REVIEW: In Darth Vader #12, Papa Skywalker Strikes Back
In Darth Vader #12 by Greg Pak, Guiu Vilanova, Dean White, Giada Marchisio, and Joe Caramagna, with a main cover by Aaron Kuder and Richard Isanove, readers are given a version of Vader who is between two points!
Photo: Marvel Comics
In Darth Vader #12, the creators draw on the plot of The Empire Strikes Back to dig deep into where (and when) the Skywalker patriarch is at this point in the narrative… and here’s a hint, Marvel Blog True Believers: it’s nowhere good!
After Exegol
Photo: Marvel Comics
In the recap page, which (suitably) evokes the opening scroll from the nine movies in the Skywalker Saga, we learn that Vader has recently returned from a visit to Exegol (seen in Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, as well as in one of the possible paths for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, in which the Starspeeder 3000’s crew is enlisted in the climactic battle of the series).
Photo: Marvel Comics
The recap page in Darth Vader #12 is far from the only time that one of the movies in the Skywalker Saga is invoked by the comic.
For one thing, we also see scenes from The Empire Strikes Back, which took place just before this storyline (remember, that’s where we saw Solo frozen in carbonite and taken by Boba Fett, kicking off this whole War of the Bounty Hunters event).
Photo: Marvel Comics
And that there are plenty of other connections to the Skywalker Saga, as well – did someone say Ochi of Bestoon?
Ochi. Photo: Lucasfilm
But it is also the art, and especially the color, that helps this issue feel like it was pulled from the moments after The Empire Strikes Back ended.
Photo: Marvel Comics
The classic Star Wars galaxy vibe is alive and well in this book… and that makes the impending introduction of vintage Vader to the War of the Bounty Hunters event all the more titillating!
Photo: Marvel Comics
More Adventures on the Way
Will you be launching a mission to your local comic shop to pick up Darth Vader #12? Let us know in the comment section, Marvel Blog True Believers!
