Darth Vader's Secret Army Could Redefine Sequel Canon
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Darth Vader #21
While Darth Vader may have been tasked by Emperor Palpatine to take down the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn, he may be its only hope for survival following the latest issue of Marvel's Darth Vader. Seeing as how the relationship between a Sith master and apprentice is always treacherous, Vader may use Crimson Dawn against his master (something he's potentially already begun doing). Furthermore, the revelation that his late wife's former handmaiden is an agent of the Dawn may change Vader's tactics as well.
In recent issues of Darth Vader, Vader has formed a team of assassins and freedom fighters to hunt down members of Crimson Dawn who have embedded themselves within multiple levels of the Empire. However, a recent list of collaborators they recovered was proven to be a fake after they had murdered several of the Imperial leaders. That being said, Vader revealed to his right-hand assassin Ochi that he always knew the list was planted and just didn't care. Crimson Dawn or not, Vader saw those on the list as unworthy to serve the Empire. As such, Vader killed them in the name of order, while also potentially weakening his master's power at the same time.
Following Star Wars #21 from Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, Vader ends up using Ochi and his duplicitous nature to his advantage, knowing full well that Ochi is in contact with the Crimson Dawn agent who created the fake list in the hopes of using Vader to do the Dawn's work for them. Discovering that the agent in question is none other than Sabé who survived her last encounter with Vader when she tried to kill him on Naboo, Vader forces the former Queen's Shadow into his service. He also makes a rather bold claim which may be teasing his intentions to take over the crime syndicate first created by Darth Maul (now led by Lady Qi'ra).
Does this mean Darth Vader plans to turn Crimson Dawn into his own network of spies and agents? It certainly looks as though that's his plan with Ochi and Sabé at the very least. However, should Vader desire he could potentially turn more members of the Dawn into his service while taking out the biggest leaders such as Lady Qi'ra herself. Furthermore, this could be how the Knights of Ren end up serving the Sith as they do in The Rise of Skywalker rather than working against them with Crimson Dawn. Perhaps they'll join Vader in future issues prior to his death in Return of the Jedi before eventually serving Kylo Ren and later the Emperor himself at the end of the Skywalker saga.
At the moment, this is all just conjecture, though it would certainly make sense seeing as how Vader has already begun to build forces and power outside of the Empire with his assassins and freedom fighters. Rather than being wiped out completely, Vader could be revealed as the means by which Crimson Dawn survives past the original trilogy (even if Lady Qi'ra and Vader himself don't). Either way, fans will no doubt learn more as Marvel's Darth Vader continues along with the connected Crimson Reign series.