Though he was considered one of the most powerful
beings in existance during the Jedi purges and the
Galactic Civil War, Darth Vader was forced to wear a
protective life-support suit in order to even breathe.
Just as Anakin Skywalker was trapped deep within
the darkness of Vader, so too was Vader cocooned
inside his grim, black armour.
Vader's suit was comprised of a jet black face-mask -
which could instill fear into many of his enemies just by
what it represented - a dark suit of armour and a
chestplate which contained a control panel unit to
regulate Vader's respirational functions. Three dataports
offered diagnostic checks of his pulmonary, repiratory and neural systems, while a system function box on his belt regulated temperature. Vader also wore durasteel armour to protect his shoulders, upon which he draped a flowing black cape.
The Dark Lord was forced to don his bionic suit after a fierce duel with his old Master, Ben Kenobi, left him for dead with greivous wounds. He survived, but only with the aid of his suit...and the dark side of the Force. His suit evolved over time as more advanced technology became available, though the same fearsome design remained. The only time he could breathe freely was in a special hyperbaric chamber aboard the Executor, though when Vader found himself dying, he ordered his son to take off his menacing helmet so Anakin could finally look upon Luke with his own eyes. |
