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Normally Vader would have killed any Jedi sympathizers, but in Darth Vader #19, he let some live. Here’s why.
Warning: The following contains spoilers from Star Wars: Darth Vader #19, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
The Sith were the most revolting and evil characters in Star Wars. As one of their Order, Darth Vader was complicit in and responsible for some awful deeds of his own. From massacring the younglings to mercilessly hunting down Imperial dissenters, there’s no question that Vader was a menace before his dying redemption. However, Darth Vader #19 suggests that perhaps he had moments of his goodness before his climactic change of heart. Readers witnessed the Sith Lord in a new light by showing him as a hero – even if it was only for a minute.
The new comic — by Greg Pack, Guiu Vilanova, Alex Sinclair, and VC’s Joe Caramagna — shows Vader, Ochi of Bestoon, and some freedom fighters working to eliminate the threat to the Empire posed by Crimson Dawn. Motivated by his new obsession with order, Vader worked hard to further that goal while shockingly showing compassion.
Vader and his team come upon a group of villagers on the planet Laecor, interrupting the Sith Lord’s reflection on hardships passed. After doing nothing to stop a Crimson Dawn attack, local stormtroopers were acting casually cruelly towards the residents. The stormtroopers went even further when the villagers finally resisted directives to disperse, thus abandoning the dead. They opened fire on the defenseless villagers.
Out of nowhere, Vader deflected the shots, saving the villagers. Immediately after that, he cut down the Stormtroopers. The choice confused his entourage. While he correctly surmised the troopers had been members of Crimson Dawn, he acted in favor of Jedi sympathizers. However dedicated to order Vader maybe, he has a well-known track record of slaughtering sympathizers.
After his act of mercy, though, even the sympathizers seemed to regard him positively. One proclaimed him a hero. Then they went even farther, favorably comparing the Emperor’s protege to the village’s deceased lightsaber-wielding protector. It seems the decision allowed him to eliminate powerful enemies of the Empire and spread a bit of propaganda amongst a formerly hostile group.
Still, the story suggested his reasoning was not as purely strategic as it might have appeared. It seems the sight of the troopers preparing to open fire triggered a memory in Vader. He flashed back in his mind to a moment from Revenge of the Sith when Padme asked him, “Have you ever considered that maybe we’re on the wrong side.” While it is impossible to say definitively, this memory of the love of his life likely played a part in his choice. Add in the initial reminiscing of his personal hardships as Anakin, and it becomes easy to see that this Vader was in an unusual state of mind.
It also offers a small foreshadowing of the Vader we see act to save his son in Return of the Jedi. If the Sith Lord can still recall Padme’s words, that speaks to a man who hasn’t fully let go of his past, despite the physical and psychological damage he has survived. Who knows, maybe he even enjoyed being the hero again, even if it was only for a minute.
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