Star Wars: Easter Eggs and References in Marvel’s Darth Vader #1

The next comic book chapter in the Star Wars saga kicked off today, with Darth Vader #1 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, with colors by Edgar Delgado. Like the other issues from Marvel Comics so far, it is packed to the brim with Easter Eggs, from the subtle reference to the background cameo to the “smack you over the head with it.” Here are five of our favorites, with a little help from Gillen on the first.

Entering Jabba’s Palace

The entire opening scene can be seen as an Easter Egg of sorts. You see, you’ve kinda seen it before, and that was entirely intentional. Here’s the book’s writer talking about it:

“So part of my challenge is building a book that’s a dark mirror to Star Wars,” Gillen told ComicBook.com. “I need to find the things that make it Star Wars, whilst being about and in the perspective of Darth Vader. That’s why I started with the homage to Luke’s arrival in Jabba’s palace. I mean, A, hopefully the homage makes you smile a little bit, but the point being that Vader handles things very differently to Luke.”

Too Many Bounty Hunters

IG-88 SIGHTING! IG-88 SIGHTING! Yes, that’s the assassin droid turned bounty hunter right in the middle of that big group shot in Jabba’s palace. As we’ve seen in the films, many attendants and bounty hunters just… stand around there waiting for some orders.

Others in the group include, naturally, Boba Fett, a Jawa, a Gamorrean (the pig dudes)… But the most important guest star here is Max Rebo, aka Siiruulian Phantele, complete with his red ball organ. I like to think there is some crazy music playing during this whole scene, courtesy of Rebo’s singular style.

“You Were Supposed to be the Chosen One!”

Well, isn’t that just rich. The thing about Emperor Palpatine is that he is one insidious (heh) master manipulator. He knows exactly what to say at every turn, and how to get the biggest response out of whomever he’s talking to – especially Darth Vader. As Anakin Skywalker, he was famously thought to be “The Chosen One,” with a destiny of bringing balance to the Force (Easter Egg about your humble writer: the subhead here describing this is one of two lines I can do a decent impersonation of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi). The Emperor stabs Vader with one line in particular, “Oh, you are truly the chosen one, Vader, chosen to be the one responsible.”

Crossover alert!

And that brings us to the more direct “crossover” references. When the Emperor asks Vader if he has “anything else to report,” Vader thinks back to two recent events. First is killing Obi-Wan and chasing Luke in his X-Wing in the “canyon run” of the Death Star, all from A New Hope. Second was the confrontation with Luke Skywalker from sister comic Star Wars #2, when he realized the lightsaber Luke was using was in fact his from his former life.

“I killed them, I killed them all!”

That is my favorite line from the entire prequel trilogy. In a masterstroke moment, that final two-page splash just says it all. Yes, this is Darth Vader. Yes, he is evil. Yes, he remembers his life as Anakin Skywalker.

You see, him mercilessly slaughtering a camp full of Tusken Raiders aka “Sand People” is something he’s done before. In Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Anakin killed the heck outta some sand people. He then uttered the above line and… you know what, here, check it out for yourself.

This was in response to his mother, Shmi, being killed. It appears that Vader… holds that grudge.