Darth Vader (2020) #7 - Comic Review

Into the Fire—the second story arc of the new Darth Vader comic series—continues with Part II: The Assassin as Emperor Palpatine’s ultimate punishment has left Vader crippled on the burning shores of Mustafar—forcing the Dark Lord of the Sith to put his machine self back together to defeat a mysterious assassin by the name of Ochi of Bestoon.

Check out the review of the previous issue before moving on!

Vader’s defiant actions from the last story arc led to more suffering for the Dark Lord—this time more physical than psychological. With the power of the dark side, the Emperor has literally crushed Darth Vader, leaving him helpless in the same exact place where he fought his mentor and friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi for the last time before becoming the half man, half machine the galaxy fears. Reliving that heartbreaking moment from Revenge of the Sith once again in the last issue was very emotional and left the readers dying to find out how the Dark Lord was going to put himself back together after this awful nightmare.

Greg Pak continues to focus on the vulnerable side of Darth Vader, this time writing the character’s strong will to survive and conquer the unconquerable. Vader’s reassembling scenes will remind the readers that the man behind the mask, Anakin Skywalker, was a natural mechanic. The later man built the iconic protocol droid, C-3P0 from scratch when he was just a boy, so rebuilding himself with Separatist droid scraps is an easy feat (although reluctantly being helped by mouse droids).

The reassembling is preceded by yet another flashback (a recurring theme of the series) featuring Vader’s slaughter of Nute Gunray and the rest of the Separatist leaders. Raffaele Ienco seemingly constructs the scene, bringing back memories from Revenge of the Sith and creating a nice contrast between Vader at his strongest and his weakest, the latter in the present as Vader tries to put himself back together. Neeraj Menon’s striking colors give each panel the true feel of Mustafar’s hot temperatures—adding (as always) a deeper level of immersiveness. Joe Caramagna’s impactful lettering has a greater presence (very much like in the beginning of the series) in this issue—with red and black panels emphasizing crucial moments in the story.

Ochi of Bestoon is the star of the comic issue—proving to be a formidable adversary to Vader and a foe with a big mouth. His youthful personality and impressive skills make Ochi a very intriguing character—which was only briefly introduced in The Rise of Skywalker as the assassin responsible for the death of Rey’s parents.

The Sith assassin is not the only element from The Rise of Skywalker. The comic issue introduces the Eye of Webbish Bog, a spider-like creature locked in symbiosis with a giant infant-like being. This is the Eye’s first official visual appearance in Star Wars canon, but it was originally designed by Jake Lunt Davies and built as a fully practical character for an in-location shot for The Rise of Skywalker—which never made it to the final cut but was included in the movie’s novelization by Rae Carson.

Into the Fire - Part II: The Assassin builds up the new story arc with exciting connections to some of the mysteries behind The Rise of Skywalker—giving the perfect tease for what’s to come in the next issue. Make sure to pick up your copy of Darth Vader #7 today from your favorite local comic book shop and leave a comment below to share your thoughts about the series!