Darth Vader It is one of the deadliest forces of power in the world. Star Wars galaxy, but even he was not without his Imperial Guard during the height of the Empire, and that Guard was made up of the most elite soldiers ever put into action: the Death Troopers. Vader’s Death Troopers became an iconic aspect of his menacing image across the galaxy, although they were not meant to be at his side forever. And now, Star Wars has revealed the final fate of Darth Vader’s Death Troopers in official canon.
The Death Troopers were created under the Tarkin Initiative and originally consisted of seven soldiers led by Sergeant Cordo. These soldiers were subjected to the most grueling training imaginable, with rumors that their brains were altered to make them less empathetic and more tactical. Over time, the Empire would also implement cybernetic upgrades to the Death Troopers, making them much more lethal.
The initial idea was for all high-ranking officials within the Empire to have access to Death Troopers (including Grand Admiral Thrawn during the events of Star Wars: Thrawn – Betrayal by Timothy Zahn). However, Darth Vader decided that he wanted the Death Troopers to only serve as his official Imperial Guard, something that would later prove fatal for them, as Darth Vader had just killed his Death Troopers himself.
Darth Vader killed his death troopers (for one key reason)
In Star Wars: Darth Vader #40 by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, Darth Vader and his Death Troopers, along with a small army of reprogrammed droids, assault Emperor Palpatine’s palace on Coruscant with the sole objective of killing the Emperor. Darth Vader has grown tired of the Emperor playing with his life and has decided to usurp his master by any means necessary.
However, once he and his small army engaged the Emperor in battle, Palpatine used his Force lightning to not only trade blows with a lightsaber-wielding Vader, but also to electrocute all the droids he encountered. Darth Vader brought to fight alongside him. Not only that, Palpatine also revealed that Darth Vader’s hand-picked Death Troopers were always loyal to him, not Vader, by ordering them to turn against the man they were once ordered to protect. Then, Darth Vader picked them all up with the Force and simultaneously broke their necks.
Star Wars’ Death Troopers were more than a threat to Vader, but to the entire galaxy
While the Death Troopers weren’t exactly a threat to Darth Vader, they did pose a significant threat to the galaxy before their deaths, as the Scourge took over their minds. Scourge is a viral AI hive mind with the power to assimilate droids and cyborgs, which includes the Death Troopers. When they were taken after betraying Darth Vader, they fled to a ship in an effort to infect the rest of Coruscant and, indeed, the galaxy. In some ways, Darth Vader killing the Death Troopers was one of the most heroic things he’s done since he fell to the dark side, although it can’t be understated how much he surely wanted to feel their necks snapping in his arms. claws of the Force.
It’s fitting that Darth Vader’s Death Troopers are killed by Darth Vader himself, as that seems to be a recurring theme in his cursed life, even if their deaths were more of a necessary act to stop the scourge than an example of the thirst for Vader’s blood. Although that doesn’t take away from how sudden and definitive his deaths were in the panel, as it was a shocking moment that was only satisfying due to the fact that it revealed the fate of Darth Vader‘s Death Troopers in the official Star Wars Canyon.
Star Wars: Darth Vader #40 from Marvel Comics is now available.