The Rebirth of Anakin Skywalker

“You were right about me.”

Part 2 of 2 (read part 1 here)

In my last article, I went over the slow death of Anakin Skywalker. Read it here but just to recap: Though Anakin’s fall was a long journey, the death of Anakin started the moment he cut off Mace Windu’s hand and culminated with Anakin’s last word: “No.”

In a vacuum, Obi-Wan sure seems right, Anakin is dead. Never to return. But we all know that’s not true. Through the power of his son, Anakin Skywalker is resurrected from the dead. The moment Anakin fully returns is at the end of Return of the Jedi when he destroys (or at least greatly hinders) the ultimate evil in the galaxy. But similar to his death, his return doesn’t happen in one instance. Let’s go over the rebirth of Anakin Skywalker.

You can watch a video version of this essay here.

Vader Reigns

Part of the reason Darth Vader has held back the light so successfully is that it’s essentially a coping mechanism. He has lost everything to live for. His mother, his wife, his friends, his apprentice, what he thinks are his unborn children, the war that defined him as a person, Qui-Gon, and his relationship with his father figure turned brother. He has even lost the ability to just exist as a human without the aid of confining and painful machines. [Side note: Remember this list for when someone says his turn was too quick.]

What he does have left after all of this? The Sith Trinity: Power, Anger, Hatred. All he has left is the pitiful consolation prize of being the second most powerful person in the galaxy. Anakin has absolutely no reason to reawaken. There is only pain and loss and pain and loss are what fuels Darth Vader. Dave Filoni, when talking about Ahsoka and Vader explicitly says, “what Anakin lost was so painful that Vader only has the urge to kill it and destroy and keep Skywalker dead.”

I think part of the reason his grandson has a harder time holding back the light is because he never truly lost everything. That’s why Kylo Ren is so hell-bent on killing the past. Ben Solo doesn’t quite die like Anakin Skywalker. But for years, Anakin Skywalker has nothing. Until a huge atomic realization: he has a son.

The moment of realization

In my essays, I tend to focus strictly on the films and shows. Mostly because my expertise lies there. I’m far from an expert on the books and comics. Also, let’s be honest, despite the declaration of canon, the films and shows have absolutely no qualms with retconning them. Therefore they don’t color my interpretation and analysis of things too often. It’s a big galaxy and takes all types of fans and for me, I focus on films and TV.

That being said, for this specific moment I am going to turn to a comic for the moment Darth Vader realizes he has a son. Even before the comic, it was a moment that seems to take place offscreen. We go from “The force is strong with this one” in IV to the crawl of V saying: “The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Skywalker, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space….” I think It’s clear that Darth Vader knows at the start of Episode V that he has a son. [You could make an argument that he finds out when talking to the Emperor mid-film but I personally don’t think so] So when did he find out? And what was it like when he did? Well, this is why books and comics can be so great my friends.

In Darth Vader Issue 6, Boba Fett informs Vader of the last name of this punk who has really messed things up for him. He finds out that this kid isn’t just a nuisance. Turns out he is much much more.

And here we have the moment of realization. It’s here the glass literally cracks… but so too does Vader’s hold on Anakin. Anakin’s light awakens. It’s a small crack and Vader may not even realize it yet. His obsession with Luke is still selfish. For now, he sees Luke as a means to an end: Destroy the Emperor. But the chemical reaction has begun. The first domino has been tipped. Skywalker’s return has begun.

The first onscreen spark of return

The most important scene in the films that shows us Anakin’s light has sparked comes with his talk to Emperor. With the context of the comic, Vader already knows. So here, when Palpatine says, “I have no doubt that this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.” Vader plays dumb. A way of looking at this scene without the context of the comic is that Vader is in disbelief. But with the comic, Vader has accepted the truth. It would track, either way, Vader would want to play dumb and so simply ask how could this be possible.

Regardless: the next few lines from Vader are the first time in these films Vader hears a whisper from Skywalker. It’s just a whisper drowned out by Vader’s evil intentions but I truly believe it’s there. First when Palpatine says, “he could destroy us,” Vader’s response is “He’s just a boy.” From Vader, it’s his arrogance brushing off a lower being. But to Anakin, it’s his son. Even Vader knows that this “boy” is a force to reckoned with (source: him watching Luke blow of the Death Star). That’s because Anakin has started speaking into Vader whether he realizes it or not.

Then we have this next whisper from Anakin: “If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally.” Again, on paper, these are Vader’s evil intentions of taking out the Emperor and becoming the most powerful person the galaxy. But I see them as Anakin Skywalker’s reawakening taking hold. From here on out, Vader, cannot bring himself to kill his son. We see Vader implore Luke to join him. Please help me kill the emperor. Rule the galaxy as Father and Son. He pleads with his son. Join me, please. Anakin is breaking through. These are all still whispers… but they are there nonetheless.

Contemplating on Endor

During all of these moments, Vader still has hold over Skywalker- Vader justifies all of his actions as steps to get out from under the boot of Sidious and have true power. This is how he has been able to drown out Skywalker and the pull to the light. But on the forest moon of Endor, he is forced to talk to his son. The lightsabers are sheathed and Luke Skywalker talks directly to Anakin Skywalker. He sees past the mask of Vader and the false intentions. This moment gives power to Anakin. It strips Vader’s false justifications away. It forces Vader and Anakin to truly see each other. Anakin Skywalker’s resurrection is coming to fruition.

Then the single biggest crack in Vader’s armor happens. The Son of Skywalker proclaims, “Then my father is truly dead.” I believe that this conversation and specifically this line turns the whispers of Anakin, into screams inside Vader’s head. Whatever conflict that has been inside of them- the suppressed Anakin doesn’t want to be dead any longer. He has a reason for living. He starts screaming at Vader, “ you can keep me dead. I never died.” Anakin is here and Vader’s hold on him is weakening. As his son is taken away the scene lingers on Vader and for the first time since Revenge of the Sith, we see Vader show true weakness. This brooding dark mask can’t hide the conflict from us.

Above the forest moon

The conflict rages on and Vader puts on a pretty good show in front of his master. But we all know where this is going. Anakin is on the verge of smashing through as he pounds on the glass that is Vader. The glass is cracked. But it isn’t broken yet.

One thing will finally shatter it. The compassion of his son. The child of his wife, the “gift” he was so excited for. This son will selflessly spare him and declare he is a Jedi knight… like his father before him.

And as the man who destroyed his life begins to destroy Luke, Anakin finally shatters the glass. The whisper that grew into a scream is no longer just inside Vader’s head.

The last words of Anakin Skywalker become his first as he is reawakened.

What was once a No of surrender is now is a No of defiance, a No of strength, a No of resolve, a No off Return.

Darth Vader is dead. Welcome the Return of the Jedi.