Which son of Skywalker?

In ESB when Vader is consulting with Palpatine via hologram, Palpatine says "The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi." Which son of Skywalker is he talking about. The son of Darth Vader (Anakin Skywalker) or the son of Luke, Ben, who doesn't come into being about 25 years later. If Luke's the son, than there's a little foreshadowing that Luke is Vader's son. If it's Ben, then that's kind of a little bit far into the future.

 

Well, since Ben Skywalker was only invented a few years ago by the good folks at Lucas Books, I think it's safe to say he was talking about Luke.

Come on, guys. I like EU, too, but let's not get crazy.



Hmmm...

Maybe Palpatine was referring to Bob_Skywalker...




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Ofcourse they were refering to Luke.

 

Emporer was refering to the son of Anakin. According to my theory, Anakin is another person in Vadar's view until somewhere in between that exchange and Vadar's faceoff with Luke.

other than that, it's better left a mystery.

 

The Emperor knows who Luke is.

 

"If Luke's the son, than there's a little foreshadowing that Luke is Vader's son. "

Not really becuase we don't know Anakin is Vader then. Well we do know becuase of the PT.

 

It's just a clever way to word it so it doesn't spoil the "I am your father" surprise at the end.

But yeah, with the PT now that's not an issue.

 

Come on, guys. I like EU, too, but let's not get crazy.

Ditto. It's quite ludicrous to suggest he was talking about Ben Skywalker

 

Sorry, sorry, just a thought.

 

Anakin Skywalker's son. Luke.

 

Now that the cat's out of the bag, that line doesn't make much sense. And secondly, why did Luke name his son Ben and not Obi-Wan Skywalker?

 

what doesnt make sense about that line? Luke always referred to Obi Wan as Luke, why name him Obi Wan?

 

I'm talking about two different things.

#1: Why does Palpatine speak to Vader and say "The son of Skywalker," as is Anakin Skywalker were someone else?

#2: Ben Skywalker is obviously named after Kenobi. But Kenobi's true name was Obi-Wan.

 

However, Obi-Wan Skywalker would send fans into an... shall we say, outrage...

It would be like GL allowing an author to introduce Leia, Jr. as a new character...



You Rebel Scum!
~Bôba Fe++

 

To Luke, Obi-Wan was always Ben.

 

Why does Palpatine speak to Vader and say "The son of Skywalker," as is Anakin Skywalker were someone else?

1. So it wouldn't ruin the surprise of the I am you father line

2. In some ways they are two different people

From a certain point of view...

 

I'm sure somewhere down the line in the EU they'll use that line and misconstrue it to mean Ben Skywalker. Just like Zahn did with that stupid Luuke clone storyline. He took the vision Luke had in the cave in ESB with his face in Vader's helmet and made it mean that Luke saw his clone in that vision, not that he saw a symbol of Vader being his father...that really irritated me.

 

Luke had a kid in EU?!

 

I was always under the impression he meant Luke. And Luke had a son?!? Where have I been?

 

Yeah Luke does have a son. I think it's in the NJO novel Star by Star, but i'm not sure. Haven't gotten that far yet. But yes he has one with his wife, Mara Jade.

 

Here's a catch. If we were meant to not know that Vader was Luke's father until he said that line (I am your father), which is what us old timers knew to be prior to the PT. In Ep III we see Anakin become Darth Vader and now it will not be a surprise at all when Vader utters those lines to Luke.

Now when someone watches the whole SW saga for the first time from the beginning, they will already know that Luke is Anakin's son. So that part of the movie, which was the ultimate climactic event in cinematic history IMHO, has now been played down to a one liner that doesn't catch anyone by surprise except Luke.

To me that just makes the whole scene not be as exciting as it was before.

 

Yeah, but you had the surprise of the 'I am your father' line at the time. Now new viewers will get the surprise about Anakin spectacularly getting things wrong and becoming in Vader.

Whether you're someone that watched the PT (when finished) or the OT first, you'll have some shocks and surprises to look forward to.

 

Of course the reference is to Luke. There is no chance in hell that he is referring to Ben. For one, there was no Ben in ESB. Secondly, over 90% of the people that see SW movies (including myself) have no idea who Ben Skywalker is because most people who watch the movies don't read the EU. Thirdly, you don't refer to a character that has never been seen or referred to in a movie. Fourth, what would be the reason that the Emporer would care about a person that was never even born yet? Luke was an immediate threat. Any child of Luke was a contingent threat.

The reason Palpatine states it in this manner is two fold. one, to maintain the climax of the film where Luke finds out that Vader is his father. Secondly, it was a way to depersonalize Vader. The emporer did not want him having any connection to his previous life. This line, like many of the other things in the OT, lose its suprise aspect as a result of the PT.

 

not that he saw a symbol of Vader being his father...

In fact, Luke's face in Vader's helmet is not a symbol that he is his father, but it's a warning. Yoda wanted to show Luke what he could turn into if he give in to hate, and the darkside. It was more of a lesson rather than a symbol. In that scene, Luke attacked with hatred and rage, that leads to the darkside, that is why his face is shown on Vader's helmet.

 

I think it's kind of funny to think that the emporer was referring to Luke's son. Can you see palatine saying, "This Luke guy isn't much to worry about, but if he has a kid I'm out of here."?