Dont call him Vader yet

Anakin pledged himself to Palpatine's teachings, therefore he was Palpatine's apprentice. To introduce Anakin to the dark side, he consumed Anakin Skywalker with the name of Darth Vader.

"A powerful Sith you will become." ~ Darth Sidious

Palpatine was certain that Anakin would become a powerful Sith, so there was no point in passing up the opportunity to give him a Sith name. He wanted everyone to know Anakin as Darth Vader, he wanted everyone to fear his name.

"When my new apprentice Darth Vader arrives, he will take care of you." ~ Darth Sidious

It wasn't too soon, it was perfect. Anakin had just performed the deepest sin, he helped a Sith Lord in killing one of his own, and then he fell to the dark side. Palpatine also gave him the name because this would psychologically affect Anakin. He would be assured that there was no turning back, especially after Palpatine forseeing him becoming a very powerful Sith.

 

Clothes are only a small equation in making the man or woman. You are who you are. Your actions. Your persona. Your skills. So on and so forth. Superman is still Superman without the suit. All the suit does is a) protect his loved ones, b) gives him a chance to live normally when not active and c) he doesn't always have to replace his regular clothes. Other than, it was how he was raised by the Kents that made him Superman without the suit.

Darth Vader is just a name and suit. It is who Anakin Skywalker became over the years, that is the end result. This is why in ROTS we do not see him wear the suit, only carry the name. And even then, it is only Lord Sidious who calls him Darth Vader all the time. Yoda only refers to him as this once.

YODA: "Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is . . . Consumed by Darth Vader."

Yoda says that he is consumed by Darth Vader, which means that he rerfers to the darkest aspects of Anakin Skywalker have taken control of him. It is the simplest way of explaining this to Obi-wan.

 

Woman change their name in marriage.

Officers in the military take on certain names for rank and allegance.

Allegance to the Sith is a kind of marriage - one takes on the name "Darth" to show his devotion.

I say, "I pledge myself to your teachings" to a Sith Lord, that pretty much seals the deal.

 

Yes... he openly embraced the oppurtunity to become Sidious' Apprentice. He may have had the best intentions, but the dark side corrupted him before he even knew that it had a hold of him...

Anakin was gone, and was beyond redemption by the time he reached Mustafar. AnaVader had his own scheme that he was working on, he intended to kill Sidious. It wasn't until after Kenobi diced him, that Vader was resigned to being a Sith.

After the PT, IMO: Vader being a Sith, was more like a consolation prize, than winning the lottery.

 

" Some good in him" isn't irrelevant at all, it's key. Lucas goes out of his way to show this. For example, he cries on Mustafar, would Darth Vader do that? There's a difference between being Sith in name and Sith in your soul, if you know what I mean. While the suit does not exclusively equal Vader, it does represent the point where Anakin Skywalker has nothing left but the dark side. Up until then he thinks Padme is still alive, and Sidious knows that he can't embrace being a Sith until she dies. It's why he tells Anakin he killed her. At that moment Anakin is completely alone and empty, all the Jedi are gone, Obi-Wan has "betrayed" him, Padme and his child are dead. He's effectively dead himself, and is reborn in pain, hate, and anger- as a Sith. It just so happens this moment coincedes with him first being put into the suit. It's really a lovely metaphor Lucas has worked out.

 

I agree with you 100%. I think the name just fuels the flame.

 

Seeing an unsuited Vader wearing a Jedi's face it what makes ROTS so icy. The whole conversion scene was otherworldly and down right scary. Palpatine really looked and sounded like the devil there. It was perfect.