10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Darth Vader
You probably don't know Vader quite as well as you think.
There's no denying that Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains in the history of not only cinema but pop-culture and storytelling in general.
Even people who've never seen Star Wars can probably name him, and more than 45 years since he made his debut, he remains about as popular as ever.
Yet just because he's a beloved antagonist doesn't mean that fans have a 100% bead on everything about him, and in fact, may well have some crucial facts totally wrong.
This is admittedly the nature of Star Wars as a whole: the Expanded Universe - both canon and "Legends" - is so ridiculously vast that it's basically impossible for even the most devoted fan to keep up with everything.
And so, there's a good chance you, like most everybody else, has these 10 Darth Vader facts totally wrong, ranging from the basic design of his suit to supposed "plot holes" throughout the Skywalker Saga, and everything else in-between.
But from poring back over the movies and wider Star Wars lore, here comes the cold, hard truth about Vader...
10. His Suit Is Designed To Cause Him Pain
While there are no arguments that Vader's iconic armoured suit helps keep him alive by basically functioning as a mobile life support system, it's a mistake to assume that its functions are all primarily curative.
In actual fact, the suit is also designed to cause Vader pain. For starters, the helmet sticks needles into Vader's face whenever he's wearing it, with the intent of feeding his brainwave activity back to the central computer on the suit's chest.
Also in the Extended Universe, it's stated that Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) designed the suit to be intentionally uncomfortable in order to keep Vader's rage free-flowing, and also to ensure that he could maintain a level of control over him while limiting his potential to rebel.
Though aspects of this have technically been jettisoned from the canon continuity and are now considered Legends factoids, it remains true that Vader's suit isn't an entirely restorative piece of wardrobe: it also causes him agony for a number of reasons.