Darth Vader

"He's more machine now than man; twisted and evil."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

Darth Vader, born Anakin Skywalker in 41.9 BBY and renamed in 19 BBY, was a Dark Lord of the Sith in the service of Emperor Palpatine from 19 BBY up until before his death at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.

Biography
"The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Anakin Skywalker, you are one with the order of the Sith Lords. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth&hellip; Vader."

- Darth Sidious

Darth Vader was the Sith title given to Anakin Skywalker by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine after he embraced the dark side of the Force in 19 BBY after struggling against its grip for several years and became the Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious.



Palpatine lured Anakin to the dark side when he promised to save his wife, Senator Padmé Amidala, from the death Skywalker had foreseen for her in his dreams. Skywalker buried all good in himself and, at the command of his new Master, led the 501st Legion to the Jedi Temple, killing every single Jedi inside, including the younglings.

Vader's next mission from his master, an assignment to kill the Separatist leaders on Mustafar, was also a success. However, he was tracked to the planet by Padmé, and through her, his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.



Being with his beloved wife after doing everything he had been led to believe would only strengthen his abilities with the Force, Vader believed this to be one of the greatest moments in his life. He could see clearly how powerful he was, and that his destiny was to overthrow the newly anointed Emperor. With Padmé at his side, he claimed he could bring peace and justice to the Galaxy.

But his wife would have no part in his machinations. When Padmé challenged her husband about his involvement with the massacre at the Jedi Temple, and Vader saw that Kenobi had stowed away on her ship, he choked his pregnant wife into unconsciousness, and attacked Kenobi.



Vader was defeated in the ensuing duel, losing both legs and his remaining natural arm, and suffering severe burns. Left for dead by Kenobi on the banks of a river of lava, he was rescued by his new master. After extensive surgery at the Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center&mdash;undertaken by many of the same medical droids that had transformed Grievous into a cyborg&mdash;Vader became a cyborg. Although he lived, it is estimated he lost about half of the power he had had as a Jedi, and was left with about 80% the potential of the Emperor's. He was also told by Sidious that his wife had died after he attacked her, though neither Vader nor Palpatine knew that she had given birth to twins shortly before her death. The news devastated Vader, and he would not find solace in the years to come.

The personality of Darth Vader became even more distinctive from Anakin Skywalker due to the great physical and emotional damage that completely changed his appearance and character. His armor limited his vision, restrained his movement, and caused extreme frustration for Vader (in the early years at least), who would eventually retool his whole fighting style around the lack of mobility his armor imposed.

As Darth Vader, Anakin became a powerful asset to the fledgeling Empire, serving as an enforcer, Jedi hunter, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, and Executor of Palpatine's New Order.

Serving the Emperor
"You don't know the power of the dark side. I must obey my Master."

- Vader to his son



Many of Vader's early missions were ordered by the Emperor himself. These early missions included punishing the clone commandos who prevented the execution of Order 66 on Murkhana, slaying a group of Jedi Knights who had tried to set a trap for him on Kessel, apprehending the dissident Senator Fang Zar on Alderaan, and a trip to the planet Kashyyyk to oversee the enslavement of the Wookiees after Vader tracked a group of Jedi there. A notable mission was to the planet Honoghr, devastated by the Separatist toxin Trihexalophine1138 during the Clone Wars. He promised the native Noghri that the Empire would restore Honoghr's ecosystem under the condition that they serve the Emperor as assassins.

Vader piloted a black-hued Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor during some of his early missions for Palpatine as the Great Jedi Purge continued, sometimes flanked by Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighters. His personal command ship during this time was the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Exactor.



Vader's most personal tasks were to find and eliminate survivors of Order 66. Among them were Empatojayos Brand, who was forced to live out the remainder of his life inside a pressure suit, An'ya Kuro, whom he knew from the Jedi Temple as "the Dark Woman", and Halagad Ventor, from whom Vader learned the location of other Jedi survivors, including Qu Rahn. He later tracked down three missing Jedi from the planet Murkhana, Jedi Masters Roan Shryne and Bol Chatak, and Olee Starstone, Chatak's Padawan, who managed to escape into hiding. However, the object of his most intense wrath, Obi-Wan Kenobi, managed to elude him, as Vader did not return to Tatooine out of fear of reawakening the buried persona of Anakin Skywalker.

Although in possession of great wealth and power, Vader allowed himself few comforts. Among those were his personal retreat on Coruscant and Bast Castle on Vjun. The 501st Legion, the stormtrooper division he led in the extermination of the Jedi at the Jedi Temple, became his personal guard, the actions they undertook in Vader's name over the course of the Civil War, earning them the nickname of "Vader's Fist".

In 7 BBY, Vader led a research project on Falleen. His intent was to conduct tests for the construction of a biological weapon. However, there was an accident, which infected all areas surrounding the testing facility. As a precaution, Vader had the circumference of the area "sterilized," which included the destruction of around 200,000 Falleen, including the family of Prince Xizor. In the eyes of the empire, the death of these Falleen was but a small price to pay, as it prevented the death of millions on the rest of the planet, and prevented a possible multi-planet epidemic.

In 1 BBY, Vader and Palpatine were the targets of a group of treacherous Imperial officers led by Grand Moff Trachta. Trachta saw the Sith as foolish and archaic, and believed that the Empire should not be ruled by a two-man cult. They planned to use a batch of altered stormtroopers loyal only to them to destroy the two Sith Lords. However, their plot failed in part because of internal fighting between the co-conspirators.

The Rebellion


With the loss of the stolen Death Star plans during a prison break, Vader was charged by the Emperor himself with retrieving the missing schematics. When word reached him of a possible Rebel Alliance courier enroute to the volcanic Sith moon of Kalakar VI with the plans in tow, the Dark Lord investigated, shadowed by his Master. What greeted Vader was unthinkable: a splinter group of Sith fanatics who had actually managed, through their Sith alchemy, to resurrect Darth Maul. It is unknown whether this Maul was created by cloning, or using Sith alchemy to reanimate Maul's actual corpse, or through other means. Whatever the case, the Zabrak was no longer a mere specter like the one Vader had encountered as Anakin Skywalker, and thus the cyborg was pressed into combat with Maul, who sought to supplant him as Palpatine's new apprentice. In Maul and the fanatics' eyes, Vader's time as a Jedi had "tainted" him, and only a pure Sith should rule by Sidious's side. The duel was dominated by the nimbler Maul, until, confident of his superiority, he approached Vader to stab him in the back. Maul paid for his overconfidence with his very life, as Vader stabbed his lightsaber through his own body and into his opponent. Maul gasped:
 * "What could you hate enough to destroy me?"

Vader, his own circuits badly damaged, managed to rasp:
 * "Myself."

As Darth Vader met up once more with a suspiciously unsurprised Palpatine, the badly damaged Dark Lord could not help but suspect that the encounter was yet another test. The distrust between mentor and student, fed by years of such trials, grew.



With the Kalakar VI mission deemed a wild bantha chase, Vader returned to his twofold priority of both locating the Death Star plans as well as the hidden base of the Rebels. After the 501st Legion's failed attempt to recover the Death Star plans on Polis Massa, Imperials were able to track where they were sent&mdash;Tantive IV, a corvette belonging to Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. Vader once more lost the plans, but gained a small victory by capturing the Princess. Utilizing an interrogation droid, he tortured Leia regarding the location of the secret Alliance base. Later during her captivity, Vader forced her to look on as Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin obliterated her homeworld during the destruction of the planet Alderaan. Vader also battled the elderly Obi-Wan Kenobi, his former mentor, in their second lightsaber duel. Despite Obi-Wan's vague warning that killing him would make him "more powerful than you can possibly imagine", Vader struck him down, and Obi-Wan became a spirit in the Force who continued to guide Luke Skywalker. To determine the location of the Rebel base, Vader allowed Luke and Han Solo to rescue Princess Leia and escape with the technical readouts of the Death Star.

During the Battle of Yavin, he piloted a distinctive TIE Advanced x1 fighter and almost prevented Luke's attack on the Death Star from being successful. Vader sensed that the young pilot in his sights was Force-sensitive, putting into motion a series of events that culminated in the death of the Empire. When Millennium Falcon shot down one of his two support craft, the other panicked and veered into Vader's fighter, sending him spinning away from the battle station. Vader soon crashed into Vaal, and escaped to Coruscant, where he was formally reprimanded by the Emperor for failing to stop the Rebels. He then continued his mission to find the Rebel base. His search took him to such worlds as Ultaar and Centares. He tortured a Rebel pilot that led him to discover the identity of the one who destroyed the Death Star, Luke Skywalker&mdash;the son he thought he had lost.

The son of Skywalker
"The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi&hellip;"

- Palpatine



Vader believed that his unborn child had perished with his wife, Padmé Amidala but Vader eventually deduced that Luke was in fact this child. The Sith Lord became obsessed with hunting down Luke, an objective which neatly coincided with his task of destroying the Rebellion.

Equipped with this information, Lord Vader engineered a number of plans to capture the young Jedi. He involved the House of Tagge family of nobles in a plan to capture Skywalker on the world of Monastery. He also used an actor posing as Obi-Wan Kenobi to attempt to lure Luke to the planet Aridus. When Governor Bin Essada learned that Skywalker and Princess Leia were on Circarpous V, he contacted the Dark Lord. Vader traveled to the jungle world, and faced the Jedi in the abandoned Temple of Pomojema. However, during the fight the Sith Lord toppled into a sacrificial well and the Rebels escaped.

Vader dispatched probe droids to remote regions of the Galaxy and eventually detected the Rebel Echo Base on Hoth. Admiral Ozzel incurred Vader’s wrath when he ruined Death Squadron's stealth attack by exiting hyperspace too close to the planet, allowing the Rebels to detect the attack and project shields against planetary bombardment. Vader was forced to wage a terrestrial campaign; its deployment gave some of the Rebel forces time to flee. Vader himself entered Echo Base and reached a hangar in time to see Millennium Falcon escape. When the Falcon's hyperdrive failed, Vader ordered pursuit and followed the Falcon and her apparently unstable pilot into an equally unstable asteroid field.

While his fighters searched the asteroids for the Falcon, Vader received a new mission from the Emperor&mdash;to capture Luke Skywalker, his own son and the pilot who had destroyed the Death Star. The Emperor was seemingly ignorant to Vader's plot, already in motion, to do just that. To deceive the Emperor, and thus allow him to continue making motions towards his own plan, Vader suggested that Luke could be turned to the dark side of the Force. The Emperor agreed, noting that Luke would be a "great asset". Meanwhile, as was the pattern with Sith Lords, particularly the Emperor, Palpatine also began planning to eliminate Vader and take Luke as his apprentice.



Vader continued pursuing the Falcon and resorted to hiring bounty hunters for the task. Ultimately, the Falcon appeared and then quickly disappeared by hiding in a blind spot on the back of the bridge tower of Captain Needa's Star Destroyer Avenger. Captain Needa took responsibility for losing them, and apologized to Vader. The Sith Lord accepted his apology&mdash;but only after Force-choking him to his death. Death Squadron dispersed into hyperspace, each ship dumping its garbage before jumping. The Falcon, released from its perch, floated away amid the debris and then set a sub-light course to Cloud City, a mining colony administered by Han Solo's old friend Lando Calrissian. Boba Fett, one of the bounty hunters hired by Vader, deduced Solo's strategy, alerted Vader to his destination, and followed the Falcon to Cloud City.

Vader landed on Cloud City and threatened Calrissian into an agreement while waiting for the Falcon's arrival. When the Falcon arrived, Vader captured and tortured Han Solo. Luke, training under Yoda on Dagobah, saw a vision of his friend's torture and rushed to Cloud City to save his friends, despite the sternest warnings from Yoda that by doing so, he would risk falling to the dark side. Meanwhile, Vader froze Solo in carbonite as a test subject to see if the method would be viable for the younger Skywalker, much to the chagrin of Boba Fett, who was already seeking Solo for Jabba the Hutt. Luke arrived at Cloud City, but Leia warned him of the trap within the corridors of Cloud City. Lando, Chewbacca, and Leia engineered an escape from Cloud City as Boba Fett took the frozen Han Solo to Tatooine to collect his bounty from Jabba the Hutt.

Luke found Vader, and they dueled, Luke not knowing his opponent's true identity. As Yoda and Obi-Wan had warned, the inadequately trained Luke was no match for the powerful and experienced Vader, who ultimately defeated him and cut off his right hand.

"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 and Luke Skywalker

Vader asked Luke to join him so that they could destroy the Emperor and rule the Galaxy as father and son, harkening back to what he'd hoped to have with Luke's mother. Profoundly shaken by the news that he was Vader's son, Luke refused to join his father and plunged into the gas vents of Cloud City. He hung from a weather vane along the bottom of the city, using the Force to call out to Leia. Luke was able to survive long enough to be rescued by her in Millennium Falcon. It has also been noted that, while Vader killed two of his subordinates, he let Admiral Piett live even though he failed to capture Luke and Millennium Falcon. This is considered by some to be evidence of Vader's Human side starting to become visible&mdash;Vader was too upset to kill his own officer.

In the following months, Lord Vader found himself in a complex game of strategy against the scheming crime lord of Black Sun, Prince Xizor. The Falleen, who had long hated Vader due to a planetary bombardment ordered by the Dark Lord on his homeworld of Falleen, was attempting to discredit Vader in eyes of the Emperor. Xizor had long been a rival of Vader. He sought to foil Vader's plan to capture Luke Skywalker for the Emperor by having Luke assassinated first. Vader discovered Xizor's plot and killed him in an assault high over Imperial Center.

Redemption
"I know there is good in you. The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully."

- Luke Skywalker



Shortly thereafter, around 4 ABY, the Death Star II was nearing completion under the command of Moff Jerjerrod as an elaborate trap for the Rebellion. Vader was sent to oversee the later stages of the construction. Vader soon sensed Luke Skywalker on board a shuttle heading for the Forest Moon of Endor, while the Emperor, present during the final stages of construction, did not.

On Endor, Vader once again attempted to persuade Luke to join the dark side, but this time Vader's interests were tinged by a desire to protect his son. When this failed, Vader took him to Emperor Palpatine himself on the incomplete Death Star II. Luke reluctantly fought a lightsaber battle with Vader, all the while attempting to persuade his father into renouncing the dark side of the Force.

During a lull in the fighting, Vader telepathically examined Luke's mind and discovered that Leia Organa was Luke's twin sister. Having figured out that his wife Padmé had twins just before she died, he correctly concludes that Luke and Leia were siblings. Vader threatened to turn her to the dark side if he should fail to do so with Luke. Hearing this threat to his sister, Luke's rage was finally unleashed, and he attacked Lord Vader using the dark side of the Force, driving him back with a whirlwind of blows. Severing Vader's right hand, Luke's fury was suddenly cut short. Staring at his own cybernetic hand, Luke realized with a visceral horror that he had already begun transforming into Vader's successor.



As the Emperor approached, Luke threw down his lightsaber and refused to join the dark side. Palpatine, his hate for the Jedi resurging, struck Luke down with Force lightning.

Luke writhed in agony as the Emperor slowly tortured him. He begged his father for help; Vader turned and, with his remaining hand, lifted the Emperor and threw him down a shaft into the Death Star's reactor core, where he exploded in a storm of dark energies. As Vader did this he was hit with the full power of Palpatine's force lightning. This shorted out his life support systems. In his final moments, he pleaded with Luke to remove his mask so that he could look on him with his own eyes. Vader found redemption in the light side of the Force. Darth Vader was no more; Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, had returned and brought balance to the Force by killing Palpatine and himself. These were the final words spoken between father and son:


 * Anakin: "Luke, help me take&hellip; this mask off."
 * Luke: "But you'll die."
 * Anakin: "Nothing&hellip; can stop that now&hellip; Just for once&hellip; let me&hellip; look on you, with my own eyes." (Luke removes Vader's mask and looks at the aged Jedi) "Now&hellip; go, my son. Leave me."
 * Luke: "No, you're coming with me. I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you!"
 * Anakin: "You already have, Luke. You already have. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister, you were right."

Post mortem
"Maybe Vader had died heroically, but ten minutes contribution did not make up for years of atrocities."

- Leia Organa, after her first and only visitation from the Force ghost of her father



Luke escaped the dying Death Star with Anakin's body, which he cremated that night on the forest moon of Endor.

As a redeemed Jedi, his organic body dematerialized and became one with the Force; what Luke cremated was just Vader's suit. Though Anakin did not know about Qui-Gon Jinn's secret of joining the Force, and was surprised when Obi-Wan's body vanished right before he killed him, he was still able to retain his personality when joining the Force. Qui-Gon Jinn had been outspoken in life about the living force, and taught Yoda on Dagobah that the secret to eternal life via the force, was with love. Thus, a Sith can never truly attain it. As he passed from life, Anakin's love for his son consumed him completely, transforming him into a spirit like his master had before him.

Later that night, during the celebration on Endor, Luke was able to see the spirit of the redeemed Anakin Skywalker, once again standing alongside his old friends, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

Vader appeared only a few times more after his death to his children. One of these times was during the crisis at Bakura, when he visited Leia to ask for her pardon.

After his death, the Empire refused to believe Vader murdered Palpatine. They claimed that Luke killed both Sith Lords, and Vader had died heroically defending his master. After Emperor Palpatine's resurrection, the details became clear, and the Imperials saw Vader as a symbol of ultimate treachery. On the rare occasion that his name was spoken by those loyal to the Emperor, "Darth Vader" was said with disgust. In Bast Castle, on Vjun, a statue once stood of Vader, which was ordered destroyed by the reborn Palpatine, indicative of Vader's reputation after his death.

Darth Vader's talents
"You will not stop me&hellip; Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us."

- Darth Sidious to Yoda



Darth Vader was a brilliant strategist and one of the greatest pilots in the Galaxy. He still possessed his former persona's amazing engineering skills, having personally overseen the design of both his TIE Advanced x1 fighter and the second Death Star's construction. In addition, his restoration of C-3PO from three seperate discarded droids to a creation that outlived him is a fact known only to himself. Unfortunately, C-3PO's memory wipe following his transfer of ownership to Raymus Antilles made the droid unaware of his creator's identity. His skill with the lightsaber was legendary and even further honed through the Jedi that he dueled following the Purge. All of these abilities, however, were secondary to his incredible mastery of the Force. As Anakin, he had the greatest known midi-chlorian count in the Galaxy, surpassing the count of both Yoda and Palpatine. However, after his limbs were severed and his body severely burned on Mustafar he lost much of his Force potential. As Darth Vader, Anakin was believed to have had roughly 80% of the strength of the Emperor. But even still, Vader still wielded tremendous power and skill. Had he sustained none of his injuries on Mustafar he would have been twice as powerful.

Vader was able to block Han Solo's blaster bolts with his gauntleted hands. One explanation for this ability is that Vader used the Force to dissipate their energy, while another states that his gloves (said to be made of micronized iron) absorbed the blast. Corran Horn demonstrated the ability to channel energy from outside attacks into Force power in similar ways.

Anakin was trained in Form V lightsaber combat by Obi-Wan, one of the greatest swordsmen in the Galaxy, and quickly developed incredible skill in the form, which he retained even after his fall to the dark side.

Vader also appeared to have great physical strength, lifting Captain Antilles by the throat with one hand, and picking up the Emperor and hurling him to his death. Whether these feats result from his use of the Force, or from the power of his cybernetic limbs, is unknown.

Besides the life support it provides his ravaged body, Vader's Sith armor also offered some protection against the blades of lightsabers. In a climactic duel with his son in the depths of Cloud City, a quick blow from Luke's lightsaber appeared to cut the armor only shallowly, although this was enough to draw a surprised cry from the Sith Lord.



In battle, Darth Vader lacked the mobility and ease he once had, but his bionic suit supplied him with additional strength. His blows were forceful even when using only one arm to fight. He was calm when fighting, rarely resorting to feats of acrobatics. He struck to kill and used psychology and his appearance to intimidate his foes. When striking with both hands on the grip of his lightsaber, he was able to pound his enemies with an onslaught of strong but somewhat slow strikes. This fighting style contrasted with Anakin's style before his disfigurement, which utilized more speed and acrobatics.

Because of his decreased mobility, he was at a disadvantage when duelling against beings using faster and quicker combat styles like Ataru. To counter fast-moving opponents, he would use the Force to pull out anything from his surroundings that wasn't nailed to the ground and fling the improvised missiles at his opponent. Without moving a muscle, anything from the venue of the battle could be used as a weapon to crash against Vader's opponents from all directions in a neverending barrage. Darth Vader first used this tactic in the Duel on Mustafar, slicing shards of metal from the walls and shooting them at Obi-Wan Kenobi. Darth Vader also used this tactic to bring down Jedi Knight Roan Shryne, and most famously Luke Skywalker in their first duel on Bespin.

It should be noted that Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, despite being a Sith, was unable to generate or deflect Force lightning. This was due to his cybernetic implants. Any attempt by Vader to generate it would electrocute his life-support system.

It is (in part) because of this deficiency that Darth Sidious, despite having Anakin Skywalker as his ultimate apprentice, found him less than satisfactory as his heir to the Sith legacy and set about finding a new apprentice, eventually setting all of his hopes on Vader's own son, Luke.

Possible interpretations of the Jedi prophecy


The Jedi Prophecy is a frequent source of debate among fans. In particular, Anakin's status as the Chosen One is regularly disputed. His role in the destruction of the Jedi was an ancillary one, as much of the plan was already underway long before Anakin's fall; indeed, it began with the invasion of Naboo, when he was only a child. Still, Anakin's pivotal role is undisputable, ranging from his intervention in Windu and Sidious' duel in the Chancellor's office, to the enormous influence that his progeny wield in the original trilogy as well as the Expanded Universe.

Many fans argue that Anakin fulfilled the Jedi Prophecy by bringing a new "balance" to the Force by nearly eliminating the Jedi. In this viewpoint, the Jedi and the Sith metaphorically represent two opposing weights on a scale, with an excess of either disrupting the balance of the Force. Adherents of this view find it particularly noteworthy that, by the end of Episode III, there is a precisely equal number of Jedi and Sith: Obi-Wan and Yoda, Sidious and Vader, although this does not count the EU survivors. Frequently cited as evidence for this interpretation is Yoda's warning to Obi-Wan that the prophecy "misread, could have been." In the Episode III DVD featurette "The Chosen One," Lucas summarizes as follows: "The Prophecy is that Anakin will bring balance to the Force and destroy the Sith. He becomes Darth Vader; Darth Vader does become the hero, Darth Vader does destroy the Sith; meaning himself and the Emperor. He does it because he is redeemed by his son." Lucas gave a similar explanation in the final VHS release of the original trilogy in November 2000: "[In] Episodes IV, V and VI,...Anakin's offspring redeem him, and allow him to fulfill the Prophecy, and bring balance to the Force by doing away with the Sith, and getting rid of evil in the universe."

It is presumed that the Chosen One of the Jedi Prophecy must be born of a virgin mother (as Anakin allegedly was), since Yoda for instance, despite his historical number of midi-chlorians, is never regarded as a candidate for the prophecy. However, the exact text of the prophecy is never revealed in the films, so it may not be possible to conclude that the Chosen One must be born of a virgin. One possible piece of evidence supporting this theory comes from an early draft of A New Hope. A quote was originally to precede the "A long time ago" text: "&hellip; and in a time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the SON OF THE SUNS."

- Journal of the Whills 3:127

Indeed, at the conclusion of Episode I and Episode VI, a voice in the cheering crowd can be heard to cry out "The Son of the Suns!", thus giving weight to this being a possible portion of the prophecy.

Yet another view held by only a small amount of fans claims that the idea of "balance" in the Force has nothing to do with either there being an equal number of Jedi and Sith or neccessarily just the destruction of the Sith. Instead advocates of this particular view believe that the "balance" in the Force is the balance between positive and negative energy throughout the universe. They claim that the average sentient being contributes a sizable amount of negative energy to the universe throughout their lifetime by means of what we would call normal and natural emotions like anger, jealousy, etc. Multiplied by the trillions of beings in the Star Wars universe, this amounts to a massive dark side shift in the cosmic balance. Theoretically, a relatively small number of beings dedicated to pure good and service of the light side of the Force are able to balance against all the negative energy contributed by everyone else and maintain relative balance in the universe. The presence of the Sith, it is believed, serves to once again tip the cosmic scale in favor of the dark side. Therefore the claim that in order to have "balance" in the Force that there should be no Sith is relatively justified based on this particular viewpoint. Another possibility is that through his actions Vader brings balance to the Force through simultaneously fulfilling his destiny as both a Sith (by killing his master) and as a Jedi (by dying on the light side).

Some claim the manipulation of the Force is what causes the imbalance, regardless of one's motivations. Perhaps true balance is found in trust of the Force, and not bending it to one's creative will.

Lightsaber training
Anakin Skywalker was trained by the Order's most promising Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Through him, Anakin would inherit a rich tradition of lightsaber pedigree. Anakin's style featured elements of many masters that made him outstandingly talented at a very young age.

Anakin Skywalker was trained in the style Shien, the classic Form V lightsaber combat. An aggressive style which focuses on physical strength and lightsaber attack moves, Shien takes the defensive principles of Form III (Soresu), the style practiced by Obi-Wan Kenobi, and converts them to offensive moves. With Anakin's exceptionally high concentration of midi-chlorians, he mastered Shien faster than any other Padawan in the Order. By the time of the Battle of Geonosis, Anakin began to believe he was one of the best swordsmen in the Order. However, Anakin's frequent application of Form V, a style that tends to foster an inappropriate focus on dominating others, clouded his judgment and pulled him to the dark side of the Force frequently during his numerous battles in the Clone Wars.

Ultimately, Anakin would learn his lesson against Count Dooku at the Battle of Geonosis. The overconfident Padawan ceased using Shien and switched to the Jar'Kai application of Ataru after receiving an extra lightsaber from Kenobi. However, because neither Jar'Kai nor Ataru was his mostly trained style, thus the form was broken by Dooku with a masterful display of sun djem. Finally, even the Chosen One proved no match for the seasoned focus and skills of Dooku's Form II: Makashi swordplay, a style of elegance and precision, Anakin lost his right forearm and was only saved by Master Yoda's timely appearance.

Appreciative at last of how much he had to learn, Anakin spent the next three years of the Clone Wars honing his Form V skills. Apart from Shien, Skywalker mastered Djem So during the Clone Wars, a Form V style beyond the classic Shien. According to Count Dooku onboard Invisible Hand, Anakin's mastery of Djem So was the greatest he had ever seen in his life.

In the rematch with Count Dooku at the Second Battle of Coruscant, Anakin's mastery in Djem So, combined with his young age, better physical condition, impressive strength, and considerable reserve of Force energy, enabled Anakin to tear through the precision and elegance of Makashi and break through Dooku's tenacious defense. By defeating Dooku when Kenobi had failed twice, Anakin seemed to have proven his mastery of the Force, and established himself as one of the greatest swordsmen in the Order, next to only Yoda and Mace Windu.

Anakin's fatal flaw was his rage. Though younger, more athletic, and gifted with more raw Force power than Obi-Wan, he lacked the experience, calmness, and focus which his master possessed. Kenobi held a psychological edge since it was he who traditionally would win in their sparring days. Though Anakin could call on the dark side to overpower his opponents, his mounting emotions could also distract him from executing as well as his master. Whereas Anakin's strength lay in his offensive barrage, Kenobi's resided in his defense. Obi-Wan was regarded as the greatest defensive master in the Order and his absolute dedication to Soresu would prove vital to his win. Frustrated by his inability to break this defense, Anakin would make mistakes that he wouldn't have made had he been able to remain focused and patient. Like his duel with Grievous, Kenobi would rely on his "wait them out" philosophy. That is to rely on Soresu entirely until there is a hole in the opponent's offensive barrage, and to immediately slash away with some broad Ataru strokes. In both cases this resulted in the detachment of his opponent's limbs.

In his mechanical life-support suit, Darth Vader could no longer engage in the energetic acrobatics of Ataru. For the remainder of his life, he would maintain his mastery of Form V Djem So and Shien. Vader then introduced more elements from Form III Soresu and Form IV Ataru swordplay into his customized style, as witnessed by Jedi Master Roan Shryne when Bol Chatak dueled with the Dark Lord. He also experimented in some Form II Makashi, used by Count Dooku, as evidenced by his formal one-handed duel against Luke Skywalker on Cloud City.

Taking the proper lessons from his loss to Kenobi, he apparently learned how to control his emotions when in combat, finding a way to call upon the power of the dark side while not being blinded by emotions run amok. By combining Form II, Form III, Form IV and Form V into one customized style of his own, Vader's mastery in swordsmanship could almost reach the infamous Form VII level, a Form which required mastery of mulitple combat forms.

Vader's son, the young Luke Skywalker, proved to be more than a match for the Dark Lord. On Bespin, Luke revealed that he was an extraordinarily gifted duelist after only one brief session with Obi-Wan Kenobi three years before, and a short time of study with Yoda. Nevertheless Luke was able to hold up against a Dark Lord for some time. Onboard the second Death Star, Luke mirrored Darth Vader's own Form V technique and responded with his own furious demonstration of Form V's raw power. Observing swordsmen such as Emperor Palpatine might be astonished at such instantaneous learning in a lightsaber duel. Finally, Luke was able to duel Vader on an even footing, and defeated the experienced Dark Lord.

Darth Vader's appearance
"The great Darth Vader was a sick man in an iron mask!"

- Palpatine to Luke Skywalker

As the Dark Lord of the Sith, Vader's irises would turn fiery yellow when he immersed himself fully in the dark side and the passions of hate and anger, but return to normal in his remorse. At first, Vader continued to dress as a Jedi to hide his new identity.

After losing an epic duel with his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader was horribly disfigured by injuries and burns suffered on the lava-planet Mustafar. In addition to his horrific scars and maimed torso, Darth Vader's lungs were seared, leaving him barely able to breathe. Only his burning hatred and lust for revenge kept his will to live intact.



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

In addition to maintaining his life, Vader's armor provided him with a constant flow of addictive Sith stimulants which enhance both his physical strength and his resilience. Vader had regular treatments, whether in his chambers or through his suit, and these chemicals were given out as Palpatine saw fit. This venomous concoction was produced by the Emperor's acolytes and was a major factor in maintaining Vader's loyalty.

Behind the scenes
"However, after all of his limbs were severed and he was extremely burned on Mustafar he lost much of his Force potential. As Darth Vader, Anakin was believed to have had roughly 80% of the strength of the Emperor. Had he sustained none of his injuries on Mustafar he would have been twice as powerful."

- George Lucas



The character of Darth Vader was not originally planned to be a suited cyborg. This was created when the concept artist drew the opening scene where Tantive IV was being boarded. It was initially imagined that Darth Vader would fly through space to enter the ship, necessitating a suit and breathing mask. This was later made permanent and incorporated in the story.

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

In order to keep the "big secret" of Star Wars Episode V: 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. This was later dubbed in by James Earl Jones, revealing the actual truth of Vader's progeny in the famous line, "I am your father."

Vader's leitmotif is The Imperial March.

Darth Vader as a cultural figure


Due to his central role, Vader has entered the public consciousness as the quintessential frightening villain; the American Film Institute's list of the greatest movie villains placed him third, after Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. Lord Vader's powerful, basso profundo voice coupled with his heavy breathing is easily recognizable to moviegoers&mdash;it is symbolic of his transformation from a man of the light to an evil cyborg. He has been parodied by such figures as "Dark Helmet" from Spaceballs and countless other parodies from cartoons, such as "Duck Vader" from Tiny Toon Adventures and "Darth Koopa" from Super Mario Bros. (TV), as well as imitated, one example would be "Death's Hand" from the video game Jade Empire, and his 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 gargoyles for the west towers-one winner was a design featuring Darth Vader.

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



Many people say that Darth Vader is loosely inspired by the Marvel Universe villain Doctor Doom. Considered by many to be one of the greatest comic-book villains of all time, Doom and Vader share some similarities. Both have a commanding presence, both are physically deformed due to tragic accidents that cause them to wear armor, both are highly intelligent, and both were, in a way, good once. There is also a costume similarity with The Lightning, the first costumed supervillain from the serial Fighting Devil Dogs. However, 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.

Portrayal
The distinctive voice of Darth Vader was played by James Earl Jones in the Original Trilogy and in Revenge of the Sith. Brock Peters performed the voice of Vader in the NPR radio dramatizations.

In Episodes IV-VI, David Prowse played the body of Vader, and his face (as his redeemed self), seen only in Return of the Jedi, was portrayed by Sebastian Shaw. Legendary fencer Bob Anderson stood in as a stunt double for David Prowse in Episodes V and VI.

In Revenge of the Sith, Hayden Christensen wore the suit, which was specifically designed to fit his body. 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 official credits of Revenge of the Sith, and the voice heard in the first trailer for the movie was that of Christensen's, albeit altered digitally. The false claim was settled with a Summer 2005 issue of Starlog in which producer Rick McCallum stated they had James Earl Jones for a partial day of work on EP3.

For many of the Star Wars video games, including Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Star Wars: Force Commander, and Star Wars: TIE Fighter, he was voiced by Scott Lawrence.

In Italy and France, Darth Vader's name was changed to Dart Fener and Dark Vador, respectively. During 2004, Italian fans were asked to vote a poll regarding the choice to use Darth Vader's original name instead of "Dart Fener" in the film Revenge of the Sith. "Dart Fener" was approved by roughly 55% of the voters. One of the reasons for this was that the modern Italian language did borrow the word "water" (contrapted from "water closet") as a synonym for "lavatory" and "vader" was probably too close-sounding to that to avoid the chance of embarassing misunderstandings and wordplays.

Appearances



 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * "Chapter 24"
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (game)
 * Evasive Action: Recruitment
 * Star Wars Republic 78: Loyalties
 * Star Wars: Purge
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * The Last of the Jedi: Underworld
 * The Last of the Jedi: A Tangled Web
 * In His Image
 * Two-Edged Sword in Star Wars Insider 85
 * The Hutt Gambit
 * Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire
 * Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand
 * Darth Vader: Extinction
 * Star Wars Empire: Betrayal
 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns
 * Star Wars Empire: Princess... Warrior
 * Rebel Dawn
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
 * A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale
 * Star Wars Empire 14: The Savage Heart
 * Star Wars Empire 19: Target: Vader
 * Sand Blasted in Star Wars Tales 4
 * Star Wars Empire: Idiot's Array
 * Star Wars Empire 35: A Model Officer
 * Star Wars: Vader's Quest
 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter
 * Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi
 * Allegiance
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special
 * Splinter of the Mind's Eye
 * Moment of Doubt
 * Thank the Maker in Star Wars Tales Volume 2
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (First mention of Anakin Skywalker)
 * Entrenched in Star Wars Visionaries
 * Resurrection in Star Wars Tales 9
 * Star Wars: Demolition
 * Tales of the Bounty Hunters
 * Shadows of the Empire
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * The Truce at Bakura
 * The Mandalorian Armor
 * Slave Ship
 * Crimson Empire
 * Darksaber
 * Union (Dream)
 * Junior Jedi Knights: The Golden Globe
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Lyric's World
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Anakin's Quest
 * Young Jedi Knights: Shadow Academy
 * Vector Prime

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Wars Manga
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick
 * Old Wounds in Star Wars: Visionaries
 * The Rebel Four in Star Wars Tales 9
 * Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
 * Skippy the Jedi Droid
 * Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Return of the Ewok
 * Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi
 * Storyteller in Star Wars Tales 19