In the early years of the Empire, Darth Vader lived by one rule — obey the Emperor. Every order, every mission, every Jedi he hunted down was done without question. He became the perfect enforcer, a weapon forged in rage and loss. But deep beneath the armor, something waited — a moment when that absolute obedience would finally break.
That moment came in Darth Vader (2017) #20, written by Charles Soule.
A New Order and an Unexpected “No”
The war against the Jedi was over. The Inquisitors had done their work, and Vader had finished what his master started. When Palpatine next summoned him, it wasn’t for a hunt but for politics.
The Emperor turned to him, his tone slow and deliberate.
“If more Jedi surface, we will destroy them. I have other missions for you now. First, you will travel to Alderaan. Bail Organa believes his world is sacrosanct, somehow immune to my will. You will demonstrate to him the folly of this position.”
The answer came in a single word.
“No.”
For the first time, silence followed an order. Palpatine stared at his apprentice, his yellow eyes narrowing.
“No?”
Vader didn’t flinch. His voice came steady through the mask.
“I have destroyed the remaining Jedi for you. I will perform any other tasks you require. But first… I ask that you give me a world.”
It was a demand, not a request. The kind of statement that only someone certain of his power would make.
The Emperor’s Game
Palpatine studied Vader carefully, a faint smile twisting across his scarred face.
“Ah. I see. A place to hone your skills, or your rage. I would say a place to experience whatever gives you pleasure, but we both know you allow yourself no such thing. Yes, Coruscant is mine, and you shall also have a world to shape as you see fit.”
Then he began listing worlds, testing the edges of Vader’s emotions.
“Naboo, perhaps? I know you have connections to that planet. This is the esteem in which I hold you, my apprentice. I would give you my homeworld.”
Vader said nothing. The mask gave nothing back.
Palpatine tried another.
“Or your own, Tatooine. You could burn its sand to glass — repay your suffering there a thousand times over.”
Vader answered with quiet certainty.
“No.”
The Claim of Mustafar
The air between them cooled. The tension hung heavy in the throne room before Vader spoke again.
“Mustafar.”
The word alone carried the weight of his past. The fiery planet where Anakin Skywalker fell and Darth Vader rose. A place of agony, but also rebirth.
Palpatine agreed. He didn’t question the choice. Whether he saw strength in it or another way to deepen Vader’s darkness, he allowed it. From that point forward, Mustafar became Vader’s world — the molten heart of his empire and the birthplace of his fortress.
