Star Wars Writer Bridges The Gap Between Anakin And Vader

09/20/2017 07:53 am EDT

Ever since the original Star Wars released in theaters 40 years ago, fans have been both loved and feared the ruthless Sith Lord who helps rule the Empire with a cybernetic fist.

And while Darth Vader was an intimidating powerhouse in the original trilogy, the prequels ended up showing him how he turned to the Dark Side. But it never showed how he actually became the dominant menace of the Star Wars galaxy.

The new Darth Vader comic from Marvel explores that journey, picking up from the events of Revenge of the Sith and showing his journey toward becoming the tyrant he is in A New Hope.

Writer Charles Soule recently spoke with StarWars.com about the title and how he's crafting the story that as never been told, alongside artist Giuseppe Camuncoli.

"I do want to convey this is when Vader has really opened up us to the dark side for the first time," said Soule. "I think that the assault on the temple in Revenge of the Sith and obviously the battle with with Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was powered up on the dark side then for sure. But now he's really digging deep in a way he hasn't before. He's put no limits on himself. He's not thinking, 'Oh man, I'm going to go back and have to look Padmé in the eye.' He doesn't have to look anybody in the eye anymore, not even himself.

"He's trying to figure out what his own limits are. He's very powerful. He's always been very powerful. It's just now he's using his power in a different way to do some really destructive, terrible things, and that is not going to stop in the series at all."

Another huge facet of the book will focus on Vader's relationship with Emperor Palpatine. The former Supreme Chancellor manipulated Anakin Skywalker to betray his values and become his tool. Now that Vader is his apprentice, how does that change?

"The Emperor really wants Vader to dig deep into the dark side and see what he's gained, even after everything he's lost. That's really where Vader is at this point," Soule said. "He's lost everything he ever had to rely on; he doesn't have any guiding light at all except for Palpatine. As we know, Palpatine is not a great mentor figure. You never know what his real agenda is and you never know if there's actual loyalty. He calls Vader his friend and apprentice and partner all the time, but none of that ever rings completely true. You don't know how true it is, except that he's generally always out for himself."

Without Obi-Wan, without the Jedi Order, and without his own flesh, Palpatine is the only thing Vader has anymore. And that's scary.

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Darth Vader #5 is available now. In fact, you can get the entire Darth Vader series for only a few bucks each for a limited time during Amazon's huge Marvel digital sale.

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