Darth Vader #21 Review

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In Darth Vader #21, Dr. Aphra fights her own droids and Darth Vader takes the fight to Cylo.

Warning: This issue contains spoilers for Darth Vader #21.

Darth Vader #21

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

“Darth Vader, only you could be so bold.” Princess Leia once admonished the Dark Lord of the Sith thus so after he had captured and boarded her ship in the famous opening sequence to A New Hope. In many ways, “boldness” could be one of the most appropriate adjectives that one might apply to Darth Vader. Boldness has been a way of life for Darth Vader that started in his former life as Anakin Skywalker. Whether he was jumping out of speeding hover cars, podracing, or charging head first into a droid manufacturing facility, Anakin took bold and dramatic steps to achieve his objectives.

The “boldness” that came to characterize Anakin Skywalker has carried over to his second life as Sith Lord in the pages of Darth Vader. The latest example of such behavior is seen in Darth Vader #21. Darth Vader has been successful very successful throughout the course of this series. After being subordinated to Grand General Tagge and relegated to the role of a blunt instrument among many, he has carefully laid plans to reclaim his rightful place by the Emperor’s side. He has recruited his own minions and created his own army. He has enlisted aid from the underworld and discovered secrets the Emperor would rather he not know. He has learned to plot as a Sith, and he is now taking the bold steps necessary to one day supplant Darth Sidious as the Sith Master.

Most recently, he has settled the civil war on Shu-Torun and outed Dr. Cylo and his minions as traitors to the Empire. As a reward for his loyalty and success, the Emperor has restored Darth Vader to his rightful place as his apprentice and heir to the Empire. Two important tasks remain: destroy Dr. Cylo and his lackeys; and retrieve or eliminate Dr. Aphra before she can reveal any secrets to the Rebellion.

With respect to Dr. Aphra, Vader has dispatched Triple Zero and BT-1 to the Cosmatanic Steppes. Dr. Aphra has been hiding out there after her escape from Sunspot Prison. She has become a regular at a local cantina where she has accumulated a large bar tab. The bartender is happy to trade drinks for droids she has managed to salvage but notes that he can tell she is hiding from something. First, she is drinking heavily. Second, she hasn’t even given him her name. Without explicitly saying so, Gillen has told us a couple of things. For one, Aphra is most certainly afraid. She doesn’t know if you can return to Darth Vader of if such a move is even wise. Perhaps Princess Leia’s departing warning about Vader has sunk in. For another thing, she isn’t even sure what to do with herself.

Up until she encountered Darth Vader, she had been a brash adventurer. She would locate droids, weapons, and other technological treasures and then turn them into profit. In some ways, her boldness found a kindred spirit with Darth Vader. She was fearless. Not so much anymore. She once was prepared to die in service to Darth Vader. It was better to have her blood spilled across the pages of history rather than end up as an unnoticed footnote. Now, she doesn’t seem so sure. She is disillusioned. Perhaps her journey has spoiled the crusade. She doesn’t seem to be a believer any longer.

Triple Zero, BT-1, and their army of droids catch up to her at the settlement at the Cosmatanic Steppes. Triple Zero proves to be as results driven as ever. He spares little time or patience for finding Dr. Aphra, and once he is certain she is there, he unleashes his droids to cut through the settlement until she is killed. However, Dr. Aphra knows droids better than Triple Zero hopes she does. She is, after all, one of his masters. Her orders to stand down are ignored because he has priority orders from his other master, Darth Vader. Aphra knows better, and she inquires exactly what Vader’s orders were. Reluctantly, Triple Zero reveals that his orders were to capture Aphra and bring her to the Executor, and failing that, execute her. With that clarification, Aphra surrenders and disappoints the blood thirsty droid.

As for Dr. Cylo, Vader first has to find him. In order to do so, he becomes the Vader portrayed in The Empire Strikes Back. First, he needs to find Cylo and his pod of cybernetic space whales. To do so, he locates Professor Thlu-Ry, a colleague of Cylo’s that knows Cylo’s location. Under duress, the Professor quickly reveals the location of Cylo’s pod/fleet. For his loyalty, Darth Vader has him executed for “fraternizing with a traitor.” This seems harsh. There is no evidence that Thlu-Ry knew Cylo was a traitor or that he was going to betray the Empire. There is no evidence he was actually in league with Cylo. Vader had him executed to create fear and send a message to all Imperial officers. The rule of the Sith is absolute. Take steps not to disappoint them.

Vader takes his Star Destroyer, the Devastator, to the Crushank Nebulae to confront Cylo. From his TIE Advanced, Vader leads an attack on the pod of cybernetic space whales that serve as Cylo’s fleet and home base. One of the whales breaks from the pod and unleashes an ionic attack that disables the Devastator. This is a covering action for the rest of the fleet as they move to go to hyperspace and escape. Vader’s boldness prevents Cylo from escaping his clutches. As the pod is preparing to enter hyperspace, Vader blasts a hole in one of the cybernetic components and flies his ship through the hole with only a moment to spare. A bold move indeed, and one that separates him from his support.

Aboard Cylo’s flagship, Vader is confronted by the Voidgazer. Vader challenges her and asks whether she believes she can truly hope to defeat a Sith. She replies that she does not have to, and through science, she will win. The same cybernetic technology that was used to enhance a Trandoshan in an earlier issue is adaptable to any organic life. The Voidgazer then releases Cylo’s latest creation on Vader, an enhanced Rancor monster, as the issue concludes.

Darth Vader #21 continues a trend that began a few issues ago. Darth Vader has begun exuding confidence. As the series has progressed, he become less boastful and more demonstrative. By that, I mean he talks less about what he can do and just does it. When Cylo’s fleet was about to escape, Vader’s pilots declared they were mistaken and simply flew his TIE into Cylo’s ship. He says what will be done. He tells Professor Thlu-Ry that he will give Vader the information he wants, and he gets it. He spends little time professing the power of the dark side. He lets his presence do that for him.

Vader appears to have Cylo cornered. With four issues left, it would not be surprising to see each of Cylo’s minions fall at the pace of one per issue. It would seem likely that issue twenty-five, which concludes the series, will serve to tie up loose ends. Dr. Aphra’s fate seems to be the most open-ended issue that remains for the series. This issue does well to set the tone for the forthcoming conclusion.

Darth Vader #21 Favorite Panel

Larroca’s art continues to shine in Darth Vader #21. One of the things I appreciated was the care given to drawing an elder Twi-Lek. The Twi-lek was found at the settlement on the Cosmatanic Steppes. This character was not significant. It could have been anyone, and it could have been a character of any age. Regardless, Larroca illustrated a Twi-lek that was an old man, which is probably something he hasn’t had to do before and may never need to do again. This seemingly small element adds depth to the galaxy and it should be appreciated. As for my favorite panel, I have picked a shot of Aphra sitting at the bar in the cantina. She looks beat. It isn’t hard to imagine why. She was captured by Rebels after risking everything to help rescue Darth Vader during the Vader Down series. She was his most trusted advisor at the time and was instrumental in some of his successes. Yet, he didn’t do anything to rescue her. In addition, Leia’s parting words in issue twenty were an ominous warning that Vader would dispose of her when she was no longer useful. She was once willing to die in Vader’s service, and she expected to do so. That prospect does not seem so glorious now. That is this issue’s favorite panel.

Darth Vader #21