WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Darth Vader #22 by Charles Soule, Daniele Orlandini, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Terry Pallot, David Curiel and VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.


Marvel's Star Wars comics have been peeling the curtain back on so many aspects of Darth Vader, you'd never think this was the same character we saw on-screen in the '70s and '80s. We're now seeing so much depth to him, forcing us to empathize with his selfish reasons for wanting to harness the Dark Side of the Force.

Come Darth Vader #22, Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli continue to unpack the backstory of his famous obsidian castle on Mustafar. However, after the last issue hinted Vader wanted to use this castle to increase his powers, we now discover an even bigger hidden secret regarding its existence: It was meant to reunite him with the spirit of his dead wife, Padme Amidala.

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When the castle was seen in Gareth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we initially thought it was just a place to meditate. Now, using the mask of the artistic Sith Lord Momin, Vader wants to tap further into the locus at the planet's core, which allows him a deeper-dive into the Dark Side and its energy.

As for the design, Momin (who died years ago and whose work was considered taboo by the Sith), is communicating its benefits via his ghost, which is apparently trapped in the mask. He's basically trying to sell Vader on why his castle design is the way to go. Vader clearly recognizes amazing architecture when he sees it, but Momin confirms his design is more than just something that looks cool. It serves a more sinister purpose and, by reading Vader's mind, he knows Palpatine's lackey is the right person for whom he'll sculpt his "greatest masterpiece."

Momin reveals his schematic for the castle is shaped like a tuning fork, because it's exactly that. This is why his spirit came to Vader and killed off his architects, as he felt insulted seeing their architectural design as something which isn't curated for a higher calling. Momin, gloating in full, confesses his tuning fork can read the mystical pitches, as well as the various frequencies of life. This allows the structure to tune in and actually pierce the veil of death, which would now enable Vader, or Anakin Skywalker (his Jedi persona), to reunite with Queen Amidala.

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As we all know, this dream of reuniting with her in eternal bliss is what drove him to partner with Emperor Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith in the first place. After she died, Anakin renounced the Jedi Order and became Palpatine's slave because he had nothing to live for, but now he's found a doorway into the afterlife. It may be similar to how Jedi connect to their colleagues' Force Ghosts, but such communication is a risk, as Padme certainly wouldn't endorse the person Anakin's devolved into -- someone who's perverted the Force and used it as a weapon for mass genocide.

Most notably, this explains why Vader wanted time away from everyone else on Mustafar. We thought he was training to become a better warrior or plotting to overthrow Palpatine, but he was really trying to connect with his lost love. If he manages to achieve this, it'll be another big addition to Star Wars lore that we had absolutely no idea occurred.

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Given Momin didn't appear in the movies or cartoons, it seems he's destined for a bad ending with Vader, but right now we're enjoying his tutelage of the fallen Jedi and how he's luring him in, similar to how Palpatine romanced Anakin. Clearly, a lot more is destined to happen on Mustafar, and we can't wait to see how Vader deals with all the drama that's poised to unfold with this pseudo-seance very soon. After all, when it comes to Padme, he's never been able to fully control his emotions.