Target Vader #3 represents the third installment of the canon comic book miniseries known as Star Wars: Target Vader. Robbie Thompson served as the writer, while Stefano Landini provided the illustrations. Marvel Comics released it to the public on September 25, 2019.
THE DOUBLE CROSS! Surrounded by enemy ships, DARTH VADER finds himself cornered by VALANCE and his squad of bounty hunters. Despite the odds, Vader, renowned as the galaxy's premier pilot, is poised for a direct confrontation with Beilert Valance, the Imperial Navy's former top pilot! Should Valance survive this airborne showdown, he must then contend with treachery on the ground, as a member of the Rebellion lurks among his ranks!
Amidst a conflict between the Galactic Empire and a rebel group, a stormtrooper questions Beilert Valance about whether the extensive wounds he suffered while serving as a soldier were "worth it," given that insurgents are closing in on them. Valance conveys his satisfaction with the possibility of dying, as the Empire was responsible for saving his family. Before Valance and his fellow soldiers are executed, Darth Vader makes an entrance, employing the Force to eliminate the insurgents and instructing his troops to rejoin the fight.
Currently, Valance and his bounty hunter associates pilot the Broken Wing to a landing on Heva. Chio Fain inquires with Valance concerning the electro-pulse device he possesses. Valance clarifies that, given Vader's status as a cyborg, the pulse has the capacity to completely disable his body upon contact. Fain then questions Valance's choice of the Heva Hidden Hand outpost as their destination, prompting Valance to reveal a squadron of Bot-drones under the ownership of Wef, an arms dealer operating at the outpost.
Wef explains to Honnah and Dengar that he had intended to sell the armaments to an individual named Rebak within the Rebel Alliance. He recounts his initial interaction with the Hidden Hand, during which they eliminated his clientele and subsequently presented more lucrative offers through intermediaries who bore a striking resemblance to bounty hunters. As the team advances toward the outpost's command hub, Chio Fain commences the activation of the bot-drones. Wef voices his objections, but Valance directs his attention to the Star Destroyer Formidable looming in the sky.
Darth Vader issues the order for all fighters aboard the Formidable to engage the drones. Aboard the Broken Wing, Valance enlists Urrr'k to operate the turret, making reference to her fabricated identity as a Tusken and hoping for her proficiency with cannons akin to her skill with rifles. Piloting his fighter, Vader targets the Broken Wing, disregarding the drones as they detach from the other TIE fighters. Following Valance's instructions, the drones coalesce into a massive cannon, obliterating the Formidable. Vader, undeterred, persists in his pursuit and shoots down the Broken Wing. Upon landing, he personally searches the ship, only to find it unoccupied.
The bounty hunter team is positioned outside the ship, prepared to eliminate Vader, as Valance takes aim.
- UPC 759606093960; Released on September 25, 2019; Marvel Comics [1] 00311; Cover A; Artwork by Nic Klein