Darth Vader #19 Review

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The war on Shu-Torun comes to an end and raises questions.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Darth Vader #19. 

Darth Vader #19

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

The civil war on Shu-Torun is over. Darth Vader has aided Queen Trios is subduing the Ore Barons and the rebellion they have ensued on the mineral rich world. Baron Rubix has been executed by the Queen’s command and a young heir has been named his successor. Cylo has been exposed for his betrayal, and Darth Vader has successfully defended himself against the twin’s attack. Darth Vader #19 contains many important developments for the ongoing story, and it promises future developments in issues to come.

The resolution of the Civil War began in the previous issue. Ever the creepy droid, Triple Zero rallies Vader’s droid army to a victory over Baron Rubix’s forces. He may have inferred that his droids would be draining the blood of their enemies during the battle. Other than being creepy, it is unclear how that helped. Dead is dead after all. If there is something to Triple Zero’s designs to drain blood and use it to power machines, one can hope this story happens sooner rather than later. This story doesn’t seem to fit into Star Wars well, and it would be just as well if they got it over with. Once they have defeated the Baron’s ambush, the Imperial forces arrive at Rubix’s palace to assist the Queen in putting an end to the war.

As has been hinted in previous issues, Emperor Palpatine informs Darth Vader that there is a larger plan in play. After the situation on Shu-Torun has been resolved, Vader reports the success of his mission to the Emperor from an orbiting Star Destroyer. In response, the Emperor commands Vader to return to Coruscant (which is interesting because in the Legends universe, the Emperor had renamed the planet Imperial Center, but I digress) so that he may explain “everything.” This is no small development. From the early issues of this series, Vader has been broken down and reduced to serving a subservient role to Grand General Tagge. He had to compete with Cylo and his minions for his rightful place in the Imperial hierarchy. Along the way, he learned the truth about and identity of his son. He learned how to be a Sith. He plotted. He swore to take it all. And now, finally, the Emperor is letting him in on the larger scheme.

Cylo is still at large. His plan to work with the Ore Barons to rid the galaxy of Darth Vader has seemingly failed. He has lost another minion. Aiolin did not survive the ambush on Vader. It was not the Dark Lord that dispatched her though. After Darth Vader repelled their assault, the pathway above the lava pools separating the twins from Vader disintegrated. As Aiolin and Morit regrouped, Morit betrayed his sister and cast her into the lava. Morit fled, but Vader pulled Aiolin from the lava just for her to live long enough to give Darth Vader her memory circuit containing details of Cylo’s betrayal. It isn’t clear what exactly was on that memory chip. Did Aiolin know about Cylo’s involvement in Vader’s history that was hinted at in previous issues? Did Vader review everything on the chip before communicating with the Emperor? Was Cylo’s betrayal part of the Emperor’s larger scheme? It is hard to tell when things are cut and dried in Darth Vader. The Sith have a tendency to plot and not all is always as it seems.

With the conclusion of the Shu-Torun story arc, it appears that Queen Trios will be left behind, at least for now. A theme of this arc has been her education as a dictator. She is not a benevolent ruler. Vader taught her harsh lessons. Insurrection must be dealt with swiftly, and Queen Trios learned that lesson well. When she leads the Royalist forces against Rubix’s stronghold, she leads from the front. After Rubix is captured, she wasted no time in ordering his execution. It’s on the spot. Much in the same way Vader chose her to lead Shu-Torun, Trios appointed Rubix’s youngest daughter as his successor. Why? Young and naive is easier to control than older and wiser. That realization must have hurt her for her.

The one thing the Queen wanted from Vader before he departed was his approval as a good choice for Queen. In that she was seemingly disappointed. Vader is not fond of giving compliments or praise, and would only tell the Queen that there was no other choice. As Triple Zero notes, this statement could have been taken multiple ways. This is true. Vader could have meant that Trios was such an obvious, outstanding choice, that there was no choice but to choose her as Queen. However, Trios knows better. Much in the same way she chose Rubix’s successor, Vader chose her. She has grown into the role and has learned Vader’s lessons, but she will not be given Vader’s praise.

There is another plot thread that has not been wrapped up, and it is currently ongoing in the pages of Star Wars, the whereabouts of Dr. Aphra. Darth Vader still has bounty hunters searching for her, and he definitely wants her back. Dead or alive. As Vader prepares to return to Coruscant, Triple Zero informs him that Dr. Aphra has been found. However, the one that found Dr. Aphra isn’t a bounty hunter. Instead, the issue ends by revealing it is an old acquaintance of Vader’s that proves to be a bit more resourceful than originally thought.

Favorite Panel:

This issue deserves to have a panel that has a panel devoted to the story featured as the favorite panel. Anything featuring Queen Trios would have been fitting. She demonstrated tremendous growth from the time she was introduced in the Darth Vader Annual to the conclusion of the story arc. The problem is that it is difficult to pick a single panel. Larroca’s artwork depicting the Queen was fantastic. Because I can’t pick just one panel featuring the Queen, I won’t pick any. It is no secret that I am a big fan of artwork featuring the starships of Star Wars, and that is especially true when those panels are well illustrated. I was very excited to see a Star Destroyer at the end of this issue, and I have selected that as this issue’s favorite panel.