Rogue One is the only film in Disney’s Star Wars era that almost everyone enjoyed, and with good reason, too. One of the aspects that made Gareth Edwards’ movie such a blast was its respect for the lore of that galaxy far, far away and how it expanded on it after the Prequels era.
In fairness, the return of Darth Vader to the big screen is enough to drive any fan over the edge, but what accompanied this comeback was a look into the fallen hero’s life in the days of the Empire. For one thing, we learned that Palpatine’s apprentice spends most of his time inside his fortress on Mustafar. An odd choice, to be sure, but it also gives a profound reflection into Vader’s mentality. After all, this was the place where Anakin’s worst day came to pass. The day he killed his wife and duelled his former master on the treacherous molten slopes of the lava planet.
One question remained unresolved, though: Who was the Chosen One’s mysterious servant, a figure named Vaneé in the movie? Well, a new comic titled Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader’s Castle finally answers this after four years.
Apparently, the volcanic gases on Mustafar trigger terrifying hallucinations for those who come in contact with it. Vader is obviously immune to this due to his respirator, but it means that he can’t make use of his Imperial servants, lest they go mad. To find a solution, he searches the Empire’s databanks, eventually discovering an inspector who could endure the dangerous fumes.
As the new Star Wars comic explains, Vaneé had gone to Mustafar to investigate why Imperial officers were going insane, but when he confronted the iconic villain, the dark lord used the Force to expose him to the gases until at last he broke his will, turning him into an obedient Sith cultist. As of now, though, we don’t know what happened to the poor soul after Vader’s death and the fall of the Empire.
