Darth Vader #24 is pretty heavy and it’s by Kieron Gillen @kierongillen and Salvador Larroca and it’s new today from Marvel!
A COMIXOLOGIST RECOMMENDS
Darth Vader #18
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Salvador Larroca
First things first. Can we please talk about the fact that the cover for this issue (by Kaare Andrews) looks like Darth Vader is about to perform at the Grammys with his posse of backup Stormtroopers? Surely the chorus for his hit single would be something like, “Failure is not an option.” At least, that seems to be the refrain driving him through the book.
This is exactly what makes Vader so terrifying post-Death Star destruction. Literally everything seems expendable to him at this point. But if you have to keep saying a thing, that means it isn’t self-evident. His ruthlessness also makes him appear desperate, and desperation is a weakness. One those who would oppose him hope to exploit. At their peril, to be sure, but still. Nothing can ever just go as planned for Vader, and it almost makes you feel for him.
The thing about Vader is, deep down somewhere inside that scary black costume, he’s Anakin. A human being who sometimes makes emotional, irrational decisions. Triple-zero, the chillingly sadistic protocol/torture droid, serves as a reminder of this fact. When the droid rather cheerfully (I don’t know why, I always read his voice as cheerful) offers to implement his idea for a blood-draining droid “more man than machine,” it maybe hits a little too close to what’s left of Vader’s heart. Or maybe even Vader has his limits. Either way, the contrast between Vader and Triple-zero underscores the broader point, which is that Vader is not as efficiently single-minded as he’d like to be. He has to work for it. He is still more man than machine. That’s what makes it a good story. Gillen manages to keep this small shred of humanity in play without dulling the character that has made such an epic villain all these years.
One final point about this issue: I’ve been missing Aphra, but I really like what Queen Trios gets up to in this one. I’m not entirely sure I can predict how Vader will react, and I’m really looking forward to issue 19!
Tia Vasiliou is a Digital Editor and Sith Lord at ComiXology.