Why carbon freezing?

I've always wondered why Darth Vader was so insistent on, "Carbonite Block," as the perferred way of delivering Luke to the Emperor. Had Luke been captured on Bespin, what was so special about being frozen in carbonite that Vader was willing to risk Luke dying? It's obviously not an accepted form of prisoner transport. And the only possible benefit of it is that he would be well-protected if he was destined for long and arduous return trip. But it's not like Vader and company were going by foot. The journey back to Coruscant(or the infant Death Star II perhaps) would probably be the shortest one possible given that Vader's ride is the biggest and baddest Star Destroyer in the Imperial Fleet.

Before the PT, I dismissed this simply to the fact that Vader feared Luke's abilities. But in the PT, we see Jedi Masters being restrained by lesser methods. Namely, those cool, levitating, energy binders(surely, the Empire has a few of these laying around)... ray shields... or if the threat was minimal, plain old chain and shackles worked just fine. Given Luke's immaturity in the Force, and the huge crew and army Vader had with him... I'd say, the threat was minimal. So, why bother with the carbon-freezing?

 

Vader probably wanted to make sure Luke could not challenge him, because there is no risk of him retaliating. Also, just taking luke to the Emperor would prevent him from having more time to work on the Jedi arts, meaning that it would have been much easier to make him a Sith.

 

There was no risk of Luke's dying in the chamber; Vader had already successfully tested the machinery on Solo.

There are many available methods of binding a prisoner, but clearly carbon freezing is the best in terms of utterly incapacitating the subject. One might rather question why carbonite isn't used more often, considering how effective it is. It was also convenient because it was at hand and on-site.

 

Didn't we already have this discussion, not too long ago?

 

Rumsmuggler: If I'm not mistaken, we've already had most of this board at some point in the recent past.

 

There was definitely a risk of Luke dying. Anytime you increase the variables, the risk goes up. If your options are a pair of handcuffs vs. a complex machine, the machine will introduce more variables. And I'm sure Murphy's Law also applies to the GFFA. Lando said that there was risk of killing the subject. Just because Han was unharmed doesn't mean that Luke will automatically be safe as well. The machine could malfunction or maybe Luke's body could respond differently to the freezing process. But Vader still chose to put the, "Emperor's Prize," in harm's way. And sure, the freezing chamber was on-site but Vader's Star Destroyer was not exactly light years away either. I'm sure the Star Destroyer is better equipped for prisoner transport than the crude freezing facility.

Sorry, I haven't been on the boards in forever! I did a search but didn't get anything. Got a link to the thread?

 

Well, there is this one, but it got sidetracked 3 times.

 

I agree with you.

This actually fits in with Vader/Anakin's "headstrong' thing. He never thinks. What if Luke had died during the freezing process? Like you said: Just cause Solo survived doesn't mean Luke will, and in Solo's case...didn't Lando press a few buttons on the computer panel?

 

I always thought that Vader wanted Luke carbon frozen not just to transporting him but the fact he was going to be very vulnerable when he came out. Look how weak Han was

 

Vader never expected it to work anyway, to me it was little more than a test

 

Vader may not have been planning to accompany Luke for the whole journey. So in that respect, having a prisoner who can't 'mind-trick' the guards/pilot or retaliate in any way would be favourite. Don't forget that Vader can remember the resourcefulness and/or luck of the Jedi, from both sides of the coin. He may not have wanted to risk drugging his force-strong son, fearing adverse effects or permanent damage.

So obviously, he chose a storage method normally reserved for gas. Gotta be worth a try, hasn't it?

 

You mentioned the ray shields and the levitating energy shields restraining other Jedi Masters. Keep in mind that while Luke does get caught by a Wampa, a creature less intelligent than Darth Vader, he is the Chosen One. Luke was being trained by the best. Vader also must not have wanted to risk anything. Perhaps that was the best way anyway because of them being on Bespin.

 

If Vader didn't think it work or perceive that it wouldn't work, he wouldn't do it in the first place. Solo was just a " double check to make sure it's safe/ twisted toture and also an easy way for Fett to take Solo to him doom".

 

I assumed he was afraid Luke was too dangerous to risk being transported while concious. He could use some Force tricks.

Can you imagine that scene on Coruscant?

Palps: At last, you've brought me Young Skywalker!
Vader: Yes, my master, gift wrapped just for you. *presses buttons to unfreeze Luke*
Palps: He's not breathing, Lord Vader.
Vader: Oh kriff....

 

Again... 2 powerful Sith Lords against a not-fully-trained Jedi-boy. Where's the danger? If anything... the Emperor would want Luke aware with all senses working if he intended to turn Luke ala ROTJ. Why wait a couple of days for Luke to snap out of hibernation-sickness to start the festivities?

I doubt Vader would let Luke leave his side during the return trip. This is the Emperor's Prize we're talking about here! Vader doesn't seem careless when carrying out the Emperor's wishes(DS:2).

I thought Anakin was the Chosen One? Besides, Vader knows that he wasn't trained very long by Obi-Wan. And I doubt he even knows that Luke was being trained by Yoda, only Obi-wan. If anything, Ben's training should give Vader hope that Luke can be turned since Ben has Anakin's failure on his resume.

Again, we've seen Jedi Masters being held in check by lesser methods. Luke is only a boy. And not even a fully trained Jedi yet.

Thanks for all the replies but I'm still dumbfounded. Other than being a very sadistic way to imprision someone, the only other reason reason to carbon freeze anything would be to preserve it. Sooooo... was Vader secretly planning to not take Luke to the Emperor but instead to hide Luke from the emperor for a extended period of time? And he needed a way incapacitate him and insure that he would not escape for the duration? And in the process, also preserving him in the exact state in which he was frozen(no more Jedi-training while imprisioned)? Just speculating here but... had Luke not escape the freezing process when Vader planned it(Luke jumps out at the last moment), there would be no "I am your father," moment. Notice that Vader wants to freeze Luke right away, he does not really intend to tell Luke about their relationship while on Bespin. It isn't until later on in the duel that Vader tells Luke. Maybe Vader intends to hide Luke... get rid of the Emperor... and then revive Luke and turn him to the darkside by telling him the truth. Plausible? Also... notice that The Rule of Two stays intact in this scenario! Ideas?

 

Don't forget that Luke that picked up the freaky Skywalker potential/power from his dad. Palps is also kinda wary of him as well(" the force is strong with him", "he could destroy us", and etc...)

 

I think the carbon frezzing was to show that Vader was cold and mean. I also think it was to show that he would do anything to help the Empire.

 

I wonder how they froze Harrison I just want to know and could he have breathed in it.

 

I accidentally called Luke the Chosen One in my haste, I meant to say the Chosen One's son.

 

I always wondered if Vader planned to use the hibernation sickness as a tool to turn Luke to the dark side. Blindness leads to fear, and, well, we all know where that goes...

 

If I was aiming to convert someone to be evil, I'd want em as confused and generally screwed-up as possible, as opposed to having spent the last few days/hours fully aware and being able to think clearly.

 

Luke was not the Emperor's prize, he was really Vader's. Palpatine originally wanted Vader to simply kill him, it was Vader's idea to capture him (in an effort to avoid having to kill his son, no doubt) instead of eliminating him, Palpatine simply agreed to it as a reasonable alternative. Had Luke died during the carbon freezing process, Vader would have been the one most angered, not Palpatine. Palpatine would have gotten what he originally intended anyway, the elimination of a powerful potential enemy.

 

I always viewed the carbonite-freezing method for Luke as more the Emperor's orders than Vader's idea. Palpatine was shrewd and mistrustful, and never moreso than after Vader discovered the existence of his son...I'm sure he had considered the possibility that Vader would try to turn Luke himself and then team up to eliminate the Emperor, so to prevent this and ensure that Palpatine himself was the first one to speak to Luke after his incarceration was to disable both his body and mind. Also there was no telling how long the trip would be or when Palpatine would have actually been able to get around to "turning" Luke...they were in the middle of a full-scale Galactic Civil War and were trying to rebuild their ultimate weapon that seemed to initially take about two decades in a matter of months...not exactly an easy order to fill.

 

Han lived, so I guess he wanted to use it on Luke.

 

I always assumed Darth Vader user carbon freezing on Luke because it was George Lucas's movie & he wannted that way.