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“Star Wars” is a franchise full of memorable deaths for iconic characters. There’s Obi-Wan Kenobi closing his eyes and letting Darth Vader kill him as his body literally evaporates, Boba Fett being swallowed by the Sarlacc (don’t worry, he got better), Emperor Palpatine getting thrown down a reactor shaft (don’t worry, he also got better), and, of course, Darth Maul being cut in half and falling down a shaft (somehow he, too, got better). These are some of the greatest “Star Wars” moments of all time and they are part of what makes the property’s action memorable and creative.
But “Star Wars” is also a franchise that loves taking even the smallest part of the story and making a spin-off designed to answer every unnecessary question no one actually wanted an answer to. From the reason Chewbacca didn’t get a medal for helping to destroy the Death Star to why C-3PO gains a red arm, “Star Wars” comics are filled with unnecessary answers. Still, sometimes the comics ponder interesting scenarios and give old side characters new life. Take Sabé and the rest of Padmé’s handmaidens, who serve only for a silly switcheroo in the prequel trilogy but actually get some depth and a thrilling storyline involving Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” books and comics.
Now, “Star Wars: Legacy of Vader” #2, written by Vader comics veteran Charles Soule and drawn by Luke Ross, is answering one of the most unnecessary questions absolutely no one was asking — what happened to Watto after the prequels? Turns out, the guy who once enslaved Anakin Skywalker and his mother met his doom when Darth Vader went to Tatooine to kill him. That’s right, everyone’s favorite flying stereotype of a blue alien with a trunk-like snout is dead, and we’re all in mourning (as you can see from the various reactions online).
Rest in peace, Watto
It was Mark Paniccia, Senior Editor at Marvel Comics, who gave fans a sneak peek of the comic showing Watto’s cruel and meaningless death on social media. In it, we see Kylo Ren and Vader’s disembodied attendant head Vaneé on Tatooine exploring the Sith Lord’s past, with Vaneé claiming that Vader returned to the planet at some point in the past to pay Watto a visit — a deadly one.
Though some fans have taken issue with Vader going all the way to Tatooine to claim revenge on a guy he hasn’t seen in decades, this is a move Anakin would totally do. Both the “Clone Wars” TV show and recent Vader comics have made it abundantly clear that Anakin was but a pathetically petty man who loved drama. Take the time he nearly ruined his marriage with Padmé out of jealousy over an ex-boyfriend of hers by pulling a “True Lies” and using Jedi resources to spy on them, or the time Vader kept the Grand Inquisitor alive through some ancient Sith magic, binding his very spirit to a Jedi Temple in order to torture him for years. Vader is nothing if not a vengeful drama queen.
In the current canon, we even know that Vader has been slaughtering random Tusken Raider clans while on Tatooine for Imperial business. (Does that mean he knows what Tuskens actually look like without their masks now?) And we know he’s spent decades fantasizing about killing Obi-Wan Kenobi, so why wouldn’t he want to kill Watto?
The real question is why it took him so long. Why did Vader wait so many years to finally hunt down the Toydarian slaver? Most importantly, did he execute anyone else? Are we to believe Vader spent his nights reciting a list of names he wants to kill like Arya in “Game of Thrones?” Because that would be both utterly hilarious and absolutely something Vader would do.
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