Why Everyone HATED Working For Darth Vader

Ultimate Sith lord, redeemed fallen Jedi, and most hated boss are all ways we could describe Darth Vader.

As potentially the most famous character in Star Wars, Vader was also the most despised within the Empire.

Why did everyone hate working for Darth Vader? It had much to do with his temper. 

Why Everyone Hated Working for Darth Vader

Everyone who worked for Darth Vader seems to have hated him for interconnected reasons.

Vader’s officers and stormtroopers hated working for him not just because of the threat of being killed by him, but also because Vader cost the Imperial’s victories.

Vader tended to let his feelings get in the way of the main objective of defeating the Rebels, especially when it came to his son Luke Skywalker. 

Vader would divert the mission to try to get Luke, as he did in The Empire Strikes Back.

After the Battle of Hoth, the Empire had the Rebels on the run and could have ruthlessly pursued them.

Yet, Vader focuses more on luring Luke to the dark side and plans a trap for him at Cloud City. Here we see Luke entering Bespin as a frozen Han Solo is brought to Boba Fett’s ship.

If Vader’s officers were watching, they would probably be exasperated with wasting all this time on this one Rebel. 

Everyone who worked for Vader hated his mood swings too, which led to numerous capable officers being killed.

As we know, and this video captures, officers were “routinely intimidated,” Force choked, “and even killed” with Vader’s “workplace misconduct.”

In the video, we see Commander Krennic from Rogue One get Force choked and the original choking of Officer Motti from A New Hope.

Vader also Force-choked Admiral Ozzel to death for coming out of light speed too close to the planet before the Battle of Hoth. 

Apparently, Vader did not respond well to demands, different strategies than his own, or to having his point of view challenged.

Although General Motti was confrontational and challenged Vader about not recovering the Death Star plans or finding the hidden Rebel base, he was pointing out what others thought.

Officers resented Vader’s focus on the Force, and later on Luke, because it distracted him from defeating the Rebels. They, of course, also hated being Force choked or the threat of it. 

Fans have contributed to understanding why everyone hated working for Vader, with some emphasizing how his temper “makes him treat subordinates like he treats enemies.”

That insight could be getting to the heart of the issue–Vader did seem to treat his staff and troopers like enemies. 

Who Else Hated Darth Vader?

Besides the officers and stormtroopers working under him, others hated Vader too.

As this discussion board indicates, the ancient Sith hated Vader because he was a former Jedi and obsessed with the Jedi.

From the perspective of the other Sith, the empire that Darth Sidious and Vader have created is not what they had in mind. 

In the comics, Darth Momin mocks Vader and says, “It saddens me that the Sith have become such Jedi-obsessed weaklings.”

Momin envisioned a proud Sith ruling the galaxy without concern for the Jedi and hated Vader for focusing on them instead. 

The Emperor most likely also hated Vader. Opinions are divided here but it is safe to say that Palpatine treated Vader poorly and intentionally kept him subservient.

As this article recounts, this turn toward disliking and possibly hating Vader had to do with Obi-Wan defeating Vader on Mustafar. Sidious no longer has the apprentice he wished for.

In reverse, Vader comes to hate the Emperor.

On that note, Vader also hates himself. As we saw in Return of the Jedi, Vader came to realize that Sidious had ruined him and threw the Emperor down a reactor shaft.

In connection, Vader hated himself for allowing his downfall to happen.

Vader also hated himself for not saving his mother. Although it’s debatable whether he hated Palpatine more than himself, Vader did admit in the comics that he loathed himself. 

Everyone Hated Vader

It seems that everyone hated working for Vader and others just hated Vader, including himself.

Yet, Luke did not give up on him and in the end did not hate him. Perhaps if Vader had more people around like his son, he would not have been hated so much.

Then again, his tyrannical ways at work probably would not have changed. 

Todd Wahlstrom

Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan. He has covered such topics as Darth Vader, the Jedi, Boba Fett, and AT-AT Walkers. Todd has published a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.