WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Darth Vader #10 by Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco, Neeraj Menon, and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
When we last saw Darth Vader, he was just about to enter the extremely dangerous nebula leading to the planet Exegol. But before he could enter, his path was blocked by the appearance of a Summa-Verminoth -- the very same creature that attacked Han Solo during his shot at the Kessel Run. But this particular Summa-Verminoth was something different altogether, having evolved to hunt its own kind. These creatures in their natural state are considered the apex predators of space, but this one was the absolute top of the food chain until Vader broke it in more ways than one.
The Summa-Verminoth that Vader found was massive, but as Vader's pursuers pointed out, it was a subspecies. No explanation was given as to why it was so much more deadly than an average Summa-Verminoth (if "average" is something they can even be), but the most likely explanation was due to its proximity to Exegol. The Dark Side has a way of twisting life into something designed only to hurt and kill. And honestly, what could be a better guardian of the secret world of the Sith than an apex apex predator?
This creature was not only massive in size, but unlike the creature that had attacked the Millennium Falcon, it also had telepathic abilities. It was able to reach into the minds of its prey and show them visions of their death, distracting them thoroughly enough that they'll drift towards its gaping maw or more likely crash into the nebula it was guarding. If the Summa-Verminoth had been compared to Cthulhu before, then now the parallels are complete.
But this was a creature used to unwary travelers, not fully trained Sith Lords. And Darth Vader was no stranger to killing giant beasts. The creature did affect him by showing him altered version of Vader's duel with Luke in Cloud City. But Vader was the survivor of the Clone Wars, his mutilation on Mustafar, the loss of his wife and even the Emperor himself. It would take more than a few visions of a possible future to end his life. He managed to break free of the Summa-Verminoth's mental assault to land on Exegol. But the creature followed him, unwilling to let its prey go freely.
This was its biggest mistake. Vader probably would have been content to just move on to the next obstacle, but the monster pushed the issue. So Vader decided to turn the tables on it. It was used to being the one to launch a psychic attack, so it was caught completely by surprise when Vader dominated its mind with the Dark Side. And as he rode the behemoth to the Sith Temple like a war beast, Vader proved himself to be more powerful than the black hole that killed the Kessel Run Summa-Verminoth. He didn't just break the monster, he bent it to his will.