Quick trivia for you, during the Original Trilogy, how many times did Vader use a Force choke on an Imperial officer? The answer’s four. Sure, you might argue there are more depending on how you count, but here’s the point: in the movies, Vader’s pretty free to use his “wizard space magic” on anyone who fails him.
But there’s one comic moment where that changes. This time, when Vader starts to choke an Imperial officer like we’ve seen him do countless times, his own master, Darth Sidious, steps in and tells him to stop.
In Star Wars (2017) issue #8, Palpatine warns Vader to ease up on the Force choking — not out of kindness, but practicality. He points out that if Vader keeps strangling everyone who makes a mistake, he might eventually kill everyone in the galaxy. And a galaxy with no one left to rule? That’s not an Empire, it’s just a lonely throne.
At the start of the issue, we jump right into it — Vader’s got an Imperial officer in a Force choke. Before the man can even gasp his last breath, Palpatine steps in and shuts it down. “Release him,” he orders. Then, turning to the shaken officer, he says, “Thank you for your report. I hope your division will show improved performance in the weeks to come. You may go.”
Once the officer leaves, the tone shifts. Palpatine fixes his gaze on Vader and delivers a warning:
“My friend, at times I think you might kill every being in the galaxy. With the Jedi gone, very few opponents remain who are worthy of our skill and power. It can be… deadening. I know. We are surrounded by lesser beings, who deserve only hate. Our contempt. I feel these things too, Vader — and this is good. These emotions open a door to the great power of the dark side.”
He doesn’t stop there.
“Nothing is more natural than surrendering to that power. Death, pain, rage… these are the tools of the Sith. But I offer a warning. Fall too deep, and the relationship turns. You become the tool, and they… your masters.”
It’s rare to see Palpatine so openly caution his apprentice. He understands the intoxicating pull of hate better than anyone, but he also knows there’s a point where the weapon starts wielding you.
And then comes the final, chilling line — the one that really sticks:
“Think on this, my apprentice. I do not wish to rule over a galaxy of the dead.”
The Emperor offers a warning (Vader #8)
byu/fifthdayofmay inStarWars
However, that is the start of the comic, I will continue through another moment, when Vader actually learn a lesson from his master.
I’ll skip over the smaller details, but keep the core of the story intact. After Vader’s earlier talk with Palpatine, he’s back on his main mission — hunting down any Jedi who survived Order 66. This time, his target is Jocasta Nu. She’s secretly returned to Coruscant and infiltrated the Jedi Temple, heading straight for the Jedi Archives to retrieve critical information that could one day help rebuild the Order. Her droid, Beetoo, stays behind at their hidden landing site, but when Imperial forces close in, Beetoo triggers an explosive, destroying the ship and erasing evidence of their arrival.
The blast draws the attention of the ISB, who dispatch investigators to comb through the wreckage. When they discover that the destroyed craft bore Jedi insignia, it becomes a top-priority case — and that means Darth Vader himself steps in.
Vader arrives on the scene, meeting an Imperial officer who hesitantly greets him, unsure whether to address him as “Darth” or by some military rank. The officer begins explaining his preliminary theory: the explosion was from a bomb, likely meant for a more populated part of the city. According to him, the device was detonated prematurely when local insurgents were discovered by Coruscant security forces, and the Jedi insignia was nothing more than provocative graffiti.
Vader listens in silence, but while the officer speaks, he stretches out a gloved hand. Using the Force, he slowly draws together fragments of the wreckage from across the hangar floor, pieces floating into place until the unmistakable outline of a Jedi starship takes shape. In that moment, the officer’s theory collapses. This wasn’t just random sabotage, it was a Jedi vessel.
If we tie this back to Palpatine’s earlier warning, it’s easy to imagine that Vader would have Force-choked the ISB officer for presenting such a flawed theory. Instead, he proves the officer wrong by calmly piecing together the truth from the wreckage. Once the full picture is revealed, the Empire immediately makes it a top priority to hunt down the Jedi bold enough to return to Coruscant.