WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: Darth Vader #8, by Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco, Neeraj Menon, and Joe Caramanga, on sale now.
Marvel's Star Wars comics have been peeling back the past, and filling in the gaps between the films of the original trilogy. The Darth Vader series has revealed how the Sith warlord tied to hunt his son, Luke Skywalker, down before Return of the Jedi. This led to a feud with Ochi of Bestoon from The Rise of Skywalker, and now a meeting with the Eye of the Webbish Bog, where Vader hoped to unlock Emperor Palpatine's secret plans for the future.
And as Vader searches for the Sith Wayfinder in Star Wars: Darth Vader #8, Vader goes on a journey of internal and external challenges that reflects Thanos and Black Widow's quests for the Soul Stone in the MCU.
This Wayfinder is what Kylo Ren unearthed from Mustafar in The Rise of Skywalker to find Exegol, the planet where Palpatine was trying to be reborn and where he could build the Final Order to conquer the galaxy again. But as mysterious as it was in that movie, Vader sees it as something that holds Palpatine's true intentions here.
As he faces the harsh elements of Mustafar, the Eye of Webbish Bog also makes Vader confront his past, present and future, asking him difficult questions about what he really wants.
Overall, this scene plays out quite similarly to the way the quests for the Soul Stone happened in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. On the distant alien world of Vormir, the Soul Stone sat, guarded only by the Red Skull and a willingness to sacrifice someone who is truly loved. In the same way that the volcanic geography of Mustafar presented an unknown challenge for Vader, Vormir challenged all those who sought the Soul Stone with a perilous trek through harsh alien terrain.
Secondly, the guardian of the Soul Stone was Red Skull, a monstrous being, who had been warped by cosmic energy since his appearance in Captain America: The First Avenger. His loyalty is only to the relic and the Bog takes up a similar space as a creature on top of a giant's head. The Bog isn't necessarily Palpatine's lackey; they're loyal to the Dark Side, and it will only reveal the Wayfinder to the worthy. It's a test that recalls the sacrifices of Widow or Gamora, except this test costs Vader portions of his sanity as he relives his ghosts of old to get access to the item. While it doesn't require his physical life, it does take a vast portion of his humanity away, which Palpatine basks in as he wants to make sure that Darth Vader is hi to command.
Lastly, the searches that Vader, Thanos and Black Widow go on are all for similar reasons. Thanos wants to build a universe that can sustain life, the Avengers want to banish Thanos and reset the lives lost, and Vader wants the Wayfinder to overthrow Palpatine and bring about the perfect world he wanted with Padme Amidala.
While there is some level of altruism in all of these missions, Vader's quest is more selfish and extreme, to the point he's still markedly a misguided villain. Ultimately, these journeys are the ultimate tests for those who take them, and all parties involved are rewarded for their efforts, even though those rewards might not have been worth what was lost along the way.