Darth Vader #13 Review (Vader Down Part 2)

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In the second installment of Vader Down: How far will the Princess go to destroy the Dark Lord of the Sith?

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Darth Vader #13, part 2 of Vader Down.

Darth Vader #13 (Vader Down Part 2)

Writer: Kieron Gillen | Artist: Salvador Larroca | Colorist: Edgar Delgado | Story: Jason Aaron & Kieron Gillen | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna | Cover Artist: Mark Brooks

Vader Down continues in the latest episode of Darth Vader. To recap, the Dark Lord of the Sith has been stranded on Vrogas Vas, and the Rebellion has mobilized to take advantage of the opportunity to destroy him while he is isolated from the Empire. However, the Rebellion has nothing that can compare with the power of the Dark Side, and Vader quickly turns the tables on the Rebellion. Princess Leia Organa, with Han Solo in tow, arrives on Vrogas Vas obsessed with destroying the Dark Lord. Meanwhile, Han learns that Luke has crashed on the planet as well, and over the Princess’s objections, sets out to save his friend. Dr. Aphra, concerned that Vader will believe she sent him into a trap, races to the planet for she fears Vader’s anger more than the Rebel army. She and her droids prove their guile and cunning by springing a trap on Luke.

After a first reading, this book doesn’t make as big an impression as part one of Vader Down. However, a second reading with expectations appropriately adjusted, reveals quite a bit about the characters of the galaxy far, far away. Darth Vader dominates the action, and he lives up to his reputation as a destructive force (no pun intended); Leia exhibits a strong revenge motive; Han Solo proves he is loyal to a fault, and Luke still has a hard time focusing on the task before him.

In confronting the Rebels, Vader proves just how lethal he can be. When presented with a demand to surrender from the Rebels, Vader responds with instructions on how to surrender. In un-Vader-like fashion, he offers to spare their lives if they lay down their weapons. The scene starts off well enough, but it leads to my biggest criticism of this book in that some panels seem wasted here. Instead of witnessing Vader combat the Rebels, readers are largely treated to close up shots of Vader’s saber that are unclear. This is followed by another close up shot of Vader’s saber with smoke and explosions in the background. More panels with fire, smoke, and dialogue, but no characters in them at all follow. The series does break its streak of the silent Vader reaction shot.

Leia is obsessed with destroying Darth Vader. She is willing to commit any amount of resources to destroying him, and she is even willing to sacrifice Luke if necessary. On the one hand, she is committed to the Rebellion’s war against the Empire. On the other, she seems to be driven just as much by revenge. When Han Solo reminds her that Luke is still out there, before she responds that Luke would understand, she first brings up the opportunity for justice, which is just a disguised revenge motive. She insists that this may be the only chance for justice the Rebellion will get. Vader, afterall, was present for the destruction of Alderaan and had committed countless crimes against the galaxy. Note that she does not argue this is an opportunity for the Rebellion to strike a major victory that will enable them to win the war and restore freedom to the galaxy. In this way, she is very much the daughter of Anakin Skywalker. However, she also plays the part of Obi-wan Kenobi by seemingly favoring duty in pursing Vader over emotion in rescuing a friend—that is until you realize the duty she espouses is motivated by revenge. Another interesting note: Leia also has the rank of Commander. She is referred to as Commander Organa by the Rebels as they track down Darth Vader.

While Leia is giving into some Dark Side motivations, Han Solo stays true to himself. He proves, once again, that he is loyal to his friends. As Leia exhibits her desire for revenge, Han is arguing for rescuing Luke. It doesn’t matter to Han Solo how much each might owe the other, Luke is his friend, and he has crashed on the planet. He is out there somewhere, and Han looks after his friends, even if his loyalty gets him into trouble that he would rather not get into.

Luke’s character development has taken a step backwards in the second issue of Vader Down. In the previous issue, Luke was brimming with confidence. He didn’t hesitate to ram Darth Vader’s fighter. After crashing on Vrogas Vas, he set aside his personal interests in pursuing Jedi knowledge in order to aid in the fight against Darth Vader. However, all that is put aside in this issue. Luke’s first appearance has him sliding back into the attitude that everything is his fault. The Rebels are being slaughtered because he failed to hit Darth Vader straight on. Never mind the fact that Luke’s actions probably saved all the pilots that Vader was slaughtering in space. Luke is then distracted by the very temple that he was marching past in the previous issue. Whatever happened to focusing on the task at hand? Yoda’s words that long he had watched Luke, and “all his life he has looked away to the horizon” and that his mind was never on what he was doing ring very true here.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t interesting developments at the temple. Luke is certain it was a Jedi temple. However, he feels cold there. In the Star Wars galaxy, that usually means something of some importance to the dark side of the Force has occurred. Whether this particular temple was a Sith temple, a Jedi temple attacked by Sith (there were lightsaber markings), or the locus for some other significant event is unclear. Luke does experience a vision in which he believes he sees Obi-wan Kenobi and his father though. Whether he is correct is hard to tell as the vision is blurry to the reader. I can’t help but wonder if this scene is tied to the upcoming Obi-wan & Anakin series arriving in 2016.

In all, the story continues to shine. Although more action between Vader and the Rebellion would have been preferred, there was plenty of great scenes featuring the heroes of the saga. There is a lot of potential for character growth in this series. Aphra continued to excel and display ingenuity in this series. For the moment, she presents Vader’s clearest option for escape in this book.

Favorite Panel:

Despite the criticism of the art depicting Vader’s earlier fight with the Rebellion, Larroca’s work continues to be quite good. My favorite panel is the final page of this book. A familiar looking protocol droid issues dire sounding threats while a rather confident looking Dr. Aphra looks on confidently from behind. There is just something about the tone of this panel that caught my attention.