Who was Anakin Skywalker's father? Anakin Skywalker - the chosen one

The film epic "Star Wars" is a world-famous story about space adventures, the life and struggle of various heroes - both positive and negative. The latter includes the very controversial character Darth Vader, aka the Dark Lord, who in childhood was called Anakin Skywalker.

Star Wars and Darth Vader

The history of the creation of the cult film saga, and then the Star Wars universe, dates back to 1971, when director and producer George Lucas entered into a contract with the United Artists studio to shoot the Star Wars film.

However, it is generally accepted that it all began in 1976, after the release of a novelization book with the same name authored by D. Lucas and A. D. Foster. The film company's producers were afraid that the film would fail at the box office, and decided to play it safe by releasing a book. In 1977, D. Lucas received a reader's literary award for this novel, and the producers' doubts were finally dispelled.

In May of the same year, the first of nine films in the epic, called “Star Wars,” was released. New Hope". One of the main characters appears in it for the first time. Who is Darth Vader?

Characteristics of the main character

Darth Vader is the main negative character, the cruel and cunning leader of the Galactic Imperial Army, which dominates the entire Universe. He is, in fact, the most powerful Sith, and is also trained by Emperor Palpatine himself and is on the dark side of the Force.

Darth Vader is fighting against the Rebel Alliance in order to prevent the collapse of the Empire. The Alliance, on the contrary, wants the restoration of the Galactic Republic and the union of free planets.

But initially Darth Vader was a positive character, one of the Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. His transition from the Light to the Dark side of the force and transformation into Darth Vader occurs for several reasons. To understand who Darth Vader is, you need to look at all the stages in his life.

Anakin Skywalker's childhood

Anakin Skywalker, who later became Darth Vader, was born in the year 42 before the Battle of Yavin on the planet Tatooine. His mother was a slave named Shmi Skywalker, who did not say anything about Anakin's father. Jedi Qui-Gon Jin, who found the future Darth Vader and considered the boy the chosen one, claimed that his father was the Light Force.

Qui-Gon Jin frees Anakin from slavery and takes him with him to the planet Coruscant. Qui demands the Jedi Council's consent to train Skywalker, but is refused, motivated by the fact that he already has a student and because of Anakin's age. Also, the reason for the refusal was the anger and fear that remained with him from his slave times. Skywalker later becomes a Jedi under the mentorship of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Council comes to terms with this.

From Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader

Anakin, 10 years later, becomes an adult and acquires the Jedi skill, although he is still Kenobi's Padawan. At the same time, Sheev Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious, the future emperor) begins to carry out his plan, which he has been hatching for many years. His plan was to make Anakin Skywalker his student, luring him to the Dark Side of the Force.

For this, Palpatine uses Anakin's loss of trust in his Jedi mentors and Skywalker's forbidden love for the queen of the planet Naboo, Padmé Amidala Naberry. One of the main reasons for Anakin's transformation is his pain and anger, which appears after he avenges the death of his mother Shmi on the Tusken nomads. The grief and hatred that gripped him due to the loss of his mother pushes Anakin to merciless murders, in which women and children die. Of course, Skywalker does not yet know who Darth Vader is, but the process is irreversible, and, to Palpatine’s joy, Anakin, without realizing everything that is happening, finds himself on the Dark Side of the Force and becomes the Emperor’s student.

Transition to the Dark Side

Chancellor Palpatine is captured by the Separatists, and in order to free him, Anakin and Obi-Wan engage them in battle. During the duel, Obi-Wan is stunned by the rebel leader Count Dooku, but Anakin defeats him. After this, the Chancellor orders Skywalker to cut off the head of the unarmed Count. Anakin obeys the order, but doubts the correctness of what was done, because killing a prisoner is not the job of a Jedi.

Anakin returns to Coruscant, where Padme, whom he secretly married, tells him about her pregnancy. Palpatine makes Skywalker his representative on the Jedi Council, but the Assembly, submitting to the will of the Chancellor, does not elevate Anakin to Master. He is also entrusted with spying on Palpatine, after which the future Darth Vader finally loses faith in the Jedi.

Later it turns out that the Chancellor is in fact the same Sith Lord who was hunted by the Order for a long time. Master Windu and several Jedi are sent to arrest the Chancellor. Anakin follows them and finds a duel between Palpatine and Windu. The Chancellor is protected from a fatal blow by Anakin Skywalker, stopping Windu, after which Palpatine kills the master.

Darth Vader

All the events described above and the death of his beloved wife Padme finally tilt Anakin to the Dark Side of the Force. There is no turning back for Skywalker, since he, in fact, became an accomplice in the murder of the Jedi Master. He takes an oath of allegiance to Darth Sidious (Palpatine) and receives a new Sith name - Darth Vader.

After some time, he receives an order from Sidious to destroy all the Jedi who are in his temple. Darth Vader kills them with his own hands, sparing neither the younglings nor the Padawans; clone soldiers help him in this atrocity. Also, following the orders of Sidious, Vader destroys all the leaders of the Confederation on the volcano planet Mustafar, naively believing that by doing so he will achieve the long-awaited peace in the Republic.

Yoda and Obi-Wan, having learned who carried out the massacre in the temple, decide to kill Darth Vader. In the duel, Kenobi cuts off Darth's left arm and both legs with his lightsaber, after which, dying, he falls to a riverbed of molten lava, and his clothes begin to burn.

Darth Vader costume

The half-dead and burnt Vader is saved by his mentor Sidious. In order to maintain vital functions, Darth Vader is put on a special sealed spacesuit. It was a portable mobile life support system, which Vader could not do without after the wounds and burns from the lava river received in the duel with Obi-Wan. This armor was created using the ancient alchemical knowledge of the Sith.

The main thing in Darth Vader's suit was the most complex respiratory system, with the help of which he could breathe, since after burns it was impossible to do this. The armor was created according to all the traditions of the Sith warriors and provided good protection to its owner, although they occasionally broke, after repair they continued to function. One of the elements of the costume was the helmet of Darth Vader, to whom his grandson would later take the oath of allegiance.

Darth Vader's weapons

Darth Vader, while still Anakin Skywalker, learned to wield a sword from one of the most powerful masters of the Jedi Order - Yoda. Thanks to his teacher, Vader studied and perfectly mastered all styles of fighting with a lightsaber.

He preferred the fifth form of combat, characterized by increased aggressiveness and rapid pressure, aimed at physically breaking the enemy. Darth also mastered the technique of wielding swords at the same time, which came in handy in numerous battles.

Unusual character abilities

As a result of the catastrophic injuries sustained in the duel on the planet Mustafar, much of Vader's Force was irretrievably lost. However, the Dark Lord had enormous power and a great degree of skill, sufficient to win almost every fight.

Darth possessed the highest degree of mastery of telekinesis, and was also fluent in the techniques of Choke and Force Push, which he often demonstrated in fights with opponents. In the wars, Darth Vader used the art of Tutaminis, which allowed him to absorb, reflect and redirect the streams of plasma released by the blaster.

The Dark Lord was an excellent telepath and could penetrate the thoughts of his opponents, manipulating their consciousness and subjugating their will. Over time, he managed to restore the power of his severed limbs. Although not without the help of the suit, his strength increased significantly. Using all his skills and Dark Power, Vader was practically invincible.

Return to the Light Side of the Force

Darth Vader makes plans to turn his only son, Luke Skywalker, to the Dark Side when he grows up to become a Jedi. After he learns from Master Yoda who his father is, he surrenders to the warriors subordinate to Palpatine and meets with Darth and the Emperor. The Emperor tries to convince Luke to give vent to his fear for his friends and anger, in order to use this to persuade him to the Dark Side of the Force. Darth Vader at this time penetrates the mind of his son and learns about his sister Leia Organa. Darth Vader's voice in Luke's head threatens to turn her into a Dark Force adept if he refuses.

Luke is led by his rage and almost kills his father, but he pacifies his anger in time and throws the lightsaber aside, not wanting to deal a fatal blow. The Emperor tries to tempt Luke Skywalker with power and demands that he kill Darth Vader, but receives a decisive refusal. The enraged ruler attacks Vader's son using the power of lightning, Luke asks his father for help. Vader suppresses the Dark Force within himself and helps his son by throwing the Emperor into the Death Star reactor.

Death of the main character

While meeting his son on the unfinished Death Star while rescuing Luke from Palpatine, Darth Vader is killed by deadly lightning strikes directed at him by the Emperor. Although he was afraid to rebel and betray his mentor Palpatine, he still could not destroy his only son, knowing that he would pay for it with his life.

It is worth noting that Darth Vader was a kind of golem of the Emperor. The wounds he received from Palpatine's lightning bolts could not have killed him, since in the Darth Vader comics his suit could withstand more significant attacks. In reality, the Dark Lord dies due to the fact that his energetic connection with the Emperor, who helped maintain life in him, is broken. Later, Luke Skywalker buries his father as a true Jedi.

In the Star Wars universe

George Lucas created the Star Wars universe, which included absolutely all materials related to this movie saga. It widely presents all film and television versions, books, cartoons and animated series, as well as toys and computer games. Here you can see numerous photos of Darth Vader and other heroes of this story.

Vader is one of the most famous and beloved movie characters in the world, despite the fact that he is more of a negative character than a positive one. The American magazine "Empire" awarded Darth Vader ninth place in the list of the greatest movie characters of all time. Of course, without this hero the film would not have been so exciting, and the plot would have lost in many ways due to the loss of intrigue.

It is worth noting that it is impossible to give a clear answer to the question of who Darth Vader is, since this hero combined both the Dark and Light sides of the Force.

They have been with us since childhood, for many years. We decided to see what the key actors in the saga about “ Star Wars».

Preliminary Note: This article is intended for the voracious fans of the Star Wars film epic and is not to be taken too seriously, it is simply a different perspective on this classic franchise, as well as one of the most revered villains to ever appear on the silver screen.

Darth Vader undoubtedly used the dark side of the Force to strangle a number of his fellow soldiers, as well as those who stood in the way of the Empire seeking complete dominance in Star Wars. But was he, in fact, 100% villain, or more of a powerful pawn caught in the middle of an intergalactic chess game that began thousands of years earlier between the Jedi and the Sith?

In fact, Vader at the end of the film Return of the Jedi fulfilled the “prophecy”, again tilting the balance in favor of the Force, killing the Emperor, who represented the forces of evil, and saving the life of his son Luke. It probably took him 30 years, but he returned back to the person he was before he put on the mask, Anakin Skywalker, and perhaps during that time he discovered what was wrong with the Jedi , and among the Sith.

The debate here is not about whether Vader was a saint, we are talking about something else altogether - simply that the Jedi and Sith are just as guilty of his unholy actions as the war that is waged everywhere in these films, even in the most distant parts of this galaxy."

Now, before the internet rebels against this theory, let's look at the facts.

New direction

As we head toward the December release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the second installment in a new trilogy, there may be a different perspective on the Jedi, even from the now-iconic Luke Skywalker. They may not be seen as the completely pure heroes they have always been perceived to be.

Even in the first trailer for The Last Jedi, Luke (played by Mark Hamill) says, “The time of the Jedi is coming to an end.” This phrase can have a huge number of meanings, although it is part of just a two-minute teaser. However, it is quite consistent with the debate that has been going on on the Internet since the return of Star Wars in 2015 with The Force Awakens.

Context

What could the title "The Last Jedi" mean?

What we learn from the new Star Wars trailer

Current themes of our time in Star Wars

Star Wars is being sucked out of thin air

Why Star Wars is a great movie

There are rumors, supported by some of the footage in the trailer (from here on out it's all about the subtleties and details for the very big fans), that in this film we'll probably learn more about the first Jedi, who existed thousands of years before those introduced events. They are neither light nor dark, and the perceived balance in the Force will be different from what we saw in the first six films.

It also seems that Luke - perhaps having learned that his father first joined the Dark Side and then began training to become a Jedi - had doubts about whether a person, including a Jedi, could be completely on the side of good or evil. There are shades of gray, and if you take them out of life, then you end up with Darth Vader.

Anakin Skywalker

Let's take a look back a little at the time leading up to Luke's birth and focus on Darth's life in previous episodes.

Anakin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christiansen) was apprenticed to the Jedi, who told him that various kinds of attachments and emotions were not characteristic of their kind. They were peacemakers who did not have the right to marry or have children. They had a more important calling - to protect the galaxy from those whose sole purpose was to rule.

Everything is fine if we talk about feelings, but in life everything did not happen quite like that, and young Skywalker noticed this.

First of all, Anakin Skywalker married Padme (Natalie Portman) and then discovered that she would have a child with him. He also had a dream in which she died in childbirth, and so he began to search for a way to save his love and his unborn children. He was unable to do this with the help of the Jedi code and the advice of Master Yoda, but at that moment one of his mentors told him to spy on his friend. Does anyone see a problem here? Later, when Anakin himself is about to tell Mace Windu (Samuel Jackson) that his close friend and mentor, the Emperor, was the dark-powered Sith Lord they were looking for, he realizes that Mace instantly made the decision to have him kill him rather than bring him to court and give him a chance to face the law because, in his words, "he is too powerful to remain alive." And so Anakin takes action, overthrows Windu and declares his allegiance to the Emperor. He did some questionable things later (cough, cough, killed babies), but it was all in the name of love.

By no means did the Jedi act completely unbiased and only in accordance with their teachings, and he knew it. He may have been manipulated by Palpatine, but he was not helped much by his observations of what the other Jedi were doing. In his opinion, he made a choice in favor of the lesser of two evils.

"Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is a villain!" - Obi-Wan tells him during their great battle on the planet Mustafar - this is the same battle in which Ovi-Wan cuts off all his limbs and leaves him at the moment when he is already engulfed in fire.

“In my opinion, the Jedi are the villains,” Anakin replies.

Return of the Jedi

Now let's look at Luke's journey and how the events of Return of the Jedi ended.

In the films leading up to Jedi, Luke was misled about what happened to his father and then told not to save his friends because he needed to continue his studies with Yoda. “Let them die, and you should improve your lightsaber skills,” was basically what he was told.

While he fights and defeats his father - now Darth - he again refuses to kill him or let him die and takes his place next to the Emperor based on the Sith code. After which the Emperor tries to kill Luke, but at this moment Darth intervenes in the events taking place.

Instead of watching his enemy (his son) die, he intervenes, ignoring both the Sith and Jedi codes and acts as his heart tells him. He kills his mentor, then dies himself, but saves his boy. That is, Darth Vader does all this for the sake of love, which was prohibited by the Jedi code, and thus he returns balance to the Force and the Galaxy. In addition, he may be creating a model for a new way of life - this is no longer the Sith or the Jedi, but the Grays.

It's similar to what Kylo Ren says in The Force Awakens when he looks at Darth's melting mask: "I will finish what you started, grandfather."

Ren is the son of Han Solo and General Leia, and in addition, he rebels against the teachings of the Jedi, leaves Luke's new academy and tries to eradicate the Jedi once and for all.

Wait, but he killed his own father. So what, he's clearly a bad guy. But is it? Only time will tell.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains in cinematic history. His image is easily recognizable, and the phrase “Luke, I am your father” has firmly entered our lives, becoming a meme and the reason for numerous parodies and jokes. Now the next film from the Star Wars series has been released - Rogue One, and in it we will see Darth Vader again. Here are 15 interesting and little-known facts about the Dark Lord of the Sith for anyone who loves this saga. And may the Force be with you!

15. He had a military rank

Everyone knows that Darth Vader is the right hand of Emperor Palpatine, but not everyone is aware that the title of “Emperor's Emissary” was created specifically for him. It gave him enormous military powers. That is why he had the right to take command of the Death Star battle station, despite the fact that it already had a commander - Wilhuff Tarkin. As the emperor's apprentice and emissary, Vader essentially became the second-in-chief of the empire, with titles such as Dark Lord of the Sith and Warlord. And later, after taking control of the Executor, the largest Imperial warship, he apparently officially became the Supreme Commander.

14. Imperial propaganda claims that Anakin Skywalker died in the Jedi Temple

James Luceno's science fiction book "Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader" tells that after the events of Episode 3 ("Revenge of the Sith"), everyone in the galaxy was sure that the Jedi Anakin Skywalker - the Chosen One - died heroically on Coruscant during time of the battle in the Jedi temple. Imperial propaganda also supported this official story, and Vader spent the next twenty years trying to forget the past and erase his previous identity.

Most of the inhabitants of the galaxy, ruled by the new Galactic Empire, are also convinced that the Jedi Order not only rebelled against Councilor Palpatine, forcing him to take drastic measures and destroy the Jedi, but also had a hand in starting the Clone Wars. Almost no one knows the truth that Anakin turned to the dark side and betrayed his comrades in the temple (only survivors like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda). This is what the situation looks like at the beginning of the original trilogy.

13. After learning about his children, he planned to betray the emperor

Although fans know that Vader betrayed the Emperor at the end of Episode 6 (Return of the Jedi), his motivation was never explained. After the Battle of Yavin, Vader tasked bounty hunter Boba Fett with finding out everything about the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star. It was then that he was informed that the man's name was Luke Skywalker. Realizing that Palpatine has been lying to him all these years and that his children are alive, Vader becomes enraged. This explains his motivation and offer to help Luke overthrow the Emperor in The Empire Strikes Back. Vader planned this in full accordance with the Sith code of conduct: a student will never rise higher until he gets rid of his master.

12. He had three teachers and many secret students

After Skywalker transformed into Darth Vader, he trained the Sith. Thus, according to the plot of the video games "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed", Vader, planning a plot to overthrow Palpatine, secretly took on several students. The first of these was Galen Marek, nicknamed Starkiller, a descendant of the Jedi killed by Vader during the Great Purge. Vader trained Marek from childhood, but Marek died on the Death Star shortly before the Rebel Alliance was founded. Vader then created a perfect and much more powerful clone of Marek using his genetic sample. This clone - the Dark Disciple - was supposed to take Marek's place. The next student after him was Tao, a former Jedi Padawan (this story is considered non-canonical today). Vader then took on several more students - Kharis, Lumiya, Flint, Rillao, Hethrir and Antinnis Tremaine.

11. He tried to learn to breathe without a helmet

Many people remember the scene from the episode "The Empire Strikes Back" when at one point Vader is shown in the meditation chamber - he is without a helmet and the wounded back of his head is visible. Vader often used this special pressurized chamber to practice breathing without a protective helmet or breathing apparatus. During such sessions, he felt unbearable pain and used it to intensify his hatred and dark power. Vader's ultimate goal was to gain such power from the Dark Side that he could breathe without a mask.

But he could do without it for only a few minutes, since he was too happy at the opportunity to breathe on his own, and this joy was not combined with dark power. This is also why he so wanted to unite with Luke, so that their common strength would help him not only throw off the power of the emperor, but also free himself from his iron armor.

10. Even the actors didn’t know during filming that Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father.

The twist when Darth Vader turns out to be Luke Skywalker's father is perhaps one of the most famous in movie history. During the filming of The Empire Strikes Back, this plot device was kept strictly secret - only five people knew about it: director George Lucas, director Irwin Kershner, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, actor Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and actor James Earl Jones. voice of Darth Vader.

Everyone else, including Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo), only learned the truth after attending the film's premiere. When the confession scene was filmed, actor David Prowse spoke the line given to him, which sounded like "Obi-Wan killed your father", and the text "I am your father" was written over it later.

9. Darth Vader was played by seven actors

Voice actor James Earl Jones gave Darth Vader his famous deep, booming voice, but in the original Star Wars trilogy, Vader was played by David Prowse. The six-foot-tall British champion weightlifter was perfect for the role, but had to be re-voiced due to his thick Bristol accent (which made him furious). The stand-in for the fight stunts was Bob Anderson, as Prowse kept breaking lightsabers.

Vader without a mask in Return of the Jedi was played by Sebastian Shaw, young Anakin in The Phantom Menace by Jake Lloyd, and mature Anakin in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith by Hayden Christensen. Spencer Wilding plays Darth Vader in the new Rogue One movie.

8. He originally had a different name and a different voice.

Since Darth Vader is the central character of Star Wars, it is not surprising that when the script was created, this character was written in first. But at first his name was Anakin Starkiller (this is the name, according to the plot of the video game "The Force Unleashed" of his secret student). The original Star Wars trailer was written by legendary director Orson Welles in 1976. It was Wells' voice that George Lucas wanted to voice Darth Vader, but the producers did not approve of this idea - they thought that the voice would be too recognizable.

7. According to one theory, it was created by Palpatine and Darth Plagueis

Anakin Skywalker's mother, Shmi Skywalker, says in The Phantom Menace that she carried and gave birth to Anakin without a father. Qui-gon is understandably puzzled by this statement, but after testing Anakin's blood for the presence of midi-chlorians, he becomes convinced that it is indeed the result of a virgin birth, solely under the influence of the Force. Then everything else is logical: Vader’s power, the high level of midi-chlorians in the blood and the status of the Chosen One - the one who must bring the Force into balance.

But one fan theory suggests a darker and more realistic possibility of Anakin being born. In Revenge of the Sith, Advisor Palpatine tells Anakin about the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise, who knew how to use midi-chlorians to create life. According to this theory, either Plagueis himself or his student Palpatine could experiment and create Anakin in an attempt to obtain a powerful ruler of the Force.

6. A whole team worked on the costume and sound effects

In Lucas's original design, Darth Vader did not have any helmet - instead, his face was wrapped in a black scarf. The helmet was intended only as part of a military uniform - after all, you need to somehow move from one starship to another. As a result, it was decided that Vader would wear this helmet permanently. The creation of both the helmet and the rest of the equipment of Vader and the Imperial military was inspired by the uniforms of the Nazis and the helmets of Japanese military leaders. Vader's famous heavy breathing was created by sound producer Ben Burtt. He placed a small microphone in the mouthpiece of the scuba regulator and recorded the sound of his breathing.

5. Actor David Prowse and director George Lucas hate each other

The feud between Lucas and Prowse is legendary among the Star Wars crew. Firstly, Prowse thought that his voice was being used for the film and was terribly upset by the voice acting. During the filming of episodes 5 and 6, Prowse was making life miserable for everyone on set by not bothering to say the lines that were written for his role, and instead talking some nonsense. For example, you had to say “Asteroids don’t bother me, I need this ship,” and he calmly said: “Hemorrhoids don’t bother me, I need to take a shit.”

Prowse was also upset that he was replaced as a stunt double for action scenes, despite being physically fit. But he kept breaking lightsabers. Lucas later accused Prowse of revealing secret information that Vader was Luke's father. The actor also really didn’t like the fact that viewers wouldn’t see his face on the screen: Vader without a mask was played by another actor. The strained relationship between Lucas and Prowse came to a head when Prowse starred in the 2010 anti-Lucas film The People vs. George Lucas. This was the end of the director's patience and he removed Prowse from all future Star Wars productions.

4. There was an alternate ending where Luke becomes the new Vader

Return of the Jedi ends with the good guys winning and everyone rejoicing. But Lucas originally envisioned a darker ending to his sci-fi saga. According to this alternate ending, the battle between Skywalker and Vader and the subsequent scene with Vader and the Emperor's death lead to a different outcome. Vader also sacrifices himself to kill the emperor, and Luke helps him remove the helmet - and Vader dies. However, then Luke puts on his father's mask and helmet, says "Now I am Vader" and turns to the dark side of the Force. He defeats the rebels and becomes the new emperor. This is the ending that would have been logical, according to Lucas and his screenwriter Kasdan, but in the end Lucas decided to make a happy ending, because the film was intended for a children's audience.

3. Alternative ending from the comics: again a Jedi and all in white

While we're on the topic of alternative endings, here's another one from the Star Wars comics. According to this version, both Luke and Leia stand before Palpatine, and the Emperor orders Vader to kill Leia. Vader is stopped by Luke, they fight with lightsabers and as a result of the duel, Vader is left without an arm, and Luke reveals to him the truth that he and Leia are his children, after which he boldly announces that he will no longer fight Vader.

This is where the fun begins: Vader falls to his knees and asks for forgiveness, returning to the light side of the Force and becoming Anakin Skywalker. The Emperor manages to escape, the second Death Star is destroyed, but Leia, Luke and Vader manage to leave it together. They later meet aboard the Command Frigate Home One, with Anakin Skywalker still dressed as Darth Vader, but all in white. The Skywalker family of Jedi decide to hunt down and kill the Emperor, which they most likely succeed because they are a gang.

2. This is the most profitable Star Wars character

The creators of Star Wars managed to make great money from their characters by selling related products, toys and the like. The army of fans of this saga is huge. There is a special “Wookiepedia” on the Internet - a Star Wars encyclopedia, with detailed articles about everyone and everything that anyone can edit. But no matter how much other heroes of the saga are loved, Darth Vader is the most popular, iconic character and, of course, it is from this image that one can make the most money. With merchandising revenues totaling over $27 billion in 2015, for example, Darth Vader is worth billions—after all, he's a big piece of that pie.

1. On one of the cathedrals there is a chimera in the form of Darth Vader’s helmet

Believe it or not, one of the towers of the Washington Cathedral is decorated with a gargoyle in the shape of Darth Vader's helmet. The sculpture is located very high and is difficult to see from the ground, but with binoculars you can. In the 1980s, the National Cathedral, together with National Geographic magazine, announced a children's competition for the best decorative chimera sculpture to decorate the northwest tower. A boy named Christopher Rader took third place in this competition with his drawing of Darth Vader. After all, a chimera must be evil. And this sketch was brought to life by sculptor Jay Hall Carpenter and stone carver Patrick Jay Plunkett.

In this article you will learn:

Darth Vader- formerly Anakin Skywalker, the greatest villain, Sith Lord from the Star Wars universe. The hero's story, like many other characters in this universe, consists of Canon (original history) and Legends.

To find out what happened to Vader before he succumbed to the dark side, read the article ““.

Canon

Revenge of the Sith

Anakin Skywalker followed the lead of the Chancellor, who promised to teach him the techniques of the dark side and the power over death, which made it possible to save the hero’s wife from death. Because in a dream, Anakin saw his wife dying.

19 BBY, Skywalker informed the Jedi Council of the Chancellor's identity and, disobeying orders, followed the masters who wanted to arrest Palpatine.

In a mortal battle, Palpatine almost died by hand, but was saved by Skywalker, who disarmed the Jedi. This fatal act, in which Windu died, caused Anakin to experience the greatest feeling of guilt. His spirit was broken and he accepted the dark side without hesitation, becoming the student of Darth Sidious.

Having joined the Order of the Sith, Anakin ceased to exist, becoming the legendary Darth Vader.

"Now stand up...Darth Vader!"

Anakin becomes Darth Sidious' apprentice

An excellent manipulator, Palpatine convinced Vader that the Jedi were traitors and traitors who must be destroyed.

Taking control of the 501st Legion, the hero attacked the Jedi Temple, killing absolutely everyone, including the masters and little younglings.

This attack on the Temple was the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge.

"Do what you must, Darth Vader. No hesitation, no mercy"

Having completed the task, Sidious gave Vader a new assignment - to end the Clone Wars and bring peace to the Galaxy by killing members of the Separatist Council on the planet Mustafar. Arriving on Mustafar, Vader easily made his way into the meeting room, where he killed every single one. The latest to be killed was Nute Gunray (Viceroy of the Trade Federation), an ally of Sidious, who attacked Naboo 13 years ago. After Gunray's death, all droids were disabled.

(The Empire only used clones).

Although Vader still had doubts, he convinced himself that everything he did was for the good of the Republic (naive Anakin).

While returning to his ship, Vader saw the approaching ship of Padmé, who was deeply upset by the massacre at the Temple. He tried to convince her that he was to blame for everything, wanting to turn his wife against her husband. Padmé asked to fly away with her, but Vader insisted otherwise, dreaming of overthrowing Sidious in order to take his place. When Vader saw his former master Kenobi, who was hiding on Amidala's ship, he thought that his wife had betrayed him and used a power grab on her.

Filled with hatred, Vader engaged Kenobi in battle.

Anakin Skywalker played by Hayden Christensen The duel of the great masters was long and ended on the bank of a lava river. Vader was so confident in his abilities that he did not hesitate to attack the Jedi from a bad position. As a result of this, Dart dared both legs and left arm.

Screaming words of hatred towards Kenobi, Vader's body burst into flames.

Obi-Wan left his former student to die.

When Vader asked about Padme, Sidious lied that he killed her in anger, after which the hero used the Force to destroy the droids and damage the premises. Vader's only goal from now on was to serve his master.

Horrible wounds and psychological trauma robbed Vader of much of his power, potential and changed his character completely. In his new heavy armor, Vader was clumsy and his mask limited his vision, forcing him to change his fighting style. The Sith considered himself incomplete, stuck in tight armor that caused attacks of claustrophobia.

Legends

In the service of the Emperor

No longer having a purpose in life other than to serve his master, Vader became the second in command of the Empire. He now has a personal palace on Coruscant. Darth's personal soldiers were stormtroopers of the 501st Legion, who were called "Vader's Fist".

Vader carried out the tasks of Sidious, attracting large forces to the side of the Empire. His main task was Order 66, which was to find and destroy the remnants of the Jedi.

Leaving the past behind forever, the Sith also changed the color of his sword to red.

In one of his first missions, Vader was sent by Sidious to Mercana to deal with clone commandos who refused to kill fellow Jedi. On this mission, the Sith were attacked by Jedi Bol Shetak, who attempted to protect the commandos. In this fight, only thanks to power, Vader managed to win. Vader himself considered this mission a failure, as he missed two more Jedi, Roan Shryne and Ollie Starstone.

The lord's complaints about his own weakness forced Sidious to send him to the Jedi Temple, where Vader was supposed to remember the massacre he had committed there. Instead, the Sith fell into memories and from that time on could no longer be in places that reminded him of the past: Naboo and Tatooine.

Veidr's next victim was Fang Zar, a senator who was taking refuge in Bail Organa's palace. Although Sidious wanted to get Zar alive, Vader accidentally killed him. This was the ruler's second failure, for which he received a reprimand.

Weakness drove Sith crazy. He sought revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was responsible for this. When the Lord learned about the possible location of the Jedi, he went there. On Kessel, where Kenobi was supposed to appear, Vader fell into the trap of eight Jedi. He killed the first two with a sword, the third was strangled with a powerful hand. The pressure of the Jedi left the Sith without an arm and with a damaged leg, but Vader continued to fight until the soldiers of the 501st Legion came to help.

Returning to the Emperor, Vader learned that Sidious had spread rumors about the destruction of 50 Jedi by his student, in place of 8 with the help of clones (so Vader’s greatness is far-fetched).

Attack on Kashyyyk

Vader continued his training, partnering with Imperial Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Along with him, he used the presence of the Jedi on Kashyyyk as a reason to invade the planet. The purpose of this operation was to enslave the Wookiees, which were to be used in the construction of the Death Star.

When the bombardment of Kashyyyk began, Vader landed near the city of Kachiro, where the Jedi were hiding, and, cutting his way through the corpses of the Wookiees, advanced to the enemy positions. Vader defeated five Jedi who came to the aid of the Wookiees, meeting with Master Roan Shryne, who left him on Mercan.

Vader's power and strength increased significantly, so he easily defeated Shryne, revealing to him the secret of his identity. Having defeated the master, Vader felt that he had achieved incredible power and no longer considered armor to be his prison.

After the victory of the Empire, Palpatine released messages to the media about his student, mysterious to many inhabitants of the galaxy, and Vader, feeling the power, began to think about how to overthrow his teacher.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

On Kashyyyk, Vader also fought with the Jedi and found his little son Galen in one of the houses. The Sith was going to kill the boy, but felt great power in him, taking him as his student.

No one knew that Vader had a student. He began to train the boy, instilling in him hatred and anger. Darth wanted to use the student to oppose the Emperor, since Galen had enormous power, greater than himself.

After 10 years of training, in 2 BBY, Vader's apprentice was ready. The Sith christened him(Star Killer) and gave the first task, which was the “meaning of his life” to find the survivors of Order 66, the Jedi. At the student's disposal, Vader gave the Proxy holotroid and the starship "Rogue Shadow" with a charming pilot.

After killing several Jedi, Vader appeared with Starkiller before Palpatine. Unexpectedly, he betrayed the student by “killing” him. As the Sith later explained to the surviving Starkiller, the Emperor found out about the student and the imaginary death saved his life.

To defeat Sidious, Vader sent Starkiller with the task of gathering all members of the Alliance with the goal of destroying the Emperor.

Darth's plan was insidious; he again framed his student, forcing him to gather all the enemies of the Empire in one place. When the meeting took place, all the heads of the Alliance were arrested. In the battle with the student, Vader emerged victorious.

Starkiller survived and soon returned to take revenge on his teacher. Having penetrated the under construction Death Star, he fought with the Sith Lord and defeated him. Sidious invited Galen to take Vader's place, but Marek chose the side of light. To save the members of the Alliance, he sacrificed his own life, becoming the first Hero of the Rebellion.

After this incident, Vader seriously thought about how to overthrow Sidious.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 1 BBY, Vader cloned Galen Marek's body on Kamino.

Many clones went crazy until a perfect clone was created, number 1138. However, this clone fled, tormented by the memories of the original.

To return Starkiller, Vader hired Boba Fett, who stole Juno Eclipse, with whom Marek was in love.

Nothing good came of this, as Starkiller teamed up with the Alliance and struck Kamino, where clones were being created for the Empire. In a fight with a clone apprentice, Vader lost. So, Kamino came under the control of the Alliance, and Darth himself was captured. The Sith Lord was awaiting trial, but Boba Fett saved him.

Vader's apprentice disappeared and all plans to overthrow the Emperor failed.

Canon

Darth Vader vs Starkiller

New Hope

In 0 BBY, Vader returned to his business, wanting to locate the Rebel base and find the stolen plans for the Death Star.

According to the 501st Legion, the plans were on a ship from Alderaan that was flying to the Tantive IV.

The princess's ship was intercepted, but the plans escaped the Sith's hands. The interrogation of the senator from Alderaan also yielded nothing. At that time, Vader had no idea that he was torturing his own daughter.

Having tracked the traces of the droid in which Leia hid the plans, Vader sent a team to Tatooine, where Owen and Bera Lars were executed while trying to find out information about the droid.

Vader continued to torture Leia, trying to find out from her the location of the Rebel base. Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin suggested using another method of torture - genocide. Under the threat of the destruction of Alderaan, Organa gave away the location - Dantooine. However, Tarkin still destroyed the planet.

Soon, the Death Star attracted the Millennium Falcon, which ended up near the destroyed Alderaan. On board the ship were: , and . For the first time in many years, Vader felt the presence of his old master.

The Lord quietly wandered through the corridors of the station until he met Obi-Wan. Their duel was short, as Kenobi simply extinguished his sword, merging with the Force. Despite this, Vader felt that he had avenged his crippled body.

After allowing the Millennium Falcon to leave with Leleya Organa and the plans for the Death Star on board, Vader began to track the ship using the beacon that was installed on it.

The beacon led the Death Star to the planet Yavin, near which a legendary battle took place, which resulted in the destruction of the Empire's greatest weapon by the new Rebel hero, Luke Skywalker (son of Anakin). Vader himself, fighting on a TIE fighter, almost died.

For these actions, Vader received another reprimand from the Emperor.

Soon, Darth learned the name of the pilot who had the highest score in the Battle of Yavin, it turned out to be 19-year-old Skywalker. Vader wanted to capture his son in order to turn him to the dark side.

Luke was captured by the Empire several times, but always managed to escape.

The Empire Strikes Back

In 3 ABY, a Rebel base on Hoth was discovered. During the attack on the planet, most of the rebels managed to escape.

After the battle, which ended in victory for the Empire, Vader received orders from Sidious to capture Luke Skywalker, whom he wanted to make his new apprentice, replacing father with son.

In order to catch the Millennium Falcon, the Lord used all his connections with bounty hunters. He found out where the ship went and set up an ambush in Cloud City, owned by Lando Calrissian, who won it in Sabacc. Han Solo, by agreement with Boba Fett, was frozen in carbonite and handed over to the mercenary. Leia Organa and Chewbacca were supposed to become Vader's prisoners, but Calrissian unexpectedly saved them.

To save his friends, Luke Skywalker also flew to Cloud City and dueled with Vader. During the battle, the young Jedi lost his hand, after which the Sith Lord revealed his essence to him:

Vader: « Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father?»

Luke: « Quite enough! He said you killed him!»

Vader: « No. I am your father!»

Refusing to join his father, Luke jumped into the mine.

Vader found his son's lightsaber, which had once belonged to him, and his severed hand, which he presented to the Emperor as trophies.

Sidious began to notice changes in Vader, who was very concerned about his son, whom he personally wanted to lure to the side of darkness. Therefore, the Emperor decided to kill Luke by sending him to Tatooine to Jabba's palace. However, Mara was unable to get inside.

Return of the Jedi

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker

In 4 ABY, Vader was overseeing the construction of the Death Star 2 when he sensed Luke approaching in a shuttle bound for the moon Endor.

Dart did not touch the shuttle.

On the moon, Luke himself surrendered to the Imperials and was taken to Vader. In an attempt to protect his son from Palpatine, Darth tried to convince him to join him, but Skywalker refused.“I know there is goodness in you. The Emperor was unable to eradicate him entirely.”

Luke Aboard the Death Star, in the presence of Palpatine, the decisive battle between Luke and Vader took place.

Darth tried to persuade his son to the dark side by threatening the safety of Leia, Luke's sister. In anger, Skywalker cut off Vader's hand, which, like his own, turned out to be mechanical, which forced him to rethink the situation and extinguish the sword.

Palpatine wanted Luke to finish off his father, but he refused, which forced Vader to return to his bright beginning. In Darth's dark heart, Anakin Skywalker woke up again, who, seeing Palpatine trying to kill his son with Force lightning, picked him up and threw him into the reactor shaft. Palpatine's power damaged Vader's life support.

He asked Luke to take off his mask to see his son with his own eyes for the last time. Thus died the Chosen One, who brought balance to the Force.