Star Warshas shownDarth Vaderlonging for one specific thing thatEmperor Palpatineeventually achieves. As Sith master and apprentice, Vader and Palpatine have a very complicated relationship. Beginning as a Jedi apprentice with the Chancellor as his mentor, their dynamic has constantly shifted, but there has always been one single constant.
Darth Vader has always been seeking the power that Sidious held from him. Vader’s initial motivation for following the ways of the Sith in general was to save Padmé’s life, which is why he began acting so rashly – even to the point of killing younglings. All of this was a desperate attempt to preventPadmé’s death, which Vader still couldn’t do. He, however, never stopped trying to bring her back.
Sith Have Always Sought To Conquer Death… & Vader Was No Exception
The Dark Side Of The Force Is A Pathway To Many Abilities Some Consider To Be Unnatural
One of the core elements of the Force is that the dark side embodies decay. It may give a user power, but it always leads to death and dilapidation, not the eternal life and peace the light side can guarantee. That, however, doesn’t stop the Sith from desiring it.Most Sith have always sought to cheat death, much like Vader and Palpatine.
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This cheating of death can come in many ways, all of which boil down to some sort of power. Some Sith attempted to build vast empires, gathering as much power as they could politically and militarily. Others focused on spiritual aspects of immortality, or even technological ways of cheating death, like the Sith King Ommin in theOld Republic. Vader’s attempt at this was even more interesting, though, as it recontextualizes a now very popular location in modernStar Wars.
Darth Vader’s Mustafar Fortress Was A Failed Attempt To Conquer Death
Vader & Momin’s Dark Side Collaboration
Darth Vader’s now-iconic Mustafar fortresswas actually his way to attempt to cheat death. As seen in the final arc of theDarth Vader(2017) comics by Charles Soule & Giuseppe Camuncoli,Fortress Vader was a project built with the intention of resurrecting Padmé from the netherworld of the Force. to do this, Vader built his castle on top of aForce vergenceon the barren lava world where he fully fell to the dark side.
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With the goal of resurrecting Padmé from the dead, and still being near the beginning of his Sith tutelage, Vader needed help. To get it, Vader utilized the Mask ofDarth Momin, an ancient and twisted Sith artist, which possessed Imperial officers to design his fortress. The specific design was built to channel the dark side, tearing a hole between life and death. Ultimately, this plan failed, pushing Vader further to the dark side.
This brings an entirely new dimension to Vader’s character, especially considering the idea of the Sith Lord being resigned to his fate. Knowing that Anakin didn’t simply give up on his lost love once she had passed, only to fail, makes his story all the more tragic. Even more tragic, however, is the fact thatwhile Vader tried for years to bring Padmé back from the netherworld of the Force, his greatest ally and enemy actually achieved this very specific feat.
Palpatine’s Agents Succeeded Where Darth Vader Failed
A Return From The Netherworld Of The Force
Many years later, Palpatine succeeded where Vader’s efforts on Mustafar failed. Between his physical death over Endor inReturn of the Jediand his discovery on Exegol, the late Emperor’s servants drew his spirit back from the netherworld of the Force.Palpatine was actually able to cheat death using the Essence Transfer Force ability, and several Sith technologies – but with one specific condition.
Palpatine’s consciousness did what Vader could not, but it had to be placed in a clone body on the Sith world of Exegol. This led to, as mentioned previously, more decay. These clone bodies began to decay even more, leading to the Emperor clinging to his last chances at eternal life – transferring his spirit into another body. This proves that Palpatine, while being undoubtedlythe most powerful Sithin all ofStar Wars, was still a victim to the mortality guaranteed by using the dark side of the Force.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
