‘Darth Vader’ #31 Review: ‘The Tambor Gambit’ Sees Vader Test the Handmaidens One Final Time
I wasn’t expecting too much from The Tambor Gambit, but issue #31 of Darth Vader managed to make this far more interesting than just an action-heavy installment.
Rather than simply pitching the handmaidens against Jul Tambor, they are thrown into battle under the guise of Vader testing their suitability to work under him. He intends to convert them to his will, just like he believes he has done with Sabé. Naturally, the handmaidens provide some resistance, and it makes for some interesting battle sequences on top of the flashy fighting.
It’s not just about the handmaidens though. Writer Greg Pak once again looks inward on Vader himself, as he reminisces on his time with Padmé and wishes it had ended differently. This betrays Vader’s true thoughts to the reader; while he makes it look as though he cares little about the handmaidens, we know that secretly it’s very important to him that he win over Padmé’s closest friends and former decoys.
The issue does end in a slightly disappointing fashion, extending the current arc unnecessarily, but otherwise, this was a surprisingly strong issue of Darth Vader.
Spoilers ahead…
The issue starts off with an alternative look at the scene in Revenge of the Sith where Anakin is confronted by Padmé on Mustafar. Instead of rejecting the man Anakin has become, his wife accepts and embraces him, with Vader narrating that this is how it should have been. It tells us his interactions with the handmaidens come from a far more vulnerable place than we’d previously realized, though it was always suggested they were more important to him than he let on.
Vader takes the handmaidens to Brentaal IV to fight Jul Tambor’s droid army, but first they are greeted by Sly Moore, who is apparently working with Vader now. I’m always happy to see more of her, and she manages to disarm the handmaidens by revealing very accurate character assessments of each of them. She is there to help reinforce Vader’s argument, assuring them that serving him is the only way to reach their goals of a galaxy with order.
I’m glad that this arc is continuing to question the handmaidens’ beliefs, as their switch to Vader’s side in #30 seemed very rushed. Here, they constantly chafe against the idea that they serve or even agree with Vader, making for a much more believable transition than what we’d originally seen.
Vader soon pushes them (literally) into a conflict with Tambor’s droid army, testing them to see how they do without his power to aid them. In short, they do very well, carving their way through each B1 unit. I liked that the army also included clone LAAT/i gunships rather than Separatist ones; it really drove home just how cobbled together these forces are.
Sending out the handmaidens first was an unintentionally smart tactic from Vader for another reason. In the last issue, Tambor boasted that he had programmed with the droids with knowledge on how to defeat Vader; they clearly wouldn’t expect the handmaidens, giving them the element of surprise. Of course, Vader joined the fight himself later on, with some really cool art showing him carving a gunship while the handmaidens fight on the ground below him.
While the handmaidens continued the battle, Vader flew off on his speeder to attack Jul’s personal ship. Carving his way into the ship, he gets into some trouble against the droid bounty hunter until he is rescued by the returning handmaidens. Unfortunately, Jul manages to escape in another part of the ship that flies away, but Sabé is saved.
I don’t know why Jul Tambor wasn’t just killed then and there. It’s difficult to imagine what possible purpose he could still have in this arc, so it’s disappointing that this loose end is still not tied up. As the handmaidens are not yet converted to Vader’s side, they beg with Sabé once more to stop working with him.
This prompts a deadly reaction from Vader, as he lifts them all up against the wall and Force-chokes each of them. He delivers an ultimatum to Sabé as another way to bind her to his service; will she continue to serve him, or let her sisters die? Presumably she will acquiesce to his demands, but it’s an engaging cliffhanger for the issue to end on nevertheless.
The next issue will presumably have both Vader, Sabé and the other handmaidens all head off to kill Jul Tambor once and for all. I would rather they have a slightly more interesting goal to pursue, but perhaps #32 of Darth Vader will surprise me once again.
Rating: 7/10
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.
