With the task of taking Jocasta Nu alive, Darth Vader and the Archivist are at a stalemate…
In the latest issue of Marvel Star Wars current Darth Vader (2017) run, we begin with the confrontation between Darth Vader and Jocasta Nu. He makes it clear that he intended such on taking her alive, but with an ancient blaster from the Jedi Order, she attempts to hold him off.
The brief stalemate allows for the two parties to exchange “pleasantries.” She reveals to Vader that she knows his former identity. That he was Anakin Skywalker, the former Jedi Knight, and now he’s a servant of the Emperor.
She taunts his mission, telling him that the Jedi will rise again no matter the outcome of their encounter. It’s the nature of the Force. It echoes what Snoke states in The Last Jedi:
"Darkness rises, and the light to meet it."
Photo Credit: Marvel, Lucasfilm
Their brief standoff comes to an end when Jocasta Nu’s Blaster malfunctions and explodes. The explosion tears a hole in the wall of the Jedi Temple. Jocasta Nu see this as her last route for escape. She summons a lightsaber to her hand and jumps through the hole, only to be greater by a squad of Coruscant security troopers who open fire on her and Darth Vader alike.
The squad commander comes into the scene in a speeder and quickly realizes his men have opened fire on Darth Vader. He corrects this mistake but pays for it with his life when Vader comes aboard his vessel. The squad then corners and disarms Jocasta Nu; they’ve been Order to take her alive by this point. She will not give in freely and attempt to jump off a ledge to her death, and she would have succeeded if not for Vader.
Photo Credit: Marvel, Lucasfilm
Jocasta teaches Darth Vader what his true position is…
With Jocasta Nu secured to the speeder, Vader can retrieve the Data file she had come for. He looks over the information and quickly realizes it’s a list of the Force-sensitive children in the galaxy. It’s at this moment that Jocasta Nu wounds Vader with the knowledge that he is not as valuable to the Emperor as he first thought. With the list, the Emperor could replace him with a more “able-bodied” apprentice.
Photo Credit: Marvel, Lucasfilm
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Jocasta Nu then reveals Vader’s true identity to the security squad and seals their fate. If Vader is to keep his position, the list must be destroyed, and Jocasta Nu can’t survive. It’s quickly becoming a trend for Vader, he doesn’t suffer fools or rivals and eliminates both with extreme prejudice.
Jocasta Nu and the information she came to retrieve Cut Vader to his core. He is not truly the emperor’s apprentice, and the rule of two that once dominated the Sith is no more. Vader is merely a tool the Emperor can wield according to his will. And when the time comes that he no longer needs Vader, the Emperor will discard him without a care.
Slowly but surely Darth Vader learns his place.
Another great issue in what is becoming the best of the current Marvel Star Wars run. It’s providing us with the Vader Mythos we’ve lacked since the prequels made Anakin Skywalker a bit of a whiny teen.
Next: The Last Jedi displays parallels to the past
Slowly but surely the seeds of dissent are being planted into Vader’s mind. He turned against everything he knew to learn at the Emperor’s side. He did it protect the ones he loved. Now, all that he loved is now lost, and he’s coming to realize quickly that the Emperor merely views him as an expendable asset. And one he’d easily replace.
Be sure to catch up on the latest Darth Vader Marvel Star Wars comic run — Darth Vader (2017).