What did Vader get up to in between Episode 3 and Episode 4?
Some would argue that these are potentially his most interesting years, when he transforms
from the snivelling “I hate sand” Hayden Christensen into the menacing dark lord of
the Sith we all know…
This younger Vader was no doubt more unpredictable, as he’s struggling to adapt to his new suit,
as well as the trauma of losing Padme, Obi Wan, as well as his former self.
Also, he is yet to gain his reputation as someone who should be feared in the galaxy.
As usual we will look at some of the legends material followed by the new canon…
So, in the old canon, after Episode 3, Vader continued to learn about the Sith arts and
also trained Inquisitors to hunt down what was left of the Jedi.
He was also tasked with discovering Force sensitives, so they could be trained in the
dark side.
He mainly dealt with the most powerful of the Jedi that the Inquisitors could not handle
and hunted down rebel cells trying to bring down the Galactic Empire.
In a bid to eventually overthrow the Emperor, Vader sends a secret apprentice, Starkiller,
to hunt down and eradicate the last of the Jedi.
The apprentice, Galen Marek, seeks out the opposers and secret enemies of the Empire
and convinces them to organize to actively fight the Emperor.
The apprentice ultimately turns against both Vader and Palpatine and is killed.
Inspired by the death of Galen Marek, the Corellian Treaty is signed, giving birth to
the Rebel Alliance.
It’s worth noting that during this period, Emperor Palpatine discovers a method of transferring
his consciousness into a new body in a Holocron retrieved from Jedi Master Ashka Boda.
Another good source of legends material is the novel, Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
by James Luceno.
This story begins in the final hours of the Clone Wars, just before the implementation
of Order 66 as depicted in Revenge of the Sith.
When a contingent of clone troopers on the planet Murkhana refuse to open fire on Jedi
Masters Roan Shryne and Bol Chatak, along with Padawan Olee Starstone, Emperor Palpatine
orders Vader to investigate the matter.
Vader's query soon becomes a hunt for the fugitive Jedi, and this takes him to Coruscant,
and from there on to Alderaan and Kashyyyk.
During the course of Vader's search, the whereabouts of several characters from Episode 3, including
Bail Organa, R2-D2 and C-3PO, Chewbacca, and Obi-Wan Kenobi are revealed.
The beginnings of Vader's partnership with Grand Moff Tarkin are also shown.
Luceno devotes much of Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader to the internal conflict that
Vader undergoes as he tries to shed his former identity of Anakin Skywalker and relearn to
master The Force.
Palpatine intends for these early missions that he sends Vader on to be as much about
learning what it means to be a Sith as they are about consolidating the rule of the new
Empire.
The final chapters of the novel depict the beginning of the Imperial enslavement of the
Wookiees of Kashyyyk, an act that will eventually lead to the partnership between Han Solo and
Chewbacca.
The story ends with Obi-Wan Kenobi learning of Vader's survival after their duel on Mustafar.
Fearing for the infant Luke Skywalker's safety, he communes with the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn,
who tells him that Vader will never return to Tatooine; as Qui-Gon explains, the planet
is the whole of everything that was Anakin Skywalker, someone Vader wants to forget forever.
It is revealed that the general public of the galaxy believes that Anakin Skywalker
perished in the attack on the Jedi Temple.
For the new canon, we have the Star Wars Rebels TV series along with several novels…
Vader was the primary antagonist for season two of Rebels after the Inquisitor's death
in season one.
On orders to hunt down the Rebels and especially the Jedi among them, Vader begins an oppressive
campaign against Lothal's populace in order to find the group.
The Ghost crew starts working with the wider Rebel cells.
Minister Maketh Tua, fearing punishment for failing to neutralize the Lothal rebels, tries
to defect to them in order to escape Vader, offering to reveal the truth behind why the
Emperor wants the planet.
However, Vader uses this to his advantage and orchestrates Tua's murder by shuttle explosion,
framing the rebels for the act and turning Lothal's population against them.
The Ghost crew tries to flee but are cornered by Vader, who injures Kanan and Sabine and
nearly kills Ezra before they finally escape.
After being smuggled off-world by Lando Calrissian to escape the Empire, the demoralized crew
meet up with Ahsoka's rebel cell, but Vader pursues them and proceeds to wipe out most
of the rebel ships, discovering Ahsoka in the process.
Ahsoka is horrified to learn that Vader is actually her old Jedi master, Anakin Skywalker.
She joins the Ghost crew as they vow to join the wider fight against the Empire.
Vader later reports Ahsoka's existence to Emperor Palpatine, who issues Vader new orders
to dispatch another one of their Inquisitors to capture the crew of the Ghost.
Ahsoka finally faces Vader – who has cornered Ezra and destroyed his lightsaber – and
comes to terms with his identity as Anakin Skywalker as she engages him in a duel, while
Kanan and Ezra remove the Sith Holocron.
Unable to abandon her old Master, Ahsoka stays within the crumbling temple and stalls Vader
while Ezra, Kanan, and Chopper flee the planet and reunite with the Ghost crew.
Now onto the Tarkin novel by James Luceno…
The story takes place five years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, with Tarkin
firmly entrenched in the Outer Rim, building a secret battle station Star Wars fans are
quite familiar with.
While overseeing this project, a sneak attack by remnants of the Separatist Army opens up
an investigation that requires a meeting between Tarkin and Emperor Palpatine (now revealed
to have the first name, Sheev).
The Emperor puts Tarkin and Vader on the scent, in an ambiguous test of sorts, which pits
two of the deadliest members of the Empire against a small group of malcontents.
A battle of cat and mouse ensues...
So basically we can summarise that Vader was wiping out the remaining Jedi, as well as
various rebel cells, overseeing the development of the Death Star as well as it’s security,
training inquisitors and dark side users, as well as continuing his own dark side teachings
…and secretly making plans to overthrow the Emperor.
So those are all the legends and canon sources that I know of…
If you have any further information please leave a comment in the description.
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Yeees…