Darth Vader Strikes, a comic strip, was authored by Archie Goodwin and brought to life visually by Al Williamson. Its initial publication occurred in 1981 through the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Later, it found its way into the pages of Amazing Heroes magazine, specifically issues #6–12.
Dark Horse Comics later presented it again, beginning on page 16 of Classic Star Wars 2, continuing throughout Classic Star Wars 3, and concluding on page 11 of Classic Star Wars 4. Furthermore, it was available on the webstrips section of StarWars.com, within Hyperspace.
Because Darth Vader is aware of widespread treachery among the Empire's high-ranking officers, he collaborates with Admiral Griff to devise a scheme for exposing them. The Rebels receive a cryptic message from an Imperial admiral, urging them to dispatch a spy to sabotage Vader's latest project. The goal is to make Vader appear incompetent in the eyes of the Emperor. Luke Skywalker volunteers for this mission, accompanied by C-3PO and R2-D2.
Upon reaching the designated coordinates, Luke discovers that Vader's grand project is, in fact, a massive battleship. He secures transportation to the ship courtesy of Tanith Shire and identifies himself to a stormtrooper as a mechanic. The trooper grants him permission to inspect the ship, but stipulates that the droids are not allowed to accompany him. After some debate, Admiral Griff intervenes, allowing Luke to bring the droids along. Following Luke's tour of the vessel, Griff directs him to board the admiral's personal shuttle, which transports him to the nearby planet, Fondor.
Unbeknownst to all involved, Vader and Griff's true objective is to orchestrate a meeting between Luke and the disloyal officials, enabling them to apprehend everyone simultaneously. Griff guides Luke to the steam tunnels beneath the planet's surface, the designated rendezvous point for the traitors. Luke is instructed to deactivate the droids. As the group assembles, they realize they have fallen into a trap and attempt to flee, but their efforts are futile. Without anyone knowing, Tanith Shire has been tailing Luke, and upon witnessing his predicament, she activates the droids. With their assistance, she triggers the release of steam throughout the tunnels. Amidst the ensuing chaos, Luke seizes a stormtrooper's uniform and makes his escape. He and Tanith flee the system, carrying the battleship's technical specifications stored within the droids' memory banks.
Beginning with this particular narrative, each Sunday installment featured a segment known as the "Star Wars Scrapbook." This panel showcased a character, weapon, or vehicle taken from Star Wars lore as it was understood at the time of the comic's creation. The intention behind this panel was to make it easily removable, allowing newspapers that employed alternative layouts for their Sunday comics to omit it without causing readers to miss any essential plot elements.