Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Darth Vader #50

Marvel Comics' final issue of Darth Vader shows the moment when the titular Sith Lord was at his most powerful in the dark side. It also definitively confirms whether Vader would have ever been able to defeat Palpatine using the dark side. Wrapping up the Dark Lord's entire arc between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, this final issue reveals the sheer amount of power Vader had at his disposal, and why the Emperor still managed to seemingly break his apprentice's spirit all the same ahead of Episode VI.

In the final issue of Darth Vader by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, Vader regains all the major sources of power he'd been accumulating across the galaxy to kill Palpatine. This includes his kyber-powered electro staff, Sith Eternal cultists from Exegol riding massive summa-verminoths, Darth Vader absolutely decimates Palpatine's forces, having reached the highest peak of his dark side powers in the Star Wars canon.

Without a doubt, Darth Vader was at his most powerful in the dark side during this major battle just before the events of Return of the Jedi. While a sight to behold, it ultimately proves to be meaningless in the grand scheme of the Star Wars timeline.

Darth Vader Was At His Most Powerful Before Return of the Jedi

The Maximum Levels Of His Strength In The Dark Side

Using his staff and shield alongside his greatly amplified power, Vader can't be touched by Palpatine's forces in this new and final issue of Darth Vader. Firing devastating blasts of energy, Vader quickly stands amid piles of mere skeletons, having burned everything else away from his opponents that had been sent by his master. As such, this issue no doubt ranks as one of the most exciting issues of the entire Darth Vader run that first began in 2020.

Having been determined to end Palpatine and take his place as ruler of the Empire, one would think that Darth Vader would have been able to easily counter his master's powers. However, the truth is quickly revealed when Palpatine himself arrives on this remote world seemingly via Force projection (not unlike Luke Skywalker's use of Force projection as seen at the end of The Last Jedi).

Darth Vader STILL Couldn't Beat Palpatine With His New Power

He Was Never Going To Beat Him With His Hate

Relying on the vast depths of his pain and hatred, Vader eventually becomes overwhelmed by his own hate combined with the amplifying nature of the weapons he'd been wielding. As Vader is repeatedly assaulted by brutal blasts of Force lightning from Palpatine, the Emperor gloats that all of Vader's new power had all been by his design. It was a means of showing his apprentice that only he had enough power in the dark side to rule the galaxy.

This final issue is the primary reason why Vader is so defeated in Return of the Jedi...

As such, this final issue is the primary reason why Vader is so defeated in Return of the Jedi. He'd been broken with the belief that his master could never be defeated. However, Darth Vader's own son Luke Skywalker eventually shows his father in Episode VI that resisting Palpatine is possible, just not from the dark side and the corruptive emotions he'd long relied on in the Star Wars canon. As such, this new issue certainly enhances the final original trilogy film and Darth Vader's ultimate sacrifice in the Star Wars canon.

Darth Vader #50 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.