Did Vader Learn Anything New From Palpatine After Join the Dark Side?

When Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side, he thought he was stepping into unlimited power. We saw Palpatine promise him the secrets to cheat death, save Padmé, and unlock abilities no Jedi could teach. But once he became Darth Vader, we never actually see Palpatine mention Padmé again—or offer any Force abilities related to saving her.

So what exactly did Vader really learn after joining him? Was there some ancient Sith knowledge passed down? Or was it all just manipulation to keep him in chains?

Despite the broken promises, Palpatine did teach Vader a lot about the dark side, and about the Sith way of survival. It wasn’t what Anakin expected, but it shaped him into the Sith Lord we know.

1. Palpatine Taught Vader His First Dark Side Lesson in a Lightsaber Duel

We start with Vader’s first real lesson as a Sith—and it wasn’t a lecture. Just days after Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine challenged his new apprentice to a lightsaber duel. 

This moment plays out in Star Wars (2020) issue #25 by Charles Soule, where Darth Sidious doesn’t just talk about power—he forces Vader to prove he’s ready for the dark side by testing him in combat.

He didn’t hold back. Palpatine flew at Vader with lightning speed, dodging every swing and striking with brutal precision. Within seconds, he knocked the lightsaber out of Vader’s hands, caught it midair, and threw him across the platform. It was a total beatdown.

But the point wasn’t just to humiliate him. Palpatine used it to teach Vader something crucial, he lost because he was still fighting like a Jedi. In Palpatine’s eyes, relying only on your saber was a weakness. A true Sith uses everything, the Force, the terrain, whatever’s around them. The lightsaber? That’s just a symbol of power, not the source of it.

Palpatine showed exactly what he meant by launching chunks of metal at Vader from every direction, overwhelming him with pure Force control. This wasn’t about form or honor—it was about domination.

That moment flipped a switch in Vader. From then on, he started fighting differently. Less like a Jedi knight, more like a Force-powered wrecking ball. 

2. Vader Learned to Be a Ruler, Not Just an Executioner

Another important lesson Vader picked up from Palpatine was about ruling through fear—but not just mindless killing. Instead, Palpatine showed him that real power comes from control, not chaos. We see a good example of this in Star Wars: Purge – The Tyrant’s Fist, a comic from the Legends continuity (so not technically canon, but still valuable for showing how the Sith operated).

In the story, Vader is on the planet Vaklin, trying to crush resistance with brute force—burning everything down and leaving destruction in his path. But Palpatine isn’t impressed. He contacts Vader directly and says, “The destruction of the planetary population means the loss of Vaklin and its resources. I did not send you there to lose, Lord Vader. Our new Order has not yet consolidated its power. At this delicate juncture, we cannot afford to rule through fear alone.”

This moment shows Palpatine pushing Vader to think bigger. Ruling a galaxy isn’t about killing everyone who resists. It’s about knowing when to apply pressure, and when to use fear as a tool, not the whole strategy.

3. Palpatine Taught Vader to Use His Anger to Grow Stronger

One of the first and harshest lessons Palpatine gave Vader was this: pain makes you powerful. And no emotion fuels that pain better than anger.

We see this play out clearly in the Darth Vader (2017) comic series, right after RoTS. Vader has just finished getting his suit, and he’s still reeling from the news that Padmé is dead. In a burst of raw emotion, he lashes out at Palpatine with the Force, screaming: “You told me you could save her.”

Palpatine doesn’t comfort him. Instead, he coldly replies, “In your rage, you chose… a different path.” Then he delivers the real Sith lesson: “Padmé is dead, my friend. Even the power of the dark side cannot bring her back. But in her death, she has given you a gift—pain. Now you must choose. Will you accept that gift? Will you use it… or will you die?”

Vader, broken but determined, says, “I… will live.”

Palpatine simply says, “Good.” Then hits Vader with Force lightning as a warning.

“If you ever touch me with the Force again,” he says, “I will finish what Kenobi could not.”

This moment shows us two key things Palpatine taught Vader. First, how to channel his rage and pain into dark side power. And second, that fear was part of the deal—Vader might be powerful, but Palpatine made it clear he was still the master.