Forget Han Solo. Luke Skywalker? That guy’s just a punk. The real iconic figure of the first six films in the Star Wars Saga was DARTH VADER. There’s something about that black outfit, that neo-samurai helmet, the way he sensuously caresses someone’s neck from 20 feet away… but who is Darth Vader?
When he first appeared in 1977’s original Star Wars — death’s head visage, black cape flowing, John Williams score thundering — the audience instinctively knew to boo him. Over the next three decades, George Lucas made it his mission to show audiences the tragic humanity under that villainous cloak, telling the backstory of Anakin Skywalker, his fall and eventual redemption in Return of the Jedi.
Now that Abrams Books is coming out with “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Volume Three” on August 16, we’re taking the opportunity to explain in very clear terms who Vader is, how he evolved over the original six Saga films and how he might influence Lucasfilm‘s upcoming movies in the continuing Star Wars Universe. Oh, and we’re doing it with trading cards!
Click here to pre-order your copy of Abrams’ Return of the Jedi trading card book!
Find out who Darth Vader is in the gallery below!
Who is Darth Vader?
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Shmi Skywalker
As played by Swedish actress Pernilla August in the first two prequels, Shmi is Anakin's adoring mother and a slave on the planet Tatooine. When Anakin is first encountered by Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), Shmi explains to him that Anakin did not have a father, raising a question of conception. Years later, her death at the hands of Tusken Raiders is a driving force behind Anakin's eventual descent to the Dark Side.
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Young Anakin the Slave
Like Obi-Wan, audiences were amazed at how strongly the Force was with Anakin (Jake Lloyd) as he won a highly-competitive pod race (and his freedom) before eventually piloting a spaceship in the Battle of Naboo that struck a decisive blow against the evil Trade Federation. With Qui-Gon killed by Darth Maul, Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) had no choice but to train Anakin as a Jedi, despite Master Yoda's ominous foretelling of danger to come.
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The Chosen One?
In the prequels, there is much discussion of Anakin being "The Chosen One," part of a prophecy of one who will bring balance to the Force. It was Qui-Gon's belief that because a vergence in the Force existed around Anakin, he may have been conceived by Midi-chlorians -- microscopic organisms that live symbiotically with the Force -- due to an extremely high number of them in his blood. In Revenge of the Sith it is hinted by Chancellor Palpatine that either he or another acolyte of Sith Lord Darth Plagueis may have created Anakin deliberately using their powers to create life.
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Jedi Anakin
Yoda tells Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) in Revenge of the Sith that the prophecy of the Chosen One may have been misread by the Jedi. As it was, Anakin (Hayden Christensen) grew up to be an extremely skilled and powerful Jedi warrior who nonetheless showed great arrogance and a thirst for power encouraged by his friendship with Palpatine. He also, against the Jedi code, goes on to fall in love with and marry Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), and his forbidden attachment to her leads to some grave decisions.
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Sith Anakin
With his wife Padme pregnant, Anakin begins to have visions of her dying in childbirth and seeks the aid of Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidius for his powers to supposedly stop people from dying. In this drive to control both the galaxy and life and death itself, Anakin winds up alienating Padme and helping Sidius destroy the Jedi Order, including the murder of innocent children. Sidius christens his new apprentice Darth Vader, and as he takes up this mantle, Anakin's eyes start to glow a terrifying yellow hue now that's he's newly infused with the Dark Side.
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Dark Father
The words "darth vader" were taken from German by George Lucas, and literally translate as "dark father." Although Padme is ultimately unable to hold onto life, she uses her last ounces of strength to give birth to she and Anakin's twins: Luke and Leia. Luke is delivered to his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru to live an inconspicuous life as a farmer on Tatooine, while Leia is delivered for safe keeping to Alderaan to be raised as a princess by Senator Organa (Jimmy Smits) and his wife. As they grow older they will both become a thorn in their dark father's side, and Vader will make it his mission to find them and convert both to the Dark Side.
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More Machine Than Man
"He's more machine now than man, twisted and evil." So says Obi-Wan's Force ghost to Luke in Return of the Jedi of his former apprentice Anakin. Even as far back as 1983 there were drafts of the script which told of Obi-Wan throwing Anakin into a volcano, and the fallen Jedi emerging as an augmented cyborg being kept alive in what is essentially a wearable iron lung. The iconic dark suit that Vader wears is more than for show, it's literally his lifeline. It has the added effect of dehumanizing him, further disconnecting him from the valiant warrior he used to be as he does now-Emperor Palpatine's bidding spreading fascism across the galaxy.
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Lord Vader
From the end of Revenge of the Sith to where we pick up in A New Hope, Vader plays a key role in bringing about the Death Star as a destructive weapon of control in the galaxy. When Rebel forces destroy that battle station, Vader moves quickly to chase them out of their hidden base on Hoth. He also does battle with his own son, Luke, and attempts to turn him to the Dark Side, slicing his hand off in the process. When that fails he helps coordinate construction of a new, deadlier Death Star and continues his hunt for Skywalker, the plan being to bring him before the Emperor to become his new apprentice. Throughout all this we see that despite being partly disabled Vader is still quite handy with a lightsaber and loves to choke subordinates with his mind, either as a means to intimidate or to just straight-up kill them.
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Anakin's Redemption
Once Luke surrenders to Vader on the planet Endor, his father brings him before the Emperor onboard the second Death Star. Luke is coaxed into dueling with Vader once again, only this time Luke's strength with the Force enables him to not only conquer his dad in battle but also make him acknowledge the conflict within himself. Vader's humanity returns when he sees the Emperor killing Luke with lightning bolts, and he valiantly kills his master in order to save Luke. Mortally injured, Vader asks Luke to take his mask off so he can look upon his son with his own eyes. Luke finds a flawed man who was finally able to do the right thing in order to save the universe from tyranny. Whether or not this means he was the "Chosen One" or not is up for debate, but as the Saga continues to play out, we know that the Dark Side of the Force still holds sway in the universe.
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Evil Influence?
In a "Hamlet"-esque speech in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Vader's grandson Ben Solo/Kylo Ren seeks out his grandfather's wisdom while worshipping the charred remains of his helmet. "Show me again," Ren pleads. This indicates that Vader has somehow been communicating with Ren from the afterlife, despite Anakin having been properly transmogrified into a Force ghost thirty years prior. That means that the light and dark sides of Anakin could have split off and may now play a part in influencing the bad characters (Kylo) and the good (Rey). Rumors have run rampant that Hayden Christensen will appear as a Force ghost in some capacity for Episode VIII, and with verbal hints of a possible new clone army in Episode VII, maybe they'll go right for the source and clone an army of Anakin Skywalkers. Now THAT would be something to see! It has also been officially confirmed during Star Wars Celebration that Vader will pop up in the A New Hope prequel Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, once again voiced by James Earl Jones. What he will do we cannot say, but it will likely involve lightsabers, force chokes and lifting things with his mind.
