Darth Vader #21 Reveals the Sith Lord's Reason for Living on Mustafar

WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Darth Vader #21 by Charles Soule, Daniele Orlandini, Giuseppe Camuncoli, David Curiel and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.

Darth Vader may have seemed like a one-dimensional character early on in the original Star Wars trilogy, coming off as nothing more than Emperor Palpatine's blindly obedient enforcer, but the prequel trilogy dove deep into the Sith Lord's past as the Jedi Anakin Skywalker. Along the way, we saw there was way more to the Galactic Empire's main enforcer than meets the eye.

This dichotomy was explored even further by Marvel Comics, with writers like Kieron Gillen and Charles Soule scripting a more complex and conniving individual. Not only do these books fill in the gaps between the original trilogy of movies, they show Vader's deepest, darkest secrets. Now, we find out just why he wanted his obsidian castle built on the volcanic planet of Mustafar... and it's as sinister as you'd expect.

Recently, Palpatine gifted Vader the hellish planet, as well as Queen Amidala's ship, not just as a reward, but also to remind him that the Emperor owns his soul. Vader's fine playing the subservient underling role for now, though, because Mustafar has something he desperately wants: The power to topple Palpatine.

Vader brings architects to the fiery planet to get the work underway. When one of them asks him why he picked the location, he ignores them. He can't reveal he's a fallen Jedi whose life was almost ended there by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Palpatine, as always, extracts the truth. The reason for Vader's choice of locale dates back to Soule's early run on the title.

In Issue #5, Vader brought kyber crystals (used to make lightsabers) to Mustafar, the source of his hate and rage, to bleed them red and become a Sith Lord. He previously killed Jedi Master Kirak for the crystals, and next came to the fiery world for a mystical battle, both internal and external. The entire process echoes what Luke Skywalker faced in the swamp caves of Dagobah, and what Rey confronted on Ahch-To.

Vader then linked to the locus of the Force (basically, it's the Force's source of energy, which can be harnessed for good or bad) to see if he belonged to the Light or the Dark. Vader eventually embraced his path, killed off remnants of Anakin and bled his crystals red, making him Palpatine's official apprentice.

Come Issue #21, we find out there's more to Vader connecting to the locus. Apparently, he discovered a Sith power there on Mustafar lying dormant, waiting to be tapped into. It's something he realizes would allow him to surpass Palpatine, and that's why he has come to put down roots.

Vader wants to harness this power to become an even greater Sith, which is why we saw him meditating here in Rogue One. It wasn't as a form of respite from his galactic duty. He was actually researching and Force mining, if you will. Of course, he hints to Palpatine there's something special on Mustafar, but doesn't share all the details. We've seen Vader's contempt towards his mentor grow over the course of the story, so that's not particularly surprising.

Seeing as he turned on Palpatine in Return of the Jedi, saving Luke and the rebels, it leaves us wondering if Mustafar's sessions did pull him back to the Light a bit by creating conflict between the Anakin and Vader personas. Did it revive the bits of Anakin he thought dead?

We do know for certain it didn't allow him to overthrow the Emperor, as he remained Palpatine's lackey until the very end. But, who knows? Maybe Mustafar granted Vader temporary powers, or put him on a journey we're yet to see unfold in these comics.

There's so much hidden history being divulged. Either way, we can't wait to see what happens next, because it seems Palpatine knows Vader is up to something, and, well, nothing good can come from the Emperor's suspicions about his own apprentice.

CBR

Marvel Reveals The Sinister Reason for Darth Vader's Castle on Mustafar