COMIC BOOKS: Darth Vader: War of the Bounty Hunters

Dean Poling, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·1 min read

Jan. 1—While the current "Darth Vader" collection is part of the larger, multi-title crossover "Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters," regular "Vader" readers don't need to read all of the other titles to follow the action of the latest "Vader" series.

This "Darth Vader" series continues the storyline of what happens to Vader between the movies "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." It is the third story arc in the series set during this period.

So far, in this series, Vader has been searching for Luke Skywalker since revealing he is the young rebel's father. Vader has also incurred the wrath of the Emperor.

In the last story arc, "Into the Fire," the emperor heavily damages Vader's suit and sets him aflame on the world where Anakin Skywalker began the physical transformation into Vader. He leaves Vader to fend for himself, which Vader brilliantly does using spare droid parts. The emperor also sends a Sith-connected assassin to kill the impaired Vader.

But the emperor's aim is not to destroy Vader but to break him and reshape him into service to the Dark Side of the Force.

In "Bounty Hunters," Vader's exoskeleton is painfully reconstructed as the Emperor accepts him back into the Dark Side's fold. Instead of seeking Luke, Vader searches for his son's good friend, Han Solo, who is encased in carbon. The storyline plays into the "Bounty Hunters" overarching story.

While it does not feel necessary to seek out other titles in the greater "Bounty Hunters" mega-series to read this Vader collection, readers may be curious to discover more. The "Star Wars" comics titles are arguably better than the last trilogy of films.