"Darth Vader #23: Crimson Reign, the Shadow's Shadow" by Greg Pak

"Darth Vader #23: Crimson Reign, the Shadow's Shadow" written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Raffaele Ienco and Carlos Lopez

Wow!! This s*** was good! Talk about all the BEST nostalgia rolled into one bada** package. I am loving this series again.

First, we start where we left off last time with Sabe revealing she knows Anakin and Vader are one and the same. Vader, of course, responds by deflecting, but Sabe isn't to be fooled (see below). "I was Padme's greatest shadow. I know what she knew. You can't fool me. Anakin vanished...and you appeared...Padme said Anakin spoke of order...you're obsessed with it. Anakin loved Padme. You nearly ripped open her grave to find out how she died." Vader just listens. Sabe then goes on to say that she too heard Padme's last words. She doesn't repeat them aloud but there is a flashback panel of Vader watching the hologram previously in the series. And only this memory is enough to finally send his lightsaber flying to Sabe's throat! But this Bad B just keeps talking...quickly landing on the subject of slavery and Shmi...Sabe brings up Anakin's mother!?!?She is brave on a whole other level and it freaking works--Vader just keeps listening. Eventually her whole point in working for Crimson Dawn and teaming up with Vader is revealed. It all has to do with the slaves she managed to save from Tatooine years ago...a population of people that holds 2 marvelous Easter Eggs. Sabe asks Vader to take down the Imperial Governor who is sucking these people dry. And Vader...agrees?!? It's amazing what this woman is capable of!!

But before we get there, we find out that all of Vader's crew--the Local Heroes, the Assassins, Ochi of Bestoon, and Valance have been listening in on the conversation. The Local Heroes are finally realizing that Vader doesn't actually care about them and is ready to leave in a heartbeat if something else comes up that actually means something to him. As Sabe and Vader fly away, having left all the rest on the planet below, Tanka the Trandoshan finally begins to question what has been going on. He says, "What...what does this mean, Valance? Are we still...in Vader's service?" Valance knowingly responds, "You don't leave Vader's service until he releases you...or kills you. You should feel lucky we dodged option two." Everyone's about to head back to home base when Valance catches Ochi climbing into a TIE fighter, proclaiming that he's going to prevent Sabe from destroying them all...but we don't see him again for the rest of the issue?? I wonder what his plan really is...my money's on him running away plain and simple for the moment. He's too much of a coward to do anything too consequential.

The former slaves have been living on Gabredor III. As soon as Sabe and Vader arrive in their Imperial shuttle, with ZED-6-7 piloting, Vader admits that he wants to determine the truth of Sabe's words before engaging with the governor. As they land, the first word out of a colonist's mouth is, "Kitster Banai"...like, what?!? THE Kitster Banai?? The little brunette boy who was friends with Anakin, probably his most loyal friend at that! This being some 36 years after the last time we saw him at Anakin's last pod race on Tatooine, he's one burly, looking 40-something at this point! See him below with the 2nd Easter Egg...Wald!!! The Rodian who was not that great to Anakin before the race, but who still seemed to be a good friend to the boy. With Sabe having just tugged at Vader's heart strings and then his coming across these two mostly positive parts of his life on Tatooine as a slave with his mother, Vader is primed and ready to do a good deed, and surprisingly he freaking does!!!

Vader realizes some beasts are about to attack the colonists and he ends up full-on saving Kitster and Wald from the spiny, mandibled creatures (see below). Vader also agrees without saying so much in words, to help the colonists as ZED-6-7 reveals that the governor has only delivered 37% of the crucial supplies she promised the colonists over the past 3 years and that she has forcibly conscripted 33 colonists who have never returned. The dark lord provides Sabe with an armory of weapons and armor to choose from and she gets kitted up to the nines! See her in full battle regalia below. I'm not completely sure if Vader's intentions are for Sabe to train and lead the colonists against the governor or if he's going to help, but I'm leaning toward the former. Perhaps he just doesn't want his stamp on the endeavor??

I genuinely have no complaints about this issue. There was a podracer being built by Kitster and Wald on Gabredor III which just seemed shoehorned, but other than that, the nostalgia was on point and the level of bada**ery coming from Sabe was superb!! Looking forward to seeing what happens next...