The Day Darth Vader Learned Palpatine Lied About Padme’s Death

At the end of Episode III, Palpatine told Vader the one thing that finally broke him. “In your anger, you killed her.” And at the time, we believed it too. Padmé collapsed on Mustafar right after Vader choked her. She died not long after. It felt like the last consequence of everything he had done.

But that wasn’t the truth.

Padmé didn’t die from the Force choke. She died from heartbreak—losing the Republic, losing Anakin, and giving up her will to live. And years later, Vader found out the truth. His master had lied to him the whole time. He didn’t kill Padmé.

Vader’s Search for the Rebel Pilot Leads Back to Himself

The story starts from the Darth Vader (2015) comic series, specifically issue #6. The timeline is set right after Episode IV: A New Hope—the Death Star has just been destroyed, and the Empire is reeling from the loss. But for Vader, the failure goes deeper. He’s not just trying to recover power. He’s trying to understand what went wrong.

While dealing with rivals like Cylo and his strange “creations,” Vader is also working behind the Emperor’s back. He wants answers. That’s why he hires Boba Fett—to find out who destroyed the Death Star, and more importantly, who the pilot was.

While the bounty hunter is off-world, Vader is summoned to meet the Emperor. Sidious introduces him to Cylo’s twisted replacements—cybernetic Force-wielders bred to challenge Vader’s position. The message is simple. If they defeat him, they deserve his place. If he defeats them, he keeps it.

After the test, Vader shows why he is the Chosen One—defeating every enhanced warrior Cylo throws at him. But he isn’t allowed to kill them. Palpatine forbids it. What makes it worse is that Palpatine already knows Vader has been building power in secret, gathering forces outside Imperial command.

Vader tries to explain. He knows how this works. He’s seen how Sidious replaced Maul. How he removed Count Dooku. And now Cylo’s experiments are waiting in line.

After the conversation, Vader leaves without a word. Then the report comes in—Boba Fett has returned from his mission.

Vader expected him to bring the pilot in. But Fett only has one thing.

The name.
“Skywalker.”

Vader Realizes His Master Lied About Padmé

After delivering the information Vader wanted, Boba Fett doesn’t stay. He leaves immediately. For Vader, the job is already done. The name Fett gave him doesn’t just identify the Rebel pilot—it pulls him straight back into memories he’s buried for years.

Padmé.

The moment the name Skywalker lands, it connects to something Palpatine told him was impossible. Vader remembers the first time Padmé told him the truth, back when he was still Anakin Skywalker.

“Ani, I’m pregnant.”

That memory hits first. Then others follow. Padmé insisting there was still good in him. Padmé telling him she believed in him even on Mustafar. And slowly, the realization starts to take shape.

Vader’s thoughts return to the moment after Mustafar, when he asked his master the one question that mattered.

“What happened to Padmé?”

And Palpatine’s answer comes back to him, word for word:

“I’m afraid she died. It seems in your anger… you killed her.”

But now that answer doesn’t fit anymore.

If Padmé gave birth, then she didn’t die on Mustafar. If the child lived, then she survived long enough to bring him into the galaxy. Which means Palpatine didn’t tell Vader the truth. He never had.

The anger comes fast. The Force surges around Vader, cracking the viewport in front of him as he calls for Sidious. When the Emperor appears, he immediately senses the rage—but not its cause. Vader doesn’t tell him. He keeps his control, assures his master that he will not fail, and ends the transmission.

But something has changed.

This time, Vader has a different goal. The Emperor is no longer the end of the path. The boy is. And if his son is alive, then the future doesn’t belong to Sidious anymore.

Vader’s Search for Luke and the Truth About Padmé’s Death

The moment Vader hears the name Skywalker, the issue ends—but his journey doesn’t. If you want to follow what happens next, we’ve already covered that full story here.

After learning the truth, Vader begins searching for his son. Not through bounty hunters or orders—but personally. He returns to Tatooine, the place where Anakin Skywalker began. From there, his path leads deeper into the past—until he finds himself standing at Padmé’s tomb.

Then comes the final stop: Polis Massa.

It’s there that Padmé gave birth. It’s there that she spoke her final words to Obi-Wan. And now, years later, it’s where Vader returns—looking for answers.

“There is still good in him.”

That was the last thing Padmé said before she died. And now Vader finally hears it for himself.