CT Did Obi-Wan have multiple padawans?

If he didn't, the story of Obi-Wan's pupil Darth Vader murdering Anakin Skywalker wouldn't add up.

 

Luke: You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.
Obi-Wan: Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.

 

What I'm asking is: Did anybody say to Luke in between ANH and ESB, "Your father was Obi-Wan's only pupil"?

 

I think purplerain meant that the story Ben tells Luke has him with multiple students, if taken at face value. So - still taking the story at face value, which is how Luke would take it when he first heard it, and applying it to the saga as we know it today - Obi-Wan must have taught Anakin and then Darth, or maybe both at the same time (which would go against the Jedi Code, I guess, but I don't think Luke knows the Jedi Code when he doesn't even know what a lightsaber is).

Obviously the thing is, in 1977 Ben wasn't supposed to have trained Annikin, they were just friends. In the early version of ESB I think it's even mentioned that Annikin was trained by Yoda, same as Ben. Obviously this had to change when Anakin was constructed from Annikin and Darth. However, the notion that a Jedi can only train one apprentice at a time is something from the prequels. I think the early versions of A New Hope have a Jedi training multiple students at the same time (his sons, I believe).

Ah. How would anyone else (people Luke would have run into) have known how many students Obi-Wan had?

 

Are you saying that nobody outside the Jedi knew who was who's student?

 

My apologies for misunderstanding. As for the question...

Why would anyone know that information? You don't really specify on "anybody". Who in Luke's generation would ask that question? Han? Wedge? Someone else?

Maybe if Bail had not died on Alderaan and ran into Luke - he would have told Luke that Obi-Wan never trained a pupil named "Vader".

 

There's plenty of people in the Rebellion who are as old as Bail.

 

But would any of them have run into Obi-Wan and Anakin? Would any of them have a history of all the people Obi-Wan had trained with? Would any of those people have been close enough to Obi-Wan to know details like that?

I hate to bring the EU into this - but the Clone War cartoons seem to have Obi-Wan and Anakin split up constantly. So half the time, people would see Obi-Wan fighting alone and not know of either Anakin, nor this supposed "Vader" pupil. Also - the Jedi seem to change up randomly during the war. Sometimes Obi-Wan fought with Mace or Kit or Plo or whoever. For all the average non-Jedi know, all those people were Obi-Wan's pupils. I doubt anyone on the battle field would care about little details like that.

And unless anyone knows the intimate details of Anakin's "death" - no one would be able to deny that story. As far as I know, no one outside of a very select few knows the truth about what happened to Anakin on Mustafar. So who would be in the Rebellion, even at Bail's age and a possible Clone Wars veteran, that could say Obi-Wan's story doesn't add up?

I think Obi-Wan's phony story largely holds up against scrutiny against a random person that may have served with him in the past. Again, Bail is probably one of the few non-Jedi to know that level of detail (in the Rebellion).

 

ANH never implies that Anakin was Obi-Wan's apprentice, just that they were good friends. Luke took everything Obi-Wan said at face value.

 

Luke assumed that Vader and Anakin were two totally different people. Obi-Wan had a pupil named Darth Vader who went and murdered another Jedi named Anakin Skywalker (Luke's father).

Obi-Wan lied.

What really happened was that Anakin Skywalker (Luke's father) became evil, and when he did so, he became Darth Vader.

EDIT: When could Luke have heard it? Well, who would have known Anakin Skywalker? Skywalker IS a common last name in that galaxy. Also, do any of them know about the Jedi/believe in the Jedi anymore? Do they know about Obi-Wan personally? Han himself doesn't buy into the Force, so he'd just assume Luke's dad was a guy who died a long time ago.

 

Recall the following dialogue from ROTS:

Obi-Wan: I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you.
Anakin Skywalker: I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over!
Obi-Wan: Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!
Anakin Skywalker: From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!
Obi-Wan: Well, then you are lost!
Anakin Skywalker: This is the end for you, my master.

Obi Wan failed to serve one his responsibilities as a Jedi Master - to protect and guide his dear apprentice Anakin Skywalker towards the path of the light side. Instead, he saw Anakin fall from grace and turn to the dark side. Anakin is the Chosen One - the one who will bring balance to the force. Imagine the toll that takes on your mind, even as a Jedi Master, to have failed to protect and guide your apprentice. It would not be so easy to take on another apprentice without the fear of failing again.

Obi-Wan: You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them. You were to bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness.
Anakin Skywalker: I HATE YOU!
Obi-Wan: You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.

 

It is proven that he had multiple padawans because Luke Skywalker was his pupil in ANH and technically sort of in ESB.

 

Not Padawan in that sense, it was unofficial and informal. He showed Luke how to use the Force, sure, but he sacrificed himself for their survival before much more could happen. The most training Luke received was from Yoda himself.

 

In the original story treatments Obi Wan led a group of padawans. In the films this was reduced to one teacher, one student, not a group. Only one padawan at a time. At the time of Luke's training I don't think Ben and Yoda were concerned over giving Luke a title of padawan.

 

Warning for those who do not consider the EU canon to the story I know this is a film board but May the force be with you did bring up the EU so I am going to add to his mention of it.

But the Older Clone Wars EU has Anakin and Obi-wan as ridiculously famous in the Republic during the War. Strovers novelization of the Revenge of the Sith talks about kids all over the Republic having schoolyard fights about who was the better hero. Anakin especially in the Pre TCW clone wars is refered to a few times as "the Poster Boy". So a good deal of People from the Core Worlds would have known Anakin had been Obi-wans apprentice but they may not have know if obi-wan had another apprentice. Just like many would not have know that Anakin had an apprentice himself in Ashoka

Now Rebel leaders especially former officers of the Republic Navy and Senators it would likely know that Obi-wan had only one apprentice because it is a much smaller group of people than your average citizen and a group which would have more opportunity to either know more about the two men or actually have known them. As you said above Bail definitely knows who he is per the EU.

Bail figures out Vader=Anakin within a few months of ROTS, He had heard Yoda and Obi-wan mention Anakin had turned to the sith, He also knew Obi-wan left a burnt and crippled Anakin on Mustafar, a few months later Vader shows up on Alderann looking for Senator(I forget the name, he was one of the Senators cut from the movie in the formation of the Rebellion scenes) who the Emperor wants dead,Vader is in a life support suit and carries a lightsaber. Bail immediately orders His wife to stay in her room with Leia and not leave it till he says it is ok and orders Captain Antilles to Hide 3P0 and R2. Bail would not have told Luke if he had lived for the same reason he never told Leia, he would have wanted to protect him.
There is less of a chance Mon Mothma and other rebel leaders know as they did not have the amount of contact with Anakin and Obi-wan that Bail did.

Interestingly though the larger group of people who would have possibly Known Anakin=Vader were Imperial officers and Moffs, Mas Amedda definitely knew as I believe he was in the room with Palpatine when Anakin reports in from Mustafar. But the Imps would not have been in a position to tell Luke.