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Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! And I’m here to review the latest issue in the Darth Vader series from Greg Pak and Marvel Comics!
Darth Vader and the Schism Imperial have been on a roll lately, winning a set of victories. And furthering the goal of the group, which is to ultimately overthrow Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious. They made their way to Exegol and secured a kyber crystal. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker received a message about something he might be interested in, and after he showed up at the meeting place he was confronted by none other than Padme Amidala’s former handmaiden Sabe! So what does this all mean? Let’s jump into it and discuss it!
Star Wars: Darth Vader #48 by Greg Pak (writer), Raffaele Ienco (artist), Federico Blee (colorist) & VC’s Joe Caramagna (letterer) is an intriguing issue that focuses mainly on Luke Skywalker rather than the series’ title character. It’s intrigue comes from the test Sabe puts Luke through and also the fact that Vader is aware on some level what is going on. It’s a fun issue to read, and one that might be more skewed towards prequel/original trilogy fans than others, but it’s a great issue regardless!
Sabe puts Luke through her test because she wants to see if he’s a Sith or not. Obviously we know the answer to that question, but consider this issue came out between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and it makes for an interesting story since we don’t 100% know what Luke went through between films. That on top of the fact that Sabe knows more about Luke’s family history than he does, and it’s a giant recipe for a fantastic issue.
My favorite part of the issue is the exchange Luke has with Sabe after the test is over. Sabe admits to Luke she came to kill Luke as soon as she saw a glimmer of Sith in his eyes. And Luke replies, “I’m not perfect, Sabe. But I am not my father.” And the mic drop moment comes from Sabe where she retorts “No. Maybe…you’re more like your mother.” To the best of my knowledge I’m guessing Luke has found out who his mother is by the time he dies in The Last Jedi, but when exactly he does is something that I don’t think has been shown in any capacity thus far. Please reach out to me if I’m wrong. I realize there’s the moment in Return of the Jedi with Leia about their mother, but nothing is concretely stated. It’s a great line, and kudos to Greg for dropping it in this issue.
Vader is in this issue as well, but it’s mainly him brooding on Exegol while he gets a sense through the Force of what’s going on with Luke. He has an idea where he is, but get’s confirmation after Luke himself activates a homing beacon to alert Vader. Will there be another showdown between Luke & Vader? I’m guessing no. Much like Anakin not seeing Grievous before they met in Revenge of the Sith, I don’t think Luke and Vader see each other face to face before they do on Endor. So more likely it’s going to be Imperial Forces sent after him or perhaps Vader will let him go, further enraging Emperor Palpatine.
FINAL POINT: This is a great issue from Greg Pak and the entire creative team. It brings together the prequel & original trilogies in a really fun and interesting way. It also teases some information that Luke doesn’t know but is obviously curious about on some level. Where things go from here is anyone’s guess, and not everyone might like that but I do. I prefer to be surprised and shocked by what I read, and I know Greg Pak is going to do just that.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
Thanks for checking out my review on Nerd Initiative. For more of my content, check out ODPHpodcast.com, follow me on Twitter, and check out more of my reviews here on Nerd Initiative: https://nerdinitiative.com/author/padawanj/!
