“Nooooooo.”
If you’ve seen the Star Wars prequels, I bet you just read that line in the style of Darth Vader‘s desperate yell. Just before he screamed the memorable word, he’d gone through a painful transformation to become more machine than man after a dude who was like a brother dismembered him and left him burning on an incline near lava. Oh, and he found out Padmé died. It was not Anakin Skywalker’s best day. The guy deserved an emotional goddamn outburst. In fact, at this point in Anakin’s journey, it would be weird if he didn’t react with a display of Feelings.
That said, I’ve never been a fan of the tone of the delivery. What should be an incredibly powerful moment, where the last vestiges of Anakin Skywalker fall away and he fully becomes Darth Vader, is cheapened by an almost comedic “Noooo.” But a new comic from Marvel gives a different look at Vader’s anger and despair.
As io9 brought to our attention, Vader gets another chance at “No!” in Darth Vader #1 by writer Charles Soule and artist Giuseppe Camuncoli. The new series begins with Vader arising on Mustafar and talking to Palpatine. In the comic, I interpret Vader’s reaction as him realizing what he’s become in a physical sense and how it was out of his control, and he’s not super pumped about it. We get in his head and see him repeat “No.” He thought joining forces with Palpatine would give him everything he wanted, and he’s understandably ticked when he gets how he wrong he was.
He still gets an outburst, but it’s a firm and powerful “No” that knocks Palpatine off his feet instead of a caterwaul-like yelp. It’s more effective.
Also, I want to point out Palpatine talks to Vader about Padmé’s death and says, “But in her death, she has given you a gift.” Palpatine is referring to the pain Padmé’s loss brings and suggests Vader should use it. However, it makes me think of the fan theory that Palpatine takes the living Force from Padmé and uses it to help Anakin recover. That would be quite the gift.
Have any moments featured in Marvel’s Star Wars comics changed how you look at something in the films? Tell me all about it in the comments or come chat with me on Twitter.
Images: Lucasfilm, Disney, Marvel, Giphy
