Star Wars reveals Darth Vader killed a prequel character tied to his childhood

Remember Watto, the slave master to a young Anakin and Shmi Skywalker on Tatooine? He has reportedly died at the hands of Darth Vader.

After a controversial run in canon and non-canon Star Wars, the Toydarian junk dealer's final fate will seemingly be revealed in the second edition of Star Wars: The Legacy of Vader published by Marvel Comics. Editor Mark Paniccia shared a sneak peek into some of the panels from the #2 issue, where we can see Ben Solo, AKA Kylo Ren, travel to Tatooine, his grandfather's childhood home planet, to explore further and connect with Anakin's legacy.

One of the flashback panels shows Darth Vader with his lightsaber on, attacking an older Watto trembling in what could only be fear. The speech box says, "Vader must have returned here, taken his revenge."

We first meet Watto in The Phantom Menace when Qui-Gon Jinn walks into his shop to buy spare parts for his spaceship. This is also where we first see Anakin, who was only 10 years old at the time. He refuses to take Republic credits, which paves the way for the iconic pod race scene. The Jedi bets on Anakin, who wins the race despite all the sabotage and gets what he needs for his transport.

He asks for Anakin and his mother to be freed as well, but Watto agrees to let only one go. Without further argument, Qui-Gon chooses the boy. Anakin meets his former master nearly ten years later in Attack of the Clones when he rushes to Tatooine to save Shmi from the Tusken Raiders but fails.

Twitter user @TheCjH_Podcast theorized that Vader must have dealt the fatal blow when he visited Tatooine after the destruction of the first Death Star. The Star Wars: Darth Vader comic delved deep into Anakin's days as the fearsome Sith Lord who kept the Galactic Empire in a literal chokehold. The fan shared some panels from the series, including one where he pays Jabba the Hutt a visit to ask about Luke.

In Legends, Darth Maul killed Watto in Star Wars Visionaries, a comic anthology of 11 stories written and drawn by concept artists who worked on Revenge of the Sith. However, Watto's demise was never explicitly clarified in the Disney era. The new reveal about his death, while being an interesting development, has brought out the hilarious side of the fans on the internet.

Other than discovering what his grandpa was up to as a kid, Kylo Ren will go up against Gardulla the Hutt, her guards, and a Rancor in The Legacy of Vader #2. The series begins on February 5.