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Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020)

Star Wars: Darth Vader, Vol. 4: Crimson Reign

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Red revenge! Lady Qi’ra not only insulted the Empire, but challenged it. In the end, Darth Vader showed her criminal organization that the Empire is not to be toyed with. But now, fearful whispers echo in every corner of the Empire — Darth Vader is on the hunt, searching for anyone with any connection to the Crimson Dawn. How deep has the Dawn infiltrated the galaxy — and are all their operations worthy of the wrath of Vader? In the bowels of Bespin, Darth Vader once told his son he wanted to bring order to the galaxy. Now his promise will be put to the test, as he leads an unlikely crew of heroes and assassins against the Crimson Dawn!


COLLECTING: Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) #18-22

120 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2022

59 people are currently reading
351 people want to read

About the author

Greg Pak

1,645 books579 followers
Greg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."

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5 stars
195 (19%)
4 stars
401 (40%)
3 stars
319 (32%)
2 stars
59 (6%)
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9 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
Profile Image for Khurram.
2,364 reviews6,690 followers
April 9, 2025
It's a good book. I have to say I did enjoy vol 1 and 2 slightly more than this one, but still a good book.

The war between the Empire and Crimson Dawn continues. Now Darth Vader is on the offensive. Who can he trust, and can they trust him? A lot of changing loyalties in this book, it is confusing who is on which side, but the strongest thing in this book is the look into Vader's mind. Going back to his conversation with Padme and his darkest days.

Dispite how powerful Vader is. This book is also a reminder of how brilliant a tactician is, determined and ruthless Vader. As he unearths traitors in the Empire, what if someone discovers his secrets again. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.
Profile Image for Benji Glaab.
771 reviews60 followers
December 26, 2022
2.5 stars. A few too many characters and the story jumps around basically like space travel only takes a matter of minutes which makes the pacing seem like a mess. This volume didn't have the care that the last 7-8 years of Vader comics are usually produced with.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
October 17, 2022
These five issues comprise the Crimson Reign issues of Darth Vader, but they're mostly just more Vader being Vader - Crimson Dawn are mostly just incidental aside from a little subplot with Ochi Of Bestoon that won't play out till next time.

Of more interest is the return of Sabé, Padmé's handmaiden from earlier in the series. She's a great foil for Vader, and it's nice to have someone around who doesn't just seem either terrified of him or overconfident to the point that he kills them. We all know her days are numbered, but it's fun to see her sparring with Vader on equal footing, I'm glad she's back.

Raffaele Ienco remains on art for three of the five issues here, with Leonard Kirk appearing on one, and Guiu Villanova popping over from Eternals to do an issue too. Vader's always been a decent looking book, and there's no change there, though Kirk's still not one of my favourite artists.

Vader's Crimson Reign tie-in might not get him any more long term readers if they're looking for overarching plot points between this and the other Star Wars books, but it's still a solid read for those who've stuck around this far.
Profile Image for Jesús De la Jara.
818 reviews101 followers
January 25, 2025
Empieza con Vader queriendo vengarse del Alba Escarlata y empezando a golpear todos los sitios donde ellos ataquen, incluso si están aliados con algunos agentes del Imperio. En Vincorba se alía a unos luchadores que odian al Alba. Valance . Cuando destruyen un puesto del Alba se dan cuenta que está infiltrada hasta altas esferas del Imperio. Sabé mientras se ha afiliado al Alba para que Vader la busque y encontrarlo pero aquí se entera que Anakin y Padmé tuvieron un hijo. Sabé tendrá un plan para engañar a Vader y de paso a miembros del Alba como Ochi y Dora Moore.
Me gusta, aunque entiendo que a algunos les canse, la cantidad de veces que Pak usa los recuerdos de las precuelas durante su narración. El final entre Sabé y Vader me encantó y anuncia lo que se viene.
Profile Image for Dakota Morgan.
3,390 reviews53 followers
February 13, 2023
Crimson Reign commits the cardinal sin of having Darth Vader be an ancillary character in a Darth Vader book. Instead, we spend most of Crimson Reign with Ochi the assassin and his terrifically dull band of mercenaries who hate Crimson Reign. Ultimately, Darth Vader's goal is to destroy Crimson Reign from the inside... maybe? I just don't know and it seems clear that none of this will matter in the long run.

A Darth Vader comic should be wordless and action packed. Vader arrives, says nothing, demolishes everything, moves on. Dialogue is a waste of space.

Oh, I guess Vader is also going to team up with Amidala's handmaiden, Sabe. Maybe that will be interesting in the future? It's not very interesting here.
Profile Image for ambyr.
1,078 reviews100 followers
August 30, 2024
I like a good double . . . or triple . . . or quadruple cross as much as the next person, but at this point everyone in this series has betrayed everyone else so many times that I simply do not care. Who is on who's side? Who knows, it will change six panels later, why should I bother to keep track.
Profile Image for AJ Kallas.
123 reviews48 followers
July 31, 2022
The Vader is the best Star Wars book coming out.
Profile Image for Kelly.
150 reviews
March 12, 2023
Vader: "Fear me, if you dare" 😈
Sabé, sipping tea and pulling up a deck chair: "Shut up Anakin" 👑
Profile Image for Frédéric.
1,971 reviews86 followers
June 21, 2023
Vader and some kind of Scooby gang try to expurge Crimson Dawn of the Empire.

Vader is ancillary in his own series and fails to be the impressive Sith Lord he is supposed to be.
Ochi of Bestoon- a poor man’s Deadpool of a sort- kinda leads the aforementioned Scooby gang and make bad jokes while almost everybody double-crosses someone else. Sigh.
I don’t click with Sabé and her quest either.

A bunch of unimpressive different artists illustrate the whole. None is particularly bad but none is good enough to save the day.
Profile Image for Matthew Ward.
1,046 reviews25 followers
November 11, 2023
Snip, snap, snip, snap. Crimson Dawn, not Crimson Dawn, Crimson Dawn. A lot is going on in this volume when it comes to allegiances and moves for power which is exactly what I want in a Vader book. I especially thought the utilizations of Ochi and Sabé were great in this volume.
Profile Image for Teresa.
Author 4 books89 followers
December 15, 2022
3-4 ABY

This graphic novel is volume four of the 2020 Darth Vader series containing issues 18-22, the compilation of which is entitled "Crimson Reign." As inferred from the title, this is related to Crimson Dawn's takeover of the crime syndicates and causing a new kind of war among the galaxy. There is a bit of cross-over here with the Bounty Hunters series as well, and I recommend reading Bounty Hunters Volume 4: Crimson Reign, before reading this one due to some of the events. There is a lot of Ochi of Bestoon, who is interesting to gauge and figure out. Vader has his own agenda when it comes to getting rid of Crimson Reign members, and might even be trying to get rid of a few Empire people who seem rather troublesome. The handmaiden and double of Queen Amidala, Sabe, also makes a reappearance. Her involvement with the bounty hunters and Vader will certainly be interesting.

The art in this volume doesn't seem up to par with other Darth Vader works, but it's still good. It is interesting to read the different parts of the timeline (Bounty Hunters, Darth Vader 2020, Star Wars 2020, and Doctor Aphra) and how they all interconnect. I really like seeing Ochi in action. I am extremely excited to read Shadow of the Sith, which has a lot of Ochi in it, and it's nice to get some of his backstory before the fall of the Empire. I find the dynamic between Sabe and Vader will also add quite the interesting element as the story continues. 
Profile Image for Ahdom.
1,314 reviews25 followers
May 19, 2022
Vader comics always seem to deliver. Greg Pak keeps the story moving, tying the expanded Star Wars lore into the Vader story in the era of Crimson Reign. This was a good run with lots of action and a cool story. I am so excited to see what's next for the Vader line!
Profile Image for Rebecca.
155 reviews18 followers
October 26, 2022
Had a little bit of a hard time following the crimson reign storyline but loved all the bits with Sabé especially that end! ❤️
Profile Image for Karissa.
260 reviews
November 12, 2024
“Is this about Lord Vader again?”
“It’s always about Vader”

So true 👏🏻 And now Sabe knows his secret…
Profile Image for Kati.
910 reviews9 followers
April 11, 2025
Is it bad that I sorta kinda ship Vader and Sabe together?

Crimson Dawn is a boring storyline.
Profile Image for Ian.
1,331 reviews5 followers
November 18, 2022
Book four, tying-in to the 'Crimson Reign' event storyline.
Vader gathers together a force of mercenaries and assassins to use in purging the Crimson Dawn infiltrators from the ranks of the Empire.

The writer who thought that Vader needed a comedy sidekick (Ochi of Bestoon) takes that idea a step further and gives him an entire team of zany misfits.
Seriously, who's asking for this stuff?
The idea of Vader using the underworld to achieve his ends is entirely in-character (see 'The Empire Strikes Back') but having these new characters all being wise-cracking comedic types is so tonally wrong for Vader that it is just jarring.

Frustratingly, there is a core concept here which I actually really liked, in which Vader tosses aside Imperial protocol and politics in order to root out the infiltrators. Because Crimson Dawn is a ruthless criminal organisation, it gives the writer more freedom for Vader to be more ruthless than if, say, the infiltrators were members of the Rebellion holding the moral high ground (Vader really hates that!). But it's a s somewhat missed opportunity because so much time is given over to establishing the team of wacky misfits.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
475 reviews7 followers
March 9, 2023
The story picks up a lot more characters, crossovers from other books, and is a bit cluttered with multiple plots and betrayals. It also jumps from planet to planet so fast that it's hard to keep track of where everything is happening and the situations feel more like a stage play then a story. The art is generally effective though sometimes takes a moment to understand what is being conveyed.
Profile Image for Melissa.
1,085 reviews78 followers
April 3, 2023
Vader is off to prove he WILL bring Order to the galaxy, his way! And Crimson Dawn and it’s infiltrators into the Empire will be exposed and dealt with.
Profile Image for Jonathan Roberts.
2,210 reviews51 followers
November 3, 2022
This whole a Crimson Reign series and tie-ins has just been meh. Not really good and not really bad. Same with this trade. Not your usual Vader and not your usual stories. Have a prequel sequels character show up was fun but could have been used better. And the bounty hunter working with Vader is just plan dumb. The artwork was adequate but nothing spectacular and the writing seemed to be just to further the story of the crossover along not to move Vaders story anywhere. Hoping we get back to good writing now that this crossover is done.
Profile Image for Noah Vance.
119 reviews1 follower
August 6, 2023
Continuing re-read. Ugh. This volume is so frustrating, and this whole run STAYS frustrating for so long. I understand the need to tie up the Empire, Vader, and Palpatine with conflicts to keep them from getting at the Rebellion or Luke until RotJ, but the bag is beyond fumbled here. Ochi and Sabe, two of my fav characters from Pak’s first two volumes, are relegated to constantly nonsensically side-switching between Crimson Dawn and Vader, and Vader is so often like, “Oh I knew the whole time and it’s fine who cares.”

And speaking of Vader…when we last left him, prior to WotBH, he was broken by the rejection of Luke, and while we did see Palpatine put him back in his place, here his “inner monologue” has been reduced to red-tinged memories of Padme and Anakin discussing order versus chaos. With Vader clearly seeing his mission to eradicate Dawn agents as “orderly.” But the plot jumps around so chaotically with fake lists of Dawn agents and Vader being “tricked,” but actually, no not really…it’s too much.

And what are these ridiculous assassin/freedom fighter characters? And why is Valance reduced to standing around looking pissy? This volume is a FALL from a high height, yeesh.
Profile Image for Adam Fisher.
3,594 reviews23 followers
November 28, 2022
3.5 Stars.
This is the first time that the Darth Vader title has felt like an ensemble book rather than Vader focused. The majority of the Volume covers Vader, Ochi, and the various group of assassins and bounty hunters hunting down and killing anyone associated with Crimson Dawn. They get steered in quite a few wrong directions and we finally get the reveal that Sabe, former handmaiden of Padme, now member of the "Amidalans", (and infiltrated member of Crimson Dawn) is sabotaging Vader. She has found evidence of the birth of Luke on Polis Massa (FINALLY!!!! SOMEONE FINDS THE TRAIL!) and has deciphered that Vader is Anakin. She tells him that she wants Order, the same as he does, but I think her motive must be revenged based. Time will tell.

Overall, an alright Volume, but looking forward to the Crimson Dawn stuff being over. Too much focus lately on the story of Ochi (connection to Ep 9) and Qi'ra (connection to Solo) and not enough heading towards RoTJ.
Profile Image for CzasoStrefa.
299 reviews5 followers
August 20, 2023
Czwarta część przygód Lorda Vadera jest już za mną. W jaki sposób tym razem będzie gnębił Galaktykę? Uczeń Dartha Sidiousa okazuje się bardziej nieokiełznany, niż wydawało się to jego mistrzowi.
Co więcej, crossover wciąż trwa. W tle możemy oglądać poczynania Szkarłatnego Świtu.
Albo jego koniec.
Darth Vader jest wściekły po upokorzeniu, jakie zadał Imperium Szkarłatny Świt. Rozpętując wojnę między syndykatami i nasyłając Huttów na mrocznego Lorda, obudził się w nim jeszcze większy gniew i żądza zemsty. Postanawia zniszczyć tę organizację i wszystkich, którzy mieli z nią jakiekolwiek powiązania. Czas przywrócić porządek.
Posługuje się w tym celu Ochim z Bestoona. Podwójnym agentem… albo potrójnym? Już sama nie wiem. Jak to z takimi bywa, służy temu, który akurat pozwoli mu przeżyć. Zbiera dla Vadera grupę zabójców i mścicieli. Jednak trzeba pamiętać, że układy z sithami zazwyczaj nie kończą się dobrze.
Pojawia się również nowy wróg mrocznego Lorda. A może sojusznik? Sabé, dawna dwórka Padmé Amidali, decyduje się go powstrzymać. Musi jednak działać z rozwagą. Nikt jeszcze nie wygrał pojedynku z Vaderem. Kobieta sprytnie pogrywa ze wszystkimi i domyśla, kto kryje się pod czarną maską.
Uwielbiam czytać komiksy o Mrocznym Lordzie Sithów. Tym, jestem absolutnie zachwycona. Szybką akcję, przerywają intrygi. Historia wciąga, a postać głównego bohatera zachwyca. Sabé okazała się całkiem interesującą postacią. Chętnie będę dalej śledzić jej działania. Zawiódł mnie jedynie trochę Ochi z Bestoona. W pierwszej części Szkarłatnych Rządów dostajemy lekko psychicznego zabójcę. Tutaj on po prostu sobie był. Delikatnie głupawy. Nie przejawiał takiego strachu przed Vaderem jak wcześniej. Odgrywał rolę niezbyt interesującego przybocznego.
Tak czy inaczej, uważam, że Greg Pak dobrze spisał się w roli scenarzysty. Historia przez niego opowiedziana wciągnęła mnie, a rysunki Kirka, Vilanowa i Ineco są zachwycające, oddające idealnie klimat Gwiezdnych Wojen z perspektywy Dartha Vadera.
Uwielbiam czytać komiksy o Mrocznym Lordzie Sithów. Tym, jestem absolutnie zachwycona. Szybką akcję, przerywają intrygi. Historia wciąga, a postać głównego bohatera zachwyca. Sabé okazała się całkiem interesującą postacią. Chętnie będę dalej śledzić jej działania. Zawiódł mnie jedynie trochę Ochi z Bestoona. W pierwszej części Szkarłatnych Rządów dostajemy lekko psychicznego zabójcę. Tutaj on po prostu sobie był. Delikatnie głupawy. Nie przejawiał takiego strachu przed Vaderem jak wcześniej. Odgrywał rolę niezbyt interesującego przybocznego.
Tak czy inaczej, uważam, że Greg Pak dobrze spisał się w roli scenarzysty. Historia przez niego opowiedziana wciągnęła mnie, a rysunki Kirka, Vilanowa i Ineco są zachwycające, oddające idealnie klimat Gwiezdnych Wojen z perspektywy Dartha Vadera.

Więcej na: CzasoStrefa
Profile Image for Subham.
3,070 reviews104 followers
September 1, 2023
This volume was another great one, and maybe the best of the bunch so far, like I love how it just gets better with every issue and volume, and then introducing so many new characters and a returning one, but it just goes to show how awesome and deadly Vader is, while also tying into the larger Crimson Reign event!

Here we have Vader hunting Crimson dawn members and we see how they have infiltrated all the levels of the empire and what they do to stop it, plus that epic intro of so many awesome ew characters, some professional assassins or bounty hunters like Tanka, Chilla, Loriach and all and even Valance as he has a personal reason to join them! That one was awesome and then seeing how they fight and execute CD members, but also realizing some of them have conflicting ideals and maybe wanna be heroes or revolutionary meant to inspire and thats awesome!

Its great to see how Ochi continues to evolve here first with the reveal he is himself a CD member and how he joined them and all but Pak does it well to show you his shifting allegiances like he really doesn't care who he serves, or who is in power, he serves Vader because he fears him but won't be surprising if he betrays Vader for this is who he is and yeah its cool to see such shady characters.

The best part is when Vader is cutting down CD members who he believes have infiltrated the empire and the reaction on Emperor's face is telling, also the part in the end when he is seeing CD and empire forces battling and is unfazed when all of them sort of die is wild and shows how far gone Anakin really is.

But the best part is SABE and if you haven't read previous volumes, you might be confused but its so awesome seeing how she continues to become this awesome character trying to find what happened to Padme and when she learns of the truth and then the LAST PAGE REVEAL omg, now that will be fun to read about for real!!

So I highly recommend this volume too!!

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