Luke and Leia - Raised by Vader

This is based on something I wrote in a thread in the PT forum regarding Vader's redemption.

Mustafar - Obi-Wan Kenobi stands ready as Anakin leaps from the platform...Obi-Wan swings his lightsaber only for Anakin to block and counter, killing Obi-Wan....suddenly everything is different. Darth Vader returns to Padme's ship and leaves the planet, taking her to Coruscant, where Luke and Leia are born.

It raises the question...what would Luke and Leia have been like if they had been raised by Vader?

First, there's Sidious...Vader would probably need to move against his Sith Master sooner rather than later either to protect his children or to protect himself. With two children that have great potential in his grasp, Sidious might want to train them himself, so at some point, he would want to kill Vader, to get him out of the way. But let's assume for now that Anakin manages to kill Sidious and become Emperor.

1. Would Anakin honour the rule of 2 and only train one of his children?

2. Would Luke and Leia eventually turn on their father and seize power for themselves?

3. If Vader is Emperor, would Luke have been the one to board the Tantive IV, looking for the stolen plans? Would Leia be in control of the Death Star?

4. What about Padme? If she survived Mustafar, would she stay by Anakin's side (to help protect her children I suppose...though love is blind so she might stay with him because she loves him regardless)?

5. What if Sidious struck first and killed Vader and then went on to raise the twins? Would being raised under Sidious make them any more evil than being raised under Vader?

When you stop and think about it, Obi-Wan losing on Mustafar could have destroyed the prophecy...if both Luke and Leia were Sith Lords there would be nobody to redeem Vader. Plus, in order to fulfill the prophecy, Vader needs to destroy the Sith...he would need to kill his own children.

So in order for the prophecy to be fulfilled, Vader, Luke and Leia would all need to turn on each other in a 3-way duel where they all die...I think it's much more likely that Luke and Leia would team up and kill their father.

Would the very nature of the Sith be changed? If Vader trains both children, it breaks the rule of 2, so perhaps Luke and Leia might have apprentices of their own...maybe the Jedi Order would be replaced by a new Sith Order whose role is to protect the Empire, much like the Jedi did.

It's amazing to think that one little change in the story (Vader winning on Mustafar) would impact the saga and change it completely.

So what are your thoughts? If Luke and Leia had been raised by Vader, how would they have turned out? Could the prophecy be fulfilled? Would the Empire be ruled under a Skywalker Dynasty for a thousand years?

 

I'll just answer this, sorta:

3. If Vader is Emperor, would Luke have been the one to board the Tantive IV, looking for the stolen plans? Would Leia be in control of the Death Star?

Vader didn't seem terribly impressed by the Death Star("Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've created. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant compared to the power of the Force."), so who knows if the Death Stars would've even been constructed.

 

1. Would Anakin honour the rule of 2 and only train one of his children?

I could see him doing this, but at the same time, I don't think Vader would have any respect for anything other than his own power had he raised them and he also may have been blinded by his own emotions enough that he'd think they would stay loyal, which I suppose they might, but probably the Skywalker twins would then work together to overthrow their master with one then taking his mantle of master and the other plotting to take that position away.


2. Would Luke and Leia eventually turn on their father and seize power for themselves?

Probably, though if Vader was smart enough to, he could delay it by pitting them against each other for his favor.

3. If Vader is Emperor, would Luke have been the one to board the Tantive IV, looking for the stolen plans? Would Leia be in control of the Death Star?

I don't think Vader would build the Death Star because he viewed it as a crude abomination. I think what's more likely is Vader would still rule a brutal and oppressive Empire, but one that would rely more on the fact that it has three unparalleled Sith at it's head so any problem that arises could be dealt with by the near god-like power a fully realized Sith Skywalker would have.

4. What about Padme? If she survived Mustafar, would she stay by Anakin's side (to help protect her children I suppose...though love is blind so she might stay with him because she loves him regardless)?

I don't think so. Padme's moral fiber was strong enough that she was ready to leave him on Mustafar, so I see no reason why she wouldn't do that another time. I think she would try to take her children with her though if at all possible.

5. What if Sidious struck first and killed Vader and then went on to raise the twins? Would being raised under Sidious make them any more evil than being raised under Vader?

Sidious would definitely play the Skywalker twins against each other, but in time both would become more powerful than Palpatine and would probably have a wary alliance to kill him, though I don't know that they'd even know they were related as I could see Palpatine keeping that fact to himself in order to keep some leverage.

 

This is illogical, he needed Vader to destroy the Jedi. Also to help him rule.

 

Anakin would have kept them all in some remote planet, living high on the hog, enjoying the fruits of his actions. Presuming Padme did not survive childbirth, Anakin would probably try and leave a double life, keeping his secret role as the henchman for the emperor a secret from his children.