BOOK I
VADER
It is a period of insurgence. The Empires ultimate peacekeeping force, THE DEATH STAR was destroyed due to an unforeseen design flaw. Without this deterrent, the rule of law is in danger. Chaos looms!
Due to his responsibility for the disaster, Darth Vader has fallen in the eyes of Emperor Palpatine. Grand General Tagge is to command the response to the Rebellion.
Unknown to the Emperor, Vader is quietly pursuing his own interests: the mysterious Force-strong pilot who destroyed the Death Star….
The Review
To be honest, Darth Vader 2’s cover had me laughing pretty hard: Darth Vader is disembarking from his shuttle to a line of Imperial soldiers, with his cape billowing fabulously in the wind. It. Just. Isn’t. Vader. He doesn’t strut like a fashion model, or look like he’s about to drop a hip hop album; he’s menacing! Yet, let’s put this aside and get into the content…
First of all, dialogue continues to be a problem in this series. “Situation terminal! There’s no way out! Goodbye” I know he’s going to die, but it sounds like a poorly crafted text message.
Tarkin and Palpatine were alright, but nobody else tells Vader what to do. That just isn’t his character!
The story is somewhat bland. Vader is tracking pirates who are raiding Imperial supplies that he secured from Jabba. Vader gets things done quickly and efficiently, but I can’t help but feel this issue dragged a bit. It’s only the second comic, but there was no visual or dialectic moment that caught my attention, aside from upgraded upgraded droideka.
Vader’s behavior towards astro-droids has gone far south, since his buddy-buddy days with R2-D2; and I guess I have to give Gillen a few points on showing how much Anakin has changed.
However, I’m really hoping the story will pick up and become more interesting, and that the character dialogue and interactions improve dramatically.
To subscribe to Star Wars comics from Marvel click here and for more Jedi News comic reviews click here.