Published: February 8, 2023
Rating: T
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Ibraim Roberson
Colourist: Federico Blee
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Rahzzah
The synopsis;
THE TAMBOR GAMBIT!
• The Dark Lord finally comes face-to-face with Skakoan revolutionary Jul Tambor – and Sabé finally must pick sides! Is Jul just another selfish, revenge-driven monster? Or is he a freedom fighter who desperately cares about his people? Or both?
• And is Vader more interested in crushing Jul – or completing the co-option of the Handmaidens of Padmé Amidala?
The review;
Striding confidently through the smoke, Jul Tambor is being watched by Darth Vader, though he remains unaware. It’s a very atmospheric and dramatic direct cover by Rahzzah. The two go head-to-head in Yu’s striking variant, which unusually uses an all-white background to make the characters leap off the page. Sprouse’s anniversary variant focusses on Boushh’s disguise, while Manhanini celebrates Black History Month with a fantastic portrait of Janna from The Rise of Skywalker.
After being sent on a mission to assassinate revolutionary Jul Tambor, former handmaiden Sabé is captured. After trying to negotiate with Jul to try and save his people, he reveals that he intends to use Sabé to try and trap Darth Vader. But the Dark Lord is forming his own plan. After being confronted by the rest of the handmaidens, he agrees to help them rescue Sabé. It’s just not the type of help they were expecting.
Pak continues to show the immense strength and loyalty that each of the handmaidens hold. Even though Sabé has left them without details about what she’s doing with the Empire, they cannot accept that she’d willingly work for Darth Vader, and each issue showcases how far they will go to get their fellow handmaiden back. Going up against Darth Vader takes courage, something each of these women have in abundance. One thing that Pak really highlights in Darth Vader (2020) #31 is how much each handmaiden has to lose if their plans fail. He makes it much more personal, and it helps to define each of their personalities.
This issue opens with a fantastic flashback as Vader goes over his last interaction with Padmé, begging her to join him on the fiery mining complex of Mustafar. But it’s not quite a memory. The words are different. His actions are different. Padmé takes his hand. It’s brilliantly written by Pak as it really sums up Vader’s inner conflict. So much changed for him at this exact moment and if things had gone differently, then the entire galaxy could be a different place.
It’s a rejection that Vader does not want to feel again. Which is why he doesn’t give the handmaidens much of a choice about joining his side. Instead, Sly Moore shows up again quite unexpectedly, with a bunch of blackmail material to hold against each woman. She confronts them with what they want, whether that’s to keep their families safe or to make use of the resources of the Empire and warns them of what they stand to lose. It’s a bit surprising that Vader isn’t doing the threatening here, as Sly is more of an annoyance at this point, and her sudden appearance doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Nevertheless, the handmaidens listen to Sly’s warning, though they still want to rescue Sabé on their own terms. Sabé herself is trying to reason with Jul while incarcerated on his flagship. She’s channeling the negotiation skills she learned as Padmé’s double, but the revolutionary is so blinded by his anger that he won’t listen. He’s willing to sacrifice his people just to get to Vader. At some point Jul’s fight might have been a worthy one, but he’s descended into fanaticism. This kind of madness has a lot of potential to build into a strong game of cat-and-mouse between Jul and Vader, so it will be interesting to see how Pak writes their interactions.
As the handmaidens take on Jul’s droid army, viciously cutting down all the battle droids in their path, Vader attempts to board Tambor’s flagship in a brilliantly drawn panel by Roberson. Vader’s lightsaber cutting through the durasteel is almost reminiscent of a horror movie as he drags himself through the jagged hole. There are so many panels to enjoy throughout Darth Vader (2020) #31 though, with a lot of different action sequences. A particular stand out is when the handmaidens are taking on the droids, and each have a panel dedicated to their own unique fighting style.
Darth Vader (2020) #31 ends on quite the cliffhanger as Vader reaches out his hand once more, not to Padmé this time, but to Sabé. Will the past come back to haunt the Dark Lord? Or will Sabé choose to take his hand and stay by his side in the Empire? Her choice will not only determine her fate but that of her fellow handmaidens too in Darth Vader (2020) #32.
Availability;
Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) is an ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. This issue retails at $3.99 and is available via The Marvel App, ComiXology and from all good comic book stores.
