"Let the past die": Vader's arc in the Dark Lord of the Sith comics

“Anakin Skywalker is dead”, an apparition of Padme says before falling to her “death.” For Anakin himself, trapped inside a mechanical suit under the guise of Darth Vader, this was the final death blow to the person he once was. To have his wife, albeit spiritual, declare this part of him dead is a huge blow to him, but it was the final culmination in a series that took its toll on Vader, who goes on a spiritual journey that sees him confront – and crush – the ghosts of his past.

Throughout the first few issues of the comic run, Vader confronts his past through the Force. For instance, in Issue 5, Vader acquires a Kyber crystal to corrupt, bend to his will, and bleed. But in the process of doing so, the crystal itself resists since, according to Palpatine, “The crystal is a potent thing, alive in some strange way, pulsing with light side energy.” As Vader attempts to corrupt the Crystal, not only does it reveal Vader’s deepest want, which is killing Palpatine and usurping him as Emperor, the crystal also shows glimpses of his past, such as Padme and Obi-Wan, in an attempt to lure him back to the Light. While Vader ultimately withstood the Crystal’s temptations, this would not be the only time he would encounter the temptations of his past throughout his journey.

During the Mon Cala arc, Vader led the Empire to Mon Cala to siege it and find Jedi hiding there. One of the Jedi hiding there, Ferren Barr, was very studious of the past and its importance. He reminds the Inquisitors they were once Jedi and says, “Once a Jedi, always a Jedi” further reminding them that, no matter how much they try to keep the light out, it will always find them. He also says “Even the power of the dark side cannot erase the past.” Barr realizes that the past of every dark sider will never be erased despite their attempts to do so. While Vader is not directly affected by Barr’s words, they serve as a reminder for him nonetheless, especially with his test on Mustafar.

Vader’s greatest test with his past came during his journey with Mustafar. In this arc, Vader goes to Mustafar to build a castle to have a place to hone his skills and compile his everlasting rage of the dark. He is also given the mask of Lord Momin, an ancient Sith Lord. Sidious believed that if Vader had the mask during his quest to Mustafar, Vader would be able to unlock the secrets contained in the Sith cave and grow stronger in the dark side of the Force. During his quest for dark side power, Vader encountered the man who donned the mask, Lord Momin himself.

Momin tells Vader of his story, where he experimented with the Force to create and was cast out because of it. He was taken in as an apprentice, being trained in the ways of the dark side. During his training, as he opened himself up to the dark side, many things that Momin knew about himself but never fully understood finally became clear. Momin killed his master, Lady Shaa, as he felt being an apprentice was antithetical to his goals. He decided to study the lore of the dark side on his own as he felt the Force was the “only true audience worth impressing, worth sanctifying.” He created a device but the Jedi thwarted his attempt and, during this battle, Momin’s soul was cast into the mask, patiently waiting for another time to come out and complete his creation. Momin helped Vader construct a castle that helped focus the dark side energy emanating from Mustafar and open the dark side locus situated on the planet. After a painstaking design process, a castle was created that was able to effectively harness the power of the dark side.

However, Momin resurrected himself and attempted to kill Vader. During this duel, Momin chastised Vader for not serving the dark side as the Jedi do with the light side. He reiterates this by saying "The Dark Side does not serve us. We serve the dark side" suggesting a Jedi-like path the Sith should take in order to achieve their goals. But Vader says that his destiny is his own to shape and kills Momin. As Vader delved deeper into the dark side, he saw critical moments from his past which helped form him into the Dark Lord and even some future moments. Vader encountered the Jedi in the locus, another foundational reminder of his past, and killed them all. In doing so, Vader killed off another link to his past. Vader then transforms into Anakin and confronts an apparition of Padme, pleading to come with him so he can save them both. When transforming into Anakin, that part of Vader was unable to let go of his past and move forward. He needed closure one way or another. It was only when the apparition of Padme declared “I don’t know you. Anakin Skywalker is dead” before falling to her death that Vader had to accept the severing and destruction of his past in order to move forward as a dark lord of the Sith. Vader leaves the dark side locus but not before being confronted by a light side illusion: his son, Luke. After regaining consciousness after being blasted by the light side, he destroys the gateway and contacts Palpatine. Palpatine asks him if Mustafar was what he sought and needed. Vader replies with “yes”. He is now fully devoted to the dark side because he sought to uncover the secrets of the dark side locus and, because of that journey, he killed his past.

Vader’s arc in the Soulean Vader series is the complete inverse of “Confronting fear is the destiny of a Jedi.” For Vader, it was about embracing that fear of your past and your mistakes and letting it overtake you as a mechanism to the dark side.