Darth Vader (2020) #46
THE RAZING OF EXEGOL PART 1
Sly Moore’s Schism Imperial, a covert group of Imperials determined to overthrow the Emperor, has continued to grow. Darth Vader has now led the group on missions from the Outer Rim to Tython, all building toward a final assault on the Emperor’s regime.
Meanwhile, Sabé, former handmaiden to Queen Amidala, has teamed up with Jedi pretender Warba in an effort to find Luke Skywalker, the son of the man she once knew as Anakin Skywalker….
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Raffaele Ienco
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Federico Blee
Cover artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: May 08 2024
The search for Luke Skywalker has been a common theme throughout the Star Wars saga. Vader spent the years between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back looking for the boy who destroyed the Death Star, and a year after Bespin searching for his son. The years leading up to Rey’s arrival on Ahch-To saw the Resistance scouring the galaxy for the legendary Jedi Master, and here in the 46th issue of Darth Vader we find Sabé arriving on Sergia Seven looking for Warba, and in turn Skywalker. Trust established and aboard her starship they continue their conversation, Warba telling Sabé that Vader wants Luke because his master Palpatine wants him as Luke could potentially become the most powerful of all Sith. Sabé is shocked as we cut to The Red Honeycomb Zone where Captain Corleque prepares a shipment for the Sith Eternal, and is ‘read’ by them, a process that leaves him deeply shaken. He is full of anger, mostly of losing his Star Destroyer due to Vader’s actions, and soon after Sly Moore explains to Lieutenant Pryde why Corleque – someone who hates Vader – was sent to recieve the Sith Eternal. Every Sith is the enemy of every other Sith, so by sending Corleque the Sith Eternal wouldn’t suspect the Schism Imperial of helping Vader overthrow their Emperor.
Their vessel enters the Red Honeycomb Zone, where a Summa Verminoth (the massive beast we saw residing in The Maw in Solo: A Star Wars Story) resides. A psycho-venemnous species, the crew of the vessel are brought to their knees with only Vader remaining tall. Pryde sees a vision of his future death on Exegol, and we watch as Vader travels down to Exegol, attacking the Sith Eternal until he is brought down much to the shock and anguish of the loyal Pryde. It appears that Vader is done when suddenly Battle Droids leap out of the crates, attacking the Sith Eternal, and as Pryde watches on we realise that the Vader we saw fall was a droid decoy and the real Lord of the Sith cuts his way through his enemies on his way to the Kyber Temple.
We see the temple rumble and shake, and then a huge explosion as we watch Vader take down more Sith Eternal and a huge laser blasting out of the roof of the temple. Pryde mistakenly believes the blast was aimed at – and deflected by – Vader, but a glance up shows its real target – the looming Summa Verminoth which is staring down with its single glaring eye….
Another fascinating issue highlighting both the raw power of Vader and his guile in outsmarting his enemies, something the confident Jedi Knight Anakin did with ease but largely evaded the rage-fuelled Sith Lord Vader. Exegol is again at the heart of the issue, another thread in the spine that runs through to The Rise of Skywalker, while the presense of the Sith Eternal and Vader interacting with them is a striking visual, to say nothing of the Summa Verminoth. Despite all of this, the biggest takeaway is Sly Moore’s succinct description of the Sith and their modus operandi. The Rule of Two is well known, but to consider that Sith treat other Sith as their enemy as much as they do the hated Jedi – while hardly surprising – is a reminder that the promise of unlimited power will drive some to the bitterest of ends to achieve their goals.
Top drawer work as always from Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco which only reminds us that when this particular volume of Darth Vader comes to a close, Lucasfilm and Marvel are going to have to pull out all the stops to find a creative team that can top what’s been crafted in this 2020 run.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Pak, Greg (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 23 Pages - 06/12/2024 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
