Comics Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith #1-6: The Chosen One (6/6 Released)

In-universe, this is the first time the inquisitors appear chronologically. So if someone's reading this comic, they wouldn't need to have seen Rebels in order to understand what's going on with them. True, most comic readers are not just casual fans as you put it, but there's probably a lot of people that have only seen the movies prior to reading this comic. You do have a point with Lords of the Sith though, and maybe that depends on the publisher/editors as to how much and what references are to be included. Why Ahsoka wasn't in one of the visions is up to the author and the editors at Marvel.

The point is: Would it have been nice if Ahsoka appeared in a vision to Vader? Yes. Were the visions in the published comic nice, and did they serve their purpose? Yes. So, mission accomplished.

 

Maybe because she is a very MINOR character from a cartoon that's only being constantly pushed because she's Filonis' pet mary sue and disney has an agenda. If it was up to him I'm sure he would have Vader flashback to his memories of Ashokha before he kills the Emperor. Please no.

 

Shmi, Obi-Wan, and Padme are all people Anakin lost.

Ahsoka turned her back on Anakin and the Jedi.

Anakin didn't turn to the dark side because he wanted to twist people into staying with him or worshiping him. Anakin turned to the dark side out of fear and love. Losing his mother in his arms created the seed. Visions of losing Padme created the panic. Ahsoka hurt him sure, but he didn't lose her out of his control. He could have left the Jedi with her, but he could lose his "family" in the Order. He accepted her loss to prevent the bigger loss of his greater social identity.

At least, that's my two bits on it.


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I'm guessing the Inquisitors will be given the Galactic Empire's Most Wanted List:
1. Obi-Wan (Vader will probably want them to track but not kill, leaving Kenobi to himself)
2. Yoda (Track for Palpatine but do not kill, because he wants to kill Yoda himself)
3. Jocasta Nu (Vader tags along on the Grand Inquisitor's mission to help extract any remaining Jedi knowledge and whereabouts from her)
4. Ahsoka (Sixth Brother's mission)
5. Luminara Unduli (Fifth Brother's mission)
6. Quinlan Vos (Seventh Sister's mission)
7. Maul (Eighth Brother's mission)
8. Captain Rex
9. Commander Wolffe
10. Captain Gregor
Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor will be handled by the ISB likely but it's on the list for the Inquisitors if they have time on their hand.

 

Another very good issue and they utilize the lack of dialogue well.

 

Ahsoka and Rex are believed to be dead via the Siege of Mandalore. Pretty sure they faked their deaths. Don't think Gregor is believed to be alive either. Wolffs status on the other hand...unknown?


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Also, Quinlan might be considered dead, as there was a cut scene from RotS where he's killed.

 

So far, it's just mentioned that he was at Boz Pity but nothing else. I kind of wanted him to lead another cell of rebels that the Alliance didn't know and ultimately joined with Phoenix Squadron but knowing having 3 Jedis being in the Alliance would still be dangerous. Considering from Legends (TFU), having more than 1 Jedi is dangerous. This was to help throw Vader off the scent that Ezra and Kanan and Luke together would make the rebels stronger and once Luke went in, it would be him that can only face Vader. Perhaps Ezra and Kanan went on an exile from the Alliance like Luke did but instead to investigate the mysteries of the Unknown Regions like Snoke and not finding the Ahch-to temple. I think in Season 4, they'll get a message of some sorts that tells them their fight against the Empire will take a pause until the Sith can be removed which means they can rejoin after Endor, thus the reason for the reformation of Phoenix Squadron at Jakku.

 

This was the best issue, by far.

 

Do I still need to use spoiler tags two days after the issue has been released?


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Safe > sorry


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Well I asked Matt Martin and he said it's not because of readers not knowing who she is, but because she wasn't needed story-wise. Goes to show we shouldn't just assume they won't add something because of casual viewers/readers.

 

Case closed then

 

This was a really great issue, and I expect this series to get better and better in the next ones!

Mmm, I agree with a list of targets for them, but I´m not sure the Eighth Brother, for instance, would do nothing but hunting Maul in 15+ years, never have a result to show and expect Vader to be pacient with him. In the same way, the Sixth Brother didn´t really have Ahsoka assigned to him... I would imagine that at this point, they get reports of Force using activity (some in Jedi, some in children with potential... some mistaken reports too) and they more or less prioritize targets.

I imagine this will be the time to show the Inquisitors dealing with younglings, padawans, knights and security forces, if needed (when the time came to abduct Force sensitive children), thus explaining their arrogance and self assurance in Rebels...

 

I immediately thought about it and convnced myself that yep, it is the same place. The area is very similar to what we saw in RO (very little lava around) and the lava waterfall looks almost the same as the one in the movie...

 

The vision Vader had was amazing. The thing he hates the most is the name Anakin Skywalker, and that was enough to go full dark side. His past is full of pain, and he realizes "this is all there is". Vader is his life now so he embraces it.

 

I didn't read it like that. It's more that the part of Anakin left in Vader wants to get Obi-Wan's approval back and do what he was supposed to. In the vision he does just that.

He goes to Obi-Wan, kneels in submission and repentance and begs Obi-Wan for forgiveness and death.

And Obi-Wan doesn't grant it.

That's what brings back the hatred and rage Vader felt on Mustafar, dismembered and burning. That's what makes him come back to his rage.

Vader realizes that his fantasies are not possible.

That what he has now, his anger and mutilated body is all there is.






"In the end, the shadow is all you have left. Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself—And within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame."

 

Any word on this series continuing on after #6?

 

It's an ongoing.

Spoiler

The second arc is about Vader and the Grand Inquisitor hunting down Jocasta Nu.

 

I'm enjoying the library of work thus far on this series.

 

The great thing about this issue is that the art and dialogue allow for different interpretations. For example I didn't read it as Obi's refusal to strike him down (And was Vader really begging for being killed? I thought he simply repented) being the cause of Vader's rage and turning toward the dark again. Imo it's more that he realized these were all just fantasies and he turned towards reality, choosing to live with the consequences of his decisions once and for all. No backsies.

 

The Dark Side Cave we see in this issue is beyond any doubt the site of Vader's future castle.





Exact same location, and according to the Rogue One Visual Guide, this cliff overlooks the lava bank where Vader made his fateful leap and was dismembered. Interesting that a source of Dark Side power was so close to the site of that epic battle. Perhaps Palpatine expected Vader to triumph there and then go to the cave and bleed his Jedi crystal to obtain a proper red blade.

 

I also didn't read it as Vader begging to be killed; more like he was experiencing a fleeting dream where he imagined himself receiving Obi-Wan's forgiveness, only to quickly realize that was pipe dream and that he had to own his new reality instead of running away from it. It was a beautiful but quick moment of "what if" and surprising humility, but concluded in a very Vader fashion.

What I also liked about this issue is how it contrasts with Kylo Ren's way of resolving his internal conflicts. I mean, Kylo Ren is still unwilling to own his choices after years of turning to the darkside and prefers to wallow in eternal self-pity. Admittedly, there was a part of me that feared the new canon was attempting to tell a boringly standardized tale of Skywalker men turning evil with copy-and-paste reactions (mostly due to the fact that Kylo's "He was weak and foolish so I destroyed" is too oddly similar to Vader's "Anakin Skywalker was weak, so I destroyed him."), but this issue reassured me that the NEU is still taking into account that these are different characters. In a way, I gained a new appreciation of Soule's writing of Vader in this issue.

 

But this lack of self-pity, of sympathy for your own plight, is what makes Vader a horrible person as well. Because if you can't even empathize with yourself, then how can you empathize with others? He has formed himself into a hard and sharp blade. When Luke offered understanding and even pity, it must have felt very alien to Vader at first.

Kylo Ren on the other hand is the typical entitled brat, he's even the son of a princess. He is, like you said, full of self-pity. But it remains to be seen whether he can sympathize with anyone else. He certainly took no pity on his own father.

 

On a humbling note, it turns out I was wrong about this, at least initially. Vader uses In'fila's crystal and saber housing. He literally uses Kirak's lightsaber as his own, bleeding the kyber to turn the blade red.