Darth Vader is a “force of nature” in the Star Wars Universe, able to take on a horde of Rebel scum with no problem, that being said, would it be possible for him to do battle with the Rebel forces all by himself? Would Vader be able to do combat with the trio of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia all by himself? Marvel’s latest crossover, Vader Down is answering those questions, exploring what would happen to an impossible villain pit against an entire army of rebels. Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen are reprising their writing roles in the pages of Darth Vader and Star Wars respectively to tell the story, starting with Vader Down #1 joined by Mike Deodato and Salvador Larroca. Comics Beat recently caught up with the authors to ask questions about the upcoming crossover. Check out Marvel’s solicit text:
STAR WARS: VADER DOWN
A Six-Part Star Wars / Darth Vader Crossover
When: November 2015
Creators: Jason Aaron & Kieron Gillen (W), Mike Deodato & Salvador Larroca (A)
Covers by Mark Brooks
Editor: Jordan D. White
What: A million voices cried out…and we’re giving them what they want! Since Marvel’s Star Wars line launched in January to much fanfare, the main series Star Wars and its sister series DarthVader have told both sides of the tale of the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire between the original STAR WARS and EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Now, the two series come together in the Mighty Marvel manner to tell one epic tale! When Darth Vader accidentally finds himself facing off against the Rebel Fleet on his own, the rebels will learn the true strength of the Dark Side of the Force! Once Vader crashes on a nearby planet, the Rebellion is willing to risk everything for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to take out one of their biggest enemies! Luke! Vader! Leia! Aphra! Han! Chewie! And all manner of Droid, good and evil! Star Wars’s Jason Aaron and the full Darth Vader creative team of Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca are joined by artist Mike Deodato as the casts of both books come together for the crossover that binds everything together!
Note: this crossover kicks off in an oversized VADER DOWN #1 and continues throughout issues of Star Wars and Darth Vader.
Vader DOWN:
“He was shot down” explained Gillen when asked about Darth Vader ended up in the fateful situation! Aaron moved onto mention that the series kicks off with “the biggest action scene we’ve done in any of our (Star Wars) series.” The author indicated that this moment where Vader is shot down is also the next big plot moment for the title.
Darth Vader, main character?
When asked how Darth Vader serves different roles in each of the books, Aaron mentioned how he sees Vader as “a force of nature.” The villain looms large over the Star Wars franchise, and eventually, he even served as a protagonist in Kieron Gillen’s Darth Vader comic “I don’t do captions for Vader — you never really know what Vader’s thinking.” This helps build the mystery and tone of the bleak descent into the mind of Vader in Gillen’s series.
How do Star Wars and Darth Vader lead-up to Vader Down:
“Well in the first act,” said Aaron, “there was that big moment where Vader is connecting Skywalker for the first time to the pirate’s plot to destroy the death star. With the fallout of that in his second arc, now he’s worked to restore order. Our books separated a little bit more in the second arc, now we’ve delved a little bit more into introducing our own new characters and now, bringing them all crashing together.”
Continuity kerfuffles and Star Wars love!
We also learned that the creative had no issue trying to navigate the piece of time in-between Star Wars movie titles and A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. The two creators quietly navigated behind-the-scenes continuity work and tell their own stories in the official Star Wars canon. Finally, Jason Aaron shared a quote regarding his personal relationship to the Star Wars franchise: “For me it’s just…I was the perfect age for Star Wars.”
Age isn’t just a number. Pick up Vader Down #1 in November and then continue the crossover as it bleeds into Darth Vader and Star Wars shipping monthly from Marvel.
