Darth Vader's Forgotten Victim Just Exposed His Greatest Weakness
Darth Vader's former droid sidekick just fell into the hands of Padmé Amidala's handmaiden Sabé, allowing his secrets to be used against him.
Warning: spoilers ahead for Star Wars: Darth Vader #20!
Padmé Amidala's handmaiden Sabé - who served Amidala when the former queen ruled Naboo - just repaired and recruited the droid that Darth Vader cleaved in half after learning the truth of Luke Skywalker's parentage. Unfortunately for the Sith Lord, his rage has once again made him easy to manipulate.
Soon after The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader employed the Imperial droid Zed-Six-Seven as a guide to help him vanquish all those who had colluded to hide his son Luke Skywalker from him. The parameters of that vendetta soon took a detour when the Sith Lord began using Zed-Six-Seven to discover how his wife Padmé died. But when the two played a recording from one of the Chroon-Tan B-Machines present during the birth of Luke and Leia, it was revealed that Padmé uttered Obi-Wan's name, to which Zed-Six-Seven foolishly said that Obi-Wan must have been very important to her. It was in that instant that Vader's anger got the better of him and he violently sliced the droid in two, seemingly destroying it for good, in 2020's Star Wars: Darth Vader #5.
Now, fifteen issues later in 2022, Sabé becomes Zed-Six-Seven's master when she brings the droid back online in Star Wars: Darth Vader #20 by writer Greg Pak, artist Raffaele Ienco, colorist Alex Sinclair and letterer Joe Caramagna. Sabé had originally hoped to leverage the droid's memory banks to kill Vader since she still believes he killed Padmé. But upon learning that Padmé gave birth to a son with a man named Anakin Skywalker, Sabé comes to the conclusion that Vader might have not only wanted to murder Padmé but possibly Padmé's son Luke Skywalker as well. The further that the former handmaiden Sabé (played in the movies by Keira Knightley) digs into Padmé's past with the help of Zed-Six-Seven, the closer she'll get to the truth that Darth Vader is actually Anakin Skywalker himself and that he never intended on killing Padmé, though he was indirectly the cause.
This will likely change her desire to kill Vader and undoubtedly lead to her inevitable demise when she eventually lowers her defenses in the Sith Lord's presence. However, it's quite likely she will successfully use Luke Skywalker as bait to seek an audience with Vader before she learns of his true identity. That's because Darth Vader is determined to murder Luke after Palpatine exposed him to the true power of the dark side of the Force. Vader now believes there's no room for anyone in the galaxy who could threaten his position, and that includes his own son. So, Sabé dangling Luke in front of Vader will undoubtedly get the Sith Lord's attention, but it will surely be her own undoing.
In the end, Vader's anger over Obi-Wan and Padmé's friendship is what cast Zed-Six-Seven into the hands of Sabé. Readers might know that Sabé won't use the droid's connection with Vader and the Empire to kill him, but she could still negatively impact his life and mission to destroy the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn. Vader's inability to control his rage is the reason why Sabé has some leverage over him now, and this isn't the first time this major weakness has left the Sith Lord in hot water. In fact, his original vengeance on those who hid Skywalker from him caused Palpatine to believe that his apprentice had lost his way, and he essentially tore down Vader so he could literally build himself back together.
Although a powerful weapon for the Sith, anger was clearly Darth Vader's worst enemy as well, leading to some of his most personal secrets now falling into the hands of an enemy agent who wants nothing more than to destroy him.