Review: 'Darth Vader' (2020) #50
Image Source: Wookieepedia
This past week, the final issue of the four-year-running Darth Vader comic that began in 2020 was released! Issue #50 was a unique final installment, similar to Issue #50 of the main Star Wars (2020) run that ended last week, as it also numbered around 50 pages of story. CultureSlate is happy to review this final issue and explore what this penultimate entry has to share with us.
Warning: Spoilers for Marvel’s Darth Vader (2020) Issue #50 ahead!
Summary
The 2020 Darth Vader run has kept Vader busy all these years, with a huge diversity of locations, missions, and focuses for the Dark Lord of the Sith between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. To provide context for the events of the comic finale, the ongoing comic arc has seen Vader attack Exegol in a move against his master. Aided by the Schism Imperial, a secret faction within the Empire led by Sly Moore, he is betrayed by her and left in the clutches of Rebels. She reveals she formed the Schism and betrayed Vader, hoping that she could kill both him and Luke to become a new Sith apprentice under Sidious.
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Image Source: Mark Paniccia on X.com
Unfortunately for Moore, upon learning that she intends to kill a hero of the Alliance, the Rebels free Vader and travel with him to stop her. Meanwhile, Sabé, one of Padme’s handmaidens and a recurring character throughout the series, has just finished testing Luke to see if he has the same rage as his father (since Sabé learned the truth about Vader during this comic run). Attacked by a weapon at Sly Moore’s command, Luke survives when Darth Vader arrives, and this is where Issue #50 begins.
In contrast to Star Wars (2020)’s finale last week, the Vader finale is much more disjointed. First, there is the main story with Vader. It shows his defeat of Sly Moore before he takes back the weaponry she took from him before he seizes control of the weapon she planned to kill Luke with. Facing down a horde of Stormtroopers and Sith cultists, an empowered Vader mows his way through them, only to become overwhelmed by the emotions he feels in his supercharged state and as Sidious manipulates him on the battlefield. Coming out of a vision, despite urgings from Sabé to remember Anakin and the good, Vader is broken and bows to his master, fully compliant and depressed.
What follows are a trio of interconnected epilogues, following Ochi of Bestoon reacting to the recent events (as he was not involved), an interaction between Sabé and Leia, and Kitster and Wald, Anakin’s friends from childhood freed from slavery by Sabé years ago, who eventually became wrapped up in the Schism Imperial, escaping from the final battle and freeing more of their friends. The comic ends with a brooding Vader in his castle, proclaiming firmly that Anakin Skywalker is dead.
Pros And Cons
Image Source: Mark Paniccia on X.com
Many fans have had mixed feelings about this Darth Vader comic run, and Issue #50 is no different, with various positives and negatives. For the issue’s pros, each of the three epilogues works to wrap up existing narrative threads while also working together to continue the ongoing story. Sabé, meanwhile, lives, and her story is kept open-ended for now, which may allow her to play a greater role in any post-Endor stories. This final story also does a good job of culminating many of the more emotion-focused points that emerged throughout the run. Vader is ultimately left defeated, in a good place to mirror his appearance in Return of the Jedi, where he is convinced that his master cannot be disobeyed or destroyed.
However, there are cons to this issue as a wrap-up for the series overall. The alignment flip-flop of Sly Moore is one of the least appealing parts of the character’s inclusion in the past four years of the comics. Her motives constantly changed and sometimes became contradictory very quickly, even when the threat of Vader and imminent death at his hands should have come to mind more than it seemingly did. Her betrayal of the Schism Imperial revealed in the first epilogue story is confusing since it is implied she had been working with Sidious before the attack launched on Exegol. There is no clarification on how long Moore had been working with Sidious, so it might cause a reader to doubt her agency in the overall story if the Emperor was deeply involved in this seeming betrayal.
Image Source: Star Wars Splash Pod on X.com
Another negative is ultimately the sheer scope of the narrative at play. Too much had to be wrapped up incredibly quickly, and while this is accomplished, the ending can come across as sudden, especially as the three epilogue stories contain a majority of the narrative offered in this comic. It cannot do everything, though, and one can only hope that imminent stories in comics, or some future unrevealed novel, can address details such as the fate of the M.A.R Corps (the Rebels Vader was left in the hands of), the other Schism Imperial members, and Sly Moore, whose survival at the end of this series suggests a role to play in the post-Endor era of Star Wars. All in all, the finale issue was a good close to the series despite its problems and has hopefully planted seeds for the future that will sprout sooner rather than later.
Rating: 7.5/10
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