It's no secret that every moment of Darth Vader life is hell – and a comic book Star Wars original Legends The canon shows a torturous aspect of Vader's existence even more painful than the rest. His armor is ill-fitting and outdated, causing the Sith Lord constant, unbearable pain, and that pain is Vader's constant landing on the Dark Side, and like Palpatine it keeps his apprentice weak.
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command – written by Haden Blackman, art by Rick Leonardi – contains a brief glimpse of one of Darth Vader's rare vulnerable moments among his galactic atrocities. Just as damage to Vader's organic body often requires him to rest in bacta tanks, his cybernetics require frequent maintenance.
Unfortunately for Vader, this process is not easy andrequires Vader to remain conscious while robotic attendants repair his separated mechanical limbs. Forced to endure this time-consuming and excruciating procedure, Vader can only maintain his sanity by escaping into long-lost dreams of a happier life.
Darth Vader's cyber maintenance is incomparable agony for the Sith Lord
Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command #1-5 (2011) – Written by W. Haden Blackman; Art by Rick Leonardi and Daniel Green; Color by Wes Dzioba; Lyrics by Michael Heisler; Cover art by Tsuneo Sanda
During Darth Vader's routine cybernetic maintenance, he, without armor or limbs, is suspended from mechanical clamps extending from the ceiling. Their wounds are exposed to the air, burning while the unprotected nerves have no protective covering. Surrounded by nothing but machines and androids, this is a visually stunning representation of how little humanity Vader has left. At this moment, the only remnants of Anakin left alive are his dreams of a better life lived alongside Padme. Without the fragile fantasies that kept him sane, not even Darth Vader could endure this kind of torture.
As his body suffers, Vader allows himself some semblance of happy fantasy. In this dream world, Anakin defeated Mace Windu in combat, allowing Palpatine to face trial before the Senate. Padme and Anakin, now Master, had a son, and the three lived happily together. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn are alive and happy, continuing to guide Anakin and his son. As he buries himself deeper and deeper into his dreams, Vader tells Padme that “IIt's the only thing that keeps me sane.”
Not even the dark side can sustain Vader through the pain he feels when he is unarmored.
Darth Vader's Most Vulnerable Moments Are His Worst
Darth Vader is not afraid of his pain. He embraces his physical suffering as fuel for his power. Completely abandoning the Light Side of the Force, Vader must endure constant agony to gain a foothold on the Dark Side. However, his visions of an alternative life show that his dreams of a life embracing the Light Side are what provide him comfort when suffering and the Dark Side fail him. His desperate need for a peaceful escape perfectly expresses how harrowing this process must be for him.
Darth Vader few moments of humanity remain like echoes in a tomb of durasteel and circuitry.
For Darth Vader, power is pain. However, this pain is so unbearable that even the Dark Lord of the Sith breaks down. Vader's body is more cybernetic than organic, relying on his mechanical systems to sustain his life; any necessary maintenance becomes a full-body descent into total suffering. Practically a living corpse, hanging like a meat rack in a room devoid of any organic life, Darth Vader few moments of humanity remain like echoes in a tomb of durasteel and circuitry.