Tao (Jedi)

"You're lacking anger and hatred! Sorely lacking! Become angrier!! Hate me!!"

- Darth Vader, to Tao

Tao was a Human male from the world of Shumari who served as a Jedi, and later a Sith apprentice, during the years of the Galactic Empire. He was the sole survivor of a group of Jedi who fought against Darth Vader on his homeworld, the rest of his companions being murdered by the Dark Lord of the Sith. Tao, however, gave into his anger and chose to continue fighting after the other Jedi&mdash;including his master&mdash;had been killed. Sensing the raw anger in the young Jedi, Vader decided to take Tao as his second secret apprentice, therefore hiding him from Emperor Palpatine. When the Emperor discovered that Vader had a secret apprentice, he forced Vader to mortally wound the young boy. As a result, Vader would return Tao to Shumari to die, but Tao ended up saving his master from an enemy attack that would have killed the Dark Lord. Letting go of the anger that had been rooted in his heart, Tao died in the wastelands of his homeworld.

Battle of Shumari
"Live&hellip;Tao&hellip;live&hellip;live&hellip;"

- Tao's master, upon being killed by Vader

Tao, a male Human, lived on the planet Shumari, located in the Outer Rim Territories. He was part of a small Jedi community living there, and was trained by a bearded Jedi. As the Galactic Civil War progressed, the Galactic Empire launched a mission to subjugate the planet in response to rebel and Jedi activity on the world. The Imperials ordered several Star Destroyers to orbit Shumari and subject it to a heavy orbital bombardment.

Meanwhile, the Jedi that were on the planet were busy fighting the stormtrooper legions which were operating under the command of Darth Vader. Vader, however, was able to singlehandedly kill several of the defending Jedi, while several more were overrun by waves of stormtroopers. Nonetheless, both Tao and his master were left to stand against Vader's onslaught. In the ensuing fight, Tao's master was easily killed by Vader&mdash;upon witnessing the death of his master, Tao gave into his anger and wished to continue fighting the Sith Lord. Vader, however, could feel the hate and anger that radiated off of Tao into the Force, and decided to spare the young boy in order to take him as his own secret apprentice.

As Vader and Tao departed the planet, the Imperial fleet unleashed a massive bombardment which completely annihilated the surface of the planet, essentially turning it into an uninhabitable wasteland.

Vader's apprentice
"I have no more time for you, boy. You're on your own from now on."

- Darth Vader, to Tao

Following the devastation of Shumari, Vader attempted to train Tao in the ways of the dark side, but was unable to get the boy to fully submit to his anger. Meanwhile, Vader was called away to deal with the Battle of Yavin which saw the destruction of the Death Star superweapon. Upon returning to Coruscant, the Dark Lord was faced with the wrath of his own master, Emperor Palpatine, who was displeased that Vader was unable to stop the Death Star from being destroyed. Upon ending this meeting, Vader returned to his meditation chamber feeling angry and frustrated, and Tao confronted the Sith Lord. Angry at what had transpired in the Yavin system, Vader demanded that Tao come at him with all his anger in an attempt to strike him down. Tao, however, was unable to do so, thus stopping the fight and earning his master's disapproval at lacking both the hatred and anger required to be a Sith. Attempting to fuel Tao's anger, Vader reminded his young apprentice of all he had taken away from him&mdash;his homeworld, his friends, and his family, his master, but still Tao was not able to use his anger to strike at Vader. The fight ended with Vader informing Tao that there was no place for weakness in an apprentice of his; Tao, in return, vowed to try harder so he could one day become stronger.

Soon after his training session with Tao, Vader learned the identity of the Rebel pilot who had destroyed the Death Star&mdash;it was his son, Luke Skywalker. Unsure of what to do with this information, Vader began to meditate on it, only to be approached by Tao once again. Though the boy informed Vader that he had been practicing and believed himself ready, Vader told his apprentice that he had no time for him, nor his weakness, and that he was free to go out into the galaxy. Feeling shocked and betrayed, Tao demanded to know why Vader had not simply let him die back on Shumari, but received no answer from his former master.

Tao's freedom did not last long, as he was soon captured by Palpatine and taken by the Emperor's Royal Guards to confront Vader aboard the newly christened Executor. Palpatine, displeased that Vader had betrayed him by hiding his young apprentice, demanded that Vader strike Tao down. Though Vader did not wish to do so, he was unable to do otherwise in the presence of Palpatine, and he used his lightsaber to strike Tao across his chest. The blow, however, did not kill the young boy; instead, it was a mortal blow that limited the time he had left to live. Unsure why he felt that he must, Vader took Tao back to his homeworld of Shumari, and carried the dying boy to the site where he was born. Vader believed that Tao would hate him for what he had done, and was shocked when Tao thanked him for allowing him to die on his homeworld. Before dropping out of consciousness, Tao informed Vader that there was still some good in him, and pleaded that he not give in to the Emperor's hatred. As Tao lost consciousness, Vader felt remorse for the first time in many years.

Sacrifice
"You have good in you&hellip;I believe it&hellip;"

- Tao, to Darth Vader

Vader's moment of sadness was quickly interrupted, however, by a Tusken Raider wielding a modified gaderffii who had been hunting the Sith Lord ever since the destruction of his village on Tatooine. The Tusken quickly gained an advantage over Vader, destroying a part of his helmet and bringing him to his knees. Vader could sense in the Tusken a form of pure anger and hatred&mdash;the dark side personified. It was then that the Tusken revealed that his gaderffii had been modified to house two lightsabers and, just as he was about to kill Vader, was intercepted by a revived Tao who gave his last ounce of strength to save his master, using his lightsaber to kill the Tusken on the spot. Moments later, Tao passed into the Force, but not before telling Vader to let go of his anger. Feeling incredible remorse for the young boy, Vader screamed out in anger and frustration at what he had allowed to transpire.

Before his departure from Shumari, Vader built a simple monument in honor of Tao, carving his name into a stone tablet which became the last man-made structure on the planet.

Personality and traits
Tao was an extremely ambitious and talented individual who held great potential within the Force. However, due to events outside of his control, his young mind was prone to corruption by violent warfare. Following the murder of his master, Tao was taken by Darth Vader, who attempted to turn the young boy to the dark side. Though Tao harbored great amounts of anger with regards to the destruction of his homeworld and the murders of those he loved, he was not able to fully give into the dark side and satisfy the demands of Vader. Due to this, Vader disowned Tao as his apprentice, and was forced by Palpatine to mortally wound the young boy. Tao, however, did not hold any anger towards Vader and was able to let go of the hard feelings that he had held over the colored events of his past.

Powers and abilities
During the Empire's invasion of his homeworld Shumari, Tao, along with his Jedi Master, were able to survive the initial attacks that managed to kill the other defending Jedi. Despite this, Tao's master was killed by Darth Vader and, wishing to avenge his fallen teacher, Tao wished to continue the fight against Vader. Impressed by the raw Force power that the young Tao displayed, Vader took the young boy on as his Sith apprentice. Even though Tao initially demonstrated hatred and anger at their first meeting, Vader was unable to convince Tao to give himself fully over to the dark side of the Force. In several instances, such as following the destruction of the original Death Star, Vader would command Tao to use all his power and hate to strike him down, thus securing his fall to the dark side. Tao, however, would continually fail these small tests which Vader would place before him, refusing to allow himself to use the power which he had originally tapped into on Shumari.

Behind the scenes
Tao's first appearance was in the story Perfect Evil, which spanned issues one and two of Star Wars Manga: Black. Vader's Legacy is currently the tentative title of an article to be written by Abel G. Peña and illustrated by Joe Corroney which will revolve around the legacy of Darth Vader, and which will include information on Tao.

With regard to the original Japanese publications of the Manga comics, Leland Chee described the continuity of these stories as "a bit fuzzy." Since then, they have been republished in English in the United Kingdom. The planet Shumari has also been referenced in The Essential Atlas.

Appearances

 * Perfect Evil

Notes and references
Tao