Writer: Greg Pak
Artists: Paul Fry & Adam Gorham
Color Artist: Federico Blee
Cover Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Darth Vader has joined the Schism Imperial, a secret organization dedicated to overthrowing Emperor Palpatine to bring the Galactic Empire to greater heights. Of course, there are couple of doubters within the faction who don’t believe Vader will commit considering their shared history with him. But there are some believers, like Lieutenant Pryde. Read Star Wars: Darth Vader #45 where the group journeys together with Darth Vader to the planet of Tython.
Review:
There’s only one feeling I get from reading this issue and after all the others: disappointment. I don’t feel any anger or frustration towards this comic or its writer, only disappointment with all the wasted potential for not only a cool and entertaining Star Wars comic but a Darth Vader comic. There will be SPOILERS in this review.
The Schism Imperial is on the move, they’ve been gathering new members and more firepower under the Empire’s nose, or so they think. Clearly, the last couple of issues established that Emperor Palpatine is completely aware of the traitors from Sly Moore herself. But his focus is on Darth Vader and his activities. This time, the group head to the planet of Tython a world that has great significance to the Jedi Order in more ways than one. Why are they there? For the Kyberite that’s typically used to make the Kyber Crystals in lightsabers. Oh, and Lieutenant Pryde came along too.
Ok, there’s very little good in this comic other than the art and some cool shots of Darth Vader. The only real good moment is near the tail end of the comic where Vader witnesses a memory of Luke confessing his doubts and voicing the temptation he felt when back on Cloud City, Vader tempted Luke to join him. And it’s pretty well done. That’s all the good there is in the comic. There’s just so much bad but it all boils down to three things: the characters, the writing, and the wasted potential of Tython.
Firstly, Greg Pak is really trying way too hard to give his characters’ “personality”. With the way he writes them here, they all talk and act like they’re high-school students forced onto a camping trip with their dad as punishment. What’s more, the way Pryde is written here makes him way too much of a Vader fanboy. There’s no getting around it, that’s how he’s written and depicted and not only is his dialogue unbearable but so are the other characters reacting to him. And it’s not like he’s an anomaly, a young imperial who is awestruck by Darth Vader’s combat prowess and ability in the Dark Side of the Force. That’s nothing new to the Star Wars franchise let alone the canon continutiy. Heck, there was even a Darth Vader anthology series published by Marvel Comics a couple years ago where the premise was featuring stories narrated by such characters across the galaxy who grew loyal to Vader. It’s simply the execution in how Pryde is written here. It’s just juvenile.
But the next biggest problem is that Greg Pak, and by extension the Star Wars comic writers, have wasted the planet Tython in the new Star Wars canon. I won’t go too deep into the extensive history of Tython in the Legends continuity. All I will say is that the planet has far more potential for storytelling, especially action-oriented storytelling involving Darth Vader than Greg Pak realizes. But he wasted this whole comic to just have Vader and co. arrive deal with a couple of turrets and have Administrator Sly Moore poke fun and insult the Jedi confessionals like some edgy, goth-wannabe high-schooler. The only good part there was when Vader used the Force to shut her up.
Final Thoughts:
Star Wars: Darth Vader #45 delivers a new part to the Schism Imperial storyline as Pryde’s loyalty to the Empire and Darth Vader is questioned by the other members. To put it nicely, this comic is underwhelming due to not only having little to no action, but the characters and their writing feel very juvenile. The problem isn’t Pryde being a believer in Darth Vader, it’s how he’s written that’s the problem and that extends to the rest of the Schism Imperial characters. On top of that, the comic wastes the journey to Tython and nothing memorable or extraordinary happens there until the end. Thankfully, the next issue looks like it will be more interesting.