I’ve read a lot of Star Wars stories, but the one where Vader sees Padmé again in the Darth Vader: Darth Lord of The Sith (2017) comic series? That one hit different. It wasn’t some sweet reunion or peaceful closure. It was brutal – both emotionally and in the way only Vader knows how to deliver.
The Gateway, the Ghosts, and the Rage
At one point in the comics, Vader finds this strange Force-powered gateway – basically another dimension – and he thinks it might help him bring Padmé back. You can tell he’s still clinging to that hope, even after everything. He steps in, not knowing what to expect, but determined to find her.
Instead, the Force throws everything at him. He’s confronted by Mace Windu, Yoda, the entire Jedi Council – even Sidious. It’s like the Force forces him to face everyone who either betrayed him, fought him, or shaped him. But in this realm, Vader isn’t bound by his broken body anymore. He’s at full strength, no pain, no limits.
And he just cuts through them all. Every single one. It’s not just revenge – it’s like he’s trying to bury the past by burning through it. He doesn’t hold back. He doesn’t hesitate.
The Reunion That Broke Him Again
Finally, Padmé appears. She’s right there, just a few steps away.
And something shifts. The armor fades. He becomes Anakin again. Not Darth Vader – just the man who loved her. He reaches out and tells her what he’s always wanted: that they can still be saved, that he just wants the two of them to escape it all together.
But Padmé doesn’t react the way he hopes. She just looks at him and says: “Anakin Skywalker is dead.”
That line? It crushes him. Her eyes turn red. Then she falls backwards and is hit by a bolt of red lightning. Just like that, she’s gone again. And Vader screams in pure agony. All that pain comes rushing back – like losing her for the first time all over again.
Even if it wasn’t really Padmé, that moment cut deep. He went through everything in that Force realm because a part of him still believed she could come back. But in the end, it just confirmed what he probably always feared – she’s lost forever.
And no matter how strong he becomes, that will always be the one thing he can never fix.