Written by: Kieron Gillen
Art by: Salvador Larroca and Edgar Delado
Publisher: Marvel
Darth Vader #5 hits on one of the most interesting mysteries of the time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope – was there ever conflict for the Emperor’s favor? Of course, in the old canon the Emperor’s hands existed, but most of the infighting between them and Vader wasn’t official canon, even back then. And even if they had been, they pale in comparison with what Gillen, Larroca, and co are doing in Darth Vader #5.
Of course, we’ve been building to this point since the first issue of the series, and this very much feels like the penultimate issue, before this chapter in Darth Vader’s history is wrapped up. As such, this issue is very much the best issue of the series, considering that we get everything that’s made it great throughout jam-packed into a single issue. The maniacal droids Triple Zero and BT get their time to shine (and steal the issue, as per usual since their introduction). There’s more of the great dynamic between Vader and the doctor that is an absolute joy to read. There’s great action sequences, of course. And, for the first time since I believe the second issue, we get to see the Emperor return to the fray.
On top of that, everything about this issue just feels right. Gillen nails the characters and the character interactions, which is by no means an easy feat, especially where Vader is concerned. There’s also no template for how Vader should be interacting with most of these characters, since they are Gillen’s creations and this is a completely new canon. But even better than this is the art. Larroca captures Vader’s movements perfectly, as well as the movements of all the droids that are around. Vader’s motions are clunky, just as they are in the original trilogy. In the main conflict of this issue, these clunky movements are given a nice contrast, as Larroca gets to take a crack at more traditional “Jedi.”
There’s not much that isn’t done excellently in Darth Vader #5. It’s by no means a perfect comic, but it hits all the right beats, and provides a great penultimate issue for this story. It is, by nature, largely setup. As such, we don’t get any of the real action here – that’s being saved for next issue. In spite of this, the issue still moved along at a brisk pace, so the story didn’t lose all the much steam as a result of this issue being set up. So if you like Star Wars, and/or you like comics, this is definitely something you should be checking out.
