Target Vader 3

Target Vader 3 is the third issue of the canon comic book miniseries Star Wars: Target Vader. It was written by Robbie Thompson, illustrated by Stefano Landini, and published on September 25, 2019 by Marvel Comics.

Publisher's summary[]

THE DOUBLE CROSS! VALANCE and his crew of bounty hunters have DARTH VADER on the ropes, surrounding him with enemy ships. Vader is the greatest pilot in the galaxy, though, and he's about to go head to head with the Imperial Navy's former best pilot Beilert Valance! But if Valance can survive this aerial duel, will he survive betrayal on land, as a member of the Rebellion lies hidden within his ranks!

Plot summary[]

PART 3 OF 6
"THE TRAP"

With the power of the dark side of the Force and the might of the Empire,
Darth Vader is the most dangerous being in the galaxy. But he is not
without challengers.

The cyborg Beilert Valance, along with fellow with bounty hunters Honnah,
Urrr'k, Chio Fan [sic] and Dengar have been contracted by the mysterious
organization the Hidden Hand to achieve one goal: Kill Vader.

Vader will stop at nothing to crush the Hidden Hand and eliminate the
bounty hunters on his trail. But he may have finally met his match in
Valance, who has planned a deadly trap for the Dark Lord....

Valance's Service[]

"Rise, troopers. The Empire marches on."

―Darth Vader, after saving Beilert Valance and his troops^[3]

During a battle between the Galactic Empire and an insurgent force, a stormtrooper asks Beilert Valance if the extensive injuries he sustained during his service as a soldier were "worth it" as the insurgents surround them. Valance expresses content with his possible death because the Empire saved his family. Before Valance and his troops can be executed, Darth Vader arrives and kills the insurgents by use of the Force, ordering his troops to rejoin the battle.

Setting the Trap[]

"Removed the electro-pulse, huh? That the plan?"
"Vader is as much machine as I am, Chio. Shut down his tech--"
"You shut him down."

―Chio Fain and Beilert Valance^[3]

Broken Wing crash — The *Broken Wing* crashed on Heva

In the present, Valance and his team of bounty hunters land the Broken Wing on Heva. Chio Fain asks Valance about the electro-pulse he has, and Valance explains that since Vader is a cyborg, the pulse can deactivate his entire body on contact. Fain then asks Valance why he picked the Heva Hidden Hand outpost as their destination, and Valance presents a fleet of Bot-drones owned by Wef, an arms dealer working at the outpost.

Wef explains to Honnah and Dengar that he planned to sell the weapons to someone named Rebak in the Rebel Alliance, and that he first came into contact with the Hidden Hand when they killed his clients and instead offered better deals through middlemen that all reminded him of bounty hunters. As the team approaches the outpost's command center, Chio Fain begins to activate the bot-drones. Wef protests, but Valance points to the Star Destroyer Formidable in the sky.

Springing the Trap[]

Valance Heva Battle Target Vader — Valance and Urrr'k on the *Broken Wing*

Darth Vader orders all of the Formidable's fighters to be scrambled against the drones. Aboard the Broken Wing, Valance asks Urrr'k to man the turret, calling out her false identity as a Tusken and hoping that she could shoot cannons as well as rifles. In his fighter, Vader fires on the Broken Wing, ignoring the drones as they break away from the other TIE fighters. On Valance's orders, the drones assemble into a giant cannon and destroy the Formidable. Vader, however, continues his chase and shoots down the Broken Wing. He lands and searches the ship himself, but finds nobody inside.

Outside the ship, the bounty hunter team stands ready to kill Vader, and Valance takes aim.