Darth Vader #11

"Into the Fire" concludes as Darth Vader reaches the surface of Exegol in search of the Emperor. Although Vader fights off a few guards, and defeats a crowd of the Sith supporters shown in The Rise of Skywalker, Darth Vader #11 sadly doesn't offer any more context to the group on the Emperor's secret base nor reveal any more detail about them. Other than the one unexpected item Vader discovers in the laboratory, the base on Exegol offers no surprises or reveals (either because Greg Pak had nothing to add to the underdeveloped plot hole left from the film or wasn't given permission to fill it).

Despite the fury which has driven him to this point, his master still has enough power to teach Lord Vader a final lesson and bring him to heel once more. While the arc has shown us the fury of Vader unleashed, in the end we end up much at the same place before the arc started with Vader once again kneeling before the Emperor. Of course, none of that is surprising given the issue needing to fit into Star Wars chronology, but given the build-up it's hard not to feel a bit let down in the end of the tale.

[Marvel, $3.99]

• Title: Darth Vader #11
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Greg Pak
• Artist: Raff Ienco