Star Wars: Darth Vader #50 wraps up its record-breaking run with the Dark Lord of the Sith taking on an Imperial rebellion

Vader strikes back. — (Image credit: DC)

The Dark Lord of the Sith's monthly comic comes to a close next week with the publication of Star Wars: Darth Vader #50. It marks the conclusion of several plotlines with Vader's ongoing conflict with the Imperial rebel Sly Moore finally coming to a head. We've got an exclusive preview of the new issue below and, well, we wouldn't be putting any money on Moore making it out of this one in one piece...

In case you've not been following the series, it's set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Vader has made his son, Luke Skywalker, a life-changing offer but Luke refused to join him. Now, fueled by rage, Vader is caught between his own desire to eventually supersede the Emperor and a feud with Sly Moore's rebellious Schism Imperial.

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Pages from Star Wars: Darth Vader #50. — (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The end of this run of Darth Vader as a monthly series follows hot on the heels of the core Star Wars monthly ending earlier this week, also with #50. Meanwhile, Marvel has announced that it will tell the final conflict of the Galactic Civil War era with The Battle of Jakku – a new trilogy of limited series set after The Return of the Jedi and before The Force Awakens.

The extra-long 64-page Star Wars: Darth Vader #50 is written by Greg Pak and drawn by Raffaele Ienco, Paul Fry, Luke Ross, and Adam Gorham. Colorists on the issue are Federico Blee, Frank William, Alex Sinclair, and Guru-eFX, with Joe Caramagna providing the lettering.

Marvel's official synopsis for the new issue reads:

"GIANT-SIZED DARTH VADER EPIC! The longest-running DARTH VADER comics series ever reaches its stunning conclusion as THE DARK HEART OF THE SITH comes full circle! Darth Vader finally unleashes the unfathomable power he’s accumulated through the SCHISM IMPERIAL against the only person in the galaxy he hates more than he hates himself – EMPEROR PALPATINE! Also featuring the final twists in the saga for key characters like LUKE, LEIA, SABÉ, OCHI, ZED, SLY MOORE, the members of the Schism Imperial and more!"

Star Wars: Darth Vader #50 is published by Marvel on September 18.

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Will Salmon is the Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.