Darth Vader Faces An Old Enemy In 'Star Wars: Hidden Empire' #3
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Star Wars: Hidden Empire #3 jumps right into the awaited confrontation between Darth Vader and the Orphans led by Chanath Cha. As Kho Phon Farrus and the Archivist stay out of the Sith Lord’s sight, Chanath reveals to Vader how long she’s been hunting him since he slaughtered her family in the Lando comic mini-series. When Vader remarks that he had already forgotten her name, she leads the Orphans into battle. Chanath, Sear, Ladybright, and Imara Vex all use their unique skills to push Vader to his limits, but even with all the electric shocks to his systems and corrosive acids flung at his suit, Vader manages to subdue them before casually walking into a nearby ocean to recuperate. As he recovers, the Orphans attempt to leave the planet with Kho and the Archivist, but are convinced by the Archivist to bring the Fermata Cage with them.
Image Source: YouTube
As Kho, the Archivist, Imara, and Ladybright all board the Siroto, Chanath and Sear stay behind to divert Vader’s attention away from the ship. While they do put up a good fight, Vader is ultimately too strong for either of them, taunting Chanath over her shortsightedness in attacking him directly. But before Vader can strike either of them down, Imara uses her rifle to snipe one of Vader’s hands clean off. In turn, Vader uses the Force to tip over the ship, causing Imara to fall off and be seriously injured, forcing the rest of the crew to leave her behind. As the Siroto takes off, Ladybright contacts Qi’ra and requests backup to aid Chanath, Sear, and Imara. Unfortunately, Qi’ra says they’re on their own and orders Ladybright to bring her the Cage. Caring about her team too much to do so, Ladybright pilots the ship back towards the fight to rescue the rest of the Orphans. However, the ship soon turns around again and takes off from the planet, leaving the Orphans at the mercy of Vader.
RELATED:
Image Source: YouTube
Cutting to the interior of the Siroto, we see that the Archivist destroyed Ladybright and took control of the Siroto to bring the Cage to Qi’ra. Exhausted and unwilling to sacrifice any more lives in service of Qi’ra’s goals, Kho asks the Archivist to drop them off, which the Archivist reluctantly agrees to do. The issue then ends with a scene at the Dawnfall Base, where Qi’ra asks Cadeliah if she understands why she left the Orphans to die. Cadeliah says Qi’ra couldn’t afford to and that they had served their purpose in Crimson Dawn’s mission. Qi’ra affirms this and goes on to say that while Chanath might have been the main character in her own story, she was merely a side character in Qi’ra’s.
Image Source: YouTube
Hidden Empire #3 is a solid action-packed issue that gives a satisfying confrontation between Vader and Chanath Cha. Seeing Soule finally complete the story of a character that he introduced in his Lando mini-series is another example of how good he is at weaving his many stories together. I also enjoyed how dysfunctional the team was, and how they were unable to cooperate given their personal commitments, which culminates in the Archivist destroying Ladybright and leaving the Orphans to their fate. Knowing that the Cage will be brought to the Amaxine space station next issue, I’m excited to see how Soule wraps up this story and pays off the ongoing mystery of who is inside the Fermata Cage.
Rating: 8/10
READ NEXT:
Latest News
Featured
