The endgame of ‘End of Games,’ and our look back at this first volume of “Star Wars: Darth Vader,” is upon us. What kind of ending does it provide to the reader? Does it satisfy and wrap up current storylines while simultaneously leaving the door open a crack for further adventures?
As this is the end of the series, do note there will be spoilers throughout, so tread carefully.
Cover by Juan GimenezWritten by Kieron Gillen
Illustrated by Salvador Larocca and Mike Norton
Colored by Edgar Delgado and David Curiel
Lettered by VC’s Joe CaramangaCollects Darth Vader #20-25.
Darth Vader has been secretly pursuing his own agenda, but now it is time for the End of Games. As Inspector Thanoth returns with some startling information, it seems that Vader may have passed his master’s tests. But even after finding favor in the eyes of the Emperor, the Dark Lord’s schemes may yet prove his undoing. While killer droids Triple-Zero and Beetee wreak havoc in their own homicidal adventure, the Empire’s dreadnought The Executor moves closer to launch. But Vader faces tumultuous battles with the cybernetic Cylo — and himself! Lost in visions of the Force, is he now more machine than man? Or can he fight his way back from the brink to see his missions and machinations finally come to fruition? The imperial march of the dark side reaches a crescendo!
One of the more difficult tasks of doing retrospective reviews like this is knowing the endgame the entire time you’re on the journey to it. With the “Star Wars: Darth Vader” series currently on its third volume, I know that the adventures will continue after these last three issues, in some form. But I’m also trying to approach this as if I was reading it in 2016, not knowing if it was going to be back for more volumes. I’m looking for that ending that provides catharsis and closure to all the existing storylines, all while knowing there would eventually be another installment to pick those up. (As well as a spinoff series for Doctor Aphra.)
In a way, I empathize with the main character from one of my other Multiversity summer binges, Outlander‘s Claire Fraser: we both know the future and can see the path forward, and that knowledge clouds our current present. Balancing these various aspects of my reading experience hasn’t been any easy feat, and perhaps my lesson for the 2022 Summer Comics (and even TV) Binges is to shy away from that crutch of existing knowledge as much as possible, so as not to cloud judgment.
“It’s good to have an answer,” as Lord Vader says at the end of issue #23. And do we get those answers that Lord Vader seeks when we reach the final page of issue #25?
When we last left Vader, he was seemingly dead on his ship, thanks to some shifty driving from Cylo. But we all knew he was going to get the upper hand over Cylo, and Cylo meets his demise (well, the first one at least) at the end of a Sith lightsaber — but not before a flashback to Vader’s days as Anakin, a showdown with Obi-Wan, all with a pregnant Padme Amidala watching. Oh yes, you say. Wasn’t this entire series about Vader’s search for Luke, his son? What happened to that? Remember that father and son reunited is not the endgame for this series (if you want to see that, it’s on Disney+), but the journey to that moment is. Think of this series as the chili cooking in the crockpot, the smells making their way through their house. You know what dinner is, and you can’t wait, but you’re going to bask in those moments of preparation, which make you even more eager for the payoff. (Forgive the food analogies. I’m writing this around dinner hour on the U.S. East Coast, and I guess I’m hungrier than I thought!)
There is closure with the relationship between Vader and Aphra as well. For all her devotion, Vader remains displeased with her behavior. For punishment, he throws her out of the ship via airlock as she tearfully begs for her life, reminding Darth Vader that she did all she was asked and then more. Her death scenes, with her tiny body hurling through the vastness of space, are heartbreaking in their emptiness, their quiet. It’s just that tiny body, unable to control where or when it goes, in the vacuum of darkness, with only the stars around her to provide comfort or closure. I’ve been perhaps unfairly harsh at times on artist Salvador Larocca, but he saved the best for last in this moment. Action scenes weren’t his strongest suit, and character moments sometimes had their hiccups (there’s inconsistencies in Aphra’s face in this batch of issues), but he does know how to build a large scale scene, and one that tugs at your heartstrings at that. This is the way Aphra’s life ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Continued belowOr does it? Like any good movie of the past 20 years, there’s always a scene after the credits roll, perhaps even more than one. We get to see that Aphra survived the trip out of the airlock, reunited with Black Krrsantan, Beetee, and Triple Zero, ready for a life on the run that we’ll see in “Star Wars: Doctor Aphra.” And we get a peek into one of Darth Vader’s side trips to Tatooine, his first trip to the planet. In order to pass the time, as any good Sith does, he decides to take out a village of Tusken raiders. But they’re not as dead as he may think, and their totem of Vader that they set on fire suggests either hero worship or – – more likely – – they have a score to settle.
As the main storyline closes, Vader stands on his ship staring into the vastness of space. He’s longing for connection with Luke, and he knows it will come. Soon. There’s that breath before father and son meet in The Empire Strikes Back. We leave satisfied, knowing what comes next, but set up for some new stories courtesy of Doctor Aphra.
Thank you for joining me on this adventure this summer and autumn. And with a second volume of Vader stories to be told (though it will focus on Vader’s time during and after Revenge of the Sith), we’ll be back to explore this complicated man and his complicated past next summer. Until then, may The Force be with you – – always.
