Darth Vader (2020) #48
SON OF VADER
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.
While Vader and his team obtained a massive Kyber crystal on Exegol, the Sith Lord had a vision about his son, Luke Skywalker, and his potential role in the future of the Empire.
Meanwhile, Luke received a message from the grifter Warba about something he would be interested in. Upon meeting with her, he was confronted by Sabé, who challenged him to show his connection to the Force….
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Raffaele Ienco
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Federico Blee
Cover artist: Leinil Francis Yu
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: July 24 2024
When the long wait between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi was almost at an end, images began to surface via Lucasfilm of Luke Skywalker, clad in black and dark brown robes, hood over his head and a serious look on his face. To us 12-year-olds, Luke Skywalker turning to the dark side was a genuine possibility. The kid who blew up the Death Star, who bravely faced Darth Vader on Bespin before losing his hand – could he join his father and rule the galaxy by his side? History tells us he didn’t, but as we open the first few pages of Darth Vader #48 it’s perfectly understandable to see why Sabé may believe that the son of Vader could turn, creating a triumvirate that would benefit the Sith no matter which one of the three was defeated. On the cold, southern pole of Caranthanax B we see Sabé testing Luke, firing her blaster at him as Sabé’s droid abducts Warba, and watch as he not only leaps onto the hull of her H-type Nubian yacht but see him disable the ship enough to bring is back down to the surface. All are safe, but Sabé doesn’t relent, aiming her blaster at Warba Calip, ready to fire and see if the dark side in Luke will surface. He leaps in front of the blasts, his yellow-bladed lightsaber deflecting the bolts, and angrily yells ‘enough‘. Sabé seems convinced of his sithness as we cut away to Vader on Tython who senses his anger, and watch as Luke continues to deflect blaster bolts.
As we saw last issue, Vader is using chunks of the kyber taken from Exegol in his shield, which is causing a feedback loop, but he seems unconcerned as a vessel carrying M.A.R. Corps hovers above, threatening to attack. Vader tries to use his staff to destroy it, but as his droid ZED explains, the kyber is unstable and won’t be controlled as we cut back to Luke and Sabé. Skywalker has had enough, slicing her blaster in half with his blade and once again yelling ‘enough!’, all happening as Vader destroys the M.A.R. Corps vessel. Luke senses this, pausing as he thumbs off his blade and stops to speak with Sabé, explaining that anything less than perfect doesn’t necessarily mean a turn to the dark side. Sabé seems defeated, unable to make the choice Vader laid before her, choosing suffering over hate. She saw the glimmer of the sith in Luke’s eyes, and as he says he’s not perfect, like his father she tells him that he’s more like his mother.
Then we get a very satisfying twist, as Warba comes clean and admits that Vader had found her on Segura, ordering her to send him Luke’s location. Sabé is horrified, but Warba tells her she has yet to do it, having seen Luke’s actions. Warba believes she is now doomed, so Luke tells her to send the location, how Vader would have sensed him anyway and be on his way and takes the decision out of her hands by using the Force to snatch the controller and hit the ‘send’ button himself. On Tython, Vaders droid receives the signal and informs Vader, who pauses as we see father and son sense each other before saying no. Sly Moore is outraged. Palpatine wants Vader, so to her logic killing Luke ends the Emperors plans, but Vader repeats himself, saying the boy is not ready. Moore makes a signal and Tauntaza in her mecha suit attacks Vader, injecting him with a droid brain that takes control of his body so they can take control of the kyber weapons and power them with Tauntaza’s energy capsules. Pryde is stunned, unable to believe that they’d do this to Vader, and as Vader is led away Moore makes her own statement, saying that if Vader and Skywalker are out of the equation she will take her place as Palpatine’s ‘second sith’, meaning the Schism Imperial becomes the Empire. Vaders rage boils over and he grabs for Moore but Tauntaza fires the weapon, a move that depletes her armour but also knocks Vader unconscious. They take the Lambda Class Shuttle and depart, abandoning Vader, Pryde and ZED, just in time for M.A.R. Corps to appear, ready to finish the job.
Just like Bounty Hunters and Doctor Aphra, it appears that Darth Vader is racing to an explosive conclusion. Luke now feels close to the character we meet at the start of Return of the Jedi, and Vader has enough questions for him to be the pensive character of Episode VI. Between Darth Vader and the main Star Wars title, the cards have been laid down in such a way that the final few issues of both pre-Jedi runs should leave us in the right place for Jedi to hook on perfectly (which of course was the primary function of both post-Empire series).
Greg Pak continues to identify the most pertinent elements of the relationships between not only Vader and the Emperor, but all of the characters, and his insight on a monthly basis will be missed. Raffaele Ienco is a master craftsman, giving vivid life to this motley crew of characters, but most importantly in this quarter century celebration of the prequel trilogy this title has closed the gap between the prequels and the characters of the two trilogies. Of all characters, Vader is the one who links the trilogies the most. Padmé is no more, Palpatine is in power, Luke and Laie are children, Yoda and Obi-Wan in hiding. Only Mon Mothma comes close, but she’s not the chosen one with a relationship with everyone. The 2020 volume of Darth Vader has leaned into these connections (along with the look forward to Exegol) and when it ends in a couple of months, whatever succeeds it has a high bar to reach.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Pak, Greg (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 23 Pages - 08/14/2024 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
