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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga Was Vader in constant pain in the suit?

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by theman54, Sep 29, 2011.

  1. theman54

    theman54 Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 26, 2005
    Did Vader spend the rest of his life in constant pain after he was hooked up to the suit? Or did the pain end a short time after his injuries on Mustafar?
     
  2. StampidHD280pro

    StampidHD280pro Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jul 28, 2005
    Yup. The dark side IS pain.
     
  3. Darth_Pevra

    Darth_Pevra Chosen One star 6

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    May 21, 2008
    Yes. Even so it enhances his connection to the dark side.
     
    WIERD_GREEN_MAN likes this.
  4. DarthBandersnatch

    DarthBandersnatch Jedi Master star 1

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    Jul 28, 2011
    Yes, but he also had a lifetime supply of free Morphine thanks to Palpycare. [face_alien_1]
     
  5. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    *snort*

    Jokes aside, I could see Palpatine denying him painkiller just because he could. Therefore my answer would be yes.
     
    WIERD_GREEN_MAN likes this.
  6. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Apr 26, 2009
    I could see Vader denying himself painkillers, partly out of self-loathing, partly to fuel his connection to the Dark Side.

    Seemed to work for twenty-odd years. He didn't exactly seem like a doped-up cripple during the OT.
     
  7. theman54

    theman54 Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 26, 2005
    So, are any of these answers to be taken seriously? Does anyone have evidence?

    And when I was talking about pain, I was referring to physical pain. Not emotional pain or spiritual pain or metaphorical pain. Just simple, basic, physical pain.
     
  8. StampidHD280pro

    StampidHD280pro Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jul 28, 2005
    [face_laugh]But true.
     
  9. DarthBandersnatch

    DarthBandersnatch Jedi Master star 1

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    Jul 28, 2011
    Only when he laughed.
     
  10. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Apr 26, 2009
    Pretty sure there's EU stuff referring to the suit providing painkillers, although 'Dark Lord' suggests that early on the suit was designed deliberately by Palpatine to be uncomfortable & painful.
    'Shadows Of The Empire' suggested that Vader thrived on the pain somewhat to fuel his rage, don't recall if it said anything about the suit itself.

    All there is in the films is his meditation chamber in ESB, in which a number of fans have spotted medical equipment which looked as if it was there to keep him alive & reduce basic pain. GL has referred to Vader's suit as "a walking iron lung", i.e. a life support system, so one would expect that there would be some sort of painkilling function to it.

    However, given the twisted nature of a person whose power is derived from anger, I can still see Vader using the physical pain as a driving force.
     
  11. Darth_Pevra

    Darth_Pevra Chosen One star 6

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    May 21, 2008
    @ Darth_Nub

    Never got this part in Dark Lord. Seemed like illogical hogwash to me.

    @ theman

    Medicine in Star Wars isn't very good and too much morphine creates an addiction. Something that Vader can't allow himself to have. I think he uses painkillers to remove most pain but some pain remains.

    Or maybe he thrives on the pain. With Vader that wouldn't come as an surprise.

    Are you serious?

    Firstly it isn't wise for Palpatine to deny his pupil this. Vader is much more easily persuaded by stroking his ego and giving him the attention he needs. Fighting with him however is going to get him angry, and angry is bad even for the master. Vader might do something horrible with the imperial fleet if the stakes were raised. Worst case scenario: He defects to the rebellion. Palpatine isn't a fool. He knows "my friend" works like a charm. Sure, Vader knows it is a lie, but he's lonely. Even the illusion of affection is better than nothing.

    Secondly there's no logic behind denying him painkillers. It would just make Vader less effective if the pain were to strong.
     
  12. Darth_Nub

    Darth_Nub Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Apr 26, 2009
    It sort of made sense to me - it's the abusive attitude of certain masters towards their subjects, in order to keep them subservient. Vader may have considered himself the Emperor's right hand, Palpatine himself probably regarded Vader as little more than a powerful attack dog. Beat it, deprive it, keep it completely dependent - then, when it's needed, it'll be particularly vicious towards whatever target the master decides has to be ripped to pieces.

    "Governor Tarkin. I should have expected you to be holding Vader's leash."

    Of course, a good few of these savage beasts eventually turn upon their masters, just as Vader did.
     
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  13. Darth_Pevra

    Darth_Pevra Chosen One star 6

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    May 21, 2008
    Well, Palpatine has given him control of the imperial fleet and enough might to sacrifice star destroyers with impunity. Abusing a man with such power is foolish. In TESB at least Vader had enough power to stage a military coup and destroy Palpatines rule, especially if he allied himself with the Alliance. A beast will bite sooner than a civilised man and Vader is all but civilised.

    I don't believe Palpatine to be foolish. What I think is that he increasingly lost his sanity through the course of the movies. In ANH his increased hunger for power shows when he dissolves the senate. In TESB he is first wisely careful by wanting Skywalker eliminated, but then his greed (and Vaders manipulations) gets the better of him. In ROTJ he completely looses it with his insanely risky Endor trap and torturing the son of his second in command in front of him.
     
  14. theman54

    theman54 Jedi Master star 2

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    Jul 26, 2005
    The burns from Mustafar were eternally painful? I would've expected them to heal at some point.
     
  15. CT-867-5309

    CT-867-5309 Chosen One star 7

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    Jan 5, 2011
    Except for that miracle fluid known as bacta, that heals just about everything. Oh, and if it can't be healed they'll just give you a cybernetic replacement.

    Indeed. Furthermore, I would think most of his nerve endings would have been destroyed, dulling his sensitivity to pain.
     
  16. Darth_Pevra

    Darth_Pevra Chosen One star 6

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    May 21, 2008
    I could counter that with "she lost the will to live" and the use of prosthestics instead of regenerating tissue. Also they seem to use no painkillers or anesthetics.
    Medicine in Star Wars ... a plot device?
     
  17. DARTH_DEEZY

    DARTH_DEEZY Jedi Knight star 1

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    Mar 4, 2011
    The Answers you seek are in the novel "Dark Lord"
     
  18. DARTH_BELO

    DARTH_BELO Force Ghost star 5

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    Nov 25, 2003
    Agreed. I was just gonna say, Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader gives some interesting insight to the pain and discomfort Vader experiences as he's getting used to his new mechanical suit-mainly the legs, if I remember correctly.
     
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  19. janstett

    janstett Jedi Master star 3

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    May 29, 2004
    Do some reading on burn victims and skin graft transplantees. The skin is always hard and brittle, causing constant pain and discomfort; it always cracks and bleeds creating new wounds, and infection is a constant threat; at best the skin becomes numb and inflexible. The skin itself is an organ. Further, it's implied in the movies because of the iron lung breathing, but expanded upon in SOTE, his air sacs in his lungs are burned from inhaling the hot ash on Mustafar, which is supposedly also very painful in real life when breathing in scorching hot air and volcanic dust. His lungs are essentially destroyed. In SOTE he meditates on breathing on his own using the dark side but can only sustain it for short periods of time, even with all of his rage.
     
  20. obi-arin-kenobi

    obi-arin-kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jun 10, 2005
    Pain? Of course not.
     
  21. Arawn_Fenn

    Arawn_Fenn Chosen One star 7

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    Jul 2, 2004
     
  22. darth_frared

    darth_frared Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Jun 24, 2005
    i should think painkillers do not actually help much, not with the injuries he sustained. and physical pain is also emotional pain.

    one of the things i was always struck by when i saw ROTS was that he basically loses all contact with the outside world. he cannot feel anymore, he becomes completely alienated from himself. i wonder how that works for multiple amputees as well, what happens when you are so limited in feeling yourself?
     
  23. Dark Lady Mara

    Dark Lady Mara Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jun 19, 1999
    Fighting myself not to make any innuendo jokes... but you're right, even with the artificial limbs, Vader can't really touch his own skin anymore. His body is fundamentally altered both inside and outside the suit.

    I think his scar tissue might cause him pain whenever he moves.
     
  24. darth_frared

    darth_frared Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Jun 24, 2005
    har, i did have a lot of innuendo at the ready myself!

     
  25. Eternity85

    Eternity85 Jedi Master star 3

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    Jan 24, 2008
    I believe you feel nothing. And i believe that is worse than actually feeling pain. Pain is a compass, without pain you are lost.. Vader needed pain; if he did not feel all that pain he wouldnt have saved Luke!