Marvel's 'Darth Vader' Series Recreates A Similar Prequel Massacre

Matthew Stover’s novelization of Revenge of the Sith describes the cruel reality of Darth Vader shortly after he has been turned into more machine than man:

"It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith,

because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself,

and within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.

This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker.

Forever..."

The shadow of course was Darth Sidious, and the former hero of the Republic, now turned Sith, Darth Vader was no more than a pawn, a tool that could be used by his master as he pleased, just a brutal enforcer of the Empire's iron fist.

RELATED: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Darth Vader's Suit

We saw Vader’s role even before he was put into the iconic black armor: the Clone War had ended and Sidious had summoned the Separatists’ leaders to Mustafar, to wait for further orders. These orders didn’t come, as Sidious sent his new apprentice to the lava planet. The Sith Lord had no more uses for Nute Gunray or Wat Tambor, they had served their purpose. When Anakin/Vader landed on Mustafar he ordered R2-D2 to stay behind, as he probably didn’t want a witness for what he was about to do: After locking all exits with the Force, he destroyed the battle droids that were present and slayed the Separatists’ leaders, until in the end only Gunray was left, begging for mercy, that he wouldn’t receive.

Since then, Vader has fought hundreds of battles for the Emperor, killed countless enemies and has tried to rise up against his master, to be more powerful and to deceive and defeat him as the Sith have always done. Until Sidious crushed him time and time again, making him face the “cruelty of the Sith”, but at the same time proving to him that the “shadow” would be the only one he would ever have.

Issue 17 of the current Darth Vader comic line from Marvel, written by Greg Pak and illustrated by Raffaele Ienco, shows Vader causing similar carnage to that of two decades earlier on the lava planet. This issue is still part of the monumental War of the Bounty Hunter series: The Empire had lost the carbonite frozen Han Solo to Boba Fett, who would bring the smuggler to Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. But Luke Skywalker, who had tried to distract Vader so that Leia and Lando could get away with Han, was still in the Jekara system, hunted by Vader in his Advanced TIE-fighter. Previous events had made Vader aware, once more, that he wouldn’t be able to defeat Sidious for the time being, but there was one thing he could do to take revenge on his master: kill Luke Skywalker, so that Sidious wouldn’t get a chance to make the young Jedi his new apprentice, replacing Vader.

But once again the “shadow” was a step ahead of his apprentice, sending orders for Vader to personally stop an attack from a fleet of Hutt ships under the command of Bokku the Hutt, before Vader could get Luke. Vader had ordered Bokku to bid against Jabba in an auction for Han Solo, staged by Crimson Dawn. According to their deal, Bokku should lose against Jabba, getting humiliated by the crime lord and giving him a chance to kill Jabba when he didn’t expect it. But instead, Bokku decided to gather the support of the rest of the Hutt clan and attack the Executor, Vader’s flagship.

Vader’s response to this atrocity was the same as on Mustafar all those years ago: Using his lightsaber, he cut through Hutts and Gamoerran guards, severing heads and limps until at the end, only Bokku was left.

But unlike Nute Gunray the Hutt didn’t beg for mercy. Instead he confessed that he had been in league with Crimson Dawn from the beginning and never intended to comply with the deal he had with Vader. In the end, Vader killed Bokku too, who in his dying moments self-destructed his flagship hoping to kill the Sith Lord. Vader narrowly escaped, returning to the Executor to await further orders from Sidious.

The comics are now slowly approaching the events of Return of the Jedi, when Vader would finally be able to defeat the “shadow” and to stop burning in his own flame.

READ NEXT: The Surprising Reason Behind General Grievous's Famous Cough

Source: CBR

Written by Gerald Petschk

Syndicated from Culture Slate

Join The Team