Darth Vader (2020-) #2: "Dark Heart of the Sith, Part II" by Greg Pak

Darth Vader (2020-) #2: "Dark Heart of the Sith, Part II", written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Raffaele Ienco and Neeraj Menon

     Last issue ended with an incredibly jarring bit of imagery with Padme seemingly staring Darth Vader down. But was it truly her? How would that even work? Or was it one of the queen's shadows?? This issue reveals that it was in fact Sabe, a faithful handmaiden to Padme, pretending to be her. In a strange turn of events, Sabe wants to know, as badly as Darth Vader does, what truly happened to Padme. Who ultimately killed her?? Will this shared sense of revenge bring the two together?? Or will Sabe see Vader as simply the right hand of the Empire she despises?? And will Vader see Sabe as too much like the Padme he loved (and honestly still loves) so dearly??
     This issue has some fantastically beautiful imagery extracted straight from Attack of the Clones showing Padme's and Anakin's love before and during the Petranaki Arena battle!! My heart is singing. Check out the panel below. And there's some equally beautiful imagery of Padme as "Queen," "Senator," and "Daughter of Naboo." Again, check out the stunning visuals below! Sabe proclaims she is all these things before the jig is finally up and ZED-6-7 (see details below) analyzes the minor differences between the handmaiden and Padme. But check out her most stunning proclamation below as well, so strange for Sabe to want to seek out revenge against Darth Vader when she doesn't even know that he used to be Anakin...wanting to haunt him to his grave?? She thinks the Emperor killed Padme so perhaps it's haunting by association? Will things turn around for Vader and Sabe? Or will they be at each other's throats in the end??

     I'm still loving ZED-6-7, the Imperial Forensics Droid along for the ride with Vader. He speaks his mind while at the same time being well aware of Vader's typical desires and tendencies. He really knows how to be useful and not overstep his bounds...even while having NO idea that Vader was Padme's husband!! I can't help but think that Vader sees a little bit of 3PO in ZED.
     On Vendaxa, there is a fantastic lifeform called Vendaxan Land Squid that remind me of rathtars a bit but with more defined heads. They attack multiple times in this issue. Check them out below.

     And, okay, so the Gungan definitely wasn't Jar Jar because he was killed. I'm assuming it was just a random Gungan mercenary (those exist?!) working with Sabe. See Sabe mourning her mercenaries' deaths below. She really does look so much like Padme!!!

    So, some wonderful imagery making call-backs to the prequels which I am ALWAYS here for!! And a super intriguing twist that I did not see coming at all!! A twist I haven't detailed here by the way. So far this series is definitely one to keep your eyes on!