For most of the Empire, Darth Vader was more machine than man. The armor, the breathing, the mask—they were all anyone ever saw. But there was one battle where things went differently.
In the middle of fire and rubble, a single stormtrooper came face-to-face with something no one in the ranks was supposed to see. What happened next shows just how dangerous even a glimpse behind the mask could be.
The Setup On Cymoon 1
After the Death Star blew up, the Rebels didn’t slow down. Their next strike hit Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1, one of the biggest Imperial plants out there. Darth Vader flew in to deal with them himself. That’s where he clashed with Luke Skywalker for the very first time in canon.
Luke wasn’t ready for it. Vader beat him fast and even yanked his lightsaber out of his hand. Then Vader froze—he realized this was his old Jedi weapon. Before he could act further, Han and Leia barged in using a hijacked AT-AT, and the whole fight turned chaotic.
Stormtroopers opened fire, freed slaves joined the battle, and Vader gave the order to “kill them all.” He cut down prisoners with both sabers, the red blade in one hand and Luke’s weapon in the other. Luke managed to jump on a speeder bike and mow down troopers, while Han tried to stomp Vader with the walker. Vader held the machine’s leg in midair using the Force and began crushing it. Only when Artoo powered up the cannons did the Rebels score a hit, blasting Vader into the wreckage and blowing his helmet loose.
All of this happens in Star Wars (2015) #2: Skywalker Strikes, written by Jason Aaron with art by John Cassaday.
The Trooper Who Saw Too Much
Vader clawed his way out of the rubble, struggling to breathe without the mask sealed. A stormtrooper rushed to him and froze in shock. He blurted out: “Mother of moons. I’m sorry, my Lord. I didn’t realize—”
That was the end of it. Vader raised a hand, snapped the trooper’s neck in an instant, and pulled his helmet back with the Force. The Sith Lord sealed it back in place, his breathing steady again, and turned back to command as if nothing had happened.
Darth Vader kills a Stormtrooper when he sees his true face.
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Once the helmet was back in place, the moment was gone. Overseer Aggadeen begged to evacuate as the core melted down. Vader replied, “Denied. If this factory explodes, you had best explode with it,” then ordered the troops to regroup and wipe out the Rebels, keeping only the boy alive.
He then ordered the remaining troops to regroup and hunt the Rebels. The only exception was Luke. Vader made it clear: the boy stays alive.
Bonus: The Only Officer Who Saw Vader Unmasked And Lived
Most who caught even a glimpse of Darth Vader’s true face didn’t survive to talk about it. His identity and appearance stayed hidden behind the mask, guarded as tightly as any Imperial secret. But there was one exception.
In the story “Lord Vader Will See You Now” from From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, Admiral Firmus Piett gets summoned into Vader’s private chambers aboard the Executor. For any officer, stepping into that room meant your life could end on the spot. Piett knew it, and still he walked in.
What he saw shocked him. Vader wasn’t armored, not fully. Piett caught a brief look at the scarred, damaged man beneath the helmet. That moment revealed more than Vader probably wanted anyone to see—the injuries that defined him, the rage and pain that fueled everything he did.
Unlike the stormtrooper on Cymoon 1, Piett didn’t die for it. He kept his composure, stayed professional, and delivered his report with respect. That single choice kept him alive. And in the end, he became the only known Imperial officer who saw Vader’s face and survived.
You can read the full story here The Only Officer Who Saw Vader Unmasked and Survived.