Darth Vader (2020) #42
RISE OF THE SCHISM IMPERIAL
After facing a series of tests by Emperor Palpatine and Grand Vizier Mas Amedda during the scourge of the droids, Darth Vader eventually used the corrupted droids to his advantage, taking out the onslaughts of troopers sent after him.
Now a new threat to the Empire is rising from within, and they’ve got their eyes on Vader….
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist:Adam Gorham
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Federico Blee
Cover artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Release Date: January 3, 2024
A nervous – and he is really nervous – Mas Amedda probably isn’t the character you’d expect to encounter in the first batch of Marvel releases in 2024, but the opening page of Darth Vader #42 sees the Chagrian Grand Vizier nervously pacing as Sly Moore approaches, and she proceeds to throw him under the hoverbus as she announces his presence to the Emperor and watches as Palpatine zaps him with Sith lightning as he learns that Vader was able to not only infect and turn droids to do his bidding, but has grown stronger and become an even greater threat to the Emperor. He asks if she believes she could do a better job than Amedda, and she agrees as we turn to Zee-Nine City Seven and Lieutenant Enric Pryde (better known as Allegiant General Pryde from The Rise of Skywalker) who first requests more troops to deal with Rebel insurgency, and then dives for cover as a Rebel assault begins. Pryde yells in rage as in the distance his ISD smashes into the mountains, but just as he is about to dispatch a goading Rebel captive, four mechanically augmented Rebels calling themselves M.A.R Corps come blasting in.
Twelve hours later and an Imperial Shuttle swoops in and we see Pryde locked in a cage, shocked as Darth Vader enters the cell. Pryde warns Vader that it’s a trap, telling him there are 100 rebel soldiers and four cyborgs and as Vader releases him from his cell he warns Vader once again of the trap lying in wait. Vader pays no heed and marches into a firefight with the Rebels and the cyborgs, and when he appears to be in peril Pryde runs in to assist, only to be Force hurled away by Vader, and we learn why when a mouse droid opens and a disc droid infiltrates the Rebel cyborgs, infecting them and turning them to the Empire.
Now under Imperial control they turn on the Rebel forces, but a stray shot hits one of them and they briefly regain control, only to see her compatriots ignite the Rebel ordnance before control is regained and Vader marches in, Pryde offering his assistance as we swing across the galaxy to Mustafar and the cyborgs now held captive in Vaders castle. Vader can feel them fighting the operations being done to them, and we hear the medical droids describe their wish to remove the organic brains while knowing those brains hold all of their military training. Vader stops as a visitor arrives, and Sly Moore enters by the Emperors command, but after some verbal sparring she makes a fascinating reveal. Understanding the nature of the Sith and how one almost always turns on the other, she tells Vader that he still isn’t ready to take on the Emperor, but she can help. She tells Vader of the Schism Imperial, those ready to take down Palpatine, and while he himself is a Sith obsessed with power, all of it could be his.
What a start to 2024, and what an ending to issue 42 of this consistently gripping title. We’re still feeling the aftereffects of Dark Droids, a plotline that saw something of a resurgence of Vaders position, and while he’s still not ready to take on Palpatine his determinations is as strong as ever. We know in the not-too-distant-future when he faces Palpatine on the Death Star the harm done to his son is the final straw that gives him the resolve to finally end Palpatine (even though decades later he somehow returns) but this and other recent storylines have grown and grown the hate that fuels him. Highly enjoyable reading, giving us all the depth we could hope for as Return of the Jedi approaches.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Pak, Greg (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 23 Pages - 02/14/2024 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
