Darth Vader Comics 2-10 Review
Following on from Charles Soule’s portrayal of a confused and angry Darth Vader in issue 1, the next instalments in the Star Wars franchise focus on Vader’s ability to find a lightsaber, train the Inquisitorius, and hunt down the surviving Jedi. Despite presenting a challenging relationship between The Emperor and Vader, Soule’s impression of the new Sith Lord feels sadly all too flat and one-dimensional.
The main mission of this series seems to be to portray just how cruel Vader can be. Within issue 4 Vader only manages to overpower Jedi Master Infil'a by taking advantage of his kindness. Vader Force-pushed the security near Infil’a off the edge of a damn, so Infil'a used the Force to save the local authority, only to witness Vader destroy the damn which then flooded the nearby city. As Infil’a did all he could to stop the oncoming water from destroying the city, Vader stole the Jedi Master’s lightsaber and then swiftly broke his neck.
After Vader’s show of inhumanity he discovers a new enemy in the Old Jedi Temple, only to find out from Darth Sidious that it is the Grand Inquisitor who Palpatine has plans for. In fact there are a whole group of Inquisitorius who Sidious gathered in order to help them kill the remaining Jedi. Palpatine puts Vader in charge of their training, who is merciless in this role. At one point he cuts off the arm of a training Inquisitor, just to show them the feeling of loss. Again Vader is presented as a vicious villain who cares not for his enemies or his allies. In fact, the only character Vader shows respect for is The Emperor.
However when Vader hunts down Jocasta Nu, the Jedi Librarian, who has a plan to find all the Force sensitive children in the galaxy by finding the hidden holocron with this information on, Vader begins to question his Master. Jocasta Nu, who offers little battle against the Dark Lord, asks Vader why Sidious would not inform Vader of his plan, and suggests that The Emperor wants this information to replace Vader eventually.
Nu’s questioning manages to cast a sense of doubt over Vader, and in his anger he strikes Jocasta down so that Palpatine cannot get more information from her. After this happens Vader gets in contact with Sidious to inform him that the former Jedi Librarian was killed by accident, and when questioned on whether Vader found the holocron he swiftly destroys and says he found "nothing". Issue 10 presents for the first time, since the first issue, where Vader begins to doubt his Master. This is by far the highlight of the comic series so far.
Darth Vader has been presented as a flat and one-dimensional character so far in the series. Despite his fierceness and lack of mercy, for most of the comics Vader’s character lacks development. But issue 10 may perhaps be a sign that Vader’s emotions may begin to get in the way of the new path that he has chosen...