Good afternoon,
It's time for me to talk about the thirty-fifth issue of Marvel's first Star Wars color comic. The cover depicted Darth Vader in front of a game board, with sculptures of Luke Skywalker, Orman Taage, C-3PO, Han Solo, R2-D2, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia Organa. The tale was titled "Dark Lord's Gambit." The issue had a cover date of May 1980.
The tale began on an unnamed world, where the Dark Lord of the Sith finally learned the name of the Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star. He soon returned to his Star Destroyer with this knowledge and conferred with his subordinate Wermis before his rendezvous with a Taage Star Destroyer. The general on board that particular craft had recently risen to the rank of Baron after his brothers' Silas and Orman's recent defeat at the hands of the Rebel Alliance.
A few minutes later, the general shared details about their recent setback at the hands of the Rebel fleet. He disclosed that Solo and Skywalker were aboard the lead attack craft. Upon hearing this, Vader became incensed, knowing that they had let an opportunity to capture those Rebels slip from their grasp. The Sith Lord then revealed the forms of Silas and Orman Taage, each encased in his own stasis chamber, much to the surprise of their brother, who'd assumed that they had perished during the battle.
Convinced that he'd had the upper hand, Vader soon returned to his own flagship. He was ready to proceed with his plans, now that he had the Taage family as pawns to use as he so chose. Meanwhile, an X-Wing patrol headed by Skywalker was making a pass around the planet Yavin when they noticed an unidentified craft being attacked by a squadron of Imperial TIE fighters.
The Rebel pilots leaped in to save the larger vessel, which landed on the planet before them. On the surface, Han and Chewbacca went to get Leia, who was recovering from a recent injury (in a tale that, to the best of my knowledge, still has yet to be chronicled), so that they could properly greet their guests. The passengers from the ship, which had just been attacked, began to disembark and stated that they were part of the Order of the Sacred Circle and had risked violating the Imperial blockade to ask for their help.
Their leader, Lady Domina, immediately attracted Luke's attention. A short while later, the group conferred with General Dodonna and other Rebel personnel. Domina stated that their homeworld of Monastery was a neutral planet, but that Imperials had recently landed trying to win their favor. Their order had always been neutral during the galactic conflict and had intended to stay that way.
It was suggested that members of both the Rebellion and the Empire be allowed to convene on their planet, so that their order could make a final decision regarding their position on the matter. Luke enthusiastically volunteered to go and soon departed with Artoo in his own X-Wing that followed the bigger ship. His comrades were understandably wary, but were taking measures just in case the Empire might have a few tricks up its sleeve.
Threepio was monitoring their progress via a computer linkup with Artoo, and provided Leia and others with updates, like the one the astrodroid reported when the group encountered a Nightshrike flying toward them mere moments after landing on Monastery. Although blasters were forbidden on that world, Skywalker was allowed to carry his lightsaber, which was seen by natives as a largely ceremonial weapon. It came in handy, as Luke used it to end the threat.
No sooner had the creature been defeated than Luke wheeled around to see Vader right behind him. Only Artoo bumping into him prevented another battle. The Sith Lord left soon thereafter, and Domina tried to calm the hero. Later on, in his quarters, Luke and Artoo relayed what they'd learned so far. However, what they didn't know was that Vader had used the Force to send the beast after the heroes.
It was something that Vader admitted to Lady Domina, who we learned was also a Taage. Vader had hoped to win her favor by falsely claiming that her older brothers, Silas and Orman, had been slain by Rebel forces. She had no idea that they were still alive. Vader even went so far as to claim that Skywalker was responsible for their deaths. With that seed planted in her head, the Imperial leader reported to Wermis that all players of the game were in place and that the contest could now truly begin.
I'll be brutally honest: I never liked how Carmine Infantino drew Darth Vader. His face seems rather unnecessarily expanded, much like how he drew Artoo. I think that's one of the reasons why I initially didn't buy some of these earlier issues. The Dark Lord of the Sith is supposed to instill fear and reverence, but this rendition does anything but. I'm just glad that this storyline was rather brief. Domina wasn't featured very often during this series, but played a larger role in more recent Marvel Star Wars books, especially in the Doctor Aphra titles. She has changed significantly since her debut here.
That's all for today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the thirty-sixth issue of this title. Luke will face another challenge in the second part of this three-part story. We'll also see how allies on both sides interact during the conference on Monastery. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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