Darth Vader (2020) #20 - Comic Review

Padmé Amidala’s bodyguard handmaiden Sabé is back with a vengeance as she continues her quest to kill the Dark Lord in Darth Vader (2020) #20. She has planted a partially fake list of Crimson Dawn members hiding within the Empire. Vader and his now growing group of villains and assassins has been tasked, along with the Sith himself, in taking out every member on this list. Unfortunately for them, they aren’t quite in the know of who really is a member of Crimson Dawn and who isn’t. But that doesn’t stop Vader from making a statement and attempting to cleanse the Empire in Palpatine’s name anyway!

Writer Greg Pak is back with another fun and action-packed issue with Darth Vader (2020) #20! This series continues to be a little fluffy and filler heavy as the issue is all about Vader and his crew eliminating people who aren’t really with Crimson Dawn and serves mostly as a vehicle for some thrilling action pieces. The plot moves along at a brisk pace, which is nice, and it delves a little bit into Sabé’s plans as well. The highlight of this issue is definitely a hilarious moment involving Palpatine’s lack of caring for the lives around him as Vader does what Vader does.

The visual artistic team for Darth Vader (2020) #20 continues to deliver incredible work. With art by Raffaele Ienco, colors from Alex Sinclair, and VC’s Joe Caramagna as letterer, this issue is another standout piece of awesome Star Wars media as it’s filled with multiple action pieces in many different locations. One of the coolest things an issue of Star Wars comics can do from an art perspective, in my opinion, is show multiple different planets and locales within a single issue as it really shows off the incredible talent working on the book. This issue bounces between different planets, to the Emperor’s inner chambers, to even a rich Baron’s living room complete with a massive caged beast known as a Narglatch! Also, I can’t forget Caramagna, whose lettering is impeccable, as always, and sound effects during each piece of action make the events really pop right out of the pages!

The main cover art for Darth Vader (2020) #20 is by Ryan Stegman and Richard Isanove. It boasts a wonderful and intense Vader, lightsaber activated, as he reaches out to the reader with the Force! The first variant cover comes from interior artist Raffaele Ienco and is a stunning depiction of Vader as well! The second variant has a fan favorite trio returning for another Lucasfilm 50th Anniversary variant, this time showing off the equally fan favorite characters of Din Djarin, the Mandalorian, and Grogu, the Child. There’s actually two variants with this one, one having a gold trim border and the other having a silver Beskar trim border!

With Sabé back in the fight against Vader, Darth Vader (2020) #20 finds the Dark Lord inadvertently taking on members of the Empire that may not be the Crimson Dawn sympathizers he thinks they are! This action-packed issue is fun and wild, so head on down to your local comic shop to pick up a copy today!