10 Hidden Features of Darth Vader’s Iconic Suit You Won’t Believe

Darth Vader is possibly the best-known Star Wars character and one of the most intimidating. His presence chokes the room, and his black suit plays a big role with his personality.

From his first entrance in A New Hope to his reprised roles in the Rogue One movie and Obi-Wan Kenobi series, Vader and his suit have captivated audiences.

Below are 10 interesting facts about Darth Vader’s suit that you probably did know about.

#10 The Suit Has a Complex Life-support System

The suit not only protects Darth Vader, but it also keeps him alive. It has a complex life-support system that includes a breathing apparatus in the middle of the suit.

As many Star Wars fans know, the suit allowed Vader to stay alive after his lightsaber fight with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar. It encased his burned body and lungs and provided life support with oxygen.

Yet, audiences probably do not know about the breathing apparatus. The chest plate and belt have controls for his life support that include releasing enough oxygen not just to survive, but to withstand almost any environment.

Although Vader can survive without his helmet for a limited time, he depends on the breathing apparatus that connects with his helmet. The breathing system also creates that menacing sound.

#9 The Helmet Has Three Parts

Vader’s helmet comes in three parts: the neck gaiter, the primary mask, and the outer shell. The neck gaiter protects his neck, has a feeding tube, and voice modulator.

The primary mask protects his eyes and enhances his vision (more below). As noted above, this section is also crucial for breathing.

The outer shell keeps the mask in place and gives Vader that distinctive look. It serves to protect and intimidate.

All three parts of the helmet combine with the suit so Vader can survive and be a famous villain.

#8 His Mask Has Ultra Vision

Vader’s primary mask accompanied the suit to restore his vision after Mustafar. The lenses in the mask also provide him with infrared and ultraviolet vision. This range of vision extends beyond human capacity.

His infrared and ultraviolet vision have been displayed in some of the movies. In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, audiences saw this ultra-seeing power when Anakin transformed into Darth Vader. This was an update to the darker lenses of the original trilogy.

The red tint of his lenses was also captured in Rogue One, reflecting a progression in technology and an ultraviolet and infrared seeing ability.

Vader’s suit would not be the same without a mask that sees more than his opponent’s can.

#7 Vader’s Boots are Magnetic

Darth Vader’s armored boots also came with the suit and are equipped with magnetic clamps that allow him to attach to metal surfaces. This provides incredible stability.

As fans commented, Vader withstood the space pressure in Rogue One because of these boots. Otherwise, he would have been pulled into space, as General Grievous was in Revenge of the Sith.

These boots also helped him in his fight with Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. They keep Vader in place under extreme conditions and help complete his intimidating look.

#6 His Suit Was Intentionally Uncomfortable

Dark Vader’s suit is not easy to wear and was made that way on purpose. It is intentionally uncomfortable to fuel Vader’s anger and allow him to move.

As the second item on this video list, the suit is claustrophobic, irritates his burned skin, and was not updated to fuel Vader’s rage. This is what Darth Sidious wanted so that Vader would fully tap into his dark side powers.

The suit has needles to transmit information that allows Vader to move his limbs. These pinpoints also circulate data for his life-support system.

Vader only got breaks from this uncomfortable existence in his meditation chambers and Bacta tanks.

#5 Vader’s Suit Allows Him to Breathe in Space

One of the remarkable features of Darth Vader’s suit is that he can go into space with it and breathe. He has proven this ability in the comics and movies.

Vader is seen in Rogue One looking out into space from the edge of a docking station. As we can see near the end of this clip, he stands there impervious to space conditions and breathing fine.

In Star Wars Comic #17, we see another example of Vader breathing in space when he flies a Tie fighter with a damaged cockpit window. He is exposed to open space here too.

Combined with the Force, Vader’s suit allows him to breathe in space. His life-support system circulates air while the Force enables him to hold air longer than usual.

#4 Boosted Strength

Through customization, Vader enhanced his suit to make himself stronger. With his suit, Vader can lift enormous objects.

His mechanical limbs bestow Vader with the strength to lift humans with ease, as he famously did in A New Hope with a rebel leader.

Vader has also shown his incredible strength in the Star Wars: Rebels show when an AT-AT Walker fell on him and he lifted it off with ease.

His suit grants him compounded strength as it protects him.

#3 Vader’s Suit is Fireproof

Vader’s suit is composed mainly of the metal alloy Durasteel, which provides incredible protective benefits while still being flexible.

The suit has layers that protect Vader from fire, including a large strip on his torso area. His helmet is almost sealed air-tight to the midsection.

Underneath the suit, Vader also wears a body glove garment that is fireproof. Between these two layers alone, Vader’s suit protects him from fire.

Yet, he has his cape too. Vader’s cape is made from armorweave and is resistant to laser blasters and lightsabers, and it is fireproof.

#2 Vader’s Suit Was Meant to be Vulnerable

With all the strengths of the suit, one main weakness was planned from the start. Darth Sidious made the suit vulnerable to Force lightning.

As this video explains, the Emperor made the suit to be superconductive of electricity in case Vader tried to overthrow him. Darth Sidious also wanted Vader to be dependent on his suit so that he could control him.

We can see this main vulnerability come out in Return of the Jedi when the Emperor’s Force lightning inflicts mortal damage on Vader. After electrocuting Luke nearly to death, Vader picks up the Emperor to throw him down the energy shaft, but the Force lightning races through Vader’s suit.

An incredible suit but with a major flaw.

#1 Vader’s Helmet and Suit Were Inspired by History

Vader’s unique helmet comes from a dark side of history, the Nazis. The costume designer John Mollo drew on the black helmets worn by Nazis during World War II. The helmet was injected with real-life evil.

Concept artist Ralph McQuarrie also drew on samurai history for Vader’s suit and films by Akira Kurosawa depicting the samurai. George Lucas was a fan of Kurosawa and wanted this side of history to play a role in Vader’s suit. These inspirations correspond with other elements of Star Wars, such as stormtroopers and both World Wars. History helped shape Vader and his suit for generations.

Todd Wahlstrom

Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan who has expanded into writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has written about recent shows such as The Mandalorian and Andor and classic topics like Darth Vader, the Jedi, and Boba Fett. His recent articles include the MCU’s Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. Todd is the author of a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.