Theory: Darth Vader Built His Mustafar Castle To Rid Himself of Padme, Not Resurrect Her

Fortress Vader, the imposing castle of the iconic villain, makes for a striking image when it is first seen in Rogue One. Rising from a volcanic ridgeline on the surface of Mustafar, the fortress was rarely visited by anyone save Vader himself. Those who did dare enter the sanctum of the dark lord rarely left.

Besides it being the mysterious lair of one of the most terrifying beings in the galaxy, it also served another purpose; to channel dark side energy and open a portal into another realm, a realm where Vader believed he could reach his dead wife, Padme. While many readers expected this story, told in the 2017 Darth Vader run of comics, to culminate with Vader attempting to bring his love back to life, a new fan theory states that Vader was actually attempting to rid himself of his love and humanity once and for all, giving himself over to the dark side completely.

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Built over an ancient Sith cave, the castle was specifically designed to channel the energies of the Sith locus in said cave. This was first discovered to be possible by the ancient Sith Lord, Darth Momin. While many dark side users will hone their ability with a lightsaber, like Darth Bane, or use their power for political gain, such as Darth Sidious, Momin was quite unique in the history of the Sith. Momin was an artist, a sculptor and architect who also dabbled in weapon design. Darth Momin's consciousness was preserved in his helmet and locked away in the Jedi vaults after his apparent death. When Darth Sidious rose to power, he looted the vaults, taking the mask and bequeathing it to his apprentice, Darth Vader.

With the power of the mask possessing an Imperial lieutenant, and Momin's consciousness directing the construction of Vader's castle, the gateway was opened. The theory states that this was a critical moment as Vader manifests in this new world as a being of pure dark side energy, swirling through a body with no features save for piercing red eyes. He carves his way through strange figures form his past that attempt to block his path until he approaches Padme. Here he reverts back to Anakin Skywalker and begs for Padme to return with him to the land of the living. However she refuses and Vader, like the Greek myth of Orpheus, is forced to leave the "underworld" without her.

However, as stated earlier, the core of the fan theory states that Darth Vader did not travel through this portal to resurrect his dead wife, but to permanently remove her spirit from his heart. Vader changing from the swirling dark side energy embodiment of himself, back into Anakin Skywalker upon seeing his wife, shows that he couldn't bring himself to end her existence permanently. Instead he asks her to come back with him, something that she can not do.

To fully understand this theory, was must travel forward in the Star Wars timeline but travel back in comic release dates. 2015's Darth Vader #24, shows Vader after A New Hope, fully embrace the dark side and become "more machine than man." When his suit's designer attempts to kill Vader by shutting off his life support, Vader's life flashes before his eye, including the moment he is confronted on Mustafar by his pregnant wife. In his mind, with no Obi-Wan to stop him, Darth Vader kills his love, Padme Amidala, and destroys the last shred of his humanity.

Darth Vader's obsession with traveling to the world of the dead, from using Momin's mask, to constructing his fortress on Mustafar, until he finally entered the portal, at surface level appears to be an effort to bring Padme back to life. However, if Darth Vader was trying to find Padme's spirit and destroy her, it makes his turn in Return of the Jedi even more dramatic, as the destruction of Padme in his heart would have pushed him fully into the dark side and buried the last shred of Anakin left within him, only to be pulled back into the light by the love of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala's son, Luke.

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Source: Screen Rant, Wookieepedia

Written by Weston Erickson

Syndicated from Culture Slate

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