Comics Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith #7-12: The Dying Light/ Legacy's End (6/6 Released)

Hahaha, true! all but that guy on the right, is that stoic or what!

The girl did look nervous before the actual killing, riiight? or maybe I´m just looking for culprits. Loved the fact that they don´t give us all the answers, since Vader´s point was perfectly made, nonetheless.

 

Apparently this arc and the Mon Cala arc in the main Star Wars will reveal details about the unproduced TCW S8 Return to Mon Cala arc. Which makes me very excited

 

I did find it a bit of a coincidence that the two of the three main comic series were going to the same planet at the same time. Clearly the Story Group is doing a good job at coordinating these things.

 

Say what you will about Ninth Sister, but the gal has a serious pair to talk that way to Vader. No fear of him at all, even after he took her eye. My favorite Inquisitor by far. Looking forward to seeing more of her in the upcoming arc.

 

I so hope she survives! She's one of my favorite characters in this series.

 

I wonder if she will ever go rouge, making Maul not the only darksider not loyal to the Sith in this era.

 

Didn't anyone else kinda think the officer gathering before Vader and Palpatine was a call back to the Dark Horse Republic series? Specifically the issue that took place after RotS in which Vader chokes that one officer that was a former Senate guard? It was almost identical.

Kinda the same point too....Vader speaks for me.

 

Similar indeed. Only real difference is that in Legends the example killing was Palpatine's idea whereas in canon Vader was the one who suggested it.

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It's a change that imo makes all the difference in the world.

Legends version lacks any kind of surprise. We already expect Palpatine to be a monster that doesn't care about his own subjects. Vader doesn't have any agency, he just follows orders.

But in this version we get to be shocked and surprised because Vader's still young and we don't know the exact depth of his evil. Palpatine on the other hand is humanized because he seems to view one of his men (Tarkin) in high regard.

 

Spoiler

The new issue of the main comics have them on Mon Cala where they mention the King is in chains. I guess that means Vader stopped that uprising. Interesting that he did't kill the king.

 

I wonder how much inquisitors they already have because clearly judging by the new cover they didn't show everybody when Vader first met them.

 

Preview for issue #13 (from https://jedi-bibliothek.de/2018/03/marvel-vorschau-auf-thrawn-2-und-darth-vader-13/)

Spoiler

Spoiler

A three year time jump

 

Guy has some serious issues!

 

For me the most interesting part of that preview was actually the text scroll at the beginning:

I'm a little surprised they are skipping three years ahead already.

 

Nooooooo.

I wanted to see more of the galaxy immediately after Order 66.

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It's morbid that he's had the same Mustafar duel fantasy for 20 years, but this is Vader, so no surprise. On that note, it's a cool continuity detail with Gillen's Darth Vader series where he finally "concludes" his fantasy.

I'm wondering if we'll jump back to 19 BBY in future issues, or if the series will continue from 16 BBY onward starting next issue. Or perhaps the Mon Cala story will take place in the "past" of 19 BBY and it's somewhat of a "flashback" story, similar to how most issues of Kanan were.

Spoiler

A hint that the Mon Cala story takes place sometime in 19 or 18 BBY is the presence of the Sixth Brother on one of the covers. The Sixth Brother was killed by Ahsoka in 18 BBY, or about one year after ROTS. Now, I'm fully aware that comic book covers can be misleading and just because the Sixth Brother is on one of the covers doesn't mean he is in the story for sure. But, IF he is, then it's safe to assume that at least some of the issues take place no later than 18 BBY.

 

Or maybe the live action series will take place after ROTS and that's why there is a time jump. We keep thinking that we are getting the Underworld stuff from before, but its not etched in stone.

 

Vader introductory to the Empire elite at large was a fantastic moment. Also I guess it was about time he started packing his classic lightsaber. But also I saw a bit of Anakin Skywalker in there when Vader took the controls of the ship and was convinced he could outrace the missiles on his own and his frustration when he lands. Also nice contrast when Palpatine wants to see Vader's saber like when Vader wanted to see Luke's saber.

 

Hey, guys, I read German and wanted to allay some fears about a time gap; I checked Jedi-Bibliothek and there was an update in which it says that the opening scrawl was a mistake:

"Matt Martin bestätigte auf Twitter, dass der Zeitsprung aus dem Introtext ein Fehler war und wir uns immer noch 19 VSY befinden!"

Basically it's still in 19BBY; the three years may have been supposed to be three months.

 

I do find it hard to reconcile this comic with the movies, tbh. I would imagine the imperials in ANH would’ve acted vastly different around Vader had he been known to randomly kill them on a whim. This type of situation would make more sense between ANH and ESB, where Vader eventually become more ruthless and more resorting to “kill people if I don’t like this” behavior, repeat several times.

I am however surprised at how nuanced, and daresay, more compelling Palpatine’s evil characterization is in these series. I am also liking more and more the inquisitors.

 

Perhaps the Rule of Five was a good example and the assassination attempts at Vader´s live stopped altogether, but 15+ years later, and under the shadow of the Death Star, officers like Motti began to feel more and more bold around him. After all, what we see in ANH is Tarkin´s territory, with Vader serving mostly as the Emperor´s observer, so they may simply believe themselves too important to be harmed randomly.

By the time of TESB, with no Death Star and a growing Rebellion, the stakes are higher and Vader has all the power back, so he´s free to go back to his own punishment criteria with guys like Tagge, Ozzel or Needa...

 

I wasn’t just talking about the Imperials in the conference room. I was also talking about the Imperials serving under Vader, like Daine Jir, who had to problems in arguing with him and didn’t come across as someone who would feel too threatened by his presence.

I think that portraying Vader as a Badass Evil Guy and a glorifying killing machine is a pretty much given fantasy for every other fanboy, but I do expect some substance and some sensibility for continuity. That and the fact that what makes Vader an unpredictable and compelling villain with his own mysterious personality is that you can never predict his actions because as he doesn’t act like a Cliché Bad Guy, neither that his default action is to kill people like a brat on a whim.

I mean, the one-note Vader in these comics wouldn’t certainly do this:



But I digress.

 

This is mainly due to the difference between the Prequels and the Originals. In the Prequels, blatant displays of Force Powers were common. In the Originals, they were very rare. You're right that if that scene happened in the comic, Vader would probably Force Slam Fett into the wall and leave him pinned there. One of the reasons I like this comic so much is because the Force is being used without restraint. The Gillen series was a lot more OT-like in its use of the Force.

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@Vialco
Well, I wasn’t really thinking about Force displays, I was only talking about behaviors and characterizations. TESB also had much flashier usage of the Force, but the characters still had their own peculiar, unpredictable behaviors and hints of a complex personality. I would said if Vader and Fett relationship happened in this comic, Vader would’ve just predictability Force chocked him and wouldn’t be bothered with negotiations.

I mean, I guess what I am saying, is that Vader felt like a rather complex, not too typical, villain in the movies, and that’s just not what I am seeing here, much to my disappointment. That and I 'm pretty sure Imperials would be more wary of him if the events in this comic had happened in canon. Oh well, there are other things to enjoy in these series.