Star Wars: Darth Vader #21 (March 23): Oof, this issue is pretty hard to follow. It has a number of moments where you think we've hit the climax only for us to move onto another scene.
Ochi's search for connections between the people on Sabé's list of Crimson Dawn collaborators leads him to General Romodi, who mourns the soldiers that he lost in Vader's purge. Ochi realizes that they weren't Crimson Dawn but were all involved in the operation to wipe out the Amidalans. (Smart, Sabe. Have the Empire get your revenge for you.)
The issue gets even more confusing when Vader and Valance hit the road with their crew, the "local heroes" and the professional assassins. Chilla Zin, an insectoid assassin, laments that Baron Zanchal, who they killed last issue, wasn't a verified hit. Tanka, the Trandoshan local hero, says that Zanchal had it coming. Zin stresses that assassins follow rules, but no one is really listeningtohim. Gee-Ninety enjoys camaraderie with Tanka and the heroes, though Loriach, another assassin, warns him not to get too close to them. Unsurprisingly, this warning proves prophetic.
The team arrives on Tranchar in their search for a Lieutenant Grapa, who was also part of the Amidalan mission. Upon arriving at the Imperial base, an unexpectedly strong droid contingent opens fire on the crew. Gee-Ninety is upset when Tanka is injured and takes out the droids. Upon entering the base, Tanka is outraged that the Imperials are torturing people. Gee-Ninety goes on a shooting spree to take out the Imps and win Tanka's favor, only for Vader to slice him in half. A wounded Grapa expresses confusion when Vader asks her about the Admidalan mission, since they killed them all. Tanka takes out Grapa for reasons that I don't fully understand, and, to make matters more confusing, Vader doesn't take out Tanka for killing her.
The only reason that I can see for Vader letting Tanka live is that he's distracted by the fact that Romodi seemed to know that Vader was coming (given the droid contingent). He suspects Ochi, who panics and flees to Sabé. Of course, despite Ochi's insistence that he wasn't followed, Vader arrives and tells Ochi that he knew that he was Crimson Dawn. But he plans to use Ochi and Sabé in ways that aren't clear yet.
As I said, it's confusing. I like that we pay attention to the minor characters here, but it's a lot of pieces moving on the board to follow. I also can't believe that Vader would let Tanka survive, so I wonder how that's going to go.
Newburn #5 (March 30): Newburn is beyond evil here. He gets himself sent to jail to prove that Sal Russo, an Albano family capo, leaked information that got Sandro Albano killed. Sal takes a liking to his new bunkmate (whom he recognizes) and calls in a favor to prevent the Black Council from killing Newburn. Later, he reveals that the Council owes him because he gave them some low-level drop locations, part of his revenge on the Albanos for abandoning him. Newburn tells Sal that one of those locations got Sandro killed and calls Emily to tell the Albanos. The next day Newburn reads the paper as Albano thugs go to Sal's cell to kill him. Phillips does a spectacular job showing Sal's regret for trusting Newburn as he lies on his bunk knowing what's coming. Emily picks up Newburn after he's released, and, when she asks if he's OK, his role in Sal's death seems not to affect him at all. It's chilling, and I find myself wondering all the more why he does what he does.
Also Read: We Have Demons #1 (March 23); Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #21 (March 30)
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