WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: Darth Vader #6, by Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco, Neeraj Menon, and Joe Caramanga, on sale now.
In the Star Wars Universe, it's not often someone can best Darth Vader in battle. Many have tried and many have failed, from Rebels to Jedi to other Dark Side devotees. However, In Star Wars: Darth Vader #6, the Sith Lord is brutally beaten and chastised by Palpatine as part of a demented punishment for wavering from the path the Emperor set out for him.
In the process, Palpatine turns Vader's signature move against him by using the Force choke to emasculate the former Jedi and it's something that could have pushed Vader to the breaking point, sowing seeds someday for revenge.
Palpatine is angry Vader tried to find Padmé Amidala's body, which exposes the Emperor's lie about how he said she died. He deceived Vader, hiding that she went into labor with Luke and Leia. But rather than apologize, Palpatine uses Force Lightning to fry Vader's suit. He even takes Vader's lightsaber away, allowing the Imperial Guards and the Grand Vizier to continue the assault, only for Vader to respond to the trio with his iconic choke, lifting them off the ground. Palpatine loves that the hate is flowing through Vader again, but he senses this isn't enough and he applies his own choke to his protege, breaking his hold on his attackers.
Seeing Vader on the receiving end, unable to breathe as he's reminded of his place, is quite shocking. The mental trauma even has him recalling choking his wife in Revenge of the Sith, as well as Orson Krennic in Rogue One, and when he choked out Rebels to retrieve valuable info. He also remembers choking Admiral Motti in A New Hope, only for the inept colleague to be saved by Grand Moff Tarkin, choking Admiral Ozzel to death via teleconference, and killing Admiral Needa after he lost Han Solo's ship in The Empire Strikes Back.
Even as Anakin, he'd secretly choke people during Jedi interrogation so all of this feels like karma playing out. Most notably, as Palpatine damages Vader's suit and deconstructs him to the limbless shadow of himself in a moment that hearkens back to the original moments when Vader was given his new body in 2017's Star Wars: Darth Vader.
Vader, enraged upon hearing his wife's death, choked Palpatine back then, before his master struck back with Force Lightning to rile him up to hunt the Jedi. Now, Palpatine's flogging brings their story full-circle as he employs the Force Choke to show supremacy, reversing their roles. It's a display of arrogance when one doesn't have to touch their targets, making the victims feel weak, feel pain, and most importantly, as they're conscious with eyes wide open, experiencing fear.
And so, Palpatine is certain that with this tactic, he's reopening the path up to the Dark Side. However, as he attempts to show Vader once more who's the true, infallible superior in their relationship, all he's doing is creating friction between them and laying the foundation for Vader's betrayal in Return of the Jedi.