Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 ended on one of the most shocking cliffhangers in SW comics, as the Sith Lord came face to helmet with his beloved late wife, Padme Amidala. Of course, fans were left wondering how Padme could somehow be back in the flesh during the post-Empire Strikes Back period. Well, the second issue in Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco’s relaunched Darth Vader series is now out, and as you might expect, there’s a twist in the tale.
As many had theorized, the truth is that this is not actually Padme. However, there’s a good reason even Vader was fooled by the lookalike, and that’s because it’s Sabe, the queen’s handmaiden who was such a dead ringer for Padme that she served as a decoy for the Naboo monarch in The Phantom Menace. Fans will remember that she was played by a young Keira Knightley.
See how Vader works out the truth in the page below:
Vader’s droid Zed-6-7 confirms her identity to be Sabe, also noting that she’s actually slightly taller than Padme was, has a more pronounced jaw and her voice is a touch deeper, too. As for what she’s doing there, it’s revealed that Sabe broke into her former mistress’ apartment on Coruscant, just as Vader did, as part of her own hunt to find out what happened to Padme – she has no idea who Vader really is and his part in her death.
Using this to his advantage, Vader plays off Sabe’s own belief that the Emperor is to blame and manipulates her into joining him based on her desire for revenge. As they fly away on his ship, Sabe reveals she found security recordings from Padme’s chambers but can’t decrypt them. Zed-6-7 is up to the task, though, so Vader and the double of his lost love head off to Naboo to retrieve the recordings Sabe has hidden.
Find out what happens next when Star Wars: Darth Vader #3 hits shelves in about a month, on April 15th.