"Darth Vader #21: Crimson Reign, Return of the Handmaiden" by Greg Pak

"Darth Vader #21: Crimson Reign, Return of the Handmaiden" written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Raffaele Ienco and Alex Sinclair

What a fantastic issue!! There were multiple story lines and plenty of action but also tons of humor, intrigue, and character development. I really feel like this Crimson Dawn storyline and the introduction of the new characters, both assassin and Revenger, pumped some serious lifeblood into this comic series which was limping along for a good while. I am most pleased!

Starting right where we left off from last issue, Sabe is accosting Ochi and Sly Moore, letting them know through the actions of the droid Zed (Vader's droid that he left damaged on Polis Massa and that Sabe revived), that she's the one in control! She demands to know what drives Vader, and Ochi responds with, "He's a Sith. He wants power." This is followed by Sly Moore adding, "He told the Emperor he would bring order." to which Sabe responds, "Then we will use him...to bring chaos." Goodness gracious she doesn't seem like the same Sabe we know from prequel stories!! Just look at her facial expression when she proclaims her intention to sow choas! (see below) We knew she was a strong, determined, and no-nonsense woman, but dang, now she's near terrifying... Regardless, she's definitely on a mission!

Then we're on General Romodi's star destroyer, and I believe there are bodies in the pods pictured below that are floating away from the large ship... As Romodi says, "They were good soldiers, and they deserved better." He's also 100% convinced that these "good soldiers" had nothing to do with Crimson Dawn despite being on the list that Vader acquired (the list that Sabe herself planted)...and...Romodi is correct, although Ochi tries to convince him otherwise with, "If Lord Vader says your soldiers were Crimson Dawn...they were Crimson Dawn." Poor Imperials who "did nothing wrong"...lol, I'm sure they did something wrong at some point in their service to the Empire...

Our wonderful cadre of new characters then make an appearance with the non-assassins (Revengers) being antagonistically labeled the "Local Heroes" much to their chagrin. Even Valance takes up the nickname and urges the Local Heroes to not keep following Vader because he is, in reality, a bad bad man! But they will have NONE of it. As Tanka the Trandoshan says, "Look, Valance. I'm sorry, but we don't really know you. We've learned to trust action. And under Vader, we've killed more Dawners than we ever dreamed." S'ira the Weequay adds, "I'll...I'll never forget what the Dawners did to my village. As long as he's hunting them, we're with him." They don't believe one wit of what Valance is telling them about the Dark Lord, even when he claims Vader will betray them!! S'ira just says, "We'll see...but it's already been worth it." Wow, talk about seriously delusional...but honestly, I don't blame them because they really have been able to kill a large number of Crimson Dawn members courtesy of Vader's facilitation. I'm interested to find out when the time will come for Vader to betray them...because we all know it's coming...

Side note: Gee-ninety (pictured below), a droid who is one of the new assassins, has grown close with the Local Heroes and has really buddied up with Tanka the Trandoshan, much to the frustration of the other assassins who keep reminding him not to go soft. This whole situation is incredibly humorous because Gee-ninety is a gigantic rolling death ball complete with internal blasters...the guy is terrifying! And his friendship is softening up his personality...I freaking love it.

We then travel to Tranchar in the Outer Rim where the mission goes a bit sideways. 1) Vader's crew are met with a huge force of super buff droids. 2) Seemingly innocent people are being tortured by Imperials. 3) Tanka kills the Lieutenant (Grapa) they were sent to find before Vader finishes his discussion with her...but Vader just walks away and doesn't punish Tanka at all. 4) Vader realizes that the hit's secret must have been let out of the bag...and realizes Ochi must be the leak. 

In trying to explain how General Romodi knew to send protective droids to Tranchar, Ochi stumbles over his words and is then chased by Valance who's blasting away at the assassin. Ochi says quite humorously, "Million hands, my ass!" HAHAHA! In response to Qi'ra's claim that Crimson Dawn provides an opportunity for millions of hands to come together and defeat the Sith. It's also the way he's running away from Valance while saying this that just cracks me up. See below.

Ochi does manage to escape all the way to Naboo to confer with Sabe...but Vader of course isn't far behind at all. See below. Goodness I LOVE the colors in these panels for Naboo, they're so rich and vibrant! See Ochi claiming that his plan all along was to infiltrate Crimson Dawn for Vader's benefit below.

Welp, what an ending, and goodness knows I have no idea what it means, lol. I'm assuming that Vader saying, "Because I am the Dawn." is just a simple reference to his being far more powerful than anyone and everyone else in the galaxy. I certainly don't think it means that he is a part of Crimson Dawn. But what an odd statement for the Sith Lord to make...guess we'll find out more in the next issue!!

Love, love, loved this one!! So thankful that this particular series has gotten back on track!