The following contains spoilers from Star Wars: Darth Vader #26, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Star Wars is overflowing with powerful Sith Lords, especially during the Old Republic era. Legends like Darth Vitiate, Revan, Malgus, and Nihilus (who almost made a recent comics cameo) all dominated the galaxy in their respective time periods, and they have each dominated the Star Wars fandom. In fact, a lot of fans want more Old Republic, Sith-centered content.
For the time being, though, fans will have to make do with more stories from the Skywalker Saga. That's where most of Star Wars' comic content is currently happening, as Qi'ra and Crimson Dawn seek to overthrow the Empire. In Darth Vader #26 (by Greg Pak, Raffaele Ienco, Carlos Lopez, and VC's Joe Caramagna), Emperor Palpatine appeared and made a Return of the Jedi plot hole even worse.
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Over the past few issues, Darth Vader and Padme's former handmaiden Sabe have joined forces to take down a traitorous Imperial Governor. However, she has proven a formidable foe because of a life-draining weapon. That weapon also created an artificial sandstorm that trapped Sabe. So, in Darth Vader #26, the Dark Lord came to her rescue on a podracer. It was a cool callback to Anakin's life, as Vader remembered the best and worst parts of his past.
As he saved her, though, Emperor Palpatine was reading his mind across the galaxy. He could sense that by saving Sabe, Vader was saving his mother and Padme by proxy. It showed that Sabe's presence was slowly making Vader slide back to the Light Side of the Force. Palpatine found that amusing, and there's no doubt that he will punish Vader and eradicate Sabe in the coming issues. However, the fact that Palpatine could read Vader's thoughts so easily may make some fans roll their eyes.
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Mind probing and reading others' thoughts, in general, was something that a lot of Force users could do to some extent. So, it's no surprise that Palpatine would be able to read Vader's mind. Even across the galaxy, the feat was probably of little consequence for such a powerful Sith Lord. Yet, the ease with which he probed his apprentice's mind made his demise in The Return of the Jedi even worse. As every Star Wars fan knows, Vader snapped as he saw the Emperor torturing his son, Luke. At that moment, Vader turned on his master, threw him down the Death Star II's reactor shaft, and redeemed himself.
It was a great, climactic moment, but the fact that the omniscient Emperor didn't sense that Vader was about to snap has always been a bit of a plot hole. Of course, most fans would say that he was too busy frying Luke to notice anything else, and that makes sense, given his sadistic nature. That notwithstanding, if Palpatine could read Vader's thoughts across the galaxy, it makes him not picking up on Vader's "I'm about to throw you down the reactor shaft" even worse.