Comic Review: Darth Vader (2020) #39

As Vader’s castle partially blots out the moon and a massive droid rises from the smoky plains of Mustafar, the Sith Lord stands poised to fight in Yu & Fajardo’s direct cover. It’s a blend of haunting and creepy, perfectly suiting the October comics season. Marquez’s variant goes even darker, portraying Vader standing over a lava pool as Zed melts to death – not that the droid was innocent by any means. Bringing a much lighter tone is Zitro’s The Clone Wars 15^thAnniversary variant with the pirate king himself, Hondo Ohnaka, and Sprouse focusses on the flying friendship between Lando and Nien Nunb.

With the Spark Eternal ever hungry and growing more restless with each droid mind it consumes, it is determined to find a path into the flesh of organics. Yet its previous experiments have failed drastically and so it has set its sights onto someone who is machine and man. Darth Vader. As the Sith Lord fights the possessed Octuptarra droid under Zed’s command, his only chance is reconnecting with the powers of the Dark Side. Hate leads to power, so who does Darth Vader hate most?

While the malevolence of the Spark Eternal is determined to come for the metal and then control the flesh, it’s not an easy foe for Vader to currently face as he battles for control of his own powers. Weakened and relying on crude weapons compared to his lightsaber, Vader’s grappling with himself as much as he is the Spark Eternal channeled through Zed. The middle of a battle seems like a strange time for self-reflection, but Vader has been forged on Mustafar, so the fiery backdrop is a fitting place for the Sith Lord to now be reforged.

At first Vader is trying to use his mechanical knowledge to defeat the Octuptarra droid, something he has plenty of experience with from tinkering with droids for so many years. Without full use of his powers, Vader can’t rely on brute strength, and it’s interesting to see him return to using his intelligence as a weapon in Darth Vader (2020) #39. Not that Vader is unintelligent, but upon his turn to the Dark Side, he does forgo brains for brawn most of the time.

Yet the Octuptarra is heavily fortified to survive the lava flows of Mustafar, so the usual methods for downing a droid aren’t working. Overloading its electrical circuits does nothing. Neither does trying to blast it. Seeing Vader getting thrown around like a ragdoll is very far from the menacing presence we’re used to, and Ienco does a brilliant job suggesting how the Sith Lord is being overpowered in this combat sequence. He’s always on the defence, taking hit after hit, and the impact lines as Vader is flung into a wall all create this sense of losing. And Vader never loses!

So, like the weirdest cheering squad ever, his other droids try to encourage Vader by making him mad. Hate and anger power the Dark Side after all. What could possibly go wrong? As Vader continues to lose and be attacked by his own droids, he delves into a moment of self-reflection. Diving into his memories he examines who he hates most. Qui Gon for not saving the slaves of Tatooine? The Tusken Raiders who killed his mother? Yet at his heart, in a deeply introspective moment, Vader understands he hates himself the most.

Pak is returning to this idea of struggle. Vader may be a Sith, yet he’s always struggled to reconcile his past as Anakin Skywalker, torn between two sides of the Force. There’s a sense of ambiguity in this flashback of whether Vader hates Anakin for failing, or that he hates himself for what he’s become. It’s a fascinating moment in the heart of this battle, adding a lot more context to what could just have been another fight scene. And to capture this self-reflection Ienco brings a calmness and stillness to the panels of the flashback, contrasting with the kinetic energy during the battle itself.

Of course, while the plan itself is solid and making Vader mad actually works, it doesn’t end well for the droids. You don’t throw stuff at Vader without getting hit back. It does add a little humour to this otherwise quite emotionally heavy storyline, especially as one of them very wisely decides to sit the whole thing out.

As Vader now regains control over his Force powers, Pak doesn’t make it obvious how this arc will continue to connect to the Dark Droids crossover. Will the Spark Eternal keep Vader in its sights, or will it try to overrun the Imperial fleet again? Darth Vader (2020) #39 feels like a self-contained issue and while the focus should be on Vader, a stronger connection in the finale might have been better for story cohesion. A fully reforged Sith Lord surely can’t be overtaken by an evil hive mind… right?