Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Darth Vader #50
Marvel Comics' final issue ofDarth Vadershows the moment when the titular Sith Lord was at his most powerful in the dark side. It also definitively confirms whether Vader would have ever been able to defeat Palpatine using the dark side. Wrapping up the Dark Lord’s entire arc betweenEmpire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi,this final issue reveals the sheer amount of power Vader had at his disposal, and why the Emperor still managed to seemingly break his apprentice’s spirit all the same ahead of Episode VI.
In the final issue ofDarth Vaderby Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, Vader regains all the major sources of power he’d been accumulating across the galaxy to kill Palpatine. This includes his kyber-powered electro staff,the Force-channeling Zaly Shield made of pure kyberite, and power canisters filled with energy drained from an entire planet, having been collected by a devastating superweapon. Facing a whole garrison of Stormtroopers alongsideSith Eternal cultists from Exegolriding massive summa-verminoths,Darth Vader absolutely decimates Palpatine’s forces, having reached the highest peak of his dark side powers in theStar Warscanon.
Without a doubt,Darth Vader was at his most powerful in the dark side during this major battlejust before the events ofReturn of the Jedi. While a sight to behold, it ultimately proves to be meaningless in the grand scheme of theStar Warstimeline.
Darth Vader Was At His Most Powerful Before Return of the Jedi
The Maximum Levels Of His Strength In The Dark Side
Using his staff and shield alongside his greatly amplified power, Vader can’t be touched by Palpatine’s forces in this new and final issue ofDarth Vader.Firing devastating blasts of energy, Vader quickly stands amid piles of mere skeletons, having burned everything else away from his opponents that had been sent by his master. As such, this issue no doubt ranks as one of the most exciting issues of the entireDarth Vaderrun that first began in 2020.
Having been determined to end Palpatine and take his place as ruler of the Empire,one would think that Darth Vader would have been able to easily counter his master’s powers. However, the truth is quickly revealed when Palpatine himself arrives on this remote world seemingly via Force projection (not unlikeLuke Skywalker’s use of Force projectionas seen at the end ofThe Last Jedi).
Darth Vader STILL Couldn’t Beat Palpatine With His New Power
He Was Never Going To Beat Him With His Hate
Relying on the vast depths of his pain and hatred, Vader eventually becomes overwhelmed by his own hate combined with the amplifying nature of the weapons he’d been wielding.As Vader is repeatedly assaulted by brutal blasts of Force lightning from Palpatine, the Emperor gloats that all of Vader’s new power had all been by his design. It was a means of showing his apprentice that only he had enough power in the dark side to rule the galaxy.
This final issue is the primary reason why Vader is so defeated inReturn of the Jedi…
As such, this final issue is the primary reason why Vader is so defeated inReturn of the Jedi.He’d been broken with the belief that his master could never be defeated. However,Darth Vader’s own son Luke Skywalkereventually shows his father in Episode VI that resisting Palpatine is possible, just not from the dark side and the corruptive emotions he’d long relied on in theStar Warscanon. As such, this new issue certainly enhances the final original trilogy film and Darth Vader’s ultimate sacrifice in theStar Warscanon.
Darth Vader #50 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.
