A short Biography of Lord Darth Vader.

Lord Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith (Formerly Anakin Skywalker)

Darth Vader epitomized the Emperor's New Order. Standing two meters tall and dressed in flowing black robes and black body armor, Vader was a tangible evil and symbol of the Emperor's doctrine of rule through fear and terror. He was the servant and emissaryof the Emperor, and later commanded the vast fleet charged with finding and destroying the Rebel Alliance.
Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, expert pilot, hero of the Clone Wars, and disciple of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Learning to use the Force by Kenobi's methods was too slow for the impatient Anakin. He wanted a quicker,less difficult path to the vast power he sensed all around him. Emperor Palpatine offered him just such a path - the dark side. All Anakin had to do was give in to his anger, fear, and aggression. Ambitious and headstrong, he stepped into the dark side's embrace and became Darth Vader.
According to 'Return Of The Jedi' novel, when Kenobi saw what had become of his friend and student, Anakin Skywalker, he tried to draw him back from the dark side. But Vader wanted none of that. The two fought, and Vader fell into a molten pit. His shattered body, however, had to be sustained by life-supporting armor. When Kenobi learned that Vader lived, he helped Anakin's wife and newborn twins (whom Vader was not aware of) escape into hiding - Luke to Tatooine, and Leia and her mother to Alderaan.
Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith, helped the Emperor hunt down and exterminate the Jedi Knights during the last days of the Old Republic and the opening moments of the Empire. Later, he was sent to help Governor Tarkin develop the original Death Star battle station. Once the Rebellion demonstrated that it posed a significant threat to the New Order, Lord Vader was put in charge of the Imperial fleet assigned to find and destroy the Alliance leaders. The mission took on personal significance when Vader discovered that the Rebel's newest ally was his own son, Luke Skywalker. Both the Emperor and Vader wanted to convert young Skywalker to the dark side, but Vader had his own agenda. He wanted himself and Luke to rule the galaxy side by side as father and son.
The first time that father and son met was on Cloud City. Luke rejected Vader's claims and offers, electing to fight him. But Vader was too powerful for the still-developing young Jedi. Luke barely escaped with his life, though he lost his right hand to his father's lightsaber. Vader was confronted by his son a second time, at Endor. Luke did not arrive as a half-trained apprentince Jedi this time, but as a full-fledged Jedi Knight. Luke's faith in his father's innate goodness won the day, bringing Anakin out of the darkness of Darth Vader and back into the light. He saved Luke and destroyed the Emperor, but at the cost of his own life. Vader's final act - as Anakin and not as the Dark Lord of the Sith - was to look upon his son and tell him that he was right.

[SW,ESB,RJ] (Slavicsek, Bill "A Guide To The Star Wars Universe", Del Ray and Ballaine Books, New York: 1994)

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