15 Obscure Facts About Darth Vader

Darth Vader is one of the greatest villains in cinematic history. His staying power has permeated pop culture as one of the most recognizable figures in media.

Everyone knows his story. Darth Vader was once a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker who fell to the Dark Side when he fell in love with Padmé Amidala. He’s the father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. He did the whole “No, I am your father” scene and returned to the Light Side in Return of the Jedi.

With such a well-known figure, many extra details exist in the ancillary comics, novels, and reference books. Here are 15 obscure facts you might not know about the ultimate villain Darth Vader.

1 – Life of Pain

While Vader’s suit was necessary to keep him alive, it was also excruciating for him to wear. Palpatine designed it to always cause Vader some form of pain at all times to help fuel the Dark Side in the Sith apprentice.

2 – Hacked

Vader’s armor was a technological marvel. Though, the technology also left him vulnerable at times. His armor could be hacked to where people could control Vader’s limbs and vocalizer to send fake messages.

3 – Learn to Live with It

Initially, Vader hated his armor and constantly tinkered with it to make it more suitable. Eventually, he learned to appreciate it as it isolated him from the rest of the galaxy and allowed him to focus on his duty as a Sith.

4 – Who Are You?

In the beginning, many Imperials had no idea who Vader was. To them, he was just a guy who showed up one day bossing them around. Vader’s arrival caused such a stir that Palpatine had to formally introduce his apprentice to the higher-up Imperials so they would answer to Vader.

5 – Bleeding a Crystal

To build his Sith lightsaber after Order 66, Vader found a Jedi named Kirak Infil'a living outside the Jedi Order through the Barash Vow. Besting the Jedi in a duel, Vader took Infil’a’s kyber crystal from his lightsaber and “bled” it by pouring his rage, hate, and sorrow into the kyber to turn it red.

6 – Boss Vader

The Inquisitorius was a group of ex-Jedi who turned to the Dark Side after Order 66. Darth Vader was their boss who personally trained them to be one of his fighting forces.

7 – Military Might

While the Inquisitors were Vader’s more secretive servants, the Sith Lord also had a public power. Two military legions served under Vader. The first was the 501st Legion, made of clones, serving Order 66. They would be absorbed into the military and replaced with stormtroopers in time. Vader’s personal force would become the First Legion, some of the most elite soldiers in the Empire. One leader of this group was Commander Kimmund.

8 – Secrets Not Revealed

Vader’s true identity as Anakin Skywalker was a closely kept secret. Though, there were a handful of people who had known Anakin during the Clone Wars who sleuthed out this knowledge. Two Imperials were Grand Moff Tarkin and Grand Admiral Thrawn, but both kept this secret, knowing it was dangerous to share it.

9 – The Architect

Fortress Vader, also called Vader’s castle, on Mustafar became the base of the Sith Lord’s operations. Though, it was designed by an unlikely person. Lord Momin was an artist Sith Lord from the past whose being was preserved in his mask. The mask could possess people so that Momin could speak through their bodies. Momin led the construction of the palace.

10 – The Sith Way

Momin helped Vader because Vader’s castle was built upon a nexus in the Dark Side of the Force. This vergence allowed Momin to resurrect his original body. Like any good Sith, he betrayed Vader and attacked him. Vader bested Momin, taking the castle for himself.

11 – Failed Resurrections

Learning through Momin of the Dark Side nexus his palace was built on, Vader failed multiple times to resurrect his wife, Padmé Amidala. On one occasion, he found a sacred artifact, the Bright Star, which belonged to the once ruler of Mustafar, Lady Corvax. Like the Lady who failed to bring her husband back from the dead, it was also another failure for Vader.

12 – The Reveal

Vader hired the bounty hunter Boba Fett to capture the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. While Boba failed in that mission, he did bring Vader a big piece of knowledge: The pilot’s name was Skywalker. At this moment, Vader realized Palpatine lied to him, and he had a son.

13 – Allies

Vader had many allies outside the Empire. Some of these allies included the archeologist Doctor Chelli Aphra and the master assassin Ochi of Bestoon. One surprising ally was Sabé, the body double and handmaiden of Padmé. Like Thrawn and Tarkin, Sabé sleuthed out Vader’s identity but kept the secret.

14 – Mask Off

Vader would face two people he once cared for being his Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his padawan, Ahsoka Tano. In their duels, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka each cut off one side of his mask during the fight. It would be his son, Luke Skywalker, that would be the one who removed the entire mask.

15 – Force Ghost

After his death, Vader’s body was cremated by Luke. Returning to the Light Side at the end of Return of the Jedi, Anakin Skywalker continued to guide his son from the afterlife. Luke met Force Ghost Anakin on multiple occasions, and one time, Anakin fought beside him to banish Sith wraiths attacking Luke while the Jedi searched for the Sith world of Exegol to stop the coming evil.