Before his fall and transformation into the tyrannicalDarth Vader, Anakin Skywalker despised the Jedi. He believed the Order had become corrupt and hypocritical, leveraging the war to gain political power. To Anakin, the Jedi Order was evil. However, after reading through this Star Wars Legends comic, it’s hard to deny that Vader was right about a few things. Maybe the Jedi were evil?
Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison -by W. Haden Blackman and Agustin Alessio - is a Legends-era comic that takes place within the infant moments of theGalactic Empire. Investigatinga nefarious Jedi conspiracyhe had unearthed during his time in the Order, Darth Vader collects a small cell of unlikely Imperial allies to uncover the Jedi secret.
Unknown to everyone but the Council, the Jedi maintained a top-secret prison where they hid their personal enemies away from the eyes of the Republic. Just as Darth Vader thought, theJedi believed they were above the law.
Darth Vader Was Right to Distrust the Jedi Council
Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #1-5 -Written by Haden Blackman; Art by Agustin Alessio; Lettering by Michael Heisler; Cover Art by Dave Wilkins
Before the fall of the Galactic Republic, deeply entrenched inthe ongoing Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker noticed that his deadliest prisoners of war, all lieutenants and officers under Dooku’s command, inexplicably vanished. He compelled the Council to explain why his prisoners conveniently disappeared from Republic records after being handed off to the Jedi, only for his concerns to be ignored. EvenObi-Wan kept Anakin in the dark, downplaying his concerns, practicallygaslighting his apprenticebefore shoving him out the door. In secret, the Jedi had been running a private prison, exclusively holdingtop-ranking soldiers of the Confederacy.
Star Wars: I Can’t See Darth Vader’s Redemption The Same After Learning About Sith Hell
All Sith Lords are destined to endlessly suffer in Chaos, but I think Darth Vader would have become something worse than what he was in life.
Anakin wouldn’t have a chance to uncover the truth about the Jedi’s secret prison, commonly referred to as the “Prism,” until after the Empire’s formation and his transformation into Darth Vader. Yes, Darth Vader was heavilyswayed by the Dark Sideand was a puppet to Emperor Palpatine’s machinations, but his originaldistrust of the Jedi Orderwas sound. The Jedi believed that the Republic was incapable of handling Dooku’s rabid soldiers, when in reality the Prism was explicitly designed tohold the enemies of their religious order.
The Jedi Council Treated Anakin Like a Tool of Warfare, Not an Equal
The Council’s Dependency on Secrets Defined Anakin’s Distrust
Darth Vader was right. The Jedi Council were liars and traitors, conspiring against due process and transparency.
The Jedi Council, no better than the Republic or the Empire, was a corrupt organization that practiced the “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality of leadership. Theirdependency on secrets and subterfuge, while sending their best to die in a political war, is what ultimately defined Anakin’s distrust of the Order. Even Obi-Wan did not know of the prison’s location at first. As long as it was “for the sake of peace,” the Council justified their actionswhich, had it been the Republic or the Confederacy, the Order would normally have condemned.
Darth Vader was right.The Jedi Council were liars and traitors,conspiring against due process and transparency. Upon setting foot inside the prison for the first time, Vader feels immediate vindication. It’s revealed that of the 208 prisoners, overhalf were captured by Anakin.It’s hard to see this information and not see the unjust cruelty in the Council’s actions towards Anakin.Obi-Wanadmits that Anakin is best suited for battle, but clearly not trusted enough to know where his prisoners were going. The Jedi Council, including Kenobi, treated Anakin asnothing more than a tool of war.
The Jedi Never Served the Republic or Democracy, They Served Themselves
It’s Hard to Maintain the Democratic Process When Your Organization Is Built on Secrecy
While the prison and the prisoners were kept in impeccable condition, something that, admittedly, the Republic would have failed to maintain, it doesn’t soften the inherent problem of the Council’s secrecy. The Jedi Order was supposed to be a religious organization that served as peacekeepers. Instead, theytrained their children to fight in warand kept secret prisons outside the eyes of the legitimate government. The Jedi believed that they wereabove the law, above due process, andabove the galaxy. The Prism wasn’t designed to help the Republic, it was designed to quietly removeDooku’s influence and power.
No, I can’t exactly justifyeverything Darth Vader has done. His version of “peace” doesn’t justify his means. However, he was right about the Jedi Order and the Council. Who’s to say that, if the Empire had never formed, the Jedi would have let the Republic know about the Prism? One justification leads to many more, another fault Anakin saw in the Order.The Jedi didn’t serve the Republic, they served themselvesand their own goals. The Jedi devolved into nothing short of a tribal war council, propagated by their lies and secrecy, somethingDarth Vaderknew from the start.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Conceived by the will of the Force itself, Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring the Force into balance. Anakin struggled to balance competing attachments to the Jedi Order and his wife Padmé Amidala, and ultimately fell to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader. For years he served as Palpatine’s right hand man, but he was ultimately redeemed by the faith of his son, Luke Skywalker. Now a Force Ghost, Anakin continues to act as an agent of balance.
