no idea how much they have struck a nerve. For instance, in issue ten, while giving her report to Darth Vader, Dr. Aphra mentions how loyal the mortician was to Padmé, and how Padmé must have been a remarkable woman. Vader’s reaction was a long silent pause. It is a technique that must be included in the tool box for this character when writing Darth Vader, because he is incapable of demonstrating facial expressions behind his mask. Other than words, it is hard to express Vader’s reactions. A comic book does not benefit from having motion either. Therefore, those slow turns to the camera and out the window that worked so well in The Empire Strikes Back are not available here. However, this technique is perhaps getting overused to the point the reader can almost count on seeing one such panel per issue. Another such pause-reaction shot is used when Thanoth informs Vader that he has located the Ante, the very information broker that Aphra was about to visit.

Returning to Thanoth, it is unclear whether he had been honest with Vader or not. Issue ten concluded with what appeared to be a spy droid of some sort hovering over Vader’s shoulder as Aphra gave her report to him. At the conclusion of the meeting, Vader sent Aphra to get more information from the Ante. So, clearly, someone knew where Aphra was going. When Thanoth informs Vader that he has located the local information broker, Vader asks him how he did it. Thanoth’s response is that he analyzed the Dragon’s data, and posing as an interested party used it to secure a meeting with the Ante. However, that seems convenient. Vader may not know he was being spied on. Notice though that Thanoth was not looking at Vader in any panel when he was explaining this. Liars have a hard time looking anyone in the eye when they are lying. Of course it could have just been an artistic choice, but it may have been a tell by Thanoth that he was being untruthful. Did Vader pick up on it?

Also, consider this: it is possible that Thanoth is ultimately responsible for the Emperor learning about Luke Skywalker’s existence. Before his demise, the Ante tells Aphra there are other parties interested in Luke Skywalker’s whereabouts. Thanoth tells Darth Vader that he had set up a meeting with the Ante after examining the Dragon’s data. Thanoth’s mission has been to investigate the theft of the Son-Tuul, not investigate the existence of Luke Skywalker. If Thanoth was responsible for the spy droid at the end of the previous issue, then he would know to ask the Ante about Luke, and he could ultimately pass that information up the chain of command to the Emperor. Working against that theory is that the Emperor would have known about Vader’s knowledge at the time of The Empire Strikes Back, but that may have just been part of the overall design he gloats to Luke about in Return of the Jedi.

This arc of the Vader series has really begun to pick up. The game between Vader and Thanoth is coming to a head. At this point, it is clear that Thanoth knows that Vader was involved in the theft of the Imperial credits. It is also apparent that Vader either knows Thanoth knows or simply knows that he must destroy all the evidence that Thanoth might use against him, including possibly destroying Dr. Aphra. The finale of this series could likely put Vader in a far more powerful position than he started whether it was his intention or not. The art of Sith is in part an art of deception. Vader has had to work hard behind the scenes manipulating others, including the Empire, to achieve his goals. Thanoth’s investigation has only made him work that much harder, and if nothing else, taught him that no matter how good he thought his plans were, they were not good enough if an agent such as Thanoth could see through them. In contrast, only the shadow of Darth Sidious’s schemes were detectable by the Jedi and the Republic until Palpatine outed himself as a Sith to Anakin (sorry, spoilers, but that movie has been out for ten years). Perhaps Vader will emerge from this incident as a craftier Sith.

Favorite Panel:

Vader has been maneuvering under the watchful eye of Thanoth for several issues now. It is clear he resents having to report through an adjutant to Grand General Tagge. While he admires Thanoth’s skills, Vader considers Thanoth a nuisance with strong deductive capabilities. Therefore, it was amusing to see Vader throw a put down to Thanoth about his skills when the excited inspector demanded to know whether Vader’s strike team was assembled. That is this issue’s favorite panel.