By [ad_1]
In Darth Vader #20, the most powerful Sith Lord of the Star Wars universe sent a terrifying message to his rivals by way of his deadly lightsaber.
Warning: The following contains spoilers from Darth Vader #20, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
There weren’t many people in the Star Wars galaxy that survived standing up to Darth Vader. Grand Moff Tarkin, with his legendary hunting skills was one of the few, as was the unmatched bounty hunter Boba Fett. Regardless, Darth Vader has occasionally had to send a message to his enemies as a reminder of why he has such a formidable reputation. That’s exactly what happened in Marvel’s Darth Vader #20 (by Greg Pack, Raffaele Ienco, Alex Sinclair and VC’s Joe Caramagna), as Vader reminded the Acolytes of the Beyond of their places.
With Padme dead and no other reason to live, Darth Vader fully devoted himself to the Dark Side and policed the Empire according to the desires of Palpatine. During the recent War of the Bounty Hunters crossover, Palpatine found out about the extent of Crimson Dawn’s galactic infiltration, and Vader has been assigned the task of hunting down the crime syndicate’s secret operatives.
In Darth Vader #20 the Sith Lord discovers a list of Crimson Dawn affiliates and launches a number of coordinated attacks. However, the list was flawed and had been planted by Sabe, one of Padme’s former handmaidens. So, when Vader entered the Imperial Thrown Room in a killing frenzy, he ended up cutting up a hefty number of Palpatine’s advisors, who were, in fact, Imperial loyalists, much to the delight of the Emperor.
After the fact, he and Palpatine discussed the incident, and there were a couple of key revelations. First off, seemingly knowing the answer before asking the question, Vader queried his master if they truly were loyal, and Palpatine’s response was noteworthy. He said, “They admire us Sith. So, they scheme. Only loyal to strength, which you have shown them.” Not many people in the galaxy knew that Palpatine was a Sith, so Vader’s victims were likely more than just Imperial advisors. Based on their odd clothing, they were probably Acolytes of the Beyond, although the group was not directly referenced in the issue.
Members of the Beyond called themselves Shadows, and were normally not Force-sensitive. Yet, the Shadows worshiped Sith Lords. Their leader, Yupe Tashu, was one of Palpatine’s top advisors during the original trilogy and was crucial in executing Operation Cinder after the Emperor’s death. After that, the Shadows became more prominent by searching out Sith Artifacts like Vader’s lightsaber and even attacking New Republic installations.
Vader later admitted that he knew his list of Crimson Dawn members was flawed. He knew that the advisors were agents of chaos, and thus decided to kill them based on his new, order-making obsession. He successfully sent a clear message to the Acolytes of the Beyond regarding their scheming. Their only purpose was to worship Palpatine and be subservient to the power of the Sith.
About The Author
[ad_2]
