When Darth Vader made his first appearance in 1977’s Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV A New Hope), all people saw was a big evil bad guy in a black suit of armor. However, there was more to his backstory than people realized…
Darth Vader was someone a lot of people dreaded would appear in their nightmares. He was like Michael Meyers from the Halloween franchise but instead of being silent he could use the Force or his lightsaber to kill those who displeased him. When he appeared in 1977’s Star Wars, no one could have predicted his tragic backstory of how he came to be the evil man in the menacing suit of armor.
In 1999, Vader’s backstory started in the first prequel film, The Phantom Menace. It was here we learn how a young Anakin Skywalker (the Sith’s name prior to the suit) became to be a Jedi and under Obi-Wan’s tutelage before his taste for evil set in. However, it wouldn’t be until 2002’s Attack of the Clones that we got our first taste of the beginning of the dark, twisted tale that lead him down the path of evil.
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2005’s Revenge of the Sith saw Anakin go from pending fatherhood to the black suit in which he would spend the rest of life. We also learn of how he was manipulated into betraying those he cared for in exchange for an empty promise.
Since then, numerous comics, animated television shows, films, books, and video games have touched on how far Vader was pushed by Darth Sidious to keep him on the side of darkness. While this might seem awesome, there’s more to how he came to be who he was which proves he wasn’t just some evil dude who wanted revenge.
Let’s dive into how Darth Vader wasn’t the evil guy we all thought he was.
Misfortune
Anakin Skywalker’s life was misfortune after misfortune. From a young age, he was forced to endure the life of a slave, brutality, and violence at the hands of his masters. He and his mother Shmi were owned by Gardulla the Hutt before she lost them to Toydarian junk dealer Watto while betting on the Podraces.
When he was discovered by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Gungan Jar Jar Binks, and disguised Queen Padmé Amidala, there was a slim chance he would be freed. While he was eventually let go, his mother wasn’t so fortunate.
Jinn did everything in his power to free Shmi too, but in the end, it was either her or Anakin. He picked the boy. Shmi told her son before he left that destiny had placed them on different paths and that her place was on Tatooine while his was to be a Jedi.
Her words would remain with him into his adult years and it would light the fuse that would contribute to his downfall upon her death at the hands of the Tusken Raiders. While Anakin did not blame his stepfamily, he saw how kind they’d been to her, some part of him blamed himself for being able to save her like he promised.
He also had the misfortunate of watching his mother die, the woman he loved be thrown from a gunship and he had an arm cut off and replaced with a cybernetic one. These are just a few honourable mentions as there are so many more we’ll discuss a bit later.
Not to mention, Anakin was forced to watch from the sidelines as his beloved student, Ahsoka was expelled from the Jedi Order for a crime she did not commit so she could be tried in a Republic court system. While he was able to prove her innocence, it was all for nothing as she refused to rejoin an institution that saw her as guilty.
Months after Ahsoka’s departure from the Jedi Order, Anakin received news of his wife’s pregnancy. While this was meant to be a joyous time for them, it ended up being a massive misfortune as he started having nightmares of Padmé’s death in childbirth. Little did he realise until it was too late that he contributed – or so he thought – to her demise.
Manipulations
Yes, Anakin’s life was one misfortune after another, but most of these were manipulated. If Vader had looked back at his life and realized that Palpatine was behind almost everything that happened, than he wouldn’t have been so focused on trying to find the pilot who destroyed the Death Star.
Palpatine wanted a servant that wouldn’t question his orders. By corrupting Anakin and creating ‘Darth Vader’, he broke the young man to the point of no return by taking away the people he loved most. Qui-Gon. Shmi. Ahsoka. Obi-Wan. Padmé. By losing everyone closest to him was the best way the Sith Lord could break his would-be apprentice. By achieving this, it would give him unofficial permission to continue breaking him.
Sidious knew how Anakin’s mind operated better than Skywalker probably realized. Furthermore, there’s a theory floating around that Palpatine placed the visions of Padmé’s death in the young Jedi’s mind to get him to fall to the dark side quicker. However, that also brings into question whether he knew about the senator’s pregnancy with Luke and Leia.
It’s likely he did as there’s a now Legends deleted scene from Revenge of the Sith where Padmé meets with him and Anakin happens to be present as his ‘protection’. Also, she was serval months pregnant by the time the scene takes place. However, it’s unknown if they met in Canon during these events.
What isn’t made clear is if Palpatine planted the visions of Shmi’s kidnapping and later death and ordered the Tusken Raiders to do his bidding. It’s likely he had Dooku do this, but we have no proof either way.
Jedi Order as a whole
By the time Anakin showed up at the Jedi Temple at age ten, the organization he had spent so much time idolizing was already on the brink of collapse given its interference with politics when they were supposed to be apolitical. However, this continued to spiral over the next thirteen years and Skywalker couldn’t help but notice its decline.
By the time final year of the war rolled around, Anakin’s frustrations were at breaking point. While he had his reasons for hating what the institution he had dreamed of joining as a child had become, it was Palpatine machinations that pushed him too far.
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When Ahsoka, Anakin’s Padawan was framed for murder by her friend Barriss Offee, he did everything in his power to clear her name. However, he had endure her being expelled by the Jedi Order so that she could tried in the Republic Court System. With nowhere left to turn, he asked Padmé to represent their young friend while he hunted down who was actually responsible.
Evil Palpatine served as the judge during the trial and was ready to deliver the verdict when Anakin rushed in with the actual culprit who didn’t deny her guilt. Anakin’s frustrations with the Order had been brewing for a while, but the way Ahsoka was simply discarded because the ‘evidence’ pointed at her was just one of the few factors that broke his spirit and his faith in them.
Jumping back a couple of years, and Anakin knew marrying Padmé would destroy their careers. But they went and did so anyway, despite it being against the rules of the Jedi. He mentions it several times and it comes up when they reunite after the rescue mission to save the Chancellor from Grievous and Dooku. It’s here that he tells her he no longer cares if the Jedi Order knows of their marriage.
Empty (Evil) Promises
Anakin was fooled into thinking that the Dark Side could help him save Padmé’s life. Only someone as evil as Palpatine would say anything to get the young Jedi on side. He knew how powerful and therefore, vulnerable Skywalker was when it came to those he cared for and he used this information to his advantage.
Despite not being obvious on the outside, it was clear that Palpatine wanted Ahsoka out of the way so Anakin’s bond with her wouldn’t be a distraction. Then there was everything that happened that Padmé. It’s unclear if the evil Chancellor actually planted the visions of the senator’s death in Skywalker’s mind but we know he was capable of anything. Same applies with the hints of Shmi’s death.
When the promises weren’t delivered, it was too late. Anakin had become a shadow of the man he had once been. He saw the Jedi as the evil and the Dark Side as the one thing that would save the galaxy. In the end, he realised that Palpatine had given him nothing but misery and that there was no going back for him. That is, until Luke learned the truth and sought a way to redeem the father he barely knew.
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