‘Darth Vader’ #29 Review: ‘Techno (Re)Union’ Focuses on Sabé and The Handmaidens
The 29th issue of Darth Vader isn’t the most memorable of its current run, but there are some interesting nuggets in there that prevent it from getting boring. With Vader himself presumably busy with whatever he’s doing in Hidden Empire, most of the issue focuses on Sabé and Dormé.
Sabé is busy on Skako Minor working on Vader’s mission, tasked with infiltrating the pirate group they fought in the previous issue and seeks out Jul Tambor. Meanwhile, Dormé and Ochi work to track her down, boarding Vader’s Star Destroyer to find clues. Dormé refuses to believe that Sabé could be working with Vader and is increasingly worried that she’s lost her way.
That’s really the main question of this issue: has Sabé gone too far in her partnership with Vader, and if not, then what is too far?
Otherwise, there’s some interesting backstory about what happened to the Techno Union and the Tambors since Vader visited Skako Minor at the end of the Clone Wars. I appreciate that as someone who was mildly fascinated by Wat Tambor in the prequels, but for those who weren’t, your mileage may vary here.
Spoilers ahead…
Jul Tambor seems to be a good man, unlike his grandfather Wat. Life for his people has gotten inextricably worse since this corrupt council was put in place and you can’t really blame him for wanting a steady supply of air. He does have the same problems as a lot of revolutionary leaders though; how many lives is he willing to risk supplanting the current rulers?
It’s hard to say if his pride is doing most of the heavy lifting here in terms of motivation. Clearly he wants his family’s old seat of power back, and it’s convenient that his goal will genuinely help a lot of people. But ultimately his true motivation is never really explored as Sabé kills him quickly. He may well have the needs of the people at the front of his mind but as Sabé points out, he is greatly mistaken if he thinks he is capable of killing Darth Vader. That mission would have certainly ended in failure and doomed his followers to extinction.
Sabé says as much, which makes her decision to kill him all the more interesting. On one hand, this was the easiest way to gain favor with these pirates, but also she clearly feels that she’s saving a lot of lives by ending his. Dormé needn’t worry, as her actions are still guided by compassion.
The brief assassination attempt by the Droid Crush was fun but ultimately forgetful. The Droid Crush remains one of the more annoying bounty hunter groups around; the most interesting thing about them is that they’re all droids, and that’s really it.
Dormé (disguised as Sabé) and Ochi head to the Executor to find information on Sabé’s whereabouts. Dormé wants the truth from her, while Ochi wants to remove her from her place of power at Vader’s side. Ochi warns that they shouldn’t stay long lest she get discovered, but alas it doesn’t matter. Right after they get their answers, she is summoned by Vader, who knows that Sabé is supposed to be on Skako Minor right now and not on board his ship.
He sees through Dormé’s disguise immediately, and of course he would, considering the nature of his partnership with Sabé. He tests her against her two stormtrooper bodyguards and her lack of a ruthless streak immediately sets her apart from her sister. It’s unclear what Vader will do with her or Ochi, but I’m guessing next week’s story will continue to follow the two handmaidens while Vader himself remains tied up in Hidden Empire.
Techno (Re)Union was a perfectly adequate story, but clearly the pace has slowed a little bit now that we’ve entered a new arc during the Hidden Empire crossover. Hopefully, the next few issues of Darth Vader can keep us interested, with the focus back on Vader himself.
Rating: 6/10
Josh is a huge Star Wars fan, who has spent far too much time wondering if any Star Wars character could defeat Thanos with all the Infinity Stones.
