"Darth Vader #17: War of the Bounty Hunters: Just Rewards" by Greg Pak

"Darth Vader #17: War of the Bounty Hunters: Just Rewards" written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Raffaele Ienco and Alex Sinclair

Nothing really stood out in this issue until the very last panel, especially since a good bit of it was simply rehashing what had already happened in "War of the Bounty Hunters #5". But of course we get the background behind these previous happenings and therefore a more fully fleshed out story which I am always for. The imagery was great as always, but again, nothing really stood out all that much.

Vader in his TIE is after Luke in his X-wing (see below) when Ochi calls the dark lord up to let him know the Hutts are attacking the Imperial shuttle holding Han Solo. Vader retorts with a demand to leave him alone to his hunt unless the Emperor himself requests his presence. ...leading to Palpatine being notified by Admiral Piett about the Hutts and thus a command by Palpatine for Vader to handle the Hutt situation personally. All this we've seen before. But how does Ochi know the Hutts are after Han? And how exactly did Vader's personal handling of the situation go down? That's what this issue reveals.

Ochi was battling Sly Moore, thinking her weak and useless after all her failed attempts to subvert those around her, and not understanding that everything she does is truly done with the heart of someone who puts her emperor above all else. She couldn't care less about Vader--in fact, as we know, she's tried to directly off him before...a couple of times. But Palpatine?? She is most definitely his servant through and through. So she tells and then shows Ochi that the Hutts are attacking the Imperial shuttle. At first he reports it to Vader (as we've seen before), but then Ochi has a moment of clarity, "Just one minute...he only wanted Solo as bait for the Skywalker boy. So why distract him when he's about to kill the kid on his own? You're just trying to protect Skywalker again, aren't you, Umbaran?" Sly makes it very clear though that she only protects the boy to save him for her Emperor. Ochi appears to be unswayable and still firmly entrenched in the cult of Vader.

Then we have Vader arriving on the Hutt flagship to throw down, dealing with the situation in his own Vader-y way...asserting his dominance followed by killing everyone he had just asserted his dominance to. I feel like there's a disconnect here...lol. Before Vader gets the chance to mow all the Hutts down, Bokku reveals that he has been a Crimson Dawn agent for sometime (see below)...and Vader is actually surprised!! Even Bokku's droid is taken aback by Vader's obvious hesitation at the reveal. Bokku says, "In a galaxy of emperors and wizards, there's no way for lowly souls like us to win this game. Unless we stand together." This idea of the many being greater than the one is carried throughout the rest of the issue by several characters. Palpatine, in opposition to the growing trend, says after hearing Vader call him Master, "Ah. It is reassuring to hear that word...when so many misguided fools now seem to think that a million are stronger than one." And with that, the Emperor sets Vader on a mission to smoke out the Crimson Dawn agents who have assuredly infiltrated the Imperial government already.

After everyone is done conversing and Palpatine has left the holo call, Sly Moore is left kneeling on the floor, alone in the dark. She tells Mas Amedda that she has been spared because the Emperor values her service, while Mas Amedda says it is because she is not significant enough to even bother with. Ugh, this crap really makes me feel for Sly. She's truly trying to do the best she can for her superior and all she gets is a huge sack of nothing. I feel that to my core...

I'll leave you with a non-spoiler bit of intrigue as to what happens next: Ochi is a member of a League of Master Assassins, stationed on Saki. He travels to them, having told Vader that they need subtle tactics to smoke out the Crimson Dawn spies in the Empire. But they have a gift waiting for him...and as surprising as the gift was...Ochi's response to the gift was what really knocked me back!!

So overall, it was an interesting issue that gave us a better window in on events we only brushed with before. But the ending was what really had me at the edge of my seat!! What is Ochi's future?!?