Darth Vader

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Once a heroic Jedi Knight of an old fallen Jedi Order, after his seduction by a Dark Side of the Force and embracing his own darker self, his past identity **Anakin Skywalker** no longer had existed, and from the ashes came a persona of Dark Sith Lord **Darth Vader** which would take hold for several decades. In an attempt to save the life of his wife, Skywalker betrayed all the Jedi, pledging himself to the teachings of his former confidant and friend, a Chancellor Palpatine, who revealed himself to be the Dark Lord, Darth Sidious. Not long after Sidious ended the Clone War, declared himself the Emperor of a New Order, and with Darth Vader's aid accomplished the act of vengeance on the Jedi Order by wiping out all of their Order. On the volcanic world of Mustafar, an duel against his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, left Darth Vader limbless and badly burnt on banks of the volcanic river, condemned to a fate worst than his demise.

Forced to live in a life-supporting suit for the rest of his life, an Dark Lord continued to serve Sidious as Sith apprentice, chief enforcer, and fellow Sith-Lord, putting down those who chose to stand against the Galactic Empire. About two decades that followed his turn to the darkness, he'd discovered that among the various rebels who unified into a Rebel Alliance to oppose the Empire, was his son, Luke, who was hidden from him after Amidala died on the same world he'd grown up, Tatooine. The Lord Vader sought Luke out, often making attempts to sway a child into joining him to overthrow Sidious. Luke refused, then became intent on turning his father to Light Side. When Darth Sidiousattempted to kill Luke after their duel, Vader sacrificed himself to destroy the Emperor, turning back to the Light Side fulfilling Jedi prophecy of Chosen One by vanquishing the Sith Order, a act that had destroyed his identity of the Darth Vader.

## History

### Coming of the Final Sith

**Darth Vader** was the identity taken up by **Anakin Skywalker**, after he turned to the dark side in order to save his wife Padmé. Anakin found out that Palpatine was Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord who manipulated events to gain power, but was still led to believe the Jedi were traitors to the Republic. When Palpatine promised him a way to save his pregnant wife, Anakin turned to the Dark Side to become Sidious' new apprentice and was rechristened as Darth Vader. After slaughtering all the Jedi in the Jedi Temple, including the younglings, as part of the Great Jedi Purge, Vader was sent by Palpatine to the Mustafar System, where he eliminated Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray and the other Separatist Leaders in equally quick order. On Mustafar, Vader is confronted by Padmé and his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. When he believes Padmé has brought Obi-Wan to kill him, he strangles Padme and engages Obi-Wan in a ferocious lightsaber duel. The duel sees the destruction of the Separatist holdout they are in. He ultimately loses the fight, as well his legs and left arm, and Obi-Wan remorsefully leaves him to burn to death beside a volcanic river.

Though horribly burned and disfigured by the flames of Mustafar, Vader manages to keep himself alive with the Force; his unbreakable will and sheer hatred. Although Vader survived, he was horrifically scarred, both physically and mentally, and had damaged lungs due to the hot ash in the air. Shortly afterwards, Palpatine arrived on Mustafar, where he found the severely wounded Vader and took him back to Coruscant, in a medical capsule. As the Emperor could ill afford to lose Vader, he turned to the best scientists, and by Palpatine's orders, Vader was put into a life-sustaining black suit of armor by several medical and scientist droids, two days into the Galactic Empire. Upon regaining consciousness, Vader asked Palpatine what had become of his wife, and he told Vader that he had killed her in his anger. Unbeknownst to them, Amidala gave birth to the twins Luke and Leia before her death. Believing that he lost all that he cared about by his own hand, Darth Vader embraced his role as the Emperor's right hand and chief enforcer.

He was also made privy to the secret construction of the Death Star, to be overseen by Wilhuff Tarkin. As the Emperor's enforcer, few knew who he was, and even fewer suspected that he had once been Anakin Skywalker. His appearance at the Imperial court and the favor he carried from the Emperor earned him the distrust of Imperial officers. They resented him for appearing out of nowhere and being placed atop them in the hierarchy because of his link to his Master. On the other hand, Vader was held in high esteem by the Stormtrooper Corps as he often fought alongside them at the front line rather than remain in command centers. Vader also commanded strong support from the pilots of the Imperial Navy. As the Emperor's enforcer, Vader retained command of the unit he had commanded during the Clone Wars, the 501st Legion. Through their missions on Vader's behalf, the 501st came to be known as "Vader's Fist".

### Service to the Galactic Empire

Vader quickly became a highly visible symbol of the Empire, serving as Palpatine’s fearsome enforcer. He hunted down fugitive Jedi who had escaped Order 66, as well as ferreting out enemies both within and without. Vader’s sudden arrival within the Imperial hierarchy gave rise to many rumors. Some high-ranking Imperials claimed he was a laboratory creation built to mimic the fallen Separatist warlord General Grievous, while others whispered that he was a technologically augmented warrior schooled in the now-forbidden arts of the Force. Vader sent agents such as Inquisitors to find not just escaped Jedi but also new Force-Sensitive beings that might pose a threat to the Empire. And on Palpatine’s orders, he worked with the ambitious, ruthless Grand Moff Tarkin to supervise construction of the Death Star and stamp out resistance to Imperial rule. After the Grand Inquisitor's death, Vader became a more active participant in the hunt for the rebels of Lothal and their Jedi. He set a trap for the freedom fighters and easily bested Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger in Lightsaber combat, though the Jedi survived the encounter.

Vader also single-handedly wiped out most of Phoenix Squadron, but it was during this battle that he made a startling discovery, Ahsoka Tano lived. Vader later tracked Tano and the rebels to the Sith Temple on Malachor, and found Bridger there, alone. He quickly defeated the young Padawan, destroying his Lightsaber and ready to deliver a killing blow. But he was interrupted by the former pupil of Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano. Vader offered mercy if she would lead him to any surviving Jedi, but Tano refused; in return, the Sith-Lord threatened to torture Bridger for the information. Tano now saw that her Master was truly dead, and the two dueled. She held her own and struck Vader in the mask, severing the face plate. Upon seeing her former Master, Ahsoka called him by his former name, saying she would not leave him. Vader replied by saying "then you will die", and clashed with Tano once more as the building collapsed around them. Following the duel, Vader limped back to his ship.

By the time of the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader constructed his own castle, a testament to his might, on the fiery lava-world, Mustafar. The location and design of the castle came as much from the Dark Side as it did from Vader's personal history, however; the complex sits atop an ancient Sith Temple, and the tuning towers serve as a conduit for the Dark Side of the Force. Vader would rest in his castle, often in solitary meditation or alone in a bacta tank, awaiting orders from his Master. Once the Death Star was complete and tested on Jedha, he summoned Director Orson Krennic, instructing the Imperial that the superweapon was to remain a covert tool of destruction. Only when the time was right would its existence be revealed to the galaxy.When the plans for the Death Star were stolen, Vader would take action to clean up Krennic's mess, personally slaughtering a squad of rebel soldiers and leading the hunt for the data tapes.

### Discovering his Lost Children

Upon the Rebel Alliance’s theft of schematics for the Empire’s ultimate weapon, Vader led an attack on a suspected rebel vessel, seeking to recover the stolen plans and find the location of the rebel base. Meanwhile, Rebel leader Princess Leia hid the data tapes as well as a distress message inside the droid R2-D2, sending him to Tatooine in search of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader and his Storm Troopers killed all aboard with the exception of the Princess, opting to take her to the Death Star for interrogation. Leia proved able to resist a mind probe, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, having received Artoo’s message, soon arrived with the astromech, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and C-3PO. Vader and Obi-Wan clashed one last time, with the Sith-Lord striking down his former Master. Luke, Leia, and the heroes were able to escape, but only because the Empire allowed it: Vader had placed a tracking device on their ship, which led the Empire to the Rebel’s secret base. As the Death Star closed in, the Rebels mounted an attack, with Vader himself entering the fray in his TIE Advanced starfighter.

Streaming through the Death Star trench and about to finish off the last of the rebels, Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing . Vader and his wingmen were attacked from behind by the *Millennium Falcon*. Ricocheted away from the Death Star and spun out of control, Vader was unable to stop Luke. The space station was destroyed, but Vader survived, and he flew into the far reaches of space. After the destruction of the Death Star, Darth Vader became obsessed with finding Luke Skywalker, who he discovered was his son. He had dispatched probe droids across the galaxy, finally locating the rebel base on the remote ice planet Hoth. Upon his arrival the rebels had already escaped, but he pursued Luke’s friends with relentless fervor. With the Empire unable to secure the *Millennium Falcon*, Vader hired bounty hunters to track down the starship, and the deadly Boba Fett eventually set a trap for the heroes on Cloud City. Believing they had found sanctuary, Han, Leia, and company actually found Vader and the Empire waiting. Vader tortured Han in an effort to lure Luke to Bespin, and later had Solo frozen in carbonite.

Finally, Luke, who had cut his Jedi training short to save his friends, arrived and dueled with Vader. The Sith- Lord proved too powerful and he brutalized Luke with flying debris, and eventually severed his right hand with his Lightsaber. Seeking to bring Luke to the Dark Side, Vader revealed that he was Luke’s father a shock that rattled the young Jedi to the core. Rather than join Vader, Luke chose to fall into a deep abyss, and survived. With the Empire looking to crush the Rebel Alliance once and for all, construction of a second Death Star commenced. Darth Vader and the Emperor were personally overseeing its completion, though Vader’s Master also planned to lure Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side of the Force. Vader and the Emperor waited for Luke to come to them, which he did as the young Jedi believed there was still good in his father, and tried to turn him back to the Light Side. Vader was conflicted, but still brought Luke before the Dark Lord. The Emperor taunted and tempted Luke, leading to a final duel between Vader and his son. Giving in to his hate, Luke overpowered Vader, cutting off his hand and was poised to deliver the killing blow.

### Return of Anakin Skywalker

The Emperor commanded that Luke finish his father and join the Dark Side, but realizing that he was becoming what he sought to destroy, Skywalker threw his lightsaber aside and declared himself a Jedi, just as Anakin Skywalker had been before him. Engaged at his denial, Sidious unleashed continuous streams of Force lightning against Skywalker, intending to torture him to death. Vader rose, the good in him awakened by his son's compassion, and so he grabbed the Emperor with what was left of his arms and lifted his master high in the air, lumbering toward the reactor shaft, upon his son's plea for help. While he had suffered fatal injuries from the Emperor's lightning, from the on the persona of Darth Vader was no more, as his redeeming final act restored his consciousness to **Anakin Skywalker**. By killing the Emperor and ending his reign, the redeemed Jedi fulfilled his destiny as the Chosen One by restoring balance to the Force. Just before Lando Calrissian on the *Falcon* and Wedge Antilles destroyed the Death Star's main reactor, Anakin was carried by his son to an Imperial shuttle.

Upon arriving at shuttle *ST 321*, Anakin asked Luke to help him remove his mask, hoping to look upon the face of his son with his own eyes. For a moment Anakin looked upon his son's face for the first and only time, finally seeing him not as a Jedi or a threat or a mistake, but as his and Amidala's son, and gave Luke a smile which only his wife ever saw. His son insisted that he had to save him, but Skywalker told him he already had and asked him to tell his sister he had been right about him before passing away. Unable to leave his father behind, Skywalker took Anakin's body aboard the shuttle and escaped just before the Death Star's destruction. Back on Endor, Skywalker built a funeral pyre for his father, and cremated his armor in the manner of a Jedi's funeral in solitude, for the sight of Vader's helmet consumed by fire would be cause for rejoicing to everyone else but him. Anakin's selfless sacrifice allowed his spirit to be preserved in the Force by his former mentors, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

**The Force:** As the Chosen One, Vader was immensely powerful and had an amazingly strong connection to the Force, stronger than any Force-user ever in existence. He also possessed the potential to according to Obi-Wan Kenboi become the most powerful light and dark side Force-Sensitive being in the history of the galaxy. Because his body had been severely burned on Mustafar, Darth Vader was thought to have lost much of his Force potential, although he nonetheless retained an incredibly high midi-chlorian count. As Darth Vader, Skywalker was believed to have had roughly eight-tenths of the strength of the Emperor. Nevertheless, Vader wielded tremendous power and skill, enough to use the Force to overpower almost any opponent he could not defeat with his lightsaber. Vader heavily relied on the Dark side of the Force to maintain his armor at peak efficiency. Despite these setbacks, Vader still became one of the most powerful Force-user in the history of the galaxy; only Palpatine, who was considered to be the strongest Sith-Lord of all time, surpassed him due to his disabilities, and only Luke Skywalker, Vader's own son, rivaled Vader's power at its full potential.

* **Telekinesis:**  Vader was a master of Telekinesis, which he utilized either as offensive or defense. In combat, Darth Vader was extremely adept at utilizing telekinetic attacks, and often made liberal use of his telekinetic abilities during duels. He could perform incredibly powerful Force Pushes and Grips, and was capable of breaking through the defenses of Force-Sensitive individuals. Vader was also adept at saber throw, which he would often utilize in combat to make up for his relative lack of mobility. Darth Vader used both the Force Choke and Force Crush abilities numerous times throughout his life. He was also capable of using the Force to telekinetically destroy a target's internal organs.
* **Telepathy:** The Sith-Lord could use Telepathy, such as when he communicated with his son shortly after their duel on Bespin. Vader demonstrated the ability to drain knowledge from his opponents, such as when he discovered that Luke had a twin sister. Vader utilized mind tricks to control the minds of other sentient beings, however, it did not work on individuals who have very strong wills. He used the Mind Probe technique as a means to sift through the thought of sentient beings.
* **Force Sense:** Vader utilized Force sense to sense another sentient being's emotions, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events, impending danger and the presence of the Dark Side. His senses were so powerful, that he could not only sense the presence of his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, on the first Death Star, yet he could also feel the presence of his son Luke Skywalker, on more than one occasion.

### Abilities

**Lightsaber Training:** When Anakin Skywalker at long last embraced the Dark Side and was rechristened Darth Vader, he maintained his mastery over the Jedi Form V, but utilized it in an even more brutal fashion, becoming a frightening opponent. However, his aggression became his fatal flaw, as he would become so controlled by it that it would give way to his rage. Though young, strong, athletic, and a master swordsman gifted with more raw Force power than any other Force adept, he lacked the experience, calm, and focus that his former master possessed. Though Vader could, and would call on the dark side to overpower his opponents, his mounting emotions distracted him, clouding his judgment and preventing him from executing his form as well as Kenobi executed his. Whereas Vader's strength lay in his offensive barrage, Kenobi's strength resided in his staunch defense.

**Master Tactician:** Even before his fall to the dark side, Vader was amazingly intelligent and wise. Darth Vader was a brilliant strategist and was still, despite his lessened Force potential, one of the greatest pilots in the galaxy. His armor did not dull the precognition ability he possessed since childhood and he was able to predict the movements of his targets during dogfights with pinpoint precision. As a Sith commander, Vader was a highly skilled tactician and a very capable leader. Due to his experience from the Clone Wars, he had an excellent reputation of never being defeated. Those serving in his unit, rarely if ever died under Vader's command. He could also use his opponents own tactics against them. Furthermore, Vader often used his environment to his advantage, using the terrain against his opponents by using whatever was at his disposal, such as throwing shrapnel and wreckage at his foes.

**Expert Pilot:** Even after his cyborg transformation, Skywalker, then known as Darth Vader, was an extremely deadly pilot. In his unique TIE Advanced, Vader's skills as a pilot were feared by anyone who crossed his path. During the Battle of Yavin, Vader destroyed the first three Rebel fighters who attempted the first bombing with little effort. He then destroyed the second wave of fighters, many of which had accomplished pilots. On the third wave he killed Biggs Darklighter, one of the Rebellion's best pilots, and crippled both Wedge Antilles and Luke Skywalker's X-Wings, badly damaging R2-D2 in the process. If not for the last-minute intervention of Han Solo, Vader likely would have killed Luke, and Yavin would have been destroyed.

## Equipment

### Cybernetics

Following his near-fatal duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, Darth Vader received a mobile life support system encased in a suit of distinctive black armor. Darth Vader's armor was designed to maintain and protect the charred body of the young apprentice of Dark Lord while emitting a degree air of intimidation and control. His suit followed an ancient Sith design, in which the warriors of the Dark Side of the Force would adorn themselves in heavy armor. It was damaged or broken several times during its use, needing afterwards upgrades and repairs. The armor encased Vader completely, creating a seal to protect his charred skin and lungs. It was also uncomfortable to wear. Vader slowly learned to live with the isolation and anonymity that the suit imposed on him. Despite the weaknesses imparted by the suit, it also provided a number of strengths. These included greatly enhanced durability and stamina, numerous enhancements to his senses, and protection from extremely inhospitable environments and biological weaponry.

### Weapons

**Vader's** **Lightsaber:** Vader's lightsaber was the personal dual-phase Lightsaber of the Sith-Lord Darth Vader, the third and final apprentice of Darth Sidious and supreme military commander of the Galactic Empire. He built the weapon some time after his fall to the Dark side of the Force at the end of the Clone Wars, replacing the one he lost during his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar. Because of the modifications Vader made to his Lightsaber over the years, its exterior also changed, somewhat, in appearance. After his accession to Sith Lord, Vader was known to draw his Lightsaber when facing Jedi, but also against other opponents, even though he sometimes preferred to use the Force to dispatch lesser victims. During Vader's final duel with Luke Skywalker, he would severe Vader's hand and send the Lightsaber falling into the reactor shaft.

### Vehicles

**TIE Advanced Fighter:** Vader's TIE Advanced was a TIE Advanced X1 starfighter used by the Sith-Lord during the reign of the Galactic Empire. It was a prototype of the TIE line Advanced series manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems. This fighter featured a greater speed than the common TIE/LN. It was armed with heavy twin blaster cannons on fixed mounts, and was also capable of carrying secondary weapons such as cluster missiles. In addition, unlike most TIE models, the TIE Advanced x1 was equipped with both a hyperdrive and a deflector shield generator and even a much more effective solar ionization reactor and stronger hull. The interior of the TIE was modified to Vader's modifications, and was customized to work with the unique specifications of Vader's armor. It was built to Vader's specifications to include unlike the standard class a life-support system.