The great and timeless Star Wars mystery of the purpose of the buttons on Darth Vader‘s chest panel still has yet to be confirmed in canon. From his first appearance onscreen in 1977 to his most recent battles against an older Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Jedi’s own Disney+ series in 2022, Darth Vader has captivated audiences. A large part of that is the incredible design work that went into designing the terrifying and fascinating costume worn by the tortured Sith Lord.
Darth Vader’s samurai-inspired helmet and skull-like mask separate the Chosen One Anakin Skywalker from any humanity he once knew, and immediately let the audience know who this character is. The cape tells viewers he is imposing, and his armored bodysuit shows his status as a powerful enforcer for the Empire. But one aspect of Darth Vader’s suit has always stuck out from the colors and design language of the rest – the panel of buttons that hangs on Vader’s chest. The purpose of these buttons has been discussed before, but is not currently established by any canon materials.
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Star Wars Legends Explained Darth Vader’s Buttons… But That Isn’t Canon Anymore
A 2011 Reference Book Revealed Truths About Darth Vader’s Suit
When Disney purchased Star Wars in 2012 and decided to pursue making new movies and television series, Lucasfilm later decided to de-canonize all the written material released before 2014 as part of their effort to craft a new Star Wars universe of lore that their new content could work around. Just before the purchase, however, a reference book that explained all the inner workings of Darth Vader’s armor was released, titled Star Wars: Darth Vader: A 3-D Reconstruction Log. This book actually did include the purpose of the buttons on the front of his suit.
The blue button activates the suit’s control functions, and the red one activates manual override of its functions. The right switch resets the suit’s systems, and the four other switches are programmed touch-plates, allowing for more customization. Finally, the panel’s shafts are life function sensor arrays, communicating how the burned and injured man inside the suit is doing health-wise.
Star Wars Canon Is Refusing To Explain Darth Vader’s Buttons
No Information Is Currently Known On The Purpose Of Vader’s Suit Buttons’ Functions
The reference book, though, is no longer considered a canon source for Star Wars lore, so it therefore isn’t a valid source of information for current Star Wars content. Because of that, it isn’t known what the buttons do in canon, though Star Wars has officially commented on this in an article about Vader’s suit published to StarWars.com. Even in this article, though, all they say is “As for the specific functions of each button on his chest plate, that remains a mystery.” Thus, the canon functions of these mysterious colorful buttons on Darth Vader’s chest are still a mystery – for now.
