Star Wars: Vader: Dark Visions

SPONSORED via Amazon Star Wars: Vader-Dark Visions was written by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum (no, really, that’s not a joke; it’s what he calls himself) and illustrated by various artists. It was released on August 28, 2019.
Five otherwise unconnected issues tell stories of different people’s encounters with Darth Vader. The relentless embodiment of retribution, a nightmare, a savior, even a soul-mate; you’ll see Vader as all these things. And more? No, just those.

Cianap: a planet whose surface was destroyed by a great beast, its inhabitants forced underground, they emerge from hiding for only a brief period while the monster lies dormant, a time they call the slumber. Vader’s ship, damaged during a battle in orbit, crash lands and awakens it. A boy who resists the urge to run watches and through his eyes we see Vader as a fearsome black knight, a brave warrior sent from the heavens to liberate the people. The boy has no idea he is witnessing one kind of monster fight another. From his perspective, Darth Vader is a courageous savior, not unlike a certain Jedi who faced countless trials in the Clone Wars. Fearing deadly reprisal from Darth Vader, Cmdr. Tylux takes his star destroyer and its crew on a harrowing chase after a rebel spy. Vader hardly appears in the story, but his presence torments Tylux, pushing him into more and more reckless behavior. Like a character in a Greek tragedy, Tylux seals the fate he hopes to avoid through his own actions. Then comes the story of a nurse who assists Vader’s personal physician and is madly in love the dark lord. Not only that, but she holds to the delusion that he loves her. We get no glimpse into what shaped this character. The story seems almost sadistic in its treatment of her right up to the point that she meets an ignominious but inevitable end. Unless I missed something the whole point of the story seems to be: hey look at this stupid, silly girl.

In the penultimate story, a hotshot pilot looking to pay back the Empire for the death of this father (what’s a hero without a dead [or presumed dead] father?) years before finds his intentions are worth less than nothing when he comes face to face the Darth Vader. Finally, Vader’s pursuit of stolen intel leads to a bartender falling into a mind-bending and horrifying nightmare within a nightmare as the Sith Lord hunts him down. I was hoping all of the stories would be a little off-the-wall, kind of experimental. I feel like the first and last were the only ones that satisfactorily delivered on that. Those two seemed unique enough to justify this endeavor. Granted, issue 3 is fairly unique, but that alone does not save it from its less savory tendencies. At any rate, I think the idea of this series is an important one. Throughout the course of the Original Trilogy, our own perception of Vader changes greatly as he goes from being a soul-less force of evil to a self-sacrificing father; so it’s important to see how others can have differing perspectives on him.



Comic Pack Wish List:

The kid from Cianap, and…Darth Vader? Have they done him yet?


Score:

If I could I would give it 2 ½ Skulls. I can’t, so I’ll be generous and round up to 3. If you’re a Vader fan, it’s an important piece to have, and overall, worth having. It is not the best Vader piece I’ve seen in the last few years; but it’s certainly not the worst. 3 Skulls.





SPONSORED via Amazon

---

comments powered by Disqus