"Darth Vader #22: Crimson Reign, Crimson Havoc" by Greg Pak
"Darth Vader #22: Crimson Reign, Crimson Havoc" written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Raffaele Ienco and Alex Sinclair
We start off with Vader flying Ochi, Sabe, and Zed the droid to Naboo in an Imperial shuttle. Remember that last issue, Vader figured out both Sabe and Ochi were working for Crimson Dawn...but he has a plan for this turn of events and it surprisingly doesn't involve killing the two newbie Dawners... In a panel that was truly disgusting (hence my not showing it here), we see the shuttle begin landing next to the Sando Aqua Monster Vader killed at the beginning of this series' run...the creature is definitely decomposing...and probably smells horrendous, yuck! As soon as the shuttle gets close enough to the ground, Vader Force pushes Sabe and Ochi on to the ground amidst a whole slew of blue, horned beasties with spears as legs! Yikes! As the two run from the monsters, Ochi, in his ever humorous way proclaims, "Come on! You've got a million tons of dead Aqua Monster to eat! Why mess with us?" He may be a highly skilled assassin, but the man is an utter coward...and I love him for it, lol.
Then we get an admission from Sabe that she didn't join Crimson Dawn because she believed in the cause, but she infiltrated them to end chaos (it's not clear how she intended to accomplish this aim, though...) (see Vader's response to this below). And we get another great Ochi-ism, "Yeah, that's--that's what I did too! To find out what they were up to...for the Empire!" He's such a bold-faced liar and, as I said previously, such a wimp. Also, as the beasties attack, Ochi's the only one freaking out and screaming...Sabe is as cool and collected as ever, what a Queen! (See her in action being a bada** below.)
Vader then begins his metaphor that beautifully connects to what happens later in the issue. "You say you want order, Sabe. So you tried to kill me. But if you just kill one monster...a thousand more replace it." Appropriately, a whole new species of beastie appears--this time, long-necked and green with curved horns. He goes on, "With so many factions...someone must make them agree...or deal with them all." Again, appropriately, the two different species of beastie start attacking each other (see below). Ochi makes sure the reader understands what's happening with, "All right! We get it! Make the monsters eat each other!" And this is exactly what happens between General Romodi's troops and Crimson Dawn in the last part of the issue--they attack each other, and since they're all in one location, Vader is able to single-handedly wipe out every last one of them... While this was incredibly epic and the metaphorical connection with the beasties was thrilling, it's the very last panel that had me giggling with excitement...I'll be spoiler-labeling that part in case you want to be surprised!
The scene changes to a Crimson Dawn Regional Outpost in the Outer Rim...Vader's next stop!! But before Vader arrives, off in the back of the first panel, but with strangely prominent dialogue, making the whole situation even more absurd is a conversation between a man holding a bag of heads and another man who's wondering where they're going to put a bag of heads...like, what the heck is going on?!? Some official Dawn business with the Savvy Clan...I can't decide whether I agree with Qi'ra's mission or not, because the way she's carrying it out is pretty darn twisted...
Once Vader and crew land (with the correct clearance codes, I might add), Sabe appears with a holographically projected Crimson Dawn seal to verify Vader's claim over the Dawners at this particular Regional Outpost. And she looks like such a freaking bada** doing it!! Vader handily takes down the first wave of Dawners that resist...I mean, duh. One of the Dawners who's laying dying on the ground keeps saying, "...a thousand stronger than one...", harkening back to Qi'ra's promise to the members of her organization. Sabe loudly retorts with, "Yes...but how much stronger with The One?" as the rest of the Dawners bow down before them (see below). This gave me hardcore shivers, ugh, I'm telling you this issue was wonderful!
The only other scene I really wanted to discuss (besides the insane last panel) was the battle referenced above between Romodi's troops and Crimson Dawn, but from the perspective of Vader's team of assassins and team of "local heroes"...I'm so glad they're still a prominent part of this series as I have absolutely loved their addition...who stand close by. As the battle gets underway, Ochi arrives with a large speeder to whisk the assassins, "local heroes," and Valance away from the fighting. So, to clarify, Romodi's TIEs and troops arrived first to attack Vader's "crew" (the assassins and "local heroes"--Ochi mentioned to Romodi that Vader was in league with Crimson Dawn thus prompting him to action against Vader's people) with Crimson Dawn arriving moments later to attack Romodi's TIEs and troops. So the poor "local heroes" finally get a taste of what Vader really is since he reveals himself to have been watching the whole time without doing anything. Tanka the Trandoshan hesitantly says, "At least...he saved us?" And Ochi responds, "Wake up, Scalehead. I saved you. Vader just used you...to get all the other monsters to eat each other. He's not your savior...he's your nightmare." Ooooh!!!! Shivers again!!! But wait, there's more...scroll down for the final reveal!
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Vader walks over to Sabe--"They fear me now," he states. Sabe responds, "Yes." Vader asks, "Does nothing scare you, handmaiden?" Sabe asks, "Why should I be scared..." NEXT PANEL "...of Anakin Skywalker?" to which Vader just leans over and cocks his head. AHHHHHH!!! I need to know what happens next YESTERDAY!! See the moment below!
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