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At the end of Episode VI, Luke had beaten Darth Vader in a duel, but didn't seem to injure the latter critically — all Luke did was to sever Vader's right hand, which was a prosthetic to begin with. So, why did Vader die after he had thrown the emperor off the deck and saved Luke?

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I just finished my annual Star Wars marathon and picked up your thread. All of the answers are so well thought. I noted to myself that Vader's suit malfuctions before his hand is re-amputated. He falters, weakens and, yes, after he is disarmed (literally), can barely stand even though he did not suffer a mortal wound during his duel with Luke. – Anthony Jan 6 at 6:51
It's entirely possible that he (Darth Vader) simply fell unconscious due to the combined pain of Sith lightning and his suit shutting down. Although I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have survived the Death Star exploding. – Yawus Mar 4 at 16:52

6 Answers

up vote 54 down vote accepted

To add to what jwenting said, you can clearly see Vader hit by the emperor strikes.
This most probably destroyed a part of his suit which he needs as a survival system as Luke said to him when he wanted to remove his helmet.

You can check on this HD video. Here are some screenshots for the proof of the hits. enter image description here
enter image description here
enter image description here

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You've made me curious now; were those skeletal shots in the original moves, or were those something added in when Lucas "revamped" them back whenever that was? – eidylon Apr 22 '11 at 16:52
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@eidylon From what I remember, they were in the original ones but it seems they have been enhanced (and some of them added as I don't remember they were so many occurrences of this X-Ray style effect). – LudoMC Apr 22 '11 at 16:54
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I have the original VHS (I just dated my self I know) and the "skeletal shots" and the "X-ray effect" are in them just not as brilliantly colored/lit. – Vaughn Jul 28 '11 at 4:22
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The skeletal shots are mostly flashes; they're subtler in the movies than in these screen shots because they're interspersed with general flashes of light and the black mask – KeithS Oct 11 '11 at 23:44
Also the fact that his prosthetic arms made him incapable of making force lightning suggests that he is even more vulnerable to electricity than a normal person. – The Lollipop Guildmaster Jan 8 at 0:10
up vote 39 down vote

Vader was probably mortally wounded by the blasts of energy released during the fight, if I remember correctly he was hit multiple times by the Emperor. As he depended on his suit for survival, and it's conceivable the systems in that suit could become overloaded by that energy release, he could possibly be killed by blasts that the healthier, younger, Skywalker could (barely) survive.

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The suit shutdown makes sense since in the end he was able to look at Luke as Anakin not as Vader. – Sinan Apr 22 '11 at 7:57
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"When he could no longer stand it, he lifted the emperor bodily from behind and threw him overboard" yes, and during that time you see energy crackling around them if memory serves. – jwenting Apr 22 '11 at 8:49
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Vader was horribly mutilated, as is clearly visible in the final moments when Luke lifts his mask. In fact Luke tells him he'll not survive having the mask removed and Vader tells Luke he wants to look on his son with his own eyes one more time. So the suit does something to keep him alive. Whether it uses technology, Force, or a combination I can't tell (and the movies of course never mention). – jwenting Apr 22 '11 at 10:25
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I don't know that it is fair to say that Luke was barely surviving the Emperor's assault. It is fair to say the attacks were not pleasant, but despite his advanced age the Emperor could probably still easily overpower and kill Luke had he wanted to. More than likely the Emperor was still trying to turn Luke by torturing him, in order to bring out his anger and hatred. – Xantec Apr 22 '11 at 19:22
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No, he says clearly when Luke protests, "nothing can stop that now", referring to his death. I think the force lightning destroying Vader's built-in life support (and probably damaging his fragile remaining humanoid tissues; remember, both Luke and Vader's bodies were smoking after Palpatine's lightning) is the most logical explanation. Pretty much the entire scene between Luke and Vader/Anakin in the shuttle bay is best understood at face value. – KeithS Oct 11 '11 at 23:47
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up vote 32 down vote

Vader's suit was a life support suit - he couldn't survive outside of it.

The long combat with Luke pushed him towards his physical limits - he is at least 20 years older than Luke, and with very poor health. He'd been drawing heavily on the Force to keep himself moving.

He was injured - the suit was damaged when the cybernetics in his right arm were damaged.

THEN he suffered the extreme emotional turmoil of seeing his son being tortured to death.

When he intervened to stop it (by killing the person who had been his mentor for 20+ years, who had saved his life, and who had helped him save the galaxy - from his POV, at least) he was subjected to several seconds of sustained Force Lightning.

This played merry hell with his already-damaged suit.

The man was beaten into the ground, had to choose between his greatest friend's life and his son's, was electrocuted, and had decades-old mental wounds torn open.

It's not surprising that he died, it's surprising that he lived as long as he did.

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up vote 16 down vote

"Did you ever hear the tale of Darth Plagueis?" The Supreme chancellor (Palpatine) asks Anakin Skywalker this question during the civic performance from his VIP box seat? Thus, preempting a response by Anakin. This is turn sets the stage for the story of a Sith Lord that was so powerful he could even escape death.

Certainly, the suit allowed Vader to live and it's beyond dispute the suit was damaged from the Emperor's force lighting assault on Luke that also rippled through Vader. But I return to Palpatine's original question from SW III and the dark side power his story revealed - the ability to escape even death, and "if we work together (to save Padame)..." These are vital dialogue clues.

I believe Vader's death is not as simple as some would argue. The Force never is. Thus, the suit failure was not catastrophic. It was the Emperor's and Vader's dark side force powers that allowed Vader to thrive from the knowledge of Darth Plagueis- "If we work together"...

Once the Emperor was removed from the equation, Vader's death was inevitable... Vader understood this all to well. It also explains why, after 20 plus years, Vader never slew Palpatine, and became the Emperor himself, which is what Sith do - if anyone has studied their history?

This is why Vader told Luke it was too late. If it were only a matter of the suits mechanical failure though, there would have been time for Luke to get him medical aid by leaving the mask on. He was still laboring with breath. But there is more to it than that.

It had been the dark side of the force that sustained Vader through Palpatine all along. With Vader's sudden disconnection to such power, as well as his turning back to the light side (meaning Vader would not invoke dark side force energy to sustain himself), Vader simply chose to let go... He had found his true peace.

Thus, Vader/Anakin allowed the will of the force to prevail, and in the process fulfilled the prophecy of bringing balance to the force not in a way foreseen by either Jedi or Sith.

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I think you are wrong. At episode 5 he said to his son Luke "Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny! Join me, and together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son! Come with me. It is the only way.". Which means that he has a plan to kill Palpatine. – pichoscosama Jul 31 '11 at 17:26
But would that not be turning to the dark side? Which would keep him alive? – Joe the Person Feb 23 '12 at 3:37
up vote 10 down vote

In conjunction with the life support suit it was probably Anakin's hatred and anger fueling his Sith abilities that allowed him to sustain himself from the end of Eps3 through to Eps6. As he remembered what it was to be a true Jedi by interacting with his son (as early as tESB) that anger began to subside, compromising his Dark Side ability. When he finally died it was likely because he had made peace with himself and simply stopped wanting to live.

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Maybe not so much that he "stopped wanting to live" as simply "was ready to die". Not entirely the same thing. B) – eidylon Apr 22 '11 at 16:13
@eidylon Considering everything "evil" he did as Darth Vader he may not have wanted to live with those memories once he redeemed himself. – Xantec Apr 22 '11 at 16:14
Perhaps. Or he could've also become just as driven light-side to help tear down the Empire. Guess we'll never know; he took it to his pyre! – eidylon Apr 22 '11 at 16:18
up vote 0 down vote

You are all missing something, remember when the Emperor was thrown over the rail and into the shaft Luke crawled over to Vader and his breathing was VERY labored,
someone nailed it on the head, when he picked the emperor up he was absorbing the lightning as Obi-Wan stated "He's more machine now than man" Machines and out of control electricity don't mix, the lightning probably blew every circuit board in his life support, I'm willing to bet the only thing that was working in his system may have been the vocals and the optics...

My theory anyway ...:)

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