Comic Review: Darth Vader Dark Lord Of The Sith Volume 2

Marvel put out a surprisingly good Darth Vader series when they started publishing Star Wars-related content.  The series ended at a good point, but then a new series started.  Titled Darth Vader Dark Lord of the Sith, the new series was about a much younger Vader just starting out after the destruction of the Jedi Order.

The first volume was good but not great,  Then I got a hold of the second one, subtitled Legacy’s End.  What problems might a young Vader face?

The recently christened Darth Vader now has his red lightsaber and a team of “inquisitors” to hunt down whatever Jedi are left in the galaxy.  His team are all fallen Jedis themselves, and that is something of a problem for Vader.  They still, he says, think like Jedi.  But there is one high value target Emperor Palpatine really wants Vader to focus on.  That would be Jocasta Nu.

Is Jocasta some sort of great fighter or particularly deadly warrior?  Not in the slightest.  In fact, even she doesn’t rate her combat skills particularly high.  She had one job.  She was the Jedi’s librarian, and she has some secrets still hidden away in the archives.

To the series’ credit, the story never once suggests Jocasta Nu is some kind of match for Darth Vader, even a young and inexperienced one.  But I will say, she faces Vader down like a boss.

But that’s not all that happens in this volume.  There’s also a hit put out on Vader by forces unknown.  It isn’t Palpatine, but that’s all he knows.

If the first volume was about Vader figuring out his new abilities, this one deals with the fact no one really knows who he is.  Other Imperial officers don’t know who he is or why he’s hanging around.  the other Inquisitors don’t seem to respect him, and even Stormtroopers take shots at him when they mistake him for a Jedi.  Vader also doesn’t mind using lethal force to keep his real name a secret.  First he established his powers.  Now he’s establishing a new name for himself.

Writer Charles Soule is doing OK here.  It isn’t on par with the original Darth Vader series, but it isn’t a bad series by any stretch.  Exploring the idea of a Vader who isn’t the scariest guy in the galaxy is an interesting prospect.  I just hold a Vader series to a pretty high standard.  8.5 out of 10 honorable hunters.