Darth Vader fights. Who are the Skywalkers? This is the most profitable Star Wars character

Warning: The article contains information that reveals the main storylines.

“Ahsoka... Ahsoka, why did you leave?” Where were you when I needed you?
- I made a choice. I couldn't stay.
- You are selfish.
- No!
- You left me. You failed me! Do you know who I have become?..

His appearance on screen precedes John Williams' The Imperial March. His appearance inspires horror and awe. His name resounds throughout the Galaxy. One of the most famous villains in the entire history of cinema, the central and very controversial character of Star Wars. When you watch the saga in order, the ending of the third episode comes as a bit of a shock. Especially for those who once heard something about Darth Vader somewhere, but did not watch the original trilogy. Rebirth of a Noble Jedi Anakin Skywalker

into the powerful Sith Lord Darth Vader is perhaps the brightest emotional component of the story.

The films don't fully develop either Anakin or Vader. To better understand the complex inner world of the hero, it is worth paying attention to the animated series “Clone Wars” (Anakin), “Clone Wars” (Anakin) and “Rebels” (Vader, appears in the second season). And definitely - to the expanded Universe, consisting of various books and comics.

The inner world of Anakin and Vader
“You don't give up on feelings, Anakin. They are what make you special."

These words from Palpatine, addressed to the young Jedi, perfectly convey the essence of Skywalker. It was feelings that always led Anakin through life. He was a man who could be completely immersed in both love and hate. To curb his emotional impulses, he needed a real, understanding friend. Unfortunately, in the end there was no one near him. Obi-Wan, who seemed to sincerely love Anakin, gradually fenced himself off from him by the rules of the Jedi. There was never any real trust between them. Therefore, the teacher not only missed Anakin’s internal torment, but also failed to understand in time that he needed something more than routine reprimands for his mistakes, and did not discern the moment when the wayward student had to be put in his place as harshly and soberingly as possible in a fatherly manner. Skywalker's slave past left him with a craving for independence. Strength and talent became the causes of excessive conceit and pride. Anakin was too young and inexperienced to handle himself on his own. And with mental losses that followed one after another, fear for the closest people to whom he became attached with all his heart. Close people - it was these attachments that ultimately destroyed Skywalker and saved Vader.

“He was brave. Rarely lost. But people were amazed by his kindness. He valued his friends very much and defended them to the end.”
(Ahsoka about her teacher, Rebels, season 2, episode 18.)

Anakin's mom. As a little boy, he picked up and left a wounded Tusken raider, not even suspecting that in the future his entire tribe would hate him - it was the raiders who kidnapped and killed his mother. Mom died in Anakin’s arms - this pain never left his heart: “Why did she die? Why didn't I save her? I know, I should have!.. I’ll learn to make sure people don’t die!”

Obi-Wan Kenobi. Despite frequent mutual misunderstandings with Obi-Wan, Anakin did not hesitate to rush to his aid in the most risky situations. Even doubting the Jedi, he never left him in trouble. There was a moment in their lives when, for maximum plausibility, Kenobi hid the staging of his death from his best friend, but how much mental anguish this performance cost Anakin! For him they were more than brothers, they were one...

Ahsoka Tano- Anakin's first and only Padawan. They had a wonderful, very warm brother-sister relationship. Ahsoka's character, independent and at the same time not alien to affection, was very reminiscent of Skywalker himself. Subsequently, after being falsely accused of treason, she became disillusioned with the Jedi Order and left it. To again meet face to face with Darth Vader - and in this battle, having recognized each other, they were never able to deliver decisive blows. “I feel close to the desire to get away from the Order,” Anakin said before Ahsoka left the Order. "I know". Only later did she realize with bitterness and a huge sense of guilt how much her departure contributed to Anakin’s transition to the dark side of the Force - she was needed by the one who always believed in her and asked to stay.

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine- the boy’s wise mentor, who in many ways replaced his father. He was always ready to listen, understand, explain. The only person with whom you could talk about the most intimate things, who never brushed aside Anakin. Neither the Jedi Order, nor Obi-Wan, nor even Padmé could give Skywalker the attention he needed like Palpatine. Anakin loved and trusted Palpatine unconditionally - but very soon he stopped having these feelings for Darth Sidious.

Padmé Amidala- the love of Anakin’s life, so strong that for the sake of his beloved he was really ready to do anything. Dreams of her death became an obsession; the horror of the inevitable loss of her dearest person pushed her to search for a way to change the future. She believed in Anakin, but she didn't have enough time to win him back.

Luke Skywalker- a son whose existence Vader learned about only 20 years after his birth, living all these years with the thought that he had killed both his wife and his child. Luke, who believed in his father's bright side, was able to bring Anakin back. In this way, he is fundamentally different from Obi-Wan, who, despite his experiences and regrets, did not fight for his second “I”, but accepted the existence of Darth Vader as a given.

From Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader

“What good is strength if there is no discipline? The boy is no less dangerous to himself than to his enemies.”
(Count Dooku in Matthew Stover's book Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.)

While still a Jedi, who did not even think about switching to the dark side of the Force, Anakin sometimes did things that were unacceptable from the point of view of the Order. Some of them can be understood and even justified (as you know, sometimes all means are good to achieve a goal), but this does not change the essence - each such action brought him dangerously closer to the fatal line. And one of the first such steps was cruel revenge for the death of my mother. From the piercing feeling of losing a loved one, Anakin succumbed to anger and despair unacceptable for a Jedi.

General Skywalker was known for his reckless courage and military talent. But he also differed from others in his methods of interrogating Separatist minions. The result was important to him, and therefore he even used his famous Force strangulation at a distance during interrogations. Skywalker's entourage was aware of the methods that were contrary to the principles of the Jedi, but every time they turned a blind eye to them: apparently, they were happy that there was someone who was not afraid to do all the dirty work. Everything was convenient for everyone until one day it affected them personally.

Another such unworthy act was the beheading of the unarmed Count Dooku. Anakin doubted the correctness of this act, but Palpatine's dark influence was already becoming stronger than Jedi teachings.

In fact, there were more such episodes. If we add to all this the periodic exacerbation of the sense of personal superiority cultivated by Palpatine, the desire to act as independently as possible and the general emotionality of Skywalker, then it becomes clear what an explosive mixture his soul was sometimes.

Was it possible to stop the process of transition to the dark side? Haunted by nightmares about the death of his beloved, the young man came to Yoda for advice. But could advice to simply let go of one's attachments satisfy a tormented soul? Didn't the sage's standard answer sound like an excuse? In fact, everyone turned away from Anakin: distrust, fear of his Force, unwillingness to understand the complex inner world of his ward and in time to help him cope with his passions - this is the reaction of the Jedi Council to Skywalker. And Palpatine was nearby once again. Gave me hope. Freed me from fear. Made me feel power. At what point did Anakin put an end to his doubts? Kneeling before a new teacher? Becoming a cold-blooded killer? Or allowing selfishness, albeit temporarily, to take precedence over love? After all, even taking the path of Darth Vader, Skywalker experienced several moments of bitter regret. And if Kenobi had behaved exactly like an understanding and loyal friend, if he had not interfered in Anakin’s conversation with Padmé, then it is likely that even then it would have been possible to return Anakin to the bright path. The most important external manifestation of belonging to the dark side of the Force is the color of the eyes - in moments of complete immersion in Darkness, it changes to yellow. For Anakin, this happened most clearly only after the fight with Obi-Wan. It was hatred of the former teacher, withering physical and mental pain that became the last decisive link in the chain of internal metamorphoses. “You were my brother!” - Kenobi exclaims, looking at the defeated Vader, but is he sincere in his words? Didn't he himself at that moment become just a machine for executing the orders of the Jedi Council? Could the old Obi-Wan leave his beloved friend, with whom he spent so many years side by side, to whom he owed his life more than once, to die in wild agony in the flames of lava?

“A Jedi must cast away such attachments from his life,” and Kenobi followed this teaching. Did he ever realize that he had actually betrayed him without even trying to save him?..

The video uses the composition “Bad Medicine” by Lars Erik Fjosne.

The Life of Darth Vader

The films show little about the daily life of the dark lord, but fans can learn a lot from the stories of the same expanded Universe.

It becomes clear that Darth Vader never became the most powerful Sith in history - crippled, completely dependent on his suit, he lost a significant part of the Force. The suit, on the one hand, had impressive technical functionality (magnetic feet, explosion resistance, the ability to be used as a spacesuit, etc.), on the other hand, it was so ill-conceived that Vader could only explain its appearance by the emperor’s reluctance to give him complete freedom. Low-quality metal alloys, an extremely vulnerable life support panel, a constant irritating hiss of the breathing apparatus, heaviness and clumsiness, pain when moving... In addition, Vader began to suffer from claustrophobia and therefore developed special pressure chambers, where he took off his helmet and meditated. He dreamed of learning to breathe on his own, of using the Force to restore his lungs destroyed by the heat of the lava, but he could only hold out without the apparatus for a few minutes. By order of the Emperor, Vader lived in a tower on Mustafar - the place where Anakin lost everything. Hatred and heartache were, according to the Emperor's plan, to spur Vader's dark Force. To escape from constant memories, he took various psychotropic drugs, but again and again he returned to the past, which made him regret his choice. After all, there, inside the suit, Anakin was still there - a man of tragic fate. His life is a story about how even a kind and selfless soul can make mistakes. That love can bring not only happiness, but also pain. That you can be lonely and misunderstood in a crowd of people, some of whom call you their friend. That good is not always completely light, and evil is dark. That in every person there are always both sides and the outcome of their struggle depends only on him. A story about how easy it really is to ruin everything.

The video uses the composition “Time” by Hans Zimmer.

Anakin Skywalker

However, Anakin took his first step towards the Dark Side of the Force long before these events - when on Tatooine he exterminated the entire Sand People tribe, avenging his mother Shmi Skywalker. Anakin's next step towards the Dark Side of the Force was the murder of the unarmed Count Dooku on the orders of Chancellor Palpatine. And finally, he took the decisive step when he betrayed Jedi Master Windu and helped Palpatine defeat him.

Suppression of the Rebellion

Darth Vader commanded the Empire's military forces. The rebels sometimes mistook him for the Leader of the Empire, and forgot about the Emperor. He inspired fear throughout the galaxy. Thanks to the brutality of his operations, the rebels had a hard time. In general, he is indirectly guilty of the beginning of the war: while still a Jedi knight, he foresaw the death of his wife and, of course, did not want it. Darth Sidious, aka Palpatine, was then the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and took advantage of this to lure Anakin to the Dark Side. After Anakin became Darth Vader, Order No. 66 came into force, after which most of the Jedi Knights were destroyed, and the Grand Army of the Republic, in accordance with the charter, came under the direct control of the Supreme Chancellor. During the rebellion, Vader played the role of a target for the Rebels to eliminate, as well as a deity for the Empire. He acted without miscalculations or misfires. Vader was a genius of war. Any miscalculation on the part of his subordinates was strictly punished by his favorite measure of torture - strangulation at a distance. Darth Vader and Darth Sidious, unlike other Sith, had full access to the Jedi data archive. At any moment, they could look at the file on any Jedi or event that happened. Because of his punitive functions and unconditional devotion to the Emperor, he commanded respect from his soldiers, and among the rebels he received the nicknames “The Emperor’s Chain Dog” and “His Majesty’s Personal Executioner.”

Darth Vader

In the original Star Wars trilogy, Anakin Skywalker appears under the name Darth Vader. He was played by bodybuilder David Prowse and two stunt doubles (one of them Bob Anderson), and Vader's voice belongs to actor James Earl Jones. Darth Vader is the main antagonist: the cunning and cruel leader of the army of the Galactic Empire, which rules the entire Galaxy. Vader appears as Emperor Palpatine's apprentice. He uses the dark side of the Force to prevent the collapse of the Empire and destroy the Rebel Alliance, which seeks to restore the Galactic Republic. On the other hand, Darth Vader (or the Dark Lord) is one of the greatest figures in the Star Wars universe. As one of the most powerful Sith, he is endeared to many fans of the anthology and is a very charismatic character.

New Hope

Vader is tasked with recovering the stolen Death Star plans and finding the Rebel Alliance's secret base. He captures and tortures Princess Leia Organa and is present when Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin destroys her home planet of Alderaan. Soon after, he fights with lightsabers with his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who arrived on the Death Star to save Leia, and kills him (Obi-Wan becomes a Force spirit). He then meets Luke Skywalker at the Battle of the Death Star, and senses his great ability in the Force; this is confirmed later when the youth destroys the battle station. Vader was about to shoot down Luke with his TIE Fighter (TIE Advanced x1), but an unexpected attack Millennium Falcon, piloted by Han Solo, sends Vader far into space.

The Empire Strikes Back

After the destruction of the rebel base "Echo" on the planet Hoth by the Empire, Darth Vader sends bounty hunters. bounty hunters) in search of the Millennium Falcon. Aboard his Star Destroyer, he executes Admiral Ozzel and Captain Niida for their mistakes. Meanwhile, Boba Fett manages to discover the Falcon and track its progress to the gas giant Bespin. Finding that Luke is not on the Falcon, Vader captures Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and C-3PO to lure Luke into a trap. He makes a deal with Cloud City administrator Lando Calrissian to hand Han over to bounty hunter Boba Fett, and freezes Solo in carbonite. Luke, who at this time is being trained in the use of the Light Side of the Force under the guidance of Yoda on the planet Dagobah, senses the danger threatening his friends. The young man goes to Bespin to fight Vader, but is defeated and loses his right hand. Vader then reveals to him the truth: he is Luke's father, and not Anakin's killer, as Obi Wan Kenobi told young Skywalker, and offers to overthrow Palpatine and rule the Galaxy together. Luke refuses and jumps down. He is sucked into a trash chute and thrown towards Cloud City's antennas, where he is rescued by Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, C-3PO and R2-D2 in the Millennium Falcon. Darth Vader tries to stop the Millennium Falcon, but it goes into hyperspace. After which Vader leaves without saying a word.

Return to the Light Side

The events described in this section take place in the film"Star Wars. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi »

Vader is tasked with overseeing the completion of the second Death Star. He meets with Palpatine aboard the half-completed station to discuss Luke's plan to turn to the Dark Side.

At this time, Luke had practically completed his training in the art of the Jedi and learned from the dying Master Yoda that Vader was indeed his father. He learns about his father's past from the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and also learns that Leia is his sister. During an operation on the forest moon of Endor, he surrenders to Imperial forces and is brought before Vader. Aboard the Death Star, Luke resists the Emperor's call to give vent to his anger and fear for his friends (and thus turn to the dark side of the Force). However, Vader, using the Force, penetrates Luke's mind, learns of Leia's existence and threatens to turn her into a servant of the Dark Side of the Force in his place. Luke gives in to his rage and nearly kills Vader by cutting off his father's right hand. But at that moment the young man sees Vader's cybernetic hand, then looks at his own, realizes that he is dangerously close to his father's fate, and curbs his anger.

Vader's costume design was influenced by the costume worn by Lightning, a villain in the television series Fighting the Devil's Hounds, and Japanese samurai masks, but also featured similarities between Vader's armor and the costume of Marvel Comics supervillain Dr. Death.

Vader's iconic breathing noise was created by Ben Burtt, who breathed through an underwater mask with a small microphone in the regulator. He initially recorded many variations of breath sounds, from rattling and asthmatic to cold and mechanical. The more mechanical version was mostly chosen, and the more rattling version was chosen in Return of the Jedi, after Vader was fatally damaged by Sidious' Force lightning. Vader was originally going to sound like an emergency room, with clicks and beeps as long as he was in frame. However, it turned out that this was too distracting, and all this noise was cut down to just breathing.

One of the canon changes regarding the suit was that by 4 ABY, Vader's left shoulder was completely artificial, and in 3 ABY, after his encounter with Luke on Bespin, he noted that his right shoulder had healed well. Since the bionic shoulder could not heal, Vader's right shoulder must have still been made of his own flesh, although earlier, on Mimban, Vader's right arm was amputated from the shoulder. This information may be somewhat incorrect, as throughout the 2nd and 3rd of his Episodes we see how Anakin Skywalker first lost his right arm below the elbow (in a battle with Count Dooku (replaced with a prosthetic in the same Episode 2)), and then lost his left arm below the elbow, and both legs below the knees (duel with Obi-Wan ), which were also replaced with prosthetics at the end of Revenge of the Sith, during Anakin's final transformation into Darth Vader. However, whether Vader spoke of this healing literally, sarcastically or metaphorically is unknown. Another change was that in Episode III, Vader's completely new suit was made different from the original design, although only slightly to give it a new, newly created look. Several small changes to the length of the neck and shoulder joints gave Vader's movements a more mechanical appearance. Another change in canon is that Vader's chest panel changed slightly from III to IV and from IV to V and VI. The canonical reason for this has not yet been stated. Additionally, this control panel contained ancient Jewish symbols, which some fans believe translate to "His deeds will not be forgiven until he deserves it."

The costume has been referenced several times in the Expanded Universe. For example, in the Star Wars Legacy comics, Cade Skywalker appears wearing a pair of pants very similar to some of Vader's clothing. Also in Star Wars Unification, when Mara tries on wedding dresses, one of them resembles Vader's armor. Leia tells the designer that the reason Mara rejected him is because "The bride doesn't want to dress like the groom's father."

Criticism and reviews

This character is one of the most famous pop idol villains in cinematic history.

...the presence of the disease also explains the popularity of Vader’s character among teenagers. It is noted that young people see Darth Vader as a kindred spirit, since young viewers themselves often suffer from borderline personality disorder.

The full results of this study were published in the scientific journal Psychiatry Research in January 2011.

see also

Notes

1. The website www.StarWars.com states that Anakin's official height is 185 cm. The height of actor Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin, is 187 cm.
2. British Director Ken Annakin Passes Away, theforce.net, April 24, 2009
3. Ken Annakin dies at 94; British director of "Swiss Family Robinson" and others, latimes.com, April 24, 2009
4. Vader in Dutch dictionary
5. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
6. The Chosen One features
7. Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide. ISBN 0-7566-1420-1.
8. Empire of Dreams
9. Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars. ISBN 0-8109-6567-4.
10. The sneak preview BTS look at Episode III included in the OT special addition bonus material
11. Star Wars: The men behind the mask
12. Audio commentary for
13. Audio commentary for
14. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
15. Shadows of the Empire (comic)
16. Star Wars: Power Crystal Shard. ISBN 5-7921-0315-1.
17. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
18. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
19. Comment regarding the inscription on the control panel of the suit.(unavailable link)
20. AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains ", American Film Institute, last accessed April 17, 2008 (English)
21. 100-greatest-movie-characters. empireonline.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
22. French psychiatrists diagnosed a character in the film epic “Star Wars” Radio “Moscow Speaks”
23. Darth Vader was diagnosed with a mental disorder Utro.ua
24. Darth Vader declared mentally ill Movie news
25. French psychiatrists diagnosed Darth Vader Lenta.ru
26. Bui E., Rodgers R., Chabrol H., Birmes P., Schmitt L. Is Anakin Skywalker suffering from borderline personality disorder? (English) // Psychiatry Research. - January 2011. - Vol. 185. - No. 1-2. - P. 299. - ISSN 0165-1781. - DOI:10.1016/j.psychres.2009.03.031
27. SOUL CALIBUR IV
28. Lenta.ru: From life: Darth Vader visited the Odessa City Hall
29. Lenta.ru: From life: Darth Vader addressed the mayor of Odessa

Links

• Anakin Skywalker (English) on the website Internet Movie Database
• Gallery “The Return of Darth Vader” on the website GoodCinema.ru (Russian)
• Family tree of Darth Vader on the MyTree website
• Anakin Skywalker (Russian) on Wookieepedia: Wiki about Star Wars

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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 implement 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.

Some time later, 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, 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 follows the lead of his rage and almost kills his father, but 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 film 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.

After the enchanting release of the first part of the fantastic epic “Star Wars”, the image of Darth Vader became an idol for young people of several generations. In 2017, the producers of Star Wars celebrated their anniversary - it was exactly 40 years since TV viewers became acquainted with the fate of Anakin Skywalker.

Story

Darth Vader, whose real name is Anakin Skywalker, is a character in the Star Wars franchise. Darth appears in the film as the main negative character, through whose fault the conspiracy occurred, and the hero's past in the form of Anakin Skywalker and the history of apostasy play a major role in the prequel narrative.

The character was developed by an American film director and brought to life on screen by several actors. He appears in six Star Wars episodes, including Rogue One. A Star Wars Story and is mentioned in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Vader is a character in the universe of the Star Wars television series, video games, literary works and comic books.

Originally prophesied by a Jedi, Anakin Skywalker embraced the dark side and became a servant of the negative Galactic Empire to bring balance to the Force. Vader became the father of Luke Skywalker and his twin sister Leia, the secret husband of Padmé and the grandfather of Kylo Ren.

George Lucas, Darth Vader's "father"

Darth Vader has become one of the most badass villains in popular culture and is even included in the list of the greatest fictional villains. According to the American Film Institute, Darth Vader took third place in the ranking of the greatest villains in the history of the film industry over the last 100 years out of hundreds of scoundrels and scum, losing the leadership positions to Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. However, other film critics consider Vader to be a tragic hero, as his motives are initially aimed at achieving the greater good, before falling to the dark side.

Image

Darth Vader is initially a 9-year-old boy played by Jake Lloyd. Other actors worked in the remaining parts of the saga.

In Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker is strangled by Kenobi and has no control over his life. When he transforms into Darth Vader, every negative action he takes destroys any hope or connection to his former life, making the path to the light more difficult.

Then Vader is forced to put on a suit designed specifically for him. The main element of the costume is a complex mechanism that ensures breathing - it determines the specific sound when the hero enters and exhales. Vader never appeared on screen without his special mask.

As a result, Vader returns to the side of good and atones for his guilt by sacrificing his life to save his son and destroy the Emperor. The deceased character was buried along with the suit, observing the traditions of the Jedi.

Movies

In the first Star Wars series, the tall, dark Vader was already close to his final image, and the main character Anakin Skywalker resembled the Luke Skywalker who appeared in later series.

Following the success of the first Star Wars, released in 1977, director Lucas Jr. hired science fiction author Lee Douglas Brackett to collaborate on the script for the subsequent installments. At the end of 1977, the script for the next part was ready, strongly reminiscent of the last film, except that Vader is introduced not as Luke’s father, but as a teacher.

In the first draft of the script, written by Brackett, Luke's father appears as a ghost, luring the boy to the side of evil. George Lucas didn't like the script, but Brackett died of cancer before the director discussed the comments with her. Having lost his screenwriter, Lucas had to write the next project himself. In the new script, the director used a new plot twist: Vader declares that he is Luke's father.

The new plot twist about Luke's origin had a major impact on the film. Michael Kaminsky (author of a book devoted to the history of the creation of Star Wars with elements of the biography of George Lucas) claims that such a plot twist was not seriously considered or even contemplated until 1978, and the first part of the film was filmed under an alternative plot, where Darth Vader acted a separate character rather than Luke's father.

While writing drafts of the second and third series, which introduced a different storyline, Lucas reflected a new backstory that he himself came up with: Anakin became Kenobi's apprentice, had a son, Luke, but was seduced by the side of evil. Anakin fought Kenobi at the volcano, receiving serious injuries, but was then revived as Darth Vader. Kenobi hid Luke on the fantasy planet Tatooine when the Galactic Republic became the Empire and Vader hunted and destroyed the Jedi. This change in character became the springboard for the development of another plot, “The Tragedy of Darth Vader,” which lies at the heart of the prequel film.

Deciding to create a prequel, Lucas indicated that the series would be tragic, depicting Anakin's transition to the side of evil. He assumed that the prequels would be the beginning of a single story that began with Anakin's childhood and ended with death. This was the final step towards turning the series into a saga.

In the first prequel, George Lucas introduced Anakin as a nine-year-old child to make the hero's separation from his mother seem poignant and painful. Anakin's movie trailers and movie posters showing him casting Vader's shadow hinted at the character's possible fate to unsuspecting viewers. Ultimately, the film achieved its goal of demonstrating Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader.

Michael Kaminsky, in The Secret History of Star Wars, provides evidence that problems with Anakin's turn to evil prompted Lucas to make major changes to the story, first by revising the original third prequel sequence so that Anakin would destroy Count Dooku, which served as the first step towards the transition to evil. the side of evil.

After completing the main work in 2003, Lucas again made changes to Anakin's character, rewriting his transition to the dark side: Anakin's transition from grace to the Dark Side is now driven by a desire to save his wife Padmé, whereas in the previous version this was one of several reasons, including that Anakin believed the Jedi were planning to take over the Republic. These fundamental adjustments were made by editing basic footage and adding new scenes filmed during the 2004 pickups.

Darth Vader is first introduced in Star Wars as a ruthless cyborg serving the Galactic Empire. He is tasked with Tarkin to restore the classified technical designs of the Death Star, stolen by the rebels. Vader captures and tortures Leia, who hid the plans inside the droid and sent it to find Kenobi. By placing a tracking device aboard the Millennium Falcon, Vader is able to track the Rebel base. During the Jedi attack on the Death Star, Vader attempts to shoot down Luke, but Han Solo intervenes, giving Luke the opportunity to destroy the Death Star.

David Prowse played Darth Vader in the first three installments of the Star Wars saga.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Vader becomes obsessed with finding Luke. In a conversation with the Emperor, Vader convinces him that Luke can be lured to the dark side. Vader lures his son into a trap and wins the duel, tearing off his arm. Vader tells Luke that he is his father and asks for his help in overthrowing the Emperor so they can rule the galaxy together. Horrified, Luke runs away, and Vader telepathically tells his son that it is his destiny to turn to the dark side.

In the next part, Vader and the Emperor oversee the creation of a new Death Star. Vader brings Luke before the Emperor and threatens to lure Leia (Luke's sister) to the side of evil if Luke does not comply. In a fit of anger, Luke defeats Vader and rips off his father's robotic arm. The Emperor orders Luke to kill his father and take his place. Luke refuses, and the Emperor tortures him with the power of lightning. Hearing Luke's pleas for help, Vader kills the Emperor; but he himself is mortally wounded.

After asking Luke to remove his mask, a redeemed Anakin Skywalker tells his son that he is fine before he dies. Luke escapes the Death Star with his father's remains and ceremoniously burns them in a pyre, Anakin's spirit rejoins the spirit of Obi-Wan and Yoda to watch over Luke and his friends as the Rebels celebrate the destruction of the Death Star and the fall of the Empire.

Lucas then directed a prequel trilogy that explores the backstory and character of Darth Vader. Anakin first appears in the Prequel Trilogy in Episode I, which took place 32 years before the original Star Wars. The young slave Anakin lives on the planet Tatooine with his mother Shmi. Anakin was born without a father and has the ability to foresee the future. In addition, the young man is a talented pilot and mechanic who built his own droid C-3PO. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn meets Anakin after an emergency landing on Tatooine.

Qui-Gon senses Anakin's strong connection to the Force and becomes convinced that the boy is the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy, who will bring balance to the Force. Then Anakin is forced to leave Shmi and go to study with the Jedi. During the journey, Anakin falls in love with Padme, the young queen of Naboo. Qui-Gon asks the Jedi Council for permission to train Anakin, but they sense fear in the boy and refuse. Ultimately, Anakin helps prevent the Trade Federation from invading Naboo. After Qui-Gon is killed in battle with the Sith spirit, Obi-Wan promises to train Anakin.

In Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Anakin becomes Obi-Wan's apprentice. Anakin goes on a journey with Padme to Naboo. But feeling the pain of Shmi's mother, Anakin goes to Tatooine to save her, but is too late. Anakin, enraged, kills the Tuskens responsible for his mother's death and returns to Lars's estate to bury Shmi. By the end of the film, Anakin, who lost his arm in the battle with Count Dooku, is equipped with a robotic arm and secretly marries Padme.

In Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Anakin becomes a Jedi Knight and hero of the Clone Wars. He and Obi-Wan led a mission to rescue Palpatine from Separatist commander General Grievous aboard their ship. When the Jedi confronts Dooku, Anakin defeats the Sith Lord and, following Palpatine's persuasion, kills him in cold blood. They rescue Palpatine and return to Coruscant, where Anakin learns that Padmé is pregnant. Anakin has a vision of Padmé dying during childbirth and tries to prevent it.

Palpatine tells Anakin that the dark side has the power to cheat death and eventually reveals that he is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Although Anakin informs Jedi Windu of Palpatine's betrayal, he follows Windu to ensure that Palpatine is alive. When he realizes that Windu wants to kill Palpatine, Anakin intervenes, allowing Palpatine to kill Windu.

Desperate to save Padmé, Anakin turned to the side of evil and became Palpatine's apprentice, Darth Vader. Under Palpatine's orders, Vader is to kill all the Jedi and Separatist leaders who are hiding on the planet Mustafar. Padmé confronts Vader and begs him to return to the side of good, but Vader refuses. When Obi-Wan disembarks from Padmé's ship, Vader accuses his wife of plotting and uses the Force to strangle her into unconsciousness and rage.

After a brutal battle, Obi-Wan defeats Vader, damaging his legs and arm, and leaves his body on the banks of a lava river, where he burns. Palpatine finds Vader and brings him back to Coruscant, where his mutilated body is healed and covered in the black armored suit first seen in the original trilogy. When Vader asks about Padmé's whereabouts, Palpatine explains to him that he killed Padmé in anger; Vader screams in agony, his spirit broken.

• Eric Buie, a psychiatrist at the University Hospital of Toulouse, argued that the American Psychiatric Association's convention describes Anakin's personality as having six diagnostic features of borderline personality disorder, which constitutes grounds for diagnosis. Booi argues that Anakin Skywalker is a useful example for demonstrating borderline personality disorder to students.

• Anakin's origins in The Phantom Menace are compared to African-American identity, and his dissatisfaction with life to Siddhartha before he became Gautama Buddha.
• In 2015, the statue of Vladimir Lenin in Odessa was remade into Darth Vader due to the decommunization law.

Height 202 cm Eyes Gray Weapon Red Lightsaber, Dark Side of the Force Vehicle TIE Fighter, Executioner Affiliation Galactic Empire, Sith Actor Hayden Christensen (II,III), David Prowse (IV-VI), James Earl Jones (voice, III-VI), Sebastian Shaw (VI, Darth Vader face and spirit)

In the original trilogy, Vader is presented as the cunning and cruel leader of the army of the Galactic Empire, which rules the entire Galaxy. Vader appears as Emperor Palpatine's apprentice. He uses the dark side of the Force to destroy the Rebel Alliance, which seeks to restore the Galactic Republic. The prequel trilogy chronicles the heroic rise and tragic fall of Vader's original personality, One of the most famous villains in the entire history of cinema, the central and very controversial character of Star Wars. When you watch the saga in order, the ending of the third episode comes as a bit of a shock. Especially for those who once heard something about Darth Vader somewhere, but did not watch the original trilogy. Rebirth of a Noble Jedi.

The name “Darth Vader” is similar to the name “Dar Veter” from the novel by I.A. Efremov “Andromeda Nebula” (1957).

Appearances

Original trilogy

In the original trilogy Star Wars Darth Vader is the main antagonist: a dark, ruthless figure willing to capture, torture, or kill the film's heroes to prevent the collapse of the Empire. On the other hand, Darth Vader (or, as he is otherwise known, the Dark Lord) is one of the greatest figures in the Star Wars universe. As one of the most powerful Sith, he is endeared to many fans of the anthology and is a very charismatic character.

New Hope

Vader is tasked with recovering the stolen Death Star plans and finding the Rebel Alliance's secret base. He captures and tortures Princess Leia Organa and is present when Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin destroys her home planet of Alderaan. Soon after, he fights with lightsabers with his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who arrived on the Death Star to save Leia, and kills him (Obi-Wan becomes a Force spirit). He then meets Luke Skywalker at the Battle of the Death Star, and senses his great ability in the Force; this is confirmed later when the youth destroys the battle station. Vader was about to shoot down Luke with his TIE Fighter (TIE Advanced x1), but an unexpected attack Millennium Falcon, piloted by Han Solo, sends Vader far into space.

The Empire Strikes Back

After the destruction of the rebel base "Echo" on the planet Hoth by the Empire, Darth Vader sends bounty hunters. bounty hunters) in search of the Millennium Falcon. Aboard his Star Destroyer, he executes Admiral Ozzel (who was a completely incompetent commander) and Captain Niida for the mistakes they made. Meanwhile, the Mandalorian Boba Fett manages to discover the Falcon and track its progress to the gas giant Bespin. Finding that Luke is not on the Falcon, Vader captures Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and C-3PO to lure Luke into a trap. He makes a deal with Cloud City administrator Lando Calrissian to hand Han over to bounty hunter Boba Fett, and freezes Solo in carbonite. Luke, who at this time is being trained in the use of the Light Side of the Force under the guidance of Yoda on the planet Dagobah, senses the danger threatening his friends. The young man goes to Bespin to fight Vader, but is defeated and loses his right hand. Vader then reveals to him the truth: he is Luke's father, and not Anakin's killer, as Obi Wan Kenobi told young Skywalker, and offers to overthrow Palpatine and rule the Galaxy together. Luke refuses and jumps down. He is sucked into a trash chute and thrown towards Cloud City's antennas, where he is rescued by Leia, Chewbacca, Lando, C-3PO and R2-D2 in the Millennium Falcon.

Return of the Jedi

Vader is tasked with overseeing the completion of the second Death Star. He meets with Palpatine aboard the half-completed station to discuss Luke's plan to turn to the Dark Side.

At this time, Luke had practically completed his training in the art of the Jedi and learned from the dying Master Yoda that Vader was indeed his father. He learns about his father's past from the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and also learns that Leia is his sister. During an operation on the forest moon of Endor, he surrenders to Imperial forces and is brought before Vader. Aboard the Death Star, Luke resists the Emperor's call to give vent to his anger and fear for his friends (and thus turn to the dark side of the Force). However, Vader, using the Force, penetrates Luke's mind, learns of Leia's existence and threatens to turn her into a servant of the Dark Side of the Force in his place. Luke gives in to his rage and nearly kills Vader by cutting off his father's right hand. But at that moment the young man sees Vader's cybernetic hand, then looks at his own, realizes that he is dangerously close to his father's fate, and curbs his anger.

Vader's costume design was influenced by the costume worn by Lightning, a villain in the television series Fighting the Devil's Hounds, and Japanese samurai masks, but also featured similarities between Vader's armor and the costume of Marvel Comics supervillain Dr. Death.

Vader's iconic breathing noise was created by Ben Burtt, who breathed through an underwater mask with a small microphone in the regulator. He initially recorded many variations of breath sounds, from rattling and asthmatic to cold and mechanical. The more mechanical version was mostly chosen, and the more rattling version was chosen in Return of the Jedi, after Vader was fatally damaged by Sidious' Force lightning. Originally, Vader was supposed to sound like an emergency room, with clicks and beeps while he was in frame. However, it turned out that this was too distracting, and all this noise was cut down to just breathing.

One of the canon changes regarding the suit was that by 4 ABY, Vader's left shoulder was completely artificial, and in 3 ABY, after his encounter with Luke on Bespin, he noted that his right shoulder had healed well. Since the bionic shoulder could not heal, Vader's right shoulder must have still been made of his own flesh, although earlier, on Mimban, Vader's right arm was amputated from the shoulder. Such information may be somewhat incorrect, as throughout the 2nd and 3rd of his Episodes, we see how Anakin Skywalker first lost his right arm below the elbow (in a fight with Dooku (replaced with a prosthetic in the same Episode 2), and then lost his left arm below the elbow, and both legs below the knees (duel with Obi-Wan), which were also replaced with prosthetics at the end of Revenge of the Sith, during Anakin's final transformation into Darth Vader. However, whether Vader was talking about this healing literally, sarcastically, or metaphorically is unknown. Vader, completely new, was made different from the original design, albeit only slightly, to give him a new, newly created look. A few small changes to the length of the neck and shoulder joints gave Vader's movements a more mechanical appearance. Another change in canon is that Vader's chest panel changed slightly from III to IV and from IV to V and VI. The canonical reason for this has not yet been stated. Additionally, this control panel contained ancient Jewish symbols, which some fans believe translate to "His deeds will not be forgiven until he deserves it."

The costume has been referenced several times in the Expanded Universe. For example, in the Star Wars Legacy comics, Cade Skywalker appears wearing a pair of pants very similar to some of Vader's clothing. Also in Star Wars Unification, when Mara tries on wedding dresses, one of them resembles Vader's armor. Leia tells the designer that the reason Mara rejected him is because "The bride doesn't want to dress like the groom's father."

Secret student

According to the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed project, immediately after the events of Episode 3, Darth Vader took as his apprentice the son of a Jedi, whose potential in power far exceeded his own. Vader wanted, with the help of his student, to overthrow the Emperor and seize power in the Empire, and in order for the student to become stronger, Darth Vader ordered him to destroy the 66 Jedi who remained alive after the order was executed. Later, the secret student, nicknamed Starkiller, realized his mistake and switched to the light side. After this, having received the trust of the rebels, he vowed to lead them in this battle, but they were found by Darth Vader, who captured the rebels, but Starkiller was able to escape. He vowed revenge on his former teacher. Arriving at the Death Star, he fought with the Sith Lord, severely maiming him, but still died at the hands of Emperor Palpatine and thereby saved the rebels.