Darth Vader Learned a Vital Sith Ability Just Before Return of the Jedi

Summary Darth Vader finally mastered the Sith ability of deception in Star Wars: Darth Vader #46, using it to steal red kyber from Exegol.

This newfound skill redefines Vader's redemption in Return of the Jedi, suggesting he may have used deception against Palpatine.

Vader's preference for using sheer power over deception makes his mastery of this Sith ability a significant development.

Warning: Contain SPOILERS for Star Wars: Darth Vader #46! Darth Vader is one of the strongest Sith in Star Wars canon, proven true by his many horrific accomplishments throughout the movies, shows, novels, and comics. However, during the majority of his time as a Sith Lord, Darth Vader never learned one vital Sith ability. He was always immensely powerful in the dark side of the Force, but this ‘power’ is more of a decision than anything achievable through training. And it wasn’t until right before Return of the Jedi that Vader finally mastered it.

In Star Wars: Darth Vader #46 by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, Darth Vader and his Schism Imperial have invaded Exegol with the intention of stealing its massive supply of red kyborite. The Schism Imperial is a collective made up of like-minded Imperials who wish to see Emperor Palpatine overthrown, and they know that Darth Vader is the only one who can do it, which is why they made him their leader. With the kyber Palpatine kept on Exegol, Vader and the Schism could fuel a planet-killing weapon strong enough to challenge Palpatine’s power.

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In the end, Darth Vader and his team succeed in stealing the red kyber from Exegol (though they do still have to get past a space leviathan before they’re home free). The only reason they were successful is that Darth Vader used a droid duplicate to trick the Sith Eternal while he stowed away in a shipping container that was brought right to the location of the kyberite. In other words, Darth Vader attained victory after finally mastering the one Sith ability he never practiced before: deception.

Darth Vader Finally Mastered the Sith Art of Deception, Something He Notably Lacked

Only a few issues before this one, Emperor Palpatine stated that Darth Vader was never good at deceiving anyone other than himself. In fact, it was with that statement that Palpatine implies a dark twist on the truth about Anakin Skywalker’s corruption. Though beyond the implications of his statement, what Palpatine literally said revealed just as much about the Dark Lord. Darth Vader was bad at deceiving people, this much was true, but the reason why is that he thought deception being used as a weapon was for the weak.

Darth Vader preferred to have his enemies know exactly what his next moves were in order to face them at their strongest, and kill them anyway. In a sense, Vader’s unwillingness to lie in order to win is more cruel than if he deployed trickery, as Vader makes it clear with every conflict he’s won that he defeated his enemy with his unparalleled power alone, and that there was nothing they could do to stop him. However, Vader finally learned that deception is sometimes crucial when looking at the bigger picture, as he officially weaponizes this age-old Sith ability.

Darth Vader’s New Battle Tactic Redefines His Return of the Jedi Redemption

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Now that fans know Darth Vader learned the art of deception right before Return of the Jedi, perhaps he used it during the moment of his ultimate redemption.

It’s implied that Darth Vader had a change of heart upon seeing Palpatine killing Luke, which inspired him to turn on the man he was just defending. Though perhaps his earlier actions were just a ruse, and Darth Vader was planning to kill his master at the most unexpected time all along. Palpatine certainly wouldn’t have seen that coming, as he already concluded that Darth Vader is terrible at deception. However, by deceiving Palpatine’s Sith Eternal on Exegol, Darth Vader has already proved he’s learned the art of deception, making it more likely that he’d use such a tactic against Palpatine.

Darth Vader may not have been willing to deceive his enemies before, but when it came time to trick the Sith Eternal and steal Palpatine’s kyber in order to hopefully destroy his master, Darth Vader was more than willing to take up this Sith ability, implying that he did the same upon killing Palpatine in Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars: Darth Vader #46 by Marvel Comics is available now.

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