Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Darth Vader #1


The first of Marvel's new single-character driven titles, Darth Vader #1 opens with Darth Vader returning to Tatooine for an audience with Jabba the Hutt in which the Dark Lord of the Sith brutally teaches the gangster the difference between a Jedi and a Sith in a way that leaves several dead and the Hutt agreeing to whatever Vader wants. The setting is meant to conjure images from Luke's appearance in the same throne room from Return of the Jedi but given this scene takes place decades later in real time and years before in Star Wars chronology it feels a bit odd.

After seeing our protagonist kick butt for several panels we're stuck seeing Vader bow to his master for forgiveness given the failures the Emperor chooses to lay at Vader's feet. Given this encounter, and Vader and the Emperor both keeping secrets from each other, the comic's remaining pages deal with his attempts to find the Millennium Falcon and the young warrior who he does not yet realize is his son as well as figure out just what plans Palpatine is hiding from him. Although it seems like two-steps back from the character's journey in the recent Dark Horse title, Darth Vader #1 is a strong issue fans should enjoy. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $4.99]

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