Darth Vader (2020) #47
THE RAZING OF EXEGOL PART 2
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.
After a daring mission through the Red Honeycomb Zone, facing off against the Sith Eternal, the team has now encountered the giant Summa-Verminoth monsters….
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Raffaele Ienco
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Federico Blee
Cover artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: June 12 2024
We’re racing towards the conclusion of Greg Pak’s run on Darth Vader, and with only four issues to go every panel counts, and as usual Pak makes the most of these opportunities to bring us another engrossing issue. With the kyber taken from the citadel vaults on Exegol and in Vader’s possesion a relaliatory attack from the Sith Eternal seems likely and imminent, and we watch as first Pryde shows his loyalty to Lord Vader while Tauntaza wearily suggests they stop fawning and load the kyber. Usually, the footsoldiers of the Sith Eternal wouldn’t appear to be a problem, but the looming presense of a gigantic Summa-Verminoth is another matter entirely. Vaders droid asks Vader what is to be done with the M.A.R Corps, the former Rebel squad now controlled via implants by the Empire. Their chips are damaged and their autonomy returning, but Vader simply leaves them for the Summa-Verminoth whose psychic attacks are too much for them to bear.
We cut to Sly Moore and the gathered ranks of the Schism Imperial stood in front of the huge slab of kyber which protects them from the psychic assault outside. She reminds them of what they’ve achieved – claiming a droid army, Tauntaza’s energy capsules with the life of an energy planet and now the kyber that powered the Death Star, all now in the hands of Darth Vader. She claims they will never run again, asking Vader for validation but all he can see is the reflection of his master Emperor Palpatine in the sheen of the red kyber.
Palpatine is clear in his words, how he knew Vader would eventually be impressed by the lure of this ‘technological tyerror’, and how all Sith strive for power. He also asks who the two Sith are, Palpatine and Vader, or Palpatine and Vader’s son Luke Skywalker, or – and the Emperor is laughing as he says this –Â Vader and Luke.
We cut across the galaxy to the Rebel Fleet as Luke and Leia are talking, Luke telling her he can feel Vader ‘out there‘ still looking for him. He doesn’t believe Vader knows where he is, but as Leia says, Luke grows stronger in the Force by the day. Here, Luke reminds her that Vader wanted them to rule the galaxy side by side, and he looks out to the stars as he tells her he needs to be away from the fleet for a while. Leia plays a message for Luke from Warba Calip, sending him coordinates to meet and while both are sure it’s a scam Luke decides to follow to get some distance.
Back with Vader we see him use his lightsaber to cut a portion of kyber off the block and wedge it into his staff as outside M.A.R Corps manage to withstand the assault of the Summa-Verminoth. Pryde takes the Lambda class shuttle and takes to the skies with Vader on the upper hull, and aiming towards the Summa-Verminoth he uses the staff and shield to destroy the creature in a splash page of Walt Simonsonian propoertions. The creature is defeated, the Sith Eternal stand in shock, and accross the galaxy from Palpatine on Coruscant to Luke in his X-Wing they all feel it. Here we have a key moment. Palpatine tells Vader how Luke would have felt that through the Force, and gives him his blessing to find his son.
We end the issue with Luke finding Warba and the twist we expected. She introduces her to Sabe, who tells Luke she knows his father, much to his and Warba’s shock. Sabe stuns Warba, and Artoo and we end with Sabe telling Luke that if he has a dark side, now’s the time to use it.
Another great issue, with beautiful artwork by Raffaele Ienco and the threads laid down through the past 46 issues by Pak. While always hopeful and optimistic that the future will bring us great things, we shall certainly miss the high bar set by Pak and Charles Soule over in the main Star Wars title which also ends with its 50th issue the week before Darth Vader.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Pak, Greg (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 23 Pages - 07/24/2024 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
