I always come back to this scene from the Darth Vader (2017) comic because it says so much about their bond, and it does it with very few words. It takes place right after Vader kills the Jedi Kirak Infil’a and takes his kyber crystal. At this point, he’s completely broken. He’s suspended in this medical rig, missing an arm and a leg, surrounded by machinery. The Emperor is standing right there, looking down at him.
Palpatine doesn’t seem shocked or concerned, he doesn’t ask if Vader is okay, he doesn’t rush to help, he doesn’t sound worried at all. Instead, he just tells Vader, “Your mission was successful. You have the weapon. You have ruined yourself.” That line stuck with me. He doesn’t try to make it sound better. He doesn’t comfort him. He just states it, plain and simple. And somehow, that’s enough.
After igniting Vader’s new lightsaber, Palpatine tells him this is the path of a Sith. He doesn’t ask if he can do it, he doesn’t try to justify why it had to be this way. He just gives Vader back the weapon and reminds him that this broken body is part of the price he has to pay. The Emperor doesn’t shy away from telling Vader that this is what it means to be a Sith.
I can almost feel that moment when Vader clenches that new mechanical hand, accepting this new reality. Palpatine doesn’t treat this as an accident or a tragedy. To him, it’s a chance for Vader to shed whatever was left of Anakin and become a true Sith. He reminds Vader that this suit can be more than a prison — it can be a weapon. He tells him to adjust it, to make it his own. Not because he cares about Vader, but because he knows this pain and this anger will make Vader stronger.
That’s why this scene always stands out to me. Palpatine doesn’t have to say much, and Vader doesn’t have to respond. The silence between them says it all. Palpatine reshapes Anakin into Vader, and Vader embraces it. Not with words, but with a glance, a clenched fist, and a quiet, burning resolve that tells you this is just the beginning.
