Report Card for Marvel’s Star Wars Comics
By Elaine Tveit
DARTH VADER
I have mixed feelings about Darth Vader. In many instances, it was bold and beautiful, with homages to the prequels that were appropriate and, at times, awe-inspiring. In addition, the revelation that the Force-sensitive pilot who destroyed the Death Star is the son of Anakin Skywalker, though not earth-shattering if known to the audience, is still powerful when you witness Vader’s reaction to it. You feel the anger, the weight of the truth of betrayal by the Emperor who hinted that Padme had died before she could give birth. These scenes are incredible, and really mark the oh so faint beginnings of Anakin’s turn against the Dark Side.
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What makes me fall short of giving this comic an incredible review is the bizarre-ness of some of the other plot elements. A psychopathic female doctor, a couple of homicidal droids (AKA C-3PO and R2-D2’s evil twins), and the Star Wars X-Men render the story both more interesting and more weird.
The latter elements form a strange juxtaposition with classic Darth Vader, to be sure, though not an entirely unsuccessful one. While I am at times annoyed with Doctor Aphra, whose willingness to serve Vader straddles the fine line between hero worship and outright stupidity, she makes for an interesting foil for the implacable Sith Lord. The droids were their own characters, despite looking so much like the counterparts in the films, and the Star Wars X-Men… Well, in the end, I’m interested to see where they go and what happens to them. I’m also interested to see if the Emperor’s plans for them are truly what they seem, or if, rather, this is all some elaborate scheme to test Vader.
In the end, I give this series a B+. It’s really great stuff, but there are moments where it got just a tiny bit too bizarre for me.
Next: Princess Leia: A Missed Opportunity