Star Wars: Darth Vader #43

Star Wars: Darth Vader #43 brings the first part of a new story arc featuring the Schism Imperial faction. It starts out with a solid introduction to new members of the faction and later narration would highlight their core philosophy and attitude towards the Empire and why Darth Vader could temporarily be aligned with them. However, while it doesn't leave a bad impression, it's not a great one either, so more issues are needed to further flesh out this new group and see whether it's a neat addition to Star Wars or not. Other than that, the art was good and seeing Darth Vader and his new cyborg crew in action was nice. Read Full Review

Even while largely serving as a montage, the book still manages to inject some narrative momentum into the experience and build excitement for where this journey will take us, while also offering explosive sequences featuring a growing ensemble, and while we know this Imperial Schism won't fully overthrow Palpatine, it does help recontextualize Vader's journey during the original trilogy. Read Full Review

More than this continually having Vader betray or pretend to betray Palpatine massively weakens the end of Return of the Jedi. Why do we care that Vader turns against the Emperor for his son if it's the seventh time he's turned. We lose the lesson of hope if he's willing to turn against the Empire purely for power or vanity. Read Full Review

BatSledge

Feb 16, 2024

A slight step forward in the new Schism storyline, which for me doesn’t line up much with the movie continuity. I feel Ike the comic is at a point where it’s struggling to come up with compelling things for Vader to do and be involved with, and is marking time until Marvel decides to move the timeline forward and end this series.