The Glove of Darth Vader, a Star Wars Legends young adult novel penned by Paul Davids together with Hollace Davids, showcases internal illustrations created by Karl Kesel. Functioning as the inaugural installment of the unofficially titled "Jedi Prince" saga, it precedes The Lost City of the Jedi. Initially, Bantam Skylark released it as a paperback in June of 1992, later incorporating it into the hardcover compilation Star Wars: Book One in 1997.
The dreadful Death Star has met its end.
The once mighty Empire is now shattered.
Yet, the Dark Side persists.
Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, alongside the brave Rebel Alliance, have bravely stood against the sinister Galactic Empire. United, they've nurtured the flame of hope for freedom, aiding in the revival of the Old Republic, complete with its sagacious Senate and esteemed order of Jedi Knights. However, a fresh menace looms on the horizon for the Alliance.
Deep within the remnants of the malevolent Empire, the surviving Imperial warlords engage in fierce infighting for dominance. The identity of the future leader remains shrouded in mystery, but the Prophets of the Dark Side have proclaimed the imminent rise of a new Emperor, distinguished by an unbreakable emblem of darkness adorning his right hand…
With the Emperor deceased, the Empire is devoid of a legitimate authority figure. The Supreme Prophet Kadann has foreseen that the Empire's next leader will be identified by the indestructible glove of Darth Vader worn on their right hand.
In hopes of uncovering information regarding the forthcoming emperor, the Rebel Alliance, along with the Senate Planetary Intelligence Network (SPIN), dispatch C-3PO and R2-D2, disguised, to the planet of Kessel. There, they witness Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa presenting Trioculus, who asserts himself as the deceased Emperor's son and the Empire's rightful successor. Despite deceiving his followers by seemingly conjuring Force lightning, he insists that his advisors locate the glove to solidify his reign.
Following extensive searches yielding no clues to the glove's location, Captain Dunwell, who is in charge of the Whaladon Processing Center on Mon Calamari, gets in contact to let them know he's discovered the glove in the depths of Mon Calamari's oceans. As fate would have it, Luke Skywalker and Admiral Ackbar, after retrieving the droids from Kessel, transport them to Mon Calamari to access the data R2-D2 has acquired. Even though the Whaladon-hunting submarine is destroyed and Captain Dunwell loses his life, Luke fails to prevent Trioculus from seizing the glove and becoming the new Emperor. Upon their separation, Trioculus vows to annihilate Luke.
A Calamarian minisub originating from The Glove of Darth Vader later appeared within the 2018 canon comic book Darth Vader (2017) 15.
- ISBN 9780553158878 ; June 1992 ; Bantam Skylark ; US paperback [1]
- ISBN 9780553405279 ; April 22 , 1993 ; Bantam Children; UK paperback [4]