Darth Vader (2017) #25 Review

Writer: Charles Soule

Artists: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Daniele Orlandini, David Curiel, Cam Smith, Dono Sánchez-Almara, Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Travis Lanham

Publisher: Marvel
 

Wow.

Soule’s run on Darth Vader has been one of my favorite comic runs of Marvel Star Wars so far, it’s pretty consistently great and I’ve looked forward to it every month. I was a little nervous going into this issue that it might not stick the landing. I wasn’t a huge fan of Soule’s previous finale to an ongoing series, Poe Dameron #31, so I was worried that endings weren’t his thing.

There isn’t really much to say about the plot, both to preserve spoilers and because it’s a very artistic and dialogue-light issue that it’s hard to summarize accurately. Vader has opened the gate, massacred the Mustafarians attacking his new fortress, and destroyed Momin once and for all. He’s finally read to enter the portal and attempt to save his dead wife.

The issue leaves a lot to subtly or interpretation. There are things I didn’t realize until my second or third read, or not until talking to other people about the issue, and once I realized them it clicked and made my opinion of the issue even better. The main beats of the issue are fairly predictable, that was probably the thing that detracted from it most for me. If you had asked me before the issue to write down exactly what I was expecting from it, it would have basically been that. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a satisfying ending in and of itself.

The art is a real highlight of this issue because it’s the focus, there’s little dialogue. I’m always been a fan of the art in this series and it really shines here. Vader’s spirit form was introduced way earlier in the series and it’s awesome to see it come back in such a big way. There are a couple weird faces here and there but overall the art is great.

It’s definitely a very satisfying conclusion to the run that solidifies it as one of my favorites, if not my actual favorite, so far. I think it’ll read even better when the entire series is reread from beginning to end, because it’s clearly a planned out and plotted story with arcs and bookends. I’m really excited to see what Soule does next. He clearly has some other project in the works and you can see seeds for it throughout the last couple arcs of this series. Can’t wait to find out!