Enter The Inquisitors In Marvel’s Darth Vader #6

marvelvader6- cover

There has been a lot of bad news in our world this week. If you want to escape for a little bit to a galaxy far, far away you should look no further than Marvel’s Darth Vader #6. It’s been a while since I’ve been so floored by a single issue, but this one certainly got me. Writer Charles Soule is setting up some pretty cool stories in this series. Although this is the latter part of an arc, “The Chosen One”, you could most likely pick this up and start with little problem figuring out where Vader is.

 

 

SPOILERS AHEAD…

 

marvelvader6- deconstructed

 

Vader was able to defeat a Jedi and forge his own crimson saber, but the conflict left the Sith Lord in tatters. The issue opens with Vader being backhandedly complimented by Palpatine on his success in obtaining a Sith lightsaber. If you are not familiar, the crimson color of a Sith lightsaber comes from the Kyber crystal (power source of a lightsaber) being harnessed and bled by a Sith Lord. Sounds pleasant, huh? The previous issues cover Vader’s quest to obtain his own. Now that he has it, Palpatine has work for him to do.

 

 

As Palpatine is familiar with the man who was once Anakin Skywalker being technically proficient, he encourages his new apprentice to repair the Vader suit himself. We don’t get a close look at whatever modifications Vader makes to his suit, but he does it all from the comfort of a Bacta tank, wielding tools with the Force. I thought this was a pretty cool thing to witness. Who knows how many versions of the iconic suit Vader’s had over the years. It will be cool to see if he continues to modify it. We also get several close looks at Vader in the Bacta tank. It was understandable that we couldn’t get right up close to him in Rogue One, so I’m happy artist Giuseppe Camuncoli gave us his interpretation, which is just as good and terrible as I imagined.

 

marvelvader6- intruder in the temple

 

If you remember, Palpatine has made himself right at home in the Jedi Temple. We get a good look at several familiar parts of the Temple and it doesn’t look like old Sheev bothered much with redecorating. In this frame, an intruder is making their way through the temple and Palpatine has called on Darth Vader to deal with the situation. Knowing what happened in the Jedi Temple not too long from where we see it in this issue gives it a haunting appearance. Again, artist Giuseppe Camuncoli does not skimp on detail, but these vast spaces are almost completely empty, when we are accustomed to seeing them filled with Jedi Masters and Padawans. Very macabre, in my opinion.

 

marvelvader6- crimson fight

 

The intruder makes their way to the Jedi Archives, and from my impression, the knowledge stored in the archives is what they are after. They’re not after the Emperor or some sort of bounty…just knowledge. Vader arrives to put an end to it, but we see the intruder has a crimson blade of their own.

 

marvelvader6- grand inquisitor reveal

 

So cool! We learn the identity of the intruder, the Pau’an male who will eventually become the Grand Inquisitor that gave the Ghost crew so much trouble in season one of Rebels. We don’t know much about the man who will become the Grand Inquisitor, other than he was once a Jedi and a guard of the Jedi Temple. Somewhere between the end of the Clone Wars and here he made the acquaintance of Darth Sidious, who must have promised him access to the archives, and here we are. Maybe we’ll get the story of how he got his crimson blade someday, too.

 

marvelvader6- playing the fool

 

For a second, it looks like the Pau’an has the upper hand, especially once he equips the double-bladed, windmill function of his lightsaber. That’s a neat trick, but against Darth Vader, one needs a little bit more than a twirling blade. Just as the Pau’an is about to finish it, Vader lets him know that the only reason he let him get any sort of advantage was so he could test his new suit. Even Grand Inquisitors have their “Oh Poodoo” moments.

 

marvelvader6- thumbs down

 

Vader isn’t messing around. He doesn’t care who this person is or what they are doing. He’s simply pissed that this Pau’an would dare enter and challenge him, and he’s ready to be done with him. As the newly christened Sith saber is about to end any road the Pau’an would take to Grand Inquisitor, Palpatine shows up to let everyone know what’s REALLY going on.

 

marvelvader6- plea bargain

marvelvader6- sheev shot

 

Well, we learn a lot in a few frames, that the Pau’an has already been granted the rank of Grand Inquisitor, as he was the first of a program Palpatine put together called the Inquisitorius. Vader knew nothing about this, but Palpatine is about to pull back the curtain on what he considers his final nail in the coffin of the Jedi.

 

marvelvader6- inquisitor class

 

Palpatine introduces Vader and the Grand Inquisitor to their new pupils. Palpatine refers to these Inquisitors-in-training as those who were once “slaves to the Light Side”. Now, they work for the Dark Side, and they are the frontlines of what will be the hunt for the remaining Jedi. I recognize a few of them, as I’m sure you do too. I can’t wait to see them in action. I hope we learn all of their stories and what brought them into the service of the Sith.

 

marvelvader6- familiar side view

 

Looks like the Inquisitors are going to have quite the headmaster in Darth Vader. I can’t wait!

 

 

Charles Soule is among those writers in this new crop of canonical Star Wars storytelling that can seemingly do no wrong, in my opinion. I’m over the moon that Marvel gave him this series, and he seems to be to, as he is running with it in full-sprint. As I mentioned at the beginning, you could start with this issue if you’ve missed the previous ones (though I’d encourage you to go pick them up, because they’re great as well). The art by Giuseppe Camuncoli, inker Cam Smith, and colorist David Curiel is perfectly raw and grim for the tone. I highly recommend this issue, as well as jumping aboard Marvel’s Darth Vader if you have not.

 

marvelvader6- next issue

 

 

+ posts

Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson lives in Portland, Oregon. When he's not running trails, he's reading and writing.

26 thoughts on “Enter The Inquisitors In Marvel’s Darth Vader #6

  • October 5, 2017 at 5:21 pm
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    Jocasta Nu in that last frame? Certainly her kind of hair-do.

    • October 5, 2017 at 6:39 pm
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      With the Grand Inquisitor wanting to know all the Jedi secrets, perhaps he and Annie will team up to find her in the next issue?

    • October 5, 2017 at 7:16 pm
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      That’s what I thought

    • October 5, 2017 at 10:19 pm
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      where?

    • October 5, 2017 at 10:41 pm
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      It’s her.

  • October 5, 2017 at 6:39 pm
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    Wow, how anticlimactic? I would’ve thought Palps and Vader would gradually recruit the Inquisitors over a period of trials. But nope…we get them all at once, already fully formed and pretty much exactly how they looked in Rebels. LOL

    • October 6, 2017 at 9:00 am
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      That’s really my only gripe about this issue. I am ready to forgive it, though, if we get more backstory down the line. Maybe Vader gets to know more as he trains them.

    • October 6, 2017 at 4:07 pm
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      I think it adds to the power and mystique that is Sheev rather than detract from anything, imho.

      • October 6, 2017 at 6:35 pm
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        Ok. Well consider that this series is supposed to take place like within two weeks after ROTS. You mean to tell me that in that time he was able to find 6 former light siders, seduce them to the dark side, formulate this Inquisitor program, give them all cool uniforms with the brand spanking new Imperial logo emblazoned on them, devise missions for Vader’s Sith training, AND oversee the formation of a brand new government? With all that on Sheev’s plate it’s a miracle if he even finds time to poop.

        • October 7, 2017 at 12:40 am
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          “Oh boy, that was a busy week!” ~The Sen- I mean – Sheev Palpatine.

        • October 7, 2017 at 2:43 am
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          Who says this is within 2 weeks of the end of ROTS?

          • October 7, 2017 at 3:04 am
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            I haven’t read all of them, but the first issue literally begins during the end of ROTS, with Vader stepping off the operating table. He’s then immediately sent on a mission to kill a Jedi in order to steal his kyber crystal. And this new issue I assume takes place immediately after that mission, because we see Vader back in the medical bay recovering from his struggle with the Jedi.

          • October 7, 2017 at 3:46 am
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            “I haven’t read all of them…”

            I stopped reading or caring about your opinion of where we are in the timeline after that.

          • October 7, 2017 at 4:34 am
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            Whoa, dude! What’s with the animosity? I take it you’ve read the whole series then? Do you like it?

          • October 8, 2017 at 8:27 pm
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            No animosity here, just didn’t see the value in your opinion as it was greatly uninformed. No worries, dude. Move along.

  • October 5, 2017 at 9:50 pm
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    With the introduction of Disney characters and their ridiculous lightsabers, I’m done with this series.

    • October 5, 2017 at 11:01 pm
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      Because there was just simply no way Jedi hunters wouldn’t be involved in the time frame of the Jedi Purge.

      • October 5, 2017 at 11:03 pm
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        You’ve got to admit helicopter lightsabers was a bit OTT in Rebels.

        • October 5, 2017 at 11:07 pm
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          You won’t find me arguing with the ridiculousness of the helicopter crap. I’m fine with the overall design though.

      • October 6, 2017 at 12:34 am
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        Darth Vader, Storm Troopers, and Bounty Hunters would be more than enough.

        • October 6, 2017 at 3:55 pm
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          The Inquisitors were part of Legends continuity too.

          • October 6, 2017 at 8:22 pm
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            I’m fine with Legends look and design for the most part. The Disney-created Star Wars characters have issues.

    • October 6, 2017 at 3:38 pm
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      “Disney characters”

    • October 6, 2017 at 4:34 pm
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      I wouldn’t give up on it so soon. Maybe the Inquisitors get better.

  • October 6, 2017 at 4:33 pm
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    The Emperor in this is pretty good, but the Inquisitors aren’t the best. Thrawn is a much better bad guy for Rebels in my opinion.

  • October 11, 2017 at 10:37 am
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    NO NO NO NO NO. You can’t kill Jocasta Nu! She’s like a female Qui-Gon. Marvel, you can’t do this to me! Please stop killing my beloved characters!!!

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