Star Wars: Darth Vader's Final Lightsaber Unveiled in New Comic

The lightsaber is the definitive weapon of the Star Wars saga, with a character's creation of the weapon being an important step in their embrace of the ways of the Jedi or Sith. In Marvel's current Darth Vader comic, we have finally seen the villain's iconic weapon take shape, having made repairs to a saber he obtained from a Jedi.

The first issue of the series alerted readers to how a Sith obtains their red blade, with Palpatine explaining, "The crystal from any Jedi's saber will do. As you know, the Kybers are alive, in their way. Like any living thing, they can feel pain. Through the Dark Side, you must pour your pain into the crystal. And when, at last, the agony becomes more than it can stand...a beautiful crimson. The color of your rage."

Vader then went on a quest to confront a Jedi who escaped Order 66, defeating Kirak Infil-a in combat and taking his weapon. The Sith then took the appropriate steps to "bleed" the Kyber crystal, yet the hilt was still unfamiliar to fans.

The last issue, which kicked off an all-new arc, featured mercenaries confronting Vader and neutralizing his weapon, with Vader taking the opportunity to customize the hilt in ways he saw more fit.

With issue #12 being the most recent in this arc, Vader has yet to learn that Palpatine is the one who orchestrated the attempt on Vader's life. Palpatine did, however, notice the changes Vader made and approved of the upgrade.

The new weapon will look much more familiar to fans, as it's the lightsaber he used throughout the original trilogy of films.

While the look of a lightsaber might seem relatively unimportant to some, writer Charles Soule considered the weapon's construction an exciting journey to explore.

"It worked out so perfectly because at the end of Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan takes the blue lightsaber and that leaves Vader without a weapon," Soule shared with StarWars.com last year. "I couldn't believe that that story hadn't been told and seemed like a perfect starting point for this guy. It also left him vulnerable. He's in a suit that he doesn't know how to use yet, and he doesn't have a weapon. With characters as iconic as Vader, it's about the idea that they could have a meaningful quest that is very essential to their storytelling and how they become the person or the character that you know. It's hard to do because so many stories have been told. So, finding this open window was phenomenal. It was a lucky break, for sure."

You can grab Darth Vader #12 today to see how the Sith put his new saber into action.

Who has the lightsaber in the Star Wars universe? Let us know in the comments below!