# Darth Vader and the destruction of the first Death Star **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260 "2010-07-28T02:45:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/41 "2010-07-30T03:57:47Z")
Had he lived, he certainly would have been demoted from Grand Moff to Moff. ---
**Author:** ![snoopygal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@snoopygal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoopygal)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/42 "2010-07-30T12:07:23Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Expanded Universe, hinted at in Revenge of the Sith: Palpatine and/or his former master discovered a way to transfer one’s conciousness into a cloned body, thereby having the potential to be immortal. In the Expanded Universe Palpatine survived the destruction of DS2 this way. Christ, that’s shit. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/43 "2016-05-14T00:03:43Z")
Apparently other people thought the Emperor would be majorly pissed at Vader too. It was featured prominently in the recent Darth Vader comic series: > **[New Star Wars Comic Will Remind You Why You Love (and Hate) Darth Vader](https://kotaku.com/new-star-wars-comic-will-remind-you-why-you-love-and-h-1685493758)** > > In the first three Star Wars movies, Darth Vader was a fearsome, enigmatic archvillain. The next three Star Wars movies attempted to show Anakin Skywalker as an emotionally turbulent figure of tragedy. The new Darth Vader comic gives readers both of... > [@](#): > > Now, we no longer have the Senate to hold order. We do not have the Death Star to force it. Our greatest weapon is gone. Our production is in ashes. We are BESIEGED. > > In all these years, we have never skirted closer to disaster… thanks to YOU. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/44 "2016-05-14T12:10:34Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Had he lived, he certainly would have been demoted from Grand Moff to Moff. I believe the rank immediately below Grand Moff is Baby Grand Moff. Or does that only work for pianos? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/45 "2016-05-14T12:49:23Z")
Don’t forget Upright Moff and the popular Moff DX-7 ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/46 "2016-05-14T14:25:37Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Well, the Jedi do seem to be a bit mentally challenged about the whole thing. > > “I know, since The Force runs in families, let’s require the Force-strong people who join us to **not have families**!!!” > > :smack: > > Whereas they should have been more like the Psicorps from Babylon 5, intentionally breeding their strongest people together to create stronger Jedi. Well, that pre-supposes that the main objective is to have the strongest possible members. I can see that it might be preferable to have a weak but mostly harmonious Jedi Order, versus one full of strong family dynasties who would be prone to struggle among themselves. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/47 "2016-05-14T15:56:32Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > > [@pravnik](#): > > > > Had he lived, he certainly would have been demoted from Grand Moff to Moff. > > I believe the rank immediately below Grand Moff is Baby Grand Moff. > > Or does that only work for pianos? Spinet Moff? I haven’t seen the movie in decades, but I recall thinking that the DS went the long way round the planet: if they had gone the other direction the Rebel base would have been exposed sooner. Whether or not that’s true, waiting till the base was exposed to energize the planet destroyer was a tactical blunder — it should have been primed to fire as soon as they acquired the target. (It’s just a movie …) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/48 "2016-05-14T17:09:28Z")
I always wondered how Vader got away alive at all, in nothing but a TIE fighter, with no Imperial ships visibly around to pick him up. You’d think his air would have run out before he could get to safety. But, then, we saw in _The Empire Strikes Back_ that even X-wings are capable of interstellar travel. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/49 "2016-05-14T18:52:06Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Well, that pre-supposes that the main objective is to have the strongest possible members. I can see that it might be preferable to have a weak but mostly harmonious Jedi Order, versus one full of strong family dynasties who would be prone to struggle among themselves. In very early concepts of what would become _ **Star Wars** _, the Jedi and the Sith were two rival orders of Force users competing for influence in the Imperial Court ala’ _ **Dune** _. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I always wondered how Vader got away alive at all, in nothing but a TIE fighter, with no Imperial ships visibly around to pick him up. You’d think his air would have run out before he could get to safety. > > But, then, we saw in _The Empire Strikes Back_ that even X-wings are capable of interstellar travel. No, it’s canon that TIE fighters sacrifice hyperspace capability for improved performance. Presumably either Vader could send a distress signal, or else telemetry from the Death Star indicated a disaster had happened (or Tarkin was in the middle of a hyperspace conference with the Emperor saying “Everything’s going splendidly! In another few seconds the Reb”\ BTW: was Vader the sole survivor out of all the Death Star’s personnel? No one else? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/50 "2016-05-14T19:03:47Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I always wondered how Vader got away alive at all, in nothing but a TIE fighter, with no Imperial ships visibly around to pick him up. You’d think his air would have run out before he could get to safety. > > But, then, we saw in _The Empire Strikes Back_ that even X-wings are capable of interstellar travel. My understanding is that Vader’s TIE fighter did have a hyperdrive. He had a model of fighter that you don’t ever see again. Even if we discount that as the explanation, I can’t imagine that the Death Star goes around without any kind of support ships. It may not need them for combat, but personnel changes, supplies, repairs, etc. Just look at all the tenders used in modern navies. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/51 "2016-05-15T00:14:26Z")
The DS came out of hyperspace with a primary between it and Yavin 4. It had to clear the primary before it could destroy the planet. There wasn’t any concern about making sure that the Rebel base sustained a direct hit, since the whole planet was going away. And even if he couldn’t reach Imperial territory in his fighter, Vader _could_ go to ground on Yavin and call for an extraction. Did the Alliance relocate from Yavin 4 immediately after their victory ANH? Seems like the smart thing to do, which would make Vader’s extraction relatively risk-free. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/52 "2016-05-15T00:50:18Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > No, it’s canon that TIE fighters sacrifice hyperspace capability for improved performance. Officially, Vader’s fighter may have had a Hyperdrive. > [@](#): > > BTW: was Vader the sole survivor out of all the Death Star’s personnel? No one else? Actually, there _was_. Due to the fact that there was an extra playing an Imperial officer both here and later on the series, there’s at least one guy who apparently survived. This was apparently an accident from the casting department, but fans-being-fans, this got spun into a whole character with his own history and micro-story. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/53 "2016-05-15T19:23:41Z")
Looking it up on Wookiepedia, seems there’s a currently canon (since it was part of the run-up to The Force Awakens media) story called _Lost Stars_ that touches upon what happened to Vader immediately after the Death Star - he sends a distress signal and gets picked up by the Star Destroyer _Devastator_ (the same one that captured the _Tantive IV_ at the start of A New Hope). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260/54 "2016-05-15T20:51:09Z")
Palpatine could have just been playing a deep game. His main goal was to awaken Vader’s full power - but he also wanted to control it. He engineered the destruction of the Death Star but allowed Vader to feel it had been his responsibility. The guilt of failure and gratitude for being forgiven kept Vader under Palpatine’s control. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/darth-vader-and-the-destruction-of-the-first-death-star/548260.md?page=2)