Who is the Hero- Luke or Anakin?

E1-E2: Rise
E3-E4: Fall
E5-E6: Redemption

 

The hero is Anakin. When I first saw the Star Wars movies, I always thought of Luke as the hero. When I started watching the prequels, I began to realize that Anakin was the one who brought balance to the force. And those of you'll who still wonder who the hero is, I got one question for you "Who killed the emperor?" Answer:ANAKIN SKYWALKER a.k.a. DARTH VADER (I know, it took me along time for me to finally realize that.)

 

I believe that they both are the hero. Luke is the hero for bringing Anikin back to the Light side of the force. Anikin is the hero for restoring Balance to the force.

 

Luke is the hero. If Luke wasn't there Anakin would have never turned back to the light and killed the Emporer. It was only because of Luke's strength and love that Vader/Anakin did what he did.

 

"that Vader/Anakin did what he did."

...which was rid the universe of evil.

Pretty heroic, huh?

 

Who says heroes have to good all the time? The tragic hero is a type of hero and therefore those who are anti-heroes should be considered heroes...
Definitions:
1. The principal male character in a novel, play, etc. [from Latin heros, from Greek] Anakin, The Chosen one We all know that Anakin is the lead character in the PT and Luke is the lead character in the OT. I think you all will agree.
Now as for the entire saga, Luke was not even a twinkle in Anakin's eye in the PT and Anakin/Darth Vader ultimately makes the final decision and action which brings the saga to its conclusion, so he, in essence, is the character present throughout the saga and the one who determines the outcome. Anakin is the primary hero.

2. A man who is idealized for possessing superior qualities in any field Anakin, The Chosen One Although Luke shows he has superior qualities in the PT that is attributed to his being a Jedi as a result of being a son of a Jedi, we later find out that Darth Vader is superior and was trained as a Jedi whereas Luke merely had begun his training with Obi-Wan and Yoda.

3. Classical myth. a being of extraordinary strength and courage, often the offspring of a mortal and a god, who is celebrated for his exploits. Anakin, Offspring of the Force and a Mortal "The Chosen One" prophecy focuses the story on Anakin and ultimately changed our conception of who the story was about, and he fulfills that prophecy.

 

Now that I think about it,

I say they both are the hero, very different kinds of heroes maybe, but in the end they both save each other.

 

Luke is the hero.

Anakin is just a misunderstood monster.

 

Is killing the Emperor really that significant? Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't he have died anyway a minute later when the Death Star blew up?

 

No. Luke had enough time to escape the Death Star while dragging Vader.

The Imperials would make sure that the Emperor was the first one of the station if they knew it was going down.

 

I've thought about this quite a bit. But honestly, I would say Anakin was the hero of the SW saga. Luke was charged with correcting the error that Anakin did, but it was Anakin that ultimately made the right choice in the end that brought balance to the Force, brought the Empire to its knees, destroyed the Emperor, eliminated the Sith, and enabled his son to restore the Jedi Order all in one act.

 

yes anakin set the path for luke, he learned from his father and strayed from that path, plus there is something about anakins character with being enslaved, let down, in love and so young touches me. I like him the most out of ALL character i have read into.

 

Who killed the emperor?" Answer:ANAKIN SKYWALKER a.k.a. DARTH VADER (I know, it took me along time for me to finally realize that.)

And Anakin NEVER WOULD HAVE KILLED THE EMPEROR if weren't for who?

That's right. Luke Skywalker.

Anakin's not a hero. Luke is a hero.

And if Lucas wants to rewrite his own history to make Star Wars Anakin's story, that's fine, it's his idea. But Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is NOT someone to emulate or admire. If you want to admire him, or think he's worthy of praise, good for you, I certainly won't try to change your mind. I just don't agree, and never, ever will.

Vader/Anakin never would have brought balance to the Force (i.e. thrown Palpatine from the 200th storey balcony) if it hadn't been for his son.

Both were necessary to the story, despite Anakin getting a nifty title. Luke was just as important to the prophecy being fulfilled as his father, because his father couldn't have done it without his son there to challenge and change his perceptions.

Luke's role often gets minimized in these "nah nah nah, who's the Chosen One" discussions. They're both vital to the story. Without both, neither could triumph in the end.

 

Hero doesn't always = someone to look up to. Anakin's role in the saga is technically the tragic hero. The villain is Palpatine. He defeated the villain, just like all mythological heroes defeat the villain.

 

"Tragic hero" and "hero" are different things.

 

"Luke was just as important to the prophecy being fulfilled as his father, because his father couldn't have done it without his son there to challenge and change his perceptions."

As was the Rebellion, since 1) their presence helped set up and distract the Emperor, and 2) neither Luke or Vader destroyed the Death Star.

Palpatine - "Your faith in your friends is yours"

He was soooo wrong. Luke's faith in his friends aided him, while Palp's "faith" in his apprentice signed his death warrant.

"Tragic hero" and "hero" are different things."

Agreed, but both Luke and Anakin became each other's hero. That's an important element in the Redemption theme.

 

Luke. Bringing balance to the Force may make Anakin the Chosen One, but the question isn't who the Chosen One is, it isn't who fulfilled the prophecy, it's who's the hero. Anakin gave into temptation, while Luke was strong enough to resist it for the greater good, and if not for him, Anakin would never have fulfilled the prophecy. That's much more heroic than turning evil for half you life and doing one heroic act before you die.

 

obi-ewan yoou can go suck lemons because anikin didnt just do one heroic act he did multiple things like, volonteering to race in the boonta eve race so that qwi-gon could get his ship back in working condition and he gave all of the money that he got from selling his pod to his mother. Plus he wanted nothing more than to make his mother happy.

 

Guys who say Luke is the hero of the sage aren't looking deeper into it.

Luke is the hero of the OT but Anakin is the hero of the Saga. Lets take it all back to TPM.

In TPM Anakin helps the whole republic win that distupte with the Trade Federation by taking control of a ship (He is only 9 yeard old) going into space and destroying the core ship which deactivated the force-fields on the Trade Federation Droids which then helped the Gungans win the battle and bring peace back to the Republic. Anakin was the quiet unknown hero of that war.

Now head to AOTC. He saved Obi-Wan's life in the Speeder Chase when Obi-Wan was falling. He also caused Zam Wessels ship to crash by jumping on it and causeing it to crash. Without that, Obi-Wan would've never got that dart thing to ask Dex about because it was Anakin to cause her to crash and chased her down. If it were Obi-Wan, they would've still been flying trying to chash her.

In Episode III he will be the Hero of the Clone Wars. But also he will fall to the Darkside.

But before I head to the OT, remember GL said that after seeing EP3, in the OT we will view Vader differently. So keep that in mind when all you think of Vader as in the OT as a evil non-loving villian.

Now in EP4. Vader is the Villian and like Anakin in EP1, Luke saves the day by destroying the Death Star. The only difference is, unlike Anakin which was the quiet unknown hero in EP1, in EP4 Luke basiclly did the same that Anakin did in EP1 except for he is honored more and isn't the quiet hero but the known now popular hero.

In EP5 Vader is still the Villian but in the fight with Luke, he offers to not kill his son so that he can join him to rule the galaxy. Luke refuses and is the hero for doing so and not going to the DS.

In EP6 Vader is still the villian, but signs of the good in him are starting to show. Luke saves his sister and Han-Solo from Jaba the Hutt and Boba Fett. Luke also helped the Ewoks with the Storm Troopers. End the end, it is Luke who is the weakest as he is the one being killed by the Emperor and it is no other then the reborn Anakin Skywalker coming in to save the day and killing the Emperor that has ruled the galaxy for over 20 something years. It was Anakin who saved the day and killed the Emperor to bring peace and harmony back to the Galaxy. It was Anakin who was the hero of the Great Clone Wars. It was Anakin who destroyed the Trade Federation ship to help the Battle of Naboo goto the Republic. It was Anakin Skywalker. Anakin and Luke are both heros, but it is Anakin that finished it all. Its just that Anakin died and Luke lived on. Anakin is the main hero cause at the end he is the one who killed the last remaining Sith of the Sith order and he also saved his soon which opened doors for future generations of the Jedi Order as Luke goes on to create his own Jedi Academy. Anakin is the hero with Luke being the supporting person to all of this. If it were Luke saving Vader from the Emperor then it would've been a different story. But like I said. When it was all said and done, Anakin saved the day, not Luke.


Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Leia, Han, Chewie, Qui-Gon, Mace, Padme, Jar-Jar are all just supporting people along the way. But Anakin is in all the hero of the Star Wars Saga, as far as movies are concerned.

 

I think they are both hereoes in their own way. Because Luke could never have defeated Palpatine without Anakin/vadar's help. He helped his father conquer his inner demons and destroy palpatine. So I think they are both the heroes.

 

I think the best way to look at this is to dust off the old english launguage definitions.

First of all Episode 1-3 is Anakins Story Arc. He is what is known as a Protagonist. Now a protagonist dosn't mean that he's a hero or a villian, it just means he's the main character. His journeys and goals are the one's we follow.

Now the opposite of the protagonist is the Antagonist- The person, object, idea that attempts to block protagonist from achieving his goal. In the Prequels-Palpatine and the dark side are the protagonist. Anakins quest to be a great jedi and help everyone is derailed by Palpatine.

Thus Anakin is a FAILED protagonist.

Episodes 4, 5, 6 Luke is the protagonist. He wants to live up to the ideals of the Jedi order and help defeat the Empire. This time the Antagonist is Vader AND the Emperor.
However-Luke realizes the good in Vader and manages to Save Anakin. Anakin-in an acto of redemption-removes a great evil from the galaxy.

Luke therefor is a succesfull Protagonist.

OVER ALL-the Skywalker family is succesful in redeeming the sins of the earlier geration.

But if you want to judge it on a MORAL level.
Luke is the one who is the hero. He does NOT susscums to the Dark Side and join the emperor. He does submit to his emotional wims completely.

Anakin, however, knows he has betrayed evertying he's worked for. He relizes the horror of what he did on Tatoonie..."I'm a Jedi...I'm better than this"

But he isn't...and becuase he falls to his own anger-he becomes a villian.

 

Hi, I'm new to the forums! Yah!

But seriously, I don't think George Lucas made the story so easy to interpret as to the hero being one person, or two.

We all forget that Qui-Gon discovered Anakin in the first place. W/O him, Anakin, Luke's father, prabably would still be a slave.

Or how about Queen Amidala? W/O her, Luke wouldn't be here at all. Neither would Princess Leia.

So, to conclude, I think everyone that helped bring the new republic back are heroes. And I know that some of you hate those who doesn't pick sides, but that's my opinion, and I would like it if you respect it. Thank you.

And to all those who agree with me, Queen Amidala and Princess Leia kick ass! (By the way, "kick ass" is a compliment.)

 

"But if you want to judge it on a MORAL level.
Luke is the one who is the hero. He does NOT susscums to the Dark Side and join the emperor. He does submit to his emotional wims completely."

Not that I'm arguing the underlying assertion of your argument (which I agree with), but it's not quite as black and white as that. Anakin falls almost completely into the Dark Side, whereas Luke does touch on it in ROTJ. The interesting question is, who had the toughest "transition".

Luke - Having touched on the strength of the Dark Side, he ultimately refused it, despite the fact that his friends, the Rebellion, and the galaxy's fate hung in the balance (though his faith in the Force did pay off)

Anakin - spent twenty years in the Dark Side, losing all family and friends, serving a man who ultimately saw him as simply a "tool". Anakin even felt that he, himself, was incapable (or perhaps unworthy) of turning back to the Light Side. Despite years of hatred, as well as giving up such incredible power, he decides to risk his own life for his son.

Anyways, just something to chew on...

"We all forget that Qui-Gon discovered Anakin in the first place. W/O him, Anakin, Luke's father, probably would still be a slave."

Then again, Owen might have bought Shmi and Anakin years later, and Anakin would have been free. Lucas even says that Qui-gon's interference might have had a negative impact on the overal scheme of things, and I'm inclined to agree.

"And to all those who agree with me, Queen Amidala and Princess Leia kick ass!"

**Leia's Bikini Scene Discussion Thread**

 

**Leia's Bikini Scene Discussion Thread**

Best thread ever!

 

I think the true hero is Anakin.