Darth Vader’s Latest Attack On Palpatine Is His Biggest Ever (& The Emperor Knows He’s Coming)

This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Darth Vader #44

Darth Vader is gathering all kinds of power in his latest attempt to overthrow his master in the Star Wars canon, though Emperor Palpatine knows his apprentice is coming. As seen in the months preceding Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader was offered a unique opportunity to destroy his master, one coming from within the Empire itself. To that end, Vader has actively been seeking any means to increase his power before striking against his master.

As seen in the new Darth Vader #44 by Greg Pak, Adam Gorham, and Pual Fry, the titular Dark Lord of the Sith claims his very own droid army. This is on top of the cabal of dissidents he’s aligned himself with known as the Schism Imperial, the squad of elite Rebel cyborg soldiers he’s reprogrammed to serve him against their will, and a planet-killing device capable of draining the energy from an entire world. However, this new issue confirms Palpatine is well aware of his apprentice’s efforts:

In essence, Emperor Palpatine is content with allowing Vader to grow in his personal power, and doesn’t seem to be worried in the slightest. Likewise, it’s confirmed that Vader knows that Palpatine knows he’s coming for him and doesn’t seem to care either. To that end, this is a prime example of the traditional Sith relationship where the apprentice is expected to try and kill his master. However, it’s quite fascinating to see it in action.

Darth Vader’s New Power Comes From Palpatine’s Oversight

The Schism Imperial, Planet-Killers, A Droid Army, and More

All of Darth Vader’s new power sources have one thing in common: they’re all outside Emperor Palpatine’s control and purview. Stemming from a recent encounter where Vader’s carefully chosen Death Troopers turned on him with their true loyalty belonging to his master, the Dark Lord of the Sith isn’t going to make the same mistake twice. This is why Vader has elected to go with reprogrammed cyborgs and droids to serve as the bulk of his new forces. They’ve been programmed to serve him without faltering and with far less risk of corruption.

Likewise, the members of the Schism Imperial have all been vetted to ensure that their disenfranchisement with the Empire and its ruler is genuine. Ultimately, Vader’s efforts will naturally fail as Palpatine is still alive in Return of the Jedi and Vader still serves as his apprentice. However, that doesn’t mean that Vader’s journey to strike back against Palpatine won’t be without its consequences for either Sith, especially considering recent previews hinting that Vader intends to attack the Emperor’s secret world of Exegol in future issues.

Emperor Palpatine WANTS Vader To Gather Power

The Way Of The Sith

In the end, Palpatine seems impressed by Vader’s attempts to increase his personal power, even if he believes his apprentice is deceiving himself with the idea that Palpatine could ever be defeated. As such, this further cements the idea that Palpatine’s defeat by Vader’s hand had to come from a place of love and self-sacrifice, power sourced in the light as opposed to the dark as seen in Return of the Jedi. That said, one can imagine that Darth Vader will still achieve some significant damage, even in his imminent failure to overthrow Palpatine.

Darth Vader #44 is available March 13th from Marvel Comics.