Darth Vader (2020) #2 Review
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Raffaele Ienco
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel
In the second issue of the newest run starring the character, Darth Vader has followed a trail left in the wake of his wife's death many years ago to the planet Vendaxa, where he finds himself haunted by his ghosts, some psychological and some not.
When this series was first announced, I was very apprehensive for multiple reasons. For one thing, while I had very much enjoyed Pak's work on the Age of Rebellion run, I didn't enjoy his arc on the flagship Star Wars title as much. More than that though, I thought we simply had too many Vader series. Counting both ongoings and miniseries, this is our fifth comic about him in as many years, and I didn't really get into the previous two of them. I just didn't think there was anything else to do with the character, at least not so fast.
I'm happy to be proven wrong. This is the third Vader story we've had in canon dealing with Padmé's death and Vader's reaction to it but it still manages to feel fresh. The new time period definitely helps. This is a part of Vader's life we've never seen much of in the entire history of Star Wars publishing. The character can go to places that he couldn't in stories set earlier in the timeline, because now he's had that confrontation with Luke on Bespin and he's getting closer and closer to his redemption.
The setup of the series isn't dissimilar to the 2015 run with Vader forced into a tentative partnership with a female character who can counterbalance him somewhat, though the time period probably allows for it to impact him more here. His new partner is exactly who I was hoping it would be after last issue and I think it's a fantastic idea to force her and Vader together in this era. There's so much potential to explore here and this issue just barely scratches the surface.
The forensics droid is a nice addition to make a team dynamic. I didn't expect him to last past this issue, I assumed he was just there to vocalize some thoughts and ideas at the start with how silent Vader is, but it seems like he's sticking around.
Ienco's art is all around solid and engaging, I love the style of the flashbacks. The plot leaves off in an exciting place and I don't really know what to expect from the rest of this arc or the rest of the series. There's some potential for some cool tie-ins into what some other branches of publishing are doing; there was already a tease or two in this issue. I didn't expect this series to win me over but it absolutely has and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
Artist: Raffaele Ienco
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Publisher: Marvel
In the second issue of the newest run starring the character, Darth Vader has followed a trail left in the wake of his wife's death many years ago to the planet Vendaxa, where he finds himself haunted by his ghosts, some psychological and some not.
When this series was first announced, I was very apprehensive for multiple reasons. For one thing, while I had very much enjoyed Pak's work on the Age of Rebellion run, I didn't enjoy his arc on the flagship Star Wars title as much. More than that though, I thought we simply had too many Vader series. Counting both ongoings and miniseries, this is our fifth comic about him in as many years, and I didn't really get into the previous two of them. I just didn't think there was anything else to do with the character, at least not so fast.
I'm happy to be proven wrong. This is the third Vader story we've had in canon dealing with Padmé's death and Vader's reaction to it but it still manages to feel fresh. The new time period definitely helps. This is a part of Vader's life we've never seen much of in the entire history of Star Wars publishing. The character can go to places that he couldn't in stories set earlier in the timeline, because now he's had that confrontation with Luke on Bespin and he's getting closer and closer to his redemption.
The setup of the series isn't dissimilar to the 2015 run with Vader forced into a tentative partnership with a female character who can counterbalance him somewhat, though the time period probably allows for it to impact him more here. His new partner is exactly who I was hoping it would be after last issue and I think it's a fantastic idea to force her and Vader together in this era. There's so much potential to explore here and this issue just barely scratches the surface.
The forensics droid is a nice addition to make a team dynamic. I didn't expect him to last past this issue, I assumed he was just there to vocalize some thoughts and ideas at the start with how silent Vader is, but it seems like he's sticking around.
Ienco's art is all around solid and engaging, I love the style of the flashbacks. The plot leaves off in an exciting place and I don't really know what to expect from the rest of this arc or the rest of the series. There's some potential for some cool tie-ins into what some other branches of publishing are doing; there was already a tease or two in this issue. I didn't expect this series to win me over but it absolutely has and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
A Look Inside
