REVIEW: DARTH VADER #6

DARTH VADER #6

I only have one word to describe this issue – Bold.

Greg Pak is definitely taking a bold stance in this issue regarding one of the world’s most revered villains, and I find myself torn by it. This entire run takes place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, so whenever they tell a story, they are messing with cannon to a degree. This is mostly because there is very little time that passes between the two movies, unlike A New Hope and Empire where there are possibly years that span the two films.

Vader returns to the Emperor’s Throne room and is chastised for letting Luke escape and then running off to embark on a personal mission with Padme’s double, which took place over the past few issues. The Emperor wants to teach Vader a lesson that no matter how powerful the Dark Lord is, the Emperor is even more so. Palpatine sits back as Vader goes to work on his attacking guards, but as Vader begins to get the upper hand, Palpatine force chokes him. This is something we have never seen before. In fact, I don’t believe we have ever seen a Sith or Jedi force choked, because they can break it. Not here, however. Vader is choked into submission.

He finds himself back on Mustafar, in the very spot where he fought Obi-Wan while he was still Anakin Skywalker. The Emperor then rips Vader asunder with the force. Once again, Vader doesn’t deflect the attack with the force in any way, which I find doesn’t live up to his character. He is left near the lava with no legs and one arm and is instructed by Palpatine to not use the force or he will know.

Grabbing his fallen lightsaber, Vader crawls to attempt to fix himself, while the Emperor sends out an assassin, just for good measure. Like things weren’t grim enough for Vader at this point.

It was definitely a shocking issue, that much is certain. Do the things that happen in this issue match Vader’s character? – I’m not too sure. He seems to be beat pretty quickly. Also, he’s hit with force lightning. Had he been hit force lightning prior to Jedi? I’m not sure. When he was hit by the Emperor’s lightning in the movie, it effected his breathing apparatus, but doesn’t here.

I think the bottom line for me is the same as the one for the Star Wars comic series – if this wasn’t supposed to be cannon, I would be enjoying it a lot more. However, by saying this part of the actual Star Wars storyline, I’m having a harder time swallowing it.

Definitely check it out, just for the shock factor.

About Author

Frank Zanca

…began working in local television at the age of 22 when he became a Promotional Producer for Channel 9, the Orlando ABC affiliate. During this time he wrote and produced thirty-second spots for the newscast and syndicated shows such as Geraldo and Sally Jesse Raphael. Later he worked as a Production Assistant on NBC’s Gonzo Games and Dick Clark’s Sea World Summer Spectacular. Frank created and wrote his first comic book, which was distributed internationally under the name of Shadow Raven. For a number of years, Frank worked in Sales and then moved into Marketing where he became CFO and later President of two Independent marketing firms that were later sold for several million dollars. Recently Frank helped design Shadow Raven: the Combat Card Game, which was distributed internationally and has written the Shadow Raven novel (to be released next year). Frank is currently producing Shadow Raven: Fading Thoughts, a thirty-minute pilot, which is designed to become a feature film or television series.

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