Disassembled: Heroes and Villains

Why The Dark Side Couldn't Keep Darth Vader - Star Wars Deep Dive

• Tom Bedford of Handsome Comics • Season 1 • Episode 8

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He didn’t scream.

He didn’t plead.

And when the galaxy burned around him, Darth Vader endured.


In this episode of Disassembled: Heroes and Villains, we uncover the shattered soul beneath the mask. From Jedi prodigy to Sith enforcer, from war hero to galactic terror, Vader’s journey is more than a fall—it’s a battle for identity, for legacy, and for redemption.

Was he the Emperor’s greatest weapon?

Or a prisoner waiting for the right moment to break free?


We explore:

– Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader

– The myth of the Chosen One and the manipulation behind it

– How fear became Vader’s most terrifying power

– And why, despite it all, the light never fully left him


Whether you revere his might in Rogue One, his pain in Revenge of the Sith, or his final choice in Return of the Jedi, this episode confronts the question at the heart of the Star Wars saga:

Why couldn’t the Dark Side keep him?

New episodes every Thursday.

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🎙 Written and hosted by Tom Bedford | Handsome Comics

HE WAS MORE THAN A VILLAIN. HE WAS LEGEND. A FIGURE CLOAKED IN BLACK, BREATHING LIKE DEATH, COMMANDING FEAR ACROSS THE STARS. TO THE GALAXY, DARTH VADER WAS A MONSTER. BUT MONSTERS AREN'T BORN, THEY'RE MADE. AND BEFORE THE ARMOR, BEFORE THE WAR, BEFORE THE FALL, HE WAS A BOY NAMED ANAKIN. A SLAVE WHO DREAMED OF THE STARS. A PRODIGY WHO BECAME A JEDI. A HERO WHO FOUGHT FOR PEACE AND GAVE EVERYTHING FOR LOVE. BUT LOVE TURNED TO FEAR. FEAR TURNED TO RAGE. AND RAGE? IT ERASED THE NAME ANAKIN SKYWALKER FROM EXISTENCE. OR SO IT SEEMED. BECAUSE EVEN AS DARTH VADER MARCHED THROUGH FIRE AND BLOOD, THERE WERE CRACKS. GHOSTS. REMINDERS THAT THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK STILL REMEMBERED WHO HE WAS AND WHO HE HAD LOST. THIS IS THE STORY OF A FALLEN HERO, A BROKEN FATHER, AND A WAR BETWEEN IDENTITY AND ILLUSION. A QUESTION THAT ECHOES FROM THE JEDI TEMPLE TO THE THRONE OF THE DEATH STAR. WHY COULDN'T THE DARK SIDE KEEP DARTH VADER? THIS IS DISASSEMBLED, HEROES AND VILLAINS. AND TODAY, WE FACE THE DARKNESS BEHIND THE MASK, WITH THE STORY OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER, THE BROKEN MAN WHO BECAME DARTH VADER. LEGENDS DON'T BEGIN WITH POWER, THEY BEGIN WITH INNOCENCE. WITH A BOY WHO LOOKED UP AT THE STARS, NOT WITH FEAR, BUT WITH WONDER. LONG BEFORE THE BATTLES, THE BETRAYALS, AND THE BREATH THAT WOULD HAUNT A GENERATION, THERE WAS ONLY ANAKIN. A CHILD BORN INTO SLAVERY ON THE DESERT SANDS OF TATOOINE, DESTINED, THE JEDI BELIEVED, TO BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE. BUT DESTINY IS A DANGEROUS WORD, BECAUSE FROM THE MOMENT HE WAS DISCOVERED, THE GALAXY BEGAN SHAPING HIM INTO SOMETHING ELSE. HE WASN'T BORN INTO POWER, HE WAS BORN INTO CHAINS. ANAKIN SKYWALKER CAME INTO THE GALAXY IN THE MARGINS, ON THE SUN-SCORCHED WASTES OF TATOOINE, WHERE THE ONLY LAW WAS SURVIVAL AND THE ONLY FUTURE WAS SERVITUDE. HE AND HIS MOTHER, SHMI, WERE THE PROPERTY OF A TOYDARIAN JUNK DEALER NAMED WATTO. NO NAME, NO HERITAGE, JUST DUST, SCRAP, AND SLAVERY. BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT. AT JUST NINE YEARS OLD, ANAKIN WAS ALREADY BUILDING MACHINES THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BEYOND HIS GRASP. HE ASSEMBLED A WORKING PROTOCOL DROID, HE BUILT POD RACERS AND RACED AGAINST ADULTS. AND SOMEHOW, HE FELT THINGS BEFORE THEY HAPPENED. HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE FORCE WAS, HE ONLY KNEW THAT WHEN DANGER LOOMED, HIS INSTINCTS WHISPERED THE ANSWER. THAT WHEN HE DROVE HIS POD, IT WASN'T SPEED HE CHASED, IT WAS FREEDOM. THE ILLUSION THAT, EVEN FOR A FEW MINUTES, HE WASN'T JUST A SLAVE, HE WAS SOMEONE. THE ILLUSION BECAME PROPHECY WHEN JEDI MASTER QUI-GON JINN LANDED IN MOS ESPA. QUI-GON SAW WHAT OTHERS HAD ONLY GUESSED, THAT ANAKIN WASN'T JUST GIFTED, HE WAS CHOSEN. CONCEIVED WITHOUT A FATHER, BORN THROUGH THE FORCE ITSELF, A POTENTIAL FULFILLMENT OF ANCIENT JEDI PROPHECY, THE ONE WHO WOULD BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE. BUT THE JEDI COUNCIL WAS CAUTIOUS. ANAKIN WAS TOO OLD, TOO EMOTIONAL, TOO FULL OF FEAR. QUI-GON DISAGREED, AND WHEN HE DIED SHORTLY AFTER, ANAKIN'S TRAINING PASSED TO OBI-WAN KENOBI, A JEDI STILL MOURNING HIS MASTER, NOW SADDLED WITH A BOY HE WASN'T READY TO RAISE. YET, THEY TRIED. ANAKIN JOINED THE ORDER, BUT HE NEVER FIT CLEANLY INTO ITS MOLD. THE JEDI TAUGHT DETACHMENT, BUT ANAKIN LOVED DEEPLY. THE JEDI PRIZED PATIENCE. ANAKIN RUSHED HEADFIRST INTO DANGER. THEY CALLED IT RECKLESSNESS. HE CALLED IT DOING WHAT HAD TO BE DONE. AND ALL THE WHILE, SOMETHING LINGERED, A WOUND, UNSPOKEN AND UNHEALED. HE HAD LEFT HIS MOTHER BEHIND. HE HAD DREAMED OF HER CONSTANTLY, VISIONS FILLED WITH CONFUSION AND PAIN, AND WHEN HE FINALLY RETURNED TO TATOOINE AS A YOUNG MAN, HIS WORST FEARS CAME TRUE. HE FOUND SHMI BOUND AND BEATEN, BARELY CLINGING TO LIFE AFTER BEING KIDNAPPED BY TUSKEN RAIDERS. SHE DIED IN HIS ARMS, AND SOMETHING INSIDE HIM, SOMETHING FRAGILE, SNAPPED. IN HIS GRIEF, HE SLAUGHTERED THE ENTIRE TUSKEN VILLAGE, NOT JUST THE WARRIORS, BUT THE WOMEN, THE CHILDREN, EVERY LAST ONE. AND WHEN HE RETURNED TO THE JEDI TEMPLE, NO ONE KNEW WHAT HE HAD DONE. NOT OBI-WAN, NOT THE COUNCIL, NOT EVEN PADMÉ. BUT SHE SAW THE PAIN, THE TORMENT HE CARRIED, AND SHE DIDN'T TURN AWAY. THAT SUMMER ON NABOO, MEANT TO BE A SAFE HAVEN, THEY FOUND SOMETHING DANGEROUS. NOT JUST COMFORT, NOT JUST FRIENDSHIP, BUT ATTACHMENT. A BOND DEEPER THAN DUTY, FORBIDDEN BY THE JEDI CODE. THEY TRIED TO SUPPRESS IT, TRIED TO DENY IT, BUT THE FIRE BURNED TOO BRIGHTLY. AFTER GEONOSIS, AFTER WAR ERUPTED ACROSS THE GALAXY, AFTER ANAKIN LOST HIS ARM AND NEARLY HIS LIFE DEFENDING HER, HE AND PADMÉ MARRIED IN SECRET ON THE SHORES OF NABOO. NO WITNESSES, NO FAMILY, NO FANFARE. JUST A QUIET VOW THAT DEFIED EVERYTHING THE JEDI BELIEVED. AND FROM THAT MOMENT ON, ANAKIN LIVED A DOUBLE LIFE. BY DAY, HE WAS A JEDI KNIGHT AND WAR HERO. BY NIGHT, A HUSBAND. EVERY MOMENT OF JOY, SHADOWED BY FEAR. WHAT IF THEY WERE DISCOVERED? WHAT IF HE LOST HER TOO? AND SO, IT BEGAN AGAIN. THE FEAR THAT NO MATTER HOW STRONG HE BECAME, HE WOULD NEVER BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE HE LOVED. STILL, THE GALAXY KEPT TURNING. THE CLONE WARS ERUPTED, AND ANAKIN ROSE. NOT AS A BOY, OR EVEN A PADAWAN, BUT AS A GENERAL. HE BECAME A SYMBOL OF HOPE ON THE BATTLEFIELD. SOLDIERS FOLLOWED HIM NOT JUST BECAUSE HE WAS SKILLED, BUT BECAUSE HE CARED. HE SAW THEM NOT AS TOOLS, BUT AS PEOPLE. AND THEY FOLLOWED HIM INTO THE FIRE, AGAIN AND AGAIN. HE WON BATTLES THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOST. OUTMANEUVERED ENTIRE FLEETS. DESTROYED SEPARATIST STRONGHOLDS, AND EVEN FACED OFF AGAINST COUNT DOOKU, THE SITH LORD WHO HAD ONCE BESTED HIM. BUT HIS GREATEST IMPACT WASN'T ON THE BATTLEFIELD, IT WAS IN A YOUNG TOGRUTA NAMED AHSOKA TANO, HIS PADAWAN. AHSOKA WAS EVERYTHING THE JEDI. ORDER HAD FORGOTTEN TO BE. INTUITIVE, COMPASSIONATE, UNORTHODOX. SHE CHALLENGED. ANAKIN IN WAYS NO ONE ELSE COULD. SHE WAS MORE THAN A STUDENT, SHE WAS A MIRROR. AND THROUGH HER, HE SAW HIS OWN DEFIANCE AND BRILLIANCE REFLECTED, ALONG WITH THE CONSEQUENCES. WHEN THE JEDI ACCUSED AHSOKA OF A CRIME SHE DIDN'T COMMIT AND CAST HER OUT, ANAKIN DEFENDED HER, FOUGHT FOR HER, AND WHEN SHE WAS PROVEN INNOCENT, SHE LEFT. NOT OUT OF SHAME, BUT OUT OF DISAPPOINTMENT. SHE HAD LOST FAITH IN THE JEDI, AND FOR THE SECOND TIME IN HIS LIFE, ANAKIN WATCHED SOMEONE HE LOVED WALK AWAY. NOT BECAUSE HE FAILED THEM, BUT BECAUSE THE SYSTEM DID. THE CRACKS WIDENED. HE STILL HAD PADMÉ, STILL KEPT HER LOVE LOCKED AWAY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, BUT THIS SECRECY WORE ON HIM, AND WHEN PADMÉ TOLD HIM SHE WAS PREGNANT, THAT FEAR RETURNED. HE STARTED DREAMING AGAIN, THIS TIME OF HER DEATH. AND AS ALWAYS, HE BELIEVED HE COULD STOP IT ONLY IF HE HAD ENOUGH POWER. IF ONLY HE COULD CONTROL THE OUTCOME, THAT BELIEF WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END. BECAUSE ANAKIN NEVER LEARNED TO SIT WITH FEAR, NEVER LEARNED TO LET GO. HE MISTOOK LOVE FOR POSSESSION, MISTOOK COMPASSION FOR CONTROL, AND IN TRYING TO PREVENT DEATH, HE BEGAN THE DESCENT INTO SOMETHING MUCH WORSE. BUT THE TRAGEDY OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER ISN'T THAT HE WAS WEAK, IT'S THAT HE WAS TOO STRONG. SO STRONG HE BELIEVED HE COULD BEND THE FUTURE TO HIS WILL. SO AFRAID, HE HAD TO TRY. AND BY THE TIME HE REALIZED WHAT THE FEAR HAD BECOME, THE NAME ANAKIN WOULD ALREADY BE BURNING ON THE SHORES OF MUSTAFAR. BUT FOR ALL HIS POWER, ANAKIN SKYWALKER WAS STILL AFRAID. AFRAID OF LOSING WHAT HE LOVED. AFRAID OF FAILING THOSE HE COULDN'T PROTECT. AFRAID THAT THE FUTURE WOULD TAKE HIM FROM EVERYTHING THE PAST ALREADY HAD. AND FEAR, QUIET AT FIRST, BEGAN TO WHISPER LOUDER THAN THE FORCE. HE HAD RISEN FROM NOTHING, SURVIVED SLAVERY, WAR, AND HEARTBREAK. BUT GREATNESS, WHEN FORGED IN TRAUMA, RARELY HEALS. IT FRACTURES. AND BENEATH THE ARMOR OF HEROISM, THOSE FRACTURES WIDENED. HE WANTED PEACE. HE WANTED CONTROL. THE MORE TIGHTLY HE GRIPPED THE GALAXY, THE MORE IT SLIPPED THROUGH HIS FINGERS. THE JEDI SAW HIS SKILL, BUT NOT HIS SUFFERING. THEY PRAISED THE WARRIOR, BUT IGNORED THE WOUNDS. AND IN THE SHADOWS, SOMEONE ELSE LISTENED. SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTOOD THAT THE MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON IN THE GALAXY WASN'T A LIGHTSABER OR THE FORCE. IT WAS A BROKEN HEART, CONVINCED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO STOP PAIN WAS TO NEVER FEEL AGAIN. AND THAT IS HOW A HERO BEGINS TO FALL. HE DREAMED OF HER DYING, OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THE VISION RETURNED, PADMÉ AMIDALA, THE WOMAN ANAKIN SKYWALKER LOVED BEYOND REASON, GASPING FOR AIR, AND THEN SILENCE. THE SAME KIND OF SILENCE THAT ONCE CLAIMED HIS MOTHER, AND THIS TIME, HE WOULDN'T BE TOO LATE. BUT WHERE DOES A JEDI TURN WHEN FEAR TAKES HOLD? WHEN THE LINES BETWEEN PROPHECY AND PARANOIA BEGAN TO BLUR. NOT TO THE COUNCIL, NOT TO OBI-WAN, NOT TO THOSE WHO PREACH DETACHMENT IN THE FACE OF LOVE. SO, HE TURNED ELSEWHERE, TO THE VOICE THAT HAD BEEN WHISPERING IN HIS EARS SINCE THE CLONE WARS BEGAN, A MAN WHO HAD WATCHED HIM RISE, PRAISED HIS VICTORIES, AND QUIETLY PLANTED THE SEEDS OF DOUBT, CHANCELLOR PALPATINE. A FRIEND. A MENTOR. AND BEHIND THE MASK, THE SITH LORD DARTH SIDIOUS. PALPATINE DIDN'T SCOLD ANAKIN FOR HIS ATTACHMENTS, HE NURTURED THEM. HE DIDN'T WARN HIM AWAY FOR FEAR, HE WEAPONIZED IT. AND NOW, THE FEAR WAS WORSE THAN EVER. BECAUSE PADMÉ WASN'T JUST HIS WIFE, SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN. THE NEWS HAD SHAKEN ANAKIN TO HIS CORE. HE WOULD BE A FATHER, A SECRET JOY HIDDEN FROM THE GALAXY, A FAMILY BORN FROM FORBIDDEN LOVE. HE DREAMED OF RAISING THEIR CHILD IN PEACE, OF ESCAPING THE WAR, THE JEDI, THE LIES, EVERYTHING. BUT THAT DREAM BEGAN TO ROT. BECAUSE WITH FATHERHOOD CAME TERROR. WHAT IF THE VISIONS WERE RIGHT? WHAT IF SHE DIED IN CHILDBIRTH, JUST LIKE THE NIGHTMARES SAID? WHAT IF HE LOST HIS CHILD THE SAME WAY HE LOST HIS MOTHER? PADMÉ TRIED TO SOOTHE HIM, TOLD HIM NOT TO WORRY, TOLD HIM THEY WOULD FIND A WAY. BUT ANAKIN HAD HEARD THOSE WORDS BEFORE, FROM A WOMAN WHO DIED SCREAMING IN HIS ARMS. HE COULDN'T LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN, AND PALPATINE KNEW IT. HE OFFERED FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, ANCIENT SITH POWER, A WAY TO PREVENT DEATH ITSELF. IT WAS EVERYTHING ANAKIN NEEDED TO HEAR, AND PALPATINE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY. AS ANAKIN'S FRUSTRATIONS WITH THE JEDI GREW, WHEN THEY DENIED HIM THE RANK OF MASTER DESPITE HAVING HIM ON THE COUNCIL. WHEN THEY ASKED HIM TO SPY ON THE VERY MAN HE CONSIDERED A FRIEND, HIS FAITH BEGAN TO CRACK. THEY DIDN'T TRUST HIM. AND MAYBE, THEY NEVER HAD. PALPATINE OFFERED AN ALTERNATIVE, NOT JUST POWER, BUT CONTROL. THE KIND OF CONTROL THAT MIGHT SAVE PADMÉ, THAT MIGHT PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN. ALL IT WOULD COST WAS EVERYTHING. WHEN ANAKIN DISCOVERED PALPATINE'S TRUE IDENTITY, THE JEDI GAVE HIM A FINAL TEST. STAND WITH THEM, AND TURN AGAINST THE MAN WHO HAD ALWAYS SUPPORTED HIM. BUT TO ANAKIN, IT WASN'T A TEST. IT WAS CONFIRMATION. PROOF THAT THE JEDI FEARED HIM. DISTRUSTED HIM. LIED TO HIM. SO WHEN MACE WINDU MOVED TO STRIKE DOWN PALPATINE, ANAKIN MADE HIS CHOICE. HE DIDN'T JUST INTERVENE. HE SEVERED THE HAND OF MACE WINDU AND ALLOWED PALPATINE TO FINISH THE JOB. AND IN THAT MOMENT, HE SEALED HIS FATE. HE KNELT BEFORE SIDIOUS AND WAS GIVEN A NEW NAME, DARTH VADER. HIS FIRST TASK? PURGE THE JEDI. AND SO HE DID. LIGHTSABER IN HAND, HE MARCHED INTO THE JEDI TEMPLE AND TURNED IT INTO A TOMB. THE MOST HAUNTING ACT? THE SLAUGHTERING OF THE YOUNGLINGS, CHILDREN WHO ONCE LOOKED UP TO HIM, WHO CALLED HIM. MASTER SKYWALKER, STOOD BEFORE HIM, CONFUSED, UNTIL THE BLADE IGNITED. HE TOLD HIMSELF IT WAS FOR PEACE, FOR ORDER, FOR PADMÉ. HE WHISPERED THAT LIE OVER AND OVER AGAIN, UNTIL IT BECAME A CHAIN. ON MUSTAFAR, HE MASSACRED THE LEADERS OF THE SEPARATISTS, TYING OFF THE CLONE WARS IN BLOOD. HE STOOD ATOP A MOUNTAIN OF ASH AND FLAME, CONVINCED HE HAD SECURED PEACE, THAT THE WAR WAS OVER, THAT NOW, HE COULD FINALLY SAVE HER. THEN PADMÉ ARRIVED. SHE CAME NOT WITH ANGER, BUT WITH HOPE. TEARS IN HER EYES. ARMS OUTSTRETCHED. SHE DIDN'T SEE A SITH LORD. SHE SAW THE MAN SHE MARRIED. BUT ANAKIN WAS GONE. HE SAW ONLY BETRAYAL. HE ACCUSED HER OF BRINGING OBI-WAN, OF TURNING AGAINST HIM. HIS FEAR, THE VERY THING THAT LED HIM TO THE DARK SIDE, NOW TURNED ON HER. AND IN HIS RAGE, HE DID THE UNTHINKABLE. HE REACHED OUT WITH THE FORCE AND BEGAN TO CHOKE HER. THE WOMAN HE HAD SWORN TO SAVE, COLLAPSED IN FRONT OF HIM. AND THEN, OBI-WAN EMERGED. THE DUEL THAT FOLLOWED WASN'T JUST A CLASH OF BLADES, IT WAS THE FINAL FRACTURE OF A BROTHERHOOD. YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP. SACRIFICE AND LOVE. ALL REDUCED TO FURY, BLAME, AND BETRAYAL. THEY FOUGHT THROUGH THE HEART OF A VOLCANO. TWO MASTERS AT THE HEIGHT OF THEIR POWER, DRIVEN NOT BY DUTY, BUT BY HEARTBREAK. AND WHEN IT ENDED, IT ENDED IN AGONY. OBI-WAN SEVERED ANAKIN'S LIMBS, LEAVING HIM BROKEN, SCREAMING, AND BURNING ALIVE ON THE BANKS OF THE LAVA RIVER. BUT EVEN THEN, OBI-WAN COULDN'T KILL HIM. HE TOOK ANAKIN'S LIGHTSABER AND WALKED AWAY, LEAVING HIS BROTHER TO DIE. AND ANAKIN WOULD HAVE. BUT SIDIOUS ARRIVED, HE TOOK WHAT REMAINED OF A MAN ONCE NAMED SKYWALKER, WHO BUILT HIS BODY WITH CYBERNETICS, ENCASED HIM IN BLACK ARMOR AND STEEL LUNGS, AND DARTH VADER WAS BORN. PADMÉ, FOR ALL HER EFFORTS, DIED ANYWAY. AND IT WASN'T JUST HER. SHE HAD BEEN CARRYING TWINS, TWO CHILDREN WHO WOULD NEVER KNOW THEIR FATHER, AND HER FINAL WORDS."THERE'S STILL GOOD IN HIM", BUT VADER NEVER HEARD THEM. HE AWOKE IN DARKNESS, CHAINED TO LIFE BY PAIN, AND WHEN HE ASKED ABOUT PADMÉ, SIDIOUS LIED. HE TOLD HIM VADER HAD KILLED HER, THAT HIS ANGER, HIS CHOICES, HIS POWER, HAD DESTROYED THE VERY THING HE SOUGHT TO PROTECT. AND IN THAT MOMENT, ANAKIN DIED A SECOND DEATH. HIS GRIEF WASN'T JUST FOR HIS WIFE. IT WAS FOR THE FUTURE HE HAD DREAMED OF, THE FAMILY HE WOULD NEVER HOLD, THE CHILDREN HE WOULD NEVER RAISE, AND THE MAN WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN A FATHER BECAME A WEAPON. HE TOLD HIMSELF IT WAS NECESSARY, THAT THE JEDI BETRAYED HIM, THAT PADMÉ TURNED ON HIM, THAT THERE WAS NO OTHER PATH. HE WHISPERED THE LIE UNTIL IT BECAME THE ONLY TRUTH HE COULD BEAR. BECAUSE POWER WITHOUT PURPOSE IS EMPTINESS, AND THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES, THEY BECOME THE CHAINS WE WEAR. BEFORE WE CONTINUE THE TRAGEDY OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER, MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW OR SUBSCRIBE ON YOUR FAVORITE PODCAST APP. DISASSEMBLED HEROES AND VILLAINS DIVES DEEP INTO THE ICONS AND MONSTERS WHO SHAPED POP CULTURE. AND NEXT WEEK, WE CONFRONT A DIFFERENT KIND OF MADNESS, FORGED FROM THE BODY OF MEGATRON, TWISTED BY THE CHAOS BRINGER, DRIVEN BY RAGE, DESTINY, AND DELUSION. NEXT WEEK, WE DESCEND INTO THE MIND OF GALVATRON OF THE TRANSFORMERS. NOW, BACK TO DARTH VADER AND THE EMPIRE HE BUILT ON ASHES. HE GOT EVERYTHING HE ASKED FOR. THE WAR ENDED, THE JEDI WERE GONE, THE REPUBLIC WAS BORN AS AN EMPIRE, AND YET, THERE WAS NO PEACE. NOT FOR THE GALAXY, NOT FOR THE MAN ONCE CALLED ANAKIN SKYWALKER. BECAUSE WHAT PALPATINE GAVE HIM WASN'T SALVATION, IT WAS SURVIVAL. TRAPPED IN ARMOR, CHAINED TO BREATH, HAUNTED BY MEMORY, ANAKIN HAD TRIED TO ESCAPE FEAR BY SEIZING CONTROL. BUT THE MORE POWER HE GRASPED, THE MORE HOLLOW HE BECAME. HE WAS NO LONGER FIGHTING FOR LOVE. HE WAS FIGHTING BECAUSE IT WAS ALL HE HAD LEFT, SO THE JEDI KNIGHT BECAME SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY. A BLADE, A SHADOW, A MONSTER IN THE MACHINE. THE GALAXY CAME TO KNOW A NEW FACE OF FEAR. STEEL LUNGS, A BLOOD-RED BLADE, A TOWERING FIGURE CLAD IN OBSIDIAN ARMOR WHO SPOKE WITH THE VOICE OF DEATH ITSELF. DARTH VADER WASN'T JUST A SOLDIER OF THE EMPIRE, HE WAS ITS SHADOW. WHERE HE WALKED, SILENCE FOLLOWED, REBELLIONS FELL QUIET, JEDI SCATTERED, AND EVERY WHISPER OF HOPE WAS HUNTED. VADER BECAME THE BLADE OF THE EMPEROR'S WILL, AN ENFORCER, A BUTCHER, A GHOST IN THE DARK. WHEN PALPATINE RULED THROUGH MANIPULATION, VADER RULED THROUGH TERROR. ENTIRE WORLDS SURRENDERED AT THE MERE RUMOR OF HIS ARRIVAL. BECAUSE WHEN VADER APPEARED, MERCY VANISHED. HE OVERSAW MASSACRES, ERASED RESISTANCE CELLS, BURNED THE MEMORY OF THE JEDI FROM THE STARS. BUT HE DIDN'T JUST DESTROY THE JEDI, HE MADE THEM DESTROY EACH OTHER. VADER WAS TASKED WITH PURGING THE STRAGGLERS OF ORDER 66, BUT HE ALSO SHAPED THE INQUISITORIUS. TORTURED JEDI SURVIVORS WERE OFFERED A CHOICE, SERVE THE EMPIRE OR DIE SLOWLY. HE CORRUPTED FORCE-SENSITIVES INTO HOSTAGES. TO HUNTERS, TWISTING THEM INTO INQUISITORS WHO WOULD STALK THEIR FORMER KIN. IN THE PAGES OF THE STAR WARS AND DARTH VADER COMIC SERIES FROM MARVEL COMICS, WE SEE HIM EXECUTE SURVIVORS LIKE JOCASTA NU, WITH NO HESITATION AND NO REMORSE. HE DIDN'T TRAIN WARRIORS, HE TRAINED PAIN. AND HIS CRUELTY WASN'T LIMITED TO JEDI. HE OVERSAW PROJECT HARVESTER, THE ABDUCTION OF FORCE-SENSITIVE CHILDREN ACROSS THE GALAXY. INFANTS TORN FROM THEIR FAMILIES, LOCKED AWAY IN IMPERIAL FACILITIES. SOME WERE TWISTED INTO TOOLS, OTHERS SIMPLY VANISHED. ON MON CALA, WHEN THE PLANET DARED TO RESIST, VADER MADE AN EXAMPLE OF IT. HE DIDN'T JUST CRUSH A REBELLION, HE SANK A CIVILIZATION. CITIES BENEATH THE WAVES WERE DROWNED. ENTIRE POPULATIONS PERISHED IN COLLAPSING DOMES AND RISING OCEANS. THEN CAME JABIIM, A MUD-CHOKED BATTLEFIELD DURING THE OBI-WAN KENOBI SERIES. THERE, VADER BROUGHT SCORCHED EARTH TACTICS, SLAUGHTERING ALL WHO STOOD IN HIS PATH JUST TO LURE OUT A SINGLE JEDI. BUT ONE BATTLE SEALED THE FEAR IN THE GALAXY'S THROAT. SURROUNDED BY REBEL SOLDIERS. OUTNUMBERED. OUTGUNNED. VADER DIDN'T HESITATE. HE DIDN'T SPEAK IN THREATS. HE MOVED. WITH HIS LIGHTSABER AND THE FORCE ALONE, HE SLAUGHTERED THEM IN SECONDS. TEARING WEAPONS FROM HANDS. CRUSHING THROATS. WALKING THROUGH FIRE AND STEEL LIKE A GOD OF DEATH. "I AM SURROUNDED BY FEAR" HE RASPED, "AND DEAD MEN." HE RULED BY FEAR. BUT FEAR FOR VADER WASN'T JUST A TOOL. IT WAS A LANGUAGE. SOME HE CHOKED. OTHERS HE MADE CHOKE THEMSELVES. HIS INTERROGATIONS WEREN'T DESIGNED FOR ANSWERS. THEY WERE DESIGNED TO BREAK SPIRITS. HE'D WATCHED REBELS SUFFOCATE IN SILENCE. HOLD THEM IN PLACE WITH THE FORCE. UNTIL THEY BEGGED FOR DEATH. OR BETRAYED ONE ANOTHER. AND YET, BENEATH THE ARMOR, THE FIRE STILL FLICKERED. BECAUSE YOU CAN ENCASE A MAN IN MACHINERY. BUT YOU CANNOT FULLY KILL THE SOUL WITHIN. THE MAN WHO HAD ONCE BEEN ANAKIN. SKYWALKER WAS NOT GONE. HE WAS BURIED. BURIED BENEATH RAGE. PAIN. AND GUILT. AND IT WAS IN THOSE RARE MOMENTS OF SILENCE. BETWEEN MISSIONS. BETWEEN SCREAMS. THAT ANAKIN CLAWED AT THE EDGES OF VADER'S MIND. IT STARTED AS DISCOMFORT. HESITATION IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE. A NAME MUTTERED IN A DREAM. PADMÉ. BUT THEN, THE CRACKS WIDENED. HE WAS SENT TO HUNT A JEDI ON THE OUTER RIM. A WOMAN. ALONE. TRAINED. STRONG IN THE FORCE. HER NAME? AHSOKA TANO. ONCE, SHE HAD BEEN HIS STUDENT. BUT NOW, SHE STOOD IN DEFIANCE. THEIR CONFRONTATION WAS NOT A BATTLE OF STRANGERS. IT WAS A RECKONING OF THE PAST. AND WHEN SHE STRUCK AT HIS HELMET, BREAKING AWAY A PIECE OF THE MASK, SHE DIDN'T FLINCH. SHE LOOKED INTO THE EYES OF DARTH VADER AND SAW ANAKIN. AND IN THAT MOMENT, SO DID HE. YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME, HE SAID. I WON'T LEAVE YOU, SHE REPLIED. AND THE MASK, CRACKED THOUGH IT WAS, HARDENED. THEN, YOU WILL DIE. HE TOLD HIMSELF IT WAS THE ONLY WAY. THAT. ANAKIN WAS WEAK. THAT MERCY HAD NO PLACE IN THE GALAXY THEY WERE BUILDING. BUT IT WASN'T THE ONLY MOMENT. YEARS LATER ON, ON A COLD MOON ORBITING MUSTAFAR, HE FACED OBI-WAN ONCE MORE. OLDER. SADDER. TWO GHOSTS WALKING THROUGH A HISTORY OF FIRE. THEY FOUGHT NOT JUST WITH LIGHTSABERS, BUT WITH MEMORIES. AND AS OBI-WAN GAINED THE UPPER HAND, SLICING AWAY PART OF THE MASK AGAIN, HE SAW IT. THE FACE OF THE BOY HE ONCE TRAINED. SCARRED. HAUNTED. ALONE. I'M SORRY, ANAKIN, HE SAID. I'M NOT YOUR FAILURE, OBI-WAN. VADER RASPED. YOU DIDN'T KILL ANAKIN SKYWALKER. I DID. BUT WAS IT A DECLARATION? OR A CONFESSION? BECAUSE IN THAT MOMENT, ANAKIN'S EYES WERE WET WITH SOMETHING VADER HAD LONG FORGOTTEN. TEARS. HE TURNED AWAY. LET OBI-WAN LIVE. AND AGAIN, THE ARMOR HELD. BUT THE CRACKS NEVER HEALED. THERE WERE OTHERS. MOMENTS HIDDEN FROM THE EMPIRE'S EYES. WHEN HE VISITED PADMÉ'S GRAVE IN SECRET. WHEN HE PAUSED BEFORE SLAYING A CHILD WHO REMINDED HIM OF HIS SON. THE BOY LOOKED AT HIM LIKE A SON LOOKS AT A FATHER. SO VADER MADE SURE HE DIED SCREAMING. AND YET, AFTERWARD, HE LINGERED. WHEN A REBEL PILOT'S DEFIANCE STIRRED SOMETHING PAINFULLY FAMILIAR IN HIS HEART. AND WHEN, DEEP WITHIN HIS MEDITATION CHAMBER, HE WOULD REMOVE HIS HELMET. AND SIT. NOT AS VADER. NOT AS THE EMPEROR'S SERVANT. BUT AS A MAN. ALONE WITH NOTHING BUT MEMORY. BECAUSE IDENTITY IS NEVER FULLY DESTROYED. IT IS ONLY FORGOTTEN. BURIED UNDER YEARS OF PAIN. AND SOMETIMES, IN THE QUIET, IT REMEMBERS ITSELF. THE MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THAT REMEMBRANCE IS THAT IT OFFERS HOPE. A SLIVER OF LIGHT IN AN OTHERWISE IMPENETRABLE DARKNESS. AND HOPE, IS WHAT THE EMPEROR FEARED MOST. BECAUSE IF VADER REMEMBERED WHO HE TRULY WAS. IF HE REDISCOVERED HIS PURPOSE. HIS FAMILY. HIS NAME. THEN THE EMPIRE'S GREATEST WEAPON MIGHT TURN AGAINST ITS MASTER. VADER, HE WAS BEGINNING TO REMEMBER. BUT MEMORY IS A DANGEROUS THING. BECAUSE EVEN THE SMALLEST FLICKER CAN BECOME A FLAME. AND AS THE CRACKS IN VADER'S ARMOR WIDENED. SO TOO DID THE SPACE IN SOMETHING FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN REBELLION. REMORSE. DOUBT. LOVE. HE HAD BURIED ANAKIN SKYWALKER BENEATH METAL. OBEDIENCE AND FEAR. BUT ANAKIN WAS NEVER TRULY DEAD. HE HAD SIMPLY BEEN WAITING. WAITING FOR A MOMENT. A REASON. A NAME. AND THEN, ONE DAY, IN THE SHADOW OF THE DEATH STAR, THE NAME CAME. LUKE. HE HAD SLAUGHTERED JEDI. CRUSHED REBELLIONS. DROWNED WORLDS. AND YET, HE STILL HAD A SON. LUKE SKYWALKER DIDN'T COME WITH VENGEANCE IN HIS HEART. HE CAME WITH HOPE. NOT JUST FOR THE GALAXY, BUT FOR HIS FATHER. IN RETURN OF THE JEDI, LUKE SURRENDERS HIMSELF WILLINGLY. BELIEVING HE CAN REACH THE GOOD STILL BURIED INSIDE DARTH VADER. THE MONSTER. BUT THE MAN. VADER DENIES IT. AGAIN AND AGAIN, HE CLAIMS ANAKIN SKYWALKER IS GONE. THAT ONLY THE DARK SIDE REMAINS. BUT LUKE DOESN'T STRIKE. HE DOESN'T HATE. AND HE BEGINS TO UNRAVEL THE LIES VADER HAS CLUNG TO FOR DECADES. BECAUSE IF THE BOY WON'T FIGHT HIM, THEN WHAT KIND OF MONSTER IS HE? TRULY. ON THE DEATH STAR 2, AS PALPATINE WATCHES WITH COLD AMUSEMENT, FATHER AND SON CLASH. VADER TRIES TO PROVOKE HIM. TO BREAK HIM. TO FORCE LUKE TO BECOME WHAT HE ONCE DID. A JEDI. CORRUPTED BY FEAR AND RAGE. AND FOR A MOMENT, LUKE DOES GIVE IN. HE STRIKES BACK. FIGHTS HARDER. OVERPOWERS VADER. SLICES THROUGH HIS FATHER'S DEFENSES AND SEVERS HIS MECHANICAL HAND. AND THERE. STARING DOWN AT THE SMOKING WIRES AND EXPOSED METAL. LUKE SEES WHAT HE'S BECOMING. HE TURNS OFF HIS SABER. AND WITH TREMBLING DEFIANCE SAYS, I AM A JEDI. LIKE MY FATHER BEFORE ME. THAT WORD. FATHER. IT SHATTERS WHAT LITTLE WAS LEFT OF VADER'S DELUSION. PALPATINE RESPONDS WITH FURY. LIGHTNING CRASHES INTO LUKE'S BODY. RIPPING THROUGH HIM, BENDING HIM BACKWARDS IN AGONY, AND VADER JUST WATCHES, FOR A HEARTBEAT, A LONG, ETERNAL HEARTBEAT. HE WATCHES HIS MASTER TORTURE HIS SON, THE SAME MASTER WHO HAD PROMISED HIM POWER, WHO HAD WHISPERED LIES ABOUT SAVING PADMÉ, WHO HAD TURNED ANAKIN SKYWALKER INTO A WEAPON, AND IN THAT MOMENT, THE BLADE BREAKS. NOT A LIGHTSABER, NOT A MACHINE, BUT THE CHAINS ON HIS SOUL. DARTH VADER LIFTS THE EMPEROR INTO THE AIR, AND HURLS HIM INTO THE ABYSS, AND WITH THAT ACT, ANAKIN SKYWALKER RETURNS, NOT IN VICTORY, NOT IN GLORY, BUT IN SACRIFICE, BECAUSE REDEMPTION IS POSSIBLE, BUT IT COSTS EVERYTHING. LIGHTNING SURGES THROUGH VADER'S ARMOR, CIRCUITS FRY, THE LIFE SUPPORTING SYSTEMS BEGIN TO FAIL, AND AS HE LIES DYING, HE ASKS ONLY FOR ONE THING, LET ME LOOK ON YOU WITH MY OWN EYES. LUKE REMOVES THE HELMET, AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES, ANAKIN SKYWALKER IS NOT A SHADOW, NOT A MASK, BUT A FATHER, LOOKING INTO THE EYES OF HIS SON. HE DIES MOMENTS LATER, NO PARADE. NO FORGIVENESS FROM THE GALAXY. NO CHANCE TO MAKE AMENDS FOR WHAT HE DID. ONLY SILENCE. BUT IN THAT SILENCE, THERE IS PEACE. BECAUSE THE DARK SIDE DID NOT WIN. THE EMPIRE DID NOT KEEP HIS SOUL. AND THE NAME ANAKIN SKYWALKER DID NOT FADE INTO HISTORY. IT BECAME ONE AGAIN WITH THE FORCE. BUT WHAT DO WE MAKE OF A STORY LIKE THIS? A SLAVE WHO BECAME A HERO. A HERO WHO BECAME A MONSTER. A MONSTER WHO FOUND HIS SOUL TOO LATE TO BE SAVED, BUT NOT TOO LATE TO DO WHAT WAS RIGHT. ANAKIN SKYWALKER'S FALL WASN'T A TRAGEDY OF FATE. IT WAS A TRAGEDY OF CHOICE. AND YET, SO WAS HIS REDEMPTION. BECAUSE IN THE END, HE CHOSE DIFFERENTLY. AND FROM THAT CHOICE COMES A QUESTION THAT STILL ECHOES ACROSS THE STARS. WHAT DOES IT COST TO ESCAPE THE DARKNESS? AND WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM A MAN WHO LOST EVERYTHING, EXCEPT HIS DECISION TO BREAK FREE? SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE DARK SIDE REALLY? IN THE GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY, IT'S THE FORCE TWISTED BY HATRED AND FEAR. BUT IN OUR WORLD, IT'S SOMETHING QUIETER. SOMETHING CLOSER. IT'S THE NEED TO CONTROL EVERYTHING. BECAUSE WE'RE TERRIFIED OF LOSING WHAT WE LOVE. IT'S REACHING FOR POWER, HOPING IT WILL FILL THE ACHE INSIDE. IT'S TELLING OURSELVES STORIES SO OFTEN THAT THEY BECOME TRUTH. ANAKIN SKYWALKER DIDN'T FALL BECAUSE HE WAS WEAK. HE FELL BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID. HE FEARED PADMÉ'S DEATH, SO HE TRIED TO POSSESS HER LOVE. HE FEARED FAILURE, SO HE CLUNG TO CONTROL. BUT FEAR DOESN'T PRESERVE LOVE. IT POISONS IT. AND CONTROL ISN'T STRENGTH. IT'S THE TREMBLING HAND BEHIND THE MASK. POWER FOLLOWED. VAST AND TERRIFYING. ENOUGH TO CRUSH CITIES. TOPPLE GOVERNMENTS. SILENCE AN ENTIRE RELIGION. BUT POWER WITHOUT PURPOSE IS THE DESTRUCTION DRESSED AS DESTINY. IT BUILDS NOTHING. IT SAVES NO ONE. AND IN THE SILENCE OF HIS OWN MIND, BENEATH THE STEEL AND CIRCUITRY, VADER TOLD HIMSELF IT HAD TO BE THIS WAY. THAT ANAKIN WAS GONE. THAT REDEMPTION WAS IMPOSSIBLE. BUT THE MOST DANGEROUS LIES ARE THE ONES WE WHISPER IN THE DARK WHEN NO ONE ELSE CAN HEAR. WE ALL WEAR MASKS. SOME TO HIDE. SOME TO SURVIVE. AND SOME BECAUSE WE'VE FORGOTTEN WHO WE WERE BEFORE THE PAIN. BUT EVEN BURIED IN ARMOR AND SHADOW, SOMETHING STILL FLICKERED, SOMETHING HUMAN. BECAUSE IDENTITY DOESN'T VANISH, IT JUST GETS BURIED UNDER FEAR, GRIEF, REGRET. AND SOMETIMES, IF WE'RE BRAVE ENOUGH TO LOOK, IT REMEMBERS ITSELF. VADER LOOKED, AND HE DIDN'T FIND A HERO, HE DIDN'T FIND PEACE, BUT HE FOUND THE WILL TO MAKE A DIFFERENT CHOICE. HE SAVED HIS SON, HE DEFIED HIS MASTER, HE LET GO OF THE MASK, AND IN DOING SO, HE BECAME ANAKIN SKYWALKER AGAIN. NOT IN TRIUMPH, BUT IN TRUTH. BECAUSE REDEMPTION DOESN'T MEAN YOU UNDO YOUR PAST. IT MEANS YOU OWN IT. YOU FACE IT. YOU CHOOSE SOMETHING BETTER, KNOWING IT MAY COST YOU EVERYTHING. SO IF YOU'RE TRAPPED IN YOUR OWN VERSION OF THE ARMOR, IF YOU'VE BURIED YOUR TRUE SELF UNDER FEAR, MISTAKES, OR THE WEIGHT OF EXPECTATION, YOU ARE NOT LOST. YOU ARE NOT GONE. YOU ARE NOT VADER. AND YOU STILL HAVE A CHOICE. EVEN IN YOUR DARKEST HOUR, YOU CAN STILL BECOME WHO YOU WERE MEANT TO BE. JUST LIKE HE DID. THANK YOU FOR WALKING WITH US THROUGH THE LIFE, THE RUIN, AND THE REDEMPTION OF DARTH VADER. HE WAS A SLAVE BORN INTO WAR, A BOY WHO ONLY WANTED TO PROTECT THE ONES HE LOVED. AND IN TRYING TO SAVE THEM, HE LOST EVERYTHING. NOT TO THE JEDI, NOT EVEN TO THE DARK SIDE, BUT TO FEAR. FEAR OF FAILURE. FEAR OF LOSS. FEAR OF THAT WITHOUT CONTROL, LOVE WOULD SLIP THROUGH HIS FINGERS. ANAKIN SKYWALKER DIED LONG BEFORE THE MASK. NOT IN FIRE, BUT IN SILENCE. AND THE LIES HE WHISPERED TO HIMSELF, TO JUSTIFY EVERY STEP DEEPER INTO THE ABYSS. THAT'S WHAT MADE DARTH VADER SO TERRIFYING. HE WASN'T JUST RAGE UNCHAINED. HE BECAME THE EMBODIMENT OF GRIEF AND MOURNING. GRIEF GIVEN FORM WHEN LEFT TO FESTER AND RULE UNCHECKED. AND FOR DECADES, HE MADE THE GALAXY BLEED BECAUSE HE COULDN'T ADMIT WHAT HE'D BECOME. BUT IN THE END, THE BLADE DIDN'T SAVE HIM. HIS SON DID. NOT THROUGH STRENGTH, BUT THROUGH MERCY. BECAUSE VADER'S FINAL ACT WASN'T CONQUEST, IT WAS SURRENDER. NOT TO THE EMPEROR, BUT THE TRUTH. AND WHEN THE HELMET CAME OFF, WHEN THE SMOKE FADED AND THE SPARKS DIMMED, HE DIDN'T SEE A SITH. HE SAW A FATHER. A BROKEN MAN WHO, FOR ONE MOMENT, CHOSE TO BE MORE THAN WHAT THE WORLD HAD MADE OF HIM. THAT'S THE LEGACY OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER. NOT POWER. NOT PAIN. BUT THE REMINDER THAT NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE WORST OF US, IS BEYOND THE REACH OF GRACE. SO REMEMBER, SOME MONSTERS ARE FORGED IN FIRE. OTHERS ARE SHAPED BY FEAR. BUT THE MOST POWERFUL REDEMPTION IS THE ONE BORN FROM CHOICE. STAY REFLECTIVE. STAY OPEN. AND AS ALWAYS, STAY HANDSOME. AND REMEMBER, YOU DON'T FEAR DARTH VADER BECAUSE OF HIS STRENGTH. YOU FEAR HIM BECAUSE EVERY ONE OF US HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME THE SAME MONSTER.