Star Wars: Darth Vader, Vol. 5: The Shadow's Shadow

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020)

by Greg Pak (Writer), Raffaele Ienco (Illustrator), Marco Castiello (Illustrator)

An epic new story begins as Darth Vader embarks upon a new mission in partnership with a sworn enemy — but who is leading whom to their doom? What happens when the Queen’s Shadow learns the deepest secret of the Dark Lord of the Sith? And what will Vader do when he finds out that his secrets have been breached? It all leads back to Vader’s bride Padmé Amidala…and her last words. Meanwhile, a colony of refugees from a certain sandy planet struggle under the rule of an Imperial governor. Will their connection to Vader’s past be their salvation — or their doom? Plus: The shocking return of two of Anakin Skywalker’s oldest friends!

COLLECTING: Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) 23-28

Genres: Star Wars, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Marvel, Fiction, Comic Book

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2023

About the author

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."

Reviews

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good series!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's never easy to make a guy who commands his own Super Star Destroyer feel like the underdog but his entertaining team up with middle-aged ex-Handmaiden Sabé and the insufferable Ochi of Bestoon continues to manage it.



I really love how this title is now intersecting with the Padmé lore in the underappreciated Queen's Shadow series by E.K. Johnston, looking forward to more of the same in the next volume!

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sabé ha descubierto por sí misma que Darth Vader es Anakin Skywalker. Al notar el gran apego que tiene a Padmé y cómo no la ha matado a ella misma en muchas ocasiones. Le cuenta cómo ella y Tonra fueron a Tatooine a liberar a muchos en honor a su madre. Pero una de esas colonias de refugiados, en Gabredor III, cayó bajo la gobernadora Tauntaza adicta al Alba Escarlata.
Vader, sin duda, tiene mucho respeto a Sabé y en este planeta se encuentra con amigos de infancia Kitser y Wald. Por su parte, Sabé ya forma parte oficial del Imperio pues tiene un cargo de teniente comandante y un traje apropiado. Ochi siempre está, sirve un poco de contraparte bufón. Me pareció muy interesante cómo Sabé puede tratar a Vader con respeto luego de haberlo odiado tanto y cómo asimila para sí la noticia que Anakin se volvió al lado oscuro.
En el último número aparece Palpatine. Es un poco macabro pero también realista la perspectiva que tiene de Padmé y Sabé. Al decir que la primera no pudo soportar este mundo mientra que Sabé sobrevivió. Impresionante el nivel de melancolía y manejo del canon de este volumen, me gustó mucho. Como he leído el libro "La sombra de la reina" a la vez, valoré aún más la experiencia.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable super fast-paced book. Seriously even though this book contains five issues it will probably only take an hour to get through the whole book. Good big artwork and every page is a page-turner. I did not even realise I had read four issues/chapters.

Sabe knows Vaders biggest secret. What does she plan to do with this knowledge? Her plan for Vader is revealed, also linking to Anakin's past, Vader's current mission to destroy the Imperial traitors who are part of Crimson Dawn. All this the biggest secret is shown on the last page.

As much as I enjoyed this book, it felt a bit too short, this is probably because of its fast-paced nature. The game of one-upmanship was overdone here for me. However a great addition to the series. I can't wait to see what happens next. The book finishes with a cover gallery.

[Frédéric · Rating 1 out of 5]

Speaking of shadows... Vader is but the shadow of himself. He looses himself in his past-when he was still Anakin- and that could have been interesting except it’s not. It treads water until Vader ridiculously drives a podracer before failing to annihilate a Warhammer 40K cosplay.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

Sabé is still not a very interesting character, dumb as she is in her obstination to redeem Vader. As for Palpatine he is testing Vader. Again. The guy doesn’t give his trust easily, does he?

Art his mediocre at best, another nail in this arc’s coffin.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really intriguing look at Vader and who he can be in a different light. Padme’s dying words are put to the test in this one as we see whether or not Sabe can show us if there really is still good in Vader. I really enjoyed this change of pace in the Vader storyline. While tonally different, the subtle battle between Vader and the Emperor is still moving in this volume and that greatly excites me!

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3-4 ABY

This graphic novel is the fifth volume in the 2020 line of the Darth Vader comics consisting of issues 23-27 entitles "The Shadow's Shadow," and what an intriguing arc this is! Ochi of Bestoon, Valance, and the other bounty hunters are left behind by Vader, which is a good thing, considering they aren't dead. Vader questions the truth of Sabe's (one of Padme's queen shadows) statements regarding the good still in Anakin while doubling up giving him a chance to take down more Crimson Dawn people and an irritating Imperial Governor.

This volume delves deep into what we have seen of Anakin's past through the sequel trilogy with some added bits. As he reflects, we see an interesting attachment to Sabe. Where he failed his mother and Padme, perhaps now Vader has a chance to redeem himself of those seeming failures. Setting him up for a likely third downfall or spiral into darkness, the relationship between Vader and Sabe and Sabe's earnestness in believing in Padme's ultimatum of Vader still having good in him makes for quite an intriguing plot. Not to mention the usual amazing art that the Vader comics provide. An excellent volume and installment to the Star Wars universe.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is possibly the best volume of Darth Vader I've read. We're seeing Vader interact with characters he knew from his childhood and from before he became Darth Vader, and it feels like we just haven't seen much of Vader exploring his past. Very interesting as we're getting layers of Vader we haven't seen before.

"Layers of Vader." Sounds like some sort of dessert tie in to the next Star Wars TV series.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love the title of this Volume! AND talk about the nostalgia in this one... geez.
Highlights:
- Sabe, former handmaiden of Padme, has made herself known to Vader, and that she knows he is Anakin. In honor of her last words ("there's still good in him...") she offers Vader a chance to show that, while also accomplishing his goals of taking out more Crimson Dawn members
- A Governor of an Imperial Colony is working for the Crimson Dawn and draining a planet dry of its essence. This also happens to be the same planet where Sabe brought Tatooine refugees in honor of Shmi Skywalker.
- Vader comes face to face with his childhood friends Kitster and Wald. They, of course, don't recognize him and they have grown to be leaders. (Wald does end up dying, but Kitster helps throughout the Volume)
- Once it starts hitting the fan, and the Governor reveals themselves as Crimson Dawn, Vader, Sabe and the others work together to take out the environment destroying machine.
- To outrun the storm, Vader is forced to podrace again, this time in a racer that Kitster designed.
- To shut down the machine, Vader must attack it from below, which he does using a droid and a lightsaber.
- At the very end, it is discovered that the Governor was receiving orders from the Emperor. Sabe must believe that Vader will turn against him (Which leads me to believe that redemption for what he did to Padme must be a part of his turn in ROTJ... hmmm... something to ponder)

Overall, a really good Volume. Love the implications of Vader's motivations for certain things. AND with next Volume being called "Return of the Handmaidens", I'm very interested to see what's next.
Strong recommend (but most Star Wars stuff usually is for me)

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 5.
When Sabe works out Vader's former identity, she uses his connection to Padme Amidala to convince the Dark Lord to help her to protect a colony of former slaves endangered by a corrupt Imperial Governor in the service of Crimson Dawn.

Whilst I wasn't entirely sold on the dynamic between Vader and Sabe, I have to say I was initially enjoying this book. I liked seeing Sabe managing to tap into the part of the Sith Lord which was still Anakin Skywalker in order to get him to help the former slaves, his childhood friends Kitster and Wald among them. Using a corrupt Imperial as the antagonist also means that we, the reader, don't have to be conflicted by seeing him carve through any 'good guys'.

Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book was disrupted by the recurrence of one of my least-liked elements of Pak's run with Vader; the flashbacks. There a few intermittent ones early on, but then we get eight straight pages of flashbacks rehashing events from the Prequels which we all already know. It feels really lazy to me, as if the writer couldn't put together enough content of their own or, worse, didn't have the talent to effectively portray how current events are mentally affecting Vader without juxtaposing them with other events from his past in the form of 'he was sad when he left his mum, so he must be sad now'.

Once the flashbacks broke the spell of enjoyment that I'd started with, the book's other flaws (Ochi of Bestoon, not to mention that terrible title) became more apparent and I enjoyed everything else much less.

* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 5 The Shadow’s Shadow collects issues 23-27 of the Marvel Comics series written by Greg Pak, art by Raffaele Ienco and Marco Castillo, and colors by Carlos Lopez.

Former Handmaiden Sabé has discovered the identity of the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader, but remember’s Padmé’s dying words “There is still good in him.” With those words engrained firmly in her mind, the now Imperial Commander Sabé thrusts Vader into a mission to help a dying world.

I enjoyed this volume progressing themes from other volumes without being hamstrung by events going on in other Star Wars comics. Ochi of Bestoon has largely become a comedy relief character doing everything is his power to impress Vader while also looking out for himself. There are a ton flashbacks to the prequel trilogy to hammer home Vader’s turning points. It looks to me this is all the set-up to where Vader will eventually turn on his master Emperor Palpatine to save his son. Like most of the Vader comics, there is plenty of action throughout and the art is good. The Vader comics are consistently some of the best Star Wars comics out there.

[kesseljunkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Good

The art in general is really solid, with a special shout out to the coloring. I picked this up on a whim right after seeing the Phantom Menace 2024 rerelease. Scratches a specific fan itch but otherwise not really memorable.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anakin and Sabé saving each others lives back to back... not very Vader of him and queen knew it 🙌

Very sad to have to wait for the next vol to come out.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not enjoying this Vader run that much

[Karissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best podracer in the galaxy✨

[Keef Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Dart Vader series. This one felt less eventful than others. I really enjoyed the flashback sequences that oddly picked all the meme scenes from the movies.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Praise the Emperor, we're back to the good stuff with The Shadow's Shadow. After the notable absence of Darth Vader in the previous volume, we get all the Vader we can handle here. He's back in unstoppable killing machine mode, this time alongside Padme's former handmaiden, who has convinced Vader that working together to stop a rogue Imperial governor would advance both their causes.

It's interesting to see the internal push and pull of Anakin Skywalker within Darth Vader - the numerous comparisons of current events to Anakin's past are perhaps overused, but engaging nonetheless. Particularly enjoyable are the sandstorm issues in which which Vader must reckon with Anakin's deep hatred of sand. It's also fun to see a rogue governor with a random superweapon (shades of the classic expanded universe there), which, of course, Vader handles in the most metal way.

The artwork is also superb, a nice light touch that keeps the focus on the action rather than the sparse dialogue. Ochi is barely in this one, which is maybe a good thing? Kinda getting tired of that guy. I'd say he's on the chopping block if I didn't know he lives into the sequel series era.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn’t a huge fan of this one—Vader seems weirdly tame in parts of it compared with the previous books (but as opposed to earlier books where emotional conflict made sense of his choices, here I just don’t get it); I don’t love the teaming up with Sabe; I’m getting tired of the elaborate tests by the Emperor; and the flashbacks weren’t nearly as good or useful in this one (did we really have to revisit the sand comment? And his awkward flirting? And podracing?).

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good. I loved the over-the-top nature of the antagonist and the morally grey characterisation of Sabé. After reading the Handmaiden trilogy, this comic follows so well, really capturing Sabé's need for closure. I'm glad I picked it up.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much improved over the last few volumes, a cleaner simpler story on one planet with ties to his past makes for a much more compelling narrative.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally back to Padmé and Sabé! Vader’s conflicted feelings around Sabé, as she gets closer and closer to discovering his secrets are the best parts of this series.

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I don't like sand. It's coarse...rough and irritating. And it gets everywhere."

WE GOT THE SAND SPEECH #blessed

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Padme was never an interesting character (Mary Sues never are, especially ones created by proxy for a producers...handsome...daughters). Her devoted followers are even less interesting.

[Karol-Ann]

17/40 — 2024 reading challenge

[Jeremiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sabé is so c*nt.

[The Warped One · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful art, but oh gosh is the dialogue dull.

Can someone explain why pages and pages are wasted on flashback that are painstakingly recreating scenes from the films? “But it red” Like a single panel should be enough to convey flashbacks here, it feels like lazy filler on the part of the script. Same author filled earlier DARTH Vader scripts with just empty black panels didn’t he?

The premise of Vader teaming up with Sabe is fantastic but the execution is really not.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars
I really haven't been enjoying the 5th volumes of the Star wars series (post Crimson Dawn event), and I've always struggled to enjoy Pak's writing which I find mediocre on a good day.

I swear if I see another pack of random monsters jump out of nowhere for Vader to take out I will probably drop this series altogether. This isn't some Saturday morning cartoon Vader deserves better than that being one of the most consistent star wars titles for the last decade

[Andres Pasten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pak agrega un preambulo a las razones de Vader en su propuesta a Luke en Imperio Contraataca y Regreso del Jedi. Interesante la lucha de poder entre Siths.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Greg Pak's run on Darth Vader has really shone when it's paired Vader with figures from his past, like Sabé, and this volume re-introduces some more names that you'll be familiar with.

Honestly though, the rest of the plot's a little threadbare. There's corruption in the Empire (what a surprise) and to deal with it, Vader needs to go to a planet wrecked by tornados and...yeah, it's not the greatest. When we're inside Vader's head, things are great. For the first time though, the outside stuff isn't really doing it for me.

There's glimmers of better to come though, as Sabé and the other handmaidens begin to realise exactly how much Vader's been influencing them, even as they've been trying to influence him. That's going to blow up in everyone's faces, I'm sure.

Series artist Raffaele Ienco pencils five of the six issues here, with an assist from Marco Castiello midway through. It's interesting that of the four ongoing Star Wars books I'm reading, three of them still have the same artist attached to most of the issues - it happens less and less these days.

The Shadow's Shadow has some great stuff in it, but it's a little bogged down by some unnecessarily complicated action. Pak's character work remains top notch, it just takes a little effort to find it in this volume.