Anakin Skywalker

Anakin Skywalker (41 BBY – 4 ABY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of the main protagonists of the Star Wars story. Anakin was a Jedi Padawan trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi and later a Jedi Knight in the prequel trilogy, and served as the primary hero of those films. He is the father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.

Anakin is later known as Darth Vader, a Sith name he earned after he fell to the dark side of the Force in Revenge of the Sith. Lured by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious/Palpatine, Anakin became his apprentice under this new name. In Episodes A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, Anakin (as Vader) is the central and iconic villain.

History

Childhood and discovery Of Anakin Skywalker

Anakin first appears as a kind, selfless nine-year-old boy (played by Jake Lloyd). He and his mother are slaves in the service of Watto, a curmudgeonly Toydarian junk dealer. A child prodigy, Anakin excels at engineering. Even at this young age, he can build or repair nearly anything, evidenced by the creation of his own protocol droid, C-3PO, and podracer, each from salvaged parts. He is also a remarkable pilot with quick reflexes.

Anakin is found on Tatooine by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who is convinced that he is the Chosen One foretold by the Jedi prophecy to bring balance to the Force. His mother, Shmi, says that he has no father, and that she simply became pregnant with him. Qui-Gon discovers that Anakin has the highest known number of midi-chlorians, a measure of Force-aptitude, and theorizes that the boy is a creation of the Force itself. He attributes Anakin's piloting talent to the Force, which he thinks allows Anakin "to see things before they happen." Anakin forms a strong bond with Queen Padmé Amidala, whom Qui-Gon and his padawan apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, are guarding.

After winning Anakin's freedom, Qui-Gon brings the boy to Coruscant and requests that the Jedi Council allow him to train Anakin. This request is denied, as the Council thinks that Anakin's future is clouded by the fear and anger he exhibits from of his days as a slave and his separation from his mother. Ultimately, Anakin helps to win the final battle against the Trade Federation in the Battle of Naboo. A dying Qui-Gon, slain in a fearsome duel with Darth Maul, urges Obi-Wan to train Anakin, and the Council reluctantly approves. Palpatine, newly-elected as the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, befriends the boy, promising to "watch his career with great interest".

Attack of the Clones

Ten years after gaining his freedom, 19 year old Anakin, played by Hayden Christensen, is now a young adult and Obi-Wan's apprentice. Because his natural abilities place him far above his peers, he has developed into a loner during his years of Jedi training. His relationship with his master is complicated; although he says Obi-Wan is like a father to him, he believes his teacher is holding him back and chafes against Kenobi's authority. Frustrated, Anakin turns to another teacher for advice: Palpatine, who feeds the young Padawan's fragile ego with assurances that he will one day be the greatest Jedi in the galaxy.

Anakin is assigned to guard Padmé, who is no longer the queen, but a senator of her home planet, Naboo. His childhood fascination with her has now become a powerful infatuation, and the two ultimately fall in love, despite her many reservations; Jedi are forbidden to form emotional attachments. In conversation, he reveals his affection for her, as well as his distrust of the political process and the need he perceives for there to be one strong leader.

While guarding Padmé, Anakin senses that his mother is in danger. Upon returning to Tatooine, he finds Watto, his old master. Watto leads him to her new husband, Cliegg Lars, an old moisture-farmer. He married and freed Shmi years ago. He meets his stepbrother Owen Lars and a his girlfriend, Beru. Owen Lars tells him his mother was kidnapped one month earlier by local Tusken Raiders. He finds his mother in a camp of Tusken Raiders, but arrives too late and she dies in his arms. Seized by a blind rage, he slaughters the entire tribe, even the women and children. Yoda and the deceased Qui-Gon feel Anakin's Force presence turn "dark" and fear that this marks the beginning of the end for Obi-Wan's young apprentice. Padmé is clearly troubled by what he has done, but, being in love with him, she is not truly repulsed, and instead tries to soothe him with sympathy.

Anakin and Padmé learn that Obi-Wan has been taken hostage by the Geonosian-engineered droid forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a faction of star systems that want to secede from the Republic. They rush to his rescue — where they are also captured. Faced with their impending demise in a gladiatorial arena, they profess their love to one another. Escaping the fray with the help of a cadre of Jedi and the clone army, Anakin engages Separatist leader and fallen Jedi Count Dooku in a lightsaber battle, but is easily defeated by the older, more experienced warrior, who severs his lower right arm. He is fitted with a cybernetic replacement and then marries Padmé in a secret ceremony, with C-3PO and his counterpart, R2-D2, as witnesses.

Fall to the Dark Side

After having gone off to fight in the Clone Wars, Anakin and Obi-Wan return to Coruscant and board the Separatist flagship The Invisible Hand on a mission to rescue Palpatine from Count Dooku. In the ensuing battle, Dooku uses the dark side to choke and then fling Obi-Wan aside, forcing Anakin to face the Sith Lord alone. Following a short duel, Anakin outmaneuvers Dooku and neatly sears off both of the Sith Lord's hands. Palpatine then commands Anakin to behead the shocked Count. Anakin gives in to his anger and complies, but instantly regrets it, as killing a defenseless prisoner is not the Jedi way. Palpatine, however, reassures Anakin that Dooku "was too dangerous to be kept alive". After rescuing the Chancellor, Anakin finds that the flagship is in critical condition, and, with some help from Jedi Master Obi-Wan, barely manages to land it safely on an airstrip.

Back on Coruscant, Padmé tells him she is pregnant. Anakin then has horrible nightmares that Padmé might die in childbirth. He is consumed with emotions of fear and anger. Palpatine, still a close friend and mentor, makes Anakin his representative on the Jedi Council. The suspicious Council accepts Anakin, but denies him the rank of Jedi Master, and orders him to spy on Palpatine. Angered by the perceived snub and instructions to commit treason, Anakin loses all faith in the Council. Ultimately, the Chancellor offers him the chance to learn the dark side of the Force, which he claims holds the power to prevent death. Anakin realizes that Palpatine is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious that the Council had been hunting for since the beginning of the war, and reports Palpatine's secret to Jedi Master Mace Windu. As Windu goes to confront Palpatine, Anakin broods over an inescapable thought: without Palpatine, he will lose the chance to save his wife.

Anakin arrives to find Windu holding his lightsaber on a disarmed and seemingly helpless Palpatine. Windu declares the Dark Lord under arrest, but Palpatine defiantly unleashes a torrent of Force lightning at Windu. The Jedi Master deflects the lightning with his lightsaber, scarring and deforming Palpatine's face into a mask of wizened, wrinkled skin. The attack continues unabated until Palpatine suddenly tires, giving Windu a chance to strike a deathblow. Palpatine cowers, begging Anakin to save him. Anakin pleads with Windu to spare Palpatine's life; Windu refuses, saying that Palpatine is too dangerous to be kept alive. Windu then strikes at the Sith Lord, but Anakin intervenes, cutting off Windu's sword hand. As Windu screams in agony, Palpatine springs to life and hurls another torrent of lightning at the Jedi Master, electrocuting him and throwing him out the window to his death. Anakin then submits to the dark side and is renamed Darth Vader.

Vader's first task as a Sith Lord is to assault the Jedi Temple and to kill everyone inside. He does this without question, slaughtering venerable Jedi and children alike without mercy. Anakin is then sent to Mustafar to assassinate the Separatist leaders. After completing this task, he is met by Padmé, who pleads with him to flee Palpatine's grasp with her. He refuses, saying that the two of them can overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy together. Obi-Wan, who had hidden himself on Padmé's ship, suddenly emerges and confronts Vader. Suspecting betrayal and consumed by the hateful energies of the dark side, Vader uses the Force to choke Padmé, leaving her unconscious on the landing platform. The former partners and friends engage in a ferocious lightsaber duel throughout the mining complex. Eventually, Obi-Wan jumps onto solid ground, gaining the advantage, and pleads with Vader to surrender. Vader ignores him and tries to engage his former Master with a Force jump. Obi-Wan severs Vader's remaining limbs in midair, leaving him to die on the hot sands. As Vader tries to drag himself up the bank and away from the lava river, he suffers nearly fatal burns and extensive lung and throat damage from inhaling the superheated air. Miraculously, Vader manages to crawl up the bank away from the lava river and lingers on until rescued by Palpatine, who sensed Vader's impending defeat.

Once Vader regains consciousness, Palpatine tells him that Padmé is dead, killed by Vader's Force-choke (she had in fact died in childbirth after delivering healthy twins, Luke and Leia.) As Palpatine intended, this revelation breaks what remains of his apprentice's spirit, leaving him nothing but his service to his master and the Empire.

Although Vader remained a formidable warrior, his duel with Obi-Wan on Mustafar cost him a great deal of his power in the Force; Lucas has stated that his injuries rendered him only 80% as powerful as Palpatine. Had he not sustained his near-fatal injuries, he would have surpassed Palpatine multiple times over in power.

As Vader

As chronicled in James Luceno's book The Rise of Darth Vader, Vader sheds his identity as Anakin Skywalker shortly after incurring his injuries on Mustafar; in the months afterward, he systematically pursues and kills the survivors of the Great Jedi Purge (save Obi-Wan and Yoda) and, in the process, fully embraces his new identity as a Sith Lord and disavows any connection to his former Jedi self.

Over the next 20 years, Vader evolves into a dark, terrifying figure within the Empire, a merciless executor of the Emperor's will infamous for using the dark side to choke people who displease him. Many of his own officers fall victim to this power, including Admiral Ozzel and Captain Needa in Empire Strikes Back. He serves as Palpatine's second-in-command, although his official power is limited somewhat by Palpatine's orders to serve under Grand Moff Tarkin. Upon Tarkin's death in the destruction of the first Death Star, he becomes the most powerful figure in the Empire next to the Emperor.

His former self is not completely destroyed, however; His contact with his son, Luke, reawakens something of a conscience within him, which ignites an internal conflict that is not resolved until the conclusion of Return of the Jedi.

Battling the Rebellion and his son

In 0 BBY, Vader is charged with recovering the stolen plans of the Death Star and finding the Rebel Alliance's secret base. He captures and tortures Princess Leia and, along with Tarkin, destroys her homeworld of Alderaan. Shortly afterward, he duels his former master, Obi-Wan, who has arrived at the Death Star to rescue Leia, and cuts him down, turning him into a spirit in the Force. He then encounters his son, Luke, during the Battle of Yavin, and senses in him a great strength in the Force — confirmed moments later when the boy destroys the battle station.

Over the next three years, Vader is obsessed with turning his son to the dark side, a quest Palpatine watches with great interest, as he plans to eventually replace Vader with Luke. Vader kidnaps Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and C-3PO on the planet Bespin to lure Luke into a confrontation. Luke, who has been partially trained by Yoda, duels Vader, but is eventually defeated, losing his right hand to the Sith Lord's lightsaber. Vader then reveals his true identity as Luke's father and offers Luke the chance to overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy as father and son. Luke refuses, throwing himself into a deep shaft (fate intervenes, however, and he is spared.)

Redemption

Six months later, Vader is charged with overseeing the completion of the second Death Star, with Moff Jerjerrod as his immediate subordinate. He meets with Palpatine onboard the half-constructed station to plan Luke's turn to the dark side.

By this time, Luke has nearly completed his Jedi training, and has learned from a dying Yoda and Obi-wan that Vader is indeed his father and from the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, he also learns that Leia is his sister. On a mission to the forest moon of Endor, he surrenders to Imperial troops and is brought to Vader. Aboard the Death Star, Luke resists the Emperor's appeals to his anger and fear for his friends, but snaps when Vader telepathically probes his mind, learns of Leia's existence, and threatens to turn her instead. Enraged, Luke nearly kills Vader, severing his father's right hand. He controls his anger at the last minute, however, as he looks at Vader's cybernetic hand and then at his own; he realizes that he is perilously close to suffering his father's fate.

As the Emperor approaches, encouraging Luke to kill Vader and take his place, Luke throws down his lightsaber, refusing to perform the killing blow. Seeing that the young Jedi is a lost cause, the Emperor attacks Luke with Force lightning. Luke writhes in agony under the Emperor's torture, begging his father for help. Unable to bear the sight of his son in pain, Anakin Skywalker re-emerges and turns on his master and throws him into a deep shaft, where he explodes in a fury of dark energies. However, Vader is mortally wounded in the process by the Emperor's lightning. By destroying both the Emperor and himself, he fulfills the prophecy and brings the Force into balance.

Moments from death, Anakin begs his son to take off his breath-mask so he could look at Luke "with his own eyes." Luke complies and for the first time, father and son look into each other's eyes. Freed from the mask that had caged his head for half his life, Anakin is a sad, withered man in his mid-forties, his skin ghostly pale from not having seen natural light for more than two decades. The ravages of time, injury and the dark side have prematurely aged him, and he appears many decades older than he truly is. Through sunken eyes, he looks up at his son and back at a lifetime of regret. In his dying breaths, Anakin Skywalker is redeemed, finally admitting to Luke that the good within him was not destroyed after all. Luke escapes with his father's body as the Death Star explodes, destroyed by the Rebel Alliance.

That night, Luke burns his father's Sith armor in the manner of a Jedi's funeral. During the victory celebration on the forest moon of Endor, Luke is able to see the redeemed spirit of Anakin Skywalker, standing once again with Obi-Wan and Yoda.

Power and potential

The fact that Anakin was born with the highest known midi-chlorian count in history and considered to be the chosen one leads to various conclusions about his Force potential and power. During his lifetime he did not achieve his full potential due to his tragic hero destiny. Before the fall to the Dark Side, although extremely young, Anakin was one of the most powerful living jedi, second to only Yoda. Had he not suffered the Mustafar injuries he would have become the most powerful person to ever live, more powerful than any other great Force-user such as Palpatine, Yoda and his son Luke Skywalker. However, after his death he became one with the Force therefore achieving his full potential. Obi-Wan Kenobi said to Darth Vader just before his death: "If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine." If that is, in fact, true, the conclusion would be that when one unites with the Force he/she reaches the peak of his/her power.

Anakin Skywalker's spectre would continue to appear throughout the years. Shortly after the Battle of Endor, Anakin appeared before his daughter, Leia Organa, in Salis D'aar, the capital of Bakura.

Five years after the Battle of Yavin, when Qu Rahn was killed by Jerec, Rahn beheld the Force spirits of Anakin Skywalker and Halaged Ventor in his final moments.

In 30 ABY, during the Yuuzhan Vong War, Anakin Skywalker would speak to his grandson, Jacen Solo, telling him to "Stand firm!" before Jacen eventually defeated Onimi, the true ruler of the Yuuzhan Vong.

Notes and references

External links

Anakin Skywalker at the Star Wars Databank

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Anakin Skywalker