Anakin Skywalker’s life was far from easy. His childhood on Tatooine shaped the strong personal ties that he was unwilling to forsake, which ultimately led to his downfall and transformation into Darth Vader. A new comic series is exploring Anakin’s past and putting his deep and complex emotions into perspective.

Star Wars: Legacy of Vader – by Charles Soule, Luke Ross, and Derrick Chew – follows Kylo Ren/Ben Solo as he journeys to the places that hold the most significance in Vader’s life. In issue #2 – released on March 12 – Kylo begins his pilgrimage on Tatooine and is guided by Vader’s cyborg servant, Vaneé.

Many important moments in Anakin’s life occurred on the desert planet, though not all were pleasant memories. Kylo is quick to dismiss Tatooine as a “backwater” Outer Rim planet that both his grandfather and uncle were desperate to escape. However, Vaneé painted another picture.

Anakin's Past Was More Than Just Pain And Suffering

This Is Highlighted In Issue #2

Vaneé is quick to correct Kylo’s opinion of Tatooine, advising him not to dismiss the importance of the planet in Anakin’s history. Without Tatooine, Kylo Ren himself would not be the man he is chasing in his grandfather’s footsteps. Vaneé notes that some of Anakin's most formative events happened there, including meeting Pé, ing the Jedi Order, and losing his mother. Vaneé tells Kylo: "Darth Vader was not forged solely in the fires of Mustafar. The scorched sands of Tatooine played their role as well," before the two go on to explore another important pillar in Anakin’s past: winning the Boonta Eve Classic podrace.

Vaneé soon contradicts himself and explains that Vader’s life was nothing but pain and suffering from the beginning. The existential dread, Vaneé tells Kylo, is what led Vader to such power. However, this notion is the complete opposite of what Vaneé had just told Kylo about the importance of Tatooine and is fundamentally wrong. While Vader may have stewed in his pain, Anakin did not. In fact, it was Anakin’s attachment to memories and people he loved so dearly that made him susceptible to Palpatine’s manipulation and promises that he could preserve that which Anakin held dear.

The prequel movies and the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series flesh out Anakin’s life before he became Vader, showing that he was way more than the bottom line Vaneé tries to reduce him to. Anakin's relationship with Pé, while against the Jedi code, was a source of fulfillment in Anakin’s life, so much so that the two were starting a family together. Anakin also had deep ties to his master, Obi-Wan, and his padawan, Ahsoka Tano. The Clone Wars, especially, goes into detail about these important relationships in Anakin’s life and the good memories associated with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka.

Is Kylo Ren Being Manipulated Like Anakin Skywalker?

Vaneé Is Not A Trustworthy Source

Anakin was more than the anger and dread that made up Darth Vader, which begs the question: why would Vaneé mischaracterize Anakin so greatly if he knew detailed information about the man who would go on to become a feared Sith Lord? Either Vaneé is too far removed from humanity to understand Anakin Skywalker and his very human emotions, or he is purposely trying to manipulate Kylo Ren to keep him on Vader’s path. There is also the possibility that Vaneé is relying solely on the notes left behind by Palpatine to gain insight into Vader’s past.

Vaneé references Palpatine’s extremely detailed notes, which cannot be trusted, as Palpatine’s whole life was marked by the dark side and building an empire of lies. This was especially true when it came to Vader, as Palpatine invested years of effort into manipulating Anakin to the point where he would give into the dark side. Given the fact that Legacy of Vader focuses on Kylo Ren learning more about his grandfather, the more likely answer is that Vaneé knows exactly what he is saying and chooses his words wisely.

It will be interesting to see if Kylo actually learns anything during his pilgrimage into his grandfather’s past, especially about the good that was inside Anakin Skywalker all along.

If Kylo thinks Anakin was in a constant state of suffering since birth, it allows him to unlock more anger and further connect to the dark side. It is interesting that Kylo has not questioned the end of Anakin’s life and how he turned back to the light side in the end for Luke. This creates yet another question of Vaneé loyalty, knowledge, and truthfulness. Though Palpatine was “killed” at Vader’s hands, he managed to survive into the sequel trilogy. Did he continue to take detailed notes after his “death?” If so, would they be truthful?

Though the reasons are muddled, it is clear that the truth about Anakin and who he was as a person is not being told to Kylo Ren. Though readers ultimately know how Kylo’s story ends in Episode IV: The Rise of Skywalker, the exact way he gets to that point is still unfolding in Legacy of Vader. It will be interesting to see if Kylo actually learns anything during his pilgrimage into his grandfather’s past, especially about the good that was inside Anakin Skywalker all along.