Darth Vader unlocked his maximum power, resulting in him becoming a living superweapon in the Star Wars comics published in 2024.

Darth Vader’s ‘Yellow Lightsaber Era’ storyline officially came to an end in 2024’s Star Wars: Darth Vader #50 by Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco, Paul Fry, Luke Ross, and Adam Gorham. This issue was the series’ grand finale, and it acted as the culmination of every trace of unparalleled power Darth Vader had amassed up until that point during the ‘Yellow Lightsaber Era’.

Throughout the ‘Yellow Lightsaber Era’, Darth Vader waged a personal war against Emperor Palpatine, which gave credence to his proposition to Luke Skywalker in Episode V. It was always odd that Vader wanted to usurp the Emperor in Episode V, but then went right back to being his lackey in Episode VI. Now, thanks to the ‘Yellow Lightsaber Era’, fans know that Vader actually did try to kill Palpatine and take his place, becoming a major powerhouse to accomplish that (ultimately futile) task.

Darth Vader Gained the Ability to Infect & Remotely Control Cyborg Soldiers

Star Wars: Darth Vader #42 by Greg Pak and Adam Gorham

Darth Vader explored every avenue of power in his mission to kill Emperor Palpatine and take his place as the ruler of the galaxy, including something that initially presented itself as a major threat. During the Dark Droids story arc, Vader’s circuitry became infected by an AI hivemind called the Scourge, which temporarily took over Darth Vader’s suit and added him to its established hivemind. Rather than making him its slave, however, the Scourge showed Darth Vader how androids and cyborgs could be controlled remotely by a superior intelligence - so, Vader decided to do the same thing.

Because of the Scourge, Darth Vader discovered a way to infect and remotely control androids and cyborgs. This allowed Vader to create an army of soldiers that had no choice but to follow his every command. Never before had Darth Vader had so much influence over his followers, as even the Clones and Stormtroopers only ever followed the commands of his superiors. However, it’s what Darth Vader did with this army that turned him into the ‘living weapon’ he became upon challenging Palpatine for the throne.

Darth Vader Became a Walking ‘Death Star’

Star Wars: Darth Vader #50 Turned Vader into a Living Weapon

After becoming the leader of an army of droids and cyborgs that had no choice but to follow his every command, Darth Vader (along with a group plotting against the Emperor called the Schism Imperial) gained control over a weapon that had the ability to drain the life-force of an entire planet and convert that energy into power cells. Then, Darth Vader stormed Exegol and stole shards of the mountain of red kyber Palpatine kept within his Sith palace, the same kyber that fueled the fleet of planet-killing Star Destroyers fans saw in The Rise of Skywalker.

Darth Vader then inserted those pieces of kyber into his Zaly Shield and electrostaff, and supercharged his robotic suit with the power cells. This allowed Darth Vader to shoot immensely powerful blasts of concentrated energy, as he became a living weapon fueled by the energy of an entire planet with the planet-destroying power the kyber crystals offered. In essence, Darth Vader became a walking ‘Death Star’, and he used this newfound power to obliterate an entire legion of the Emperor’s soldiers in Star Wars: Darth Vader #50 before challenging the Emperor himself.

Of course, it didn’t matter how powerful Darth Vader became by the end of the ‘Yellow Lightsaber Era’, as he was always destined to lose to Emperor Palpatine, and become the loyal Sith Apprentice fans saw him as in Return of the Jedi (before he ultimately turned on Palpatine at the end of the film). However, just because he wasn’t powerful enough to defeat the Emperor doesn’t discount how unbelievably strong Darth Vader became in these 2024 Star Wars comics, as they showed Darth Vader unlock his maximum power and become a living superweapon (in more ways than one).