My first thought upon reading Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #3 was, “that’s it?”. After a re-read, I was convinced that some pages were missing, because the issue feels rather short, despite a unique premise. Following his confrontation with Gardulla the Hutt – who enslaved his grandfather, Darth Vader – Kylo Ren now finds himself in chains. But the Supreme Leader has a vision of the past…which prepares him for the future.
I’m not going to mince words: the moments featuring flashbacks or visions are the best parts of Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #3. The irony is thick, considering Ren’s desire to sever his ties to the past in The Last Jedi, but it’s also fitting considering he wants to know what made Vader into the formidable force that terrorized the galaxy. These moments are also striking due to the combination of Luke Ross’s artwork and Nolan Woodward’s color art. Not only is Ross able to perfectly replicate scenes from The Last Jedi and Rogue One, but Woodward shrouds it all in red, representing the bubbling mix of rage, pain and confusion that drives Ren’s actions.
Once again, Charles Soule delivers a key Vader moment. When Ren has a vision of Vader mowing down Rebel troopers, he asks his grandfather for guidance. Vader has a chilling response: “Everything that made me magnificent…I did alone.” Soule’s words aren’t just meant to inspire Ren, but also show how far gone Vader was at that point. Anyone who read Soule’s previous Darth Vader comic knows that Vader went on a similar path to Ren, and how it molded him into the Sith he was in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Marvel
Yet despite a few standout moments, the rest of the issue passes by in a breeze. By the halfway point, Ren manages to free himself – admittedly in a massive display of power, but it still feels quick. So does his trek through the deserts of Tatooine, which find him defeating a massive beast (and wearing its hide) while also cobbling together enough tech to build a transmitter and contact the First Order. All of those events feel like they could have filled an entire issue.
It leads me once again to Soule’s work on Darth Vader and how he approached that comic. It was methodical in its approach, slowly showcasing how Vader’s humanity was stripped away. Hopefully future issues of Legacy of Vader take the same approach, because I feel that Ren is a very interesting character and that Soule could definitely utilize the same treatment in fleshing him out to the point we see in The Rise of Skywalker.
Star Wars: Legacy of Vader #3 feels fairly rushed except for one sequence, which hopefully is just a minor speed bump in an otherwise solid run so far. With the next issue moving to another piece of Vader’s past, hopefully the series can get back on track.
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