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Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is the pivotal character to the original Star Wars trilogy and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. In the original trilogy, he was portrayed by David Prowse and a series of stunt doubles, while his voice was supplied by James Earl Jones. Vader is one of the most iconic villains in movie history and was ranked third on American Film Institute's top 50 villains of all time list.

In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Vader is depicted as the epitome of evil. He is the cunning, brutal enforcer of the Galactic Empire's rule across the galaxy. A Dark Lord of the Sith, Vader serves as Emperor Palpatine's right hand, using the dark side of the Force to mercilessly pursue the Jedi and the Rebel Alliance to the ends of the galaxy. The prequel trilogy recounts the heroic rise of Anakin Skywalker; in the last of these films, Revenge of the Sith, he falls to the Dark Side, is horrifically scarred on Mustafar and subsequently turned into the cyborg Lord Vader. Anakin was portrayed by Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen in the prequel trilogy, while Sebastian Shaw played the role in Return of the Jedi.

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In the Star Wars movies and Clone Wars series

History

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Prequel trilogy

In the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Anakin Skywalker is the primary protagonist, believed to be the Chosen One of ancient Jedi prophecy, the being to bring balance to the Force and destroy the Sith. Rising to be a legendary warrior of the Clone Wars, Skywalker is a tragic hero seduced to the dark side by his hubris and fear of loss, as well as by Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious.

Childhood and Discovery of Anakin Skywalker

Anakin first appears in The Phantom Menace as a selfless nine-year-old boy (played by Jake Lloyd). He and his mother are slaves in the service of Watto, a curmudgeonly 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 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 Trade Federation in the Battle of Naboo. A dying Qui-Gon, slain in a fearsome duel with Darth Maul (Ray Park), 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."

Prelude to War

In Attack of the Clones, set 10 years later, Anakin (now 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. 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 his 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 pushes the boundaries of the Jedi Code with his attraction to Padmé, as Jedi are forbidden to form emotional attachments. 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 what he has done. She is clearly troubled by his actions, 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, Obi-Wan, and Yoda (Frank Oz) engage Separatist leader and fallen Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) in a lightsaber battle. Obi-Wan quickly 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 Coruscant, his arm is replaced with a mechanical prosthetic, and he marries Padmé in a secret ceremony with only C-3PO and his counterpart, R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), there to witness.

Clone Wars

During the events of Star Wars: Clone Wars, Anakin is made a full-fledged Jedi Knight despite the Jedi 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 battle with Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, which left him with a scar on his right temple, and the liberation of the Nelvaanians from the Techno Union. During that time, he goes on a spiritual journey which gives him a cryptic glimpse of his future. The ordeal cost Anakin his prosthetic arm, though he later creates a modified version with help from R2-D2.

A Hero Falls

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin and Obi-Wan return from the Outer Rim Sieges 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 Hand's 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. 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 Obi-Wan, barely manages to land 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 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 (Samuel L. Jackson). 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 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 back at Palpatine, scarring his face. The attack continues unabated until Palpatine suddenly 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. As Windu screams in agony, Palpatine springs to life, bombarding him with Force lightning and hurling him out the window to his death. Anakin then submits to the dark side, and is dubbed Darth Vader.

Vader's first task as a Sith Lord is to assault the Jedi Temple with the 501st Legion and to kill everyone inside, including the younglings, which he does without hesitation. Vader is then sent to Mustafar to assassinate Nute Gunray (Silas Carson) and the other the Separatist leaders. After completing this task, he is met by Padmé, having arrived at the planet unannounced, pleading 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. The former friends then engage in a lightsaber duel throughout the mining complex.

Near the end of the duel, Obi-Wan tries to reason with his former Padawan, but it is no use; Vader renounces the Jedi, and reveals himself to be mad with power beyond the point of redemption. At the climax of the duel, Vader leaps from the hovering stand above the lava river to deliver the killing blow, but Obi-Wan has the higher ground, cutting his remaining limbs off and leaving him to die. Vader catches on fire and is subsequently burned almost to immolation, sustaining near-fatal burns and lung damage. He crawls up the bank away from the lava river and lingers on through sheer force of will, until he is rescued by Palpatine, who sensed his apprentice's impending defeat during his own duel with Jedi Master Yoda.

Palpatine reconstructs his apprentice's ruined body with extensive prosthetics, and then suits him in the iconic suit of black armor first seen in A New Hope, which includes an artificial respirator and a hideous breathing mask with a voice modulator that alters his weakened voice into an intimidating mechanical baritone. 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.) As Palpatine intended, this half-truth breaks what remains of his apprentice's spirit, leaving him nothing but his service to his master and the newly declared Galactic Empire.

Although Vader remains a formidable warrior, his duel with Obi-Wan on Mustafar costs him much of his Force potential. Lucas has stated that his injuries rendered him 80% as powerful as Palpatine. Had he not sustained his near-fatal injuries, he would have been twice as powerful as Palpatine.

Original trilogy

In the original Star Wars trilogy, Darth Vader is the primary antagonist: a dark, ruthless figure, out to capture, torture, or kill the protagonists to prevent them from thwarting the Empire.

Rise of the Dark Lord

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.

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 (Michael Sheard) and Captain Needa (Michael Culver) in The 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 (Peter Cushing). 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 A New Hope, 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 (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 the deep Bespin mine shaft. He is sucked into a garbage chute and rescued by Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO and Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), and is even given a robotic hand to replace the one Vader had severed off. Later on, they go off to rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt.

Redemption and Death

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A year later, Vader is charged with overseeing the completion of the second Death Star, with Moff Jerjerrod (Michael Pennington) 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 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 existence, and threatens to turn her instead. Enraged, Luke nearly kills Vader, severing his father's right hand (making this the third and final time he loses his 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 he 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.

Moments from death, he begs his son to take off his breath-mask so he could look at Luke "with my own eyes." Luke complies and for the first time, father and son truly see each other. Freed from the mask that had caged his head for half his life, Anakin Skywalker is a sad, withered man in his mid-40s, 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 sees the redeemed spirit of Anakin Skywalker, standing once again with Obi-Wan and Yoda.

Expanded Universe

The Cartoon Network micro series Star Wars: Clone Wars chronicles Anakin's adventures and trials in the many battles of the Clone Wars. The series, which covers the period between just after Episode II and just before Episode III, sees Anakin become a Jedi and galaxy-renowned war hero, and foreshadows the temptations to power and fear of loss that would transform him into Darth Vader.

In the young adult series The Last of The Jedi, Boba Fett, at the age of 14, is hired by Imperial leader Inquisitor Malorum to investigate Padmé Amidala's death at Vader's request. Vader is expected to at least make cameo appearances in the upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series, which is slated for either a 2007 or 2008 release and will run 100 episodes.

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 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. The novel also reveals that Vader plans to eventually overthrow Palpatine and rule the Empire himself, and that his primary motivation for betraying the Jedi was that he resented their supposed failure to recognize his power.

In the comic book Vader's Quest, he hires bounty hunters to bring him information about the pilot who brought about the destruction of the Death Star, ultimately meeting his son Luke for the very first time. Later on, in the Alan Dean Foster novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye (which takes place shortly after the events in A New Hope), Vader meets Luke for the second time and combats him in a lightsaber duel on the planet Mimban. On Mimban, Luke nearly defeats Vader in a duel, and Vader suffers massive injuries when he falls into a pit.

In The Star Wars Holiday Special, Vader searches for the Rebels responsible for the destruction of the Death Star, almost thwarting Han and Chewbacca's goal of reaching Kashyyyk in order for Chewie to reach his family for Life Day.

Vader also has a prominent role in the 1996 novel/comic/video game Shadows of the Empire, which takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. In the story, Prince Xizor, leader of the crime organization Black Sun, plots to overthrow Vader and take his place as the Emperor's second in command. The story also gives more insight into Vader's thoughts and ambitions as it reveals that he knows there is some good left in him and that he wishes to heal his body through the Force in an attempt to return his physical appearance to that of his former self. At one point in the novel, Vader is in his chamber with his suit completely removed as he attempts to heal his body.

Vader also makes occasional appearances in Dark Horse's Star Wars comic books set between the movies, especially Star Wars: Empire.

In the Thrawn trilogy, it is explained that Darth Vader was the first representative of the Empire to find the Noghri, a race with exceptional combat skills, whom he manipulated into serving as his personal commandos and revering him as their master. Later, Vader transferred their services to Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Leia Organa Solo, who was initially horrified to learn that Vader was her father, eventually forgave him after learning her family's full history, as chronicled in the book Tatooine Ghost. She named her youngest son Anakin in remembrance of her father's redemption.

In the novel The Unifying Force of the New Jedi Order series, set 30 years after the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope, Anakin's voice would speak to his grandson, Jacen Solo, telling him to "Stand firm" in his battle with the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong.

Armor and cybernetic enhancements

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Even before his transformation into Vader, Anakin was a cyborg: he had a prosthetic hand installed after his natural right forearm was severed while dueling with Count Dooku on Geonosis in Attack of the Clones. Before the release of Attack of the Clones, the 1994 Expanded Universe novel The Last Command by Timothy Zahn claimed that Vader's hand had been amputated by Palpatine as punishment for the destruction of the first Death Star. However, in Splinter of the Mind's Eye, it is declared that Luke Skywalker severed Vader's sword arm. Until Attack of the Clones, this was the canonical version of why Vader had a prosthetic arm during Return of the Jedi. As a result of his later disfigurement on Mustafar, Vader was substantially augmented with cybernetic implants: he is depicted as wearing his armor at all times when he is not meditating in his pressurized containment-chamber. A towering figure, the suited Darth Vader is nearly 6 feet 7 inches (2.03 meters) tall. This transformation is apparently essential to Obi-Wan's judgment, cemented after the fight on Mustafar and expressed to Luke in Return of the Jedi, that Vader is "more machine now than man, twisted and evil."

According to Star Wars Technical Commentaries, Vader's armor is built around a plastoid girdle that protects his organic and synthetic internal organs. More visible durasteel plates cover his shoulders, upper body and shins. He wears a suit of quilted, flexible, blast-dampening, multi-ply padding, and a cape of armour weave. His gloves and hands are made with a unique micronized iron that can deflect anything short of a lightsaber blow. His famous mask and helmet, resembling the head of an ancient Sith droid, contain various vision- and auditory-enhancing equipment, as well as the respirator that causes the Dark Lord's ominous breathing sound.

Vader's life support system includes a chest-worn, computerized control panel unit that regulates his respiratory functions. Three slot-like dataports offered diagnostic checks of his pulmonary, respiratory and neural systems. On his belt, Vader wears two small system function boxes. The one on his right featured a temperature regulation system. On his left, he wears a respiratory sensor matrix. The center buckle features an audio enhancement unit built into the electromagnetic clasp. The armor also enables him to breathe in vacuum while protecting him from the coldness of space. The reason for his cloak is to protect a small oxygen pack he wears on his back.

At first, Vader found his new cybernetics and armor to be bulky and unresponsive, especially in comparison to the Force-enhanced athletic ability he enjoyed as Anakin Skywalker. In Revenge of the Sith, his first steps as Vader are awkward and uncoordinated; in the novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, Vader struggles to adapt his combat skills to the new limitations imposed by his prosthetics. In the course of Dark Lord, Vader is depicted considering various improvements to his support systems to improve their mobility and responsiveness, drawing on the engineering and electronic skills that he has possessed since childhood.

Behind the scenes

Portrayals

During filming of A New Hope, David Prowse played the role of Darth Vader. To his dismay, after filming, James Earl Jones was hired to read Vader's lines over Prowse's performance; although famed voice-over artist Orson Welles was originally considered for the role until George Lucas decided he was too recognizable. He was instead chosen to voice-over the teaser trailer for Star Wars. Prowse was originally given the choice between the roles of Chewbacca and Darth Vader. He chose Darth Vader because he said "people would remember him." Prowse wore the Vader suit and Jones provided Vader's voice for all of the films in the original trilogy. Jones has since been closely identified with the role.

The character of Darth Vader was also played by several stunt doubles, most notably fencing instructor Bob Anderson. Anderson handled all of Vader's fight sequences in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Mark Hamill (who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy) noted in a 1983 interview in Starlog #72: "Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader’s fighting. It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George I didn’t think it was fair any more. Bob worked so hard that he deserves some recognition. It’s ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man."

In 1978, Jones returned as the voice of Darth Vader (footage of Prowse in the suit is actually unused footage from A New Hope) in The Star Wars Holiday Special, as well as to shoot new footage that was released with the Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game, when it was released in 1996.

Actor and former Industrial Light & Magic visual effects artist C. Andrew Nelson has also portrayed Vader at a number of events for Lucasfilm, as well as the video games Rebel Assault II and Dark Forces, and in new footage filmed for the Special Edition releases of the original three Star Wars films in 1997. Over the years Nelson has also appeared as Vader on various television shows and in numerous commercials.

For Revenge of the Sith, Hayden Christensen (who had played Anakin Skywalker since Attack of the Clones) wore the Vader suit, instead of Prowse. However, as he is shorter than Prowse, certain perspective trickery was used to make him seem as physically large as Prowse: a slightly scaled-down costume was created for him; the costume had extensions built into the boots and helmet; and some of the shots of Vader standing next to Palpatine were filmed using forced perspective. While the body actor had changed, James Earl Jones still served as the voice of Vader.

Character creation and concepts

The character of Darth Vader was not originally planned to be a suited cyborg. The current image of Vader was created when concept artist Ralph McQuarrie drew the opening scene where the Rebel ship Tantive IV was being boarded. It was initially imagined that Darth Vader would fly through space to enter the ship, necessitating a suit and breathing mask. This was later made permanent and incorporated in the story.

Vader's headgear resembles a Japanese kabuto, which is consistent with the samurai-like order of the Jedi and kendo-like lightsaber duels. It also resembles a Nazi helmet. An American Football helmet made by Riddell, with a distinctive middle seam (approx. 3cm wide and elevated by approx 3 millimeters) that connected the two shell halves and accommodated air valves, was most likely used as the basis for Vader's helmet

The iconic breathing sound of his respirator was created by sound designer Ben Burtt, who created the sound by simply recording himself breathing into an old Dacor scuba regulator. Vader's musical leitmotif is The Imperial March.

In a 2005 interview, George Lucas was asked the origins of the name "Darth Vader", and replied: "Darth is a variation of dark. And Vader is a variation of father. So it's basically Dark Father." (Rolling Stone, June 2, 2005). "Vader" is the Dutch word for "father" (the Dutch word is instead pronounced "fah-der"), and the German word for "father" (Vater) is similar. However, in the earliest scripts for Star Wars, the name "Darth Vader" was given to a human Imperial general.

Vader's revelation to Luke that he is his father is one of the most famous movie plot twists of all time. An IMDb poll on 10 November 2003 asked users to choose which one of a set of movie spoilers was too infamous to be considered a spoiler anymore; Vader's true identity was a clear winner, by a 40% margin.

In France, Vader is known as Dark Vador (and, therefore, Dark replaces Darth for the French names of all other Sith Lords). One explanation could be that the French use le water-closet as slang for "toilet", and aller aux waters for "going to the toilet". Since the French pronunciation of "water" sounds somewhat similar to "Vader", the name was changed to avoid puns. However, Quebec French does not use the aforementioned slang terms, and so Vader keeps his original name in French Canada.

Adherence to the Hero Cycle

The Hero Cycle, discovered by Lord FitzRoy Raglan, is the literary code, the "pattern," that many of the greatest mythological heroes followed throughout their lives. He compiled a list of 20 steps that was common among great heroes, a finding that he published in 1936 in his book The Hero: A Study In Tradition, Myth, And Drama. Following Lucas's references from mythology for his saga, both Anakin and his son, Luke, closely follow this process, though the latter does more so. Because of Anakin's turn to the dark side, his adherence to the Cycle is somewhat twisted since he is not a "true" hero, whereas Luke follows the steps nearly scene for scene. Incidentally, Revenge of the Sith is the only movie that has a complete Hero Cycle within it, though not strictly related to Anakin.

The following are the steps of the Hero Cycle and Anakin's adherence thereof:

1. Unusual conception and/or virgin birth; twins—Palpatine's or Plagueis's possible manipulation of midi-chlorians; Anakin's virgin birth.

2.1. Assassination attempt by family member—The assassination of Count Dooku; Luke Skywalker duels Vader on Bespin and aboard the second Death Star.

2.2. Hero wounded—Anakin receives scars delivered by Asajj Ventress.

2.3. But escapes—Escape via the crash landing of Invisible Hand.

3. Summons to adventure—Qui-Gon's asking for aid; Anakin's pleasure in combat.

4. Acquisition of helper—Qui-Gon; Obi-Wan; Padmé; R2-D2; Palpatine.

5.1. Brother battle—The Duel on Mustafar with Obi-Wan.

5.2. Dragon battle—Anakin's battle with the "fear dragon" (see Revenge of the Sith novelization).

5.3. Crucifixion—Anakin's and Obi-Wan's lightsabers perfectly crossed above Anakin's chest during their duel on Mustafar.

6.1. Imprisonment in whale's belly—Capture in the "belly" of Invisible Hand and in the "belly" of the Geonosian arena.

6.2. Night sea journey—Anakin's nightmares.

6.3. Petrification—Anakin immolated on Mustafar; electrocuted by Palpatine aboard the second Death Star.

6.4. Dismemberment—Lost arm on Geonosis; loss of arm and legs on Mustafar; loss of hand aboard the second Death Star.

6.5. Hell's gate—Mustafar.

7.1. Labyrinth—The Boonta Eve Classic race course; the Geonosian droid factory; the Techno Union bunker on Mustafar.

7.2. Scylla vs. Charybdis—Decision whether to kill Mace Windu or Palpatine.

8. Passage of riddles, tests; ordeals—Racing the Boonta Eve Classic; the Geonosian arena; Anakin's seduction.

9. Adherence to narrow path—Admission into the Jedi Order; keeping the secret of his marriage to Padmé; following the teachings of the dark side.

10. Illumination—The revelation of Darth Sidious's identity.

11.1. Sacred marriage—Marriage to Padmé and their secrecy thereof.

11.2. Theft of magic elixir—Search for eternal life for Padmé; Anakin kept alive via life support.

11.3. Father atonement—Becoming Darth Sidious's apprentice; saving Luke's life aboard the second Death Star.

12. Summons to return—Returning to Tatooine to find his mother; Luke pleading Vader to return to the light.

13. Magic flight—Racing the Boonta Eve Classic; chasing Zam Wesell via airspeeder; managing to land Invisible Hand.

14. Departure of helper—Qui-Gon; Shmi; Mace; Obi-Wan; Padmé.

15.1. Rout of pretenders—Dooku's assassination on Invisible Hand; murder of the Separatist leaders on Mustafar; death of Palpatine in the reactor shaft of the second Death Star.

15.2. Resurrection—Surviving the injuries of Mustafar; return of Anakin aboard the second Death Star.

15.3. Fame—Winning the Boonta Eve Classic; becoming known as the "Hero with no Fear."

16. Rescue—Found and restored by Palpatine on Mustafar; Luke rescuing Anakin's soul; rescuing Luke from Palpatine's Force lightning.

17.1. Founding of a city—Founding the New Order; Bast Castle.

17.2. Law giving—Reinforcing the law during Order 66; Military Executor.

18. Fall from grace—Anakin's fall to the dark side.

19. Exile—Prevented from becoming a Master; leaving the Jedi way.

20. Extraordinary hilltop death—Near-death on Mustafar; death aboard the second Death Star.

Cultural figure

Due to his central role, Vader has entered the public consciousness as the quintessential villain. His powerful baritone voice, coupled with his heavy breathing, is easily recognizable, and the American Film Institute's list of the greatest movie villains placed him third, after Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. He has been parodied by such figures as "Dark Helmet" from Spaceballs, "Duck Vader" from Tiny Toon Adventures, "Dearth Nadir" as played by Gonzo on The Muppet Show's "Pigs in Space" sketch, "Girth Plotz" from an episode of Animaniacs that parodied the first trilogy, "Darth Koopa" from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, "Dark Laser" from The Fairly OddParents, an episode of Codename: Kids Next Door where President Jimmy dressed in black and, now devoted to evil, takes over the school and country singer Darth Brooks in Late Night With Conan O'Brien. Also, Chef from South Park became Darth Chef in The Return of Chef. Another kind of tribute to Darth Vader comes from Stargate SG-1, in which there are similarities between Anubis and Vader, played for both dramatic and comic effect (complete with Death Star-esque spaceship and superweapon), and his name is mentioned when the issue of Vala's immaculate birth is brought up. Marty McFly in Back to the Future (dressed up in a radiation suit) pretended to be "Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan" in an effort to get his science fiction-loving dad to date his mom.

When The Phantom Menace DVD was released, "Thumb Wars" was also released. It’s a parody of A New Hope, only that all the characters in the film are human thumbs with digitally added faces. In this film Darth Vader is represented as Black Helmet Man.

In 2006, Blame Society Productions created a series of short videos that became popular on the Internet featuring Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager. Chad Vader is ostensibly the younger brother of Darth Vader, who wears the same armor and cape, and uses phrases and concepts associated with Darth Vader in the context of a modern-day grocery store.

The name Darth Vader as a cultural metaphor

Vader's name has become a synonym for evil. Lucas has pointed to Vader's iconic status as a reason he made the prequel movies, since he felt the icon overshadowed the fact that Vader was intended to be a tragic character.

• On June 22, 2006 U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney called himself the Darth Vader of the Bush administration. Discussing the need to vigorously persue intelligence, Cheney said to CNN's John King, "It means we need to be able to go after and capture or kill those people who are trying to kill Americans. That's not a pleasant business. It's a very serious business. And I suppose, sometimes, people look at my demeanor and say, well, he's the Darth Vader of the administration."

• In 2005, former Cornell University entomologists Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller named 65 new species of slime-mold beetle of the genus Agathidium, with one named after Darth Vader.

• During a major renovation, Washington National Cathedral held a competition for children to design new gargoyles for the west towers. One winner was a design featuring Darth Vader.
• Two significant office buildings in Brisbane, California are highly visible landmarks by the San Francisco Bay. The ominous looking one made of all dark reflective glass has been dubbed the Darth Vader building. The other is the architecturally acclaimed Dakin Building, a brilliant white futuristic antithesis, and is known in the San Francisco Bay area as the Luke Skywalker building.

• Then-Vice President Al Gore referred to TCI's John Malone as "Darth Vader of cable."

• In 1990 Roger Taylor's band The Cross released the album Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, featuring the song "Penetration Guru", which has the line "Contact me, I'm no Darth Vader" in the verse before each chorus.

• Political strategist Lee Atwater was known by his political enemies as "the Darth Vader of the Republican Party".

• In the Stargate SG-1 episode entitled "Crusade" (Season 9, episode 19), Vala Mal Doran describes how she was impregnated immaculately by the Ori and asks if SG-1 has ever encountered such an occurrence. After an awkward pause, Mitchell begins to say something (seemingly to tell her about Jesus Christ), but Teal'c simply says "Darth Vader." Vala asks how that turned out, but SG-1 remained silent.

Archetypes and role models for Darth Vader

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There are many well-known mythological and literary precedents that may have provided George Lucas with the inspiration for Darth Vader.

The work of Joseph Campbell is known to have been a major influence on Lucas in the conception of the Star Wars saga, and it is highly likely that he drew on Campbell's writings when creating Anakin/Vader. In Creative Mythology, the fourth and final volume of his masterwork The Masks of God, Campbell examines at some length the numerous myths and stories involving the Holy Grail and the legends of King Arthur. Star Wars of course draws heavily on these mythic archetypes.

Vader's physical size, power and unnatural cyborg nature have obvious parallels with the famous Creature of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, who is an aberration against nature, yet who also similarly possesses a redeeming spark of humanity in spite of his monstrous attributes.

See also

• Skywalker family
• Naberrie family
• Hasbro Darth Vader Voice Changer

Notes and references

1. AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains", American Film Institute, last accessed October 20, 2005.
2. The Visual Dictionary of Star Wars, Episode III (ISBN 0-7566-1128-8)
3. http://theforce.net/jedicouncil/editorials/012399.asp
4. http://www.theforce.net/jedicouncil/editorials/012399.shtml
5. http://www.riddell.com/MainFrame.aspx?src=AboutUs.aspx
6. http://www.r2-d2.org/My%20Room/Vader%20Mini.JPG
7. http://www.imdb.com/poll/results/2003-11-10
8. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/22/sitroom.03.html
9. http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April05/slime-mold.Bush.Cheney.ssl.html
10. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/08/22/8270018/index.htm
11. http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/the_cross/penetration_guru.html

Sources

• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Novelization, 1st edition paperback, 1999. Terry Brooks, George Lucas, ISBN 0-345-43411-0
• Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Novelization, 2003. R. A. Salvatore, ISBN 0-345-42882-X
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Novelization, 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1
• The New Essential Guide to Characters, 1st edition, 2002. Daniel Wallace, Michael Sutfin, ISBN 0-345-44900-2
• The Dark Side Sourcebook, Wizards of the Coast, 1st printing, 2001. Bill Slavicsek, J. D. Wiker, ISBN 0-7869-1849-7
• Vader: The Ultimate Guide, 2005.
• Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1998. Dr. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-3481-4
• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1999. Dr. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-4701-0
• Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 2002. Dr. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-8588-5
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 2005. James Luceno, ISBN 0-7566-1128-8
• Shooting script of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi as available at Internet Movie Script Database
• Shooting script of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith as available at Internet Movie Script Database
• Star Wars Technical Commentaries, Dr. Curtis Saxton, 1995-2005. Available at TheForce.net
• Star Wars Databank. Skywalker, Anakin, Vader, Darth

External links

The Darth Vader Official MySpace Profile

• Darth Vader at the Star Wars Databank
• Darth Vader on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
• Anakin Skywalker at the Star Wars Databank
• Anakin Skywalker on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki

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