- Written by Kieron Gillen
- Art by Max Fiumara & Salvador Larroca
- Cover by Juan Gimenez
It has all built up to this! Vader’s trials against Cylo’s creations! His machinations against the Emperor! His covert missions with Doctor Aphra and her murderous droids! All comes to fruition in an ending you can’t miss!
Pick-up your copy of ‘Darth Vader’ #25 at Comixology now!
After twenty-five issues ‘Darth Vader’ is coming to a close. It’s a sad but fitting ending to a series which started out strong but lost its way through muddled storytelling.
I’ve been reading this series since its outset, in fact I subscribed to this series long before it even began. I was sitting in the room at the Marvel panel at SDCC 2014 when this series was announced. Its initial issues had strong visuals and equally strong storytelling. Seeing the story from Darth Vader’s point of view, surrounding him with a new supporting cast whilst dropping in characters from the main ‘Star Wars’ universe now and then was brilliant.
Now we find ourselves twenty-five issues later trying to wrap things up in the space of one bumper issue.
Where ‘Darth Vader’ went wrong was in its own storytelling. It may have been more appropriate to call this series ‘Star Wars: The Dark Side’ or something along those lines. What started out as a Darth Vader tale has by this issue become an ensemble piece about villains in the ‘Star Wars’ universe.
Some of those characters have been more compelling than others. Dr Aphra took an early lead for most well crafted character but has far outlived her usefulness. Her ‘death’ at the hands over Vader in this issue comes far too late. If this had happened months ago a revenge tale may have allowed this series a much longer shelf life.
Ironically two of the best characters in all the ‘Star Wars’ franchise comics are Triple-Zero and Beetee. The idea of callous, torture droids just somehow seems to work. Their appearances have brought some genuine high points to the series and I will miss them most.
Possibly due to short notice on the series ending we’ve also been introduced to traitorous scientist Cylo (not to be confused with Kylo Ren). Who has activated Vader’s kill switch. Cylo seems to be a ‘Star Wars’ clone of Dr Strange in his looks, he’s easily dispatched and does very little damage to the titular character. Given a bit more development perhaps he would have provided more a foil but sadly there is no time for that.
Where ‘Darth Vader’ has never let us down is in its visuals. From start to finish this series has looked amazing. The backup story about Anakin Skywalker is one of the most stunning looking stories in modern ‘Star Wars’ comics. Character renders have been consistent, space looks amazing and the designs for ships and characters from the films have always been faithfully adapted. I will miss your aesthetic ‘Darth Vader’.
Verdict
‘Darth Vader’ #25 is the best ending we could hope for to a series which sadly outstayed its welcome.
3 stars
