WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: Darth Vader #6, by Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco, Neeraj Menon, and VC's Joe Caramanga, on sale now.

Although the current wave of Star Wars comic books are set in the era between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the Darth Vader series, is building connections to the sequel trilogy that began with The Force Awakens.

And as the iconic Sith Lord faces the wrath of the Emperor for his latest failures in Star Wars: Darth Vader #6, the wicked Palpatine brings in a key figure introduced in The Rise of Skywalker: Ochi of Bestoon, the assassin who will eventually kill Rey's parents.

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Ochi of Bestoon

Returning to Coruscant after failing to turn Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side or kill Queen Amidala's lookalike handmaiden Sabé on Naboo, Vader faced a nasty welcome in the Emperor's throne room. After torturing Vader with Force lightning, Palpatine had his royal guards beat on his apprentice without the Sith Lord having access to his lightsaber to defend himself. Curious to see whether Vader can prove his worth once more, Palpatine breaks off his prosthetic limbs and strands him on Mustafar. As Vader regains his bearings, Palpatine reveals he has tasked Ochi to hunt him down as a final test.

After Palpatine's apparent death, and the fall of the Galactic Empire, a fanatical cult known as the Sith Eternal carried on his legacy. and then rallied around him when he was resurrected. One of its most prominent members was Ochi, who rose through the cult's ranks as an assassin loyal to the Emperor. Sent from the Sith Eternal's secret base on Exegol to locate Rey, Ochi murdered her parents with his dagger when they refused to reveal where they had hidden her.

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Ochi's connection to Palpatine would be his eventual undoing, as Luke and Lando Calrissian pursued him after learning of his role in the Sith Eternal. The two tracked the assassin to the desert plant of Pasaana, but failed to obtain the location of Exegol from him before his ship, the Bestoon Legacy, sank into the sands. Years later, Rey discovered Ochi's remains on Pasaana, and subsequently learned her murdered her parents by sensing the history of the assassin's dagger. Using the ancient Sith text inscribed on the dagger, the Resistance was able to find the location of Exegol for the final showdown against the Final Order, during which Palpatine was destroyed once and for all.

Ochi's surprise appearance in the Darth Vader comic reveals the assassin was connected directly to Palpatine during the height of the Empire's power. And while Ochi's eventual role in murdering Rey's parents suggests he survives his impending confrontation with Vader on Mustafar, the Sith Lord has a formidable task not only in the assassin's defeat, but also in working his way back into Palpatine's good graces. Ochi has been quite adept at killing those close to Emperor, but the Sith Lord is going to be the greatest test of his skills yet.

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