In an exclusive preview on StarWars.com, Darth Vader #10 shows the Sith lord venturing to the planet at the center of The Rise of Skywalker storyline: Exegol.
Marvel’s run of Darth Vader features events happening shortly after The Empire Strikes Back — when Luke Skywalker turned down Vader’s appeal to join him and rule the galaxy as father and son. The ongoing series shows Vader grappling with Luke’s horror-filled refusal, Vader’s turn against the Emperor and events leading up to his redemption seen in Return of the Jedi.
Darth Vader #10 continues Vader’s path of revenge against those who hid his son from him, but also firmly connects post-Empire Strikes Back events to key parts of The Rise of Skywalker. It’s also the penultimate issue in the series that provides depth and clarity to Vader’s story arc and other characters seen in both the original Star Wars trilogy and Episode IX.
Preview summary of Darth Vader #10:
"Following the Emperor’s brutal punishment of his apprentice for seeking vengeance on all those who hid Luke Skywalker from him, Darth Vader heads to Exegol in search of his master’s secrets. In StarWars.com’s first look at Marvel’s Darth Vader #10, Vader faces the might of the Empire itself, and he’s bringing thwarted assassin Ochi along for the ride…"
Exegol and Ochi — key players in Episode IX that help reveal the Emperor’s Sith secrets and his familial ties to Rey. Ochi of Bestoon has been around since the Clone Wars but was featured prominently in The Rise of Skywalker as the assassin sent to find Palpatine/Darth Sidious’ granddaughter Rey and bring her to Exegol, where the Sith lord festered as a clone for three decades following the Battle of Endor.
In Episode IX, Exegol was also shown as the home of Sith cultists and Sidious’ Final Order fleet created in an attempt to form a new Empire controlled by the Sith and the Dark Side.
Darth Vader #8 also featured a connection to Episode IX with Vader fighting the Eye of Webbish Bog. According to Collider, scenes with the Eye were filmed for The Rise of Skywalker but was cut. It did, however, appear in the movie’s novelization by Rae Carson.
In Carson’s novelization, the Eye guides Kylo Ren to his grandfather Darth Vader’s Sith Wayfinder. In Darth Vader #8, Vader is on Mustafar battling creatures and his inner conflicting self as he continues to seek out his master’s secrets. The Eye then presents Vader with a Wayfinder.
It’s no surprise that this Darth Vader run continues to connect to The Rise of Skywalker. Last summer at a San Diego Comic-Con event, writer Greg Pak said the issues will have “key elements that will tie into Episode IX in a huge way.”
Darth Vader #10 is out on Feb. 10. It’s available to pre-order through Comixology and at local comic shops.
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