Darth Vader (2020) #33
UNBOUND FORCE
PART I
After Darth Vader convinced Sabé to fully commit to the battle against the insurgent Jul Tambor, Sabé’s fellow handmaidens tried to free her from the Dark Lord’s control. But she returned to Vader, whom only she knows was once Anakin Skywalker.
Having joined the Imperials fully, Sabé tricked Jul Tambor into revealing his plan to take over Skako Minor, causing his followers to revolt.
Now Vader must contend with another threat to the Empire….
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Adam Gorham
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Federico Blee
Cover artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Release Date: May 3, 2023
We ended the last issue as Vaders rage overtook him and he began to tear apart the Executor, and we discover why in the opening pages of issue 33, not by returning to Vader immediately but instead to Coruscant where Sly Moore and Mas Ameeda continue their long-standing bickering (and again, there’s something deeply satisfying to discover that both survived right through the 19 year span between trilogys and right to the end of the OT – just because we didn’t see them 40 years ago doesn’t mean they weren’t there). Moore suddenly yells in pain, blood pouring from her nose as we look up to see the root of the disturbance; the Emperors tower, emanating waves of power as the Emperor laughs maniacally. The Force has been ebbing and flowing for a number of issues, across a variety of titles, and here we see the results of that as Palpatines power takes down his own guards and he pauses, sensing fear as we return to Vader aboard the Executor and Sabé as she clears the hallway, Vaders powers out of control. He’s literally tearing that section apart, and as Sabé calls to him to hold on, the fear leads to anger and he reaches out to Forcechoke her just as the bulkhead gives out and he is forcibly ejected into deep space.
Sabé leaps into a shuttle to retrieve him, but as her two droids pull him in his powers kick in again and he begins to tear up the shuttle from the inside. Sabé jumps to hyperspace, exiting in high atmosphere as the shuttle disintegrates and she grabs a backpack that contains what appear to be plastic wings and swoops down through the debris to grab the tumbling Vader. They hit the water, bulleting down, down and then darkness.
Sabé opens her eyes, lying on a beach, footsteps leading away which she follows until she finds Vader. He tells her of the disturbance in the Force, how he has no control and Sabé explains that’s why she brought him to this deserted beachfront where there is no life for 1000 klicks in either direction. His powers explode again and she runs, and we see Vaderkin flashing back to a previous life; leaving his mother on Tatooine, meeting the Jedi Council for the first time, the massacre on Mustafar, and Sabés face – Padmés face – and we see Sabé and Padmé together until Vader reveals that this isn’t a test for him, but instead for her. He lifts her with the Force, and suddenly her eyes begin to glow and she has a choice to make as we end the issue, and what an issue.
So many elements here fold in to the wider story, most specifically the ebb and flow of the Force (which goes a long way to explaining why Palpatine was so powerful at the climax of The Rise of Skywalker and how Vader had the strength to dispatch his Emperor at the end of Return of the Jedi), and how quickly that tide can turn. Sabé and her involvement in the story, especially at this point between Empire and Jedi (and Jedi is practically upon us) has been truly fascinating, layering on and on the reasons why the Vader of Episode VI is almost sorrowful, but receptive to Luke’s offer of leaving with him. He does see a way out of being a slave his entire life, and while ultimately (and logically) that hope was only going to end one way, seeing inside his mind and the turmoil that rages within (remember, we’re watching Anakin Skywalker take steps on his final journey, one that will see him die a free man) continues to be essential reading.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Pak, Greg (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 23 Pages - 05/10/2023 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
