Summary
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Darth Vader #49!Darth Vaderhas always been the poster child for the immense level of suffering that awaits anyone who chooses to give themselves over fully to the dark side of the Force inStar Warslore. And now, his suffering is being taken to an all-new level as he undergoes a horrifying (though well-deserved) transformation, one that recreates his Mustafar injuries in a twisted new way.
In a preview forStar Wars: Darth Vader#49 by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco,Darth Vader has been immobilized, as the M.A.R. Corps has effectively shut down his suit and are in the process of implanting a chip in his brain that would leave his mind trapped in a body controlled by the M.A.R. Corps. This gang of Rebel cyborgs are doing to Darth Vader exactly what he did to them, but what they don’t know is that what they’re doing to him isn’t anything he hasn’t experienced before.
As the M.A.R. Corps is digging into Vader’s mind, readers are shown a flashback of the moment Anakin Skywalker was gravely injured on Mustafar, and was forced to wear a mechanical suit to keep himself alive for the rest of his days. Just as the M.A.R. Corps is trying to take away Vader’s control over his robotic body, so, too, did both Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Emperor trap Anakin’s mind in a new body that brought him nothing but perpetual suffering.
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Darth Vader’s New Transformation is a Horrifying Evolution of His First
After Anakin lost his limbs and was horribly burned on Mustafar, he underwent a physical metamorphosis that reflected the darkness he allowed to overtake his mind. That change completed his transformation into Darth Vader, and made his suffering infinitely worse. In a way, Anakin became trapped in the physical manifestation of his internal suffering, which eliminated any semblance of control he had over his emotions, and plunged him completely into the darkness.
While Anakin’s physical change into Darth Vader was horrific, this new transformation is somehow even worse. Darth Vader still had control over his actions, even as a cyborg. At the end of the day, he chose to remain in the mental prison his physical injuries solidified. But now, with what the M.A.R. Corps is doing to him, that choice has been completely taken away. Darth Vader’s body is a slave to the whims of the Rebel cyborgs, and his mind is even more of a prisoner within his body than it was before.
Darth Vader’s Horrifying Transformation Gives Him a Pre-RotJ Sith Rival
Sly Moore Has Become Darth Vader’s Sith Rival inStar Wars
The only way the M.A.R. Corps was able to get the drop on Darth Vader was because he was betrayed by his Schism Imperial, led by Sly Moore. The Schism Imperial’s loyalty to Vader was always tenuous, but they claimed to need him to take down the Emperor. But, in fact, Sly Moore was just waiting to betray Vader and take his place as the Emperor’s apprentice, and she used the M.A.R. Corps to do that. So, as Vader’s mind is trapped in a body controlled by other cyborgs, he’ll be thinking of only one thing: killing Sly Moore.
However, before Darth Vader kills Moore and reaffirms his loyalty to Emperor Palpatine before the events ofEpisode VI, he first must defeat the M.A.R. Corps, and things aren’t looking good. Right now, Darth Vader’s mind is imprisoned within a body he has no control over, which is eerily similar to his initial fall to the dark side and the physical transformation he underwent as a result - makingDarth Vader’s new transformation a horrifying recreation of his Mustafar injuries inStar Wars.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #49by Marvel Comics is available August 19, 2025.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.
