Darth Vader #22 Review

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The Dark Lord of the Sith vs. Star Wars most iconic monster. Don’t miss it.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Darth Vader #22.

Darth Vader #22

Writer: Kieron Gillen | Artist: Salvador Larroca | Colorist: Edgar Delgado | Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna | Cover Artists: Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado

Summary

After a daring attack on Cylo’s fleet, Darth Vader had infiltrated one of the whale-ships of Cylo’s fleet. Onboard, he confronts a cyberanimated rancor. Victorious, he then defeats the Voidgazer, but not before she reveals that she had sabotaged the under construction Executor, which had Grand General Tagge, Dr. Aphra, and the Emperor aboard. As for Dr. Aphra, she had been brought to the Executor by her droids, Triple Zero and BT-1, at Darth Vader’s command to meet her destiny. She begins her escape as the Voidgazer’s sabotage is revealed. The issue ends as the whale-ship Vader is aboard impacts with the Executor as Cylo looks on.

Aphra’s Ingenuity

Without a doubt, one of the best things to emerge from Darth Vader has been Dr. Aphra. Ever since she first appeared in issue three, she has been developed with care. She is a capable archaeologist. She specializes in droids and technology. She is knowledgeable where the underworld is concerned, but she isn’t just another smuggler, thug, muscle for hire, or bounty hunter. Aspects of her character and personality have been parceled out over the course of the series to establish a well-designed individual. Aphra has made the most of her service to Lord Vader, although things have taken a turn for the worse for her.

She demonstrates her resiliency and cleverness once again in this issue. Aphra knows droids better than anyone. After BT-1 and Triple Zero deliver her to the Executor, she tricks Triple Zero into admitting his primary mission had been completed. Once that was done, he was free to accept new orders, and his programming requires him to obey Aphra. Therefore, no sooner had she been delivered when Aphra orders Triple Zero and BT-1 to help her escape.

Her time may be growing short. Darth Vader only has three issues left before the conclusion of the series. She may not survive. It wouldn’t be like Vader to let her live if he no longer considered her useful or a potential threat. Despite her service to the Dark Lord, she isn’t much of a joiner. So, the Rebellion doesn’t seem a likely option for her. Her fate creates an eagerness for readers of the final three issues.

Kill Cylo, Volume 1

The current story arc reminds me of Quentin Tarrantino’s Kill Bill movies. In those movies, the “Bride” seeks revenge on her former handler, who is the leader of a ring of assassins that take snake code names. The Bride was betrayed and left for dead at her wedding by “Bill,” the leader of the crew, and in order to get to him, she had to fight her way through the rest of the assassins. In some ways, that movie resembled a video game in which the player needs to fight his way through countless lesser enemies to ultimately take on a “boss” character for that stage with the ultimate goal of locating, confronting, and defeating the ultimate villain of the game.

Darth Vader is not on a quest for revenge in this story arc. His mission is one of punishment. However, over the course of past story arcs in Darth Vader, Vader Down, and the current story arc, he has confronted and defeated most of Cylo’s minions. Cylo, of course, is the leader of his own band of technological warriors. Furthermore, Cylo betrayed the Emperor and the Empire on Shu-Torun. Vader is now wading through his forces as he heads toward his ultimate confrontation with Cylo.

Darth Vader vs. the Rancor

Darth Vader versus the Rancor is a fan’s dream come true. One of the things that makes this confrontation captivating is that Vader’s own son is put to the same confrontation in Return of the Jedi. However, Luke fought a half-starved Rancor in the dungeon under Jabba’s palace. Gillen needed to make this rancor more formidable for at least a few reasons. For one, Vader is a Sith Lord. A monster that Luke defeated without the benefit of his lightsaber should not pose a threat to an armed Darth Vader. Second, the reader has seen rancors before. They are a favorite in the Legends continuity, and countless video games have included them as an adversary for the player.

In addition, Luke just fought a monster in issues eleven and twelve of Star Wars. He was armed with a lightsaber there. Granted, he would have been doomed if not for the interference of outside forces and his friends. The danger needed to be magnified here. Therefore, Gillen added a few cybernetic modifications to this rancor. The Voidgazer “cyberanimated” this beast. She also added some defenses against obvious Force tactics that a Sith or Jedi might use. Gillen’s cleverly devised these upgrades as well as Vader’s ingenuity in defeating the beast. Vader’s finishing move was expertly illustrated by Salvador Larroca.

Conclusion

Darth Vader #22 certainly raises the stakes for all involved. After languishing under Tagge’s control for nearly the entire series, Vader had finally reclaimed his rightful position as the Emperor’s apprentice. All surviving players of this series are gathered in the same place: the Executor. At least some of them, including Aphra and Tagge, have been knocked out by some sort of gas as the result of the Voidgazer’s treachery. They are helpless as the whale-ship Vader is aboard collides with the Executor. Granted, the fate of some of these characters is known as they appear in movies set after these events of this series. However, some characters, such as Aphra and Tagge have fates that are still a mystery. The pieces are in place for a captivating conclusion to the series.

Darth Vader #22 Favorite Panel

The centerpiece of Darth Vader #22 was Darth Vader versus the Rancor monster. Vader’s confrontation with the Voidgazer was a side conflict. Therefore, a panel from Vader’s clash with this monster deserves to be this issue’s favorite panel, and it is.

Darth Vader #22 at Comixology