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Anakin Skywalker

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Anakin Skywalker is the central character in the Star Wars universe.[1][2][3][4] The original and prequel trilogies follow Anakin's rise as a vessel of The Force, his fall to the dark side, and his ultimate redemption. In the prequel films, Anakin is a Jedi Padawan, and later a Jedi Knight of legend. As revealed in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, he is the father of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), and the husband of Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman).

In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, after he falls to the dark side, Anakin becomes the Sith Lord Darth Vader. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Anakin (as Vader) is the central villain.

History

Childhood and discovery of Anakin Skywalker

Events described in this section occur in the film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. More information is available in the plot.
File:Anakinyoung.jpg
Anakin Skywalker as a boy on Tatooine.

In the timeline of the Star Wars films, Anakin first appears in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as a selfless nine-year-old boy (played by Jake Lloyd). He is a slave in the service of Watto, a junk dealer. A child prodigy, Anakin excels at engineering; even at his young age, he can build or repair nearly anything, evidenced by the creation of his own protocol droid, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and podracer, each from salvaged parts. He is also a remarkable pilot with quick reflexes.

Anakin is found on the planet Tatooine by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), who is convinced that he is the "Chosen One" foretold by the Jedi prophecy to bring balance to the Force. His mother, Shmi (Pernilla August), 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. Qui-Gon 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 (Natalie Portman), whom Qui-Gon and his padawan apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), 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 his days as a slave and his separation from his mother. Ultimately, Anakin helps to win the final battle against the villainous Trade Federation in the film's climactic scene. A dying Qui-Gon, slain by Darth Maul, urges Obi-Wan to train Anakin, and Council leader Yoda (Frank Oz) reluctantly approves. The Republic's newly-elected Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), befriends the boy, promising to "watch his career with great interest."

Events described in this section occur in the film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. More information is available in the plot.
File:AnakinEp2.jpg
Obi-Wan Kenobi with Anakin Skywalker.

In Attack of the Clones, set 10 years later, Anakin (played by Hayden Christensen), is now Obi-Wan's apprentice. Because his natural abilities place him far above his peers, he has developed into an arrogant loner during his years of Jedi training, and has begun to chafe against Obi-Wan's authority.

He is assigned to guard Padmé, and eventually falls in love with her, even though such emotional attachments are forbidden to the Jedi. In conversation with Padmé, 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 his mother in a camp of Tusken Raiders, but arrives too late; she has been tortured and beaten so badly that she is beyond saving, and she dies in his arms. Seized by a blind rage, he slaughters the entire tribe, even the women and children. He returns with his mother's body, and tearfully confesses to Padmé, who forgives him.

Anakin and Padmé learn that Obi-Wan has been taken hostage by the droid forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a faction of star systems that want to secede from the Republic. They rush to to the planet Geonosis to rescue him — 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, Obi-Wan, and Yoda engage Separatist leader and fallen Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) in a lightsaber battle. Obi-Wan is left out of the battle, and Anakin fights him alone. He is easily defeated by the older, more experienced warrior, who severs his lower right arm. Back on Naboo, Anakin's arm is replaced with a mechanical prosthetic, and he marries Padmé in a secret ceremony with only C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and his counterpart, R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), to witness.

Clone Wars

During the events of Star Wars: Clone Wars, Anakin is made a full-fledged Jedi Knight despite the Council's reservations. During the next three years of fighting in the Clone Wars, Anakin becomes a legend throughout the galaxy, renowned as "The Hero With No Fear." Among his most noted moments are a fierce duel with Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress and the liberation of the Nelvaanians from the Techno Union. During a certain Clone War battle he is left with a scar on his right temple. During the mission rescuing the Nelvaaians, he goes on a spiritual journey which gives him a cryptic glimpse of the (and possibly his own) future. The ordeal costs Anakin his prosthetic arm, though he later creates a modified version with help from R2-D2.

A Hero Falls

Events described in this section occur in the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
File:Vader march.jpg
Darth Vader marches on the Jedi Temple with the 501st Legion.

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin and Obi-Wan return from the Outer Rim to rescue a kidnapped Palpatine during the Battle of Coruscant. They board the Invisible Hand, flagship of the Separatist fleet and its cyborg leader, General Grievous (Matthew Wood). Tracking the captive Chancellor to the observation deck, they duel with Count Dooku. While Obi-Wan is unconscious, Anakin faces the Sith Lord alone. Following a short duel, Anakin overpowers Dooku and neatly sears off both of his hands. Palpatine then commands Anakin to behead the shocked Count. After minimal protest, Anakin gives in to his anger and complies, but instantly regrets it, as killing a defenseless prisoner is not the Jedi way.

After rescuing the Chancellor, Anakin finds that the flagship is in critical condition, and, with some help from Obi-Wan, barely lands its front half safely on an airstrip.

Anakin returns to Coruscant, where Padmé tells him she is pregnant. He is initially overjoyed, but that night has a horrible nightmare of Padmé dying in childbirth. He is immediately afraid this vision will come true, as it is similar to the one he had of his mother just before she died.

Palpatine, who by now has amassed near-dictatorial power in the Senate, makes Anakin his representative on the Jedi Council. The suspicious Council accepts Anakin, but denies him the rank of Jedi Master, and tell him to spy on Palpatine. Angered, Anakin loses all faith in the Council. Ultimately, the Chancellor offers him the chance to learn the dark side, which he claims holds the power to prevent death. Anakin realizes that Palpatine is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, and reports Palpatine's secret to Jedi Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson). He soon follows Windu to the Chancellor's office to make sure Palpatine is taken alive.

Anakin arrives to find Windu holding his lightsaber on a disarmed Palpatine. Windu declares the Dark Lord of the Sith under arrest, but Palpatine defiantly unleashes a torrent of Force lightning at Windu. The Jedi Master deflects the lightning with his lightsaber back at Palpatine, scarring his face. The attack continues unabated, and Windu appears ready to succumb to Papatine's attack when Palpatine seemingly tires, giving Windu a chance to strike a deathblow. Anakin pleads with Windu to spare Palpatine's life, but Windu refuses, insisting that Palpatine is too dangerous to be kept alive. As Windu raises his lightsaber to deliver the final blow, Anakin intervenes, severing Windu's right hand. Palpatine then springs to life, bombarding him with Force lightning and hurling him out the window to his death. Anakin then submits to Palpatine and the dark side, and is dubbed Darth Vader.

Vader's first task as a Sith Lord is to assault the Jedi Temple and to kill everyone inside, including the younglings. Vader 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. Vader accuses Padmé of conspiring against him, and uses the dark side to choke her into unconsciousness. Kenobi and Vader then engage in an intense lightsaber duel throughout the mining complex. After a fierce duel, Kenobi severs Vader's left arm and both of his legs. As Vader comes into contact with the molten metal, he catches fire and suffers near-fatal third-degree burns and smoke inhalation. Obi-Wan leaves him to die, but Palpatine comes to Vader's rescue.

File:Vader complete.jpg
Vader is reborn in the iconic black armor and breath mask.
File:Vadertantive.jpg
Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

Palpatine reconstructs his apprentice's ruined body with the iconic suit of black armor first seen in A New Hope. Once Vader regains consciousness, Palpatine tells him that Padmé had died as a result of Vader's anger. (She had in fact died in childbirth after delivering Luke and Leia.) This half-truth breaks what remains of Anakin's spirit, and he screams in torment. He is last seen overseeing the construction of the first Death Star at Palpatine's side.

Rise of the Dark Lord

Main article: Darth Vader

As chronicled in James Luceno's book Dark Lord: 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 Order 66 (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. The novel also reveals that Vader plans to eventually overthrow Palpatine, and that he had betrayed the Jedi because he resented their supposed failure to recognize his power.

Battling the Rebellion and his son

Events in this section occur in the films A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

In A New Hope, Vader (now animated by the voice of James Earl Jones) is charged with recovering the stolen plans of the Death Star, the Empire's superweapon, and finding the Rebel Alliance's secret base. He captures and tortures Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and, along with Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), destroys her homeworld of Alderaan. Shortly afterward, he duels his former master, Obi-Wan (now played by Alec Guinness), who has arrived at the Death Star because the tractor beam pulled them in, and strikes him down, turning him into a spirit in the Force. He then encounters 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.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Vader kidnaps Leia, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), 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 down a mine shaft. He is sucked into a garbage chute and rescued by Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), and is fitted with a robotic hand to replace the one Vader had severed. Later on, they go off to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt.

Redemption and Death

Events described in this section occur in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. More information is available in the plot summary.

In Return of the Jedi, Vader, now age 46 according to canon, is charged with overseeing the completion of the second Death Star. He meets with Palpatine onboard the half-constructed station to plan Luke's turn to the dark side.

File:Lukenvader.jpg
Darth Vader escorting Luke Skywalker to Palpatine in an attempt to turn him to the dark side.

By this time, Luke has nearly completed his Jedi training, and has learned from a dying Yoda that Vader is indeed his father. He learns about his father's past from Obi-Wan's spirit, and 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 identity as his second child, 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, Vader 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.

File:Vaderdies.jpg
Anakin Skywalker in his last few moments of life

Moments from death, he 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 truly see each other. 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 sees the redeemed spirit of Anakin Skywalker, standing once again with Obi-Wan and Yoda.

Notes and references

  1. ^ Thornton, Mark. "What is the "Dark Side" and Why Do Some People Choose It?", Ludwig von Mises Institute, 05-13-2005. Retrieved 05-05-2007.
  2. ^ Diaz-Granados, Alex. "Character Background: Luke Skywalker: Bespin Duel", Associated Content, 06-19-2006. Retrieved 05-05-2007.
  3. ^ Helinski, Keith. ""Revenge" Is Just Too Sweet", moviefreak.com. Retrieved 05-05-2007.
  4. ^ Winzler, Jonathan W. "The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Star Wars)", Powell's Books, April 2005. Retrieved 05-05-2007.

It was revealed in The History Channel documentary, Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed, that Anikan is based upon Lucifer, the angel that had betrayed god and had become Satan after being thrown into eternal damnation.

Sources

See also

Template:Episode I Template:Episode II Template:Episode III Template:Episode VI

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