Vader Down #1 Review (Marvel Star Wars Crossover 1 of 6)

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The tables are turned on the dark side–or are they?

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Vader Down #1. Also, the events of this comic take place after Star Wars #12, and it is advised to read that book first.

Vader Down #1

Writer: Jason Aaron | Artist: Mike Deodato | Colorist: Frank Martin Jr. | Story: Jason Aaron & Kieron Gillen | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna | Cover Artist: Mark Brooks

After having gone their separate ways for the last several issues of Star Wars and Darth Vader, the core cast of both comics are set to clash again in Marvel’s first Star Wars crossover event. Darth Vader has been on a quest to find the Rebel pilot that destroyed the Death Star, whom he now knows is Luke Skywalker, his son. He has learned that Luke is on the planet of Vrogas Vas, a seemingly worthless hunk of rock. Sensing the completion of his goal is within his grasp, he heads for Vrogas Vas in his TIE Advanced fighter alone. However, he arrives at his destination to find that the Rebellion was there in greater numbers than he had reason to expect.

Unfazed, Darth carves his way through three squadrons of X-Wings. This is not unlike his recent appearance in Rebels in which he decimated the forces of Phoenix Squadron singlehandedly. Vader’s reputation has taken a hit in the recent comics. The Emperor holds him responsible for what happened to the Death Star. He has been assigned to Grand General Tagge. He has a team of rivals to compete with for his rightful place in the Imperial hierarchy. With all of that in mind, it is great to see that at least one thing is not diminished: his capabilities as a pilot. His abilities go all the way back to when he was Anakin Skywalker. No matter how much of his body had been replaced by cybernetic parts, he still can out-fly anyone in the galaxy.

The carnage that the dark lord was dealing to the rebels could have been worse, but the report that the Ante gave to Dr. Aphra in issue eleven of Darth Vader that Luke Skywalker was at Vrogas Vas was correct. Just as Vader could sense Luke’s presence, Luke could sense his. Having witnessed the decimation wrought by Vader on both the blue and yellow squads of X-Wings, Luke moves in and rams the TIE Advanced with his own. That was not expected. It is good to see Luke’s confidence continue to grow, even if he made a foolish move. The result of this maneuver is that both Luke and Vader are forced to crash land on the planet.

The crash landing is what leads to the title of this cross-over series. Vader is down. On Vrogas Vas. His comms are jammed. There are no Imperial reinforcements to call. The only ally who knows he is there is Dr. Aphra and the droids BT-1 and Triple Zero. They are not capable of calling in any Imperial reinforcements as nobody else associated with the Empire should have any knowledge that she works for Vader. So, the Dark Lord of the Sith is on a hostile planet with a fleet of Rebels opposing him. If that isn’t enough, Leia informs Han Solo that General Dodonna is sending an entire battalion to Vrogas Vas to aid in the pursuit of Vader. Leia cannot leave this situation alone, so she insists on heading to Vrogas Vas herself. Han Solo is not a fan of the mission, but despite any protests that he might make to contrary, he is devoted to the Princess. If she is going to Vrogas Vas, then he is going to look after her. That means Chewbacca is going. So is the Millennium Falcon. And, of course, so is Threepio.

Dr. Aphra is forced to make a difficult choice. She is the only ally that Vader has that knows of his predicament. On one side of the equation, before his comms were jammed, he left her with the impression that he suspected she lead him into a trap with the Rebellion. But, she is not taking into consideration that he made the decision to go to the planet by himself even though she volunteered to come with him in Darth Vader #12. She also knows that Vader did in fact sense Luke’s presence at Vrogas Vas. It was the last communication he made to her. So, her life might be on the line, and the Rebels could destroy him, and that would solve her problem. On the other hand, she knows how powerful Vader is and that if he survives this mess, he will be after her. Having weighed the options, she decides to head to Vrogas Vas. There is one other thing to consider in that she wasn’t sure what would be worse: Vader dead or Vader alive. Why she might consider Vader being dead in this circumstance is intriguing. Vader’s death would alleviate a major problem for her. She would be free. This suggests that she has something else she hopes to gain from the dark lord, but what exactly that is remains to be seen. As an aside, Triple Zero and BT-1 have some fantastic, if not blood thirsty dialogue about heading into the potential for mayhem with the alliance while Aphra contemplates her options.

Vader and Luke both survived their crash landings on the planet. The Rebellion wastes no time in locating Vader. Their first assault is with a squad of Y-Wings.  Vader quickly dispatches them through the Force. The next assault is on land. The issue concludes with Vader surrounded by the forces of the Rebellion, but he is not the least bit concerned.

Vader Down is an exhilarating beginning to a new story arc that from this issue will spawn the pages of both Star Wars and Darth Vader. The dark lord is what many readers have been hoping for much of this year in Marvel comics: a confident force to reckoned with. Vader has no doubts in this issue and he is confident in his power and abilities. Similarly, Luke has grown more confident. When his fellow Rebel pilots were in danger, he took charge of the matter and went after Vader. Once he crashed on the Vrogas Vas, which he apparently had headed to in order to find the remains of an ancient Jedi temple, he didn’t panic. He didn’t question his abilities as a Jedi. He apologized to Artoo for the crash, but he trudged on. He knew Vader survived, and he put aside his own mission to focus on the task at hand. In other words, both Vader and Luke have experienced growth over the past dozen issues of their respective comics.

This story arc flips the traditional Star Wars script for this time period. Usually, it is the Rebellion that is outnumbered and outgunned. They are forced to survive by their cunning and wits. Now, it is Vader that is fighting against the odds. More than likely, Vader will be relying on his brute strength through the Force, but it will be interesting to see how handles this predicament with the numbers stacked against him.

Favorite Panel:

Vader Down does not rely on the artistic talents of either of the primary artists from Darth Vader or Star Wars. Mike Deodato’s work graces this issue, and it is quite good. Vader, Han, and Luke are remarkably similar to their appearances in the movies. Leia does not bear quite as close a resemblance to her on screen appearance. Deodato’s combat scenes, especially in space, are also quite good. Despite all of this, the image of dead rebel pilots floating in the void of space with looks of horror on their faces was a bit gruesome. It was a little grittier than what you would usually expect from Star Wars. Overall, there were a lot of great panels in this issue. However, I picked the one that I felt best captured the spirit of the issue, and that was the final panel in which Vader was at his most defiant…