Darth Vader (2020) #12 - Comic Review

Check out the review for the previous issue of Darth Vader (2020) before you read ahead!

Darth Vader’s current quest of vengeance and determination has come to an end. He tracked the Emperor to Exegol and beheld the grand Sith’s epic power and plans. The Emperor now grants Vader restoration as his droid reassembles the Dark Lord’s robotic body. Vader opts to stay awake during the entire excruciatingly painful procedure and uses that pain to focus on what he wants next: his son. But what he wants for his son is unexpected, as Vader reminisces over the options and gifts he brought to Luke, who in turn casts them aside for his friends and the Rebellion. No, what he wants now for Luke is much darker than he originally planned. And as he thinks back on his early confrontations with Luke’s friends Han Solo and Chewbacca, Vader knows just exactly how to get what he wants!

Writer Greg Pak brings us another pensive and introspective look into Vader’s mind with Darth Vader (2020) #12 that honestly comes off mostly as a filler issue between the previous arc and the upcoming War of the Bounty Hunters tie in issues. Thankfully, Pak still sets us up quite nicely with the purpose behind Vader’s upcoming quest to find the carbonite frozen body of Han Solo and his plans for it. We also get some fun moments with Palpatine explaining what’s going on with Vader as well as a tease for what is to come with the assassin Ochi of Bestoon!

Where Darth Vader (2020) #12 truly shines, however, is the breathtaking artwork from the visual team of artist Guiu Vilanova, colorists Dean White with Giada Marchisio, and letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna. Raffaele Ienco may have left the comic after the last arc, but Guiu Vilanova is a stunning artist that fits perfectly with this epic and dark series. His art meshes perfectly with the colors and overall vibe of this issue, especially when it comes to the individual characters. The detail on each creature—their expressions, their designs and clothes, everything is a stunning work of art. Paired with White and Marchisio’s dark and near bleak color, this team is a perfect fit for a dark and brooding Sith story! And Caramagna of course has his chance to shine throughout the issue from the individual speech between normal characters, Vader, and droids, as well as the sound effects through Vader’s reconstruction to the battles between Vader and the crew of the Millennium Falcon. This issue continues the trend of absolutely stunning art throughout this entire series so far!

On the cover art we have Aaron Kuder & Richard Isanove who have crafted a piece with the wonderful and unexpected heroes of the Rebellion Han and Chewie standing in the palm of Darth Vader’s hand. This cover is not only a stunning work of art, but also encapsulates the coming decisions from Vader to go after the pair which leads right into the upcoming War of the Bounty Hunters event! Along with Kuder and Isanove’s main cover there’s also a beautiful variant cover from them as well as from the powerhouse team of Chris Sprouse, Karl Story & Neeraj Menon!

This small and quiet issue of Darth Vader (2020) gives us a nice bridge between the epic Mustafar and Exegol arc and the upcoming War of the Bounty Hunters event, but it’s an important set up piece to show just exactly where Vader is at and where he is headed! Make sure your TIE fighter is up to standards and fly on down to the nearest comic shop and pick up this issue today!