This Geek’s Review: Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command
Photo: darkhorse.com
Recently finished the trade of Star Wars Darth Vader and the Lost Command. It was a 5 issue series that Dark Horse put out a couple of months ago and is now available as a trade paperback. Before I give my review lets give credit where credit is due. The story was written by Haden Blackman, who has been a long time Star Wars extended universe writer. He was also responsible for Star Wars The Force Unleashed and countless other Star Wars video game stories. The penciling was done by Rick Leonardi, inks by Dan Green, coloring by Wes Dzioba, lettering by Michael Heisler and the front cover was done by Michael Kutsche. (really cool cover)
This tale takes place soon after the events of Episode III and Anakin is now Darth Vader. The evil lord of the sith and apprentice to newly crowned emperor Palpatine, AKA Darth Sidious. Some time has passed since Anakin betrayed the Jedi and lost his best friend Obi Wan, the love of his life Padme and his unborn child. (At this point he believes he killed Padme and their unborn child and is unaware that the twins, Luke and Leia were born and hidden from him) Throughout the story we see dream sequences of what could have been, as Anakin now Darth Vader is still struggling with the past and the life he could have had. We see images of him as Anakin, still with Padme, talking about their life together and as these dreams progress we see in his dreams of what could have been with his son and Padme being crowned Chancellor of the republic and the promise of galactic peace. But sadly they are only dreams. We see the reality of Vader, half man, half machine. As Obi Wan put it, twisted and evil. With every passing day he grows more cold yet he is still haunted by the past.
The emperor has been sending Vader on missions to hunt down the Jedi and reclaim territories for the newly formed Galactic Empire. His next mission however will prove to be live altering. He is sent on a mission to search and recover the missing son of Moff Tarkin, Admiral Garoche Tarkin who went missing doing a mission to the Atoa System which is also known as the Ghost Nebula. For Vader this seems like an in and out mission, show up, kill, find this guy and come back home. However all is not what it seems during his missions and Vader gets more then he bargained for. During his initial battle upon arriving to Atoa he meets Saro, the high priestess who offers to grant him any information he needs in finding Tarkin only if they leave her there as leader of Atoa. What follows are mind games, betrayals and endless twists as Vader’s resolve is tested along with his humanity.
It was is an exciting story of how Anakin further gives in to his new identity as Darth Vader and becomes the evil cold S.O.B we meet in A New Hope. This is a great story and it really goes deep into the split between Anakin and Vader. We all know that in the end Vader emerges but it’s really cool to see glimpses of Anakin still in there and let’s be honest, it’s pretty freakin cool to see Darth Vader kick but, a still young and agile Vader.
The way the story unfolds is like watching a really good sci-fi mystery but there was also prently of action. I really liked the art, it wasn’t too cartoony and it wasn’t like the Clone Wars cartoon either. I have a problem visually with the way the Clone Wars series has been executed as an animated series. Not a fan.
This story was really entertaining and I enjoyed it as a trade, if I had read this in issues I would have been too impatient in waiting for the next issue to see what happens next. I can’t stress enough just how cool it was to see all the sides of Vader that we see in this story. I loved it when we see him out of the mask and see how evil he can be under the mask, just those contrasts were so cool. The story can get a bit confusing at times, there is a lot going on but once you see how the events of the story end and you tie it to A New Hope, you have this eureka moment and I love it when a prequel story adds to the riches of the stories you know, instead of create new problems of continuity. This would make a great animated film or a live action cable TV movie if done right. The folks from LucasFilm still say that a live action TV series based on the events after the Episode III and before Episde IV are still in the works and that we may see something in 2 years. That’s what they said 2 years ago so we’ll see. However if we see live action stories like Darth Vader and the Lost Comand, then it will be worth the wait.
I give the art a 4 out of 5 and the story a 4 out of 5.
Let us know what you think.
