Charles Soule is a #1 New York Times-bestselling novelist, comics author, screenwriter, musician, and lapsed attorney. He has written some of the most prominent stories of the last decade for Marvel, DC and Lucasfilm in addition to his own work, such as his comics Curse Words, Letter 44 and Undiscovered Country, and his original novels Light of the Jedi, The Endless Vessel, The Oracle Year and Anyone. He lives in New York.
Another really cool issue, the art is fantastic and very dynamic and the story is engrossing and fills in a part of the Star Wars canon which is really interesting.
The events of this new series take place shortly after the ending of Revenge of the Sith.
In this issue, Vader's ship was stolen by thieves and Palpatine has ordered him to go retrieve it. Vader finds the thieves and proceeds to annihilate them.
The scene changes to Mid-Rim Jedi Outpost where Clonetroops are messing around with lightsabers as they are processing inventory at the Outpost. They are conversing about how they won't be the ones protecting and annihilating any new threats that may come to the Empire. It is then one of them announces the incoming of a ship.
It is Vader and he is contacted by the Clones, announcing not to come any closer but Vader ignores this and destroys them. The ones at the base are watching in horror and wonder if not all of the Jedi have been destroyed. As Vader's ship docks, one of them believes that if they have the ability to protect the Outpost, then maybe the Emperor would promote them to the red uniforms that would allow them to stand beside him.
As Vader appears, the Clones engage him until Vader force calls a nearby lightsaber to his hand. It is at this moment, the Clones believe that not all Jedi were destroyed. Unfortunately the Clones don't stand a chance against Vader and are destroyed by him.
Vader walks over to the computer and asks his droid if the computer contains any archive of the Jedi. The Droid tells Vader that yes and Vader asks it Barash Vow before the purge. The Droid questions this and Vader tells him to do as he commands. The Droid returns that an answer would help him in requiring the needed information. Vader explains that he has been tasked with finding a Jedi and taking his Kyber Crystal from him.
It is at this time an explosion device is tossed toward the unaware Vader and two Clones appear, demanding that he surrender to them. Unfortunately for them, Vader doesn't obey their orders and takes them out before heading out to his ship.
I won't spoil the rest but I must admit this comic is really interesting and the art is great. I love the idea of knowing how Vader obtains his Kyber Crystal as well as learning what he has been doing between Episodes 3 and 4.
Vader is an interesting character and we know very little of what he was up to before we see him in Episode 4. I am hoping this establish even into the Rogue One storyline and that we learn a little bit more of his time during that stage and what his thoughts are before his arrival on Leia's ship.
Overall, this comic is a great introduction into Vader's life shortly after his "rebirth" as a Sith Lord. If you have not seen Episodes 1 - 3, this comic may contain spoilers for those movies but it may be little depending on if Vader does any sort of reminiscing of his past, which in all honesty, I don't see him doing as it really sort of goes against his character at this point.
The action is pretty good and you will get a chance to see how powerful Vader can and will be as we get closer to his arrival in Rogue One and Episode 4.
Loved the clone troopers, the novelty of Vader and how people react to this as yet unknown person. This new series shows excellent promise. It is great!
I've been watching the Clone Wars cartoon (yes, about a decade too late, I know) and have become a big fan of the clones pre-Order 66. This issue was rough for me. Soule must have liked the cartoon as well or read the Karen Traviss books or something, because the troopers (and ARCs!) in this issue had a lot of personality. They also talked about the Jedi they used to serve with like they were traitors, so it really showed what Order 66 did to them, twisted their minds, just like Palpatine intended.
This was also bittersweet because it reminded me of one of the early episodes of Clone Wars where Cody and Rex showed up on Rishi outpost for an inspection of the shinies. Except instead of commando droids, Vader broke in to the station.
Finally, I am on board for new Star Wars stuff and the Barash Vow sounds like it could open up an entire well of new characters and stories (hint hint, book arm of the Disney empire). This comic series is quickly moving up to the top of my "why can't I have the next issue NOW" list.
Continuing the Chosen One arc has Vader searching for a Jedi to defeat to take their lightsaber to then create his own.
this issue features even more destruction hy Vader's hand. Beautifully defeating clone troopers at a Jedi way-station. He is dedicated to the task of killing a surviving Jedi to the point of ignoring a saber on the station despite it being readily available for use to create his own.
Five stars for some awesome death and destruction that is always welcome when its by Vader's hand.
I thought that this expanded the lore of the Jedi very well, with the Barash vow and all. While it is natural for the clones to question their place after the war, I feel that they are a little too joke-y here. And I was kinda hoping that the Jedi Vader would go after would be someone with whom fans would be familiar already.
Beautiful set-up issue for things to come as this series unfolds. I love the Anakin to Vader transitional period being the drop off point for this one. It is going to be a super fun ride.
Star Wars: Darth Vader (2017-2018) #2 is a fantastic continuation of the series, following Darth Vader as he navigates the early days of his career as a Sith Lord. The writing by Charles Soule continues to be excellent, with a gripping storyline that delves deeper into Vader's motivations and relationships. The artwork by Giuseppe Camuncoli is once again outstanding, with beautifully detailed illustrations that perfectly capture the action and emotion of the story. Overall, I would give Star Wars: Darth Vader (2017-2018) #2 a rating of 5 out of 5 stars, and highly recommend it to any fan of the franchise.