Anakin Skywalker

"You are the Chosen One. You have brought balance to this world. Stay on this path and you will do it again&hellip; for the galaxy. But beware&hellip; your heart&hellip;"

- The Father's last words, to Anakin Skywalker

Anakin Skywalker, a Force-sensitive human male, was a Jedi Knight of the Galactic Republic and the Chosen One of the Force. During the Clone Wars, his accomplishments as a battlefield commander earned him the Hero With No Fear moniker. After turning to the dark side of the Force, he became known as Darth Vader&mdash;Dark Lord of the Sith and apprentice to Emperor Darth Sidious. As a Sith Lord, Vader turned against his former comrades and hunted the surviving Jedi into near extinction. He became an enforcer of the Galactic Empire, who worked to crush the Alliance to Restore the Republic for opposing his Sith Master's will. Yet despite his actions as Darth Vader, a glimmer of the light side of the Force remained within the former Anakin Skywalker.

Skywalker was born in the year 41 BBY before moving to the Outer Rim planet Tatooine during the Age of the Republic. Although he had a mother, the slave Shmi Skywalker, the truth about his parentage was that Anakin had no father&mdash;leading Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn to suspect that Skywalker's conception was the work of the midi-chlorians. Recognizing the boy's unprecedented connection to the Force, Jinn was determined to see Skywalker trained as a member of the Jedi Order, the task of which ultimately fell to his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi following Jinn's death in 32 BBY.

Over the next decade, Skywalker rose to become one of the strongest Jedi in galactic history. While he was both caring and compassionate, his fear of loss was ultimately the catalyst for his downfall. During the war, Skywalker trained a Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, who ultimately left the Jedi Order after she was framed for the terrorist attack on the Jedi Temple. The loss of Tano affected Skywalker on a personal level, causing him to feel more isolated and bitter towards the Jedi High Council. With the Clone Wars nearing conclusion, Skywalker succumbed to the temptations of the dark side, believing the Sith had the power to save the life of Senator Padmé Amidala, his secret wife. Christened "Darth Vader" by his new Master Darth Sidious, the newly-minted Sith Lord assaulted the Coruscant Jedi Temple, killing fully-trained Jedi and novice younglings alike.

After assassinating the leaders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Vader was confronted on Mustafar by his one-time friend and mentor, Kenobi, resulting in a lightsaber duel that left Vader burned and mutilated. As a consequence of his defeat, he was rebuilt as a cyborg and encased in a life-sustaining suit of armor, further distancing the persona of Vader from that of Anakin Skywalker. In addition, Amidala's death in childbirth broke the fallen Jedi Knight's heart, leaving him more machine than man mentally as well as physically.

Throughout the Dark Times, the former Anakin Skywalker brought fear to the galaxy in his capacity as the Emperor's dark enforcer. However, in spite of his deep immersion in darkness, Vader never succeeded in fully killing the side of himself that was Skywalker. His confrontation with his son, the aspiring Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, during the Galactic Civil War awoke the compassion within the Sith Lord, causing Vader to renounce his allegiance to the Sith in order to save Luke from the Emperor's wrath. By killing his Master, however, Vader sustained critical damage to his armor, making death inevitable. Resigned to his fate, his dying wish was to see his son with his own eyes for the first and final time. In the end, he died not as Darth Vader but as Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One who brought balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. His destiny fulfilled, Skywalker's consciousness was able to endure beyond death due to his sacrifice and redemption, allowing him to live on in spirit alongside his deceased Jedi mentors, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Grand Master Yoda. Yet the legacy of Vader also survived through Kylo Ren, his grandson by Princess Leia Organa. As Vader's descendant, Ren believed it was his destiny to complete his grandfather's legacy: the annihilation of the Jedi Order.

Early life
"Had he been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early. The Force is unusually strong with him, that much is clear. Who is his father?''" "''There was no father. I carried him, I gave birth, I raised him, I can't explain what happened."

- Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker

Believed to have been conceived by the midi-chlorians, Anakin Skywalker was born to the slave Shmi Skywalker. Skywalker and his mother were originally owned by Gardulla the Hutt until she lost them to the Toydarian Watto in a podracing bet when Skywalker was around age 3. The two then moved to the desert world of Tatooine. Affectionately nicknamed "Ani," he worked in his master's shop, located in Mos Espa.

Even at a young age, Skywalker exhibited exceptional piloting skills, and built the protocol droid C-3PO, specially modified to withstand Tatooine's sand and heat, for his mother. Once, while he was working in Watto's scrap yard, he found a broken servomotor he thought he could repair and use on the droid he was building and asked his master for it. With a glance, Watto saw that it was worthless and grunted that he could, but as Skywalker walked away, Watto told him nothing was free, and had him work harder the next day. Skywalker got the photoreceptors for the droid at a market in Mos Espa. Though a Gran wanted them too and chased him through the market, Skywalker escaped by destroying an Ithorian's stall and blocking the Gran's pursuit. He was close friends with fellow slaves Kitster Banai and Wald, as well as the elderly Jira. He also built his own podracer.

At some point, Watto told Anakin to go and throw away some scrap. When looking at it, Anakin found an ultra power cell, just what he needed for his pod. Suddenly, a swoop gang with a Devaronian member attacked the streets and shot the generator for the medical center. When Anakin examined it to see if he could repair the generator he saw that it needed a power cell. So, he took his and saved the medical center. A week later, Anakin participated in a pod race with Sebulba who made him lose by cheating. Anakin stated that if he would have used the power cell on his own pod, he would have won but that it was more important for the medical center to receive it.

Discovery
"There's something about this boy."

- Qui-Gon Jinn

One day, at the age of 9, Watto shouted for him to come inside the junk shop, to find a tall man, a young woman, a Gungan, Jar Jar Binks and an astromech droid, R2-D2, conversing with Watto. At Watto's instructions, Skywalker manned the shop while Watto took the man, Qui-Gon Jinn, into the junkyard. Skywalker was fascinated by the beauty of the young woman, Padmé Naberrie so much that he asked her if she was an angel from the moons of Iego, but shortly after Watto and Jinn returned to the shop, and Jinn informed his companions that they were leaving. Fortunately for Skywalker, Watto allowed him to leave after he cleaned up the mess that Binks had made. As he headed home, Skywalker came across Binks, who was being attacked by Sebulba after the clumsy Gungan had disrupted the racer's meal. Breaking up the fight, Skywalker greeted Naberrie and the rest of her group when they arrived to see what was happening, and he convinced the group to follow him to Jira's fruit stand nearby. As he gave one of the pallies to Jinn, the boy was astonished to see a lightsaber on the man's waist when his poncho opened slightly. When Jira warned the group that a sandstorm was coming, Skywalker insisted that the unprepared group come with him to his home.

When they reached his house, he introduced the group to his mother and explained about the sandstorm before pulling Naberrie into his room to show her his project. Naberrie was genuinely impressed by Skywalker's work on C-3PO, prompting him to turn the droid on, and he also told her about the podracer he was constructing. The group stayed at the Skywalkers’ as the sandstorm continued to rage, and during a meal, he began to explain life as a slave, though a brief argument between Naberrie and Shmi about slavery led Anakin to the subject of podracing. Mustering his courage, Skywalker asked Jinn about his lightsaber, and he refused to believe the Jedi's statement that he was not there to free the slaves. As the conversation turned to the group's damaged Naboo Royal Starship, Skywalker volunteered to race in the Boonta Eve Classic podrace so that Jinn could get the prize money. When his mother objected, Anakin reminded Shmi of her belief that people needed to help one another, convincing her to allow Anakin to race for Jinn. The next morning, Jinn and the others accompanied Skywalker to Watto's shop, and the boy began to tell Watto about Jinn's proposal when Naberrie stopped Jinn outside for a brief conversation. To appease Watto, Jinn put forth his ship as the entry fee, and convinced the Toydarian to front the cost of Skywalker's entry into the race in exchange for splitting the winnings fifty-fifty. Watto accepted the deal, and Skywalker was dismissed immediately with instructions to check out Jinn's podracer. As Skywalker worked, his friends Banai and Wald among them, arrived, but Wald, and the others were skeptical of Skywalker's chances and left to go play elsewhere, except for Banai. Despite Skywalker's warnings, Binks became caught between the podracer's energy binders, causing his face to go numb. Anakin used a power pack that Jinn had lifted from Watto's shop to start the podracer, and the group was heartened to witness the engines activating and running perfectly.

That afternoon, Skywalker sustained a cut on his arm, though he did not notice it until later that night when Jinn tended to it and took a sample of his blood. Before Skywalker could get Jinn to tell him what he was doing with his blood, his mother called him inside their house for bedtime.

Racing to freedom
"Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Use your instincts." "I will." "May the Force be with you."

- Qui-Gon Jinn advises Anakin before the beginning of the podrace.

With two eopies, Naberrie, Banai, Shmi, Anakin, R2-D2, and C-3PO hauled the podracer to the arena hangars, where Jinn had gone to meet with Watto. The Toydarian angrily left the hangar just as they arrived, confusing Skywalker with a comment about Jinn and betting, but Banai unintentionally revealed to Naberrie and the others that Skywalker had never actually finished a race, causing Naberrie to lose hope in the boy's chances.

A little while later, the racers and their pods entered the arena and lined up for the race, and Shmi stopped her son to ask him to be safe before he headed out to his racer. not even Sebulba's threats rattled Skywalker as Jinn helped him into the podracer cockpit. But to Skywalker's dismay, when the starting light turned green, the pod's engines stalled immediately, leaving him stuck at the staring line with only Ben Quadinaros and his stalled racer as the rest of the competitors flew off. Realizing that he had leave out one step to start the pod, he rapidly flipped switches and adjusted settings to reset the engines and succeeded in starting the engines, flying out of the arena and chasing after the others.

He soon caught up to the other racers, passing two before they even noticed him, and he prepared to pass the Troiken Gasgano as they approached Arch Canyon. Gasgano blocked his first few attempts, but Skywalker overtook him as they dropped over a short mesa and proceeded to slip into Arch Canyon quickly and without any trouble. Teemto Pagalies tried to push him into the rock, but Skywalker was able to pass him with a twist. Sebulba tossed a piece of debris behind him and into Mars Guo's left engine intake, clogging the motors inside. The engine intake stopped working before the entire engine combusted. With Guo crashing into the desert sands, Skywalker was free to move ahead, going neck and neck with Sebulba as they passed the grid line into the third lap.

Going into the third lap, Sebulba still held the lead, as narrow as it was. With Skywalker close behind, and now out of surprise tricks, Sebulba resorted to sheer brutality in order to either keep Skywalker behind him or batter the boy enough to destroy his pod. Approaching the Laguna Caves, a part of the course where Tyerell had crashed earlier, Sebulba rammed Skywalker off course, forcing him onto a steep service ramp. Boosting, Skywalker sped up the ramp at an exhilarating speed, propelling himself into the sky. The boy was quick to act and adjusted his pod accordingly, leveling his Podracer's nosedive as he headed back for the ground. Not only did he save himself from an explosive wreck, but his jump off of the ramp put him directly in front of a surprised Sebulba. Skywalker continued to hold the lead until they ran into a series of archways. Suddenly Skywalker's left engine bucked and began to give off a stream of dense smoke. Sebulba's earlier sabotage was beginning to take effect as Skywalker pushed his pod to its limit. Skywalker managed to resolve his engine difficulties and quickly regained his ground, passing up several other Podracers before gaining a tail on Gasgano. Although Skywalker had had issues with passing the Xexto earlier in the race, this time he swerved past Gasgano with little effort and eventually flew parallel with Sebulba as they headed for the final stretch of the course.

As they approached the arena, Sebulba blocked every attempt of Skywalker's to pass, and he finally swerved his larger racer into Skywalker's in anger at the boy's repeated attempts—only for the two racers' steering rods to be caught together. When Skywalker's rod finally snapped completely, his podracer began to shudder violently but broke free of Sebulba's racer, the engines of which shot forward and went flying out of control, slamming into rock and sand and exploding. As Sebulba's pod skidded to a halt, Skywalker shot toward the arena and across the finish line, winning the Boonta Eve Classic.

As Skywalker came to a halt, the crowd swarmed his racer. Jinn hoisted Skywalker onto his shoulders in celebration. In the hangar, Skywalker met up with his family and friends. As Jinn approached, Anakin became embarrassed at Naberrie and his mother's constant hugs and kisses, but Jinn soon departed with Binks and Naberrie to take their parts back to the ship.

Farewell to home
"Be brave. And don't look back."

- Shmi Skywalker's parting words to her son

Returning home with Jinn, Skywalker ecstatically showed his mother the credits, and his happiness only increased when Jinn told him that he had been freed and Jinn wanted him to become a Jedi. Anakin was so excited that it was several minutes before he realized that Shmi had not been freed as well, and he was dismayed when Shmi insisted that Anakin go with Jinn to a better future without her. Packing his stuff, Skywalker bid goodbye to C-3PO, but when it came time to leave, Anakin's resolve broke and he ran back to his mother. He promised that he would return and free her. Despite their sorrow at parting, Shmi convinced her son to go with the Jedi.

As they raced towards the starship that Naberrie and Jinn had come to Tatooine on, Skywalker was suddenly ordered to drop to the ground and complied just as a dark-robed figure, Sith Lord Darth Maul, shot overhead on a speeder. The man leapt at Jinn, drawing a red-bladed lightsaber and attacking the Jedi as Jinn urged Skywalker to get aboard the ship and to take off. He rushed aboard, and Naberrie took him to the cockpit to tell Jinn's apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, what had happened. The pilot Ric Olié followed Kenobi's instructions to fly towards the fight, and Skywalker scrambled into a seat as Kenobi raced to the landing ramp and helped Jinn escape from the dark warrior. Skywalker and Kenobi rushed to help Jinn as the ship took off and left Tatooine. When they were convinced Qui-Gon was fine, the Jedi master introduced Obi-Wan to Anakin, who was happy to meet another Jedi.

Before the Jedi Council
"He is the Chosen One. You must see it!"

- Qui-Gon Jinn pleads to the Council to train Anakin.

Later that night, aboard the ship, which Skywalker learned was the personal starship of the Queen of the planet Naboo, Skywalker struggled to fall asleep in the central chamber, as the ship's temperature was radically different to the constant heat of Tatooine that he was used. As he huddled in silence, Skywalker witnessed Naberrie enter the room and watch a recording of a plea for help from the Naboo official Sio Bibble. She soon noticed him and gave him her a blanket, and the two discussed the Trade Federation’s invasion of Naboo and Naberrie's hopes that the Republic's Galactic Senate could resolve the crisis. Skywalker gave her a japor ivory wood pendant that he had carved for her so that she would remember him, and Naberrie comforted him as he become sad as he remembered his mother.

When they finally arrived at the Republic capital of Coruscant, Skywalker watched from the cockpit in awe as they approached the city-planet, and the ship was greeted when it landed by Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, Senator Palpatine of Naboo, and a contingent of Senate Guards. The Queen and her handmaidens&mdash;including Naberrie&mdash;departed with Palpatine, though they brought Skywalker and Binks along with them to Palpatine's office and left them outside while they discussed the situation.

Before he went to the Jedi Temple, Skywalker went to the Queen's chambers in search of Naberrie, but the Queen promised to pass on his message when the handmaiden was absent. Unbeknownst to Skywalker, however, the Queen was in fact Padmé.

Harboring strong premonitions he had received on Tatooine, Qui-Gon Jinn believed Anakin Skywalker to be the Chosen One of prophecy who, it was foretold, would bring "balance to the Force"; Jinn revealed his belief and Anakin's corroborative midi-chlorian test results to members of the Jedi High Council before bringing the boy before them for their consideration of the boy's aptitude for life as a Jedi. At the Jedi Temple, Skywalker faced the twelve Jedi Masters on the Council. Mace Windu tested Skywalker's abilities by asking him to determine what images were appearing on a screen that the Jedi was holding but that the boy could not see. Skywalker named them all with perfect accuracy. However, when Windu and Master Yoda questioned him about his feelings and his mother, Skywalker asked how that was relevant. Yoda explained that fear was the starting point on the path to the dark side. The ancient Jedi Master said he sensed a lot of fear in Skywalker.

As night fell, Skywalker, Kenobi, and Jinn were called before the Council. The Jedi Masters acknowledged Skywalker's great power, but refused to train him on account of his age&mdash;causing Jinn to declare that he would take the boy on as his own apprentice. However, Windu declared that the matter would be dealt with later, as the Naboo problem was more pressing. The Council permitted Skywalker to accompany Jinn, and the three returned to the Queen's starship, where Skywalker questioned Jinn about midi-chlorians. The Queen and her retinue departed not long afterwards, leaving Coruscant and heading back to the occupied Naboo in hopes of freeing the world from the Trade Federation.

First Battle of Naboo
"Now this is podracing!"

- Anakin, escaping the droid control ship

As they came out of hyperspace and approached the Naboo system, Skywalker sat in the cockpit with Olié and learned about the ship's controls while Queen Amidala held a meeting with the Jedi and her staff and announced her intentions to ally with the Gungans in order to drive the Trade Federation off Naboo. The group landed in the swamps of Naboo and sent Binks to the Gungan capital city of Otoh Gunga. When Binks finally returned, he explained that Otoh Gunga was empty, but he took the group to the Gungan Sacred Place where the Gungans had no doubt fled after the Trade Federation invaded.

When the group was brought before Boss Rugor Nass, the leader of the Gungans, Skywalker was astonished to learn that Naberrie was in fact Padmé Amidala, the Queen, and that she had been posing as her double's handmaiden as a safety precaution. Skywalker, the Jedi, and Amidala's handmaidens joined the Queen in dropping to their knees before Boss Nass in a plea for Gungan aid, and Nass agreed to lend his army to the Queen's cause. In the hours that followed the meeting, Amidala and the Jedi began strategizing with the Gungan generals, leaving Skywalker to wander over to the Gungan sentries who were keeping watch for the returning Captain Panaka.

Anakin was the member of the group which, led by Amidala, grabbed the chance to recapture the Theed Royal Palace. When the group entered the Theed hangar bay, Skywalker heeded Jinn's command for him to stay hidden in the cockpit of one of the hangar's N-1 starfighters. When several droidekas cornered the Naboo personnel in a firefight, Skywalker attempted to aid them with the N1's blaster cannons, although he accidentally activated the ship to go into space in the process. Skywalker fought in the Battle of Naboo in a vicious starfighter battle above the planet. After accidentally joining the battle in orbit, Skywalker single-handedly destroyed the orbital Droid Control Ship from within the ship, thus rendering the Trade Federation's ground forces inactive and saving the Gungan Grand Army from destruction. The following celebration, however, was tainted with the death of Jinn, slain by Darth Maul.

However, during the Master's funeral, Obi-Wan told him that he would fulfill Qui-Gon's last wish and train him to be a Jedi. The Naboo and the Gungans held a parade in Theed to celebrate their victory and mark their newfound friendship.

Kenobi's Padawan
"His education is... complicated. He came to us later than we would ordinarily have liked. Obi-Wan took on an extremely difficult task when he accepted Anakin as his Padawan."

- Mace Windu to Sheev Palpatine, on Skywalker's training

As he grew, Skywalker's exceptional skills made him cocky, but he nevertheless idolized Kenobi, thinking there was "no one better" than his master. During one of their many adventures, he also rescued Kenobi after he fell into a nest of gundarks. During his time as Kenobi's apprentice, Skywalker was distrustful of teachers who corrected him, wondering if they were trying to help him or simply put him in his place, knowing that many hadn't wanted him trained in the first place. He found it hard to make friends, as his fellow Padawans were all aware of the rumors of him being the Chosen One. Often lonely, he generally spent his free time in his quarters tinkering with machinery he found in trips outside the Jedi Temple. He also harbored a lingering resentment regarding the fate of his mother.

Mission to Dallenor
Sometime after his enrollment into the Order, Skywalker was meditating with his master while also holding together many pebbles using the Force. However, when Master Tosan informed his master that he had a mission from the Council, Anakin's concentration broke due to the surprise of him leaving again. The mission was to go to Dallenor so that he can collect an ancient Jedi holocron from a dig site. Obi-Wan told Anakin that he would be back shortly and that he would be training with Yoda in the meantime. Skywalker, displeased, complained that he would have to be in the class with 'little kids' and that he was far ahead of them in his training. However he complied and spent his time with the younglings, although he didn't enjoy himself. However, after some encouragement from Yoda, Kenobi took Skywalker along with him on the missionin a T-6 shuttle.

Skywalker was glad that he was finally in space again and asked if he could pilot the shuttle, however, Kenobi told him that he could when they get closer to Dallenor. Skywalker asked what Obi-Wan's life was like before joining the Jedi Order. Kenobi told him that he didn't remember as he was taken in at a very young age. Anakin, sadly, expressed that he was always a Jedi and nothing else. Kenobi tried to reassure him by telling him that he still needed to train and was a Padawan when they both met. However, Skywalker was unconvinced and stated that his life was already set out for him and that he wasn't anything else, unlike him who was a slave. Skywalker concluded that this must be why the Jedi Council said he was too old to be trained. Obi-Wan tried to reassure him again by saying that the Council wasn't perfect and that Qui-Gon Jinn chose him just like he chose Kenobi. Skywalker, angered, got up and proclaimed that his Kenobi's master was dead and that now he was stuck with him now. Before Kenobi could reassure Anakin, he walked away.

Upon arriving on Dallenor, Kenobi and Skywalker encountered a female Togruta archaeologist named Clatriffe. She was glad that they arrived so they could take the holocron away due to the fact that it was causing problems. She explained that the local pirates wanted to get it and she had to hire local guards to keep them at bay. Kenobi ordered Skywalker to stay outside to keep watch whilst he and Clatriffe went inside the facility to obtain the holocron. After they went inside, Skywalker noticed that the pirates had arrived.

Kenobi, Skywalker and Clatriffe went out to meet them and were introduce to the Krypder Riders and their leader Hudso Shaku who knew that the holocron was something important due to offworlders wanting to get it. Kenobi stated that they had come in peace but were willing to defend themselves. He activated his lightsaber to which Shaku ordered his pirates to attack the him because he found the laser sword to be more valuable then the things that they dug up. Kenobi quickly disarmed the pirates but, while Skywalker froze up due to the suddenness of the attack, Shaku captured him by placing his sword under his chin. He ordered a trade, the boy for the lightsaber but was taken down by Skywalker using the force to assault Shaku with small pebbles. With Shaku knocked unconscious and the pirates weapons destroyed, they surrendered to the Jedi.

On the shuttle home, Kenobi praised Skywalker for his great work on his first mission. Skywalker, however, exclaimed that he froze up and wasn't ready for a mission even though he believed otherwise. Kenobi reassured Skywalker that it was he who was not ready. He asked that since he couldn't save his master from dying, how could he save his Padawan. Skywalker, with renewed confidence, stated that they would save each other and that it's what Qui-Gon would have wanted. Kenobi agreed and then recalled that Anakin wanted to fly the shuttle. Skywalker, in response said yes enthusiastically.

Further Training at the Temple
By the time he was 12 in 29 BBY, he had built his first lightsaber; after its construction, Kenobi said to him, "Anakin, this weapon is your life". Three years after the Battle of Naboo, Skywalker sought to impress his peers at the Jedi Temple. During a training session, he defeated a training droid, which he had programmed to mimic the appearance of the Sith of Naboo. All the while, Mace Windu, Kenobi, and Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine watched—the last of whom was impressed. Sometime later, Skywalker struggled to learn the skill of taming creatures when Kenobi told him that the Chancellor wanted to see him. The two arrived at his office, where Palpatine requested that Skywalker accompany him on an errand, declining Kenobi's company. Left alone, Skywalker escorted Palpatine to Club Kasakar in Level 2685, all the while listening to Palpatine express concern for the situation on the sub-surface levels of Coruscant, the inability of the Jedi to respond efficiently, and the corruption that plagued the Senate, such as Colandrus—subtly, and unbeknownst to Skywalker, marking the beginning of his influence over him. At the end of the errand, Palpatine asked if Skywalker was happy as he was. Though Skywalker answered that he was and that "training to become a Jedi [was] all [he] ever wanted," it did plant a seed of doubt in his mind.

Later, at the Jedi Temple, Skywalker confided in Kenobi that he wished to leave the Order, feeling uncomfortable at the prospect of his entire life being decided when he was only nine years old, and surrendered his lightsaber to his master. Though Kenobi took the weapon, he pleaded for Skywalker to reconsider.

Mission to Carnelion IV
"The road lies before you, Anakin Skywalker. Will you walk it alone?''" "''No, Master. As a Jedi. If you'll show me the way."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker

Before Skywalker could give his definite answer, at Yoda's behest, both student and master responded to a mysterious distress signal from the supposedly dead world of Carnelion IV that specifically called for Jedi intercession. They began their journey to the coordinates, but their shuttle was damaged due to the planet's atmospheric debris field, and the two had to eject from the doomed vessel, landing below the Celadon Sea. Not too long afterwards, they came to be aware of life on the planet as a sky battle raged over them, and Kenobi returned his lightsaber to him so that he could defend himself. As one of the combatant airships began to fall, Skywalker and Kenobi saved its two-person crew by delaying the crash.

The two survivors, Kolara and Mother Pran, who identified themselves as "Open," knew nothing about what a Jedi was. They were forced to take cover when a "Closed" airship, which Kenobi fell; Skywalker saved its pilot, Grecker, from falling to his death. But due to the historical feud between their factions, Grecker and Pran tried to murder each other, forcing Skywalker and Kenobi to destroy their weapons and to escort them to safety. To facilitate their journey, they used the intact parts of each of their airships to form a new one in order to fly to their destination. During the conversations that ensued, Skywalker mentioned his and Kenobi's purpose on the planet: to find the person who had sent the Jedi distress signal, which alerted Pran and Grecker to the location of "the scavenger."

During the journey, Kolara told Skywalker about the mysterious kites, before noticing that he was good at fixing things, as he made an adjustment to his lightsaber. Kolara and Pran then had Skywalker repair a bag of droid brains and, seeing his usefulness, threw away his lightsaber and abducted him when a horde of fishers attacked the ship, leaving Kenobi alone with Grecker as the airship crashed below the Celadon Sea. Skywalker was taken to one of the Open's fortresses, where he witnessed as Pran used the processors he had repaired to activate some battle droids. As they left to wage war on the mysterious scavenger (who reminded both Open and Closed of everything they had lost and how badly they had failed), Skywalker remained with the younger Open, whom he convinced to protect the scavenger and help him get back to Kenobi.

Using their help, Skywalker fixed the remaining droids and intervened in the skirmish between the Open and Closed unfolding right next to Sera's fortress. He saved his master from Mother Pran and met with Kolara and Sera, but rather than try to stop the fight, Kenobi had Skywalker repair a communications unit and called the Republic for aid. Soon enough, a task force arrived and forced the natives to cease hostilities. In the aftermath, his master offered Skywalker his lightsaber, asking if he was still adamant about leaving the Order, but Skywalker decided to remain a member.

Protecting Padmé Amidala
"Ani? My goodness, you've grown."

- Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker

Ten years after the Battle of Naboo in 22 BBY, as the Separatist Crisis threatened to tear the Galactic Republic apart, Skywalker, now 19, and Kenobi were sent to settle a border dispute on Ansion. Upon their return to Coruscant, an assassination attempt on Padmé Amidala, now Senator of Naboo, prompted the Jedi Council—at the behest of Chancellor Palpatine—to send Skywalker and Kenobi to protect Amidala from future attacks. Anakin was delighted to see her after so many years; he had thought about her every day since they parted. When Padmé said she wanted to know who wanted her dead, and Obi-Wan started to explain that they were only there to protect her life, not to investigate, Anakin promised Padmé to find who was responsible, annoying Obi-Wan. When Padmé retreated to her chambers, Anakin was disappointed, claiming that Padmé hardly even recognized him; however, Jar Jar, who was representative in the Senate during this time, said, Padmé was very happy to see him.

During that night, Anakin and Padmé agreed on a plan of using her as bait, in order to capture the assassin, much to Obi-Wan’s dismay. Anakin told him that although Padmé had covered the cameras in her bedchamber, he was certain he would sense if anything were to happen in the room. Kenobi had doubts about his Padawan’s power. Shortly after, when his master noticed that Skywalker was tired, he admitted that he had constant nightmares about his mother; he also revealed his powerful affection for Amidala. Obi-Wan warned him to control his emotions, saying that Padmé was a politician after all, and could not be trusted. This led the two into a debate about whether every politician, including Amidala and Palpatine, was corrupt. As Skywalker expressed his faith in Palpatine’s benevolence, he sensed something in Padmé’s room. He arrived just in time to cut two venomous kouhuns in half, just a few centimeters from the senator’s face. Obi-Wan noticed the assassin’s droid at the window and threw himself out, grabbing it.

Anakin rushed to a row of speeders parked near Padmé’s apartment. When the bounty hunter Zam Wesell shot her droid down, Skywalker arrived upon the scene as his Master was in free fall. Catching Kenobi, the Padawan continued the pursuit of Wesell's airspeeder. Spotting the Jedi, Wesell took her speeder on a nosedive—plunging several meters toward the lower levels of Coruscant. With the Jedi relentlessly pursuing her, Wesell flew through the exhaust flames of the Kerdos Company recycling plant, hoping that the flames would scorch her adversaries in the open-top speeder. Seeing the pair still chasing her and unharmed by the flames, Wesell fired at the couplings of a nearby electrical plant, causing the Jedi's speeder to be inundated by electrical shock.

Skywalker, an expert pilot himself, quickly caught up to Wesell. The bounty hunter steered her craft into a network of skytunnels, aiming once again to lose the pursuing Jedi. Skywalker did not chase directly into the tunnel, but opted to travel an alternate route. Wesell wove through the local network of tunnels. Anakin and Obi-Wan thought they lost her, but just a few minutes later Anakin noticed the bounty hunter’s airspeeder below, and jumped out, let his body drop the intervening distance through the air, then latched a firm hand-grip to its rear canopy handle. He ultimately was forced to let go when she shot at him, although not before getting a good look at her, wherein he deduced that Zam was not only a female, but also a changeling (he'd briefly glimpsed Wesell's true form when she looked up). The Jedi ignited his lightsaber and sliced at the windscreen, knocking out the guidance systems. Wesell shot the lightsaber out of Skywalker's hand, but the ensuing struggle caused Wesell to misfire her blaster pistol, damaging the control pipes. Meanwhile, Kenobi, who was behind Wesell at this point, captured Skywalker's lightsaber. The airspeeder began to plummet toward the surface, crashing near the Outlander Club. Wesell crawled from the crash site and fled into the club.

Anakin was about to follow Zam into the building, when Obi-Wan stopped him, returning to him his lightsaber, reiterating, "this weapon is your life." As they headed to the Outlander, Kenobi said he had the feeling his apprentice would be the death of him. Anakin indignantly responded that Obi-Wan was like a father to him. Inside the Outlander Club, Anakin was instructed by his master to search the premises while he went for a drink at the bar. Wesell hid until the two Jedi separated, then slowly approached the seemingly vulnerable Jedi at the bar. To secure the accuracy of her shot, she continued approaching the Jedi with her weapon drawn while Kenobi, through the Force, sensed the bounty hunter's intentions. In an instant, Kenobi ignited his lightsaber, spun around, and severed Wesell's arm below the elbow.

Skywalker and Kenobi took the wounded bounty hunter and dragged her from the club, setting her in an alley behind the club for interrogation. Wesell was initially reluctant to give any information about who had hired her, replying that it had simply been a job. As Skywalker pressed her, however, Wesell prepared to divulge the information. Suddenly, a mysterious figure fired a toxic dart into Zam’s neck.

Return to Tatooine
"Ani? Is it you? Ani?''" "''I'm here mom, you're safe."

- Shmi Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker

Subsequently, the Council sent the Master and Padawan on separate missions—Skywalker, on his first solo mission, would protect Amidala on Naboo, whereas Kenobi continued an investigation into Amidala's aggressors that took him to Kamino.

While on Naboo, as he experienced inner conflict between his strong desires for her and his duties as a Jedi, Skywalker revealed to Amidala his love for her, but she refused since Skywalker was not supposed to form attachments as a Jedi, even though she felt the same for him. Skywalker was also troubled by dreams of his mother suffering, which prompted him to return to Tatooine and rescue her, to which Amidala agreed to accompany him. On Tatooine, the two located Watto, who revealed that he had sold Shmi to a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars. The couple then visited the Lars farm only to discover that Shmi had been abducted by Tusken Raiders about a month before their arrival, and was feared dead. Determined to save her at all costs, Skywalker took the swoop bike of his stepbrother, Owen Lars, and went looking for his mother.

Though he managed to find her in a Tusken camp, she died in his arms moments later. Consumed with grief and rage, Skywalker slaughtered the entire village of Tusken Raiders—men, women, and children. Only then did Skywalker bring his mother's body back to the homestead, where her funeral was held, and when he claimed he would become so powerful in the Force he could stop the people he loved from dying. The event left him full of pain and guilt, for failing her and failing as a Jedi, as well as haunted by the prospect of letting go of the people he loved.

First Battle of Geonosis
"You call this a diplomatic solution?''" "''No, I call it aggressive negotiations."

- Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala

It was then that Skywalker received a message from Kenobi telling him of Separatist presence on Geonosis, which they retransmitted to Coruscant so that the Jedi Council could see it for themselves. Upon learning he had been captured, Skywalker and Amidala departed for the planet, where they entered one of the factories (where his lightsaber was destroyed) but were subsequently captured and placed with Kenobi into the Petranaki arena to be executed by beasts. However, the trio managed to avoid the creatures (in Skywalker's case, a reek), only to be surrounded by droidekas on Count Dooku's orders. However, a Jedi assault team, led by Mace Windu, arrived to rescue them. Nevertheless, they fought a losing battle against Separatist forces, including the B2 super battle droids, until Master Yoda arrived with the newly established Grand Army of the Republic and safely boarded the survivors of the arena—including Skywalker, Kenobi and Amidala—onto LAAT/i gunships. As the battle raged between the clone army and the Separatist Droid Army, they caught sight of Dooku; though Amidala and a clone trooper were knocked from the troop bay by a cannon blast, Skywalker and Kenobi continued to pursue the Count to a secret hangar, where they engaged him in a duel.

Both were defeated, and though Kenobi suffered minor wounds, Skywalker lost his right forearm. It was then that Yoda arrived and fought Dooku until the Sith Lord made his escape on his solar sailer. The battle had proven to be the start of the Clone Wars, and Skywalker received a cybernetic replacement for his lost arm and, while Kenobi returned to Coruscant, accompanied Amidala to Naboo, where they were secretly married, their sole attendants being their faithful droids R2-D2 and C-3PO.

The Clone Wars
"You fought in the Clone Wars?''" "Yes. I was once a Jedi knight, the same as your father. [...] He was the best star pilot in the galaxy, and a cunning warrior. [...]'' And he was a good friend."

- Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, on Anakin Skywalker

Skywalker was knighted to fight in the war, and he became a General in the Grand Army of the Republic during the galaxy-spanning Clone Wars. The 501st Legion was under his command during much of the war effort, his "first"-in-command" often being Clone Captain CT-7567. The clone was also known by his nickname of "Rex", and, while at first Rex needed to adapt to his maverick Jedi General because of the Clone Captain's by-the-book and no-nonsense nature, Rex would come to admire, and even would sometimes emulate, Skywalker's willingness to bend the rules and genius for improvisation, and Skywalker and Rex would even become friends.

The Venator-class Star Destroyer Resolute served as his personal flagship, under the admiralty of Wullf Yularen. He also built a new lightsaber to replace the one lost in Geonosis.

Battle of Arantara
"A true leader always leads from the front."

- Anakin Skywalker to Captain Rex

Anakin Skywalker participated in the Battle of Arantara. At some point during the battle, Captain Rex was wounded and unconscious. After been found by Skywalker, Rex was surprised to see that he had come back for him. Skywalker responded that it should have been him in his place and that a true leader always lead from the front.

Battles at Corvair sector and Kudo III
"&hellip;Let's finish this."

- Anakin Skywalker

Skywalker led several of his bombers and fighters against the Separatists in the Corvair sector. After defeating the separatist fighters, Skywalker spoke with Admiral Yularen aboard the Resolute. Yularen confirmed that the Sepratist contingent came from the droid foundry on Kudo III. Skywalker agreed to attack the foundry quickly before Separatist reinforcements arrived. However, Skywalker did not approve of the attack's high casualties that included the Kudon. Yularen suggested that they should do a surgical strike on the foundry's generator.

Skywalker spoke with Master Kenobi about his plan for attack, who reminded Skywalker to trust his feelings and the force. Skywalker took R2 with him aboard his interceptor and made his way to Kudo. After Skywalker landed, he made his way into the foundry and saw the Kudon being used as slave labor. Skywalker fought the battle droids and freed the Kudon. Skywalker was able to convince the Kudon to arm themselves and fight the battle droids. The mission was a success, and Skywalker returned to the Resolute.

Battle of Christophsis
"You're reckless, little one. You never would have made it as Obi-Wan's Padawan&hellip; but you might make it as mine."

- Anakin Skywalker to Ahsoka Tano, following the Battle of Christophsis

Skywalker and his former master, Kenobi, were tasked by the Jedi Council to break the Separatist blockade on Christophsis, and assist Alderaanian Senator Bail Organa on his relief effort on the planet's surface. Initially overwhelmed, Kenobi presented Skywalker with a Republic's stealth ship prototype with a cloaking device, and tasked him with flying it past the blockade, in order to deliver supplies to Organa. Accompanied by Yularen, Skywalker chose instead to engage Separatist Admiral Trench directly and divert his attention from Organa on the surface.

De-cloaking his stealth ship, he launched torpedoes at the Providence-class dreadnought Invincible, but his missiles were repelled by the ship's powerful thermal shields. After successfully evading Trench's return fire, Trench sent a message over an open frequency, warning that he had faced this kind of ship before, and that they should retreat before they were destroyed. Using information supplied by Kenobi, Skywalker surmised that Trench would lock onto the ship's magnetic signature to destroy it and so, Skywalker de-cloaked once more, firing another volley of missiles at Trench's dreadnought. Trench took the bait and locked onto the stealth ship's magnetic signature, firing several tracking torpedoes. Skywalker then steered the ship straight at the Invincible, scraping right past its hull before Trench's own missiles slammed into the bridge. After defeating Trench, Skywalker delivered the supplies to Organa.

After breaking the blockade, Kenobi joined Skywalker and the rest of the Republic forces on Christophsis' surface and together, they planned an ambush on the advancing droid army; instead, they were ambushed and forced to evacuate. Aware of a possible with a traitor amidst them, the Jedi duo decided to go behind enemy lines in order to seek information, leaving Captain Rex and Commander Cody to find the traitor. On the suspiciously empty Separatist headquarters, Skywalker and Kenobi ran into Asajj Ventress, whom they dueled before flying two STAPs back to his base. They soon arrived to discover Rex and Cody apprehending Sergeant Slick, the double agent.

As the battle raged, the Republic forces managed to force the Separatists into a temporary retreat, but the need for reinforcements was evident. Instead, a young Togruta girl, Ahsoka Tano, arrived to relay Master Yoda's message for them to return to Coruscant for a new mission, presenting herself as Skywalker's new Padawan, much to his dismay. The impeding Separatist threat made it impossible for them to leave their post, so Skywalker and Tano (whom Skywalker nicknamed "Snips") went behind enemy lines to destroy their droids' deflector shield generator while Kenobi stalled for time by holding a fake surrender negotiation with General Loathsom. Despite having to fight a few droids that protected the generator, the two managed to destroy it, allowing the Republic army to finish off the droids and win the battle. Only then did Skywalker and Tano find common ground, and he accepted the responsibility of mentoring her.

Battle of Teth
"So, this is where the fun begins.''" "Race you to the top." "I'll give you a head start." "''Your mistake."

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker

As Yoda arrived with reinforcements, Skywalker, Kenobi and Tano were informed that Jabba Desilijic Tiure's son Rotta had been kidnapped, and Skywalker and Tano were to go to Teth to search for the Huttlet, whereas Kenobi would speak with Jabba on Tatooine.

With a time limit of only one planetary rotation to deliver Rotta, Skywalker and his Padawan landed in Teth, where they were flanked by battle droids. Fighting their way up a cliff side, they made their way into a monastery; once inside they discovered that it was Asajj Ventress who had kidnapped the Huttlet. With considerable effort, the Master-Padawan pair seized Rotta and escaped aboard an abandoned G9 Rigger-class light freighter, the Twilight.

They saw that help had arrived and planned to take the Huttlet to one of their Star Destroyers for help, as he had gotten sick. Unfortunately, the cruiser was destroyed, forcing them to take Rotta to his father on their own. Upon arriving on Tatooine, they were attacked by MagnaGuards and, though they defeated them, the Twilight crashed, forcing them to travel through the desert. Choosing to split up in the Dune Sea, Tano took Rotta to Jabba's Palace, whereas Skywalker was confronted by Count Dooku. After a brief duel, Skywalker stole Dooku's speeder bike, knowing his Padawan was in trouble, and reached Jabba's Palace, where he was told that Rotta had not been delivered and that he would be killed. Just then, Senator Amidala contacted the Hutt crime lord and informed him that his uncle Ziro was involved with the kidnapping, just for Tano to arrive along with Rotta, resolving matters to Jabba's satisfaction.

The Malevolence
"That's your plan? Just fly there, land, hope they don't spot us and walk in the door?''" "Basically." "''Oh. Brilliant. Let's get going."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker

When new reached them of the destruction of Jedi Master Plo Koon's fleet in the Abregado system, Skywalker and his Padawan set out to rescue him and any survivors in spite of his orders to rendezvous with Kenobi's fleet. Though he sent his ships and most of his men, Skywalker himself and Tano used the Twilight to rescue Koon and three other clones, who were able to tell them of a new Separatist superweapon, the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser Malevolence, which was commanded by General Grievous.

After yet another attack from the Malevolence, Skywalker decided to lead the Shadow Squadron into an attack against the heavy cruiser, only to narrowly escape the Malevolence’s ion cannon, with too many bombers destroyed or incapacitated. Forced to change the plan, Skywalker and the bombers dropped their payload on the ion cannon, forcing it to overload, causing the Malevolence to retreat from its attack on a Republic medical station. While making his escape, Grievous captured Senator Amidala, who entered the system in the belief she was sent to negotiate with the InterGalactic Banking Clan Supreme Executive, rather than a trap. Ordering their ships to halt their fire, Skywalker and Kenobi boarded the Malevolence to rescue her. While on the ship, Skywalker sabotaged the ship's navigation system to cause the ship to crash into a moon should the hyperdrive be engaged, before escaping the ship alongside Amidala and Kenobi.

Following the battle wherein a group of clones from Rishi Station prevented a surprise attack on Kamino, Skywalker and Kenobi awarded medals to two of its survivors, newcomers Echo and Fives, with Skywalker welcoming them onto the 501st Legion.

R2-D2 lost
"So let me get this straight, Anakin. You risked the mission, all your men, even your Padawan, to save a droid?''" "Artoo found the listening post, and he saved our lives. We couldn't just leave him there, Obi-Wan." "Oh, Anakin, one day''&hellip;"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker

Following numerous Separatist victories from General Grievous, and the defeat of the Falleen battle group, Skywalker attempted to stop the cyborg from taking his sector and planned an ambush for the Separatist forces as they were passing through Bothawui's asteroid field. Placing AT-TEs on the nearby asteroids, he managed to destroy the Separatist frigates and forced Grievous to retreat in the Soulless One, resulting in a pursuit by Skywalker. However, debris from the destroyed Separatist frigates damaged his ship, leaving him to be rescued by Rex at the cost of losing R2-D2. Though he was supplied with a new astromech droid, R3-S6, Skywalker was saddened by the loss of his friend and did not take to the new droid, and felt something suspicious on its true allegiance. Instead, he launched a search, scouring the battlefield; unable to find R2-D2, they boarded a nearby scavenger ship, the Vulture's Claw, only to leave empty-handed as Gha Nachkt delivered R2-D2 to Grievous.

With all hope lost, Skywalker attempted to continue life without the droid, scouting for a possible Separatist listening outpost, until R2-D2 sent a message revealing his location at Skytop Station. Upon arrival, Skywalker ordered Tano and Rex to fulfill the mission objective—to destroy the station—while he went to find his lost droid. Though Skywalker engaged several MagnaGuards, he found R2-D2 and met up with Rex and Denal, who told him that Tano was gone to distract Grievous alone while they completed the mission. It was then, as Anakin already suspected about R3-S6's true allegiance, that R3 revealed himself to be Grievous' spy and set several vulture droids and super battle droids against them. As they resisted, Tano rejoined the group, only to be scolded by her master for engaging the droid general alone; R2-D2 opened the hangar doors, defeating R3-S6 in the process, to be retrieved by a happy Skywalker, delighted to have his longtime friend back safe.

Following Viceroy Nute Gunray's capture in Rodia by Amidala, Skywalker separated from Tano, who went onto serve as Gunray's escort alongside Luminara Unduli. Although the two failed in their task, Skywalker reunited with Tano at the rendezvous point.

Captured on Florrum
Together with Kenobi, Skywalker spearheaded an attempt near Vanqor to capture Count Dooku, where Skywalker let himself be captured by Dooku's Munificent-class star frigate and taken to a prison cell, only for Kenobi to come and rescue him. The two Jedi then gave chase to Dooku, who escaped in his solar sailer, with a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle. After taking direct hits to their shuttle, they were forced to crash-land on the planet. In a nearby cave, the two Jedi began to hunt for Dooku, but the Sith Lord ambushed them by causing a sudden collapse in the cave ceiling. While Dooku escaped the cave, they had to render a gundark unconscious, only to nearly succumb to poison gas released from a trapped pocket in the cave. They were saved just in time, as Tano and a detachment of clone troopers rescued them.

Later, as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and his representatives were contacted by Hondo Ohnaka to receive a reward for capturing Count Dooku, Skywalker and Kenobi were assigned to verify the pirate gang's custody of Dooku, agreeing to the pirates' condition to arrive unarmed. The Jedi were met at gunpoint in the Twilight and escorted to Ohnaka, who arranged a meeting with their prisoner. The Jedi mocked Dooku's imprisonment, and the Sith Lord warned them not to underestimate the Weequay. Skywalker and Kenobi were invited to a "party" by the pirates, only to wind up passed out in a cell, chained together with Dooku. Despite several attempts to escape on their own, Representative Binks was the one to rescue them, though the mission came at the cost of Senator Kharrus' life and Dooku's escape.

Quell and Maridun
"This battle is inevitable. You can stand by your beliefs, but let us stand by ours."

- Anakin Skywalker, to Tee Watt Kaa

Sent in as reinforcements for Jedi Knight Aayla Secura and Commander Bly during the Battle of Quell, Skywalker, Tano, Rex and theri forces assisted in an evacuation of Secura's cruiser as it fell under heavy Separatist fire. Meeting with Secura, a raging inferno ran through the cruiser, and Skywalker sacrificed himself to save the others, severely injuring himself in the process. Tano and Secura dragged Skywalker onto the evacuation frigate, where he was given medical treatment for his injuries. As they prepared to dock with the Resolute, an ambush by several vulture droids caused the ship's hyperdrive to activate, sending them into deep space. After narrowly avoiding an incoming star, they crash landed on Maridun, where Skywalker was left in the care of Rex, while Secura, Tano and Bly set out to ask the natives for medical support. Rex defended Skywalker from several vicious mastiff phalones until Tano arrived back with Bly and Lurmen healer Wag Too, before a final confrontation against the vicious attackers.

Soon after their arrival, Separatist forces landed on the planet, and the Lurmen leader Tee Watt Kaa accused the Jedi of bringing war to their peaceful planet, ordering them to leave immediately. Though they did, the Jedi returned to the Lurmen village after learning about the Separatists' sinister objective—to test out their new superweapon, the defoliator, on the Lurmen. The group set up a shield generator to protect the village from the blast of the weapon, as well as from the incoming waves of battle droids. As their shield was destroyed and the defoliator was being reloaded for another shot, Skywalker managed to disable the weapon before capturing Separatist General Lok Durd. The Jedi then left the planet, now peaceful again, on several Republic cruisers sent by Yularen.

Orto Plutonia
"...and this is the planet's tropical zone.''" "''It's not Tatooine, that's for sure."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, on Orto Plutonia

After losing contact with a Republic outpost on Orto Plutonia, Skywalker, his droids C-3PO and R2-D2, and Kenobi were sent to investigate with a squad of cold assault troopers under the command of Captain Rex, in the company of Pantora Senator Riyo Chuchi and Chairman Chi Cho. Skywalker and Kenobi investigated the outpost following the mysterious death of all its clone troopers, and the two Jedi deduced that all the clones had been killed, but not by battle droids, since another nearby Separatist base had also been attacked. Skywalker and Kenobi followed their clues to a nearby canyon, where they found a village inhabited by Talz, who explained that they were only trying to protect their home as translated by C-3PO. Acting as a mediator, Kenobi proposed a peace meeting between the Talz and Chairman Cho, but the latter refused to share the moon with the Talz, and declared war, despite the Jedi's efforts to bring forth peace. As a battle broke out amongst the clone troopers and the Talz, Senator Chuchi convened with the Pantoran Assembly and called Cho out of order. The battle came to an end when Cho was killed, and Chuchi gave a proposal to the Talz to share the moon with them.

Blue Shadow Virus
"You must move cautiously if you—''" "''There's no time for caution. My Padawan is trapped on there, and so is Padmé—I mean, Senator Amidala."

- Gregar Typho and Anakin Skywalker, much to Kenobi's disapproving look

Upon Amidala's petition to send Skywalker and Kenobi to assist them in locating suspected Separatist presence on Naboo, Skywalker, Kenobi and Tano arrived to find that Amidala and Binks had gone to investigate the eastern swamps. Sending the young Padawan with Peppi Bow to find them, the two Jedi were informed by Captain Gregar Typho that before losing contact with Amidala, she had informed them of the laboratory's location and of Dr. Nuvo Vindi's intentions to release the dangerous Blue Shadow Virus back into the galaxy. While Tano led an attack on the southern entrance, providing a distraction for Kenobi and Skywalker to enter through the hatches undetected, Skywalker confronted Vindi, who electrocuted Amidala and Binks to make his escape. After saving the Senator, Skywalker pursued the scientist, capturing him with the help of Peppi Bow and Kenobi on the swamp above.

Prepared to transport Vindi to Theed for his trial, they heard an alarm go off below them and Skywalker contacted Tano; she told him that Vindi's servant droid had set off one of the viral bombs, liberating the virus, and that she along with the clones were trapped in the laboratory, just like Amidala was. Once in Theed, Captain Typho told the two Jedi that they had found a possible antidote for the virus, a reeksa root, but that it could only be found on the planet of Iego. Despite Typho's warnings that it was suicide, Skywalker set off alongside Kenobi aboard the Twilight.

Upon arrival, Skywalker and Kenobi were greeted by a group of inoffensive B1 battle droids that had been reprogrammed to do the bidding of a local boy, Jaybo Hood; he told the Jedi that the planet was protected by a deity known as Drol, who would not let any who arrived on the planet leave again, but also instructed them on how to retrieve the reeksa roots. Though the plant attacked them, they obtained the root and bid farewell to Hood before taking off, only to be forced to turn back after encountering a laser web, the work of the Separatists. On their second attempt, however, they used Hood's reprogrammed vulture droids, and Kenobi managed to shoot the laser generator, liberating the inhabitants of Iego. Skywalker and Kenobi then arrived in time to rescue their friends on Naboo.

Battle of Ryloth
"It was a trap, Snips. It wasn't your fault.''" "I lost so many of my pilots." "''Take heart, little one. That's the reality of command."

- Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano

During the Battle of Ryloth, Skywalker gave Tano command of a squadron to fend off Mar Tuuk's blockade to make way for Kenobi's ground assault, encouraging Tano to overcome her nervousness about leading her first squad. However, during the battle, she disobeyed her master's orders and lost many men, for which Skywalker reprimanded her when she arrived back at the Resolute, yet understood her good intentions. Skywalker then reported his losses to Windu and Kenobi. He gave her some time to recover, but informed her that they needed to proceed with the attack on the blockade, which upset Tano because he was rushing the plan despite their recent losses. Though he told her to go cool off somewhere, Skywalker had an idea—he evacuated the damaged Defender, which he would pilot by himself into the Ryloth system to distract the Separatists, while he gave Tano full command of the attack operation. By the time Turk realized the ruse, it was too late, for Skywalker had already escaped in an escape pod and let the Defender collide with Tuuk's control ship; though Tuuk escaped, Tano destroyed the Confederate fleet, and Skywalker was rescued from his escape pod.

After Kenobi and his men were able to take out the proton cannons and allow the transports to land, whereas Windu headed for Lessu with his forces, Skywalker and his forces secured the space around Ryloth, forcing the remaining Separatist cruisers to flee. He reported this in a holographic conference with Chancellor Palpatine, Yoda, Admiral Yularen, Senator Orn Free Taa, and Windu. However, Separatist General Wat Tambor soon deployed Hyena-class bombers to destroy Ryloth's villages and Skywalker engaged them in his interceptor, accompanied by Tano and clones. Before Lessu was destroyed on Count Dooku's orders, Skywalker and Tano shot them down. Subsequently, Tambor was captured, and the Republic was victorious: Ryloth was finally free once more.

Holocron heist
"This could be a trap, Master. Are you sure you don't need us to go?"'' "''Of course it's a trap, Skywalker."

- Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu

During the first battle of Felucia, Skywalker, Tano and Kenobi were to be evacuated by Master Plo Koon; however, Tano refused to retreat, and Kenobi and Skywalker went to retrieve her, before her forces were overrun by droids. Back at the Jedi Temple, Skywalker reported her disobedience to the Council, which relegated her to guard duty at the Jedi Archives.

When Yoda sensed that thieves would arrive at the Temple, Skywalker and Kenobi inaccurately deduced that their enemies were after their transmission codes and went to secure them, only to be proven wrong when they located the intruders' position at the ventilation shaft. They were misdirected then to the communication center, where they narrowly escaped an exploding Todo, and realized only too late that Cad Bane had stolen a holocron from the Vault. Furthermore, Cato Parasitti revealed that Bane's next target was Bolla Ropal, keeper of the Kyber memory crystal, which contained a list of all known Force-sensitive children in the Republic. Skywalker then volunteered himself and Tano to meet with Ropal, arriving in the Devaron system to cut off the Separatist fleet that was assisting Bane, who already had captured Ropal and tortured him to death in a containment field after he defiantly refused to open the holocron.

Skywalker, Tano and Rex boarded Bane's Munificent-class frigate and stormed its bridge, where R2-D2 accessed the ship's computer to locate Ropal, or rather, Ropal's dead body. After an explosion rocked the ship, the Jedi spotted Bane and chased him into trap. After a duel with Tano, the bounty hunter took her as a hostage, and Skywalker was forced to bow to Bane's demands and open the holocron. Though he did so, Skywalker also pulled his and Tano's lightsabers to himself and attacked Bane. However, Bane distracted him by opening the airlock on Tano's cell and escaped, while Skywalker saved his Padawan and made their way to the hangar, where troopers had stolen a shuttle the escape the exploding Separatist ship back to the Resolute, not before leaving Bane enter, disguised in trooper armor. After landing on the Resolute, Rex noticed Duros blood in the shuttle, and pursued Bane, who nevertheless managed to escape in a V-19 starfighter. Skywalker and Tano returned to the Jedi Council to report their failure.

Skywalker, along with Kenobi, Windu and Yoda, meditated in hope of finding the children that Bane was after before he kidnapped them. Sensing the future, Skywalker and Tano was assigned to Naboo to set a trap for Bane in Jan-gwa city, capturing him as he attempted to kidnap Roo-Roo Page. With the real child safe, the Master-Padawan pair took Bane to the Resolute, where Skywalker, Windu and Kenobi interrogated the bounty hunter with a combined mind trick; exhausted, Bane gave them coordinates that Kenobi and Windu were to follow, while Skywalker reported the details to Palpatine on Coruscant. Soon, however, he reunited with his Padawan and R2-D2 and began to examine Bane's Starfighter, from which Skywalker and Tano deduced from the ashes on it and its refueling record that Bane had been to Mustafar. With nothing else to do, the Jedi pair left on the Twilight for the planet, where they found the children. Though one of the droids set the building to be destroyed in the lava on Sidious's orders, Skywalker and Tano saved the children and returned to Coruscant. Skywalker admitted to the Council that they were unable to find out who was behind the kidnappings, to which Yoda advised caution on the path ahead.

Battle of Felucia
"That's it. We'll just train the villagers to defend themselves.''" "But we are just simple farmers. Why are we paying bounty hunters to defend us if we're just going to end up doing it ourselves? Hush." "''Trust me. We'll have you ready."

- Anakin Skywalker and Dilanni

On a mission to investigate the disappearance of a medical station orbiting over Felucia, their shuttle was attacked by a vulture droids, forcing them to crash-land on Felucia. Trapped on the planet, they came across a nysillin farm village after searching around for a while. They soon realized that the Felucian villagers were being protected by a group of bounty hunters led by Sugi—Embo, Rumi Paramita, and Seripas. The village elder, Casiss, explained to the Jedi trio that they had hired the bounty hunters because pirates had been taking their crops. After some debate amongst them, Skywalker, Kenobi, and Tano decided to help the farmers to defend themselves.

That night they were visited by the pirates, Hondo Onaka's gang, familiar to Skywalker and Kenobi. Ohnaka then told the group that he would be back, but by then Skywalker had taught the Felucians how to fight with staffs—though slow at first, they eventually picked up the craft. After a few days, the Ohnaka Gang returned as promised, and a skirmish ensued between the factions. During the confrontation, Skywalker dueled Ohnaka and his electrostaff, leaving him hanging off a cliff and begging for mercy, to which the Jedi Knight pulled him up and Ohnaka realized that their efforts were no longer profitable, leaving on his ship. Alongside the bounty hunters, the Jedi themselves left soon after as well, to reach the closest Republic outpost.

The Zillo Beast
"Well, you made the right choice. We got the fuel and you saved your creature. And now, he will be safe.''" "''Let's hope we could say the same about Coruscant."

- Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu

During the lengthy campaign on Malastare, Skywalker discussed with Palpatine (via hologram) and Windu the effects of the new electro-proton bomb, just as the Separatist Droid Army prepared a new attack—with the Republic expecting to successfully defend the Dugs and secure a treaty for their fuel. Though exceedingly effective, the bomb created a crater, which Windu went to investigate whereas Skywalker was to ensure the treaty with Doge Urus, only to be called by Windu to assist him with the scouting. The two soon discovered a gigantic creature whose armored skin was impervious even to lightsabers, the Zillo Beast, from which they fled, only to be told by Urus that they wanted it killed, even though it was previously thought to be extinct. With the use of RX-200 Falchion-class assault tanks, the Republic forces put the creature to sleep, convincing the Dugs that it was dead. With the treaty signed and Malastare now a member of the Republic, Palpatine ordered that the beast be shipped to Coruscant for study, despite Windu's objections.

After the Zillo Beast was brought to the Republic capital, Kenobi and Amidala asked Skywalker to speak with Palpatine about the fate of the creature; reluctantly, he agreed. When both he and Amidala met with the Chancellor, Palpatine and the Vice Chair Mas Amedda tried to justify that killing the beast was for the greater good—Amidala objected to their claims, but Skywalker chose to stay neutral, instead of opposing either his wife, Amidala, or his friend, Palpatine. However, the beast escaped from captivity in Dr. Boll's laboratory and directly targeted the Chancellor himself for his attempts to kill it. Cornered by the beast, Skywalker and the others evacuated his office on his executive shuttle, only for the beast to grab it upon take-off. They were freed when Skywalker sliced the shuttle in half, causing everyone to fall out of the shuttle, with Skywalker saving Amidala from falling from the Senate Building's roof. The Beast was ultimately killed when gunships fired gas at its mouth on Palpatine's orders.

Cato Neimoidia
"Wait. Now give me back my disk.''" "''Don't worry, Clovis. It's good to know you have a heart. I wish I could give you the disk, but I have a lot of faith in your survival skills."

- Rush Clovis and Anakin Skywalker

After returning home to his wife's apartment for a romantic evening, Skywalker was recalled to the Temple by the Jedi Council. Believing Senator Rush Clovis to be a Separatist supporter, they decided they needed a spy—in this case, Senator Amidala, of whom Clovis was an old friend. The next day, Skywalker met Amidala in the Senate and asked her about Clovis, who initially refused to do it until she heard that Clovis could be a Separatist. Skywalker accompanied her to the Jedi Council, where the Masters encouraged her to find out about his possible treachery. After learning that he was planning to go to Cato Neimoidia, Skywalker dressed himself as the pilot of Padmé's starship and took them there, all the while frustrating Clovis's attempts to get closer to his wife.

During the mission, Skywalker and R2-D2 waited for Amidala to give them a signal; when she did, Skywalker sneaked into her quarters, where he saw Amidala and Clovis embracing. Though it prompted a surge of anger and jealousy in Skywalker, she discretely showed him the disk she had stolen from Clovis and gave it to Skywalker, after which the Jedi retreated. It was soon after that the poison that Amidala had been given by Lott Dod began to set in, and she passed out. After Dod revealed to Clovis she was a spy, he helped Skywalker take her back to their ship, back to Coruscant, and forced Dod to give him the antidote, only for Skywalker to leave Clovis behind, stranded on the planet.

Second Battle of Geonosis
"I knew they were still alive. I told you not to give up on them.''" "''It's not that I gave up, Skywalker, but unlike you, when the time comes, I am prepared to let my student go. Can you say the same?"

- Anakin Skywalker and Luminara Unduli

Immediately after routing Separatists near Dorin, Skywalker and Tano were sent to participate in the Second Battle of Geonosis, alongside Kenobi and Ki-Adi-Mundi, as the Republic returned to destroy the Geonosian primary droid factory. Intending to make a three-pronged attack against the shield generator, Skywalker, Tano and the 501st Legion set out to attack the Separatist defense lines from the south to reach the rendezvous point—with only Kenobi's forces arriving at the landing zone, as both Mundi's and Skywalker's transports were shot down and forced to make their way to Kenobi's position by foot. Though they encountered resistance, Skywalker's team met up with Mundi's forces. After contacting Yularen to deploy a squadron of BTL-B Y-wings to help them, they reunited with Kenobi and his company, where they planned the assault on the shield generator.

They then improvised on their plan; leading the charge, Skywalker and Tano disabled the enemy cannons with EMP grenades, enabling the AT-TEs to destroy the shield generator; as the gunships arrived, the Geonosians in the area surrendered. Though Mundi and Kenobi left for medical treatment, the Republic forces continued pushing towards the massive droid foundry, and Skywalker and Tano were joined by Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss Offee, who met as Skywalker and Tano angrily discussed Skywalker's lack of trust in Tano's dependability. As Offee and Tano were sent into the Geonosian catacombs under the factory to plant explosives, Unduli realized that Skywalker was unable to let go of Tano and put her at risk, rather than distrusting her. Nevertheless, the two Jedi generals went onto distracting the droid army by marching straight to the factory and engage the enemy.

As Poggle the Lesser had his super tanks deployed, Skywalker and Luminara left their men behind and destroyed the bridge, only to learn that their Padawans had not returned yet. Cornered by droids coming from the factory, Skywalker was contacted by Tano and she apologized, uncertain that she and Offee would survive their ordeal, before using a super tank to destroy the factory. Refusing to let his Padawan die, Skywalker ordered to have them found; Unduli, however, told him that he needed to let go of his attachment to her, if she were to be dead. Fortunately for them, Skywalker was contacted by Tano; after locating them, they rescued the two Padawans.

Sending Tano and Offee to recover out of the battlefield, Kenobi and Mundi returned to join in the clean-up of Separatist forces. For her part, Unduli left in search of Poggle before he could escape, when a sandstorm broke out. Forced to wait until the storm lifted after her last contact, Skywalker and Kenobi went to Unduli's last known location, the Progate Temple. Entering the catacombs below, not only they discovered undead Geonosian warriors, they also encountered the captive Unduli, Poggle and the Geonosian Queen, Karina the Great. Setting up their men to surround the Queen and her brethren, Skywalker and Kenobi tried to negotiate with Karina, for Kenobi wanted to know how the undead warriors were created. After discovering her use of parasitic brain worms), they freed Unduli, captured Poggle and fled from the Queen, with Rex and Cody burying the Queen in her lair.

With Poggle in Republic custody, the four Jedi generals prepared to deliver him to Coruscant, while they sent Tano and Offee on a mission to transport medical supplies from a medical station near Ord Cestus to Mace Windu on Dantooine. Unbeknownst to them, one of the troopers, Scythe, was infected with one of the Queen's brain worms and boarded their Pelta-class frigate, the TB-73, forcing the two Padawans fend off the infected clones. When the ship failed to check in on schedule, Skywalker was immediately suspicious, and further proven right when Tano contacted him to tell him about the situation.

Angered, Skywalker went to Poggle's cell on his own, and told the guard troopers to leave them alone. He demanded that Poggle answered his questions with a mind trick, but the arckhduke informed him that it would have no effect on a Geonosian like him. It was then that Skywalker resorted to physical violence, hitting Poggle; with Poggle still unwilling to talk, Skywalker gave in to his anger and began to Force choke him. Only then did Poggle tell the Jedi Knight, through a translator droid, that the worms were affected by the cold. Skywalker relayed this information to his Padawan, telling her through her comlink to rupture the cooling system. Thanks to his advice, Tano was able to defeat the worms as they reached the medical station. Skywalker rushed to her encounter, where he consoled Tano on her doubts about sparing her friend's life.

Saleucami
"Where there is Kenobi, you will always find Skywalker not far behind."

- Grievous

Following the capture of Jedi Master Eeth Koth in the Outer Rim, General Grievous sent a holo-transmission to the Jedi Council, in which Grievous stated that he did not care about the Jedi's politics, nor their Republic, concluding that he lived only to see them all die. As Kenobi decoded Koth's hand signals that told them of their location at the Saleucami system, Skywalker, Kenobi and Adi Gallia were dispatched on a mission to rescue him. As a distraction, Admiral Yularen and Kenobi engaged Grievous's forces over Saleucami, with Kenobi allowing his light cruiser be boarded by Grievous. Discreetly, Skywalker, Gallia, Rex and a group of clone troopers would execute a hyperspace jump into the system in an ambassador shuttle that would bring them right alongside Grievous's cruiser.

Once they boarded it, Skywalker and Gallia made their way to the stern of the cruiser, where they encountered a T-series tactical droid with a group of BX-series droid commandos. The two Jedi destroyed all the droids and rescued Koth, with Skywalker taking the injured Koth back to the shuttle. When Kenobi reported that Grievous had defeated him and escaped, Gallia left them to help Kenobi flank Grievous and capture him once and for all. Unsuccessful in their endeavor, Skywalker picked the two up at the hangar with their shuttle, only to leave for the Resolute, where he waited while Kenobi conducted a search mission for Grievous on the planet below alongside Cody, Rex and other troopers.

Sometime later, Skywalker and his Padawan spearheaded a mission to Coruscant's underworld to apprehend Car Affa, an arms dealer selling Republic weapons to the Separatists. When they arrived at a cantina where Affa was hiding, Skywalker instructed Tano to wait outside while he apprehended the fugitive. The confrontation, however, caused a crowd to leave the bar at once—during which Tano lost her lightsaber, which prompted her to seek the help of Jedi Master Tera Sinube when they went back to the Temple, as she didn't want Skywalker to find out she had lost her weapon.

Mandalore
"What will you do? If you shoot me, you prove yourself a hypocrite to every pacifist ideal you hold dear. And you, Kenobi, you are no stranger to violence. You'd be hailed as a hero by everyone on this ship— Almost everyone. Come on, then. Who will strike first and brand themselves a cold-blooded killer?"

- Tal Merrik, to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Satine Kryze, before being killed by Skywalker

Following allegations that Mandalore had allied with the Separatists, and Kenobi was sent to the planet to speak to his old friend, Duchess Satine Kryze, Skywalker joined them to escort the Duchess on her journey to Coruscant aboard the Coronet. On the ship, Skywalker and Kenobi told their men to be on alert, when Kryze requested their presence before her, and Skywalker correctly surmised that Kenobi had strong feelings for her just as his former master told him of their past together. When R2-D2 picked up readings in the cargo hold, the two generals were informed by Rex, and Skywalker went to investigate—only to be attacked by assassin probes. After destroying two of them, Skywalker informed Kenobi that there might be a traitor on board the ship, and Skywalker returned to sweep the hold in search of more.

After Kenobi lured the traitor out, Tal Merrik, and Skywalker destroyed another probe, he helped search the Coronet for Merrik and Kryze, now his hostage, until several B2 super battle droids sent by the Death Watch boarded the ship. Leaving Kenobi to save his "girlfriend," he destroyed the droids and then went to find Kenobi, who like Kryze, hesitated to kill Merrik; Skywalker, however, had no such compunctions and impaled Merrik, branding himself a "cold-blooded killer," to retrieve the Senator's detonator before he could destroy the ship. With no further complications, they arrived at Coruscant; as Kryze complimented Kenobi, Skywalker noted that she was quite the remarkable woman. Following the Mandalore Defense Resolution, Skywalker and Kenobi escorted Amidala to a meeting with the Chancellor in which he thanked her, but also apologized to Kryze, before leaving Kenobi and Kryze alone.

Trapped on Vanqor
"That kid destroyed an entire cruiser trying to get to you, and you're just gonna let it go?''" "Is there something else I should be doing, Skywalker?" "How about tracking him down?" "So I should behave as this child does. I should seek revenge." "''No. How is it revenge if you stop this kid and bring him to justice?"

- Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu, on Boba Fett

Preparing to rendezvous with a Republic frigate, Skywalker and Mace Windu traveled aboard the Endurance, on which they greeted a squad of clone cadets, with an infiltrated Boba Fett among them. After Fett sabotaged the ship and everyone had to evacuate in escape pods, including himself before being rescued by Bossk and Aurra Sing on the Slave I, Skywalker and Windu rescued the missing cadets' damaged pod. As the survivors were being transferred to medical frigate, the two went to the Endurance’s crash site, where they searched for Admiral Kilian and any other survivors. As the bridge appeared relatively intact, they resolved to enter the wreckage, even with R2-D2's misgivings, which prompted Windu to chastise Skywalker for encouraging individuality in his astromech.

Leaving R2-D2 and R8-B7 to scan for life forms, Skywalker and Windu entered the bridge to find the survivors executed, with Skywalker noticing a Mandalorian helmet. With Windu correctly surmising that it was bait set by Boba Fett, he saved Skywalker from taking the full brunt of the explosion set off by touching the helmet. Now trapped under the rubble, the wounded Skywalker and the unconscious Windu were soon found by R2-D2, whom Skywalker told to call the Temple for help. As they waited for the astromech to come back, Windu told Skywalker why Fett wanted him dead: he sought revenge for killing his father, Jango, during the first battle of Geonosis.

As the Endurance began to collapse, they were rescued by Tano, Plo Koon, and a clone squad, thanks to R2-D2 delivering the message at the Temple itself. After spending time in a bacta tank at the Temple, Skywalker urged Windu to track Fett down and bring him to justice. The Jedi Master did not agree, until Koon and Tano showed them a message from Fett and Sing, with hostages—one of them, Ponds, killed in cold blood by Sing. Though Windu decided to go, Koon said that he would take the mission, alongside Tano, since both Windu and Skywalker were still recovering from their injuries. As they arrived on Coruscant with Bossk and Fett in custody, Skywalker was present as Fett apologized for causing so much destruction, but claimed he would never forgive Windu for killing his father, before they were taken away to the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center.

Balith
"I hope this assignment wasn't too boring for you.''" "Ah, it had its moments." "Huh, like the one where you convinced untrained children to help you overthrow a corrupt government?" "That was a highlight." "It sounds pretty risky. You're lucky you didn't get hurt." "''Nothing you wouldn't have done."

- Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano

Following his wife's mission to discover a conspiracy on Mandalore, Skywalker and Captain Rex escorted Tano to her solo mission on Mandalore to instruct cadets at the Royal Academy of Government at the behest of Duchess Kryze and the Jedi Council. Upon their arrival at Sundari, Skywalker presented Tano to the Duchess and Prime Minister Almec. Before leaving to join with Kit Fisto, Skywalker took his Padawan's lightsaber to respect Mandalore's laws. After Tano exposed Almec's black market operation, Skywalker reunited with his Padawan, to whom he returned her lightsaber.

Back in the Jedi Temple, the Jedi Council congratulated Tano on her courage and strength, but also ordered Skywalker to command the Third Legion on Balith to give assistance in their civil war. Told by the Council to stay behind so she could give them her full report, Tano pleaded to Skywalker to let her come along, but he told her that she should use this time in the library to prove him wrong about his assertion that she learned more on the battlefield than in the Temple, before leaving for Balith with Rex.

Skywalker returned to Coruscant to greet, along with Yoda, his Padawan, Amidala and Bail Organa after the Alderaan Refugee Conference, during which Tano captured Aurra Sing. Wondering who would pay for Amidala's assassination, Yoda had Tano use her improved precognitive abilities to find out who was behind the assassination attempt. With her description, Amidala realized who it was—Ziro the Hutt. Skywalker and his Padawan then went to the Judiciary Detention Center to question Ziro, who was tricked by Tano into confessing that he had hired Sing for the job. Satisfied, Skywalker and his Padawan then left the Hutt to his misery.

Battle of Kamino
"I suppose you expect me to surrender.''" "Actually I plan to let the clones execute you. Right now." "''Not this time."

- Asajj Ventress and Anakin Skywalker

Forewarned by the destruction of Rishi Station and an intercepted transmission between Asajj Ventress and General Grievous, Skywalker and Kenobi traveled to Kamino to warn Shaak Ti and Prime Minister Lama Su of an upcoming Separatist attack, with Rex, Cody, Echo, Fives, and the rest of the 501st Legion in their company. Shortly, Grievous's fleet arrived and Skywalker led the Republic space forces, scoring several serious hits against the enemy. On the planet below, Tipoca City was attacked by Trident-class assault ship and aqua droids, prompting Kenobi to recall Skywalker to the city. Soon after returning, Skywalker engaged Ventress, who had stolen the prime DNA sample of the clones' template, Jango Fett. With the aid of clone trooper platoon, Skywalker recovered the sample from Ventress, but she, like Grievous, managed to escape yet again.

Senate crisis
"Young Skywalker&hellip; Not so impressive without your lightsaber, are you, Jedi?"

- Cad Bane to an unconscious Skywalker

Skywalker was later informed by his apprentice that Pantora Chairman Papanoida's daughters had been kidnapped. Knowing that the Jedi couldn't get officially involved, he slyly gave her permission to rescue them due to "personal concerns"; this turned out to be successful, with both daughters being safely returned to their father.

Supposed to be on a meditative retreat, Skywalker spent some time with his wife on her apartment, observing as Amidala anxiously arranged a party for Senator Aang, who held the deciding vote on the Military Oversight Committee. Skywalker tried to ease her mind, telling her that the party would work out and that she should relax, when they saw C-3PO being fuzzy about the arrangements. At Amidala's request, Skywalker sent the protocol droid and R2-D2 to buy the jogan fruit that the latter had forgotten to buy for Aang's favorite dessert, jogan fruit cake. Although they were delayed, Amidala nevertheless hosted the party all the same, with her and Skywalker waiting for the two droids to come back—who did so just in time to present the cake to Senator Aang.

Not too long after, Skywalker went to the Senate Building to convince Amidala to go away together for two weeks, to a faraway place where no one would recognize them, so that they could actually be husband and wife, instead of Senator and Jedi. Amidala, however, rejected the idea, for she was preparing an important bill for the Senate. Skywalker retorted that the bill seemed more important than their love, but Amidala countered that it wasn't, just that they both lived to serve the Republic. However, Skywalker stated that there was nothing more important than the way he felt about her, and proved it by giving Amidala his lightsaber, which, Kenobi had told him once, was his "life." Though she believed he was teasing her, Skywalker was sincere about his feelings, and the two shared a kiss.

They were soon interrupted by C-3PO and Senator Organa's voices, prompting Skywalker to hide under her desk and Amidala to hide his lightsaber in her sleeve. As she went to the lobby to attend a meeting about the enhanced privacy invasion bill, only to be taken hostage along with several other Senators by Cad Bane and his team. Following her, Skywalker saw the situation, when Bane spotted him and sent his henchmen to capture him, but Skywalker avoided them long enough to contact Palpatine and defeat an IG-86 sentinel droid empty-handed, before being shocked into unconsciousness by Robonino and Aurra Sing and brought before the Senators. After the bounty hunters planted bombs that would go off if their laser detectors were triggered and left the building, Skywalker woke up and Amidala returned his lightsaber. He then used it to cut a hole in the floor, dropping all the senators one floor down into safety, just before Bane triggered the bombs and escaped alongside the now-freed Ziro.

Meeting Madam Synata
"I'm still not convinced this trip is a good idea, Anakin..."

- Padmé Amidala

Following the crisis, Skywalker went with Amidala to Caamas to board legendary actress Madam Risha Synata's private ship. However, they were late to see Madam Synata's play about Darth Krist-Ov. After they arrived, Skywalker and Amidala met Synata. Skywalker agreed to see her museum, despite Amidala's reluctance. Skywalker took Amidala to her room. The next day, Skywalker and Amidala went to the museum. There, Skywalker and Amidala saw a display of Varykino, where they exchanged their vows. Skywalker and Amidala were confronted by several robots from the displays and came under attack from them. Skywalker fought them off and helped Amidala escape them. Skywalker and Amidala then discovered a Separatist banner and a hologram of Count Dooku.

Skywalker and Amidala discovered that Synata was collaborating with Dooku and the Separatist. Skywalker then took a one of the Separatist agents while Amidala discovered a list of anti-Separatist senators. Skywalker and Amidala discovered that along with Amidala, Synata planned to kill them with Dioxis gas. Skywalker and Amidala fought several LEP servant droids to stop Synata from killing the senators. With assistance from R2-D2, Skywalker and Amidala were able to reach the theater.

As Amidala told the audience to get out, Skywalker borrowed a mask and helmet from a actor. He then confronted Synata, who had her own real lightsaber. Skywalker fought Synata until he held at the end of his lightsaber. Skywalker and Amidala then gave their report about their trip to the Jedi Council.

Jedi Ceremony
One day, Skywalker was waiting with Master Yoda in the Jedi temple grounds for Ahsoka Tano. Once she arrived, Skywalker reprimanded her for being late, but Yoda praised her for helping out and proceeded to extend her Padawan braid. Following a debate in the senate about a financial reform bill, Skywalker was asked by Amidala to persuade the Jedi Council to speak with Palpatine about denying the continuation of the war. Skywalker allowed Tano to go with Amidala in order for her to learn more about politics. After an apparent Separatist attack, Skywalker confronted his apprentice about her and Amidala's meeting with Onderon's senator Mina Bonteri on Raxus and how foolish it was. Despite that, Skywalker's apprentice learned that politics were not as black and white as she thought.

Dathomirian threat
"Warrior-like men, witches—this place has all kinds of fun."

- Anakin Skywalker to Obi-Wan Kenobi, on Dathomir

One year and eight months or so into the Clone Wars, Skywalker and Kenobi commanded Republic forces in a battle against Asajj Ventress's fleet in the Sullust system. Directly participating of the battle in their starfighters, Kenobi was singled out and attacked by Ventress, whose Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter was, in turn, disabled by Skywalker. As Kenobi and Ventress crashed in the hangar of the Separatist command ship, Skywalker soon landed to assist his former master; together, the two Jedi engage Ventress in a duel. They were interrupted, however, by the destruction of the ship, secretly ordered by Count Dooku. The two Jedi fled in their interceptors, presuming Ventress to be doomed.

After the massacre on Devaron, Skywalker and Kenobi were sent to Dathomir, as footage had shown the Council of a Dathomirian's role during the attack on Devaron. Once on Dathomir, they made their way to a village, where they were ambushed by the Nightbrothers until Skywalker took their leader hostage; the Zabrak then told the Jedi that a Nightsister had taken one of them to their fortress, prompting the Jedi to go there. Skywalker and Kenobi questioned Mother Talzin, who told them his name—Savage Opress—and whereabouts. The two Jedi then headed to Toydaria where they confronted Opress, but failed to stop him from killing King Katuunko. Using the king's ship as theirs was destroyed, Skywalker and Kenobi caught up with their target on Dooku's Separatist flagship; however, Opress managed to overpower them, forcing the two to retreat and leave the ship.

Mortis
When the Jedi Council received a 2,000-year-old Jedi distress signal, Skywalker along with Kenobi and Tano were sent by the High Council to the Chrelythiumn system, where they were supposed to meet up with Captain Rex and an armed cruiser. Though they both made it to the rendezvous point, neither Rex's nor the Jedi's ship could see each other. In fact, the Jedi's ship was guided to a mysterious planet, Mortis, where they met by a mysterious figure called the Daughter, who asked Skywalker if he was "the one" and who wanted to lead them to the Father, when Skywalker was separated from Kenobi and Tano, and the Daughter.

Skywalker tried to follow her, only to reach the monastery, where he met the Father and was given shelter for the night. As he tried to sleep, the figure of his mother, Shmi, appeared before him and encouraged him to tell her of his pain and guilt—that he was too late to save her, and that he had failed as a Jedi and that he had failed her, having tasted only vengeance when he slaughtered so many to avenge her death. But, as he mentioned his wife, who he claimed was "everything" to him, the figure finally revealed itself to be the Son, briefly assuming a monstrous appearance before disappearing.

Shaken by the encounter, he confronted the Father, who told of his family's history, and wondered if he was truly the Chosen One. Though Skywalker dismissed the prophecy as a myth, the Father arranged a test to see whether the Jedi Knight was fit to fulfill his destiny. Ordering his children to kill Tano and Kenobi, the Father goaded Skywalker into choosing between his master and his apprentice, but Skywalker instead controlled the two beings, bringing them to their knees. Having proved himself to be the Chosen One, the Father pleaded with him to stay, but Skywalker refused, leaving with Tano and Kenobi on their shuttle.

They were interrupted when the Son kidnapped Tano, prompting Skywalker to pursue him, at the cost of damaging their ship near the Son's cathedral. Despite Kenobi's reservations, Skywalker went after his Padawan and climbed the tower to find Tano, corrupted by the dark side. Skywalker fought her, soon to be joined by Kenobi, only to be interrupted by the Father's arrival. Kenobi tried to hand Skywalker the Dagger of Mortis, but Tano grabbed it and gave it to the Son, who killed her, for she was no longer useful; the darksider then mortally wounded his sister as she stepped in to save her Father. Skywalker begged the Father to save Tano, and the dying Daughter used Skywalker as a conduit to channel the last of her life force into Tano, resurrecting her. The Father told them to leave the planet before the Son used their ship to do so.

The ship's repairs forced them to stay a bit longer, though, and Skywalker went to the Father for guidance. On their meeting, the Father was determined to kill his Son, but refused Skywalker's offer of aid, telling the Jedi Knight to look inside himself for the answer for what was to be done. Leaving him, Skywalker encountered the Force spirit of his first mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn. Though Skywalker sought his advice, Jinn advised him to remember his training and trust his instincts, and to go to the Well of the Dark Side to face his most personal challenge. There, the Son forced Skywalker to confront his future, one consumed by the dark side. Horrified, Skywalker submitted to the Son as he promised him the power to avert this destiny. Soon, Kenobi arrived, and Skywalker left him trapped at the well, claiming to have seen the truth—that it was the Jedi who would stand in the way of peace.

Skywalker arrived as his Padawan disabled the ship and went to rescue Kenobi, while the Son went to steal the Dagger. As Skywalker waited, the Father appeared before him and recognized that his son had broken the rules of time; he wiped Skywalker's memory of these future visions, leaving him unconscious, and brought him to his monastery. Skywalker awoke to find the Father, Kenobi and Tano, moments before the Son arrived with the Dagger. To end the conflict, the Father impaled himself to distract his Son, while Skywalker killed the Son with his lightsaber. As the Father also died, he warned Skywalker to be wary of his feelings as they would lead to his downfall, and the three Jedi were transplanted back to the galaxy to finally rendezvous with Rex. They would later report this encounter to the Council, with Skywalker even mentioning that he had spoken with Jinn to Yoda.

The Citadel
"I'm not sure what to think of your new ally.''" "''Well, I think we need people like him. This is a war. If we aren't willing to do what it takes to win, we risk losing everything we try to protect."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, on Wilhuff Tarkin

Following the capture of Jedi Council member Even Piell by the Separatists, Skywalker and Kenobi were briefed by Master Plo Koon and sent along with their team—which included Rex, Cody, Echo and Fives—to infiltrate the Citadel on Lola Sayu to retrieve Master Piell, who held the information on the Nexus Route. Refusing to let Tano risk her life on such a dangerous mission, Skywalker devised a strategy to bypass the lifeform scanners of the prison; the whole team underwent carbon-freezing and were transported to the Citadel by Commander R2-D2 and his reprogrammed battle droid squadron.

After landing, Skywalker was thawed out and he found, to his surprise, that Tano had disobeyed orders and followed him. Forced to take her along, the team made its way to the facilities, leaving the astromech to guard their shuttle. After free-climbing to the entry point through a cliff wall blasted by a strong gale and littered with electro-mines, and after Tano deactivated the ray-shield on the entrance, the team was able to enter, except for Charger, who fell to his death and alerted the prison staff, led by Osi Sobeck, of their presence. Inside, they lost Longshot, but finally made it to Master Piell, whom they freed and who told them they needed to rescue his officers.

Despite the many traps laid through the fortress, the team rescued the officers, when they met the other carrier of the Nexus Route coordinates, Captain Wilhuff Tarkin. The team was split into two—while Kenobi's team created a diversion, Skywalker would lead the others away. In Tarkin's company, Skywalker and his team escaped through the cavern system below the prison, when Tarkin expressed some skepticism about the Jedi's plan, to which Skywalker told Tarkin that he reserved his trust to those who understood gratitude. However, they soon found common ground, for they both believed the Jedi Code prevented the Order from going far enough to achieve victory in the ongoing war, and Tarkin developed a grudging appreciation for Skywalker.

As they made their way out of the fuel line to rendezvous with R2-D2 and the shuttle, they were attacked by droids and forced to join Kenobi at their pick-up point, with the shuttle heavily guarded. During the skirmish, Echo tried to defend the shuttle, but its destruction and subsequent explosion seemingly killed him. As they ran into the cave system, Skywalker and Kenobi contacted the Council, telling them they needed to escape, and Koon immediately departed to pick them up. They contacted the Council again to be informed of the extraction point; as they proceeded to the location, Sobeck sent anoobas after them. The creatures claimed Master Piell's life, who passed his intel on to Tano, and the group took a moment to honor his death. Ultimately, they got to the extraction point on time, and fled on Plo Koon's rescue shuttle, with Saesee Tiin's fleet covering them to allow their escape back to Coruscant.

Padawan lost
"When I was out there, alone, all I had was your training and the lessons you taught me. And because of you, I did survive. And not only that, I was able to lead others to survive as well.''" "I don't know what to say." "I do. Thank you, Master. " "''You're welcome, my Padawan."

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker

Skywalker, Tano, and 501st forces fought on Felucia alongside Plo Koon and his clones in taking out a reinforced Separatist outpost. Breaking their forces into three groups, Skywalker and Rex's team were responsible for attacking the front gate and destroying the tactical droid, TZ-33, securing the outpost together with Koon and Tano's teams.

However, Skywalker then noticed that Tano had disappeared during the battle, and ordered a perimeter sweep. Skywalker had his men search around the outpost, to no avail several times over. Master Koon then informed that he had alerted all forces throughout the Outer Rim and assured Skywalker that she would be found eventually, but also firmly told him that their mission on Felucia was finished and that they had to return to Coruscant. However, Skywalker refused to abandon her, to which Koon observed his emotions were clouding his judgement. Skywalker countered "I will not leave her fate up to others." Koon insisted, "It's time to go." Only then did Skywalker comply and call everybody in to leave the planet.

Back at the Temple, Skywalker relentlessly searched for possibilities in the star-charts, which prompted Koon to suggest that he should trust in Tano's abilities. Following the events on Wasskah, Skywalker's search for his Padawan came to an end when she arrived to the Temple on the Halo, in company of her Wookiee allies and the younglings O-Mer and Jinx. Upon seeing her, Skywalker profusely apologized for all that happened, heavily blaming himself for his apparent inability to protect her. Tano, however, assured him that his instruction gave her the skills necessary to survive and thanked him for his guidance. The two bowed to each other in a newfound mutual respect under the delighted eye of Master Yoda.

Battle of Horain
"Stand down! It's General Kenobi. And it looks like he's bringing a new friend."

- Anakin Skywalker

Sometime later Skywalker participated in the Battle of Horain. He alongside Kenobi and Rex lead a clone army against the Confederacy of Independent Systems on Horain.

Battle of Mon Cala
After the assassination of King Kolina of Mon Cala and new discord in the fragile peace between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren, Skywalker and Amidala, sent as representatives of the Republic, arrived to the planet at the behest of Captain Gial Ackbar of the Mon Calamari Guard and protector of young Prince Lee-Char, but so did Riff Tamson, Separatist ambassador. Though Skywalker and Amidala tried to mediate between the parties, the Quarren left the council hall, dissatisfied with the Mon Calamari rule. Along with Ackbar, they contacted Yoda and Windu, who dispatched a company of clone troopers equipped for underwater combat under the command of Kit Fisto and Tano.

In the meantime, during the Quarren attack assisted by Separatist aqua droids, Skywalker and Amidala accompanied Lee-Char, who in turn was bodyguarded by Ackbar. He engaged the Quarren soldiers, until he was recalled by his wife to help Senator Meena Tills, while leaving Tano to cover the prince and rescue him from Tamson. As the first Separatist/Quarren assault came to an end, Skywalker reunited with Amidala, Tano, Fisto, Ackbar, Lee-Char, and Tills to await the second assault, this time assisted by the Hydroid Medusas, which proved incredibly effective against the Republic-Mon Calamari army. Forced to retreat into the caves below, they regrouped to decide their next course of action—to retreat to the surface, only return to the sea floor as their frigate was destroyed and they were attacked by more enemies.

They split into two groups: Skywalker went with his wife, Ackbar and Tills, whereas Fisto, Tano, and two troopers accompanied the Prince. Expecting Republic reinforcements to come soon, Skywalker and his group proceeded to the Mon Calamari central planetary scanner facility, where the Jedi Knight collapsed the entire structure with the Force, rendering planetary defenses blind to upcoming Republic reinforcements—the Gungan Grand Army, and Representative Binks, sent at the behest of the High Council. However, Tamson used Trident-class assault ship to create whirlpools, disorienting the Republic-Gungan forces, and though Skywalker managed to destroy one of them, all but Tano and Lee-Char were captured.

Brought before Riff Tamson, Skywalker and Fisto were restrained by electric eels, whereas Amidala and Jar Jar Binks were imprisoned within containment devices, interrogating the two Jedi about the whereabouts of Prince Lee-Char. During the interrogation, Tamson attempted to force them to talk by biting a tiny hole into Amidala's helmet, allowing her suit to fill up with water. However, Tamson left to see the located Prince in person, Skywalker and Fisto used the Force to remove the water from her helmet, while Binks used his saliva to seal the puncture, saving her from drowning. The four were soon taken to witness Prince Lee-Char's execution, in which Nossor Ri, the Quarren leader, saved the prince at the critical moment and turned his people against the Separatists, resulting in the victory of the Mon Cala people. With the peace restored, Skywalker and his friends were present for the coronation of Lee-Char, now recognized by both Mon Calamari and Quarren as their new monarch.

Naboo
"Padmé, I'm sorry."

- Anakin Skywalker, after being traded for Grievous

Following rumors that the Gungans planned to aid the Separatists in an attack on Theed, Skywalker accompanied Amidala to Theed and later, to to the Gungan territory near Lake Paonga where they met with Binks, who confirmed the troubling rumors. He took the couple to Otoh Gunga, where they spoke to Boss Lyonie, and realized he was under the influence of a mind-controlling necklace, which Skywalker telekinetically snatched, making him recover; Lyonie told them that new minister, Rish Loo, had given it to him.

Skywalker, Amidala, and Binks assisted Lyonie as he confronted Loo, only to face droid commandos, and for Lyonie to be stabbed by Loo before the minister's escape. Taking the Boss to an infirmary, the couple noticed the uncanny resemblance between the unconscious Lyonie and Binks, who they convince to impersonate Lyonie and cancel the Gungan assault on Theed. As he did so, uncovering Loo's deception to the army, Skywalker pursued the fugitive minister to a trap set by Count Dooku in Loo's laboratory. As Dooku killed Loo and revealed his secret input in the Battle of Naboo, Skywalker dueled the Count, only to be overwhelmed by Dooku's powers and his four MagnaGuards.

Dooku then contacted Amidala and offered an exchange—the Jedi Knight for General Grievous, who had been captured by the Gungan Grand Army, thanks to Gungan General Tarpals's sacrifice. An hour later, Skywalker was brought and handed over to Amidala, Queen Neeyutnee and the Gungans, while Grievous was allowed to remain free.

Battle of Umbara
"Does my battalion have to do everything?''" "''You seem to always volunteer."

- Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi

During the campaign on Umbara, Skywalker and Kenobi discussed their attack strategy against the Umbaran capital, which was being defended by Confederate and local militia forces. Together with Rex and Fives, Skywalker prepared to repel enemy reinforcements striking against Kenobi's joint attack with Jedi Masters Saesee Tiin and Pong Krell, who would be supporting Kenobi from the south whereas Skywalker and 501st Legion would advance from the north.

Amidst heavy fire, Skywalker and his battalion made it to the landing site, and then to a ridge which they used as a staging area. As he and Rex awaited the rest of their men, hoping to move out soon and reinforce General Kenobi's battalion, Dogma reported that all platoons had reported in, and Skywalker told him to get some rest. Dogma replied that he was fine, but Rex told him it was a direct order, prompting Dogma to do as he was told. As Rex observed Dogma was "wound tight but loyal," Skywalker joked that he reminded him of Rex, who disagreed, saying that was him in the old days.

Shortly after this, the Umbarans ambushed Skywalker and his troops, but an airstrike by Master Krell and Odd Ball saved them. After the quick save, Krell approached Skywalker with a disconcerting message: the Council had ordered Skywalker back to Coruscant, effective immediately, as requested by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, for reasons unknown. Though reluctant to leave his troops in the midst of battle, Skywalker was forced to relinquish command over his troops to Master Krell and make the journey back to Coruscant. Despite Krell's efforts to sabotage the Republic effort by tricking the 501st and the 212th battalions into attacking each other, Kenobi was successful in taking the capital and routing the remaining Umbaran forces, securing all sectors of the planet for the Republic.

Kiros
After ten rotations of Yoda's last contact with the Togruta colonists on Kiros, Skywalker, Tano, Captain Rex, Commander Cody, and Kenobi departed to liberate the world from the Separatists. After landing, suspicious of the lack of colonists in the town, they used BARC speeders to break through the city and surround the governor's tower, used as the Separatist Headquarters. The enemy commander, Darts D'Nar, then sent a message to Kenobi to discuss terms of surrender. Skywalker then took the holoprojector out of Cody's hand and called D'Nar "Zygerrian scum." Though Skywalker wanted to deal with the slaver himself, Kenobi told him to locate the missing colonists while he negotiated. As Skywalker contacted Admiral Yularen to conduct a planetary bioscan to find them, Kenobi explained Skywalker's behavior to Tano.

Overhearing from Kenobi's negotiations that D'Nar had planted bombs throughout the city, Skywalker and Tano set out to disarm them. Despite sniper droids, they destroyed the bombs in the nick of time, just for Kenobi to tell them D'Nar was escaping on the Tecora. With some effort, they managed to board the ship, inside which D'Nar pitted a blixus against them, but Skywalker managed to throw it off the ship, while Tano bested D'Nar in the cockpit. Soon, Skywalker joined her and, with frightening intensity, threatened the Zygerrian into revealing the colonists' location, much to Tano's surprise. However, it proved effective as D'Nar revealed that his Queen would hold the Royal Slave Auction.

Zygerria
"A most curious Jedi who cares more about his friends than his own mission. Hero. General. And now, my servant."

- Miraj Scintel

When Skywalker, Kenobi, Yularen, and Tano told the Jedi Council of their findings, they were tasked with locating the colonists. On the Tecora, and disguised as Zygerrian, they land on the capital city of Zygerria; splitting into two teams (Kenobi and Rex went to located the colonists), Skywalker and Tano went to meet Queen Miraj Scintel, with Skywalker posing as "Lars Quell" and bringing news of Bruno Denturri's supposed death, and presenting Tano as a present. He quickly won Scintel's favor, with the Queen inviting him to accompany her during the slave auction, where she intended to have Skywalker prove himself a slaver by torturing Kenobi.

Instead, he freed Kenobi and tried to escape with R2-D2 returning their lightsabers, Rex providing cover fire and Tano confronting the Queen. Despite their efforts, however, they were subdued, but Scintel saw Skywalker's determination, for five electro-whips were needed to reduce him. Despite Dooku and half her kingdom demanding his death, Scintel had Skywalker brought to her quarters. There he woke up and interrogated Scintel about his friends' whereabouts, while he throttled the Queen with the Force. However, Scintel gasped that his friends would die unless he obeyed her, and Skywalker was forced to comply and become her bodyguard and escort, just as she became infatuated by him.

After a few days, Dooku would arrive, and Skywalker observed that she too was a slave to the Count, before she left to receive the Sith Lord. With the help of R2-D2, he escaped his guards and freed Tano from her cage and sent her to prep the ship, while he interrogated Scintel to tell him Kenobi and Rex's location. However, he found himself before Atai Molec, who had betrayed Scintel, and Dooku, with whom Skywalker futilely dueled before Dooku blamed him of killing Scintel before her guards. Skywalker then took Scintel and escaped to the Tecora, aboard which she told him Kenobi was in the Kadavo system and that she, just like Skywalker, was a slave, before dying.

After contacting Plo Koon to send reinforcements, Skywalker and Tano soon reached Kadavo and entered the slave-processing facility. During the battle that ensued, Skywalker disabled the turrets that were attacking Koon and his forces, while Tano saved the Togruta colonists from falling to their death (as caused by Keeper Agruss) by placing Admiral Coburn's Arquitens-class light cruiser underneath the facility. Along with Rex and Kenobi, Skywalker evacuated the facility before it was destroyed on Koon's orders, before returning to the rest of Koon's fleet.

Palpatine kidnapped
"Skywalker, a powerful Jedi you are, yet unpredictable and dangerous you can be, to both your friends and enemies. For Obi-Wan, on your patience, everything depends."

- Yoda, to Anakin Skywalker

After the capture of Moralo Eval, rumored to be the mastermind of a plot to kidnap Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Skywalker, Tano and Kenobi were recalled to an emergency meeting by the High Council while they walked through the nightly streets of Coruscant. On their way to the Temple, however, a sniper opened fire at them, which prompted the three Jedi to chase their aggressor. However, the sniper killed Kenobi before escaping on a speeder, prompting Skywalker to return to his master, to find Tano crying and his old master dead, whom he called several times trying to get him to respond. Becoming withdrawn and grim, Skywalker wouldn't say a word since then, until after the funeral held to honor Kenobi, when he went on a self-imposed mission to locate his murderer, Rako Hardeen, at Trueping's. Though Skywalker would rather kill him, he arrested Hardeen and ferried him to the Republic Detention Center.

After hearing that Hardeen had escaped from jail, Skywalker held a meeting with his friend, Palpatine, when Windu informed the Chancellor that they would remove the bounty on Hardeen and the two other escapees, Eval and Cad Bane; a decision did not sit well with Skywalker. Palpatine suggested that the Council perhaps did not trust him to control his feelings, and Skywalker felt the Council was doing nothing to catch the murderer of his master—his best friend. Exploiting this to his advantage, Palpatine told him not to deny his feelings, for they were what made him special, and deliberately sent Skywalker and Tano to Nal Hutta. There, two Jedi harshly interrogated locals for information, which led them to Orondia, the fugitives last known location.

After spotting their quarry as they prepare to leave, Skywalker rammed their ship into submission and board it in midflight, but was foiled by Bane and a subsequent crash-landing of both parties resulting from the chase. Surrounded by smoke, Hardeen left the ship, and Skywalker confronted him, ready to kill Hardeen when Bane interrupted him. Hardeen intervened then and wrestled with Skywalker, whispering to Skywalker's ear "Anakin, don't follow me." As he felt a connection, Skywalker passed out, only for Tano to protect him for Bane's attempts to execute him. As they returned to Coruscant, Yoda summoned Skywalker to his chambers and revealed the truth to him—that Kenobi was "Rako Hardeen."

Afterwards, Skywalker was briefed along his Padawan about the security plans the Council had for the Chancellor during the Festival of Light on Naboo. Skywalker, Tano, and Windu would escort the Palpatine and Mas Amedda to Theed, where Skywalker was greeted by his wife. At the festival itself, the abduction was initially successful with Cad Bane and Moralo Eval ferrying Palpatine away, while Skywalker and Windu captured Embo and Twazzi; however, Kenobi stopped Eval and Bane, long enough for Windu and Skywalker to arrive and take the two into custody.

As he reunited with his old master, he voiced his resentment for the Council's lack of trust in him as well as Kenobi's decision to hide the truth from him. Wondering how many other lies he had been told by the Council, he set out on his own to bodyguard Palpatine, who continued to place seeds of doubt in Skywalker until they were greeted by Dooku. After destroying two of his MagnaGuards, Skywalker dueled the Count with ferocity, until Kenobi arrived to help him rescue the Chancellor, whereas Dooku fled.

Sometime later, when Skywalker and Tano were on their way to rendezvous with a cruiser, they decided to land at the Stobar spaceport, as Skywalker was hungry and tired of government rations. The two walked into Plop Dribble's, only to find police droids and an unconscious waitress. Though they attempted to investigate the assault, both the police and its owner, Loubo, told not to worry; instead, he offered them a free meal. However, Skywalker sensed a disturbance in the Force, something sinister and familiar—which, unbeknownst to him, heralded the return of Darth Maul.

Onderon Rebellion
"I feel responsible for them.''" "''I know you do, Snips, but remember, purpose must come before feelings."

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker

Following a plea made by a rebel cell on Onderon, the Jedi Council considered how to help them fight the Separatists. Skywalker suggested training the rebels in subversive combat tactics; though it verged on terrorism, which the Jedi would not support, the High Council decided to send advisors to the rebel cell for the upcoming battle. On the Nu-class transport Valkyrie 2929, Skywalker, Tano, Rex and Kenobi reached the planet during the night, when they met Steela Gerrera and were guided to their rebel secret base, where they met her brother, Saw. The team trained the rebels to combat droids, until Separatist probe droids discovered their outpost and attacked, which prompted the cell to enter Iziz.

After some successful operations, Skywalker, Kenobi and Rex decided to return to Coruscant and report to the Council, while Tano stayed behind as a liaison to the rebels, without revealing herself as a Jedi. They kept in frequent communication with her, to provide guidance, but also to provide help by hiring Hondo Ohnaka to deliver missile launchers to the Onderon rebels for the final assault. Skywalker attended the funeral service for Steela Gerrera.

Skywalker lent the Twilight to Kenobi, who used it to travel to Mandalore to rescue Satine Kryze. With all its technical problems, after landing on Mandalore, Kenobi vowed not to borrow another ship from Skywalker. However, as he escaped, the ship was shot down by Mandalorian commandos and destroyed, moments before Kryze was murdered by Maul during the Mandalorian civil war.

Skywalker was later present when the Jedi Council sent Meebur Gascon and a team of Republic droids to rescue a Venator-class Star Destroyer from the Separatists. Skywalker was later contacted and informed by Gascon of R2's sacrifice. However, Skywalker refused to believe that his friend was gone. He sent out salvage teams to scour the wreckage, who retrieved R2's remains and repaired him. The two reunited, and Anakin was happy to have him back.

Maul's return
Skywalker was later present when the Jedi high council met up with the chancellor to discuss Darth Maul during which they decided to leave him alone even though they knew he was still alive.

Some time later Skywalker was sparring with Tano when Master Yoda entered to spar with her. He watched on as Tano was defeated by Yoda but managed to progress as Yoda taught her some skills.

Tano's trial
"I know you believe in me, Anakin, and I'm grateful for that. But this isn't about you. I can't stay here any longer, not now.''" "The Jedi Order is your life. You can't just throw it away like this. Ahsoka, you are making a mistake." "Maybe, but I have to sort this out on my own, without the Council and without you." "I understand. More than you realize, I understand wanting to walk away from the Order." "''I know."

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker

During the defense of Cato Neimoidia, Skywalker and Tano engaged Separatist forces on their Eta-2 Actis-class interceptors, until they received an urgent mission recalling them to the Jedi Temple. Its hangar had been bombed and, as the two had been off-world during the attack, Skywalker and Tano were to lead the investigation to uncover the criminal—likely to be a Jedi. They went to the crime scene, where they met Russo-ISC, whom Skywalker sent alongside Tano to interview the witnesses, whereas he meditated at the hangar. Unable to discover anything, he met up with Tano, who told him about their missing suspect, Jackar Bowmani, a clue which, in turn, led to his wife, Letta Turmond, who under pressure admitted to feeding Bowmani with nano-droids, but would not reveal her motives.

Skywalker was present at Yoda's eulogy for the six Jedi who died during the explosion, and later took the opportunity to speak with Tarkin. Skywalker and his Padawan were then summoned to the war room to be briefed about a Separatist attack on Saleucami, when Tarkin informed them that Turmond had requested to speak with Tano. When she was framed with Turmond's death and imprisoned, he was forbidden to see her, and only returned to track her down on her escape, following Tano into the pipe lines.

Alone, they revealed that their trust in each other was absolute, but as Skywalker pleaded for her to surrender herself and make her case to the Council, she refused to take the blame for something she hadn't done and asked Skywalker to trust her, just as she jumped onto a passing ship, thus escaping to the Coruscant underworld.

As Tarkin declared she was being accused of sedition, Yoda assigned Skywalker and Plo Koon to search for Tano, with some resistance from Windu—who did not believe Skywalker to be emotionally detached to do what had to be done. Nevertheless, when she was captured, Skywalker escorted her to the Temple, where he was later summoned to the Chamber of Judgment along with his Padawan. He was outraged to learn that the Council had already made their decision and that the meeting was simply a formality, and they expelled her from the Order. Resentful of the Council, he asked his wife, Amidala, to defend Tano at her trial before leaving to capture Ventress himself.

Skywalker soon found and interrogated Ventress, who admitted she was about to turn in Tano to the authorities, until she realized Tano had been abandoned by Skywalker and the Jedi Order, just like she had been forsaken by Dooku. She also said that whoever had attacked Tano had stolen her lightsabers and that Tano had contacted Barriss Offee for help. Promising to kill Ventress if she lied, Skywalker left for the Temple, where he went to Offee's quarters and questioned her, only to engage her in a duel. After subduing her, Skywalker brought Offee to the Republic military base where Tano was being judged. As the Mirialan Padawan confessed, all charges against Tano were lifted.

Back at the Temple, Skywalker and the Council apologized to Tano and invited her back into the Order, with Skywalker offering her severed Padawan braid. However, Tano apologized, leaving him in possession of her braid, and declined the offer. As she left the Temple, Skywalker followed her, and asked her to reconsider. Tano, however, declared that she felt she couldn't stay with the Order, due to their lack of trust in her. Despite Skywalker's heartfelt protests and his mentioning that he himself had considered leaving the Order before, she chose to walk away. Tano's departure had a deep impact on Skywalker, leaving him feeling more alone than ever in bearing the expectations of being the prophesied Chosen One. The circumstances surrounding her departure also served to intensify his frustration with the High Council, as he felt they had betrayed her by not backing her innocence.

Mission to Batuu
Skywalker was told by Senator Amidala that one of her former handmaidens, Duja, had found something near Batuu that she and Skywalker should investigate. Unfortunately, Skywalker was unable to join her due to being sent to battle. Skywalker allowed her to travel to Batuu by herself. Upon his return to Coruscant after the battle, Skywalker could find records of Amidala's travels in the Outer Rim. After another battle, Skywalker received a message that Amidala's ship was found on Batuu. Skywalker, along with R2-D2, took his interceptor to Batuu. En route to Batuu, Skywalker encountered a freighter. Skywalker spoke with the freighter's captain, Chiss Defense Fleet Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, known simply as Thrawn. Skywalker accepted Thrawn's assistance in finding Amidala and Duja.

Skywalker found Amidala's ship near Batuu's Black Spire Outpost. There, he stopped a group of smugglers who were angry about the ship being in there landing spot. Skywalker fought them until Thrawn broke up the fight. Together, they investigated Amidala's ship and learned about Duja's ship, Nomad Four. The two then went to nearby cantina. After speaking with the bartender, Skywalker and Thrawn came under attack by four assailants. The two of them were able to kill the assailants. Thrawn suspected the assialants were sent to kill Skywalker and that there was fifth nearyby. Skywalker and Thrawn came up with a plan to capture the last assailant. After Skywalker took one of the assailant's body, he pretended to suffer engine damage in his interceptor. After landing Skywalker came under attack by a assassin droid, but was to destroy it. Thrawn was able to capture the assailant and found his freighter, which belonged to the Separatists.

Mission to Mokivj
Skywalker and Thrawn took out the droids guarding the freighter. Together, they found out the freighter was headed to Cermau. As they returned to Black Spire, they came under attack several thugs. Thrawn was able to use their speeder, to capture the thugs. Skywalker and Thrawn questioned the cargo inspector Oenti, who reveals that the cantina's bartender, Janott had ties to the Separatists' Duke Solha. They learned that they were shipping supplies to a droid factory. After learning of Duja's death, Skywalker told Thrawn about the politics behind the Clone Wars. Skywalker and Thrawn traveled to Mokivj. There, they discovered that the Separatists were mining Cortosis.

Skywalker and Thrawn were captured by Solha's droids and taken to a prison cell. There, they freed themselves and met up with Amidala, disguised as worker.

Kamino conspiracy
"He's in on it! I don't know to what extent. But I know he orchestrated much of this. He told me in the medical bay!''" "He told you? When you tried to assassinate him? You have gone too far, Fives. The Chancellor isn't capable of what you claim." "''He is! I swear to you, General. You've no idea—"

- Fives and Anakin Skywalker, before being interrupted by the Coruscant Guard

Skywalker, alongside Jedi Generals Tiplar and Tiplee, were sent to take control of Ringo Vinda's planet-wide station back from Admiral Trench. Only after seven rotations of stalemated combat, did they manage to push Trench's forces to a breaking point. However, one of Skywalker's troopers, Tup intentionally killed General Tiplar, forcing Skywalker to order his and Tiplee's troops to fall back. He then had Tup checked out to see if he had been brainwashed by the Separatists, only to find nothing in him, even as he repeated non-stop "Good soldiers follow orders" as well as apparent amnesia. Though he did not find anything in him, Skywalker then had Tup sent to Kamino for further examination.

After Tup's shuttle was destroyed and he was taken prisoner by Trench, Skywalker investigated the wreckage. Seeing that Tup was not among the dead, Skywalker decided to infiltrate the Separatist lines. Alongside Rex and Fives, Skywalker reached the Separatist's hangar and saw that Commander Kraken had Tup aboard his shuttle. Skywalker and the others the boarded the shuttle and took out Kraken's crew, including Kraken himself, who refused to reveal why they had abducted Tup. Skywalker then had Tup transported tor Kamino with Fives and Rex as escorts.

Following the end of Skywalker and the 501st Legion's participation on Ringo Vinda, and the death of Tup, Skywalker and the High Council were informed by Shaak Ti that Fives attempted to kill the Chancellor. Windu, aware that the Jedi were not requested to participate in the manhunt, allowed Skywalker and Rex to secretly search for the clone. They soon were contacted by Kix, who told them that Fives wanted to meet the two at a warehouse in Level 1325. As Anakin and Rex entered the warehouse, they dropped their weapons on Fives' request. After doing so, they were encircled by a ray shield, which prompted Skywalker to question Fives' actions, but he and Rex listened to the fugitive's side of the story. Skywalker refused to believe that the Chancellor was involved in this conspiracy about the inhibitor chips, but their conversation was cut short by the arrival of the Coruscant Guard. Skywalker watched as they gunned Fives down, dying in Rex’s arms.

He would report the event to Yoda, Windu, Ti, and the Chancellor, who was swift to lie to the Jedi that all had been the product of a parasite from Ringo Vinda, one that had caused the decay of Fives and Tup's chips; Palpatine urged the Jedi to leave the matter behind, for each day, they grew "closer and closer to victory."

Clovis returns
"Anakin, I understand to a degree what is going on. You've met Satine. You know I once harbored feelings for her. It's not that we're not allowed to have these feelings. It's natural.''" "Senator Amidala and I are simply friends." "''And friends you must remain. As a Jedi, it is essential you make the right choice, Anakin, for the Order."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker

Upon his wife's mission to Scipio and subsequent reencounter with Rush Clovis, when she was accused of sabotage and her aide Teckla Minnau was killed, Skywalker was sent to protect Amidala, but was upset to hear that Clovis was involved. Nevertheless, he agreed to help her, and together, they went to Clovis's residence to assist in exposing the Banking Clan's corruption. As they were about to depart along with Clovis, Skywalker defended both Senators from the bounty hunter Embo and his pet anooba, Marrok. The trio were able to escape Embo, thanks to R2-D2, and make their way to Coruscant. Escorted by Yoda, they met with Palpatine and other members of the Jedi Council, and Senator Bail Organa, during which Skywalker's animosity towards Clovis was perceived by Yoda.

As Amidala was appointed by the Chancellor to work closely alongside Clovis to investigate the Banking Clan, Skywalker questioned her decision, as he wanted her away from Clovis, whom he greatly distrusted. Though he demanded that she step away from her assignment, she refused and left with Clovis. Frustrated, Skywalker went to his quarters, where Kenobi (at the behest of Yoda) spoke to him, revealing that he was well aware of Skywalker's feelings for Amidala, and asked his former apprentice not to let himself carried away by them before leaving. Later that night, Skywalker went to his wife's apartment, where he found Clovis about to kiss her, for which Skywalker briefly Force choked him—before giving him a one-sided beatdown despite Amidala's protests, willing to kill Clovis in his jealousy.

Before it was too late, he realized his mistake and stopped, only for Captain Typho to enter. Much to his surprise, Clovis lied about the attack. As they carried Clovis to Amidala's bedroom, Skywalker tried to apologize to his wife, but she told him to stay away from her. Only when they were alone afterwards, she questioned their marriage, too steeped in lies and deception, and decided that they take a break from one another after admitting to not feeling safe around Skywalker—who, in turn, admitted to being unable to control himself, even though he did not know why.

Clovis was accepted as the new head of the Banking Clan by the Senate, and Skywalker confided to the Chancellor of his distrust in Clovis, which Palpatine shared. Soon, when Clovis apparently joined the Separatists the day after (which Skywalker found strange), and Scipio was occupied by Separatists, Skywalker was then sent to retake Scipio. After landing, Skywalker went to Clovis's office and tried to reason with Clovis to make him let go of Amidala. At that very moment, though, a vulture droid crashed into the office, making it unstable and causing Amidala and Clovis to fall, but Skywalker grabbed them both, each with one hand. As he could not hold the two, Clovis told Skywalker to let go of him, but he wouldn't; Clovis apologized to Amidala and then let go of Skywalker, falling to his death. Though Skywalker and Amidala reconciled, the Banking Clan came under control of the Chancellor.

Sifo-Dyas' secret
"The creation of the clone army, kept secret from us Sifo-Dyas did. How this was done we know not, yet now a new piece of the puzzle we have. Perhaps clarity it will bring us, yes."

- Yoda

After Jedi Master Plo Koon intercepted a distress call from a lost shuttle and discovered Sifo-Dyas's lightsaber, its late owner being responsible for the secret creation of the Clone Army. Relaunching the investigation of Sifo-Dyas's death, Skywalker and Kenobi were sent to Felucia, where they spoke to the tribal leaders to find out what happened to the late Jedi Master. Kenobi was told that the Felucians had cremated his body and that a another Jedi had been with him when he was killed, and reported their findings to Master Yoda.

The two were then sent to Oba Diah when former Chancellor, Finis Valorum told Yoda that Sifo-Dyas had been sent to negotiate with the Pyke Syndicate to stop an underground war. Valorum, however, said that there was no other Jedi sent alongside Syfo-Dyas, but rather his personal aide Silman. On Oba Diah, Kenobi and Skywalker met Lom Pyke, who denied any involvement until Kenobi noticed that he was wearing the crest of Valorum and Skywalker grabbed the necklace and told the Pyke to "stop playing games." Lom finally complied with the Jedi, and told them that they had been paid by a man called Tyranus to shoot Sifo-Dyas's shuttle down. However, as they feared that anyone who paid for the death of a Jedi was dangerous, they kept Silman locked away for ten years as insurance.

Once they met Silman, they realized he had gone mad after being locked up for so long, and were unable to learn much from him before Dooku arrived to kill him before Skywalker and Kenobi's eyes. After engaging Dooku in combat, they learned that the man called Tyranus was, in fact, the Count. After he managed to escape, they informed the Council of their findings, only for them to question why Dooku had been behind the creation of the clone army, and what the game of the yet-unidentified Dark Lord of the Sith was.

Yoda's journey
"Help me to escape. Yes.''" "Escape? But you're not in prison." "No, perhaps, but perhaps I am. Already, all around us the cage may be. A journey I must make alone." "The Council will not want you to travel at all, alone even less." "''Disobeying the Council your expertise is. That is why I ask for your help. It is the spontaneity you find so easily which others do not. That is what sets you apart. Now, a walk you will take me on. Come, come."

- Yoda and Anakin Skywalker

Upon Yoda's brief contact with Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda requested that Skywalker meet him on the Temple's training grounds to speak about their experience on Mortis, where both he and Kenobi had spoken to Jinn. As Skywalker, too, was in disbelief of the idea that an individual could retain its identity after death, Yoda left him to rest. Later on, when Yoda submitted himself for medical examination by Rig Nema, Skywalker informed them that Chancellor Palpatine wanted to hold an emergency meeting with Yoda, to which Windu responded, leaving the Grand Master free to undergo a deprivation ritual. Skywalker, Mundi, Kenobi, Koon, and Nema watched over the old master, until Kenobi interrupted it before it was too late, and Yoda claimed to have spoken with the dead.

With the Council worried for his health, Yoda was placed under the surveillance of guards, so the Jedi Master asked to Skywalker to see him. Yoda asked Skywalker to help him escape, which Skywalker did. Accompanying Yoda to his fighter, Skywalker even lent R2-D2 to Yoda to accompany him on a journey that would take him to Dagobah, a mysterious planet and Moraband, to learn that the Jedi Order would not win the war, and that there was "another Skywalker."

Crystal Crisis on Utapau
"How well would you sleep, knowing that I failed you?''" "''Not very well, I imagine. Luckily, that isn't true, and never will be."

- Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi

During the last months of the war, Kenobi and Skywalker were sent to Utapau to investigate the mysterious death of Jedi Master Tu-Anh. Once they landed on Pau City, Inspector Jen June led them to see the corpse at the morgue. After examining the body, they went to the place where she had been found, only to determine she had been hit in the optic nerve with a precision laser dart by a sniper. As they found the sniper's position, from the building's owner, Garri, the two Jedi learned of the involvement of MagnaGuards and began to suspect the involvement of General Grievous, and had Inspector June analyze some slimy substance they had found—the secretion of an Amani's skin.

Though Governor Torul Blom asked them to leave Utapau, Kenobi and Skywalker persevered and rented two dactillions to go talk to the leader of an Amani tribe, who revealed that an Amani outcast had entered one of the caves. The two Jedi entered it to find MagnaGuards. Despite some resistance, they managed to have the droids reveal the involvement of the Sugi and went to see Inspector June once again. Soon after, the two attended the funeral for Tu-Anh.

As they reached the Amani settlement they had been looking for, the Amani scattered, leaving Skywalker and Kenobi to follow the tracks of one that appeared to be their leader. During the hunt, Skywalker mentioned Tano for the first time since her departure, and Kenobi asked if he wanted to talk about it, yet Skywalker refused. Kenobi then suggested for them to set up a camp and rest. However, he insisted on the subject, prompting Skywalker to tell Kenobi he missed Tano and to voice his anger at the High Council for turning its back on her. To Skywalker's annoyance, Kenobi stood by the Council's authority, asserting that it had been Tano's decision to leave, and that she had allowed her emotions to cloud her judgement, something against the Jedi way. Then, Kenobi suggested he rest, but Skywalker declined so that he could keep the first watch. Finally, he questioned Kenobi on what would happen if he had turned out to be a "major disappointment," but Kenobi wanted to believe it would never happen.

However, they both fell asleep and were captured by a group of Sugis led by Chong, who brought them before Endente as Kenobi told Chong of their "intention" to buy weapons. They learned Endente was, in fact, selling a kyber crystal, and Skywalker prompted him to show it before they made the deal. Brought to the starship where the crystal was being kept, they escaped from their captors, and Skywalker eliminated all the Sugi, except for Endente, who fled. After they discovered the massive kyber crystal inside the ship, the two Jedi managed to transport the crystal through Utapau's plains until they reached Pau City, where Blom had the two Jedi surrounded with his men and Grievous's droids. As the kyber crystal was loaded into a shuttle and sent to a ship on orbit, Kenobi and Skywalker stole a freighter to recover the crystal.

During the persecution, Grievous damaged their ship, forcing them to crash it to disable the hyperdrive and, with their escape pods, board the ship where the crystal was then held. As they got separated, Kenobi was captured by Grievous, and Skywalker recovered his lightsaber, located the crystal and freed Kenobi. Together, their made their way to the kyber crystal at the vault, where they were temporarily trapped until a squad discovered them. Using the crystal and the Force to knock them out, he managed to get to a hangar, where Skywalker stole a shuttle to escape. Meanwhile, Kenobi set several AATs to shoot and overload the crystal, destroying the crystal and the ship, while they escaped from the explosion in the nick of time and returned to Coruscant to report to the Council.

Anaxes
"Tell me the sequence to disarm the bomb.''" "Never. Dooku would kill me for losing Anaxes." "And you think I won't." "You're a Jedi. Your nobility is a weakness." "I don't have'' such weaknesses! Now let's try that again."

- Anakin Skywalker and Trench

Skywalker was dispatched alongside Windu to defend the Republic shipyards on Anaxes. With mounting losses on the Republic side, Captain Rex told Skywalker and Windu that General Trench was possibly in possession of his algorithm. Considering this possibility, Windu sent Rex and Commander Cody to take a squad, and Clone Force 99, behind enemy lines to infiltrate a Separatist cyber center while Skywalker and him held the line. After confirming that the algorithm was indeed being used by Trench and that Echo could still be alive, Rex planned a rescue mission to Skako Minor and had Skywalker ask the Council for permission. Though the request was denied, Skywalker, Rex and the "Bad Batch" continued with the operation.

As they reached Skako Minor on the Havoc Marauder, Skywalker was captured by the Poletec on their keeradaks, prompting Rex and the Bad Batch to follow them to the village and rescue the Jedi General. They apologized and explained the situation, and the chief helped them reach Purkoll, which they infiltrated with some effort. When they reached the antechamber, Foreman Wat Tambor sent a transmission saying they had violated the Techno Union's neutrality, and sent droid reinforcements. While Skywalker, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair destroyed them, Rex and Tech found Echo—alive, but as a cyborg.

Unable to yet unplug Echo of his stasis chamber, Skywalker contacted Tambor and tried to bargain for Echo's freedom, but Tambor refused and showed him the effects of his organic decimator on one of the Poletec natives. Ending the transmission, Skywalker urged his team to hurry. Tech managed to unplug Echo and they escaped to the ventilation system before being vaporized by Tambor's decimator, after which Wrecker destroyed the Foreman's main computers with explosives. As they escaped, however, they were surrounded by his D-wing air support droids, but thanks to Tech, they rode keeradaks to the Poletec village. There, they convinced the natives to help them against the Techno Union's forces, including their octuptarra tri-droids, with Skywalker effectively destroying two of them.

Following the skirmish, Skywalker, Rex, and Clone Force 99 returned to Fort Anaxes, where Windu and Kenobi were to take the Separatist assembly complex by air, whereas Echo was to be escorted by the Bad Batch, Skywalker and Rex into Trench's communications vault on a dreadnought on the planet's orbit, where he would plug himself to feed the Separatist's strategic movements. When Echo did so, and deactivated the droids attacking the assembly complex, he realized that Trench had planted initiated a countdown for an explosion that could destroy most of Anaxes. While Kenobi assisted in the evacuation efforts, and Windu deactivated the bomb, Skywalker went to the dreadnought's bridge to confront Trench—cutting his prosthetic arms, and threatening to kill him, Skywalker was told the final sequence number by the Harch. After relying it onto Windu and he managed to deactivate the bomb, Skywalker killed Trench, obtained a detonator to self-destruct the dreadnought and reunited with the rest of his team.

As they left aboard the Havoc Marauder, Skywalker let Wrecker destroy Trench's flagship, damaging the nearby Separatist fleet, and they went to Fort Anaxes, where Windu, Kenobi and Skywalker handed medals to the heroes of the campaign: Captain Rex, Corporal Echo, and the "Bad Batch."

Vos and Ventress
Jedi Master Quinlan Vos had been tasked by the Jedi Council to assassinate Dooku with the help of Asajj Ventress, but during a mission to Raxus the Jedi turned to the dark side due to Dooku's manipulations and Ventress's training. Ventress staged a rescue mission, which failed and prompted her to contact the Jedi Council. When she arrived at the Jedi temple, Skywalker and Kenobi escorted her to the Council Chamber, where despite Mace Windu's open disapproval, Yoda dispatched Skywalker and Kenobi to go with Ventress to rescue Vos above Taris. Soon enough, Kenobi, Skywalker, and Ventress were on the cockpit of her ship, the Banshee, to infiltrate the Separatist dreadnought from which Vos, or rather "Admiral Enigma," was issuing orders.

Stealthily, the three boarded the ship and made their way to the bridge, where they found Dooku, instead of Vos. Skywalker then engaged in a duel with the Count, distracting him while Kenobi and Ventress discovered a captive Vos. Though she knew Vos was consumed by his hatred, they escaped to the Banshee, and Skywalker joined with them to escape the enemy ship and return to Coruscant. Back on the Jedi Temple, Skywalker saw as the Council welcomed Vos and pardoned Ventress. That same night, Skywalker reunited with his wife, Amidala, for a moment of respite, during which Skywalker told her of the ordeal—after which, Amidala conferred that perhaps Ventress's love could be Vos's way back from the dark side, leaving Skywalker at a loss for words.

A month later, Skywalker was sent alongside Kenobi, Vos, and Akar-Deshu in a mission to take over a Separatist supply storage base and redistribute the supplies to worlds in need of them. However, their mission went awry when Vos, unbeknownst to them, arranged the base's destruction. After another failed mission to Vos's name, he was suspected of treason, Skywalker and Kenobi were sent to spy on Vos and Ventress as they were deployed to assassinate Dooku during the second battle of Christophsis. When they saw Vos attempt to force the Count to lead him to his master, Darth Sidious, rather than kill him, Skywalker and Kenobi intervened, taking the pair by surprise and arresting them.

However, Vos and Dooku soon escaped from the Vigilance, causing the death of Akar-Deshu and Kav Bayons, and boarded Ventress' ship Banshee to escape Christophsis. Skywalker had the Banshee fired on, forcing the renegades to land on the planet below. He and Kenobi pursued the three injured fugitives to a Separatist-controlled tower, where they surrounded them. There, Skywalker and Kenobi witnessed Ventress' last moments, sacrificing herself to save Vos from Dooku's fatal Force lightning. After her death, Skywalker and Kenobi were joined by the redeemed Vos, and they tried to capture Dooku, to no avail. They then transported Ventress' body and Vos to Coruscant, where the fallen Jedi confessed his crimes and Kenobi defended Ventress.

Bombing of the Temple
Skywalker and R2-D2 were in the Jedi Temple prior to it being bombed by Separatist captain Rackham Sear. The bomber was foiled by Depa Billaba and Caleb Dume. Skywalker would later encounter Caleb, who by that time had taken the name "Kanan Jarrus, as enemies.

The last meeting of a friendship
At some point near the end of the war, Skywalker was contacted by his former apprentice Ahsoka Tano, who had discovered the whereabouts of Darth Maul. She hoped he and Kenobi would be able to join forces with her to confront him, but before they could pursue Maul, Skywalker, and Kenobi were alerted to Chancellor Palpatine's capture by General Grievous and his full-scale attack over the skies of Coruscant, and were called back to rescue the Chancellor. Before leaving, Skywalker gave Tano the things she needed to face Maul; her old lightsabers and a battalion of clones led by Rex. Unbeknown to either of them, this would be the last time they ever saw each other as friends.

Confrontation on the Invisible Hand
"Soon I will have a new apprentice... one far younger and more powerful."

- Darth Sidious

Skywalker and Kenobi returned from the Outer Rim Sieges, and from their meeting with Tano, to lead the rescue of the Chancellor from General Grievous before the cyborg's fleet could flee the besieged capital. Assisted by a squadron of ARC-170 starfighters led by Clone Commander Odd Ball, the two Jedi fought their way through a swarm of Vulture and tri-fighter droid starfighters protecting the Invisible Hand, General Grievous's flagship. Skywalker and Kenobi headed for the ship while the clones distracted the droids, but Kenobi's ship was damaged and partially disabled by Buzz-droids. Although Kenobi told Skywalker to abandon him and complete the mission, the younger Jedi refused and cleared his former master's ship of droids before escorting him to the Invisible Hand hangar. After crashing landing, the two Jedi disposed of the few remaining droids in the hangar while R2-D2 located the Chancellor. Once they discovered that he was being held at the top of the ship's observation spire, they concluded that they were walking into a trap when Skywalker sensed the presence of Count Dooku. Not long after they arrived at the top of the spire, the Sith Lord appeared before them and the two Jedi engaged him in a duel.

Dooku managed to gain the upper hand and knocked Kenobi out, but his taunting, intended to erode Skywalker's morale, instead enraged him. Skywalker unleashed his fury on the Sith Lord, brutally overwhelming him and slicing off both of his hands. Taking Dooku's lightsaber, he crossed both his and the Count's blades at the Count's throat, and Palpatine urged him to kill his helpless opponent. Skywalker initially hesitated, but after the Chancellor's continued insistence, he gave in to his hatred of his nemesis and beheaded Dooku. He expressed regret afterwards, stating it was not the Jedi way, but the Chancellor assured him that he had been right to kill the Count. Despite the Chancellor's pleas, he carried Kenobi on his back to make their escape. However, the elevators leaving the spire had been disabled. With help from R2 and the attack taking place on the Invisible Hand by a neighboring Republic cruiser, they were able to escape in the elevator shaft until the ship's crew was able to regain control of the ship, restoring its gravity and turning the shaft once more into well. Kenobi regained consciousness while they were hanging on inside the shaft and together, he and Skywalker were able to escape the shaft just as a reactivated elevator was about to crush them. However, their good fortune failed them, and they were trapped by a ray shield and apprehended, along with R2, by battle droids.

The two Jedi and the Chancellor were brought before Grievous in the Invisible Hand’s control room. The cyborg personally taunted them, derisively commenting on Skywalker's youth considering his reputation. Skywalker retorted with a taunt about the General being shorter than he had expected. Eventually, R2-D2 caused a distraction, allowing Kenobi to draw his lightsaber to him with the Force, freeing himself and then Skywalker. Once the younger Jedi had also summoned his weapon, they engaged and made short work of Grievous's MagnaGuards and the battle droids holding them and the Chancellor. However, as they attempted to apprehend Grievous, he used one the MagnaGuards' electrostaffs to shatter the viewport, depressurizing the bridge and letting the vacuum take him. Skywalker and Kenobi caught onto nearby command consoles until security measures allowed the bridge to repressurize. Before they could reach him, however, Grievous escaped, jettisoning all the escape pods to prevent them from escaping. As the command crew had fled, Skywalker took control of the damaged flagship, which had begun to enter Coruscant's atmosphere. Although he briefly managed to slow the ship's descent, the damage it had sustained proved too great, and the Invisible Hand broke in half, picking up considerable speed as it fell towards the Republic capital. Skywalker eventually succeeded in crash-landing the Invisible Hand on a deserted landing strip, returning the once-captive Chancellor to Coruscant unharmed.

Looming fatherhood
"Are you all right? You're trembling. What's going on?''" "Something wonderful has happened. Ani, I'm pregnant." "...That's... That- That's won- That's wonderful." "What are we going to do?" "''We're not going to worry about anything right now, alright? This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life."

- Padmé announces her pregnancy to Anakin

Following the ordeal, the two escorted the Chancellor to the Senate building, where they separated—while Kenobi went back to Jedi Temple to report to the Council, Skywalker remained with the Senators who had come to greet the returning Chancellor. He briefly spoke with Senator Organa, who expressed hope that Count Dooku's death could bring a quick end to the war. Skywalker disagreed, saying that as long as General Grievous remained as leader of the Separatist armies, the war would continue. At that moment, he noticed Amidala behind one of the columns, took his leave from the Senator and reunited with his wife for the first time in five months. Amidala then revealed to her husband that she was pregnant. Though they were both worried that this might expose their secret, Amidala especially, Skywalker was overjoyed and told her not to worry, saying that it was the happiest moment of his life. The couple returned to Amidala's apartment, where they began to make plans for when the baby would be born, deciding that their child would be raised on Naboo, in the Lake Country. Amidala also planned to head there before the birth, to prepare the room.

However, that same night, Skywalker's happiness was marred when he suffered a nightmare of his wife dying in childbirth, similar to the visions he had had of his mother before her death. Although Amidala tried to comfort him that it was only a dream, he was terrified that he would lose her, as he had lost his mother. Amidala tried to convince him that they needed help, and suggested they ask Kenobi for his assistance. Skywalker refused, insisting that their baby was blessing, not a curse. The next day, at the Jedi Temple, he sought Yoda's counsel concerning these dreams, but the Grand Master told Skywalker that death was a natural part of life, and to let go of all that he was afraid to lose.

Tensions of Loyalty
At the same time, tensions were rising between Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council, who were concerned with his increasing power. Matters were made worse when the Senate announced that they planned to grant him more executive powers in order to facilitate the end of the war. When Skywalker was informed of this by Kenobi, he was supportive of the measure, despite the reservations of the Council and Kenobi's warning to be wary of Palpatine. He then told him that the Chancellor had requested his presence for unknown reasons, without informing the Council. So Skywalker met with Palpatine at his office, where he told him that he was appointing the young Jedi to be his personal representative on the Council, a decision that Skywalker believed the Jedi Masters would never accept. When informed of this, the Council allowed Skywalker to sit on the Council, yet they refused to grant him the position of Master, a decision which greatly angered Skywalker. Skywalker turned to his former Master and friend, Kenobi, expecting him to back him up, but he was caught between his friendship with Skywalker and his loyalty to the Council, and so remained silent. Angered more by this, Skywalker reluctantly accepted his position and took his seat on the council. At the end of the meeting, Kenobi acknowledged to Skywalker that his appointment had been accepted so that, on behalf of the Council, he could spy on the Chancellor, which Skywalker was reluctant to do.

At the Galaxies Opera House in the Uscru District, Skywalker joined Palpatine in watching the Mon Calamari Aquatic Ballet performing ''Squid Lake. ''During the performance the Chancellor began to stir Skywalker's distrust in the Jedi council, deducing that they had asked Skywalker to spy on him. He claimed that the Jedi are only perceived as good because "good is a point of view", stating that the Jedi and the Sith are not so different. Skywalker rebutted by saying that the Sith are selfish while the Jedi are selfless. The Chancellor recounted the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis to Skywalker, showing that not all Sith were as evil as the Jedi claimed while also tempting the Jedi with knowledge of the power to stop death. Afterwards, Skywalker bid farewell to Kenobi, showing gratitude for his teachings and said to each other "May the Force be with you," before parting ways.

Fall to the Dark Side
"Hence forth, you shall be known as Darth... Vader."

- Darth Sidious bestowing his apprentice with his new name

Skywalker informed the Chancellor of Kenobi's forces engaging Grievous', but during the meeting, Palpatine revealed that he knew the dark side of the Force, leading Skywalker to realize that he was the Sith Lord they had been searching for. Palpatine told Anakin that if he turned him over to the Jedi, then he would be unable to aid in saving his wife, Amidala, from her fated death.

Despite his confusion, Skywalker still was loyal to the Jedi Order. He told his findings to Mace Windu, who went with Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar to arrest Palpatine, leaving Skywalker behind. During the ensuing duel, Palpatine killed three of the four Jedi with ease, but was disarmed by Windu just before Skywalker arrived in his office. Skywalker pleaded with Windu not to kill Palpatine, saying that he should be left for the Senate to judge, but Windu felt Palpatine was too dangerous to be left alive, as he essentially controlled the Senate. Ignoring Skywalker's words, Windu prepared to execute the Chancellor, but Skywalker cut off his right hand, causing Windu to drop his lightsaber and allowing Palpatine to send him plummeting out of a shattered window with a blast of Force lightning.

Though horrified by what he had done, Skywalker saw this as the final straw against the Jedi Order, and as such there was no turning back for him. He reluctantly pledged himself to service under his new Sith Master, Sidious, who named him "Darth Vader," a title that he did not bestow lightly. Sidious then declared all Jedi enemies of the Republic and ordered Vader to kill the Jedi at the Temple, while he executed Order 66, during which clone troopers turned on their Jedi Generals and executed them on the spot. Leading the attack, Vader and the 501st Legion carried out this order. Vader himself killed younglings, but also Jedi Masters such as Cin Drallig, before meeting with Sidious, who then sent him to Mustafar.

Following the attack, he went back home to Amidala and told her the Jedi Order had tried to topple the Republic, much to her disbelief, and that he was about to go to the Mustafar system, where the Separatist Council was. Telling her that he would end the war, they kissed and he left.

Duel on Mustafar
"You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Darth Vader

TOn Mustafar, Vader killed the entire Separatist Council, including Wat Tambor, Poggle the Lesser, and Nute Gunray, along with their aides. Simultaneously, Palpatine carried out the proclamation of the New Order in an emergency session of the Senate, claiming that the Jedi Order had committed treason against the Republic, and reorganized the Republic into the first Galactic Empire with himself as its Emperor. Soon, Vader reported his mission's completion to Palpatine; on his orders, Vader sent a shutdown signal to the Confederate navy and army, effectively ending the Clone Wars.

Soon thereafter, Vader saw Amidala's star skiff, and ran to meet her. She told Vader that Obi Wan had discovered their secret and that he told her that Vader had joined the dark side, hoping that he'd prove Obi Wan wrong. However, Vader only confirmed it to be true. Driven power hungry by the Dark Side Vader tried to convince her that they can be happy together in the new Empire, stating that given time he could over throw Palpatine and they could rule the Galaxy together. Horrified by what her husband had become Amidala begged him to stop, but Vader noticed that Kenobi had come with her, due to him secretly stowing away in Amidala's ship. Convinced that this meant that she brought Kenobi there to kill him, Vader Force-choked her until Kenobi told him to let the unconscious Amidala go. Although Kenobi tried to reason with his former pupil, Vader refused to listen, as the new Empire was everything he wanted the galaxy to be. Vader then declared that if Kenobi was not with him, then they were enemies. Knowing that only a true Sith dealt in absolutes, Kenobi realized that, at this point, attempting to talk his former apprentice down was futile. Unable to come to an understanding, and both believing themselves to be in the right, the two former friends then engaged in a fierce duel, which ripped across the Separatist facility, eventually causing it to deactivate and fall into the lava river below. The duel ended on the banks of the river, where Kenobi claimed the high ground and warned Vader not to attack. Blinded by rage and arrogance, Vader leapt to continue the duel, only to have his remaining limbs severed by his former master's blade, leaving only his cybernetic arm. Crippled, Vader slid gradually closer and closer to the river of lava while screaming his undying hatred for his former master. Kenobi, taking Skywalker's lightsaber, told him he had considered him his brother and remorsefully left him for dead as he started burning, leaving the planet with Amidala, C-3PO, and R2-D2.

Rebirth
Although Vader survived, he was horrifically scarred, both physically and mentally, and had damaged lungs due to the hot ash in the air. Shortly afterwards, Palpatine (having sensed his apprentice's peril) arrived on Mustafar, where he found the severely wounded Vader and took him back to Coruscant, in a medical capsule. As the Emperor could not afford to lose Vader, he turned to the Republic's best scientists, among which was Cylo (who in doing so, gained private access to Vader's cybernetics), and by Palpatine's orders, Vader was put into a life-sustaining black suit of armor by numerous droids skilled in both cybernetic reconstruction and medical surgery. After two days of non-stop labor, he was finally sealed within his new armor. His eyes showed a brief flicker of fear before his mask and helmet locked together and he drew his first breath. Vader's rebirth was complete. Upon regaining consciousness, Vader asked Palpatine what had become of his wife, and he told Vader that he had killed her in his anger. Unbeknownst to either of the two Sith, Amidala gave birth to the twins Luke and Leia before her death. Overwhelmed by his despair in the belief he had killed Amidala and their unborn child, which fulfilled his prophetic dreams of her death, Vader incidentally destroyed the medical droids and severely damaged the entire room through the Force. He broke his bindings on the operating table and struggled to walk under the sheer weight of his new prostheses and armor. He then let out a cry of despair over the love of his life that he believe that he killed.

Vader's despair then turned to rage and he telekinetically slammed Palpatine against a wall in the surgical bay, snarling that his master had promised to save Amidala. Palpatine, as Vader attempted unsuccessfully to strangle him with the Force, responded that in death Amidala had provided Vader a gift: pain. Palpatine continued by giving Vader a choice; to either accept and use that gift, or to die. After a moment, Vader replied that he would live. Palpatine then immediately launched a barrage of Force lightning at his apprentice, and rhetorically demanded that Vader use the power of his lightsaber to defend himself. But Vader replied that his lightsaber had been taken by Kenobi at the conclusion of their duel. As he continued his barrage, Palpatine angrily shouted that the weapon Vader spoke of was not his. Rather, it had belonged to a Jedi, and Vader was now a Sith. Ceasing his Force-based assault, Palpatine drew his own lightsaber. He put the blade to Vader's throat and stated that he understood how traumatic the last few days had been for his apprentice, but warned that should Vader ever use the Force against him again, he would finish what Kenobi could not. Palpatine then deactivated his weapon and stated that, as friends, he hoped that the two of them would never find themselves in a similar situation. He instructed Vader to put aside his rage and lust for revenge against the Jedi for the time being, for the two of them had a great deal of work to accomplish.

Hunting a kyber crystal
Immediately after his surgery, Sidious took Vader to a balcony overlooking the old Jedi Temple. There, he and Vader watched as Mas Amedda directed a ceremonial burning of the lightsabers of all the Jedi who had been killed in the Temple. As they listened to Amedda's speech, Sidious asked if his apprentice knew how or why Sith lightsaber blades were red in color. Vader replied that he did not, as the Temple's information on the subject had been "incomplete." Sidious laughed and contemptuously mused that the Jedi had been uncomfortable with the information and had buried it as a result. He then explained that kyber crystals felt pain just like any living being, and could be made to bleed after a fashion by pouring rage, pain, and hate into them. He asked Vader if he understood, to which Vader replied that he did, stating that Palpatine could have given him any of the burning Jedi lightsabers to corrupt, even Yoda's. But he had not, as Vader realized that the crystal of a Sith's lightsaber should be taken directly from a Jedi by that Sith.

As the ceremony progressed, the Clone Troopers attending the vent threw a basket full of various lightsabers into the incinerator, including Yoda's. The lightsabers caught on fire and a moment later, a powerful blast of energy was released into air as the kyber crystals were destroyed.

Afterwards, Sidious brought Vader to a desert planet in the Mid Rim and assigned him the task of hunting down a Jedi to take a kyber crystal from. Sidious took his apprentice to a site where he had arranged for a starship to be delivered for Vader's use, but the ship had been stolen by a group of pirates. Leaving Vader to reclaim the vessel, Sidious departed, and Vader struck out for the planet's nearest settlement on foot. Once there, he eliminated the group of pirates who had stolen the ship and traveled to a Jedi outpost. The station was garrisoned by a group of clone troopers, who noted Vader's approach and hailed him. Though he could have provided the security codes necessary to secure the clone troopers assistance, Vader decided instead to simply kill them. After exterminating the garrison, Vader tasked the droid co-pilot of his ship to search through the station's archives for data on any Jedi who had taken the Barash vow prior to Order 66. Vader's hope was that any Jedi who had taken the vow, one of complete non-interference in all Jedi affairs, would have been not only out of harm's way when Order 66 was issued, but would have ignored its occurrence in accordance with the vow. The search identified Jedi Master Kirak Infil'a, a Jedi who had been completely dedicated to combat to the exclusion of all else.

Vader quickly located the Jedi on the river moon of Al'doleem and sensed as he disembarked his ship that Infil'a was waiting for him. The Jedi Master immediately confronted Vader, and was seized in a Force choke by the Dark Lord. However, Infil'a quickly released a Force blast at Vader which staggered him and disrupted his concentration. Infil'a declared his Barash to be complete and began to ascend the mountain upon which he lived, calling out to Vader to follow if he could. One of the Jedi Master's training droids, Arex, then opened a sluice gate which sent a river of water crashing down upon Vader. The Sith Lord was visibly battered by the rush of water, but managed to telekinetically part the river and walked to the shore. He was then set upon by a group of gigantic carnivorous birds which managed to damage one of his cybernetic legs. Vader eventually crushed them all with the Force, and made his way to the peak of the mountain. There he found Infil'a and Arex awaiting him. Vader quickly unleashed a Force push that blasted Infil'a off his feet and dazed him long enough for Vader, who was unarmed, to destroy Arex and take the droid's training lightsaber. He threw the droid off the mountain and engaged Infil'a, who sensed that Vader not only wanted to kill him but wished to take his lightsaber as well. However, Vader's previously damaged leg broke apart at the knee a short time into the duel, rendering him unable to continue the fight. Infil'a then declared his intention to seek out Sidious and kill him, and blasted Vader off the top of the mountain with the Force.

Regaining consciousness, Vader used the Force to reassemble his cybernetic limbs with the dismembered pieces of Arex, who coincidentally had landed near where Vader had fallen. He then tracked Infil'a to Am'balaar City, where he reengaged the astonished Jedi Master. Fighting atop the Am'balaar city dam, the two crossed blades until the duel was interrupted by a trio of security guards. Annoyed, Vader telekinetically flung the guards from the top of the dam, but Infil'a caught them and used the Force to lower them to safety. Infil'a then shouted at Vader not to involve anyone else in their duel, but Vader instead took advantage of Infil'a's concern for innocents by ripping apart a building sized water storage tank situated in the city below. As Infil'a attempted without success to use his own powers to stop the destruction, Vader telekinetically removed the Jedi's lightsaber from his belt and claimed it for his own. He then grabbed Infil'a in a Force choke and lifted him from the dam. Infil'a pleaded with Vader to spare the civilians below the dam, but Vader ignored him. As the enormous tank burst completely, flooding Am'balaar City, Vader crushed Infil'a's throat with the Force and tossed his body into the wreckage below.

After obtaining a Jedi lightsaber and the kyber crystal within, Vader reboarded his ship, whereupon the droid co-pilot seized control of the vessel and jumped to hyperspace. The droid then began to play a pre-recorded message from Sidious to Vader. The message stated that, as per Sidious's instructions, the droid had plotted a course to the planet Mustafar, where Vader would find a dark-side locus which he could use to help him corrupt the kyber crystal. As the message concluded, Vader touched down on Mustafar and quickly found the locus Sidious had spoken of, an ancient Sith shrine within a shallow cavern. There, he disassembled Infil'a's lightsaber on a small, flat rock formation and removed the kyber crystal. However, when he attempted to corrupt it, the crystal resisted, and used the Force to send Vader careening into one of the cavern walls. The crystal then caused Vader to experience a vision wherein he rejected the dark side, journeyed to Coruscant, and killed Sidious. In the vision, Vader then found Obi-Wan and begged for his forgiveness. As he knelt in contrition in front of his former master, Obi-Wan called out to Vader by his former name, Anakin. Upon hearing this, Vader snapped out of his vision and angrily rejected the possibility shown to him by the crystal, declaring "this is all there is." He then began to pour his hatred, pain, and rage into the crystal. As the planet around the cave was consumed in a violent storm, Vader succeeded in corrupting the crystal.

Afterwards, Vader returned to Coruscant and stormed into Sidious's office during the middle of a discussion between Tarkin, Mas Amedda, and Sidious regarding the construction of the Death Star. As Vader was completely unknown to anyone other than Sidious at the time, the Royal Guards in the Emperor's office attempted to intercept him, only to be blasted backwards into the office's large window. Seeing Vader, Sidious dismissed both Tarkin and Amedda, the former of whom expressed concern for Palpatine's safety. Reassuring Tarkin, Sidious repeated his command, and the two Imperial officials departed, leaving Vader to triumphantly display his crimson blade to Sidious.

Training the Inquisitorius
Shortly after returning to his master, Vader retired to a medical chamber to repair his damaged cybernetic components as Sidious congratulated him for taking his first step to mastery of the dark side. Leaving Vader to repair his armor and limbs, Sidious informed Vader that he had a new mission for him to undertake once his convalescence was complete. A short time later, Vader was informed of an intruder in the Jedi Temple Archives. He promptly confronted the intruder, who wielded a red lightsaber. As the two fought each other, the intruder appeared to take the advantage, but after a time Vader revealed that he had simply been testing the modifications that he had recently made to his armor, and promptly destroyed the intruder's lightsaber. As Vader went in for the kill, the Emperor arrived and told him that the intruder, titled the Grand Inquisitor, was part of the Inquisitorius. Vader was then taken to The Works, where Vader saw the rest of the Inquisitorius training themselves. Vader was told that most of the Inquisitorius were Jedi who converted to the dark side in the wake of the Order's destruction in order to save themselves. Vader and the Inquisitorius were then given the mission to finish the remaining surviving Jedi of the Emperor's Purge.

Vader dueled the Sixth Brother in a training session and cut off his arm in order to teach him about loss. Vader then spoke with the Grand Inquisitor about improving the Inquisitorius' training methods. They began to search for other Jedi that survived the purge. Vader saw the Inquisitors' target list and noticed the Jedi Archive's Chief Librarian, Jocasta Nu, on it. He asked Sidious what was so important about her. Sidious explained that 0she had knowledge of the Sith that she and the Jedi council had kept secret. Sidious told Vader to find Nu and bring her to him. Vader assigned the Grand Inquisitor to search the Archive for information on her.

Hunt for Jocasta Nu
At that time, Nu had returned to Coruscant and sneaked into the former Jedi temple to search for a list of young Force-sensitives in her secret archives. As she roamed the ruins, her droid, Beetoo, informed her that her ship was about to be discovered. She informed the droid that she would adjust her plans accordingly. As Coruscant Security Forces came into the hanger, Beetoo detonated Nu's ship and killed the three security officers. As Nu made for a secret archive vault, she noticed the Grand Inquisitor reading through the Jedi knowledge. She continued, only focusing on the mission at hand.

Vader was contacted by an Imperial Security Bureau major, who had discovered a Jedi insignia on the wreckage of Nu's ship, and he went to the Imperial Security Bureau headquarters to check it out. When Vader arrived, the major asked what rank he should address him by, and Vader said, "lord." The major explained to Vader their suspicions that the explosion was premature and the Jedi insignia was merely "rabble-rousing graffiti" used as a calling card. Vader told him he was wrong, and as the major explained his experience in intelligence, Vader used the Force to reconstruct Nu's ship, showing the major that he was indeed wrong about the cause of the explosion. Vader then ordered him to search every level of Coruscant, steering clear of the Jedi temple.

Meanwhile, Nu was about to vacate the temple when she noticed the Grand Inquisitor insulting the Jedi knowledge he was examining. His comments eventually drove her over the edge and she confronted him with her lightsaber. Vader arrived at the temple entrance and Commander Fox already had sealed the place. When Fox asked him what they were expecting to happen and Vader told him that they had missed a Jedi during Order 66. As Vader entered the temple, Nu was pinning down the Grand Inquisitor with her lightsaber and threatening him. The Grand Inquisitor asked how she did not remember who he was, stating the times she had denied him the Jedi knowledge he sought. Nu attacked him, kicking off a short duel where the Grand Inquisitor quickly outwitted her. The Grand Inquisitor would have killed Nu if not for Vader's arrival. As Vader stopped the Grand Inquisitor from slaying the Jedi, Nu used the Force to rain Jedi books on them, and she fled the scene.

Vader made chase and as he followed Nu's trail, she made it to the archive vault and used a terminal to purge the entire library of its knowledge. As Vader entered the vault, he was confronted by the droid guard, Cator. He identified Vader as Anakin Skywalker and told him he was not authorized to be there. Vader threw his lightsaber at the droid, but being a guard against possible Force-sensitive threats meant the droid was ready for that move, and it caught Vader's weapon. Vader then punched Cator's arm off, and the droid caught his wrist and squeezed it with its robotic hand. Vader drove his fist through Cator's face before the droid could damage him any more. But as Cator dropped to the floor, Vader noticed a powerful shot being fired at him and used his lightsaber to deflect it. The shot, fired by Nu using a lightsaber rifle, knocked Vader back as it ripped through a bookcase. Nu stood at the entrance of the vault, confronting Vader.

As Vader got up again, he tried to convince Nu to drop her weapon. Nu ignored him and fired again. Vader dodged her shot and she fired a third time, further devastating the vault. As she continued firing, she tried to convince Vader that he was just a tool to the Emperor, saying that he could never get rid of the light side of the Force as it always found its vessels. Nu's rifle then failed to keep firing, and Vader deactivated his lightsaber, telling her she would not be harmed. Nu's rifle then began beeping and she threw it towards Vader. He used the Force to push it away, and it exploded, throwing both of them to the floor and breaching the side of the temple.

Nu fled through the fresh hole in the wall to find newly alerted clone troopers around the perimeter. They fired at her and she jumped down, deflecting their shots back at them. As the clones put more pressure on her, she Force-pushed them over the ledge behind them. Vader then appeared through the wall and the clones assumed he was too a Jedi and fired on him. At that moment, Commander Fox approach the scene on an Imperial Patrol Ship and realized that they were firing on Vader. He then had his ship fly over to Vader and ordered his units to ceasefire. Vader jumped onto the ship and when Fox tried to explain the misunderstanding, he used the Force to break his neck. The clones on the ground continued firing on Nu and managed to disarm her. She then found herself cornered by Vader and the clones, and she attempted to jump off, only for Vader to use the Force to catch her. He brought her to his ship, and there she told the clones that he was the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Vader used the Force to throw the clones off the ship and when Nu asked of what became of her, he killed her. Vader then crashed the ship and contacted Sidious, telling him that Nu died in an attempt to escape. Vader then crushed the list of Force-sensitive children that she had with her.

Defiance from the Imperial hierarchy
Believing that he lost all that he cared about by his own hand, Darth Vader embraced his role as the Emperor's chief enforcer. Few knew who he was, and even fewer suspected that he had once been Anakin Skywalker. His appearance at the Imperial court and the favor he carried from the Emperor earned him the distrust of Imperial officers. They resented him for appearing out of nowhere and having authority over them because of his link to his Master. They also resented his heavy-handed treatment of them, such as when he used the Force in the presence of his Master to choke Colonel Barokki.

The situation eventually came to a head when Vader investigated a Jedi sighting on Cabarria. Accompanied by the Ninth Sister, he headed to the bar where the identification had happened. Although the Ninth Sister had originally been planning to investigate alone, Vader had come, claiming she was not yet ready to face a Jedi in combat but secretly because he wanted to fight another Jedi. The Ninth Sister commented on his true desire, using her empathic abilities to read him clearly. As a result, Vader ordered her to remain outside while he investigated. Once inside, the Dark Lord was attacked by a family of bounty hunters named Bhada, Ramat and Chanath Cha. Using ion grenades, they neutralized all the weapons in the bar while Chanath tried to seize Vader's lightsaber with a tractor rifle. However, he used the Force to seize the lightsaber midair and, under the strain of the two opposing forces, the hilt shattered, leaving only the red kyber crystal.

The Chas told the assembled customers that they had come only for the "Jedi" and that they weren't planning on harming anyone. However, a disarmed Vader disagreed and used the Force to turn the customers into projectiles aimed at the Chas. Taken by the surprise, the bounty hunters turned on their shields to protect themselves. As they attacked him, Vader also used the customers and the bar's furniture as shields. Eventually, the hunters realized they could not defeat him and made to flee. Reclaiming his crystal with the Force, Vader pursued them.

Emerging from the bar, Vader initially suspected that the Inquisitors had been behind the attempt on his life and threatened the Ninth Sister with her own lightsaber. The Inquisitor's denials did not sway the Dark Lord, but neither did they prove her guilt. Determined to find who had placed a bounty on his head, he pursued the Chas. They eluded him for a time until he crashed a massive vehicle into their path, causing their speeder to crash. Seizing Chanath in a Force choke, he requested they tell him who had ordered his death. They told him about an anonymous bounty with an exorbitant price posted on the hunter net. Ramat Cha, a talented slicer, offered to uncover their employer for him in exchange for their daughter's life. When they demanded that he release Chanath first, Vader refused and threatened to kill them all. However, the Chas countered that, even in death, they would be together so he could not threaten them with such tactics. Grudgingly impressed, the Dark Lord demanded proof that Ramat could deliver her side of the deal, which she proved by tracking the signal of the bounty back to Coruscant. Vader released Chanath as agreed, at which point the bounty hunters made their daughter swear that she would seek no vengeance against the Dark Lord, a deal Vader chose to honor. To complete the deal, Ramat provided Vader with the information he had requested and gave him the source of the bounty on him: the former Republic Executive Building on Coruscant, specifically the Emperor's office.

With their business on Cabarria completed, Vader and the Ninth Sister left the planet and returned to Coruscant. Now suspecting that the Emperor had placed the bounty on his head, the Dark Lord planned to confront his Master about his intentions. As the Ninth Sister piloted the ship through hyperspace, Vader worked on creating a new lightsaber. His droid meanwhile investigated the origins of the kill contract placed on him and confirmed that the order could have come from the Emperor's office, with no evidence of slicing to indicate foul play. But, as the ship arrived in orbit over Coruscant, the ship's attempt to transmit clearance codes for landing was jammed and the ship itself was marked as being part of a Separatist splinter cell. The Imperial capital's orbital defenses targeted Vader's ship. Only the Dark Lord's skill as a pilot prevented them from being destroyed, although the ship was damaged and forced to crash land on Coruscant. Tired of the repeated attempts on his life, the Dark Lord headed to the former Jedi Temple to confront the Emperor.

The Emperor was investigating the hoard of artifacts that Jocasta Nu had collected and stored in the Jedi Archives when Vader arrived. Sidious sensed that his apprentice did not wish to discuss his recent discovery, although he did praise him for having found the Librarian's stash. Vader informed Sidious of the events on Cabarria and his investigation into the kill order against him, before directly asking his Master whether he had placed it on his head as part of a test. Noticing Vader's new lightsaber, the Emperor asked to see it, approving of its design. He also chastised his apprentice for believing that he would resort to such methods as placing a bounty on his head if he wanted to have him killed, and that he did not "test": he "taught." He also told Vader that finding the assassins was his task, not theirs. This echoed a previous lesson he had taught Vader when he had "disciplined" Colonel Barokki: that they must not kill everyone in the galaxy, but that having power meant they could, and that they would never lack for people to destroy.

Vader returned to his quarters, where he meditated on the past events and his Master's words. Thinking back to all that had happened, he eventually realized the cause of the conspiracy against him was that his sudden elevation had caused concern and fear among the ranks of the Imperial officers, who knew that he had "strength," but not that he shared the Emperor's "power." Despite a lack of proof, Vader became convinced that Colonel Barokki, who had so suddenly borne his displeasure, must be involved in the conspiracy. The Dark Lord met with the Emperor and shared his conclusions, and requested that he be publicly recognized and allowed to show them the consequences of opposing him. Sidious asked whether he was sure, and Vader confirmed it: he would not kill them all unless he had to but would not allow them to act against him with impunity. The Emperor agreed to Vader's plan, but forbade him from killing Tarkin, as he was essential to his plans.

The Emperor gathered the elite officers of the growing Imperial military to clarify the new hierarchy. He formally introduced Vader as his emissary, who spoke with his voice and whose commands would need to be obeyed as if they had come from the Emperor himself. Sidious then moved aside and allowed Vader to speak: the Dark Lord summoned five officers before him: Corin Ferro, Zorta Bingan, Joon Strephi, Tomas Azoras and Barokki. Informing them that the two attempts on his life had been made from within the Officer Corps and that he had his suspicions who had been responsible, he instituted a new rule: for every assassination attempt he survived (and he warned them that he would always survive), five officers chosen at random would be executed. He instantly executed the five designated officers with a Force choke before departing, leaving the remaining officers stunned and afraid.

Mission to Mon Cala
One year into the reign of the Empire, Vader was reliving his duel on Mustafar through meditation. During his experience, he was already in his cybernetic suit, and he used the Force to throw lava at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan jumped up to dodge it, but Vader Force-choked him and threw him into the rocks. Vader watched Obi-Wan burn before he awoke in his meditation chamber as Sidious asked for him over the comm. In his throne room, Sidious told Vader that a year after his ascension, it was time to show that his voice was the only voice within the Empire. Vader asked how, and Sidious told him that Mon Cala would make a great example of the price of defiance. He further told Vader that King Lee-Char may have had an adviser helping him with his negotiations with the Empire. Vader asked if it could be a Jedi, and Sidious said it was possible. He told Vader to take a team to investigate this and claimed the military aspects of the operation would be left to Moff Tarkin.

Vader arrived at Mon Cala aboard the Zeta-class shuttle Infernum. With him he took three Inquisitors, the Sixth Brother, Ninth Sister and Tenth Brother, and a death squad of Purge Troopers. At this time, the Imperial ambassador Telvar had just finished another meeting with Lee-Char, and the man was walking to his shuttle when he saw Vader descend from the ramp of his shuttle. The Ninth Sister struggled to get past the king's Chief of Security, Gial Ackbar, and Vader confronted the Mon Calamari, asking if he had read the writ that the Ninth Sister had given him. Ackbar confirmed that he had, but demanded that he knew their business as he had a job to do and so did Vader. Vader complied and explained about a possible enemy of the Empire on Mon Cala. As he said that, Telvar's shuttle took off and flew for Tarkin's Star Destroyer, the Sovereign&mdash;which was in orbit above Mon Cala. However, as Ackbar denied the possibility of an enemy of the Empire being on Mon Cala, Telvar's shuttle exploded.

Telvar's assassination prompted Tarkin to enact a full-scale occupation of Mon Cala. His forces landed at Dac City, where Vader had arrived, and laid siege to the Mon Calamari and Quarren defenses. Vader and his team sprang to life and soon seized the landing pad where the Infernum was parked. He then led them to the Dac City palace to find Lee-Char and ask him about the possible Jedi. They fought their way through the palace guards and entered the palace, where the Ninth Sister began torturing Lee-Char for the location of the Jedi. However, another threat loomed over them. A massive tidal wave had suddenly erupted as a part of Lee-Char's defensive plan. The Sixth Brother warned them of this, and he and the Tenth Brother began shielding Vader and the Ninth Sister from the wave using the Force. When their attempts began failing, Vader joined them, but it wasn't enough. The group was washed away by the wave, and Dac City was left in ruins.

Vader awoke at the bottom of the Great Ungeness Trench. As his oxygen supply was dwindling, he used the Force to create an air bubble for himself. Suddenly, he was attacked by a squid-like creature, and after wrestling with it, he killed it with the Force. Vader then rode its body using the Force and eventually picked up a transmission from the Inquisitors. Vader asked them to come to his position, and they did so in an Imperial submarine. When they picked him up, he asked about the Jedi, and the Inquisitors said that he was still alive somewhere. Vader then asked about Lee-Char, and the Ninth Sister said that they didn't know, but she then revealed that she had gotten the Jedi's location from him. Knowing exactly where their target was, they began traveling for the Jedi.

Vader and his team arrived at the Jedi's location to find the individual and his disciples evacuating. The Jedi, an Iktotchi Padawan called Ferren Barr, had been notified by Lee-Char after he was recovered following the events at Dac City. The group of them immediately scattered, but one of the disciples instead attacked the submarine head-on with his blaster. The shots bounced off the window, and Vader used the Force to crush his helmet. The other fled in the direction of Bel City, and as Vader caught up with them, another disciple turned around to attack them. He too died in the process but managed to slow Vader's submarine, and the rest of the group followed Barr to Bel City. Vader and the Inquisitors arrived at Bel City and marched down the hallway, reinforced by the Inquisitors and the Purge troopers. Vader was then contacted by Tarkin, who was struggling to deal with the grueling conflict on Mon Cala. Vader told Tarkin that he was busy, but Tarkin knew that and asked him to do something else instead: capture Lee-Char. Vader told Tarkin that he did not answer to him, but Tarkin replied that capturing Lee-Char was the only way to end the fighting quickly on Mon Cala, and he pledged to owe Vader a favor if he did so. Vader agreed and told the Inquisitors to continue the hunt as he left.

Vader arrived at Lee-Char's Royal Command Bunker and killed his guards. He then disarmed Lee-Char and contacted Tarkin, who told him to take Lee-Char to a window and send him his exact location. Vader asked Tarkin if he was going to send a shuttle, and the man said not yet. Once Vader did what he asked, Tarkin began a bombardment of Mon Cala. Lee-Char watched in horror but refused to surrender. The two were interrupted by Barr, who had outsmarted and scattered Vader's team. Barr confronted Vader and the two dueled. As they fought, Barr revealed that he had assassinated Telvar to send the Mon Calamari into war. Lee-Char overheard this and realized his mistake in following Barr. He ran to his terminal and sent a message to the Mon Calamari and Quarren forces, ordering them to cease fire. Lee-Char then contacted Tarkin, notifying him of the surrender. Tarkin sent a shuttle to pick him up but continued the bombardment.

Vader and Barr continued fighting, and Barr began laughing. Lee-Char questioned this, and Barr said that he had completed his plan. Barr prophesied that the Mon Calamari vessels would be at the forefront of a great rebellion decades from then, and decades after that. Vader told Barr that he wasn't a Jedi anymore, and Barr told him that that made two of them, saying that he still beat the Sith. Vader then slew him, and the shuttle arrived to pick up Lee-Char. The king told Vader that Mon Cala would rise again, but Vader told him that there was no Mon Cala, only the Empire.

The Emperor's emissary
Over the next two decades of the Empire's reign, Vader would remain one of the few who enjoyed direct access to Sidious and his preferred envoy for all matters that the Emperor took a direct interest in. Such matters included the elimination of rebel uprisings and the continued construction of the Death Star. One of Vader's earliest missions on the Emperor's behalf was to effect an execution on Murkhana. He was also made privy to the secret construction of the Death Star, to be overseen by Wilhuff Tarkin. The Imperial officers remained wary of Vader and his power, as well as his continued devotion to the ancient ways of the Force, but none rose to challenge him without feeling the consequences.

Despite the mistrust and even hatred he generated among the officers, Vader was held in high esteem by the Stormtrooper Corps, as he often fought alongside them at the front line rather than remaining in command centers. As the Emperor's enforcer, Vader retained command of the unit he had commanded during the Clone Wars as Anakin Skywalker: the 501st Legion. When the Emperor retired the clone troopers, the rank and file of the 501st was composed of recruited stormtroopers, some of whom received training from the Dark Lord himself, such as Sergeant Kreel, an undercover agent whom Vader trained in lightsaber combat. Through their missions on Vader's behalf, the 501st came to be known as "Vader's Fist." Vader also garnered strong support from the pilots of the new Imperial Navy.

Investigation on Geonosis
Vader soon became aware of a project that was taking up many resources. He began investigating, which led him to the data vault on Scarif. There, he found Project Stardust, a project that was a large battle station the size of a small moon. Vader studied its design before he was interrupted by Tarkin, who was very displeased with Vader's snooping. Tarkin told him he wasn't authorized to be there, and Vader claimed that the Force was all the authorization he needed. Vader denied that he was Tarkin's beast but the man denied his claim and taunted Vader, saying he didn't need the Force to know he was very angry. Tarkin then produced a hologram of Sidious, who told Vader he did not recall sending him to Scarif. Vader apologized and told Sidious he only sought to study the ways in which the Empire would extend its rule over the galaxy. Sidious told Vader of a new mission he was to go on. There had been certain instances of sabotage during the Death Star's construction that Vader needed to discover the source of before it got worse. Sidious further told Vader that Tarkin had full authority over him and that if he disappointed him, he disappointed Sidious.

Vader arrived at Geonosis and met with Commander Orson Callan Krennic. As they greeted, an overhead rock formation exploded and rained down on them. Vader saved himself and Krennic and they went to his office to discuss the matter. Krennic claimed it was Tarkin sabotaging his efforts in order to get rid of him and take over the project. Vader asked him if there was any proof and Krennic wasn't able to produce anything. Krennic then explained to him the incidences that had occurred in the last three months. Vader gave his knowledge on the situation to loyalty officer Sid Uddra, who met him at the Petranaki Arena to discuss what she suspected. She told Vader that as much as Tarkin and Krennic's rivalry arose tension between them, it was unlikely for either to be the culprit. She then offered Vader with another individual to look into: the scientist Galen Walton Erso. Vader looked through his office and found many kyber crystals in which he bled for himself without issue. He then found a recording of Erso and his family. Vader also noticed that Erso called his daughter stardust, which was the codename for the Death Star's project. Finally, Vader found an ootheca egg in a box. Knowing that Geonosians were a slave race and were forbidden from breeding freely, he confronted Krennic about this. Krennic denied that it was him and suggested that some of the slaves may have sent it as a distress call to Erso. Vader then deduced for himself the saboteurs at hand.

Vader and a squad of death troopers entered a Geonosian hive and found the queen and her minions. The two sides engaged but Vader quickly came out on top, slaying the queen. After the battle, he returned to Tarkin on the Carrion Spike and reported his findings to him. Tarkin asked Vader how he knew the queen's hive had orchestrated the sabotages and Vader told how their slicers had confirmed the hive to have installed corrupted tech into production, ensuring accidents. Tarkin then asked Vader how he may have dealt with them and Vader said that they were animals and so they were slaughtered like animals. Tarkin finally asked Vader if there was anything else and he stated to Tarkin that his project, the Death Star, was able to destroy a planet. Tarkin asked how he knew and he told him of the kyber crystals he saw in Erso's office. Tarkin then asked Vader why he wasn't happy for this revelation, and Vader said that he distrusted his reliance on technological aberration. Tarkin then told Vader that he was one of those before realizing that Vader wanted to be the only technological abberation. Vader warned Tarkin that the Death Star may become his tomb, and when Tarkin asked if that was a threat, Vader told him it was only a prediction.

Rebellion on Ryloth
"Are you testing me, Master?''" "Testing you? Is that how you perceive things?" "Am I wrong?" "We are, all of us, always being tested, my friend. Tests make us stronger, and strength is power, and power is the point''. We must pass all the tests we face. Or die in the effort."

- Darth Vader and Darth Sidious

Five years into the Age of the Empire, Vader, while meditating aboard the Perilous, was informed by Captain Luitt of an attack on the Yaga Minor shipyards. The attack had been staged by several dozen members of the Free Ryloth movement, a primarily Twi'lek insurgency intent on liberating their homeworld from the rule of the Empire. The insurgents hijacked an Imperial weapons transport, and Vader led a squadron of V-wing starfighters in pursuit. After a long chase, during which the transport fled through hyperspace to several different systems, its engines overloaded when it attempted to make yet another jump and Vader's squadron was finally able to engage it. The squadron brought down the transport's shields with minimal casualties while Vader crippled the engines.

Though the squadron commander suggested allowing the Perilous to tractor the transport into one of its hangar bays when it arrived, Vader assumed (correctly) that the insurgents planned to destroy the transport by detonating the heavy ordnance present in the ship's cargo bays. In order to prevent this eventuality, Vader crashed his black Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor into one of its gun bubbles and ejected just before the collision. He then entered the ship through the damaged gun emplacement and proceeded to kill all of the insurgent Twi'leks on the ship. After eliminating the insurgent leader Pok, Vader noticed an active comlink on the bridge. Assuming that another rebel ship was nearby, Vader had his V-wings fan out in a search pattern, but the rebel ship escaped detection by shutting down nearly all of its systems and hiding in the rings of a nearby planet. Finding nothing, Vader had the Perilous collect the transport, and returned to Coruscant.

In the Imperial Palace, Vader reunited with his master. There, he and Palpatine met with Ryloth's Senator Orn Free Taa involving the inconvenience that was the Free Ryloth Movement. The movement, though relatively minor, had been conducting raids on Imperial shipping facilities and transports and had seriously impacted the flow of Spice from the planet. As such, Palpatine believed that the situation warranted his personal attention, and decided that he, Taa, and Vader would travel to Ryloth for a state visit. After informing the Senator of the planned journey and dismissing him, Palpatine informed his apprentice that Taa almost certainly had a traitor in the midst of his support staff who was feeding the movement classified information on Imperial doings.

Though Vader understood his master's purpose in acting as bait alongside himself and Taa, he saw no reason why the Emperor should potentially risk his own safety over such a minor issue. Rather, Vader advocated for simply killing Taa and his entire staff, thereby guaranteeing the elimination of the traitor. However, Palpatine wished to eliminate the roots of the treachery, and not simply the lone traitor in Taa's staff. To that end Palpatine gave the order for Moff Delian Mors to be informed that Taa would be arriving for a state visit, but stipulated that she should not be told that either he or Vader would be accompanying the Senator. In this way, Palpatine hoped to provide further encouragement for the movement to attack, as he assumed that they would discover his and Vader's plans via their spies. Ten days later Vader, the Emperor, Taa, and a contingent of Royal Guards journeyed to the Ryloth system aboard the Perilous.

Assassination attempt on the Defiance
"This guy again. I don't care if you kill me."

- Commandant Pell Baylo to Darth Vader

While traveling from Coruscant to Ryloth, Sidious ordered the Perilous to stop in the Denon system to consult with several navy chiefs on how to better integrate disparate naval academies into one Imperial Naval Academy. Sidious ordered Vader to oversee a training session conducted by Commandant Pell Baylo on the Defiance while Sidious met with his naval chiefs in Baylo's office on the training ship. It was during this training session that Vader began to believe that Sidious was treating him much the same way the Jedi Council had previously: acting like he knew better, keeping information from Vader, giving him "busywork." Baylo ordered the Defiance to enter hyperspace on a course for Christophsis. Cadet Rae Sloane entered the coordinates, only to have her hyperspace path overridden by Baylo, who said she was going to send them too close to a singularity.

Sloane studied the path, suspecting that Baylo was incorrect in his adjustment. Vader and Sloane discovered that the changed hyperspace route would crash the Defiance into Christophsis' sun, killing all aboard. Vader ordered Sloane to correct the problem, and without revealing that he knew of Baylo's treachery, Vader and Baylo went to see Sidious. Sidious ordered Baylo to turn over command of the Defiance and take a position at the training center on Corellia. Baylo, however, was loyal to the Republic and considered the Empire a hostile power. Instead of turning over his command, Baylo offered his resignation from the navy. Vader then revealed he knew of Baylo's plan to crash the Defiance, and Sidious congratulated Vader for handling the "petty problem," annoying him. As Baylo railed against Sidious, Vader Force-choked him to death, drawing ire from Sidious, who had wished to see Baylo suffer.

Crash land on Ryloth
Shortly thereafter, Vader and Sidious reboarded the Perilous and resumed their course to the Ryloth system. However, upon their exit from hyperspace, the ship immediately began slamming into spacial mines set up by Cham Syndulla's rebels. Hidden amongst these mines were specialized devices designed to drain the ship's shields, which began to buckle under the continual assault. As the shields neared failure, a swarm of several hundred reprogrammed Vulture Droids set upon the Perilous from the system's asteroid belt. Vader boarded his personal interceptor and took several squadrons of Imperial pilots to destroy the droid fighters and mines, but discovered a short time into the battle that Vulture Droids were each carrying a payload of explosive buzz droids. Realizing that the Vultures themselves were simply delivery systems meant to unload the buzz droids near or inside the Star Destroyer, Vader ordered his squadron to concentrate fire on them, as they presented a far greater threat than the mines. But between the mines and the Vultures, there were simply too many targets for Vader and his squadrons to handle, and the Perilous was severely damaged. A second wave of Vultures was detected immediately after the first had been destroyed, further compounding the already bleak situation. A message came to Vader from Captain Lewitt of the Perilous that the ship could sustain virtually no more damage without being destroyed.

Vader moved to intercept the second wave alone, ordering his squadrons to remain near the Perilous to destroy any droids that got past him. Though incredulous, the squadron commander obeyed, and Vader used the Force to begin tearing apart the compartments on the Vulture droids that housed the explosive buzz droids. He then used the Force to begin flinging the buzz droids at other incoming fighters, and repeated this process until the vast majority of the Vulture Droids had been destroyed. The remaining fighters were annihilated by Vader's squadrons, and he himself returned to the Perilous. Vader marched to the Star Destroyer's bridge and Force choked Taa for a short time, informing him of the traitor in his staff that had been responsible for the assault on the Perilous. Utterly terrified, the Senator vowed to find the traitor, but the Emperor had Taa and his staff confined to their quarters. An order was then broadcast from the Imperial headquarters on Ryloth for any and all repair ships to aid the Perilous as it sped, badly damaged, towards the planet.

Unbeknownst to Vader, some of the Twi'lek repair teams in fact comprised members of the Free Ryloth movement, one of which was a group of saboteurs with orders to plant timed explosives on the hyperdrive core of the Perilous. Shortly after the teams landed, one of the Free Ryloth groups engaged in a firefight with Imperial stormtroopers. When Vader learned of this, he ordered all of the Twi'lek repair teams, numbering over 100, to be killed regardless of whether they were aiding the assault and proceeded to Deck 17, where the firefight had been reported. On the way, he killed a group of apparently uninvolved Twi'leks before proceeding to the hyperdrive chamber. The saboteurs, who were led by Cham's second in command, Isval, had managed to seal the hatch to the hyperdrive core before any Imperial troops could interrupt them, and Vader began to use his lightsaber to cut it open.

By the time Vader finished cutting through the hatch, the saboteurs had already concluded their business and escaped. The main hyperdrive core had been riddled with timed charges, set to detonate if anyone attempted to disarm or remove them. Vader concluded that the ship was lost, and ordered the captain to evacuate. Vader contacted Palpatine, who instructed his apprentice to meet him aboard his shuttle. Before departing, however, Vader made one last attempt to kill the saboteurs, but they narrowly evaded him and escaped in an Imperial escort boat. Subsequently, Vader reunited with the Emperor and left on the shuttle, mere minutes before the Star Destroyer exploded. Shortly thereafter, the Imperial traitor Belkor Dray provided Cham with the transponder identity of the Emperor's shuttle, and he directed Isval and her group aboard the escort boat to attack it. Vader's exceptional piloting skills allowed him to evade the boat and then fly upside down over its cockpit within direct visual range of its pilots. Once there, he used the Force to choke both Isval and her co-pilot, but before losing consciousness, Isval rammed the shuttle with her escort boat. The crash disabled the shuttle's main power, and Vader had to use a nearly depleted backup battery to attempt a crash landing on Ryloth. As he guided the ship through the atmosphere, he had flashbacks of events and people from his past. Though distracted, Vader managed to land the ship in Ryloth's equatorial forest region, but his distraction did not go unnoticed by the Emperor, who noted that the landing had been poor compared to what he knew Vader to be capable of.

Not too long afterwards, the Twi'lek insurgents continued their assault on freighters, prompting Vader and the Emperor to take action and destroy them, before moving away from their fallen shuttle. At night, they stopped to rest, when the Emperor questioned his regret and loyalty, but Vader showed himself devoted still. They were soon attacked by a lylek horde, forcing them to retreat into a tunnel, unaware that they had entered their nest. They stood their ground against hundreds of lyleks and their significantly threatening queen, and killed them all before exiting the tunnel and finding a young Twi'lek, Drua. When the Emperor tried to kill her, Vader stopped him, intending to have the girl guide them to her village, where they obtained a communicator to speak with Moff Mors.

After giving them their coordinates, they were finally surrounded by Syndulla's forces, but so did Mors's, aiding them in quelling the rebellion. As the stormtroopers killed the Twi'leks, Vader noticed a trio of Twi'leks—Syndulla, Isval and Goll—watching from afar, and went on to killing them, but Goll and Syndulla escaped, leaving Vader to capture Isval and bring her before the Emperor. He mocked her, telling her that her people had accomplished nothing, and Vader subsequently executed her. On the Emperor's orders, Vader then killed the villagers to leave no witnesses, concluding their mission.

Teller's campaign
"We haven't stood on Coruscant in some time, Governor.''" "The needs of the Empire keep us elsewhere occupied, Lord Vader." "''Just so."

- Darth Vader and Wilhuff Tarkin

When Moff Tarkin's Sentinel Base was attacked, Vader was stationed in the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, where he held a court with the Deputy Director of the ISB, Harus Ison, berating Coruscanti criminals as well as Prefect Phoca Soot of Level 1331, for ignoring the Emperor's decrees. Telling them to move their operations out of Coruscant, Vader then made an example of Soot for his disrespect and crushed his heart with the Force, and adjourned the court to meet with Tarkin and Grand Vizier Mas Amedda. The latter politely asked Vader to refrain from killing all those who displeased him, to which the Sith replied that he would give thought to the matter, before greeting Tarkin and sharing the latest developments of the Death Star's construction.

The pair separated when Vader left Tarkin, who met with the Emperor alone. Afterwards, Vader (like Tarkin and Amedda) partook in a meeting between the Imperial Ruling Council, and the leaders of Imperial Security Bureau and Naval Intelligence Agency in the palace's audience chamber, overseen by the Emperor. He then assigned Tarkin and Vader to a mission on Murkhana to investigate recently discovered Shadowfeed technology and its relationship to the attack on Sentinel Base. The pair traveled to the planet on the Carrion Spike, which Vader made to carry his meditation chamber.

On Murkhana, however, the Spike was stolen by unknown dissidents, prompting Vader and Tarkin to kill the Sugi crime lord Faazah, and take his Parsec Predator to pursue the stolen ship, hidden by its cloaking systems. Making use of his connection to his meditation chamber, Vader pinpointed the rebels' location to the Fial system and later, the Galidraan system, where they engaged the Spike before they jettisoned his meditation chamber and escaped to Lucazec. With the Predator disabled, Vader and Tarkin boarded the Liberator, from which Vader issued his black Eta-2 interceptor to be transported on the Goliath from Coruscant.

On the Goliath, Tarkin told Vader that the insurgency was surely being supported by someone high up in the Imperial Military, and predicted that the insurgents would go to Phindar to refuel the Spike. Subsequently, Vader led a squadron to attack the stolen corvette in the Phindar system. Though they greatly damaged the ship, it escaped, prompting Tarkin and Vader to calculate its trajectory to Obroa-skai system. Teller transmitted false intelligence that the insurgents were heading to the Obroa-skai system. Hoping to capture the Carrion Spike, Tarkin and Vader deployed substantial Imperial resources including three Interdictor vessels. The prototype Immobilizer 418 cruiser malfunctioned, yanking several ships out of hyperspace and causing a massive accident.

Despite failing to catch the Spike, the Imperials managed to capture the YT-1000 freighter Reticent, which Teller had sent as a decoy to throw the Imperials off-scent. While Vader interrogated its Koorivar captain on the Executrix, Tarkin accessed Imperial databases and discovered the identities of the insurgents, including its leader Berch Teller. Vader also interrogated the Reticent Sy Myrthian navigator, who suffered a heart attack. However, Vader learnt from one of his contacts in the Crymorah syndicate that a lieutenant had negotiated a deal with the Sugi crime lord Faazah for a supply of custom fuel cells. These fuel cells had reached Murkhana shortly before Tarkin and Vader's arrival, thus confirming that Faazah had been colluding with the insurgents.

After a private holotransmission with the Emperor, Vader told Tarkin that Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit was sure the insurgents would attack the Imperial academy at Carida next. Then, Vader parted ways with Tarkin to meet with Rancit, but not before asking for the meaning behind the Carrion Spike name, and Tarkin told him about his test in Eriadu's Carrion Plateau. On the Carida system, Vader boarded the Secutor-class Star Destroyer Conquest and met Rancit just as the Spike reverted to realspace, astrogating on autopilot. Aware of Rancit's treason, as a co-conspirator of Teller, Vader had Lieutenant Crest place Rancit aboard an escape pod and had Rancit give himself the command to issue the fire order that destroyed it. Elsewhere, Tarkin dealt with the rebels, ending the insurgency.

Following the defeat of Teller's insurgents, Vader spent the next three weeks helping Tarkin to interrogate the captured insurgents with the exception of Teller, who managed to escape. While none of the insurgents had died under questioning, the Emperor had the insurgents executed privately. Vader also led a crackdown on the warehouse workers and salvages who supplied Teller's dissidents along with several scientists at Desolation Station who had provided Teller with information. Vader also took action against the Tenloss Syndicate and lower-level members of the Crymorah syndicate who had assembled Berch Teller's warship, a modified Providence-class dreadnought.

Hunt on Chandar's Folly
Tarkin still owed Vader a favor for capturing Lee-Char on Mon Cala. After some time, Vader came to Tarkin with his request, and, as he learned of Tarkin's hunting, Vader asked Tarkin to hunt him down. Vader told him to keep him on his feet, killing him if he had to. Tarkin was shocked at this and began considering why Vader would ask him to hunt him. Tarkin looked through the reports from the Inquisitorius and saw that Vader's hunt for the Jedi had left him with little to no challenge. Tarkin deduced that Vader wanted to be challenged again and was flattered that he had chosen him.

The hunt took place on the Outer Rim planet Chandar's Folly, and Tarkin immediately began trying to take on the Dark Lord of the Sith. Knowing of Vader's brutal abilities, Tarkin outfitted the hunters with slugthrowers and flamethrowers to avoid the possibility of Vader deflecting their shots. On the second day, they cornered Vader at a copse of Thurian trees, and four hunters engulfed him with their flamethrowers. As Tarkin watched Vader get covered by the flames, he thought he saw fear in his body language. Vader's possible fear was brief, however, as he targeted the hunters' flamethrowers, incinerating the four hunters. Through the following days, Tarkin saw that Vader was not hard to track, leaving clear signs wherever he went. They learned why as on multiple occasions Vader ambushed them. On one occasion, Tarkin and his hunters were tracking Vader near a cliff when he revealed himself and killed one of the hunters with his. Two others fired on him but failed to kill him.

Tarkin realized that as long as Vader had his lightsaber, he couldn't be beaten. So over the course of the next four days, he attempted to steal Vader's weapon. After six men perished, one of Tarkin's hunters managed to snatch it out of Vader's grip while he was fighting. After this, Tarkin saw that not only was Vader turning to new tactics, he was angrier. Tarkin knew that enraged prey was usually easier to take out, but he admitted that this rule did not apply to Vader. Soon after, Vader fought five of Tarkin's hunters as they fired on him, hitting him many times and scarring his armor. Tarkin watched from a hilltop as Vader came close to the hunters and used the Force to snap one's neck. The other hunters retreated, and Vader Force-choked another to death. Once understanding how capable Vader was with the Force, Tarkin assumed that the hunt would soon end. However, Tarkin soon realized that Vader was so keen on getting back his lightsaber, that so long as Tarkin's team hunted him, he hunted them.

On the ninth day of the hunt, Tarkin was down to his last seven hunters. Vader managed to kill a Valath, the apex predator on the planet, and take its hide, which could help him camouflage better. One of Tarkin's Chadra-Fan hunters, Sissian, spotted Vader northwest of Tarkin's camp, and the hunter Yerga notified Tarkin of this. Tarkin got his binoculars and saw Vader on top of a peak wearing the Valath hide. Tarkin had his hunters form a group around him, and they walked in Vader's direction. Vader lured them into a ravine of blue crystals, where his breathing could echo and be untraceable by Sissian and his grandfather, Hardhear. Hardhear heard Vader's breathing, but although he could say Vader was near, he could not say which direction. Vader loomed over them at the top of the ravine and watched as Tarkin ordered his team to run. The group ran down the ravine, and Vader made his move, Force-pushing one of the hunters into the ravine wall. Vader then Force-choked Hardhear before leaping down, under the cover of his Valath hide, and attacking the droid hunter.

Tarkin had the rest of his team run into the Stormlands, where it was open ground. They set up camp, and Sissian listened for Vader's breathing. However, Vader had deactivated his suit, which stopped his breathing apparatus from giving him away, and he slowly crept up to the camp, before Force choking Sissian. Yerga attempted to attack Vader, but he took her by the neck and killed her. The last two hunters opened fire, and Vader used the Force to retake his lightsaber. Tarkin then jumped at the two hunters and slaughtered them. Tarkin ran away from Vader, but after realizing he would catch up with him eventually, he stopped and fell to his knees. Vader loomed over him, not realizing that as he was standing higher than Tarkin, he was more susceptible to the lightning in the Stormlands.

Without warning, Vader was struck by lightning and he fell to the ground. Tarkin got up and contacted his flagship, the Carrion Spike, to pick them up. Tarkin sat by Vader and waited for the Carrion Spike to arrive. The corvette soon approached them, being frequently struck by lightning due to its height in the Stormlands. Vader remained immobile and Tarkin told him that whatever he had hoped to learn from this madness, he hoped he had learned it. Tarkin then told Vader that he would get him to a repair bay soon enough. However, Vader wasn't finished yet, and he Force-choked Tarkin, showing him that he hadn't lost just yet. Tarkin soon crawled from the range of Vader's Force abilities, and Vader continued lying there.

Hunt for Eeth Koth
Vader, along with the Fifth Brother and two other Inquisitors, was able to track down former Jedi Master and Council member Eeth Koth to a planet where he was a priest of the Church of the Ganthic Enlightenment. Vader approached Koth after the birth of his daughter. Koth offered Vader codes, secret contact frequencies and a way to find other purge survivors, knowing that he was not a threat to anyone. As Koth's wife and child made their escape, Vader fought Koth. Vader then sent the Fifth Brother and the other Inquisitors after Mira and Koth's daughter, and he continued to fight Koth. After the Inquisitors captured Koth's daughter, Vader killed Koth. He then held Koth's child.

Vader and the Inquisitors took the child to Coruscant, where Vader met with the Grand Inquisitor and gave the child to two nursemaids that belonged to Project Harvester. Vader then spoke with the Grand Inquisitor about his next target. The Grand Inquisitor told him that there were still a few Jedi left, but they had vanished with no way to find them. He told Vader they would have to wait.

Hunting rogue Inquisitors
Vader confronted a male and female Inquisitor in the Inquisitorius Headquarters. Vader sensed a connection between the two Inquisitors due to their previous mission with Vader. Without the assistance of the other Inquisitors, Vader hunted them down. Vader and two Coruscant Guards searched for the two Inquisitors. After Vader's speeder was destroyed, he continued to pursue them through the skylanes until they all landed on a platform. When the Inquisitors refused to kill him, Vader used the Force to activate their lightsabers and kill them.

Vader then informed the Emperor of the two Inquisitors' treachery. Vader told the Emperor that the female Inquisitor allowed Mira and Koth's daughter to briefly escape and only captured the child because she was seen. He also believed they were building a coalition against himself and the Emperor. Despite this, the Emperor was displeased with Vader's pursuit across Coruscant that cost the life of a senator. The Emperor decided to move the Inquisitors to another world. The Emperor asked Vader how Koth tried to hide. Vader said he was posing as a priest, which was the closest thing to a Jedi. Vader was given a reward: Padmé Amidala's Naboo Royal Starship. Vader was then ordered by the Emperor to go to Alderaan to deal with Senator Bail Organa. However, Vader refused and asked to be given a world: Mustafar.

The Emperor agreed to his request and would send Colonel Alva Brenne to build a facility for him there. Vader was then shown the Mask of Lord Momin before leaving for Mustafar.

Builidng his castle
Vader, along with Colonel Brenne and her aide, Lieutenant Roggo, took Vader's Naboo starship to Mustafar.

Lothal
"We will squeeze Lothal until someone reveals the whereabouts of these traitors."

- Darth Vader to Agent Kallus

Darth Vader contacted the Grand Inquisitor via hologram with a new mission for him. He informed him that the Emperor had foreseen a new threat—the "children of the Force." He was to hunt down these children and either press them into service of the Empire, or eliminate them. The Inquisitor promised Vader that the mission would be done. After the Inquisitor's death over Mustafar, the union of several rebel cells was revealed when they rescued the Spectres from an Imperial fleet. As rumors of what had happened over Mustafar became known, riots and uprisings begun to occur on several worlds, including Lothal. The Emperor, concerned at the rise in rebel activity, sent Vader to Lothal with Tarkin to end the growing rebellion.

In an effort to track down the root of the rebel problem, Vader concocted an elaborate trap in which he intended to track the Spectres back to their primary base of operations. Following his arrival on Lothal, Vader met with Agent Kallus and Minister Maketh Tua to discuss his plans with dealing with the Spectres. During this meeting, he informed Tua that Tarkin intended to hold her accountable for her failure to stop the rebels. Fearing for her life, Tua contacted the Spectres, promising them information in exchange for smuggling her off of Lothal before her meeting with Tarkin. The rebels agreed, and returned to Lothal. However, Vader had intended for Tua to contact the rebels in order to lure them back to Lothal, and saw to it that a bomb was placed on Tua's shuttle. Once the rebels arrived, they attempted to escape the planet with Tua in her shuttle, only for the bomb to go off as Tua boarded the ship, killing the Minister.

Immediately after the incident, Vader had it broadcast all over the planet that the rebels had assassinated Tua in order to discredit them. Vader then ordered Kallus to lock down the planet's spaceport and publicly announce that any ship attempting to reach orbit would be destroyed. Vader knew that the lockdown, combined with the populace's mistrust of the rebels, would essentially guarantee that they would need to steal a ship in order to escape. As such, he provided a tempting target at the local Imperial garrison; a shuttle capable of hyperspace travel. When the rebels attempted to steal it, Vader confronted them with a small group of stormtroopers. Vader engaged the rebels' Jedi leader, Kanan Jarrus, and his apprentice Ezra Bridger, while his troops engaged in a small scale firefight with the other rebels. As his intent was for the rebels to escape, Vader lazily toyed with the two Jedi while their cohorts attempted to launch the shuttle.

The confrontation came to an end when two of the rebels threw thermal detonators at a number of walkers on the landing pad, damaging their legs and scattering the stormtroopers underneath them. When Vader glanced up at the collapsing walkers, Ezra and Kanan combined their power to telekinetically push him into the path of the falling war machines. Believing him to be dead, the two rebels were instead astounded to see Vader, completely unharmed, use the Force to lift both of the walkers off of himself and drop them behind him. Recognizing that they were hopelessly outmatched, Kanan ordered Ezra to run with him to the commandeered shuttle. Hoping to prevent Vader from pursuing them, Sabine Wren fired a number of blaster bolts at Vader. He reflected two of them back into her chest and helmet, but made no attempt to board the shuttle or otherwise stop it. After the shuttle successfully launched, one of the stormtroopers who had been present for the confrontation assured Vader that he would scramble fighters immediately to intercept it. However, Vader informed him that doing so would not be necessary, as he believed that the rebels would not attempt to leave the planet for some time. Vader later ordered Kallus to destroy Tarkintown in order to draw out the rebels or, failing that, to demoralize them.

Shortly thereafter, the rebels used the stolen shuttle to escape the planet and rendezvous with the rebel fleet. However, Vader had placed a tracking device on board the shuttle, and mere minutes after the rebels had reached the fleet, Vader's TIE Advanced x1 fighter dropped out of hyperspace and attacked Phoenix Squadron. The rebel CO deployed the A-wing interceptors of Phoenix Squadron, but they were unexpectedly decimated by Vader's lone assault. Weaving through the defensive screen of fighters, Vader attacked the rebel command ship, Phoenix Home, disabling it in short order. The Spectres quickly boarded their ship, the Ghost, and fought back against the Dark Lord. However, neither the Ghost nor the remainder of Phoenix Squadron could land so much as a hit on Vader's craft, and he continued to bombard the now-crippled Phoenix Home while picking off interfering fighters at his leisure.

With its fighter escort all but destroyed and its weapons, shields, and engines disabled, the rebel command ship appeared to be doomed as Vader prepared for a final assault. However, on board the Ghost, Ahsoka Tano decided to combine her powers with Kanan's in order to probe Vader's mind with the Force. The probe enabled Ahsoka to see deeply enough into Vader's mind for her to recognize him as her former master, and for Vader to recognize the one probing him as his former apprentice. Ahsoka promptly lost consciousness as a result of the psychic backlash of the probe but Vader was unaffected, and upon discovering Ahsoka's presence aboard the rebel craft, Vader's priorities immediately changed. In an unexpected turn of good fortune for the rebels, Vader broke off what would have been a killing run at Phoenix Home in favor of engaging the VCX-100 light freighter.

As Vader peppered the Ghost with blaster fire, Kanan and Hera Syndulla managed to convince Jun Sato to evacuate Phoenix Home as Admiral Kassius Konstantine entered the system with three Star Destroyers. The Admiral contacted Vader in order to receive instructions, and Vader ordered Konstantine to block the Ghost’s escape, but not to fire at it, as he wanted the rebels aboard it alive. Meanwhile, the crew of Phoenix Home abandoned the crippled command ship and fled the system with the tattered remains of the rebel fleet. As Vader closed in on the Ghost, it jumped to hyperspace just as the Destroyers activated their tractor beams, catching Vader instead of the Ghost.

Following his victory, Vader boarded Konstantine's Destroyer and contacted the Emperor. He informed Sidious that he had "broken" the rebels, but the elder Sith Lord sensed disquiet in his apprentice's emotions. Vader then revealed to Sidious that he had discovered that Tano was alive, and told his master that he believed that she was in league with the rebels. Pleased by this news, Sidious declared that she could lead the two Sith Lords to other Jedi who survived Order 66. Vader immediately postulated that Kenobi might be amongst them, to which the Emperor concurred; if Kenobi was still alive. Sidious urged Vader to be patient, and instructed him to send another Inquisitor to hunt the rebels down. As per his master's orders, Vader assigned the Fifth Brother the task.

After several unsuccessful attempts to capture the rebel Jedi, the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister pursued Jarrus, Bridger and Tano to a still-standing Jedi Temple on Lothal. Though the rebels managed to flee, the Inquisitors informed Vader of their discovery. Vader came to inspect the site, informing them that the Emperor would be most pleased by their discovery. The Inquisitors warned Vader that the Jedi were becoming more powerful, but he retorted it would be their undoing.

Duel on Malachor
"Ahsoka...! Ahsoka...''" "Anakin... I won't leave you. Not this time." "...Then you will die''."

- Darth Vader and Ahsoka Tano

Afterwards, Vader dispatched the Fifth Brother, the Seventh Sister and the Eighth Brother to hunt down Maul, who had been stranded on Malachor and had been studying its Sith temple for years; he himself arrived after Bridger had activated the superweapon with the Sith holocron. With his Inquisitors having all been killed by Maul, Vader chose to personally retrieve the holocron and take possession of the superweapon. Perched on the roof of his TIE Advanced x1, he leapt from the fighter and landed in front of Bridger. After a brief verbal exchange, Vader quickly disarmed the young Jedi by destroying his lightsaber and prepared to execute him, but before he could do so, he was interrupted by Ahsoka Tano.

Vader offered his former apprentice clemency in exchange for the location of any surviving Jedi, but Tano claimed that there were no more Jedi; that Vader and his Inquisitors had killed them all. Skeptical of her claim, Vader obliquely threatened to torture the information out of Bridger instead. This prompted Tano to proclaim in disgust that while she had begun to suspect that Vader and her former master were one and the same, she could no longer believe that due to Vader's cruelty. Vader replied that Skywalker had been weak, and that he himself had destroyed her former master. Tano then swore to avenge Skywalker, but Vader reminded her that revenge was not the Jedi way. But Tano no longer considered herself to be a Jedi, and after informing Vader of this, she attacked him. However, she proved ultimately to be no match for her former master who, after several minutes of intense swordplay, used the Force to blast Tano off a ledge. Believing her to have been neutralized, Vader went to retrieve the holocron.

Vader managed to catch up to Jarrus and Bridger before they could board their ship, and used the Force to begin pulling both the holocron and the two Jedi towards him. But before he could seize it, Tano ambushed Vader and managed to slice off the upper right portion of his mask with her lightsabers. With his mask damaged, Vader's voice filter began to malfunction, and when he next spoke, calling out to his former apprentice, it was in a distorted mixture of his real voice and the mechanical baritone imposed by the filter. This, and his partially exposed face, confirmed to Tano that Vader was indeed her former master. As the Temple locked down, Tano proclaimed she would not abandon him as she had before. Vader paused at this, and stared wordlessly at Tano for a few moments. However, he quickly regained his composure and snarled that she would die for her choice. The two engaged in combat once more, while Jarrus and Bridger escaped from the chamber enclosing Vader and Tano.

After a few moments of battle, Vader bladelocked with Tano and began to push through her guard. As he prepared to kill her, the energy discharges from the overloading holocron stand suddenly intensified, and Vader glanced up. As he did, a massive blast of power struck the ceiling of the chamber, and Tano used the distraction to push Vader back a step with the Force. She then drove both of her lightsabers into the ground at her feet, causing the floor of the chamber to begin crumbling. Vader quickly recovered from his distraction and aimed a killing stroke at Tano. Unbeknownst to the two combatants, however, two years later, Ezra Bridger had entered an ancient temple which allowed for Force-based time travel. Having been guided to a portal which exited at the Sith temple, he witnessed the conclusion of Vader's battle with Tano even as his younger self was locked out of the holocron chamber. As Vader swung his lightsaber at Tano, Bridger reached through the portal and yanked her backwards into the temple. As a result, Vader's strike missed and the temple floor crumbled, sending Vader plummeting into a pool of light. Vader survived the fall and, believing that Tano had perished in the explosion, managed to make his way back to the surface, after which he returned to his duties.

Meeting Thrawn
"I greet you, Lord Vader.''" "Grand Admiral." "I have heard a great deal about you, I am pleased we have finally met." "''Yes, as am I."

- Darth Vader meeting Grand Admiral Thrawn

Shortly after Malachor, Vader arrived at the Imperial Palace on Coruscant and was introduced to the newly promoted Grand Admiral Thrawn by the Emperor. Vader quickly developed an appreciation towards Thrawn.

Investigating a disturbance in the Force
Vader and Thrawn crossed paths on Coruscant once more after Thrawn suffered a strategic defeat on Atollon. As a result of allowing the rebels to slip through his grip, Vader now held a disdain for the Grand Admiral. Though during this meeting, the two were ordered by the Emperor to the planet Batuu to locate a disturbance in the Force that the Emperor had sensed. While Thrawn brought his own forces on board his star destroyer the Chimaera, Vader brought a contingent of his personal stormtroopers from the 501st Legion, the First Legion with him to assist in tracking down this disturbance at the edge of known space.

World between worlds
Sometime later, Bridger managed to enter the world between worlds. There, he heard Anakin Skywalker's voice when he was on Christophsis. Vader's voice was then heard telling an individual to not underestimate the power of the dark side.

Vader then went to the Death Star where he under went treatement from a doctor and his nurse. The nurse developed feelings for Vader, stole his cape and pieces of his armor.

Visit on Mustafar
"Be careful not to choke on your aspirations, Director."

- Darth Vader to Orson Callan Krennic

By 5 BBY, Vader had constructed a castle atop a Sith cave on the planet Mustafar, which included a bacta tank where Vader could survive without his armor. Shortly after the destruction of Jedha City, while floating in the tank, Vader was approached by his servant Vaneé. He informed Vader that Director Krennic, the Imperial official in charge of the construction of the Death Star, had arrived as summoned to explain a number of recent problems involving the battlestation. The most pressing of these problems was the discovery that Galen Erso, an engineer who had played a pivotal role in the creation of the Death Star's superlaser, had been a traitor, and that there was a distinct possibility that he had leaked information about the weapon to the Rebellion.

Krennic had been recently informed by Governor Tarkin that he was no longer in command of the Death Star project, and was keen to impress upon Vader his need for an audience with the Emperor, ostensibly to discuss the weapon's destructive capabilities. Vader instead chastised Krennic for the destruction of Jedha City, the city where the Empire had been mining the kyber crystals needed for the Death Star's primary weapons systems to function. Krennic attempted to shift the blame for the city's destruction to Tarkin, but Vader was unmoved. He informed Krennic that the Imperial Senate had been told that Jedha had been destroyed in a mining disaster, and that the Death Star did not exist. He then impressed upon the director in no uncertain terms that he was to make certain that Galen Erso had not compromised the Death Star in any way. Taking this as conformation from Vader that he was still in command of the project, Krennic began to ask Vader if he would speak to the Emperor on his behalf. But before he could finish his question, Vader cut him off by telekinetically closing his throat, with a sardonic warning to not "choke" on his aspirations.

Stolen plans
"The rebel flagship is disabled, my Lord. But it has received transmissions from the surface.''" "''Prepare a boarding party."

- Shaef Corssin and Darth Vader

Shortly afterwards, Rebel spies attacked the Imperial security complex on the planet Scarif, stole the technical readouts of the Death Star, and transmitted a copy to the Rebel flagship Profundity. As the Rebels began to flee to hyperspace, Vader arrived at the scene of the battle in the Star Destroyer Devastator and quickly crippled the already damaged Rebel flagship. He and a small group of stormtroopers then boarded the vessel and began searching for the plans. As the Rebel crew began to evacuate the Profundity, a small group of Rebel troopers copied the Death Star schematics onto a data disk and attempted to board the Corellian corvette Tantive IV and escape. Mere meters away from one of the corvette's airlocks, the Profundity experienced a power loss, jamming an automatic door in the path of the Rebel soldiers.

Unable to get the door to open more than a few centimeters, the Rebels were intercepted by Vader, who began to slaughter the comparatively helpless Rebels. As Vader reached the trooper with the plans, the Rebel managed to pass the data disk to a compatriot of his behind the door before Vader impaled him and telekinetically wrenched the door open. While Vader finished eliminating the remaining soldiers, the trooper to whom the plans had been passed dove through the open airlock to the Tantive IV, and the Rebels managed to launch the ship before Vader was able to board it. Once the ship was away, the plans were given to Vader's estranged daughter, Princess Leia Organa, who had been tasked by her adoptive father to find Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine.

Pursuing the plans
"I don't know what you're talking about. I am a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan.''" "''You are part of the Rebel Alliance, and a traitor! Take her away!"

- Darth Vader and Leia Organa

Despite their daring escape, the Rebels aboard the Tantive IV did not get far. After failing to capture the plans aboard the Profundity, Vader had immediately re-boarded the Devastator and pursued the Rebel corvette. The Devastator intercepted the Tantive IV in orbit above Tatooine, and quickly disabled and captured it. Vader and his troops boarded the ship, killing many Rebel troopers and gaining complete control of the blockade runner. Vader interrogated its captain, Raymus Antilles, before killing him for not revealing the location of the plans. Vader's troops captured the princess, but not before she placed the plans inside R2-D2 and sent him in an escape pod to the planet's surface. Although the Princess tried to use her diplomatic immunity as a member of the Imperial Senate, Vader had her arrested as a Rebel and a traitor.

As she was escorted to the Devastator, Vader was informed that an escape pod had been jettisoned during the fighting but that no life forms were aboard. Believing that the Princess had hidden the plans there, Vader sent a battalion to Tatooine to recover the plans while he took the Princess to the Death Star for interrogation. In hyperspace, Vader would catch Organa when she had escaped her guards and made her way to one of the Devastator’s shuttles, and announced that the Emperor was disbanding the Senate as they spoke, leaving her defenseless. Vader then had her follow him to the ship's bridge shortly before arriving at the Death Star, where he had her sent to her cell in Detention Block AA-23.

Meanwhile, Vader accompanied Tarkin to attend a meeting with the Joint Chiefs, including General Cassio Tagge and Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, who mocked Vader's reliance on an "ancient religion," only to have Vader Force-choke him. Before he could kill him, Tarkin intervened and instructed Vader to find the location of the Rebel base from Organa. Subsequently, Vader went to torture her with a mind probe-equipped interrogator droid, but as she resisted, he and Tarkin turned to coercion—by bringing the Death Star to the Alderaan system, they threatened to destroy her homeworld if she refused to disclose the location of the Rebel base. Eventually, she told him that the Rebels were on Dantooine, yet Tarkin ordered Alderaan to be destroyed anyway, to make an effective demonstration of the Death Star's power. Vader restrained the Princess as the Death Star's superlaser destroyed her planet. Vader then took Organa back to her cell to await her execution.

Duel on the Death Star
"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but a learner. Now I am the Master.''" "Only a master of evil, Darth''."

- Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, before their second and final duel

After the scout ships sent to Dantooine found the base abandoned, Tarkin ordered Vader to kill her immediately, but the Millennium Falcon was captured in the ruins of Alderaan by the Death Star's tractor beam. Identified as a suspicious ship from Mos Eisley, Vader concluded that they were trying to return the stolen plans to the Princess and went to inspect the freighter himself. Told that the crew had apparently abandoned ship after take-off, Vader gave orders for the ship to be scanned to be sure. At the same time, Vader sensed the presence of his old master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. When news reached him that the Princess had been released from her cell, Vader decided to confront Kenobi alone.

Vader found Kenobi after he had deactivated a tractor beam terminal to allow the Falcon escape the battle station, and the two engaged in one final duel. During the fight, Vader noted that Kenobi's age had made him weak. However, Kenobi told his former apprentice that he wouldn't win because he would become more powerful than Vader could ever imagine, even if he managed to kill him. As they fought, the two reached Bay 327 just as Kenobi's companions and the Princess reunited to board the Falcon, only for Kenobi to see his latest apprentice, Luke Skywalker, Vader's son.

As his former master gave him a mysteriously knowing smile, Vader struck him down when Kenobi raised his blade in surrender. Much to Vader's surprise, Kenobi's body disappeared, for his spirit had become one with the Force, and Vader tried to find remains in his robes but found none. As he did so, General Moradmin Bast asked who he was, and Vader answered "An old man who thought he could help gifted children. He was mistaken." Vader then tried to stop the Rebels from escaping but was prevented from doing so by the closing of the hangar doors by Luke's shot. After the Falcon’s escape, Vader met with Tarkin and confirmed that a homing beacon had been placed upon the ship and that they could follow the ship to the Rebel base.

Yavin 4
"The Force is strong in this one."

- Darth Vader, about Luke Skywalker during the Battle of Yavin

Vader's plan worked and the Death Star followed the Falcon to the hidden Rebel base on Yavin 4. As the Death Star prepared to destroy the moon, Rebel X-wings and Y-wings starfighters attacked the Death Star, having identified a weakness: a thermal exhaust port which led to the reactor systems; a direct hit on the port would cause a chain reaction and the destruction of the station. Though Tarkin remained convinced in the station's invulnerability, Vader ordered all fighters to launch and destroy the Rebel ships. When Gold Squadron broke off from the main group and begun a trench run towards the exhaust port, Vader boarded his TIE Advanced and, flanked by two TIE fighters, managed to terminate Gold Squadron. He continued to destroy most ships of Red Squadron, killing Red Leader Garven Dreis.

As the last members of Red Squadron engaged in a trench run while the Death Star was preparing the destroy the moon, Vader damaged Wedge Antilles's X-wing, forcing him to break off formation, and killed Biggs Darklighter, leaving only the leader of the group, Luke. Vader quickly realized that the Force was powerful in the young pilot, but nevertheless proceeded to get him into range. When he finally succeeded, he was just about to destroy the young pilot when the newly arrived Millennium Falcon intervened and destroyed one of Vader's escorts. Before the Falcon could destroy Vader, his other escort accidentally bumped into Vader's craft, destroying the other escort and causing Vader's craft to veer off course and send him plunging into space. This prevented him from stopping the Death Star's destruction, which killed Tarkin and was a major defeat for the Empire.

Shortly after the battle, Vader sent a distress signal to the Devastator to send a ship to pick him up and bring him back from the Yavin system to the Star Destroyer. Sometime later, he would fly just beyond the ever-expanding debris field that once was the Death Star, when Imperial pilots Ciena Ree and Berisse Sai arrived in a Gozanti-class cruiser. Docking his TIE Advanced x1 with the freighter, Vader passed through the airlock door, and met Ree. Then, he ordered Ree and Sai to remain in the hold for the remainder of the voyage while he took command of the freighter until they returned to the Devastator.

Darth Atrius's lightsabers
Sometime later, an Imperial officer managed to obtain one of two lightsabers formerly owned by the Sith Darth Atrius. Vader arrived on Hradreek, where the officer welcomed him, supported by a contingent of stormtroopers. Vader looked at the lightsaber and asked where the other one was. The officer was confused by his question, and Vader Force-choked him. As he gagged, he claimed that he bought the lightsaber from a smuggler and that she must have tricked him. Vader told a stormtrooper to divert all divisions to finding the smuggler and the other lightsaber. Vader then killed the officer as the stormtroopers scattered to begin the search.

A squad of stormtroopers found the smuggler, Sana Starros, and they chased her down the streets. Starros paid a gang of Aqualish to stall them, and they got in the way of the stormtroopers. However, Vader appeared and cut them down using his lightsaber and Darth Atrius'. Vader then followed Starros' path to a cargo bay, and he used the Force to move the crates and block her from a clear exit. Starros then shot at Vader, and he used the Force to disperse the plasma bolts. Starros rigged one of the crates and then waited for Vader to follow before detonating it, throwing Vader to the side and burying him. Vader soon freed himself and made his way to the nearby podracing track. Vader entered the seating area, and the audience scattered at his presence. Vader noticed one of the podracers, who was grabbing the attention of the commentary. The human, despite being biologically unequipped for a race like this, was winning the race, and Vader used the Force to cause one of the engines to malfunction, crashing the podracer. The pilot of the racer was none other than Luke Skywalker, who had obtained the other of Atrius' lightsabers. Luke decided to destroy the lightsaber, as it overwhelmed him with anger whenever he needed it. Vader watched him escape in his X-wing, and he decided to crush Atrius' other lightsaber.

Cymoon 1
"He's here. The Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star. I can feel his presence. He will not escape me again."

- Darth Vader

Several weeks after the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader was called to Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1. He was to negotiate, or rather force, an arrangement with an envoy of Jabba the Hutt about supplying raw materials through Hutt-controlled space to the factory. Vader arrived shortly after the envoy (secretly the Millennium Falcon’s captain, Han Solo) and landed on a platform. As he was about to enter the facility, Vader was shot at by a sniper, Chewbacca, but he deflected the blaster bolt and used two stormtroopers as human shields as the Wookiee rained down dozens of shots upon him. Unscathed, Vader located Chewbacca's position, and used to the Force to collapse his vantage point, but the Wookiee survived.

Vader then ordered the arriving stormtrooper reinforcements to hunt him down. One of them informed the Dark Lord that Overseer Aggadeen was out of contact and the factory's main reactor was on meltdown. As he surmised these occurrences were the work of Rebels, Vader put the entire moon on alert, but also felt the presence of the pilot who had destroyed the Death Star, Luke Skywalker. Although unaware of the boy's identity, Vader made his way into the factory at once and came face-to-face with the Jedi apprentice. Vader soon realized that the boy had been cursorily trained by Kenobi, and after the briefest of duels, snatched Luke's lightsaber. As he prepared to execute Luke for his refusal to disclose information about the Rebellion, he realized that the boy's lightsaber had once been his own. Before he could question Luke further, the foot of a Rebel-hijacked AT-AT walker came hurtling down into the middle of their standoff, knocking the two apart.

In the ensuing chaos, Vader sought to prevent the Rebels' escape, and mowed down the factory's runaway slaves, commanding his stormtroopers to execute all the escapees. Once Luke got away on a stolen 74-Z speeder bike and attacked Vader's troops (leading the Dark Lord to reconsider his initial dismissal of the boy and wonder exactly what Kenobi had been up to before his death), Vader personally saw to the walker's defeat. Solo and Organa, commanding the AT-AT, tried to step on him, but Vader used the Force to hold the walker's descending foot several meters above his head, and almost tore it apart.

He was foiled, however, when Solo and Organa unleashed a barrage of the AT-AT's laser fire upon him, causing him to lose his old lightsaber (which the current owner retrieved), and his mask and helmet. As he emerged from under a pile of rubble, a stormtrooper approached; upon seeing Vader's scarred face, he tried to apologize. However, Vader killed him by twisting his head around using the Force, right before Aggadeen reached him via comlink and asked for the facility's evacuation. Vader vetoed his request, had him repair the core, and ordered to kill all the Rebel invaders, except for the boy, whom Vader would deal with personally. As Aggadeen informed him that they had successfully defused the reactor, Vader personally fell the Rebel walker by slashing its legs with his lightsaber.

As reinforcements arrived, Vader sent them after the Rebels on the trash fields, while he pursued the lone Rebel who was returning to the factory, Luke. Aboard a combat speeder, Vader chased Luke into the facility, but the Rebel managed to destroy the power core with the speeder bike, leaving Vader as the only survivor among the factory's rubble following its explosion. The Sith Lord then saw Luke's abandoned speeder and the fleeing Millennium Falcon; as the Adjudicator’s captain, Kronn, informed him that they had been unable to catch the freighter, Vader Force-choked the captain to death. Then, as if he were talking to Kenobi, Vader vowed to find the boy's identity and to turn him to the dark side, so that the boy became his weapon, and not Kenobi's.

Yavin's aftermath
"But you are the only one living to suffer my anger. You, an isolated survivor of the greatest military disaster in all my Empire's history? Oh, you are truly the Chosen One Lord Vader. Chosen to be the one responsible.''" "I will make it right. I will crush the Rebels." "''No. I think not."

- Sidious and Vader discuss Vader's failings

Thereupon, Vader returned to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant to report to the Emperor, bringing Aggadeen with him. Sidious bid Vader to explain the events of Weapons Factory Alpha, which along the Death Star's destruction, had put the Empire very near disaster. Although Vader considered Aggadeen to be responsible for the failure on Cymoon 1 (and the Overseer was tortured accordingly), Palpatine claimed much of the responsibility lay in Vader's head, as he reminded him that he was the sole survivor of the greatest disaster in the Empire's history—one partially caused by his idea to tag the Falcon with a homing beacon and let it escape with the Death Star plans. He then informed Vader that Cassio Tagge, now Grand General of the Imperial Army, would be his commanding officer for some time.

The Emperor then ordered Vader to continue the unfinished Cymoon 1 negotiations with Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine, right before going to Tagge. As they returned to his office, Sidious greeted one of his agents, Cylo, and Vader asked for his identity, but the Emperor denied him the knowledge. Instead, he asked Vader if there was anything else to report, but Vader chose not to tell him about Kenobi's mysterious disappearance, nor the Force-sensitive Rebel pilot who had destroyed the Death Star, and left the office and palace altogether. He boarded an Imperial Star Destroyer and immediately left for Tatooine, sending the Imperial vessel back to collect the trade goods for the meeting.

Tatooine negotiations
Vader soon arrived at Jabba's Palace where, during the meeting, he had the Hutt dismiss his court. However, Jabba would rather claim the bounty on Vader's head and had his people shoot at him, but Vader killed them and forced Jabba to reconsider his position. After being Force choked, the Hutt admitted he found it hard not to respect him. The two then came to an agreement: Jabba would provide Vader with two of his best bounty hunters. Vader left the Hutt's palace and sought out a Tusken Raider camp, wherein he mercilessly slaughtered its inhabitants. He was then approached by Jabba's envoys: Boba Fett and Black Krrsantan. While he sent Fett to find and the Rebel pilot from Yavin alive, Vader assigned the Wookiee to bring Sidious's agent to him. Both mercenaries agreed, and Vader departed Tatooine for his Star Destroyer.

The following day, Vader returned in his official capacity as the Emperor's envoy to negotiate, as if nothing had happened the day before. Jabba welcomed Vader and claimed that his resources belonged to the Empire as long as he was paid. Vader then turned to leave, leaving his stormtroopers to tell Jabba what was required, but the Hutt invited him to a feast and entertainment in his honor, for he liked to seal his business ventures by watching someone die. Aboard the sail barge Khetanna, Vader and Jabba watched as the latter's guards killed wild banthas for sport until Jabba's court jester, Salacious B. Crumb, let out a loud cackle. Vader warned the Hutt to not let the Kowakian monkey-lizard do that again in his presence if he valued Crumb's life; Jabba merely laughed and told Vader he now regarded him as a "good friend." The Hutt then inquired whether his bounty hunters were adequately serving his needs; though Vader berated him for bringing up the private matter, he also told the Hutt that their missions were simple enough: to capture an Imperial agent, and a boy. Jabba argued that the "boy" had destroyed the Death Star, and had possibly been trained by Kenobi. The name prompted Vader to request that Jabba tell him all he knew of Kenobi's exile on Tatooine.

Jabba first required someone screaming, though, so he ordered his guards to pilot the Khetanna to the Great Pit of Carkoon. He expected Vader to be impressed by the sarlacc, which he believed was one of the few treasures that Tatooine had to offer, and said he found it hard to believe that anyone of note (like the Yavin pilot) could have ever been born on Tatooine. In silence, Vader watched his homeworld's sunset.

Servitude unto Tagge
"You should think of yourself as your lightsaber. A singular weapon from an older time&mdash;and one that is dangerous to everyone around them without a skilled hand to wield it. In time you will understand that I am the skilled hand you've been waiting for."

- Cassio Tagge to Darth Vader

After leaving Tatooine, Vader met with Tagge aboard his Executor-class Star Dreadnought, Annihilator. During a time of many raids against ships carrying Jabba's weapons and equipment supplies, Vader was sent to protect an Imperial shuttle, CZ-246, from a pirate attack. With his TIE Advanced, Vader went to their aid, alongside Black Two and Black Three, and successfully disabled the automated CR90 corvette attacking the shuttle. Upon returning to the Annihilator, Vader reported to Tagge that the pirate vessel had been captured, and that he suspected a security breach.

As he said so, Tagge disagreed, believing the raids to be predictable piracy, and admitted to seeing the Death Star as "Tarkin's folly." Vader noted that Tarkin at least had vision, prompting Tagge to admit his plans were not as grand as Tarkin's or Vader's, but they still were effective; he believed that the Empire could not be based around a single asset, like the Death Star or Vader himself. Tagge then informed Vader that he intended to repair the corvette and use it to attack its base of origin, sending Vader to head the attack, although with an adjutant, Lieutenant Oon-ai.

Vader left to prepare for the mission and oversee the repairs on the corvette. Oon-ai followed, asking permission to look into Vader's personal communications to provide information to Tagge. Although it annoyed Vader, as it was the Emperor's command that he serve under Tagge, he allowed it and left. He then planted treasonable evidence into a black astromech so as to incriminate Oon-ai during the mission. Soon thereafter, Vader, Oon-ai and six stormtroopers boarded the corvette and found the pirate base, docking with the station. Greeted by a Twi'lek pirate, whom he killed, Vader ordered the troopers to secure the core, while his astromech made his way to the command center to plant the false evidence.

They found themselves under the attack of two customized droidekas who brandished missile launchers, prompting Vader to use the Force to throw the incoming missiles back at the attackers, destroying the droids and fatally injuring the pirates. A Mon Calamari pirate survived long enough to activate the self-destruct, and Vader ordered the surviving troopers to return to the corvette and prepare to launch as soon as he returned. Followed by Oon-ai, Vader went deeper into the station to retrieve the false evidence. They returned to the corvette just before the station exploded.

Back on the Annihilator, Vader reported to Tagge, telling him that he was impressed with the results of his plan (the intelligence he had gathered confirmed the raiders were being backed by the Crymorah syndicate), but also claimed Oon-ai was the leak, noting that Tagge should be more careful of those who were close to him. Shortly after, Vader isolated the black astromech under the pretenses of a private discussion; the Dark Lord ensured the droid had deleted all records of its data uploads on the station, before venting the droid through an airlock and into space, where it exploded.

Following a Imperial-Rebel confrontation, Vader went to the Palace of Grakkus the Hutt to meet with Sergeant Kreel. A covert operative of his battalion "Vader's Fist," Kreel informed him that his mission to end Grakkus' operations was a success, but that the Yavin Rebel pilot had escaped them yet again. Vader inquired if he had mentioned his name (which he did not), and asked him to tell him everything he had learned of the boy.

A droid army
"There was a time I had armies at my beck and call. That time has passed. I need resources of my own. Private resources."

- Darth Vader to Dr. Aphra, on why he needed her services

From the information he gathered from the pirate base, Vader learned that a Doctor Aphra had supplied the pirates with the customized droidekas. As he wanted similarly effective units in the personal army he sought to build, Vader set out to find Aphra, conducting a manhunt for her in many locations, gathering information and killing the witnesses, until he finally learned of her presence on Quarantine World III in Kallidahin Space. He landed there just as Aphra was arrested by Utani Xane and a squad of B2 super battle droids; although Xane warned him that he was violating treaties, Vader began destroying her droids and saved Aphra as she tumbled over a ledge. Vader stabbed Xane through the back with his saber before telling the doctor he needed her services. He helped her up and she agreed.

Together, they boarded Aphra's ship, the Ark Angel, where she admitted to being a fan of his. The rogue archaeologist also introduced Vader to the Triple-Zero protocol personality matrix and estimated it would take hours to unlock the matrix's codes that were restricting it. It took Vader a few seconds to unlock it, which let Aphra install the personality matrix into a protocol droid's body right away. As the droid introduced himself as 0-0-0, she imprinted herself and Vader as his masters, and used him to wake up BT-1, a blastomech prototype. But as it was hostile towards his new masters, 0-0-0 shut it down before he could do any harm.

Vader then let her know the reason he had sought her out was to secure his own private resources, ones only she could help him procure. Aphra (who had originally acquired the two droids for the Gotra) instead gave them to Vader after realizing Vader was probably going to be her employer for the foreseeable future. She asked what else he needed, and he answered that he wanted troops of unquestionable loyalty: battle droids. Aphra then suggested that they acquire an unusual droid foundry on Geonosis, one in possession of Queen Karina, who had survived the Clone Wars and the planet's sterilization. As they landed the Ark Angel, and she sent 0-0-0 and BT-1 to map the cave route to the queen so that she and Vader could follow, Aphra asked Vader if he had ever been to Geonosis before. Her questioning brought up the memory of his first kiss with Amidala, shortly before the First Battle of Geonosis.

Vader ordered Aphra to cease her probing, and entered the catacombs; she followed him. They reunited with BT-1 and 0-0-0 and encountered the queen. Vader immediately amputated her from the womb droid factory. The queen, injured but alive, ordered her "children" to stop the intruders; at Vader's command, BT-1 opened fire on the droids, and he and Vader began to overwhelm her forces. Meanwhile, Aphra set a beacon on the ceiling with Vader's help, and ordered her Ark Angel to barrage the locator to make a hole in the roof. Vader protected himself and Aphra by creating a Force barrier. His J-Type 327 Nubian then lowered a crane-platform, which Aphra attached to the factory while Vader fought off the advancing droids, and the ship carried them and the factory to the skies.

They would later board the Ark Angel, where Aphra successfully activated the factory and told him he would have his private droid army. She then asked Vader if he would kill her then or later, and said that if he did, she wanted a lightsaber right through the neck, with no warning. Vader finally told her she had proved resourceful and would be safe as long as he had use for her, unless she tried to blackmail him. It was then that 0-0-0 interrupted them to inform Vader that he had a signal from Black Krrsantan: he was bringing the Emperor's agent to him.

Cylo's enforcers
"The Force is obsolete. These are its successors.''" "This is... blasphemous!" "This has nothing to do with the Force. Much like you, Lord Vader. I look at you, more machine than man, and I see a bridge between the old world and mine. In many ways these are your children." "''Enough."

- Cylo introduces Darth Vader to his enforcers

As Krrsantan arrived, Vader confronted the Emperor's agent, Cylo-IV. Vader demanded that he tell him his name, his commission from the Emperor and the location of his headquarters. As he refused, Vader assigned 0-0-0 to retrieve all relevant information from him. After an interrogation that resulted in the agent's death, 0-0-0 reported to Vader that he was Dr. Cylo-IV, that his research base was located in an Outer Rim nebula, and that his commission was to create replacements for Vader. After learning this, they immediately departed for the base, aboard his J-type 327 Nubian. While Aphra remained on the ship, Vader and two platoons of droid commandos infiltrated it. Vader sent a platoon to "the dojo" and had the other one follow him to the barracks. As they killed the soldiers in there, Aphra reported that they had lost the other platoon, prompting Vader to go to the dojo, where he met the twins Morit and Aiolin Astarte.

They soon engaged in combat, but before any of the parties could harm each other, Cylo-V appeared and told the twins to stand down. He explained to Vader why he was still alive after his last body was killed, and that he was not making apprentices for the Emperor but enforcers, as he believed the Force to be obsolete. Believing him to be blasphemous, Vader attempted to strike Cylo down when the scientist claimed they were, in many ways, Vader's children and successors. The Emperor then revealed his presence to Vader and stopped him, claiming he wanted to see Cylo's demonstration without delay.

Vader was immediately made to fight the Astarte twins, Tulon Voidgazer, the Mon Calamari Karbin, and a Trandoshan. As neither party was injured, the Emperor ordered the fight to be one to the death. As such, Vader fought the Trandoshan, but its ferocity threw him off balance, prompting Morit to intervene and kill his fellow enforcer. Sidious then ordered the fighting to cease; Vader warned Morit that his trespass would not be forgotten, as the Trandoshan's life was his to take. The Emperor then told the enforcers and Vader that their mission was to strike down all who opposed the Empire, and that they were not to slay each other. As per his master's orders, Vader followed him.

In private, Sidious (aware of Vader's private forces) admitted to being impressed that he had some independence left in him after so long and that perhaps he could triumph against the enforcers. Vader criticized his dealings with Cylo, as he saw his enforcers as a heresy to the Force, but the Emperor berated him for his lack of respect—for it was Vader who had disappointed him on Mustafar and had forced him to contact Cylo. As he left, he observed that perhaps, Vader would prove himself worthy of the name he had given him back then.

Parenthood
"Did you bring me anything of value, bounty hunter?''" "''Not much. Just his name. Skywalker."

- Darth Vader and Boba Fett

Troubled, Vader returned to his ship. Aboard the Nubian, Aphra told him that Fett wanted to report in during Vader's absence. Subsequently, Vader traveled to a Star Destroyer to meet with the bounty hunter and hear his story. The Dark Lord was disappointed to hear that Fett had lost the boy, but before leaving, Fett told him his name: Luke Skywalker. In his solitude, Vader remembered Amidala telling him about her pregnancy, and Palpatine's half-truth, and cracked the viewport in his anger. Thereupon, he used his meditation chamber's holoprojector to contact his master, but chose to say nothing about his son; rather, Vader assured him that he would not fail and ended the transmission. Nevertheless, he accepted Luke as his son, and vowed that the boy would be his.

Determined to find more about Luke, Vader returned to Tatooine on the Ark Angel, with Aphra, 0-0-0 and BT-1 in his company. They landed at the Lars homestead, which they discovered to be deserted after an attack by Imperial troops, and Vader tried to find traces of Luke's presence. Unable to find anything of import, Vader left the moisture farm and went to Kenobi's home where he indeed felt the remnants of Luke's usage of the Force during his duel against Fett, but nothing else. As they left, Aphra activated a molecular purge bomb to remove all remnants of their presence, and Vader dismissed Aphra, for he was to return to his duties for the time being.

Anthan Prime
"I'm trying to ascertain if you are... dangerous.''" "''Oh, I am, Lord Vader... But only to the enemies of the Empire."

- Darth Vader and Inspector Thanoth

As part of Tagge's crackdown on Outer Rim criminal interests who had gone unchecked in the past, Vader took part in a mission to terminate a criminal organization known as Son-tuul Pride. He and his troops destroyed the Pride's base and seized its stockpile of credits, to be transported on an Imperial light cruiser, but he also secretly sent Aphra all the information needed to steal the credits cargo. Following the theft, Vader reunited with her on Anthan 13, where he sent her to confirm some information about Commodex Tahn.

Vader then attended a meeting between Tagge and Cylo's enforcers, wherein the Astarte twins were assigned to deal with the Plasma Devils, and wherein Vader let Tagge know he wanted the mission of finding the Yavin Rebel pilot (which was Karbin's mission). Tagge felt he was too personally invested, and sent Vader to punish whoever was responsible for the theft of the Son-tuul Pride's fortune in the Anthan system; he also informed Vader that Inspector Thanoth was his replacement adjutant. While Thanoth went to the Anthan Prime Orbital Dockyard to investigate the theft's circumstances, Vader returned to Anthan 13 and killed the entirety of a small Rebel cell to cover his tracks. He later reunited with Thanoth on Anthan Prime, where they sought Doowan, an employee of "the Dragon"—an arms dealer who was likely to have sold the explosives needed for the theft—and interrogated him. The Nautolan promptly revealed the location of the Dragon in his mansion, before the twins killed him in a show of force.

Thanoth then noticed Vader's passivity, but Vader dismissed it, saying he was merely trying to ascertain if Thanoth was dangerous or a traitor. The two then went to the Dragon's mansion, which Vader entered on his own, killing the people inside until he reached the Dragon himself. Although he tried to tell Vader everything to save himself, Vader killed the Ortolan, and claimed he would have detonated the building once Thanoth reached the office. The inspector then opened the Dragon's vault to access his records, and asked Vader to ready a strike force for when he located the suspects.

Vader then used the opportunity to meet with Aphra, who had just come back from a raid on Commodex Tahn's villa on Naboo. She confirmed his sources: Amidala had indeed died but had given birth to a healthy boy, who was taken away by the Jedi. Vader then tasked Aphra with finding Luke before Karbin could; subsequently, she resorted to The Ante. Vader then returned to the Star Destroyer, where Thanoth they would travel to the Spire to find The Ante. When they found him, he told them the location of the Plasma Devils to show cooperation, and pointed at the one responsible for the theft, Aphra. Before the Givin could identify her by name, Vader telekinetically forced an unlucky stray shot and killed him. Vader then went to find Aphra before anyone else.

As they encountered each other, Vader ordered her not to struggle and Force choked her, but Aphra claimed she knew of Luke's location. Vader released her and ordered Aphra to tell him, but she refused, claiming she would tell him later. He then let her go, using the Force to drop debris above him as she escaped on the Ark Angel. He got out of the rubble as Thanoth and the stormtroopers arrived, and claimed he had fallen into her trap. To follow her, Vader and Thanoth boarded their Arquitens-class light cruiser. As they waited for their TIE/sa bombers to catch Aphra, Vader and Thanoth agreed to use their ready strike force to kill the Plasma Devils before they could escape.

The two had their light cruiser go to the Thanteen Substrata on Anthan 1, where the Rebel cell was located. As per their plan, their light cruiser bombarded the westernmost tunnels and sealed them, whereas Vader went to the east route and felled incoming Rebel ships by throwing his lightsaber until the cell was annihilated. He then took three of the Plasma Devils' flight helmets and, alongside Thanoth, presented them to Tagge, who agreed with their course of action given the tight situation. As Karbin reported that the Yavin Rebel pilot was free, Vader and Thanoth left, and the Inspector let him know it had been an honor to serve alongside him.

Shu-Torun
"As a princess, you served your father. As a queen, you serve your people. This is a small remainder of what happens to worlds who resist the Emperor. This is what remains of Alderaan."

- Darth Vader to Queen Trios

Vader traveled to Shu-Torun with a message to reinforce their cooperation and force its government to fulfill the quotas, while 0-0-0 and BT-1 killed the king and his closest servants. Expecting to meet the King of Shu-Torun, he instead met Princess Trios upon landing, who was to show him to the ball, a little celebration to showcase their culture. Soon after their arrival, however, Shu-Torun assassins that wished death to the Empire and the king, but Vader successfully fended them off and demanded to see the king immediately. Trios complied and guided him through the tunnels as the main elevators were being watched by the traitorous dukes, according to her. Vader recognized Trios as admirable for her willingness to sacrifice herself for the greater good, as lava poured into the tunnels.

However, he used his lightsaber to make a round platform to float above the lava and reach one of the exits above. Taking an unconscious Trios with him, Vader made it to one of the corridors where he killed the guards. Trios awoke, only to point a blaster at Vader. He, however, cut her hand off and entered the king's chambers to find the monarch, his other children and guards killed by Vader's assassin droids. With Trios as the new Queen of Shu-Torun, he delivered the Emperor's message; a piece of Alderaan, as a reminder of what happened to worlds that resisted his rule. Vader then told her that he would pacify Shu-Torun, but that she was to not forget whom she served.

Vrogas Vas
"Darth Vader! Lay down your weapons! You are surrounded!" "All I am surrounded by is fear. And dead men."

- Darth Vader responds to a Rebel commando company ordering his surrender.

Vader met with Aphra and the droids, and demanded that he tell her Luke's location: Vrogas Vas. She continued by saying she did want to work for him and show that she was trustworthy. After a moment, he conceded that his work alongside Thanoth had given him an appreciation of talent, and told her not to make him regret his decision. He left, saying it was a task for him alone. Unbeknownst to him, a probe droid from Karbin followed him. In his TIE Advanced, he went to the planet's system where, upon coming out of hyperspace, he found three Alliance starfighter squadrons orbiting the planet. As he sensed Luke's presence, he remained and charged against the starfighters, who dismissed his TIE as a mere Imperial scout.

During the battle, Vader engaged the X-wing starfighters, and managed to take out both Blue Squadron and Yellow Squadron, as he lost contact with Aphra. Vader was then confronted by Luke, who was flying as Red Five, and flew his X-wing into Vader's starfighter, hoping to kill him. During the collision, their stabilizers were damaged prompting their craft to crash on the planet's surface. There, Vader was hunted down by the Alliance forces, starting with Gray Squadron, but he promptly destroyed them by use of the Force. Afterwards, a company of Rebel commandos moved in to attack him, but he activated some of their thermal detonators before they could throw them, taking out a tank by deflecting its shot against it and continued to reduce the Rebel forces.

Vader also took the blaster array of his fallen TIE Advanced x1 and used it to take down further ships, this time from Cyan Squadron. Not too long afterwards, another platoon was deployed to attack him, although this time Organa was leading them herself. Vader, choking her two companions, confronted her but felt an incoming ambush. When he let her go so that she contacted Luke, Organa used the opportunity to arrange an airstrike on her and Vader's location. Instead, Commander Karbin arrived with a task force, and tried to take his victory—both his son and the princess' execution—from Vader. Subsequently, Vader engaged the enforcer in a duel, during which Organa escaped, and during which they entered the Jedi Temple in ruins.

Inside the temple, he was momentarily distracted by ghosts of his past (Jinn's, Kenobi's and Yoda's voices), but continued the duel. Aphra then contacted him from aboard the Ark Angel and informed him that Luke had been captured by Karbin's guards. So Vader had her crash her ship against Karbin, and confronted the mortally wounded Karbin, who realized there was more to the Yavin pilot and Vader's relationship than met the eye. Vader then finished him and contacted Aphra to tell her that her "pardon" depended on Luke's capture. With the Force, he brought down the shuttle transporting Luke, and Aphra tried to capture Luke only to be captured herself by the Rebels, leaving Vader to watch as his son on the Millennium Falcon fled from Vrogas Vas.

Shu-Torun War
"The queen of Shu-Torun. Did you choose well?''" "''There was no other choice."

- Queen Trios and Darth Vader

Vader then returned to the Imperial Palace and brought Karbin's body to the Emperor, demanding that his master give him a fight worthy of his time. Sidious then told Vader to return to Shu-Torun as the ore-barons were rebelling and he required a full military intervention, and that Cylo (per Tagge's request) was to join him in the task. As a result, Vader returned to Shu-Torun, alongside Cylo, the Astarte twins and Voidgazer. Accompanied by Queen Trios, Vader led an attack against a rebellious delving citadel, and destroyed it as a demonstration of force. He also accorded to treat Trios with the illusion of respect and tasked, in secret, a group of bounty hunters to find Aphra and return her to him, either dead or alive.

After sending a broadcast to the barons, Vader, Trios, and Cylo and his enforcers went, per the queen's suggestion, to the ancestral retreat of the Shu-Torun royalty. There, they were soon attacked by Baron Rubix's Lava Leviathan, and Vader used Trios' escape vessel to reach the Leviathan and dared the twins to follow him. With their lightsabers, they boarded it, and from the inside, the three cut large holes that allowed the ship to flood with magma and be destroyed. Upon returning, Trios suggested that they attack Rubix next (as she had identified the ship's owner) and so, Vader told Cylo to prepare his enforcers. In the meantime, he killed Beebox for trying to deceive him with a stranger's disintegrated body, and refused Aiolin's request to train her.

Soon enough, they carried out the siege to Rubix's delving citadel, using the Shu-Torun Loyalist/Imperial Delving Fleet's combat drills, with Vader heading the first wave alongside the Astarte. Hwever, he was betrayed by Cylo, and his drill was redirected into a lithoporoite seam, where they were surrounded by Rubix's elite forces. With their outbound communications jammed, Vader left his troops as well as droid platoons to protect the drill and had the Astarte twins follow him as to use the enemy's lines to tell the rest of the assault fleet to resume the attack. On the way there, the twins attacked him, but Aiolin saw they could not win against Vader and destroyed the pathway between them. She was then betrayed by her brother who pushed her into the lava and fled back to Cylo; Vader then took the dying Aiolin out of the lava and had her reveal Cylo's deceit before finishing her off.

Vader then returned to his forces, who had secured the enemy lines thanks to 0-0-0's stratagem, and was surprised to find that Trios' assault to the delving citadel was already under way. With no opposition, Vader's combat drill resumed his way to citadel, and Vader himself cut off Rubix's escapeway. Trios soon went to their encounter and Rubix formally surrendered; she then had the baron executed, and appointed his daughter as his successor, thus ending the rebellion. Vader then left the planet and informed the Emperor of Cylo's treachery, and the Emperor simply summoned him. He also received a message from Inspector Thanoth saying that he had located Aphra and that they needed to talk.

Hunt for Cylo
"I often wondered whether what rose from our operating table was a machine or a man... Good to have an answer."

- Cylo, to Darth Vader

At the shipyards of Kuat, Vader met with Sidious aboard an unfinished Executor-class Star Dreadnought, the Executor. The Emperor explained that in order to save Vader after Mustafar, he had to resort to scientists who were similar in philosophy to the Sith, among them Cylo. Cylo eventually grew too powerful within the Tarkin Initiative and so Sidious was forced to make him overplay his hand. Now that he was a mere traitor, he could be purged. After the meeting, Vader met with Thanoth on Anthan 13; the Inspector, now aware of Vader's real identity, revealed that he would support Vader's treason against the Emperor and that he would reveal Aphra's location on the Cosmatanic Steppes. However, when he did so, Vader killed him and ordered the droids to return Aphra to the Executor. Later, he spoke with Professor Thlu-Ry, a colleague of Cylo's. Thlu-Ry revealed Cylo's location in the Crushank Nebulae, after which he was executed for fraternizing with a traitor.

With the Devastator, Vader approached Cylo's flagship in his TIE Advanced x1 and boarded the enemy ship just before it jumped to hyperspace. As he made his way through the labs, Voidgazer confronted him and pitted him against a cyberanimate rancor, just as Cylo's fleet arrived at Kuat. Although the creature gave him some difficulty, Vader killed it by throwing his lightsaber through its skull, severing the neural link, and turned one of Voidgazer's defense droids against her, fatally wounding her. As she lay dying, Voidgazer revealed that she had tampered with the Executor’s systems to incapacitate the crew; Vader finished her off and went to the empty bridge, which had been abandoned by Cylo and Morit as they had fled in the escape pods, to find that Cylo's flagship was to collide with the Executor. Before it did, he ejected and landed on the Executor’s outer hull, where he soon encountered Morit. He easily killed him and then made his way to the Executor’s bridge, where he confronted Cylo. The scientist simply disabled Vader's cybernetics with a device he had kept for twenty years, forcing Vader to kneel and drop his lightsaber.

While Vader was incapacitated, he received visions of his duel with his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. This time, however, Kenobi threw him into the lava. Vader then rose out of the river in his life suit and struck down his old master. However, like their duel on the Death Star, Kenobi's body disappeared. Vader then encountered a vision of his younger self. The two versions of Skywalker fought until Vader came out victorious, throwing his counterpart in the lava. Finally, the Dark Lord met a vision of his deceased wife, Padmé Amidala. Vader then found himself chained to the same table where he first received his suit. The vision of Padmé pleaded with him, asking him to stay with her. Vader, however, choked the illusion while at the same time regained control of his body. Vader then impaled Cylo with his lightsaber, regaining the ship from his control. The Dark Lord then informed his master of his success. The Emperor then ordered Vader to finish his mission then return to him, stating there was much to discuss.

Vader took control of his TIE Advanced, flying into Cylo's command ship. After cutting his way through Cylo's forces, the Dark Lord found his way to the doctor's cloning room. After destroying Cylo's spare bodies, Vader made it to the command bridge. Vader then confronted the doctor one last time. He mind-tricked the whale-ship into flying into a nearby star, destroying Cylo once and for all. After returning to the Executor, Vader met with his master. The Emperor was initially expecting his apprentice to give him a full report, but it was revealed that Dr. Aphra told Sidious all of Vader's secret missions and plans. Instead of being angry with Vader, however, the Emperor was pleased with his apprentice's ability to operate in the shadows, stating he was everything he could have hoped for. The Emperor then left his apprentice to deal with Aphra as he pleased.

Vader then ordered Aphra to follow him, and despite her pleas of a quick death, he forced her out the airlock. Making his way to the bridge, Sidious informed him that Grand General Tagge was to be demoted and that command of the Executor and its fleet would be transferred to the Dark Lord. The Emperor then left his apprentice to "educate" his subordinates of this new era. Vader then executed Tagge and ordered Admiral Kendal Ozzel to have the ship ready in two weeks. Vader then thought of his son, content that he would soon have him.

Slaying the unworthy
After the rebellion began encroaching in the Mid Rim, Sidious let Vader loose, deciding that incompetence at the highest level was to blame for the the Death Star's destruction, allowing him to kill Imperial officials including Moff Coovern and Minister Khemt.

Skirmish on the Scorca retreat
"I am the alpha and the omega of the Ordu Aspectu! I am the eternal Rur, Jedi Knight''" "''I am Darth Vader, Sith Lord. I killed the Jedi&hellip;and none shall escape me"

- The eternal Rur confronts Vader

Sometime later, Vader was contacted by 0-0-0 about the auction of a large kyber crystal, with the conscience of an ancient Jedi named Rur, on the Scorca Retreat. Vader went there with haste but found that the auction, had turned into a massacre, orchestrated by 0-0-0. He had allowed a droid from the Cyban Front to be taken over by the conscious kyber crystal, making it hunt down the factions on the space station. As Vader roamed the hallways, he found another Cyban Front droid who had noticed him and his stormtroopers moving about. The droid attempted to run, but Vader used the Force to smash it to pieces. Vader ordered his troopers to kill all of the individuals they found in the space station.

Some of the stormtroopers crossed paths with the droid being controlled by Rur, and it ran at them. At the same time, Vader cut down a member of the Dominion of the Ezaraa. Some of his stormtroopers approached him, reporting resistance in the top dome and the droid. Vader walked down the halls and found the droid standing over a pile of dead stormtroopers. The droid had two blue lightsabers, generated from the kyber crystal inside it, erected from its arms. The two declared themselves to each other and clashed. As they fought, Vader deduced that Rur was not a Sith. Rur claimed to be the last of the Ordu Aspectu and a Jedi. As they deduced more about each other, Vader Force-pushed Rur into a stone slab. Rur got up again, but Vader charged at him, and as they clashed, he cut the droid's right hand off.

Vader Force-pushed him again into a wall, and he began laughing. He said that while his former organic body had limited him, he was now boundless, a god of machines. Rur therefore took control of the defensive guns in the ceiling and used them on Vader. Rur then tried to take control of Vader's suit and stalled his defensive moves. Vader told him that he wasn't the first to attempt that and used the Force to throw Rur into the wall, and then the opposite wall, and then the first wall again. The three collisions with the walls demolished the droid and Vader took the crystal. After the duel, a stormtrooper reported to Vader that some small ships had slipped his blockade. Vader told the trooper that the blockade was to remain. Vader took the crystal back to Sidious on Coruscant and then archived it with the rest of his master's collection.

Tureen VII
After the death of Cylo, Vader ordered Sergeant Kreel and his SCAR Squadron to hunt down Luke Skywalker. They eventually found him and his allies hijacking the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Harbinger. The vessel made its way to the blockaded planet Tureen VII in an attempt to aid the people there. Vader and his TIE forces engaged the attacking rebel X-wings.

While fighting the rebel fighters, Vader questioned Kreel if he had located Luke. At that moment, Kreel was engaging the rebel in a lightsaber duel. The Dark Lord then warned the stormtrooper not to injure his "prize." However, Luke used the Force to incapacitate Kreel, much to Vader's anger. The rebels eventually were able to break the siege and give relief to the people of Tureen VII. SCAR Squadron, however, was not left empty-handed, capturing the protocol droid C-3PO.

Soon after, Vader was contacted by Kreel and informed that C-3PO had told them everything they needed to know and that they couldn't get him to shut up. Vader then told him that the droid was a piece of worthless junk and to dispose of him.

Shortly after, R2-D2 managed to infiltrate the Star Destroyer where C-3PO was held and broke the droid out. Vader was notified of this and intercepted their X-wing in his TIE advanced. R2-D2 knew they couldn't escape alone and sent out a distress call to their friends. To Vader's frustration, R2-D2 gained the support of Luke, the Millennium Falcon and the Volt Cobra, who gave enough covering fire to help them all escape.

Confronting Kreel
Sometime later, Vader approached Kreel, who was training with half a dozen training droids. Vader told him he could try all he wanted but he would never become a Sith. Kreel said he wasn't asking to be, saying that it wasn't a Sith who saved him from the pits of Chagar IX, but the 501st Legion. Claimed to be a stormtrooper to the core and that he was just appreciating the value of a lightsaber. Vader then took his lightsaber and threatened to get rid of him and his squad for failing him aboard the Harbinger. Kreel told Vader that if he failed him again, he would kneel down to Vader and bury that lightsaber in his chest himself, after killing his men with it. Vader gave Kreel a mission to destroy a possible rebel outpost on Horox III, bringing back Luke if he was present. Vader then handed back Kreel's lightsaber and told him to be worthy of it. Sidious then entered the room and summoned Vader. Kreel knelt down and in honor of Sidious's presence and he thanked him. Sidious then brought Vader out of the room. Kreel then traveled to the Horox system and destroyed the rebel outpost there, killing all rebels present.

Sculpting a trap
Sometime later, Vader was at his castle with Admiral Kendal Ozzel and General Maximilian Veers. There, he asked Ozzel of the excuses he had for the slowing progress of Imperial projects. Ozzel blamed the growing resistance which although he could strike back, they were too spread out. Ozzel suggested that scrounging more worlds with constant bombardments of planets from Vader's new Death Squadron. Veers intervened at that point and came up with a theory. Veers claimed that the rebellion was like weeds, and the Empire was like a storm. Veers further pointed out that when a storm passes, weeds will bend and come out unharmed. He then said that it would be different if the rebellion was a tree. But Veers stated that until then, the rebellion would slip through their fingers. This triggered a memory in Vader of when Leia Organa told Tarkin: "The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers." Vader told his subordinates that Veers made an interesting point and concluded that it was what they should do.

Vader travelled to Shu-Torun and approached Queen Trios in her meeting room. She was surprised at his arrival and assumed it was not on good terms. She pleaded that she had done nothing against him and that she had been a loyal servant. She then told her guards to lower their weapons. Trios asked Vader how she could help him. Vader revealed his plan for her specialists to mine the ruins of Jedha. After she was to supply information to the rebels that would be sufficient to entirely sabotage the mining efforts. Finally she had to infiltrate the rebellion, which was trying to build a fleet, and do everything she could to help them. Vader said to her that when they had built their armada, and before they hid it, he would show them how weak they truly were. Vader then threatened her that he'd make Alderaan look like a dream to Shu-Torun if she tried anything. A Shu-Torun guard stepped forward and told Vader that he could not threaten Trios like that. Trios shot him as Vader was their honored guest. She then allowed Vader to kill the rest of the people in the room.

Vader's ambush
To Vader's pleasure, Trios was successful in her mission, being able to earn Leia Organa's trust at Jedha and helping them prompt a mass mutiny of Mon Calamari merchant ships. As the rebels armed their new cruisers at the Mako-Ta Space Docks, she gave Vader the go-ahead to attack, telling him that they expected nothing. As the rebels prepared to scatter their new fleet, their hyperdrives failed to work, rendering the cruisers immobile from the system. Vader arrived soon after with Death Squadron and Ozzel asked Vader if they should begin a bombardment. Vader told him to wait, saying he sensed their fear and that it was insufficient. He told Ozzel to give them time to understand. As the rebel fighters prepared to deploy, they realized that not only were the hanger doors not opening, but neither were the defense turrets able to fire, or were their engines able to activate. This was because Organa had ensured that the cruisers were outfitted with Shu-Turen technology, meaning Trios could sabotage them. The cruisers were useless against Vader's fleet, and Vader ordered the nearest cruiser be destroyed. The fleet subsequently fired on General Vanden Willard's cruiser and destroyed it with ease, killing Willard. Ozzel then asked Vader of their next target, and Vader said hope.

The Star Destroyers began engaging the other Mon Calamari cruisers, and Trios attempted to get off the spacedocks on her ship. However, rebel forces boarded the vessel, and she was forced to escape in an escape pod. The rebels discovered they could get the cruiser's hanger doors to open by flying a ship towards it. Bandwin Cor volunteered to do so and flew a shuttle towards the cruisers. The shuttle was reported to Vader, but the TIE fighters dealt with it before Vader could make any decisions. Vader's fleet soon destroyed another cruiser, sending it into a fireball. The Millennium Falcon then arrived at the system, and Han Solo was told to attempt the same thing by Organa. Vader was notified of the Falcon arrival and quickly went to his TIE advanced. Solo flew the Falcon through the fleet and took on TIEs before flying towards General Jan Dodonna's cruiser. Vader then engaged the Falcon and hit the ship's stabilizer, sending it spiralling. Solo set it to manual, and Vader prepared to fire on the Falcon when it got back on course.

Vader fired missiles at the Falcon as Solo attempted to land on Commander Lajaie's cruiser. Vader was to force Lajaie's crew to abandon ship and ordered the Executor to destroy the escape pods. He continued to pursue the Falcon until his TIE was disabled temporarily in a nearby asteroid field. Vader was able to resume his attack on the rebel fleet's starfighters. Vader then ordered the Imperial fleet to close in on the Rebel fleet. After being informed that Trios was returning to the Executor, Vader returned to the ship where he intended to meet her. However, he learned that rebels had boarded the Executor by using Trios' shuttle. He pursued the rebels until he found several led by General Davits Draven and killed all of them. However, their mission was just to slow Vader down and Vader Force choked Draven. Vader caught up with Organa, but was unable to stop her from escaping the Executor via a TIE fighter. As one rebel cruiser left, Vader oredred the Imperial fleet to destroy the remaining rebel vessels.

Vader continued to oversee the destruction of the remaining rebel ships. Despite the return of a rebel cruiser, Vader pushed the attack. The rebels capital ships were eventually able to retreat and disperse in order to reorganize. Vader informed the Emperor of the rebels' defeat and assured him that the Rebels could never win.

Cianap
Vader led Imperial forces at Cianap in a battle against the rebels. During the battle, Vader was targeted by several X-wings, but was able to take them out. However, his TIE was damaged and was forced to land on Cianap. Vader exited his TIE and saved a native from a Ender by fighting it. Vader then took a creature and rode it against the ender. Vader then returned to his TIE and was taken aboard a star destroyer via tractor beam.

Hoth
"Lord Vader, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed and we are preparing to—''" "''You have failed me for the last time, Admiral."

- Admiral Kendal Ozzel and Darth Vader

By the time three years had passed after the Battle of Yavin, Vader was still in command of the Executor, under the admiralty of Ozzel, as well as its accompanying fleet, Death Squadron. At Vader's request, Lieutenant Commander Ciena Ree was transferred from the Devastator to the Executor; Ree believed, however, though Vader's request had been more threat than reward, as she remained forever vulnerable to him for seeing him during Yavin's immediate aftermath. Obsessed with finding Luke, Vader dispatched thousands of Viper probe droids into the far reaches of space in order to find his son.

Eventually, the Executor received a fragmented report from the probe droid sent to the Hoth system. Although Admiral Ozzel dismissed the news as a false lead, both Vader and Captain Firmus Piett agreed that they had found the Rebel base. Vader then gave orders for the fleet to depart for the system. As the fleet came out of hyperspace near Hoth, Vader was informed by General Veers that orbital bombardment was impossible as an energy shield defended Echo Base. Vader guessed from this information that the Alliance knew of their presence because Ozzel had made the fleet exit hyperspace too close to the system. After ordering Veers to prepare his troops for a ground assault, Vader executed Ozzel for his incompetence and promoted Captain Piett to replace him as Admiral, and had him deploy the fleet so that no Rebel ship escaped the system.

As the Imperial ground forces led by Veers engaged the Alliance squadrons and troopers, Vader led an assault troop into the Rebel base and broke their lines, but they found it mostly deserted, for General Carlist Rieekan had ordered its evacuation pre-emptively. Vader entered the base and soon ran into a group of Rebels carrying their unconscious captain towards a hangar. They open fired, and Vader deflected their shots before leaping and cutting down a Rebel trooper named Beak. Another trooper, named Roja, threw a grenade at Vader, who used the Force to deflect it. It knocked out their sergeant, Hazram Namir, and Roja was killed soon after. The last Rebel was the former Imperial governor of Haidoral Prime, Everi Chalis. She had been pursued by Imperial forces in the weeks following her defection and assumed Vader was there for her. Vader only asked her where Luke was, and when a trooper told him that they had located the Millennium Falcon, he pushed her aside and marched in the direction of his target.

Only the Millennium Falcon remained at the base's hangar, but the light freighter was able to escape before Vader could capture it. With the Alliance forces on Hoth in complete retreat and the various transports scattered throughout the galaxy, Vader and his troops had secured a great victory for the Empire. Rather than pursuing the Rebel transports which had gotten away, Vader redirected his Death Squadron's efforts to capturing the Millennium Falcon, which had evaded Imperial forces in the Hoth asteroid belt due to its faulty hyperdrive. Despite Piett's reservations, Vader ordered the fleet to pursue the ship into the asteroid field, and told the Executor crew that he wanted the freighter towed aboard and its passengers taken alive. Even though the asteroids heavily damaged the Star Destroyers, Vader instructed every ship to sweep the field until the Falcon was found.

Piett then informed him that the Emperor commanded him to make contact, and Vader had the Executor move out of the field to have a clear transmission. Vader contacted his master; Sidious told him that he had sensed a new threat in the Force: Luke Skywalker, who he feared could destroy them if he ever became a Jedi, and that he was Anakin's son. Feigning shock at the Emperor's revelation, Vader believed Luke could be turned to the dark side and prove a powerful ally. Although the Emperor was doubtful, Vader assured him that Luke would join them or die.

Determined to find his son before the Emperor, Vader summoned several bounty hunters—4-LOM, Bossk, Zuckuss, Dengar, IG-88, and Boba Fett—to the Executor, and promised a substantial reward for the one who found the Falcon’s crew alive. As he was briefing the hunters, Piett informed Vader that the Avenger was tracking the Falcon. Vader requested an update from the ship's commander, Captain Lorth Needa, who reported that he had lost the Falcon and assumed full responsibility for this. Vader accepted his apology with a fatal Force choke, and then ordered Piett to alert all commands of the Falcon’s disappearance.

Cloud City
"If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.''" "He told me enough! He told me you killed him!" "No, I'' am your father."

- Darth Vader's revelation to Luke Skywalker

As the Falcon traveled through realspace to try and repair its hyperdrive on Bespin, Fett tracked and predicted Solo's movements, but also contacted Vader, whose Executor reached Bespin before the freighter. Along with a strike team comprising only a few individuals, Vader left the Executor for Cloud City, leaving its crew to do nothing but wait hidden. At the city, Vader contacted its Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian, who happened to be Solo's friend, to make a deal. Calrissian, whose tibanna mining operation was keen to evade Imperial attention, agreed to help him capture the ship in exchange for them leaving his people and his interests alone.

When the Falcon arrived, Luke was not among them, but Vader knew he could use his friends to lure his son to Bespin. Escorted by Fett, Vader waited for Solo, Organa, Chewbacca and Calrissian to have a refreshment, and subsequently had them imprisoned—and, in the case of Captain Solo, tortured. Much to Calrissian's displeasure, Vader altered their deal, agreeing to let Fett take Solo and collect Jabba's bounty on him. Afterwards, he inspected one of the city's carbon-freeze chambers, and deemed it adequate if crude, to freeze Luke for his journey to the Emperor, but at the danger of it being fatal, he had the facility tested on Captain Solo.

On his orders, Solo was frozen in carbonite; as he survived, Vader handed Solo over to Fett, and ordered Organa, Chewbacca and C-3PO taken to his ship, while he awaited Luke at the facility. Once his son was separated from R2-D2 and made his way to the carbon-freezing chamber, Vader appeared before him, and the two dueled. Luke held his own for much of the duel, but he was ultimately no match for Vader: as they moved to a reactor shaft and a catwalk, Luke managed to cut Vader's shoulder, only for Vader to slice off his right hand, which along with his old lightsaber fell through the shaft.

Vader beckoned Luke to join him in the dark side, but Luke vehemently refused. Vader then told Luke that Kenobi had hidden from him the truth about his father, Anakin Skywalker, before revealing that he was, in fact, his father. Luke refused to believe the truth, but Vader continued to tempt his weakened son, offering Luke the chance to destroy the Emperor and "bring order to the galaxy", just as he tried to do with Padmé on Mustafar. He even pleaded with his son to come with him, but Luke chose likely death by plunging into the shaft.

While Luke was rescued by his friends on the Millennium Falcon, Vader returned to the Executor. As the freighter was unable to escape due to its disabled hyperdrive, Vader and Piett waited for the Falcon to enter tractor-beam range. During the pursuit, Vader reached out to Luke through the Force, telling him it was his destiny to come with him, calling him "son." Yet the Falcon made the jump into hyperspace thanks to R2-D2. Although Piett feared Vader would kill him for his failure, Vader merely turned away from the viewport, not in anger, but in sadness.

Redemption
"Now, go, my son. Leave me.''" "No. You're coming with me. I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you!" "''You already have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister you were right."

- Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker

As per his master's plan to counter the Alliance operation that sought to destroy the Death Star II six months after the Battle of Hoth, Vader was sent to the Endor system to notify Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod of the Emperor's arrival, and that he was to complete its construction on time, even if he needed more men. Indeed, Sidious arrived weeks later, and was greeted by Vader, Jerjerrod, and hundreds of stormtroopers lined up to honor him. Satisfied with the Death Star's state, the Emperor sensed Vader's wish to continue his search for his son, but told him to have patience, much to Vader's displeasure. Nevertheless he complied, and remained on the Executor despite intelligence reports of the Alliance Fleet massing near Sullust. During his stay on the Super Star Destroyer, the Rebel shuttle Tydirium requested permission to land on the forest moon of Endor; Vader allowed it sensing Luke's presence in it.

Restless after sensing his son, Vader returned to his master's side and reported the shuttle's arrival, and his son's presence with it. Sidious allowed him to land on Endor at the shield generator base, where he was to await Luke, who according to Emperor Sheev Palpatine would come to him. He complied with his orders and landed on Endor with the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle ST 321; as predicted by Palpatine, during the night Luke surrendered himself in an attempt to talk to him and bring him back to the light side. Although Vader complimented his son's skills with the Force and his skills in building a lightsaber, he refused his son's pleas Luke stated that this meant that his father, Anakin Skywalker, was truly dead before Vader turned Luke over to the Emperor, in the belief that he was beyond redemption.

Vader escorted his son to the Death Star and into the Emperor's throne room. Shortly afterwards, the Alliance Fleet arrived to find that the SLD-26 planetary shield generator was still operational and protecting the Death Star. As the battle between the Imperial and Rebel fleets raged, and the Endor strike team sought to destroy the Endor base, Sidious tempted Luke to give in to his anger. In a moment of weakness, Luke lashed out, but Vader stopped his strike and duelled him once again. Throughout the duel, the two seemed to be even in their capabilities, however, Vader wasn't meant to kill Luke, only to lead him closer to the dark side. This is evident when Luke used the dark side to overwhelm his father and kick him down several stairs. When the Emperor told him to use his anger again, Luke realized what he had done and took a more defensive position. Eventually, Vader telepathically sensed the existence of his daughter and Luke’s twin sister, Leia, and threatened to corrupt her instead. Only then did his son lose control and viciously attack him, cutting Vader's right hand off and knocking him down. Sidious then demanded he finish Vader and take Vader's place at his side.

Realizing that he was becoming what he sought to destroy, Luke threw his lightsaber aside and declared himself a Jedi, just as Anakin Skywalker had been before him. Infuriated, Sidious unleashed continuous streams of Force lightning against Luke, intending to torture him to death. Finding himself in a similar position to twenty-three years before, when he chose Sidious over Mace Windu, Vader grabbed the Emperor with what was left of his arms and lifted his master high in the air, lumbering toward the reactor shaft, upon his son's plea for help. From that very moment on, the persona of Darth Vader was no more, and Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, was reborn. Angered by his apprentice's betrayal, Sidious turned a yet more powerful lightning attack on Anakin; in his hatred, his only thought was to cause his now-former apprentice more pain, even though he could still have used his powers to save himself. At the cost of the Emperor heavily damaging his life-supporting armor, Skywalker hurled his former master down into the reactor. By killing the Emperor and ending his reign, the redeemed Jedi had fulfilled his destiny by destroying the Sith and restoring balance to the Force.

Just before Calrissian on the Falcon and Wedge Antilles destroyed the Death Star's main reactor, Skywalker was carried by his son to ST 321, where he asked Luke to remove his mask; for a moment, Anakin looked upon his son's face for the first and only time. He finally saw him not as a Jedi or a threat or a mistake, but as his and Amidala's son, and gave Luke a real smile—the smile that only his wife ever saw. His son insisted that he had to save him, but Skywalker told him he already had and asked him to tell his sister he had been right about him before passing away; his selfless sacrifice allowed his spirit to be preserved in the Force by his former mentors, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

Unable to leave him behind, Luke took his father's body aboard the shuttle and escaped just before the Death Star's destruction. Back on Endor, Skywalker built a funeral pyre for his father, and cremated his armor in the manner of a Jedi's funeral in solitude, for the sight of Vader's helmet consumed by fire would be cause for rejoicing to everyone but him.

Post-death
As his son set the pyre ablaze to burn his armor, and then rejoined his friends and sister at an Ewok village for the victory celebrations, Skywalker returned from the Netherworld of the Force alongside Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. All three at peace for balance had returned to the Force, they smiled at Luke—pleased to know that, despite the best efforts of the Emperor, the Jedi had returned. Each thought to warn Luke about the future, as each saw that there was yet much danger ahead for him and more darkness to overcome; instead, they decided not to burden him with this then. Luke, in turn, saw them and felt their approval and their sense of peace.

Legacy
"Forgive me. I feel it again. The pull to the light. Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again, the power of the darkness, and I will let nothing stand in our way. Show me, Grandfather, and I will finish what you started."

- Kylo Ren, to the mask of Darth Vader

Following the events of the Battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker confirmed his father and the Emperor's death over Endor to the Alliance, which in turn, sent word of the battle's outcome in mass communications claiming to be the new power in the galaxy. Furthermore, in wake of the deaths of the Emperor, his top enforcer and many high-ranking officers during the battle, as well as the resulting power vacuum, the Galactic Empire collapsed due to internal power struggles and its fragmentation into several factions. The Imperial remnant implemented disinformation campaigns, leading to only rumors being spread that both Vader and the Emperor were dead, in some parts of the galaxy. Among those who knew the truth, there were sympathizers who tagged graffiti stencils of Vader's helmet with the phrase "Vader lives" beneath it, as on Taris and Coronet City.

The Acolytes of the Beyond emerged as an organization of dark side adherents, fanatics with an interest in Vader, whom they considered to be greater than the Empire. They purchased a lightsaber they believed to be Vader's from a Kubaz named Ooblamon, intending to destroy it and return it to him in death. Months after the Battle of Endor, the Acolytes organized a revolution on Coronet City, Corellia, during which they attacked a Peace and Security station in order to access a museum's basement and steal a red-bladed lightsaber for unknown reasons.

Decades after his death, Darth Vader remained a despised and controversial figure in the New Republic. When it was publicly revealed that Organa was his biological daughter, her reputation was ruined, which eventually led to her resignation from the Galactic Senate. The message, which had been recorded by Bail Organa for Leia and which explicitly revealed that Vader had once been the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, was made public by fellow Centrist Senator Ransolm Casterfo, under the machinations of Carise Sindian, an agent of the First Order.

Vader's grandson, Ben Solo, born to his daughter Leia and her husband Han Solo, inherited his mother's connection to the Force and was sent to study under his uncle Luke. Under the influence of the mysterious Snoke, Ben took on the name of Kylo Ren after he became a member of the Knights of Ren and ally of the First Order and vowed to finish the work that Vader had started a generation earlier —and to succeed where Vader and his sentimentality had failed. In his crusade, Ren betrayed the other Jedi students learning with his uncle, and was responsible for their destruction as well as Skywalker's subsequent exile in search of the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To. By losing his apprentices as a result of Solo's fall to the dark side, Skywalker came to believe that the Jedi Order should end with his death as the last Jedi. By then, he held the Jedi&mdash;and Obi-Wan Kenobi, in particular&mdash;responsible for the training and creation of Darth Vader.

Ren was also in possession of Vader's disfigured helmet, which had been scavenged from his funeral pyre on Endor. A silent symbol of both the dark side's power and its weakness, it remained within Ren's private quarters aboard the Finalizer; Ren communed with it whenever he felt drawn to the light. Another object that once belonged to him—the lightsaber he built after the First Battle of Geonosis, the one carried by his son until their duel on Bespin&mdash;resurfaced in Maz Kanata's possession and called to Rey, a young scavenger from Jakku, who ended up using it to duel Ren during the Battle of Starkiller Base and win. When Ren changed quarters from the Finalizer to Snoke's flagship the Supremacy, he left Vader's charred helmet behind him because he wasn't ready to face Vader's "visage" until he recovered from his failure on Starkiller Base. Ren's master, Snoke, owned a ring with obsidian taken from Vader's castle.

Personality and traits
"Cavalier? You're cavalier all the time and no one says anything about it.''" "''I'm just better at it, that's all."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi to Anakin Skywalker

As a child, Anakin Skywalker showed kindness and generosity, as exemplified by his willingness to risk his life in a podrace to help Qui-Gon Jinn and Padmé Amidala depart Tatooine at a time of need. He was not shy to express how he felt, and showed a reluctance to leave those he loved behind. Indeed, Skywalker had a deep-seated fear of loss, especially in regards to his mother, which Master Yoda sensed when he was being tested by the Jedi Council. This fear of loss would follow Skywalker throughout his life and eventually led him down the path of the dark side, particularly after the death of his mother, Shmi, carrying sadness, anger and guilt in his heart for years to come. Similarly, his experiences as a slave would leave him with a deep resentment towards slavers. Skywalker would mostly keep these feelings to himself, very rarely talking about them, even with those he trusted, as he struggled to put his past behind him, making an effort not to think about it.

As he grew older, Skywalker became cocky, reckless, impatient, willful, and cavalier, despite Kenobi's efforts to train him as best as he could. Confident and bold, he demonstrated a lack of subtlety, which Plo Koon once noted, was one of the many traits his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, had adopted from him during her younger years. Another was his tendency to disobey orders, which he did whenever he thought they weren't the best way to solve problems, and his cockiness. Despite his many failings, Skywalker remained selfless, willing to lay down his life for others, and showed commitment to things greater than himself—the Jedi, the Republic, his friends, and his wife. Similarly, his relentless determination was rivaled by none, except perhaps by that of his Padawan. In some aspects, his journey as a mentor to Tano allowed him to mature and become more responsible. His emotional balance, however, was disrupted by the High Council's decision to expel Tano, when she was suspected of treachery, and her subsequent decision not to return to the Order when invited back. His heroic feats during the Clone Wars eventually made him the symbol of the Jedi Order, held by many as the warrior-savior of the Galactic Republic, earning the nickname of the "Hero With No Fear" as he was praised by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, applauded by the Galactic Senate and glorified on the HoloNet News.

With a penchant to show off,  Skywalker was a something of a maverick, though not in the same way as his late informal Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, known among the Jedi for being passionate and impulsive. Most of his peers trusted him, and his ingenuity, although some Jedi did consider him to have a simplistic approach to logic. The 501st Legion and its captain, Rex, considered his tactics reckless and unorthodox, but appreciated the fact that he would never risk their lives without risking his as well. Skywalker also showed eagerness and dedication to ending the Clone Wars, which he believed, by their final days, were destroying the principles of the Republic.

Though he was committed to the Jedi Order ever since he joined, Skywalker was deeply conflicted about it, wanting to walk away from the Order at several points before and during the Clone Wars, particularly because of his love and secret marriage to Padmé Amidala, whom he believed he couldn't live without. Overprotective and prone to jealousy, Skywalker's affection for her was suspected by some of his peers and, at least, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano and Rush Clovis knew for certain that he was attracted to her. Another source of conflict was his dwindling trust and increasing resentment toward the Jedi High Council, which he felt distrusted him and was not treating him with enough respect. These fears and resentments were further fomented by Palpatine's manipulations, and some of the Council's (and Kenobi's) decisions, as well as his friendship with Chancellor Palpatine, of whom the Council was wary and kept secrets from.

Skywalker struggled to keep his emotions in check—especially his anger. He cared deeply about his friends, and according to Ahsoka Tano, "looked out for them until the end." Loyal to a fault, Skywalker was willing to do anything to protect those he cared about, often resorting to the dark side of the Force to do so. Throughout the Clone Wars (as Palpatine had planned), Skywalker's anger would push him ever closer to the dark side, but his fall was ultimately triggered by his fear of loss after experiencing visions of Amidala dying in childbirth and his desire to obtain enough power to save his loved ones. He would justify his immoral and ruthless actions as all being necessary to bring peace, justice and order to the galaxy.

Upon his conversion to the dark side, Skywalker's arrogant streak became even more prominent, and for a short time he believed himself to be even more powerful than Palpatine. His impulsiveness and tendency to act in anger were both magnified as well; for instance, when he discovered that Kenobi had stowed away on his wife's ship when she came to Mustafar, he immediately assumed that she was conspiring with his former master and strangled her with the Force. Despite this, Vader did experience a significant level of regret for the decisions that he had made to save Amidala.

However, all that changed following his defeat at Kenobi's hands. Having lost all that he had turned to the dark side to preserve, and having no other path, he fully embraced the dark side and became, in Palpatine's words, a "true Sith." Consequently, he devoted himself fully to furthering the development of his relationship to the Force, and the expansion of his power. Both due to what Palpatine taught him about the relationship between Sith master and apprentice and his own personal tendencies, Vader in his early apprenticeship was completely devoted to the Emperor. However, as his power grew, and particularly after learning of his son's existence, this devotion dwindled considerably.

Over the years Vader developed a new, more hardened and disciplined persona. He became utterly ruthless, virtually devoid of mercy, and was known to occasionally kill his own officers for their failures. Eventually, the identity of Vader in the Empire had arisen tales of a dark armored humanoid who served as the Emperor's most trusted enforcer and was considered to be the most feared individual in the Empire. Rumors circulated that he lived in a castle in a world of lava, and that he wielded a red lightsaber, suggesting a connection to the Sith. The few who had interacted with him stated that they were unsure whether the individual behind the armor was a living person, a droid or a clone trooper. Many feared that if Vader were ever defeated, a number of duplicates would be activated in his place. The Sith Lord also had absolutely no qualms about using torture to accomplish his goals.

Considered to be the Empire's first terror weapon and noted to employ antiquated diction, he was tenacious and unstoppable, and made most Imperial naval officers uncomfortable. Contrary to the rocky relationships he had with most Imperial officers, his rapport with his stormtroopers mirrored in many ways his former persona's relationship to the Republic's clone troopers. In fact, his standing with the rank and file was such that it was known as far as Ryloth that the stormtrooper corps "almost worshiped him." Part of his reputation was that he would normally be quiet (and thus his presence made for a good implied threat to others) whereas shows of passivity were not. Indeed, it was well known that he usually preferred to oversee operations personally, using action to block out any intruding feelings. He was frequently at odds with those who lacked faith in the Force, finding it "disturbing" or even blasphemous.

Vader often used pressurized meditation chambers that allowed him to remain without his helm—the neural connection to his armor—during which he felt the perpetual pain that Kenobi had inflicted on his flesh. During such sessions, he would meditate to use this pain to feed his hate, which in turn fed his strength, and he never laughed. Claiming not to feel regret, and yet haunted by his past, and the screams of his wife, he was determined to never talk about his old life, and detested all that reminded him of his past self (whom he deemed to be weak). He dared not remember such a period of his life, which he hated; indeed, through the use of the dark side, he kept his memories as Anakin Skywalker buried, although it took great effort even after twenty years of practice. Although he retained access to Skywalker's memories and experience, this burial was such that he refused to even think of Skywalker as himself, referring to internally to Skywalker's memories as those of "The Jedi." However, his rapport with the stormtroopers who supported him, and the technique he displayed in wielding his crimson lightsaber, gave him away. Much like before, Vader remained an impatient man, although he tempered his impulses with the faithful obedience he gave to his Sith master, Sidious.

Following the discovery of his parenthood, Vader became emotionally conflicted. Vader's thoughts of his son, Luke, led to thoughts of his late wife, the woman he loved and destroyed—thoughts he could not allow. Memories would resurface whenever he felt Luke near him, and so, believed in erasing that part of his past. He had become afraid of his compassionate son; not because of his mastery of the Force or skill with a lightsaber, but because Luke could make him question the dark truths that had long ruled him. In the eve of the Battle of Endor, Vader claimed it was too late for him, even as his son felt that there was still good left in him. Vader would close off the questions with the dark side, but he showed concern for his son in the end. He ultimately decided that he could not stand by while Luke was harmed, proving that there was still good in him before his death. Vader became shocked upon hearing he was not a father of one child but two when he telapathelly sensed his daughter, Leia, through Luke. Before dying, Skywalker told Luke to tell Leia that he was right about him as he wanted his daughter to remember him as a good person in the end.

As a teenager, he liked to explore and see new places, and fix things. Sometimes, when he felt troubled during his time as a Jedi, Skywalker would retire to his highly customized quarters in the Temple, wherein he would tinker with droids to pass the time. In a similar fashion, he would keep the ship Twilight during the Clone Wars, since the freighter offered Skywalker plenty of opportunities for tinkering with machinery. As Vader, he would continue to repair his starfighters himself, and the act of repairing things would be akin to a form of meditation for him.

Padmé Amidala
Skywalker had first met Amidala when she posed as a handmaiden and commoner at Watto's shop in Mos Espa. There, Skywalker asked if she was an Angel. He was then surprised when Padmé revealed herself to be the Queen. Following the Battle of Naboo and ten years later, Skywalker met with her at apartment following an assassination attempt on her. As Skywalker continued to protect Amidala from further attempts, he started to fall in love with her. Amidala also started to fall in love with him. Skywalker and Amidala, following the Battle of Geonosis, married in secret.

During the Clone Wars, Skywalker and Amidala rarely saw each other due the Clone Wars and keeping their secret. Skywalker would rescue and protect Amidala from numerous dangers such as General Grievous, the Zillo Beast, and the Blue Shadow Virus. Skywalker also felt jealous towards Amidala's close friend, Senator Rush Clovis of Scipio. Despite Amidala's assurances that it was over between her and Clovis, Skywalker felt uneasy when she accepted the Jedi Council's mission to spy on Clovis. After leaving Cato Neimoidia, Skywalker assured Amidala that he never doubted her. Later, however, Skywalker did not completely trust Clovis with Amidala. Skywalker attacked Clovis when he tried to kiss Amidala, but Amidala thought they should not see each other for awhile. When Clovis appeared to have rejoined the Separatists, Skywalker led his forces and personally attempted to rescue Amidala.

When Amidala revealed that she was pregnant, Skywalker had premonitions about Amidala dying in childbirth. Skywalker's fear eventually led him into the dark side and on Mustafar, Skywalker Force choked her when he believed that she brought Kenobi to kill him. Following his duel with Kenobi, Skywalker continued to feel Amidala. However, the Emperor told Vader that in his anger he killed her. Skywalker, now Darth Vader, mourned her and gave in to his anger, destroying the medical droids surrounding him. Vader could never let go of the agony caused by killing his wife. Vader eventually discovered that Amidala had given birth to a son, Luke Skywalker, and a daughter, Leia Organa.

Lightsaber abilities
"If you had spent as much time practicing your saber techniques as you do your wit, you would rival Master Yoda as a swordsman.''" "I thought I already did." "''Only in your mind, my very young apprentice."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker

Despite being naturally extremely talented, Anakin Skywalker was initially lax with his lightsaber training, though he believed that he could rival the Jedi Masters. Despite his relative laziness, Anakin was the best duelist in his class, even though he started later than his classmates. Skywalker preferred lightsaber combat to force mastery and thus spent more time on the physical side of becoming a Jedi. By the time he was nineteen,Skywalker Anakin was so gifted and skilled in dueling that he believed he already rivaled Master Yoda. When the Clone Wars began Skywalker was skilled enough duelist to hold his own against Count Dooku for a time, lasting longer than Kenobi did. During the war, his frequent engagement in duels with individuals such as the informal Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress,  Savage Opress, Count Dooku,   and fallen Jedi Barriss Offee allowed him to greatly improve his capabilities with a lightsaber. His skill by the end of the war was such that he was able to single-handedly defeat Dooku in combat, despite the fact that the Count was one of very few duelists who could hold his own against Yoda himself, although Dooku's taunts angered Skywalker, which unintentionally resulted in the latter tapping into the dark side, which also contributed to his victory.

During his duel with his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Skywalker proved to be equally matched with him, and was defeated only when his hubris and blinding rage allowed Kenobi to dismember him. In all likelihood, Skywalker would have defeated and killed Kenobi if he had managed to keep a clear head and not get carried away in his rage. Skywalker was considered by some amongst the Jedi, such as Kanan Jarrus, to have been the greatest warrior the Order had during the Clone Wars, with the only possible exceptions being Yoda and Mace Windu. His former Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, once acknowledged Skywalker as someone powerful who rarely lost his battles. It’s possible that, had he never received his cybernetics and armor, his dueling skill would have even surpassed his Sith master Darth Sidious.

Skywalker was particularly skilled in Form V, both the Shien and Djem So variants, being able to deflect blaster fire with ease, but also shots from freighters, and made good use of Djem So's strength based strikes and counter attacks to overpower or overwhelm an enemy. He had some skill in Jar'Kai, though he greatly preferred to make use of a single lightsaber. Skywalker was also adept in the use of Form IV, often incorporating it's techniques into his dueling style, primarily acrobatics, and was well aware that the key to deflecting the fire of multiple adversaries were fluid motions, which he mastered enough to having adjusted the classic techniques of Form IV to better defend against ranged attackers, which he demonstrated in a holographic recording, later found in Kanan Jarrus' holocron.

After Darth Vader received his cybernetic enhancements and armor, his dueling style became visually more direct than it had been, presumably due to the fact that his armor and cybernetics altered his physical attributes; enhancing some while hampering others. However, Vader's style was still similar enough to that which he had used as a Jedi that Tarkin was able to puzzle out Vader's former identity largely by observing him fight. His armor required him to adjust his dueling style better due to how his major circuits could be attacked, dealing crippling damage and his speed and maneuverability having been reduced, incorporating more fluid and precise strikes and footwork as well as making his style more defensive to protect his vulnerable points. However, the suit also gave him the advantage of superior strength and as he retained his skill with his Form V techniques in dueling and deflection, he was able to effectively use his greater strength to overwhelm his opponents with it. In the end, Vader remained extremely skilled enough to defeat and kill many Jedi that he confronted that survived the Purge, earning a fearsome reputation to the point that even Maul, who was more than a match for the Inquisitorius, noted he would not be able to defeat Vader, which was proven by how Ahsoka Tano, who had earlier matched Maul, was unable to match Vader and would have been struck down had Ezra not saved her. Vader could wield his lightsaber with two hands or with one hand depending on the situation.

A pragmatic combatant, Skywalker had the skill to throw his activated lightsaber to attack, guiding it with the Force,     or would resort to activate to lethal results when being held by unsuspecting enemies, once impressing Kenobi by telekinetically activating their lightsabers (both in Chong's possession) and cutting apart the Sugi before pulling the lightsabers to his hands.

Force powers
"The Force is unusually strong with him, that much is clear."

- Qui-Gon Jinn, on Anakin Skywalker

Blessed with impressive reflexes that were typical of a Jedi, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn saw enormous potential in the 9-year-old Skywalker, and believed him to have been conceived by the Force itself. Indeed, when his blood was tested, Skywalker's midi-chlorian count was above 20,000, reportedly even greater than Yoda's. The total amount was, however, unknown, for the reading was off the scale.

When he was nine, Anakin was already skilled in having quick reflexes and precognition. This was something he used to an advantage when he participated in pod racing. He was also able to sense what things were without looking at them.

In his teen years, Skywalker's Force training progressed to the point where he was able to manifest various abilities, and Kenobi thought of him as being "advanced for his age." He was very skilled at using the Force to scan his surroundings, such as when he sensed poisonous kouhuns infiltrating Amidala's bedroom despite being in another room at the time. He was also skilled at sensing other people's feelings, and disturbances in the Force. Skywalker also showed aptitude for precognitive dreams, as when he foresaw the deaths of both his mother and his wife in dreams, but also of himself becoming a Jedi, back when he lived with his mother on Tatooine. However, Skywalker struggled in using the Force to control and befriend animals, noting that Kenobi was much better at it than he was.

Skywalker was skilled in telekinesis : even as a late beginner, by his own admission, he was very good at it, better than any Padawan his age, and most of the older ones as well. He could lift lightsabers in the air and ignite them with ease, as he did once to scare a pair of Padawans who had called him a "slave to his emotions." Despite having an exceptionally strong connection to the Force, Skywalker tended not to use it very often during lightsaber duels and focused instead on the physical aspects of combat. This tendency held even when facing opponents who made liberal use of the Force during duels, such as Count Dooku.

During the Clone Wars, Anakin's power and skill continued to increase. He became capable ot utilizing telekinesis to accomplish such esoteric tasks as creating air bubbles around another person's head to enable breathing underwater, as shown when he saved Padme's life at Mon Cala. During his mission to Utapau, Anakin was able to feel brain waves on a dead body., and when he first met Grand Admiral Thrawn, he was able to feel his thoughts by reaching out to him through the Force. At one point during the war, he was able to telekinetically subdue both the Son and the Daughter simultaneously.

After his cybernetic reconstruction, Vader's connection to the Force strengthened considerably, to the point where his master Sidious once complimented his powers as being "unparalleled." Though his injuries had physically crippled him, Vader believed that the suffering that he had experienced had both perfected his spirit and freed him from the needs of the flesh, allowing him to concentrate solely on his relationship to the Force. He demonstrated enough telekinetic power to stop an AT-AT from stepping on him, and had been in the process of tearing it apart before he was interrupted in doing so. On another occasion he telekinetically lifted two AT-DP walkers off of himself without any apparent strain. He also demonstrated the ability to grab hold of an engine-damaged Twi'lek freighter and bring it to the ground, and crush a Lambda-class shuttle's engines in midflight to take it down. He was able to utilize a Force push in a wave like manner that was powerful enough to blow apart numerous lyleks simultaneously, despite the fact that the creatures' carapaces were impervious to even heavy blaster fire. He could also project Force barriers to protect himself and others. These barriers were powerful enough to protect Vader while submerged in the lava of Mustafar, though only for a short time. On at least one occasion, he demonstrated that he was able to telekinetically manipulate objects without the need to gesture at them as virtually all other Force adepts did. This granted him the ability to throw objects with the Force whilst actively engaged in swordplay. He was also capable of using the force stasis ability, and was skilled enough in its execution that on one occasion he used it to freeze two Inquisitors simultaneously.

Vader was also capable of using his telekinetic abilities to perform extremely delicate, complex, and precise tasks. On one occasion, he returned his badly damaged cybernetic limbs to perfect working order by dismantling a broken droid and telekinetically repairing himself with its components. He also demonstrated the ability to crush internal organs with the Force. At one point during an interrogation he used the Force to inflict torturous amounts of pain on several insurgent prisoners, to the point of causing heart failure in one of them.

Showing a tendency to use Force choke, especially when angered or using it as a means of interrogation when an individual was uncooperative. Skywalker would go on to use this power to deadly effect when he assumed his Sith persona, generally using it to kill those who insulted him or failed to meet his expectations as well as using it as a means of citing fear. He also used the technique to twist, crush or snap the neck of a victim, which he notably demonstrated on the likes of Commander Fox, as well as other clone troopers and later stormtroopers.

Like most Force adepts, Vader also had the ability to vastly augment both his strength and speed with the Force. He was also very skilled at using the Force to leap great distances. During the Mission to investigate Geonosis, Captain Rex remarked that Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus had yet to demonstrate Skywalker's skill with Force jumps, despite having just jumped across a chasm more than 40 meters wide. Vader demonstrated on numerous occasions the ability to probe the thoughts of others, including those of Force adepts of similar power to himself. Due to his strong connection with his son, Luke, he was able to sense his presence through the Force quite easily—as opposed to his master, who was skeptical about this ability, and quickly became able to mentally communicate with him upon Luke learning he was Vader's son.

Other skills
"I can fix anything."

- Anakin Skywalker

Even at a young age, Skywalker demonstrated a great aptitude for piloting, mechanics, and engineering—he rebuilt the protocol droid C-3PO, an advanced droid fluent in over six million forms of communication, as well as a functional podracer. Although during his adulthood he would rarely use his talent as a mechanic, he would remain skilled at repairing technology. As a pilot, Skywalker showed an amazing ability that few were able to surpass, and Kenobi would later describe him to his son Luke as "the best star pilot in the galaxy." Anakin was able to pilot a pod racer and was the first and only human thus far to compete in a pod race. He was also able to survive the Battle of Naboo and would go on to improve his skills in flying and arial combat. Throughout the Clone Wars, Anakin was known for being the best pilot in the Republic and was known for leading the charge in battles and coming out alive. He was very skilled in chasing down targets, shaking off target locks, and outmaneuvering many opponents. His strength in the force also gave him quick reflexes, an ability that would help in dodging fire and focusing in on enemy targets. He also displayed incredible precognition, as he was capable of predicting the movements of his targets during dogfights with pinpoint precision. He once managed to land the Invisible Hand when it was half-destroyed and breaking up in the atmosphere. After becoming Vader, he remained an exceptionally skilled pilot, as shown when he single-handedly almost destroyed Phoenix Squadron in a lone TIE Advanced x1, easily out-flying their entire fleet and forcing their command to abandon ship, and when he obliterated several Alliance squadrons during the Battle of Vrogas Vas. Despite this, Skywalker would occasionally be shot down during his combat piloting career. However, this was a very rare sight and few could have the skills to do such a feat.

Although he mainly used lightsabers, Skywalker was extremely proficient at the use of blaster pistols. He also had some training on the use of staves, a skill he once taught to a Felucian village so that they could defend themselves. Skywalker spoke Galactic Basic and Huttese,  and understood the Bith language. As Vader, he learned the ancient Sith tongue, and could speak it along with his master, Darth Sidious.

Behind the scenes
"Anakin, as Skywalker, as a human being, was going to be extremely powerful," he says. "But he ended up losing his legs and an arm and became partly a robot. So a lot of his ability to use the Force, a lot of his powers, are curbed at this point, because, as a living form, there's not that much of him left. So his ability to be twice as good as the Emperor disappeared, and now he's maybe 20 percent less than him. So that isn't what the Emperor had in mind. He wanted this really super guy, but that got derailed by Obi-Wan. So he finds that, with Luke, he can get a more primo version if he can turn Luke to the Dark Side. You'll see, as this goes on, Luke is faced with the same issues and practically the same scenes that Anakin is faced with. Anakin says yes and Luke says no."

- George Lucas

Anakin Skywalker, originally introduced as Darth Vader, made his first appearance as one of the primary antagonists in A New Hope. As the Star Wars universe continued to evolve, Skywalker's character would be developed and explored in detail, with George Lucas eventually making him into a central figure in the six initial Star Wars films. The character's popularity and focus would make him into a mascot of sorts for the Star Wars franchise, most commonly depicted in merchandise as the suited Vader.

The character of Darth Vader was not originally planned to be a suited cyborg. In the original scripts for A New Hope, the name "Darth Vader" was given to a normal Imperial general. The concept of of a cybernetic Vader was created when the concept artist drew the opening scene where 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 suit was later made permanent and incorporated in the story. Vader's usage of an all black uniform, alongside his devotion to Emperor Palpatine, was also intended to be an analogy to the Schutzstaffel (SS) in Nazi Germany.

In order to keep the "big secret" of The Empire Strikes Back under wraps from potential film spies, George Lucas actually used a diversion technique: actor Dave Prowse was instructed to say, "Obi-Wan killed your father" during filming. Later, James Earl Jones's voice was dubbed in, revealing the actual truth of Vader's progeny in the famous line, "I am your father." The only ones who knew this big secret were the writers, Mark Hamill (who was told in secret only moments before shooting the scene), and James Earl Jones.

There have been claims that George Lucas took the name "Anakin" from his friend and fellow film director Ken Annakin. However, Lucas denied this via his publicist following Annakin's death in 2009.

On both the 2005 DVD cover of Revenge of the Sith and the film's poster, the scar on the right side of Skywalker's face is absent.

Anakin, along with certain actions of his, have been represented by numerous musical motifs during the film scores. These include "Anakin's Theme," "Anakin's Betrayal," "Anakin's Dark Deeds," "Across the Stars" (his love theme with Padmé), and "The Imperial March" (as Darth Vader).

Darth Vader as a cultural figure
Due to his central role in the films, 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, basso profondo voice coupled with his heavy, eerie breathing is easily recognizable to moviegoers&mdash; it is symbolic of his transformation from a man of the light to an evil cyborg.

Vader has been heavily parodied and imitated by other characters in popular culture. He has been mocked 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 the Super Mario Bros. TV series. Other fictional characters follow Vader's archetype in a more serious manner. One example would be "Death's Hand" from the video game Jade Empire&mdash;who was similarly imprisoned in a suit of armor, including a masked helmet, although using magic rather than cybernetics. Another example is the primary antagonist of Final Fantasy IV, Golbez, who Takashi Tokita stated was based on Darth Vader. Similar to Vader, Golbez had been turned to evil by an outside influence due to traumatic experiences, primarily wore dark armor after his fall, and was a relative of the main protagonist (his brother, in this case). The incarnation of Bane in the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises also takes inspiration from Vader, particularly due to his hulking size and high intellect (retained from other incarnations of the character) along with his unique mask and distinctive breathing. Within Star Wars canon, the character of Kylo Ren is not only inspired by Vader, but aspires to be like him in-universe and has a similar appearance and personality to Anakin prior to his injuries.

Vader was also referenced in the 1982 Space: 1999 compilation film Cosmic Princess, as Captain Duro from the Year Two episode "Space Warp" was renamed "Vader, commander of the Whills Interplanetary Starfleet" in reference to the Journal of the Whills, by George Lucas.

Furthermore, Darth Vader's name has become a synonym for frightening evil. During the later phase of its construction, Washington National Cathedral held a competition for children to design new grotesques for the west towers. One winner was a design featuring Darth Vader (backup link).

Lucas himself once mentioned in an interview that he based Darth Vader on the android villain Hakaider from the 1972-73 live action Japanese television series Jinzo Ningen Kikaider, which he watched while visiting Japan in the early 1970s. The book Star Wars: The Complete Vader explored the cultural impact of the Vader character in detail.

In 2011 and 2012, the luxury car company Volkswagen aired two Super Bowl commercials featuring the character of Darth Vader. The first ad was entitled "The Force" and featured a young boy wearing a costume of Darth Vader's armor. The boy attempted to use the Force to pull his parents' car to him, but ran away when the car's alarm sounded, his parents watching from the window. The 2012 commercial aired after a different ad for Volkswagen that did not feature Vader. It featured Darth Vader strangling Doctor Cornelius Evazan because Evazan had commented that the new commercial was more moving than the Vader one from the previous year.

Darth Vader's burned helmet appears in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Having Anakin appear in the film as a Force spirit or in a Force vision was a topic of debate among the filmmakers: concept artist Iain McCaig, while inspired by the phrase "When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow," created a 2013 artwork depicting Anakin's ghost morphing back and forth between both of his identities. However, according to Phil Szostak, McCaig pitched the idea but was unprompted by J.J. Abrams or any member of the film's crew. As far as Szostak recalls, Anakin's Force ghost artwork was not from an early film draft or treatment. Hayden Christensen was originally approached to reprise the role, but Anakin's inclusion in the film was ultimately dropped.

Portrayal
"Finding the right voice for Darth Vader was another challenge. Lucas never intended to use the on-set vocal performance of David Prowse."

- Narrator Robert Clotworthy

Considering the drastic changes that he goes through in the Star Wars series, Anakin Skywalker has been portrayed by many actors in different media, often with numerous actors bringing the character to life within the same installment (particularly in the original trilogy).

Darth Vader, as he was initially established, was portrayed on-set by David Prowse in the original trilogy, while James Earl Jones provided the iconic voice of the suited Vader, a role that he reprised for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Rebels, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Sebastian Shaw played the dying Anakin, his head freed from his cybernetic armor in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace featured Anakin Skywalker as a nine-year-old boy, a role that was landed by then child actor Jake Lloyd after casting director Robin Gurland looked at three thousand different actors to play the role. Hayden Christensen played Skywalker in both Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and television series, the character of Anakin Skywalker was voiced by Matt Lanter. In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Vader is portrayed by both Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous.

David Prowse was originally intended to talk in Vader's armor, although Prowse's West Country accent made Vader seem too silly, so his voice was quickly replaced. James Earl Jones decided to do the voice work, as the need for Vader to sound intimidating matched his own voice. Prowse, however, was not aware that his voice was replaced until the film's release. James Earl Jones was not credited until Episode V, as he felt he didn't deserve the credit due to only supplying his voice for Vader. For fight scenes in Episodes V and VI, swordsman Bob Anderson wore the suit. In new footage shot for the Special Edition of the original trilogy, actor and former Industrial Light & Magic visual effects artist C. Andrew Nelson played the infamous Dark Lord.

In the original Return of the Jedi, the appearance of Skywalker's redeemed Force ghost was a robust, middle-aged to elderly man with graying brown hair and a kindly face, but upon release of the Special Edition DVD of Return of the Jedi, Skywalker is in his twenties just before his fall to the dark side. George Lucas stated that redeemed Jedi would revert as a Force ghost in their pre-fall form. This change displeased several fans.

In Revenge of the Sith, Hayden Christensen wore the Darth Vader suit, which was specifically designed to fit his body. His stand-in double for the UK shoot was Christian J Simpson, who also played alongside the young Skywalker in Episode I as Bravo Six, Lt. Gavyn Sykes. The few lines of the suited Vader speaking are of James Earl Jones, but at one time, there was some debate over this. Some fans believed that Jones didn't participate at all, since his name doesn't appear in the credits of Revenge of the Sith, and the voice heard in the first trailer for the movie was Christensen's, albeit altered digitally. The matter was settled with the Summer 2005 issue of Starlog, in which producer Rick McCallum stated they had James Earl Jones for a partial day of work on Episode III.

In the Legends radio-drama adaptations, Brock Peters performed as Vader, with David Birney performing as Skywalker on the final episode of the Return of the Jedi radio drama. Legacy audio of Peters was used for the canonical 2015 release Episode IV: A New Hope Read-Along Storybook and CD. In the Clone Wars cartoon, Skywalker was voiced by Frankie Ryan Manriquez as a child and Mat Lucas as an adult. In The Clone Wars CGI series and its feature film, the character is voiced by Matt Lanter. For many of the Star Wars video games, including Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Star Wars: Force Commander, and Star Wars: TIE Fighter, Vader was voiced by Scott Lawrence; in more recently released titles, such as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: Empire at War, Matthew Sloan, who provides the voice of Vader in the Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager shorts, provides Vader's voice.

In the Japanese localizations, Daisuke Namikawa acts as the voice of Anakin as an adult, while as young Anakin, Akiko Yajima provides his voice in the Clone Wars. As Darth Vader, the voice is provided by Tōru Ōhira in most incarnations starting with the DVD release, save for Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (where he is voiced by Ryūzaburō Ōtomo), and a number of other substitute voices in the original films. Ōhira also by proxy, reprises his role in the Japanese version of SoulCalibur IV. After Ōhira's death, the role was taken up by Taiten Kusunoki for Rebels onwards.

In the original ending of Rogue One, the final scene for Darth Vader was not him attacking and chasing the Rebels with the Death Star plans. Instead Vader was going to kill Krennic.

Non-canon appearances
The Darth Vader and Son series of books by Jeffrey Brown depict Darth Vader of the Imperial era as a loving father to Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, buying them ice cream, playing tea party and even reading bedtime stories.

In the Angry Birds Star Wars titles, Anakin is the feared "Lard Vader," the feared porcine military commander who seeks to become Emperor, commanding the Pork Side.

Darth Vader and Darth Sidious appear as the main antagonists in the non-canon LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. While probing the Jedi Archives, Vader learns about the existence of a powerful lightsaber called the Kyber Saber, which was made from several kyber crystals. However, the Jedi Master who made the Saber had deemed it too powerful and destroyed it before scattering the crystal throughout the galaxy. Darth Sidious sought to collect all the crystals so he could destroy the galaxy. However, the two Sith Lords were opposed by the Freemakers, a scavenging family, and the Jedi Naare.

In Are You Scared, Darth Vader? a number of classic villains such as a wolfman and a "ghost" attempt to terrorize Vader, only for him to either be confused by them or simply not scared. As the story comes to a close, however, readers discover what really has the power to terrify Lord Vader.

Translations

 * In the Italian original and prequel trilogies, he's know as Lord Dart Fener. In 2004, Lucasfilm annunced a "referendum" to Italian fans about the changing of the name into Darth Vader for Revenge of the Sith, but "Dart Fener" won and the name was reverted to "Darth Vader" for materials from The Force Awakens onwards.
 * In French, Vader is called Dark Vador. "Dark" is the French word for "Darth" and was applied to later-introduced Sith characters. In French Canada, the name was reverted to "Darth Vader" for materials from Revenge of the Sith onwards.
 * In Icelandic, Vader is called Svarthöfði, which translates to "black head."
 * In Chinese, Darth Vader is directly transliterated as "达斯·维德" or "达斯·维达." Other translations also exist, including "黑武士" (Dark Knight), "黑衣勋爵" (Lord in Black) or "帝国大将" (Imperial Grand General). While Anakin is transliterated as "阿纳金" or "安纳金," Skywalker is paraphrased as "天行者" (traveller in sky) or "任天行" (travel in sky at will).
 * In Japanese, both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are transliterated and written in katakana as "アナキン・スカイウォーカー" and "ダース・ヴェイダー" respectively.