CT Hand on heart; would you have wanted Anakin to die at the end of ROTJ?

But the alternative to turning himself in and what I believe the thread by Stranger is saying is, once redeemed, Luke clearly would have redone his suit and dispose of the Vader suit and burn it on Endor. Meanwhile his father would be transported with him and Leia to Dagobah or Ach To to live a life of exile and remorse.

Of course the story is better with his act of sacrifice but the question is about Vaders life thereafter IF he survived.
The best part to add would be Anakin helping Luke and Leia start the new Jedi Order together on one of these remote worlds.

 

I don't recall there ever being a treatment where Vader lived, the only official acknowledgment to my knowledge was the Infinities comic.

Anakin living would have created a more open ended story because he needs a further purpose. Defeating the Imperial remnants would be top priority in redeeming himself, but also passing on what he's learned; both to Luke and the next generation.

 

Exactly! As I'd said before, my main reason for starting this thread at the first place was to lead off a discussion as to learn readers' thoughts about the path Anakin'd fix on if he survived the lethal effects of Emperor's exciting, rather than knowing whether or not people want Anakin to die.....And much like it's in SW's "Infinities" comic series or Marvel's "What If?" universes, the possibilities are ENDLESS: He (Anakin) would've submitted himself to the justice of the New Republic, he'd have sought redemption in one of the sparsely populated, desolate planets of outer rim, or, well, he'd've "even" become a bounty hunter such as Lee Van Cleef's iconic character Colonal Douglas Mortimer in (Sergio Leone's) spaghetti Western classic "For a Few Dollars More".....


In Ronald D. Moore's Re-Im. Battlestar Galactica; Athena (Grace Park) resigns herself to the Colonial Fleet, she is imprisoned for a while, and after her penalty ends, she serves BSG as a loyal officer under the command of Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos).....But; different from her (Athena), Anakin committed massive crimes against the galaxy (during the time he was Darth Vader), and if he'd surrendered himself to the NR, the time of his confinement would last much longer than Athena.


Even though, his services to the Old Republic as being a Jedi Knight, plus his heroic deeds against the Separatist forces during the period of the Clone Wars would commute his punishment, and when his incarceration ended, he (Anakin) would've been a high grade officer of the NR, or (he would've) helped Luke to train a new generation of Jedi Knights in the Jedi Academy. And if he'd lived up to the time of the Sequel Trilogy, he would have helped the Resistance in order to infiltrate the First Order, which'd risen from the ashes of the Galactic Empire. As an officer who knows the weaknesses of the Empire, he would've been a VALUABLE asset for the Resistance.....

 

It's not about wanting him to die. But there was no other way. He's not walking around free anywhere after all the atrocities he committed. He's certainly not going to train any Jedi. That ship has long sailed.

 

I hope no one is suggesting he could be a traditional Master with his own padawan to be trained exclusively by him; that's begging for trouble. But I could see him as a special advisor with a limited role occasionally appearing as a guest lecturer to warn students about the perils of the dark side; kind of a defense against dark arts tutor operating with close supervision.

 

If Anakin had survived, and wasn't executed for war crimes, I think Leia would have eventually murdered him. I mean, look what she did to Jabba the Hutt, and HE only made her wear a metal bikini.

 

That's a good point. Leia did have difficulty forgiving Anakin in the EU when he manifested as a Force ghost to her. I don't necessarily believe that she would have killed him, but she would have been uncomfortable in his presence.

As much as we appreciate what Anakin did for Luke, it's important to remember that, when you consider the man's legacy, he's Vader, not Anakin Skywalker. As Anakin, he did many good things under and after Obi-Wan's tutelage. However, his legacy as Vader was, unfortunately, more impactful insofar as he was a very effective enforcer for Emperor Palpatine. Sidious was content to use Vader as the face of the Empire. So, it would probably be hard for the galaxy at large to accept this notion that Anakin was a good person. His act of saving Luke would probably not be enough to convince them.

 

As a kid seeing it in theaters in 83 I wanted him to live and even in white armor (long before infinities was a thing). By the late 80's I saw it as a fitting end to his character.

 

Anakin Skywalker and the Room of Padawans is a Jedi HR Holovid just waiting to happen.

 

White armor? That was really a thing in the EU? Wouldn't putting Vader in white armor, sort of conjure up the image of stormtroopers?

 

Specifically, in an alternate timeline, where Leia ends up actually setting off the thermal detonator in Jabba's palace.

 

She set off the thermal detonator? Hell of a plan there, Luke.

 

Things went wrong (3PO was damaged enough when Jabba knocked him over after "35, no less", that he couldn't mediate during the "Because he's holding a thermal detonator" scene.)

The ending (shown on the previous page of this thread) includes a surviving Palpatine (though the Death Star II had been destroyed as well).

The other two "alternate timelines" in the Star Wars Infinities comic series- "DS1 doesn't get successfully blown up at Yavin" (ANH-centric one), and "Luke freezes to death on Hoth" (TESB-centric one).

 

I imagine that freezing scenario went something like this; OBI WAN (to Luke, who's laying in the snow); Luke, you will go to the Dagobah system. (No response) OBI Wan; Luke? (Still no response) OBI WAN; Sh *t!

 

Actually, Luke tells Han "Go to Dagobah" after Han has found him, before dying. Han brings Leia with him - and Yoda trains Leia.

 

Personally, I thought the first of the OT Infinities series worked best. And I did like how Yoda settled the score at the end.
I am a bit surprised that nobody has tried an Infinities re-write of the PT, like "What if Obi-Wan had faced Maul first during the last duel on Naboo?"

 

Life in jail/ permanent exile.

 

Forced to entertain at children's bday parties, dressed as an Ewok.

 

I mean...nah.Anakins' death is a heroic sacrifice that's stayed evergreen.

This is a trope that's gotten way overused in recent years (Logan, Endgame, No Time To Die, something I'm forgetting) and part of that is that it's not portrayed as a struggle for the people doing it. They just choose to die and it's no big deal.

Anakin otoh? It is one long time where he's just frozen between saving Luke and obeying his Master, and even outside of that final scene his struggle over doing the right thing occupies a lot of his screen time. It's a fantastic ending to his character that versions of this since then haven't equalled.

 

The TS seems to want a discussion based on the premise that Anakin survives the confrontation on the second Death Star.

Then he'd be executed as a war criminal within a few years at most, which I'd support. I don't support the death sentence, but I'll allow it in cases of magic wielding, genocidal war criminals. I'd give him the rope and let him strangle to death, and I'd have an explosive implanted in him (lol) just in case, along with about 200 blasters pointed at him. Probably a bunch of other precautions, too.

 

Nobody knows Anakin is Vader. Just publicly say Vader was killed and Anakin can live a peaceful life with his son somewhere in the Outer Rim training a new generation of Jedi.

Luke could defintiely use all the knowledge Anakin had. Plus Anakin also knows lots about the Dark Side, including hidden Sith temples and bases like Exegol...

 

If he survived, I think he would want to live a quiet life away from war. He's had enough of that.
All he has to do is get another surgery into a different-looking suit and no one would recognize him. The only people who know the secret would be Luke and the ones close to him. Leia probably wouldn't forgive him, but she doesn't want to hurt Luke's feelings either. I think she would likely keep the secret for him but just never talk to him. Han and Chewie wouldn't care and won't leak the secret either.
The only indeterminate one is R2. Does he think Padme died from Anakin's force choke? Does he understand that Luke and Leia are Anakin and Padme's children? Would he tell them about the force choke? Did R2 hear and understand Padme's last words about there still being good in Anakin? Would he tell Anakin that? How would everyone respond to the things R2 might tell them? Would R2 himself forgive Anakin?

 

I believe it was the right ending for him.