Target Vader 4

Target Vader 4 is the fourth issue of the canon comic book miniseries Star Wars: Target Vader. It was written by Robbie Thompson, illustrated by Stefano Landini, and published on October 9, 2019 by Marvel Comics. The issue features the story "The Shot," which pits Beilert Valance and his crew against Darth Vader.

Publisher's summary[edit | edit source]

HUNTING THE HUNTERS! DARTH VADER is trapped, alone, and surrounded by deadly bounty hunters…but the SITH LORD is never truly alone as long as he wields the Dark Side of The Force! VALANCE and his gang of bounty hunters soon find that the hunters have become the hunted, as Vader picks them off one-by-one -- and he's helped by one of Valance's own!

Plot summary[edit | edit source]

PART 4 OF 6
"THE SHOT"

With the power of the dark side of the Force at his command and the
might of the Empire to unleash, 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.

And Valance's team has finally sprung their deadly trap
for the dark lord....

An Imperial II-class Star Destroyer arrives above Heva, and its captain reports to General Gollin that the Formidable and its contingent of TIE fighters were destroyed by bot-drones, leaving Darth Vader alone on the surface. The captain suggests that their own fighters be scrambled to rescue Vader from the bounty hunters pursuing him, but Gollin believes that Vader will have killed the bounty hunters before the pilots can even take off.

Down on Heva's surface, Dengar urges Beilert Valance and the rest of their team to move in on Vader, but Valance and Chio Fain remind him not to reveal their positions. Vader attempts to conceal himself as well, using the Force to raise clouds of dust from the ground. Fain attacks him first with blasters, but Vader deflects the bolts with his lightsaber, striking Valance with a ricochet. Urrr'k rushes to help Valance, removing her Tusken Raider mask and revealing herself as a Human named Gita to him. Valance responds and says that the blast didn't kill him, but that Vader would quickly kill Fain.

Fain continued to attack Vader, but the Sith Lord cuts off three of the Ardennian's arms and throws him in the path of Honnah's Gamorrean battle-ax. As Fain dies, he remembers his partner Rone, whom Vader killed. Valance tells Gita to take her shot at Vader to distract him. As Vader uses the Force against Gita and kills Honnah, Valance rushes at him with an electro-pulse. However, he fails to activate the device in time, and Vader turns to face him. Valance is then electrocuted by Dengar, who reveals himself as Vader's informant.