Darth Vader #22 represents the twenty-second installment in the canon comic book series, Star Wars: Darth Vader (2017). Charles Soule served as the writer, Giuseppe Camuncoli provided the illustrations, and Marvel Comics released it on October 17, 2018.
Darth Vader, while aboard the Naboo Royal Starship situated on Mustafar, uses the Force to levitate the mask belonging to Darth Momin from the deceased body of Lieutenant Roggo. He transports the helmet to the dark side shrine and demands information about the entity within the mask. The entity declares his identity as Darth Momin, causing the helmet to emit a vibrant red glow. Subsequently, Vader puts on the mask.
Lord Momin then proceeds to narrate his life story to Lord Vader, informing the Sith Lord about his early life as an artistic child who fashioned macabre artworks using the flesh of living beings. His initial creation involved the corpse of his pet rada-cat, Flitta, a sight that deeply disturbed his mother. As he matured, Momin persisted in producing gruesome pieces, leading to widespread public outrage and his subsequent imprisonment. Momin posits that the dark side fueled his artistic endeavors.
During his incarceration, Momin evolved into a "sculptor of the mind," deriving pleasure from killing insects. His notoriety attracted the attention of a female Sith known as Lady Shaa, who orchestrated his release and enlisted him as her Sith apprentice. Despite gaining considerable knowledge about the Force and the dark side, Momin never embraced the concept of being an apprentice. Seizing an opportune moment, Momin engaged and defeated Lady Shaa. Assuming control of her acolytes, Momin refrained from taking on any apprentices, citing a lack of time for instruction and an abundance of knowledge to acquire.
While delving into dark side lore and exploring Sith locations, Momin concluded that he had been squandering his efforts by creating art for the masses, asserting that the Force itself was his intended audience. He further reasoned that by constructing something befitting the grandeur of the dark side, he might attain worthiness himself. In pursuit of crafting a work of art worthy of the dark side, Momin constructed a formidable engine, which he installed aboard his starship. As he obliterated the city through orbital bombardment, his intention was to employ the Force-powered engine to halt the passage of time, thereby encasing the doomed population in a state of suspended animation, serving as a monument to the dark side.
However, Jedi forces boarded his vessel and confronted his acolytes. The presence of the light side of the Force disrupted Momin's focus, causing him to relinquish control over the immense energies he was manipulating. This setback thwarted Momin's scheme, resulting in the Sith Lord being consumed by these energies. Subsequently, the Jedi seized his mask. Through this ordeal, Momin gleaned that failure held significant lessons and that the dark side possessed an insatiable hunger, necessitating constant sustenance to prevent it from consuming its user. To Momin's disappointment, Lord Vader declines to wear the mask and discards it.
Later, four Mustafarians, including Bbbl and Sssp, journey across the lava plains of Mustafar aboard two lava fleas. Their mission is to locate the enigmatic object that descended in the vicinity. This object is revealed to be Vader's Naboo Royal Starship. Sssp speculates that the object may have collided with a lava flow and disintegrated. Bbbl expresses curiosity regarding the absence of debris. He wishes to return to Father Kkkt and alleviate his concerns about the omen.
At that moment, the Mustafarians catch sight of Lord Vader and the Mask of Momin observing them from a cliff. The Sith Lord launches a surprise attack on the Mustafarians, employing his Force abilities and lightsaber, resulting in the death of two of them. Lord Vader then levitates Sssp, who instructs the remaining Mustafarian to escape with the two lava fleas. Subsequently, Lord Vader forcibly places the Mask of Darth Momin on the unwilling Sssp, providing him with a new host.
Returning to the dark side cave, Lord Momin, now inhabiting his Mustafarian host, informs Vader that Mustafar was not always a lava-covered world. However, Lord Vader's sole interest lies in the nearby Force locus, and he inquires about the structure Momin is constructing. Momin explains that the structure is a fortress that will serve as the key to the dark side. Asserting that Lord Vader's deceased wife, Padmé Amidala, awaits beyond the door of the dark side, Momin claims that his fortress will fine-tune the energies of the locus, enabling Vader to penetrate the veil of time and reunite with Amidala.
Initially, Vader expresses skepticism and cautions Momin against deception. Momin retorts that he does not deceive, but merely seeks the opportunity to create and hopes for success this time. Vader consents to utilize Momin's services as an architect, but warns of the repercussions of betrayal. Momin asserts that he is already suffering, trapped in the limbo between life and death. He pledges not to squander the opportunity granted by Lord Vader and vows that the fortress will be his magnum opus.
According to the writer, Charles Soule, the narrative for Darth Vader 22 had been brewing in his mind since 2015, when he penned the comic book miniseries Star Wars: Lando, which marked the initial introduction of the Mask of Lord Momin.
The cover art by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Elia Bonetti bears resemblance to Kilian Plunkett's cover for Star Wars Tales 6.
- UPC 759606086665; October 17 , 2018 ; Marvel Comics [1] 02211; Cover A; Elia Bonetti, Giuseppe Camuncoli 02221; Cover B; Rod Reis