Legacy #31 Vector Part 12 (of 12) Story: John Ostrander, Jan Duursema Script: John Ostrander Art: Jan Duursema Inking: Dan Parsons Coloring: Brad Anderson Lettering: Michael Heisler Cover: Jan Duursema Released: 01/02/2009 Reviewed by: JF Boivin (06/09/2009) SUMMARY: Cade Skywalker, with the help of his friends and Celeste Morne, have lured Darth Krayt to Had Abbadon to defeat him. The main battle turns out to be between Celeste Morne, fighting for control with Karness Murr, and Darth Krayt. In the end, Celeste/Muur win, due to a distraction by the Imperial Knight Azlyn Rae who is fatally injured as a result. Loosing control, Celeste willingly sacrifices herself after Cade accepts to take over control of the Muur talisman. Meanwhile, Azlyn Rae still shows signs of life, as does Darth Krayt.

[final cover] [preview cover]

THE STORY

The massive fight scene that started last issue on Had Abbadon now resumes, and the outcome will bring major changes to the storyline. This issue also marks the final chapter of the year-long "Vector" cross-over, so I will be able to address whether the payoff is worth it or not. First, the details on the mass combat that was in progress: While Azlyn Rae, Ganner Krieg and Shado Vao are fighting off hordes of rakghouls controlled by Karness Muur, Cade is dueling with Darth Stryfe with Jariah Syn waiting in the wings to back him up. At the center of all this, the Emperor Darth Krayt is fighting Celeste Morne, who is having her own internal battle with Muur. Soon, Darth Maladi comes to the aid of her Master but Celeste/Muur doesn't give up in the face of defeat. I find this part kind of annoying, with Muur and Celeste switching constantly back and forth. Muur doesn't want to kill Krayt but is willing to to defend himself, while Celeste clearly wants to kill the Sith Emperor. Krayt at first wants to destroy the ancient Sith spirit and its host, but then he changes his mind and offers him/her to join him. It's just a lot of flip-flopping.

At one point, Cade easily defeats the "noob" Sith Stryfe with help from Syn's "boom" (all the while throwing childish lines like "That your face, ugly... or did you shave a womp rat's butt?"). After that, Azlyn sees an opening and breaks off her attacks on rakghouls and jumps right on top of Darth Krayt, stabbing him in the shoulder with her lightsaber. This makes him loose his control momentarily and Krayt's Force lightning are diverted, and Muur quickly takes advqntage of the situation redirecting his own lightning against Krayt and Azlyn, and pushing Darth Maladi away. In the end, Muur pushes Krayt's unconscious body down the high cliff face to his apparent death. Celeste somehow regains control (Muur's control is spent maybe) but of course Cade is not happy that his friend Azlyn was hit in the attack. Celeste explains to him that it was Azlyn's choice to jump in the fray, putting herself at risk and accepting her fate. Celeste also admits that she is loosing control over Muur and tells Cade that he is the only one she can think of that could be able to take over the talisman and keep it in check. Cade accepts her willingness to sacrifice herself and kills her painlessly, her millenia-old body decaying rapidly. The talisman then jumps on Cade's arm and Muur is all too happy to have a new host. But Cade surprises him by destroying the talisman completely with his ability to see weak points in the Force.

With the talsiman destroyed and the menaces of Karness Muur and Darth Krayt ended, Cade turns his attention to keeping Azlyn alive with his healing power long enough for Deliah to take her to Aunt Droo on Kiffex. Ganner protests, saying that she belongs with the Imperial Knights, while Antares Draco (who was recovering from last issue's attack by Muur all this time) doesn't seem to care. Cade certainly doesn't care what they think, and denouncing the Imperial Knights for intending to take possession of the talisman he leaves them stranded.

Meanwhile, Darth Krayt managed to keep himself barely alive and in a scene reminiscent of when Palpatine rescued Vader on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith, Darth Wyyrlok lands nearby in a shuttle. He is surprised to find his master still alive, but in a surprising move Wyyrlock finishes off Darth Krayt with Force lightning then brings his old Master's body inside the shuttle. I wrote this was surprising, but it is logical that Sith will forever fight amongst each other. This is the only significant result of the whole "Vector" thing, in my opinion, in that it took the power of Celeste Morne/Karness Muur to weaken the Sith Emperor to the brink of death. Aside from that, with the talisman destroyed there are no traces left of Muur's existence, but Krayt's death will have long-lasting repercutions for the stories to come.

THE ART

I keep being impressed by Duursema's artwork, and combined with Parsons' inks and Anderson's coloring the final result is just mind-blowing. Every panel is a delight, showing ultra-cool characters, poses and angles that are very cinematic. She is a true Star Wars fan and it shows in every line that she draws. Everything is so realistic, and the characters' expressions are so life-like, it's worth to keep up with the series for this reason alone. I don't have any particular favorite moments in this issue as every page is a visual delight. And Ms. Duursema also drew the cover for this issue, and it is on par with the interior art.

CONCLUSIONS

The conclusion of "Vector" is not to be missed, even though the story has some holes in it. But the artwork makes it all worthwhile.

Rating: 7 / 10 Recommended