We’ve seen multiple times where Darth Vader personally punishes Imperial officers, Stormtroopers, or even the Inquisitors. But did you know that the very first time Darth Vader appeared in front of Palpatine and his Royal Guards, the Royal Guards actually took action — and this is what happened to them for daring to challenge Darth Vader.
The moment I want to mention here takes place during the very first few days of Anakin becoming Darth Vader, from the canon comic series, Darth Vader (2017). The story happened just a few days after Revenge of the Sith, which we saw in Episode III.
After receiving the suit, Darth Vader was sent on his first mission: to create his own Sith lightsaber. This part of his story is covered from issues #1 to #4 of the Darth Vader (2017) comic series, where we follow him as he begins his journey to forge his weapon. Then, starting in issue #5, we continue Vader’s story after he defeats the former Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a, takes his lightsaber, and returns to Mustafar.
As Vader returns to Mustafar, he receives an instruction from Palpatine: he must first bleed the kyber crystal taken from the Jedi Master he just defeated. To do this, he must go deep inside a cave on Mustafar.
Vader follows the instruction, and once he reaches the cave, he detaches the kyber crystal from the Jedi’s lightsaber. As Vader attempts to bleed the kyber crystal, he is suddenly hit by a powerful force, which throws him back and causes him to experience a vision — a vision where Darth Vader returns to the light side of the Force.
In this vision, we see Anakin Skywalker, still inside Vader’s armor, immediately returning to Palpatine on Coruscant, now wielding a green lightsaber. Anakin ignites the green blade and challenges Palpatine, determined to take back justice for the Republic.
With the green lightsaber in hand, Anakin easily defeats the Emperor within seconds. After striking down Palpatine, we see Anakin walking away and approaching his former Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan, standing with his back turned and looking up at the sky, senses Vader approaching. Instinctively, Obi-Wan ignites his blade, believing that Darth Vader has come seeking revenge.
However, Anakin kneels down before him, looking for forgiveness for everything he did to the Jedi Order.
Obi-Wan, ready at first to strike, simply turns off his lightsaber and calls out to him: “Anakin.”
Within a short moment, Darth Vader snaps out of the vision. He denies what the kyber crystal showed him and forces the crystal to obey him, bending its will through his anger and pain.
Finally, Vader successfully bleeds his first kyber crystal. He then returns to Palpatine.
And this is where the moment we’ve been waiting for happens. As Vader walks into the room on Coruscant, he sees Mas Amedda and Moff Tarkin standing beside Palpatine, discussing the Death Star.
But just as Vader steps in, the two Royal Guards mistake him for a trespasser. They immediately raise their weapons, ready to strike if Vader dares to step closer.
However, Vader doesn’t give them the chance. He force-pushes both Royal Guards away before they can even react. The attack is so powerful that the Royal Guards are knocked unconscious and unable to get back up.
Tarkin and Mas Amedda, thinking Palpatine is under threat, instinctively react — but Palpatine calmly orders them, “Both of you — leave.”
Once everyone is gone, Vader finally has the chance to speak with his Master, ready to prove that he has successfully completed his first mission. He steps forward and presents the red lightsaber he forged on Mustafar, showing Palpatine that he has fully embraced his new path.
