Warning! This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Darth Vader #39 Darth Vader served his Sith master, Emperor Palpatine, throughout the Empire’s reign, yet all that time, Vader consistently plotted against him. This was made clear in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, when he tried to recruit Luke Skywalker to join him, and together they could rule the galaxy. So, why, then, didn’t Darth Vader kill Palpatine before he did so in Return of the Jedi? Well, that question may have just been answered.
Throughout his Star Wars history, it’s been pretty well established that Darth Vader hates himself more than anyone else in the galaxy. This is shown when Vader fought ‘Darth Maul’ in the Star Wars Tales #9 story “Resurrection” by Ron Marz and Rick Leonardi. The resurrected Maul asks Vader who he could hate enough to defeat him, to which Vader replies, “Myself”. Despite that being a Legends story, this logic tracks, as Vader is one of the strongest dark side wielders in Star Wars history, and power in the dark side comes from one’s hatred. If he hates himself, and continues to commit atrocities to fuel that self-loathing, then he’s essentially given himself an unending power supply. However, in Vader’s latest Star Wars adventure, it’s implied that he actually hates someone more than himself: Emperor Palpatine. While that hatred should grant Vader power, it actually does the opposite, as it inflates Palpatine’s importance in Vader’s life, granting the Emperor ultimate power over him. By hating Palpatine the most, Vader is recognizing him as the most important thing in ‘his universe’, making him impossible to kill.
Palpatine Is “Everything” To Darth Vader UNTIL Return of the Jedi
In Star Wars: Darth Vader #39 by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, Darth Vader is facing off against the Scourge – the AI hivemind assimilating droids and cyborgs across the galaxy. In this issue, the Scourge has inhabited a massive Clone Wars-era droid, which is strong enough to nearly kill Vader. However, Vader digs deep within himself to harness his hatred like he’s never had to before, and crushes the droid with the clenching of his fist. The Scourge was flattered by this outcome, as the Scourge assumed Vader hated it more than anything in the galaxy, since the AI claims it will eventually become “everything”. Though it’s immediately made clear that the Scourge is nothing to Vader, as the Sith Lord only thinks of himself as “everything”, which further speaks to the idea that he hates himself more than anyone else. However, the issue ends with Vader strongly implying that he hates Palpatine more than anything, not himself, which – based on this line of logic – means Palpatine is “everything” to Darth Vader, making his master a vast, unconquerable idea that Vader simply cannot move past.
In essence, the more one holds hatred for someone, the more power that person has over them. By hating Palpatine more than anything, Darth Vader is admitting that Palpatine is the true source of his power, and is therefore far too important for Vader to kill (even on a subconscious level). But, if this is true, then why did Vader eventually kill Palpatine at all? Why not keep him alive if the Emperor was that important to him? Well, that’s because his hatred for Palpatine was trumped by his love for Luke. Darth Vader couldn’t kill Palpatine before Return of the Jedi because he was everything to him, as that’s how consumed with hatred Darth Vader was. It wasn’t until he allowed himself to be filled with love for his son, and look past Palpatine at something more important, that Vader was able to finally kill his master.
Darth Vader didn’t kill Palpatine out of hatred for his master, but out of love for his son, and it’s for that reason that Darth Vader couldn’t kill Palpatine before Return of the Jedi (despite trying multiple times).
Star Wars: Darth Vader #39 by Marvel Comics is available now.
