How This Prequel Character Found Out Vader’s Identity
Few have escaped the wrath of Darth Vader. Even fewer have escaped the wrath of Anakin Skywalker. But that clearly hasn't stopped Sabé from defying both at the same time. The current Darth Vader comic series from writer Greg Pak and artist Raffaele Ienco has been breaking new ground for the famous Sith Lord and various other aspects of the Star Wars galaxy. Solidifying itself with its fist five issues, Darth Vader (2020) began with an arc following Vader immediately after his duel with Luke Skywalker on Cloud City.
With a forensics droid and a few death troopers at his side, Vader became invested in finding out how his son had been hidden from him for so long. This quickly led to him unraveling the mystery of how his wife Padmé Amidala had truly died. As he uncovered the truth of Padmé's death, he crossed paths with one of Padmé's former handmaidens who also served as her decoy in The Phantom Menace; Sabé.
While opposed to the Empire, Sabé had decided that working alongside Vader was the best way for her to discover how Padmé had died so that she could avenge her fallen queen. Vader and Sabé then departed for Naboo as they followed a trail of clues leading to Padmé's ultimate fate. However, Sabé was soon able to deduce that there was but one person who could've killed Padmé; Darth Vader. With that, Sabé turned on the Dark Lord and summoned her army of Amidalans; a group of freedom fighters devoted to fighting the Empire and carrying on Padmé's legacy. After making short work of the Amidalans, Vader followed the trail to the Tomb of Padmé Amidala. There, he discovered a med implant within the tomb, which Vader's droid traced to the Polis Massa base where Padmé had died. Once he defeated the last of the Amidalans, Vader watched a recording of Padmé's final moments, during which she expressed hope that there was still good in her husband. This message shook the Dark Lord to his core and foreshadowed his eventual return to the light before he left Polis Massa and returned to the Emperor's service.
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Following this, Vader would eventually go on to his latest mission; hunting agents of the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn who had infiltrated the Empire. However, unbeknownst to Vader, Sabé had returned and joined Crimson Dawn in order to use the syndicate to her advantage. After viewing the footage of Padmé on Polis Massa, she repaired Vader's damaged forensics droid and reprogrammed him to serve her. Sabé then went on to recruit Ochi of Bestoon, one of Vader's hunters who also secretly served Crimson Dawn, to help her get closer to the Dark Lord. But this plan backfired and Vader discovered Ochi's loyalty to the syndicate, following him as he fled to Naboo and encountering Sabé again.
Upon finding Sabé, Vader took her and Ochi onto an Imperial shuttle and threw them at a pack of ravenous creatures. When Vader asked Sabé if she believed in Crimson Dawn, Sabé claimed she was merely using them and that she and Vader both wanted the same thing; order. To this, Vader levitated the creatures with the Force and told Sabé that there were only two ways to achieve order; by making one's enemies agree or having them destroy each other. Vader went on to throw the creatures at a group of long-necked beasts before using Sabé and Ochi for his next plan.
With Sabé's assistance, Vader drew a Crimson Dawn cell on Oro Sankeria out of hiding while Ochi lured the forces of Imperial General Hurst Romodi to the same planet. Vader and Sabé then watched as the cell and Romodi's traitorous forces were wiped out in the ensuing battle. Vader had done exactly as he said he would, getting his enemies to eliminate one another and inspiring them to fear him. Vader then turned to Sabé and asked her if she feared him as well. To this, Sabé asked him why she should be afraid of Anakin Skywalker, revealing that she had figured out his true identity. As one of Padmé's closest confidantes, Sabé was always aware of her queen's unstable relationship with Anakin, further enforced by the footage of her claiming "There's still good in him" which Sabé viewed herself. She had also seen firsthand how obsessed Vader was with discovering the truth behind Padmé's death. But what I believe fully solidified Vader's true identity in Sabé's mind was when he told her that they would have to make their enemies agree.
This is exactly what Anakin told Padmé during their courtship on Naboo; that they should make elected officials agree with one another to create an effective government. Since Padmé likely informed her close friend Sabé of this following her marriage to Anakin, it makes sense that this comment is what led Sabé to finally connect all of the dots and determine that Darth Vader was in fact Anakin Skywalker. The question now is how will Sabé use this knowledge to her advantage? At the moment, she is begrudgingly working with Vader in order to eliminate both Crimson Dawn and parts of the Empire. But knowing Vader's true identity will no doubt give her a degree of leverage over the Dark Lord. How Sabé will go on to use this leverage will have to be seen in the comic's remaining issues. Greg Pak's Darth Vader series continues to impress me at every turn, giving the iconic villain added depth and dimension while also fleshing out and providing proper closure to other stories and characters in the galaxy far, far away. Sabé has spent most of her life as the Queen's Shadow. But with what she now knows, it seems that she may have a shadow of her own.
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