This is the original trilogy occasionally glancing back at the prequel trilogy. Gillen’s Vader has a rich internal life, as he realizes that his place at his master’s side is not guaranteed and that the Empire sees him as an antique weapon, but he does not vocalize it or share it with others. When revisiting Geonosis, the planet on which he and Padmé first confessed their love for each other, he flashes back to a single panel of that before telling his companion to stop asking him any personal questions. But, occasionally, we see Vader reflect on his life before. The Vader we see here is Vader, James Earl Jones growl, clipped, cryptic remarks, swift, efficient violence and all. That sounds like it’s just semantics, but the direction of characterization is important here. What Gillen does absolutely right here is not try to make Anakin Darth Vader-rather, he tries to make Darth Vader Anakin. Shocked into action by this abandonment, he reaches out to bounty hunters and the mysterious Doctor Aphra, a rogue archeologist, in search of three things: the answer to the Emperor’s strange behavior towards him, a personal standing army, and the identity of the strange young man who has his old lightsaber… After the destruction of the Death Star in A New Hope, Darth Vader is on the outs with the Emperor. Kieron Gillen, naturally, has a very good answer to this question, which is Star Wars: Darth Vader. He’s heroic, dashing, and loyal, but he’s also possessive, violent, and impulsive. I’m watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars while I get ready for work in the morning (this is how I watch any and all half-hour programs), and I’ve been very much enjoying how the show tries to balance Anakin’s character and bridge the gap between Jedi hero and Sith villain.

In a way, though, Star Wars: Darth Vader answers the same question as “Thank the Maker”: how do you square Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker in light of the prequels in a meaningful way? And I don’t mean that in a joking way at all. In my defense, I knew Gillen was writing a Darth Vader title when I saw a few pages of “Thank the Maker,” so the two naturally conflated in my mind. I was so touched by Vader feeling actual pain over how far they’ve traveled from that point in time that I immediately determined to read… Star Wars: Darth Vader. Vader flashes back to rebuilding C-3PO as a child, defending droid rights to his mother as she tells him that creating a droid is a big responsibility.

It’s embarrassing, but I’ll admit it-I wanted to read Star Wars: Darth Vader because I thought Kieron Gillen wrote “ Thank the Maker.” If you’re unfamiliar with “Thank the Maker,” it is actually a 2000 Star Wars comic written by Ryder Windham about Darth Vader encountering C-3PO during The Empire Strikes Back.

By Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larocca, and Edgar Delgado

Vader volume 1