Star Wars fans were recently thrown for a loop when the final issue of Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith hit newsstands. The story within the pages of the comic book seemed to imply that Emperor Palpatine was the one responsible for giving Anakin Skywalker life. Fans were left to believe that Palpatine, through the use of the Force, could be Anakin's "father" after a rather vague panel hints at this. However, this apparently is not the case, according to the Lucasfilm Story Group.

In Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith, there is a panel in which we see Emperor Palpatine behind a pregnant Shmi Skywalker. The way the images are laid out, they seem to imply that Palpatine was directly involved in Anakin Skywalker's creation, which sent some Star Wars fans hunting for more clues. Anakin's true origins have been a mystery for a long time, and as it turns out, it's not really something that George Lucas wants explored in any medium. According to Lucasfilm Story Group Creative Executive Matt Martin, Palpatine did not create Anakin Skywalker.

Matt Martin says that the particular scene from the comic book actually takes place in Anakin Skywalker's head. "This is all in Anakin's head... I can tell you definitively, as someone who worked on the comic, that is 100% not the intended implication," said Martin on social media. "It's part of my job to ensure the stories are aligned with the overall vision of Star Wars," continued Martin. "If the intention was to make a direct connection between Palps and Anakin's birth, I would have had it removed." Martin is referring to the fact that George Lucas does not want Anakin's true origins revealed.

When some fans went hunting for more intel, Revenge of the Sith came into play when Palpatine is talking to Anakin about Darth Plagueis. Some have believed for years that Palpatine was revealing that Anakin was his "son." However, this is not the case, as Matt Martin clears up again. He explains.

"He doesn't literally say that. It can certainly be inferred, but he doesn't say it. And even if he literally said it: would you believe him in that situation? It was in an early draft of the film but George removed it because he didn't want Anakin's story to feel predestined."

Whatever the case may be, Star Wars fans were obviously confused by the comic book and after looking at the images, it's easy to see how that happened. With The Rise of Skywalker currently in theaters, fans have figured out that J.J. Abrams left most of the heavy lifting in terms of explanation for future comic books and visual dictionaries. So, it seems obvious to most fans that something as big as Palpatine creating Anakin would be in one of these stories not told on the big screen.

The Rise of Skywalker has opened up the Lucasfilm Story Group with unlimited ways to keep the story moving for the future. J.J. Abrams didn't explain a whole lot, especially when it comes to how Emperor Palpatine is even alive after the Death Star explosion in Return of the Jedi, so we'll see that story outlined somewhere else down the line. But, when it comes to Emperor Palpatine being the father of Anakin Skywalker, that is not the case, which is a good thing when one thinks about it. You can check out some images from the Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comic below, thanks to the Culture Crave Twitter account.