Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Darth Vader #49
Summary
Darth Vaderjust made one of the most shocking alliances inStar Warshistory…to save Luke Skywalker. Taking place before the events ofReturn of the Jedi, a truce made by Vader puts his confrontation with his son aboard the second Death Star in a whole new light. Despite his status as a Dark Lord of the Sith and the apprentice of Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader found himself working with none other than the Rebel Alliance.
Having amassed forces in a final bid to overthrow Palpatine, Darth Vader had been allied with the Schism Imperial. However, the Schism ultimately betrays Vader in the newDarth Vader #49by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, leaving him at the mercy of theRebelion’s MAR Corps, a squad of cyborgs Vader had reprogrammed with droid brains (leaving them no choice but to serve him). Newly freed, the MAR Corps intend to do the very same thing to Vader while the Schism leaves the planet to destroy Luke Skywalker,forcing Vader to propose a surprising truce for the sake of his son:
Although the Schism wants to remove Luke from the board so that he can’t be used by the Emperor, Darth Vader still believes his son could still be turned to the dark side and could one day join him. As such,it’s quite remarkable to see Vader agreeing to work with Rebels to save Luke Skywalker (even if it’s not yet for the right reasons).
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Darth Vader Joins Forces With The MAR Corps
The Very Rebel Soldiers He Recently Corrupted
Even in a supposed state of vulnerability, Darth Vader confirms that the MAR Corps' attempts to turn the tables and implant the Dark Lord himself with a droid brain would ultimately prove fruitless.Even if the cyborgs had refused the alliance, Vader would still have broken free and killed them all. What matters is acting sooner rather than later to save Luke.
Thankfully,the MAR Corps understood not only the stakes but also that their fates would be at the mercy of Vader’s wrath if they were to refuse. Even so, the fact that these Rebel cyborgs agreed to Vader’s terms and freed him at all is quite noteworthy. After all, they’d just broken free of their own droid brains which had long forced them to serve Vader, effectively having been trapped in their own bodies.
Vader Worked With The Rebels To Save His Son
Luke Was Being Attacked by The Schism Imperial
A Darth Vader/Rebellion alliance (however temporary) could likely only work within these particular circumstances laid out in this newStar Warsissue, and only for the sake of saving Luke. Arriving just in time,Vader was able to use the Force and protect his son from being obliterated by a powerful blast of kyber energy that had been fired by the Schsim’s Sly Moore. However, the aftermath of this encounter has yet to be revealed, making Marvel’s upcoming final issue of thisDarth Vaderrun even more exciting. It certainly seems as though events are building toa new Vader/Luke encounter beforeReturn of the Jedi.
Darth Vader #49is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.
