The story behind Anakin Skywalker’s disdain for sand

Everybody’s favorite meme has recently had some backstory added to it in the recent Darth Vader comic run by Marvel Comics. If you remember in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones whilst on Naboo, Anakin Skywalker and Padme are mid-conversation when he tells her that he doesn’t care for sand. ” I don’t like sand, it’s coarse, rough, irritating, and gets everywhere.” Yes, it has been long memed into oblivion at this point.

It turns out there is a very good reason for his feelings toward the messy grain-like substance. In the recent comic Darth Vader #26, it is revealed that his hatred doesn’t come from simply growing up on Tatooine. He lived through a rather traumatic moment when he was a child which has haunted him to his days behind the mask.

Writer Greg Pak showed us that Anakin once found himself in a sandstorm near his home. During this story he cannot locate his mother, Shmi Skywalker thinking he has lost her. The two are finally reunited and Anakin promises never to leave her again. Knowing what we do now it isn’t true of course. However, to a young child such as Anakin where all he has is his mother, this is no laughing matter.

While the dialogue may be silly in its own way, what happened to Anakin shows us that he has every reason and right to not like sand. To him, it brings up these awful memories, and in particular, this time when he thought he lost his mother. At that moment Anakin is sharing something deeper with Padme and building their bond together. It also adds depth as to why he fights so hard and is so scared to lose Padme in the subsequent films.

Of course, this could also be why Vader never returns to the planet at any point either.