Darth Vader (2020) #11 - Comic Review

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

Darth Vader, one of the greatest Dark Lords of the Sith, has finally reached the end of his quest. He has bested the fires of Mustafar, powerful droids and assassins, a fleet of Star Destroyers, and even multiple ancient creatures of the dark side, anything and everything the Emperor can throw at him. As he arrives on the surface of the hidden and secret planet of Exegol, he utilizes the Force to take control of the massive space creature, the tentacled dark side subspecies of Summa-verminoth, to lay siege on the planet in his attempt to confront and best his dark master. Though to the great Emperor of the Sith and the galaxy this is mere child’s play. Shortly after, Vader follows Palpatine into the interior of his grand base on the planet and soon learns many things about the future of his master’s plans. In the end Vader has to make one of the biggest choices of his life: does he attempt to strike down his master or does he continue to follow his lead in rule against the galaxy?

In Darth Vader (2020) #11 writer Greg Pak finally brings about the confrontation between Vader and the Emperor that’s been building in this arc for all six parts, and it does not disappoint at all. Throughout this story Pak has given us many action packed spectacles, and while this issue does have a few, including a literal kaiju battle just mere pages into the issue, it’s really once again the emotional look at the psyche of Vader where it really shines. Though this issue brings together these two titans of the dark side, it’s the discussion once again of what Vader needs to do that really solidifies the ending of this incredible arc. He is once again faced with his desires, his plans, and his needs in his life and future and we are once again reminded that this is not a mindless machine, but an incredibly complex human full of deep and agonizing emotions. It may be a smaller scale end to an action packed adventure, but it’s truly the ending the story needed, looking inside the thoughts of an emissary of the dark side and seeing the emotions riddled throughout him.

An epic end to an epic journey of action, monsters, and emotion is only as good as it’s visual artists and, thankfully, this crew is one of the best! Artist Raffaele Ienco and colorist Neeraj Menon once again come together to deliver absolute superb work in Darth Vader (2020) #11. To bring this back a bit, really the coolest thing in this issue is the kaiju fight just three pages into the issue. There’s a lot of beauty to behold through the entire comic, but it’s not every day you get to see three giant monsters duke it out, however short and sweet it may be. Though, the rest of the issue stands just as tall as well, with the gorgeous bleak set pieces that inhabit the dark and grey world of Exegol. Between the statues, the Sith cultists, the beautiful statuesque entity near the end, and even just the sequences of dialogue, this brilliant trio gives us the best of their best by far. It’s an issue that I honestly found myself just staring at for moments on end before realizing I needed to keep reading. The character designs and intricacies continue to be spot on, the colors muted or vibrant as ever depending on the scenes, and the painful reveal near the end just radiates the dark side so much that it almost feels hard to behold in the darkest, most grandiose, and best way possible. That darkness poured upon the pages and the characters themselves is absolute dark beauty and pain, so much so that when Ochi gazes upon it and is reminiscent of the 1982 film The Dark Crystal when the Podlings are forced to behold the beautiful terror that is the Crystal.

Along with the artist and colorist, this issue would seriously not have the impact that it does without the stunning work of letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna. Panel one of Darth Vader (2020) #11 gives us massive storming KTHOOOOOMs to truly set the intense and dark tone of the planet as well as the issue. Caramagna’s work here on the sound effects and general forms of onomatopoeia throughout is definitely some of his best work by far. The roars of the creatures, the sounds of weapons, and the THOKs of blades piercing bodies are all masterful work here, not to mention the different forms of speech such as the Emperor’s absolutely menacing laugh and the screams of pain and horror throughout his near haunted house of Exegol. Caramagna really brought this issue to a whole other level here with his stunning lettering throughout.

To go all the way back to the beginning, last but certainly not least we have a stunning cover, with art by Aaron Kuder and colors by Richard Isanove, who give us a beautiful and poignant look at a near silhouetted Darth Vader surrounded by hooded lightsaber users with familiar red blades. This cover absolutely radiates the emotion of Vader, standing still and stoic and seemingly emotionless, but his lightsaber hilt at the read, turned just slightly to show the energy and thought bubbling just below the surface. The variant cover by Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, and Neeraj Menon is also beautiful. Titled “I Am Your Father” to celebrate 40 years of The Empire Strikes Back, shows Vader reaching out to an offscreen Luke Skywalker as he asks for his hand in ruling the galaxy. An equally beautiful and emotionally charged piece as this arc is all about Vader’s hopes and desires and his confrontation with Luke shows up quite a lot in this arc as it plays an important role in Vader’s introspection and future.

Darth Vader (2020) #11 is the intense and poignant finale to an absolutely breathtaking arc and chapter of Vader’s life. This issue is not one to be missed. So make sure to hop in your old Jedi starfighter and make the jump to lightspeed to your local bookstore or comic shop to pick up the issue today!