‘Vader Down’ Crossover Puts Darth Vader in the Biggest Handicap Match of His Sith Career [Preview]

Darth Vader's tangled with the Rebel Alliance before, but in the first crossover event for Marvel's latest Star Wars comic line, the Sith Lord will be at his greatest disadvantage yet. Maybe. The Dark Side of the Force is a very powerful ally to have when you're stranded alone on a planet with almost the entirety of the Rebel Fleet bearing down on you. Then again, Vader did have an entire, fully-operational Death Star and hundreds of thousands of soldiers at his disposal during the Battle of Yavin, and we all know how that turned out.

Admittedly, it's challenging to create drama around a character whose fate has already been known and was determined thirty years ago. It's not that Marvel's recent run on Star Wars comics hasn't been enjoyable, it's just that pondering the question of whether or not the Rebels will be able to cripple the Empire by removing Vader from the equation in a story that takes place not long after Episode IV seems a little silly. Obviously Vader's going to make it out of "Vader Down" alive (well, as alive as he can be anyway), so you'd think the bigger drama selling point would be the fight itself, not wondering what the outcome could be.

Anyway, Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato, Jr are teaming with Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca for the six-part event, which will begin in Vader Down #1, and continues through Darth Vader #13 and Star Wars #13 in subsequent weeks. Courtesy of Marvel we have a unlettered preview of Vader Down #1, as well as a handful of the variant covers for the event's first chapter. Will the Alliance succeed in stopping Vader? Probably not, but it might just be worth reading to see how many different ways Vader is able to blow up a ship with the Dark Side.

STAR WARS: VADER DOWN #1 (SEP150827)
Written by JASON AARON
Art by MIKE DEODATO
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by JOELLE JONES (SEP150829)
Connecting Variant A by CLAY MANN (SEP150828)
FOC – 10/26/15, On-Sale – 11/18/15

Two of the biggest comics in the world collide this November as STAR WARS and DARTH VADER cross over for the first time! And it all starts right here! Today, Marvel is pleased to present your first look at STAR WARS: VADER DOWN #1 – the kickoff to the blockbuster six-part crossover. Chartbusting writers Jason Aaron (Star Wars, Doctor Strange) and Kieron Gillen (Darth Vader, Young Avengers) join forces with fan-favorite artists Mike Deodato (Original Sin) and Salvador Larroca (Darth Vader) to combine both titles in the mighty Marvel manner!

Vader’s TIE Fighter has been shot down. Seeing this as their one, best chance to take him down once and for all, the Rebellion is ready to throw everything they have at him. Alone, outnumbered and outgunned, Darth Vader must now face the entire might of the Rebel Fleet. But the Rebels are about to learn the true unrestrained power of the Dark Side of the Force.

To defeat their greatest enemy, the Rebel Alliance will risk it all. Yet with it all on the line, could this risky gambit cripple their forces in the fight against the Empire? Find out at this can’t miss crossover event begins on November 18th in the oversized STAR WARS: VADER DOWN #1 and continues in the pages of STAR WARS and DARTH VADER!

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