What's the "official" story on Darth Vader anyway?

Just wondering.

I was watching ANH the other day, and it struck me that while the huge, dark, ominous, imposing figure and booming voice of Darth Vader are obviously and quite successfully inspire fear, Leia Organa doesn't so much as flinch when brought into his presence, instead declaiming "Darth Vader. Only you could be so bold", as if he were no more than a highly disreputable member of the upper-class circles she moves in.

I can't imagine that Leia, no matter how brave she is, would see him for the first time without at least betraying some apprehension, so she must have met him before.

So what exactly, do you think the Emperor's "official" line on his assassin/fleet enforcer/right-hand man is?

Half-legendary boogeyman for frightening rebel children?

Recruiting device for the Imperial Forces?

The chap who killed all those Padawans all those years ago? (a bit unlikely I think)

A special assistant who met with an unfortunate industrial accident some time in the past?

Um, a friend who's exceptionally paranoid about airborne pathogens, but really a great sort once you get to know him?

 

I think Vader was originally supposed to be a former Jedi (not yet Luke's father), a well-known puppet of the Emperor, and an all-around villian. It wasn't until GL was able to continue his saga that Vader became Luke's father (I don't buy that he planned that all along). Vader's character changed over the course of the three films. Leia was obviously scared of him in TESB. During the carbon freeze scene, she looked at him with horror and moved closer to Chewie for support. ANH has to be seen in a slightly different light than the other two movies, as it wasn't a guarantee that there would BE any other movies, so the plot was sort of all tied up nice and neatly. I believe GL has gotten lucky in that the backstory is falling into place so well. I don't think he planned as much of this saga as he says.

 

A special assistant who met with an unfortunate industrial accident some time in the past?

I'll go with this one, just to kick of the discussion.

 

I think that in ANH when Leia first meets Vader on board the Tantive IV she has a mild fear that she is able to cover up easily. In ESB I think she is much more terrified because she remembers the torture Vader put her through in ANH.

 

Hmm...that seems pretty reasonable.

 

I think that maybe Leia first comes in face-to-face contact with Vader in ANH, but she may have seen in before that - for example in the Senate, Vader may be a Palpatine's side in the Emperor's seat.

 

It wasn't necessarily the first time she had come into contact with him. We don't know her history in the Senate, nor do we know Vader's involvement with it. It's entirely possible that they had met before. Or, she was just being bold to bury her fear and keep her confident approach to things.

 

In ANH, Leia's a senatorand therefor is practically immune to any abuse. Immeaditalely prior to ANH and during the beginning of the movie we know that the Senate is moving away from the Emperor's point of view and the Rebellion is gaining a support.

"The Rebel Alliance will conitinue to gain support in the Imperial Senate..." -ANH

So when her ship was taken over she knew, or at least thought she knew, that Vader wouldnt touch her or do anything stupid because it would turn the Senate even more toward the Rebel cause.

*HOWEVER*Sever things happen to shake her faith in the last remnants of the Republic.
-Emperor dissloves the Senate
-Vader tourtures her in ANH
-He and Tarkin blow up her parents and her entire home planet
-Vader tourtures Han, her love

Obvioulsy several occurances transpired that changed Leia's opinion on the amount of power the Emperor and Vader had. WHICH shows us that we didnt miss too much action between ROTS and ANH, because the Empire gains full strength in ANH, probably right around the time the Emperor dissloves the Senate. Because he knows that the Regional Governors can control the galaxy with fear. Fear that took 20 years to establish.

 

Wouldn't you love to see Vader in the senate?? I know Palps has control of the Senate, but how in the world could a free-minded individual vote against Palps with Vader standing there? Heck, just think of Vader's introduction to the Senate, standing there in that black helmet, the breathing filling the senate room?? Wow...

I don't think Leia is afraid of him at the beginning of ANH because she hasn't dealt one-on-one with him---I'm sure she's heard of him and has maybe even been chased by him before-----in ESB, she has been face-to-face with him and that is why, I think, she seems more afraid of Vader (holding on to Chewie, etc).

 

Following that, it seems logical that the Rebellion itself wouldn't have organized until shortly before ANH. Although I'm sure that there were many small factions, if they had been organized and allied together Palpatine would have dissolved the Senate much sooner. I think it was the fact that the Rebellion was gaining sympathy and support across the galaxy that led him to get rid of the last group that stood in his way.

 

"Don't try to frighten us with your sorceror's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion..."

The higher-ups in the Imperial military, then, at least know that he is a Dark Jedi or Sith. I would think that that knowledge would be fairly well-known, but not his identity before he fell.

I also doubt Palpatine would issue a official document talking about his background - people would find him scarier if they didn't know his exact background.

 

Somehow I have a mental image of Leia's first meeting with Vader, as he stands by the refreshments at some Senate function, menacing allcomers while trying to come up with a way to get a drink through his air-filter.

"I find your lack of punch disturbing."

 

Nah, I think if Vader was at a Senate function it would be to 'visit' certain senators, ones who didn't vote how they should...

 

My guess is that Palpatine passes him off as a military commander and adviser. Vader and Leia likely did meet at Imperial functions, as she was first the daughter of a prominent Senator and later a member of the Senate herself.

 

I believe Leia was just masking any fear she had because she was still trying to say she was just another Senator in the Imperial Senate so she acted like she had nothing to be scared of in ANH. Cut to ESB and she can no longer hide her involvement in the Rebellion and the fact her friends were also their and in danger played on her fears as opposed to it just being her in danger in ANH.

Vader is not necessarily meant to be the Intimidating figure in ANH that he was made out to be in ESB. The charachter was so popular after the release of ANH that Vader was made into the charachter we all know today.

 

Well then all the early scripts started back in 1974, were obviously forgeries.... This has been well documented so if you choose to believe otherwise...hey, what can I say, everyone lies I guess, and because you watched ANH and didn't know that he was Luke's father, that means the creator didn't know... I guess he should have hinted at it through the whole movie, then he wouldn't be a liar, of course, there wouldn't have been any dramatic effect to the end of ESB and the 3 years of debating whether or not it was true.... But, hey, whatever...everyone always claims to know how stories should be and how they could have made things better....yet I don't see anything that they've done to show this.... I love the GL haters...they make me laugh... Accomplish something first before you talk about others who have... you can't drive a car from the back seat, no matter how good you think you are.... Give it up people, the movies are the way they are... as someone who was written (and has been published) fiction as well as non-fiction (I have a History degree)...I assure you that any good writer has somewhat of a backstory fleshed out in anything they do...the story can't be without knowing something about the characters beyond what others might initially see..it's what gives character's depth...characters and events get changed around frequently, but the underlying story must always be there first before starting any well told story, or it won't be well told. And Star Wars from day one was about a man and his twins...whether or not it was Luke Starkiller as the father...whether or not they were midgets, etc... is irrelevant, the underlying story of what the film/films were about has to be there or the narrative doesn't work...but hey, believe what you want... it's a big conspiracy to keep you from knowing the truth about the making of Star Wars....

 

Thats fun to imagine!

*Vader knocks on a senators door early in the morning*

random Senator: Who could be knocking this early in the morning?!

*He opens the door to see darth vader*

Vader: Hellooooooooo Senator. *then he cracks his knuckles*

Thats one of those little "humurous" things Vader likes to do.

ex) Apology excepted Captian Needa.

 

Well we do know that by ESB the Senate no longer exists and that planets are up to their own devices but "fear" will keep them in line. So I think Bail told Leia about Vader (not as Anakin) and she saw him during senate meetins ect. until the senate was dissovled. Bail was a strong influence on the rebellion, I think, and so he enstilled that in Leia.

 

dude ... i dont think the guy who questioned George Lucas's claim that he planned it all along meant any harm by what he said. Calm down. There is an abundance of evidence that GL was just mulling the Darth Vader being Lukes father thing and that he didnt know if he should actually use it. Splinter of the Minds eye was published as a low budget possible sequel to ANH, and in it Vader says nothing of being Lukes father. In quite a few of the early ESB scripts Vader and Anakin are separate people. There is also evidence that early on Anakin Skywalker is killed by Darth Vader and then Obi Wan knocks darth vader into the lava ...

but this is pointless as there is another, great thread already made for this discussion, which can be found in the thread index. Its like the origins of Darth Vaders character or something ...

Also, it can help to be nicer on the forums. Dont knock down another user for not "accomplishing anything" before talking, and im sure the user in question loves star wars as much as you do. You have to love star wars to be a member of a star wars message board site. Calm down.

 

Chances are Liea had seen Vader by the Emporer's side during Imperial Senate sessions before ANH.

 

^ I was wondering what you were refering to, it didn't seem to relate to the above posts.

Then I saw it. Man, LATOPADEYOR you seem to have become unhinged. Step back and calm down.
Regardless of his god status, GL didn't have "everything written down". He made it up as he went and wrote the scripts just before the movies were made. Heck, for the PT, he wrote the scripts while the movies were being made!

Vader was not always Lukes dad, he wasn't anyones dad at first. The story hasn't always been about a man and his twins either, though I wonder where you got that.

Anyway, back on topic:
I would go with the boogie-man and recruitment idea. There's no reason for anyone to know his true history, and Motti seems to be convinced that Vader is more legend than reality.

 

Leia probably knows him from the senate or has at least seen him on Coruscant at some point personally.And he is very famous in the Empire after all.Well known as the Emperors personal "assistant" so I can imagine him sometimes hanging around in the senate as well.Palpatine already used Anakin to scare some senators in the RotS book and it happened also in a deleted scene from the movie.Padme was there as well and Anakin was standing behind Palpatine's desk as a kind of threat to the Loyalists.So maybe he had a similar job in the senate with the rebellion leaders...Scaring them to obey.

 

Darth Vader's story is simple he is a fallen Jedi. He fell for love that's what drove him made simple yet so complex love is it drives us to be better people yet curses us when we become better oh love is truely a wonderful thing. But Vader is pure evil Anakin is good. but Vader is ruthless after he found out his family was dead he lost his feaking mind and became Palpatines servant. *roll* When he finds out he has his twins he becomes all happy and Anakin starts to come alive.

 

We've seen the movies too, and I don't think that's what the poster was asking.

I would luuuurve to see Vader in the Senate, or really any other political function. He would hate it, of course. We all know how little patience he has for bureaucracy and governments that can't decide things quickly.

If Vader had to hang around at any official functions, I think he would amuse himself by moving around the room and seeing which person he could cause to wet their pants the fastest.

 

I can just picture Vader standing in Mas Amedda's position on the platform. That would be pretty cool. I see him as being known as Palpatine's strong arm. Officially, possibly his special attache or something of that nature. "Special Assistant to the Office of the Emperor", in bureaucratese.

As for Leia, I think she just underestimates him and Palpatine. They are still under the purview of the Senate, and so she considers them harmless and has no problem being cheeky. It's not until they destroy Alderaan that she gets that they mean business now and the old heirarchy is over.