Darth Vader #33: The Wrath of Vader

Darth Vader has been obsessed with Sabe since he discovered her near the beginning of this series. She is the double of Anakin’s dead wife, Padme. Vader sees in Sabe a chance to do right by Padme and have her join him. Sabe is not opposed to working with Vader or the Empire but often gets dangerously close to Vader if only to use him herself. She is even one of the few beings that can call him Anakin and not get instantly killed. In this issue, she has pushed the Sith Lord too far. When a Force Wave amplifies his anger, it also amplifies his power. He instantly sees red, well more than usual, when he sees Sabe and goes berserk. It is always a crazy issue when this happens. However, even as he is untethered and murderous, he plays through Anakin’s memories to center himself.

The red-tinted memories of Anakin have played a significant role in this series. It is a common motif in the entire run, but it has been played down in recent story arcs. In this issue, it dominates pages with red memories revolving around his transition into Darth Vader. The cover itself seems to bleed with red, which was a good indication of how much crimson would be in the issue. However, this issue runs all over the place with color perfectly. In addition to the red, a commonly used color scheme is very imperial. It’s all blues, blacks, and greys. In strict contradiction to both, the colors shift to mimic nature when Vader is planetside. Vader also takes on multiple forms through the art. He is a time tense and wild and even unconscious at others. A few pages later, he is almost calm and statuesque.

Sabe is the only constant in this issue on ships, planets, and even space. The wildly changing settings revolve around her. Many issues in this series have a narrative point of view of Vader, to whom the reader is almost sympathetic. This chapter makes Sabe the matter-of-view perspective. She witnesses Vader in this issue instead of the story coming from him as a protagonist. She scrambles through the entire case, ever faithful that she can change Vader. In this chapter, she is constantly saving Vader and dodging him all at the same time.

Meanwhile, Vader has convinced himself that he can change her. This story is well written and balances the two characters that have always played strong in this series. Here that balance is played stronger, wild, and loose. This one had a lot going on for one issue and was well-balanced and easy to follow.