Sith Order and Galactic Empire. Darth Vader’s famous armor serves multiple purposes such as protecting him, intimidating his enemies, and keeping him alive following his devastating defeat on Mustafar, but the current Star Wars canon takes it a step further. The scientist who designed Vader’s cybernetics continued to work for the Empire in secret, creating more cybernetic monstrosities that even offended the sensibilities of Darth Vader himself.
One of Darth Vader’s greatest defeats came early in his Sith Lordship. As shown in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Vader battled his former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, resulting in a defeat that left the former Jedi missing all four of his limbs, immolated, and suffering catastrophic damage to his organs (particularly his respiratory system). On Emperor Palpatine’s orders, Vader underwent major reconstructive surgery, rendering him more mechanical than organic, and sealing him in a protective suit of armor that not only kept him alive but also used a design that harkens back to the Sith Lords who preceded Darth Bane. Many ancient Sith Lords wore heavy suits of armor and battled their enemies with ruthless brute force rather than Machiavellian plotting, a practice that Darth Vader revives.
The resuscitation of Darth Vader and his famous Sith armor are explored further in issue 20 of Marvel’s canon Darth Vader comics by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca. Following what seems to have been Doctor Cylo’s death, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine discuss the amoral scientist, with Palpatine explaining that Cylo was one of several scientific minds who saved Vader’s life after his defeat on Mustafar. Palpatine further explains that in order to maintain stability among the Empire’s best and brightest, he had to allow Cylo’s experiments to continue, resulting in the mad scientist creating a number of cybernetic warriors as potential replacements for Darth Vader. While Cylo’s experiments continued after Darth Vader’s reconstruction, the Sith Lord’s successors lacked one specific quality that prevented them from rivaling him: The dark side of the Force.
Darth Vader's Cybernetics Are Insignificant Next to the Power of the Force
Doctor Cylo lacked faith in the Force or its dark side, believing them to be obsolete. Cylo and his creations could not understand the dark Side of the Force—let alone use it—despite their considerable power. This prevented them from truly threatening Darth Vader and his position as the lesser of two Dark Lords of the Sith. Darth Vader defeats Cylo and his creations, proving that even if their cybernetic upgrades are more advanced than his own, he is still one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy due to his sheer strength in the dark side of the Force.
Although much of Darth Vader’s organic body was destroyed by his injuries on Mustafar, the Force (and by extension its dark side) is ubiquitous in the Star Wars galaxy, so Vader’s connection to it was not harmed by the loss of body parts. If anything, the humiliation and subsequent fury over his defeat, combined with his excruciating reconstructive procedure (which Vader was fully conscious for) only strengthened Vader’s use of the malevolent dark side. With or without his cybernetics, one of Darth Vader's greatest strengths is his connection to the Force, and while Cylo’s experiments continued well after the Sith Lord’s reconstruction, his creations lacked this vital element.
