Comic Book Review - Star Wars: Darth Vader #11

Rob reviews Star Wars: Darth Vader #11...

After being left broken and defeated on Mustafar, we join Darth Vader as he heads to Exegol to confront his Master...Emperor Palpatine. 

To say that Vader has been through a lot is a serious understatement. The Sith Lord has seen himself being ambushed by Assassin Droids, being hunted by Ochi of Beeston, to then replacing his suit with bits of scrap. Why? Well, Vader knows what his Master is up to and plans to put a stop to it. This then leads to the mysterious Sith planet, Exegol as Vader confronts the Emperor. 

It's an interesting take on the two Sith Lords as we see Vader and Palpatine go toe-to-toe with each other. The last time Vader and Palpatine met, Vader was left in ruins on Mustafar. This time around he's not only re-connected with the Force but he's also got the Summa-Verminoth - a Force-sensitive Space Squid'. Naturally, Palpatine has his gigantic monsters and we're treated to a Godzilla Vs. Kong battle as the three Kaiju battle each other. 

While many Star Wars battles are grand and even epic in scope, this one brings a darker affair. If anything it's used to show just how powerful Palpatine is, with the Sith Lord being able to defeat the Summa-Verminoth with but a thought. It's also great to see a Star Wars battle that doesn't involve a fleet of spacecraft (I do love a space battle!), or the clash of Light Sabers. 

If the first half of Darth Vader #11 shows Palpatine's power, then the second half is Vader's turn. After the battle on the surface, Palpatine takes Vader on a twisted tour of the structure seen in Rise of Skywalker. Throughout this structure, Vader learns of his Master's ultimate plan, as well as being able to show his physical prowess - in a Light Saber fight! 

Overall Star Wars: Darth Vader #11 is an Emperor Palpatine issue. Greg Pak uses the confrontation to not only expand on the plot points of Rise of Skywalker but also shows that the Emperor is just as cunning as he is masterful of the Force. This is more interesting if you consider that the storyline is set before Return of the Jedi. So to see Palpatine already planning his 'Final Order' is a real 'wow moment. 

When it comes to art, both Raffaele Ienco and Neeraj Menon give us some fantastic scenes. The whole Kaiju battle was incredible and the sheer scope is shown with a tiny Vader and Palpatine in amongst the monster carnage. Colours are your typical Exegol/Empire fashion of muted blues, greys and plenty of black. As the issue reaches its conclusion we get treated to some brilliant uses of red. It's a nice touch that highlights the Emperor's power in the Force. 

Rating 8/10 

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter and Facebook @GeekCultureRev