Darth Vader

Darth Vader (41 BBY - 4 ABY; born Anakin Skywalker became "Darth Vader" in 19 BBY), was a Sith Lord in the service of Emperor Palpatine.

Biography

 * "He's more machine now than man, twisted and evil." &mdash; Obi-Wan Kenobi

Darth Vader was the Sith title taken by Anakin Skywalker after his transformation to the Dark Side. The personalities were made further distinct when Anakin suffered grievous wounds that caused a complete change in his appearance. As Darth Vader, Anakin became a powerful asset to the fledgling Empire, serving as an enforcer and Jedi hunter.

Vader soon became known as a cruel and frightening figure in the Empire, commonly using the Force to choke those who displeased him. Prior to the Battle of Yavin, Vader was kept somewhat under control by Grand Moff Tarkin, who was able to reign in Vader’s power. When Admiral Motti challenged Vader’s ‘sad devotion’ to the Force, Tarkin prevented Vader from killing the Admiral. The death of Tarkin at the battle of Yavin removed any restrictions on Vader’s power, and Vader soon spread trepidation wherever he was present. In the final stages of the Galactic Civil War, both Admiral Ozzel and Captain Needa died by Vader’s hand. Admiral Piett was curiously spared, despite his failure to recapture the Millenium Falcon.

The Rebellion
Shortly prior to the Battle of Yavin, Vader was charged with tracing the stolen plans of the Death Star and finding the hidden base of the Rebel Alliance. In the process he tortured Leia Organa and witnesses the deaths of billions during the destruction of the planet Alderaan, although Grand Moff Tarkin gave the order. Vader also battled the elderly Obi-Wan Kenobi in their second lightsaber duel against each other. Despite Obi-Wan's vague warning that doing so would make him "more powerful than you can possibly imagine," Vader struck him down, and Obi-Wan become a spirit in the Force in order to guide Luke Skywalker. To determine the location of the rebel base, Vader allowed Luke and Han Solo to rescue Princess Leia and escape with the plans to the construction of the Death Star. During the Battle of Yavin, he piloted a distinctive TIE/Advanced fighter and almost prevented Luke's successful starfighter attack on the Death Star. It was at this moment that Vader sensed the young pilot in his sights was Force sensitive, putting in to motion a series of events that culminated in the death of the Empire. When the Millennium Falcon shot down one of his two support craft, the other veered into Vader's fighter and sent him spinning away from battle station. Vader was able to regain control and escape.

The Son of Skywalker
Vader eventually deduced that Luke was his son, who had been born after all. Vader became obsessed with hunting down Luke, which also coincided with his objective of destroying the Rebellion. Vader dispatched probe droids to remote regions of the galaxy, eventually detecting the Rebel Echo Base on Hoth. Admiral Ozzel incured Vader’s wrath when ruining their stealth attack by exiting hyperspace too close to the planet, allowing the Rebels to detect the attack and project shields against planetary bombardment. Vader himself entered Echo Base, reaching a hanger just in time to see the Millenium Falcon escape. When its hyperdrive failed, Vader ordered pursuit, even through an unstable asteroid field.

While on this pursuit, Vader received a new mission from the Emperor&mdash;to capture Luke Skywalker, his own son and the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. Vader suggested that he could be turned to the Dark Side of the Force, and the Emperor agreed, noting that he would be a "powerful asset".

Vader continued pursuing the Falcon, resorting to hiring bounty hunters. Ultimately, the Falcon appeared and quickly disappeared, hiding in a blind spot on the back of the bridge tower of Captain Needa's Star Destroyer. Captain Needa took responsibility for losing them, and apologized to Vader. After Needa died at Vader's hand, the fleet dispersed and the Falcon broke off, floating away as the Star Destroyer it was attached to dumped its garbage before going to hyperspace. The Falcon then set a course to Cloud City, a mining colony administered by Han's old friend Lando Calrissian. Boba Fett, one of the bounty hunters hired by Vader, had deduced their strategy and followed them to Cloud City, alerting Vader.

Vader landed on Cloud City, threatening Lando into an agreement and waiting for the Falcon's arrival. When the Falcon arrived, Vader captured and tortured Han Solo. Much to the chagrin of Boba Fett, who was already seeking Solo under the hire of Jabba the Hutt, Vader froze Solo in carbonite as a test subject to see if the method would be viable for the younger Skywalker. Luke, training under Yoda on Dagobah, saw a vision of this and rushed to Cloud City to save his friends, despite the sternest warnings from Yoda that he would risk falling to the dark side. Luke arrived, but Leia warned him of the trap within the corridors of Cloud City. Lando, Chewbacca, and Leia engineered an escape from Cloud City as Boba Fett took the frozen Han Solo to collect the bounty from Jabba the Hutt. Luke found Vader, and they battled, Luke not knowing his opponent's true identity. As Yoda and Obi-Wan warned, the inadequately trained Luke was no match for the powerful and experienced Vader who ultimately defeated him, cutting off his right hand.


 * Vader: "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father."
 * Luke: "He told me enough. He told me you killed him!"
 * Vader: "No. I am your father."

Vader asked Luke to join him so that they could destroy the Emperor and rule the galaxy as father and son. Luke, however, profoundly shaken by this stunning claim, refused to join Vader and leapt into the gas vents of Cloud City, managing to survive long enough to be rescued by Leia in the Millennium Falcon. AlsoIt has also been noted that, while Vader killed two of his subordinates, he let Admiral Piett live even though he failed at capturing Luke. This is considered by some to be evidence of Vader's human side starting to become visible-- Vader was too upset to kill his own officer.

Shortly thereafter, the Death Star II was built as an elaborate trap for the Rebellion under the command of Moff Jerjerrod. Vader was sent to oversee the late stages of construction. Vader soon sensed Luke Skywalker on board a shuttle heading for the Endor moon, whilst the Emperor, present during the final stages of construction, does not. Vader attempted to persuade Luke to join the Dark Side, but this time Vader's interests were tinged by a desire to protect his son. When this failed, Vader took him to Emperor Palpatine himself, onboard the incomplete Death Star II. Luke reluctantly fought a lightsaber battle with Vader, all the while attempting to persuade Vader to renounce the dark side of the Force.

Finally, Vader telepathically examined Luke's mind and realized that Leia is Luke's sister (and thus Vader’s daughter), and threatens to turn her to the dark side if he should fail with Luke. Realizing the threat to his sister, Luke's rage was finally unleashed, and he attacked Lord Vader with the dark side of the force, driving him back with a whirlwind of blows. Severing Vader's right hand, Luke's fury was suddenly cut short -- as he stared at his own cybernetic hand, he realized with a visceral horror that he has already begun transforming into Vader's successor. As the Emperor approached, he threw down his lightsaber, abandoning this path, and his new powers. Palpatine, his hate for the Jedi resurging, struck Luke down with Force lightning.

As Luke writhed in agony as the Emperor slowly tortured him, he begged his father for help, Vader turned and, with his remaining hand, lifted the Emperor and threw him into a shaft into the reactor core, where he exploded in a flurry of dark energies. The shock of this nearly killed Vader. In his final moments, he pleaded with Luke to remove his mask, and in his dying breath, found redemption in the light side of the Force. In his final breaths, he told Luke that he was right about him still possessing some good, and to tell this to his sister. Luke escaped with his body, which he cremated that night on the forest moon of Endor.

Later that night, during the celebration on Endor, Luke was able to see the spirit of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker, along with the deceased Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

Darth Vader's Talents
Darth Vader was a brilliant strategist and one of the greatest pilots in the galaxy. Vader still possessed his former persona's amazing engineering skills, having overseen the design of the TIE/Advanced fighter. His talent with the lightsaber was well known. All of these skills, however, are secondary to his incredible mastery of the Force. As Anakin, he had the greatest known midi-chlorian count (a measure of Force-aptitude) in the galaxy, surpassing both Yoda and the Emperor's count. However, after all of his limbs were severed and he was extremely burned on Mustafar he lost much of his Force potential. As Darth Vader, Anakin was believed to have had roughly 80% of the strength of the Emperor. Had he sustained none of his injuries on Mustafar he would have been twice as powerful.

Darth Vader's Appearance
As the Dark Lord of the Sith, Vader's irises would turn fiery yellow when he immersed himself fully in the Dark Side and the passions of hate and anger, but return to normal in his remorse. At first, Vader continued to dress as a Jedi to hide his new identity. After losing an epic duel with his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin was horribly disfigured by injuries and burns suffered on the lava-planet Mustafar. In addition to his horrific scars and maimed torso, Anakin's lungs were seared, leaving him barely able to breathe. Only his burning hatred and lust for revenge kept his will to live intact.

After his rescue by Darth Sidious, it was realized that a cybernetic life support system would be required to sustain Anakin. New mechanical limbs were attached and a breathing modulator was incorporated into an imposing obsidian armored suit. He was forced to wear the armor at all times, except for when meditating or healing in his pressurized containment chamber. Also making him even more intimidating than his ruthless reputation alone, the suited Darth Vader was a towering figure, standing nearly 6 feet 8 inches (2.02 meters). Even amongst his Imperial subordinates, Vader's frightful presence invoked terror. Ahead of his portentous footfalls, Lord Vader's distinctive, cold, raspy breathing sent chills down the spine as it heralded his villainous presence.

Behind the scenes
“However, after all of his limbs were severed and he was extremely burned on Mustafar he lost much of his Force potential. As Darth Vader, Anakin was believed to have had roughly 80% of the strength of the Emperor. Had he sustained none of his injuries on Mustafar he would have been twice as powerful.” -Source: George Lucas The character of Darth Vader was not originally planned to be a suited cyborg. This was created when the concept artist drew the opening scene where the Rebel ship the Tantive IV was being boarded. It was initially imagined that Darth Vader would fly through space to enter the ship, necessitating a suit and breathing mask. This was later made permanent and incorporated in the story.

It is also worth noting that "Vader" is the Dutch word for "father", and it may be tempting to read the character name "Darth Vader" as "Dark Father", a word-play that may well be the root of the Sith title. However judging by the origin of the other Sith names, Vader may also possibly be a derivative of the word invader. However, it is worth noting that in the original scripts for Star Wars, the name "Darth Vader" was given to a normal Imperial general.

Vader's leitmotif is The Imperial March.

Darth Vader as a cultural figure
Due to his central role, Vader has entered the public consciousness as the quintessential frightening villain; the American Film Institute's list of the greatest movie villains placed him third, after Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. Lord Vader's powerful, baritone voice coupled with his heavy breathing is easily recognizable to moviegoers-- it is symbolic of his transformation from a man of the light to an evil cyborg. He has been parodied by such figures as "Dark Helmet" from Spaceballs and countless other parodies from cartoons, such as "Duck Vader" from Tiny Toon Adventures and "Darth Koopa" from Super Mario Bros. (TV), and his name has become a synonym for frightening evil; for example, political strategist Lee Atwater was known as "the Darth Vader of the Republican Party". During a major renovation, Washington National Cathedral held a competition for children to design new gargoyles for the west towers-one winner was a design featuring Darth Vader.

Darth Vader's head gear appears to be modelled on a Japanese kabuto (&#20828;), which is consistent with the samurai-like order of the Jedi and kendo-like lightsaber duels. It also resembles a German World War II-era Stahlhelm.

Many people say that Darth Vader is loosely inspired by the Marvel Universe supervillain Doctor Doom. Considered the greatest comic-book villain of all time, he is similiar to Vader. Both have a commanding presence, both are physically deformed thanks to tragic accidents that cause them to wear armor, both are very highly intelligent, and both were, in a way, good once.

Portrayal
The distictive voice of Darth Vader was played by James Earl Jones. In Episodes IV-VI David Prowse played the body of Vader. Legendary fencer Bob Anderson stood in as a stunt double for David Prowse in Episodes V and VI. In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Hayden Christensen is in the Vader suit, while James Earl Jones reprises his role as the voice of Vader