Dark Side Die Hard: Star Wars Vader Down #1

The following is my review of Star Wars: Vader Down #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

It's the common theme that made Die Hard a successful movie franchise. It spawned a generation of sequels, rip-offs, and parodies, all of which failed to rekindle Sylvester Stallone's career. But it's a theme that still has undeniable appeal, a lone warrior surrounded by enemies having to fight their way out. It's Captain America trapped behind enemy lines surrounded by Nazis. It's Superman trapped in a subterranean cave surrounded by kryptonite-powered cyborgs. It's a classic underdog story in the mold of the Karate Kid and the Mighty Ducks, albeit with more guns and explosions.

But what happens when this classic setup is turned inside out and upside-down? What if it's the Red Skull who's behind enemy lines, surrounded by Captain America's friends? What if it's Lex Luthor trapped in the Fortress of Solitude, surrounded by cyborg Supermen? Does the story still have the same appeal? It's like rooting for the axe murderer in a slasher movie. It tests an audiences sensibilities in uncomfortable ways not seen outside a Marilyn Manson concert. And those are the exact sensibilities that Star Wars Vader Down #1 appeals to.

This isn't the hero escaping the villain. It's the villain escaping the hero. It's not the rebels beating the Empire against overwhelming odds. It's the Empire outwitting the rebels, snatching away a tantalizing sliver of hope. Like cheering for Ivan Drago in a Rocky movie, it sounds like one of those things we shouldn't enjoy. But it's that inverted nature which plays out in Star Wars Vader Down #1 that makes the story uniquely appealing.

It's a story that unfolds seamlessly from recent events in the Star Wars and Darth Vader comic series. However, neither of these books are required reading. Even if Star Wars: A New Hope is the only Star Wars movie you ever saw, you won't be lost at any point. You might be confused by the presence of a homicidal version of C-3PO in Triple-0, but in a good way.

The story feels organic in that it follows Darth Vader's pursuit of Luke Skywalker. He knows he's the one who destroyed the Death Star. He also knows Luke is his son. So he's more than a little motivated to hunt him down and kill anyone or anything that gets in his way, as one would expect of a Sith Lord. However, like diving into a mosh pit at a Metallic concert unprepared, this level of motivation leads Darth Vader into a situation much deadlier than most mosh pits.

Our decidedly unheroic Sith Lord arrives at Vorgas Vas where his secret ally/fangirl, Aphra, says Luke Skywalker has been holding up. It's a setting that has the same feel as a graveyard in a slasher movie in that it's a fitting location for everything to go horribly wrong. There aren't any promiscuous teenagers, but there are plenty of X-wings and space battles. For Star Wars fans, this is every bit as appealing.

Mike Deodato's art really shines here. It's not the Battle of Hoth, but it has the same intense feel. It's dark, detailed, and destructive, the three D's of every successful space battle. Darth Vader, making every character in Top Gun look like rookie, makes the Rebels pay a high price for getting in his way. Even though he's completely surrounded and has no Imperial support, he doesn't retreat or evade the danger. He shoots at it. If he could do it with a smile, he probably could. But being Darth Vader, he doesn't need to.

It's Darth Vader's utter tenacity and his cold attitude that makes him worth rooting for. It's not like rooting for the New England Patriots after another cheating scandal. It's a testament to just how powerful and dangerous Darth Vader really is. Throw an entire squadron of X-wings at him? Go ahead. Send a whole battalion to the planet? Do it. None of that matters. Darth Vader will still make it feel like an unfair fight and he doesn't need a rousing speech from Mel Gibson to rise to the occasion.

While Darth Vader's imposing tenacity is the main driving force of the story, the rest of the classic Star Wars cast play critical roles as well. Fittingly enough, it's Luke who delivers the shot that downs Darth Vader while the rest of his squadron act as glorified target practice. Princess Leia and Han Solo get involved as well once word gets out that the Rebels have a chance to take down Darth Vader. With the destruction of Alderan still fresh in Leia's memory, it's a given that she's every bit as motivated as Vader. It once again shows that being excessively motivated runs deep in the Skywalker family.

At no point does the pace slow down. At no point does the danger stop escalating. Even after Darth Vader crashes on Vorgas Vas, he keeps fighting. The Rebels have X-wings, troops, and tanks. Darth Vader has only a light sabre. And yet it still feels as fair a fight as anyone can hope to have against Darth Vader. In many respects, that is the greatest accomplishment of Star Wars Vader Down #1. It doesn't just invert every major Die Hard theme. It puts Darth Vader in a position where he has to show just how menacing he is.

There are times when you'll feel inclined to root for the rebels. There are times when you'll feel inclined to root for Darth Vader. But it never feels conflicted or forced. This isn't a matter of rooting for Jason Vorhees or against a virgin teenage girl. This is just a different kind of epic Star Wars battle. It might not involve a Death Star, but it feels every bit as epic and won't be decided by some obscure design flaw.

Final Score: 10 out of 10

Covert Subversion: Darth Vader #11

The following is my review of Darth Vader #11, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Most people learn about dramatic irony in high school English classes, albeit only by reading novels and plays that no teenager has willingly read since the 1830s. It's an important storytelling tool. It puts the reader in a position to understand the context of a story in a way that isn't possible for any of the characters, unless one of those characters happens to be Deadpool. By knowing what the characters can't know or having already seen the sequel, the story takes on a new meaning. It can either enhance the subsequent stories or make them more needlessly complicated than the plot of the last Matrix movie.

Kieron Gillen has been attempting to accomplish the former and avoid the latter in Marvel's Darth Vader series. And by nearly every measure, he has succeeded. In fact, he's succeeded in measures nobody has expected.

He doesn't expect the readers to rely the events of the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, two movies that have been effectively spoiled since 1983. He actually attempts to build a comprehensive story about Darth Vader in wake of the Death Star's destruction. And he does it in a way that somehow makes Vader even more menacing. Even James Earl Jones' voice might not do justice to the persona he's crafted.

More than anything else, Kieron Gillen's work on Darth Vader has crafted a story that laid the seeds for the events in Return of the Jedi. He succeeds where Revenge of the Sith failed so spectacularly in that he's made Darth Vader more than the emperor's puppet. He's shown that unlike the character Hayden Christiansen played in the movies, Darth Vader is capable of following his own agenda. And he's been doing so with help from a cast of surprisingly compelling characters in Aphra, BT, and Triple-0. But in Darth Vader #11, this agenda begins to clash with that of the emperor. Something has to give and it can't give until Luke loses a hand and Han takes a carbonite bath.

This means the story has to unfold in a careful, tactful way. That's not easy to do in a story that involves Darth Vader, an army of Stormtroopers, and a less-than-ethical archaeologist like Aphra. But somehow, Gillen manages to navigate this fragile narrative with the skill of a brain surgeon. He's very careful to mix in details that will later show up in the Empire Strikes Back, but not to the point that it would trigger another Han/Greedo situation.

This kind of attention to detail is refreshing in an era where continuity gaffs and retcons happen every other Thursday. Gillen channels his inner Stanley Kubrick, making sure every major and minor detail is addressed. And he does this without creepy twins or Jack Nicholson. Even with all these details, he still finds a way to include battles involving Stormtroopers, blasters, and light sabres. With no gungans or pod racers in sight, classic Star Wars fans will find plenty to enjoy.

But it's the use of dramatic irony that makes this story more satisfying than just seeing Stormtroopers get shot. This is where Thanoth, Darth Vader's new nemesis/ally, shows more competence than the average Imperial officer. Throughout this series, Vader has been subverting the Emperor, pursuing his own private agenda with Aphra. Being Darth Vader, he's made it look as easy as outsmarting Homer Simpson at times. That's no longer the case with Thanoth.

He's not Boba Fett. He's not Jar Jar Binks either. Thanoth is a Star Wars anomaly of sorts in that he's actually a competent bureaucrat. He's not content to just check out at five o'clock and count down the days until he can collect a pension. He sensed there was something not right about Darth Vader's latest covert mission and he's been investigating it, much to Vader's chagrin. It creates one of those situations where you know both of them can succeed without one of them being screwed over.

This marks the first time in this series where Darth Vader has to covertly help Aphra. He's only partially successful. This makes for some powerful moments where Vader is genuinely torn between his private agenda and his loyalty to the Emperor. Were he not Darth Vader, he might get nervous like Lance Armstrong during a drug test.

But the fact remains he is Darth Vader. He is the menacing Sith Lord that's destined to chop off Luke's hand and kill the Emperor. And his ability to pull this off under the watchful eye of someone like Thanoth is most impressive, even by Darth Vader's standards. He's very careful and covert in his ability to manipulate the battle. So he's not just a menacing Sith Lord with a light sabre. He's a menacing Sith Lord that knows how to use deception and tact.

These aren't just traits that neither Hayden Christiansen nor James Earl Jones can hope to capture. These are traits that add a complexity to Darth Vader that really didn't show until Return of the Jedi. The fact that Darth Vader is willing to go to such lengths to deceive the Emperor makes it more believable that he will eventually turn on him. Sure, it still takes the near-murder of his son, but it helps it feel less forced.

Darth Vader #11 acts as a culmination of sorts where Darth Vader's agenda finally clashes with that of the Emperor. It's a clash that's not quite on the level as the Battle of Hoth or the Battle of Endor. No planets blow up and nobody gets a hand chopped off. But it has all the necessary details. It conveys a refined, concise narrative that fits perfectly into the existing Star Wars mythos. And most importantly, it does this without gungans or Trade Federations.

Final Score: 9 out of 10