Every Star Wars fan thought Mace Windu’s story ended the moment he fell from that window in Revenge of the Sith. Turns out, it wasn’t the last time we saw him. Years later, in the 2017 Darth Vader comic series, the Sith Lord faced his past. Vader’s journey took him beyond the limits of reality – into a place where the dead still spoke and old grudges came back sharper than ever.
The Past Never Sleeps
The story begins with Vader caught in the weight of his mistakes. He was on a mission driven by obsession – to bring back Padmé, no matter the cost. For that, he shaped his castle into a key that opened a door to another dimension. The moment he stepped through, memories, illusions, and raw emotions rushed at him like a storm.
Inside that strange realm, Vader saw everything that made him who he was – his childhood, his mother Shmi, Padmé, and even Ahsoka. Each vision tested him, reminding him of the boy who once wanted to save everyone but became the man who destroyed it all.
The Return of the Jedi… Masters
As Vader moved closer to what he believed was Padmé’s location, a magnificent Jedi Temple shimmered before him. Standing before it was a host of Jedi Masters – an entire armada waiting to stop him. And at their front stood Mace Windu, alive in this realm, lightsaber ready, face set in stone.
For a heartbeat, it was as if the galaxy itself had brought them back together to settle what started in the Chancellor’s office. The air crackled with energy. Lightning flashed behind Vader, his armor reflecting every spark. He didn’t hesitate. Darkness surged through him, and he charged into battle.
Vader attacked without mercy. Windu met him head-on, leading the Jedi in their stand. Jocasta Nu fought beside him, and even Yaddle joined the fight. But this was no ordinary battle – it was a slaughter. Vader’s fury tore through the Masters who once trained him, guided him, and judged him.
When he reached Mace, it was personal. Their sabers clashed in a storm of violet and red. For a brief moment, Windu held his ground, but Vader’s power overwhelmed him. Just as before, he severed Windu’s hand and watched it fall. In one swift motion, he ended it – decapitating the Jedi who had once nearly ended the Sith before it began.
When Windu fell, the others followed. One by one, Yaddle, Jocasta Nu, and even Yoda fell to the Dark Lord’s blade. In the end, the temple was silent. Vader stood alone, surrounded by the ashes of everything that once defined him.
The Empty Victory
When the massacre ended in Vader’s vision, it seemed – as it often does in the dark side – that he had conquered everything that once defined him. But the moment he reached Padmé, the illusion shattered. Instead of salvation, Vader was confronted with the truth he had spent years refusing to face.
On the balcony stood the woman he had destroyed his life for. Vader – appearing as Anakin again – begged her to come with him, insisting he could save them both. But Padmé looked upon him not with love, but with sorrow. She asked if he was an angel, as if meeting him for the first time, before telling him a truth the dark side could not hide:
“Anakin Skywalker is dead.”
With those words, she turned away. Padmé stepped backward and fell, her body swallowed and torn apart by the violent energy of the dark side. The realm itself rejected Vader’s lie. His scream echoed across the spiritual wasteland.
As the illusion dissolved, Vader saw another figure approach: Luke Skywalker. The Force blasted him back, ripping him out of the portal and hurling his consciousness back into his body in the real world.