Star Wars: Did Darth Vader Help Destroy The Death Star?!

It’s no secret that Darth Vader wasn’t a fan of the Death Star, with the former Jedi trusting more in the Force than a battle station, but a recent comic suggests his hatred may have run deeper than anyone suspected.

Darth Vader Annual #2 is set before the events of Rogue One, and - much like Darth Vader #18 - focuses heavily on the rivalry between the Sith Lord and Governor Tarkin.

Tarkin has Vader investigate what’s going wrong with the Death Star after a number of setbacks. He not only finds the problem, but also learns far more about the station than he knew previously, and decides it isn’t worth all the trouble.

He confronts Tarkin about it, reiterating his belief in the power of the Force (and himself), with Tarkin retorting that he’s merely scared its technology will replace his own. Their tête-à-tête ends with Vader predicting Tarkin’s faith in the Death Star will lead to it becoming his tomb.

That in itself doesn’t suggest much more than the bad blood between the pair we already knew existed, but it’s what follows where things get really interesting.

After Vader’s prediction, the comic cuts to Lyra Erso - who was briefly seen in Rogue One, and is the wife of Death Star architect Galen - receiving a message from a mysterious droid.

The droid refuses to say who he is or who sent him there, but carries a grave warning for Lyra about the space station and what it’s truly capable of, leading to her frantically trying to contact Galen.

Of course, given what we see in Rogue One, this ultimately leads to Galen purposefully designing a flaw in the Death Star that would allow it be destroyed, which is exactly what happens at the end of A New Hope. And while it’s not outright stated who sent the droid, the placement of the scene, and the comic it comes in, make it pretty clear that, yes, Darth Vader helped destroy the Death Star.

What do you think of this new revelation? Share your thoughts down in the comments section below.