CT Why do people blame Vader for destroying Alderaan?

Not necessarily. Some of the new comics and novels suggests that the only person who knew in advance that Tarkin intended to destroy Alderaan was Tarkin himself.
Vader believed that he just intended to use the threat of firing to scare Leia into revealing the location of the Rebel base, which was the reason they took her prisoner in the first place.

Alderaan was a core planet, and I understand Tarkin was acting without the official permission of the Emperor, who was pissed afterwards. Also its very likely that Vader on some level didn't actually believe it capable of destroying a planet, thinking it to be something of a vain boast.

Vader's position on the Death Star and in the Imperial Military was somewhat more problematic. He was actually made subordinate to Tarkin, and one source says he had no formal military rank. Later revisions suggest the Emperor refused to put him in charge of the DS because he was afraid he'd use it to overthrow him.

 

Which I think also suggests that perhaps on some level Vader didn't entirely believe the Death Star could actually destroy a planet. That he saw it as something of a vain boast by the Imperial Military, overconfident in themselves. He always had something of a difficult relationship to Imperial Officers and personnel anyway.

...and people forget we see him obeying Tarkin's orders a few times. The only time he really acts of his own volition in ANH is going after Obi Wan Kenobi, and even then he has to tell Tarkin first. He's a very mysterious figure in that movie, nobody seems to know his origins, position or status.

 

The problem with applying real rules and laws to Star Wars is that the Universe has become gradually more complicated and removed from reality as time has progressed. To the point that now, in Legends we have 2-3 examples of planets being destroyed or decimated, and even the Jedi taking part in genocide.

By Return of the Jedi it becomes apparent that the hold the Emperor has over Vader is far more than that of a normal human over his enforcer. It doesn't really help that both their positions and status were revised and rewritten throughout the making of the series though.

 

It doesn't really help that Tarkin dies at the end of the first movie though. That's probably part of the reason. I do recall when ANH was made Lucas wasn't even sure there would be a sequel, or if it would be made. .

 

That depends on what sources you've read, and what you think of the status of Sidious. At the tome of ANH the Emperor is a shadowy figure, and implied to be a mere human, but of course later he's a space wizard.

In some of the new comics and some of the older novels he's rather prone to torturing Vader. He could make him wish for death, but would not actually allow him the release that it would provide.

 

Kind of bears out what I say about the problems of applying the morality and moral expectations of our world to Star Wars though. In Legends he have a Jedi Knight using a super-weapon to devastate an entire planet and to end a war, and that's before he falls to the Dark Side.

Then there are also the people who still think Vader and Sidius are literal Nazis, rather than members of a religious cult of space wizards..

Vader is more prominent in the OT because he's in all 3 movies, whereas Tarkin is only in one. In ANH he was meant to be a sort of shadowy and scary figure with magical powers that make him more fearsome.

 

Absolutely agree. In A New Hope we only hear of the Emperor and even Vader's real position is ambiguous (some kind of ex-Jedi with magical powers who's scary??). Leia seems to be pretty convinced he's Tarkin's attack dog in that movie, and a dog is not superior to his mater.

In the later movies, and the newer canon material its made pretty clear that there would have been severe consequences for Vader if he'd dared to oppose Tarkin. Not just a slap on the wrist. In one of the new comics I believe Sidious holds him personally responsible for the destruction of the Death Star, and tortures him almost to death for it.

 

We have to make a lot of assumptions with this position though. We have to assume that one, he actually knew in advance that Tarkin would and could destroy the planet, and I don't think there's much support for that even in ANH.

I get the impression he believed Tarkin just planned to use the threat of firing his weapon (test out his new toy) to scare Leia, and maybe just using it to destroy the rebel base.
He's pretty contemptuous of the Death Star in the first part of ANH, and seems to have doubted how powerful it actually was.

 

That's why I think Vader might on some level have doubted whether the Death Star could actually be used to destroy a planet. Of course, Rogue One retcons some things, but he'd heard about the destruction of a city (and was pissed by it), but that's far different from an entire planet.

I think he believed on some level that the whole claim to be able to destroy a planet was some vain boast by Imperials with no respect for "the power of the Force" as per his classic line.

 

Yes. The impression I get from that scene is that Tarkin intended to use the threat of firing to scare Leia into revealing the location of the rebel base, and that nobody was expecting him to actually do it anyway.

As I've said above, I also rather think Vader didn't really believe the Death Star could actually destroy an entire planet. He seems to have regarded the claim as a boast by arrogant Imperial Military personnel who had no respect for higher powers (like the Force).

 

just a heads up @Medievalgirl1 double posting isn’t welcome here

let alone decuple posting

 

Vader stood by and said nothing, so he was complicent. Not sure if Vader could have convinced Tarkin, but he didn't even try. Vader said the ability to destroy a planet was insignificant next to the power of the Force. So he probably thinks the DS is capable of it, he just isn't impressed. And after RO, he's witnessed it blowing up a planet.

 

this is basically how I see it, Vader long after the destruction of Alderaan, is still serving and supporting the Empire, so he’s entirely complicit.

 

George Lucas sanctioned this?

I've always been aware that Anakin was complicit in the Death Star's destruction, like many others who remained part of the Galactic Empire. But there were many who believed he was the main person behind Alderaan's destruction. Also, the Death Star was exclusively Tarkin's command. And I believe Tarkin only answered to Palpatine and no one else.

 

Because he is actually partially responsible for it.

Tarkin was doing it and he did nothing to stop him from doing that.

It's similar to not doing anything when a friend of you wants to murder another person in front of you.

 

Vader had nothing to do with it. He has done many an evil deed in his time. Destroying Alderaan was not one of them. As Yoda said. Do or do not. Tarkin "dooded". Vader "do notted".

 

Vader could stop him though. Similar to the way he stopped that imperial guard trash talking about his abilities.

Some say that the person whom does nothing is worse than a person that is committing a sin.

 

Vader stopping Tarkin in that moment would’ve greatly reduced his reputation and standing in the Empire. No way was he going to intervene in Alderaan’s destruction.

 

I think it was more about following the chain of command. The Death Star was exclusively under Tarkin's command and answered only to the Emperor. The only reason Anakin had arrived there in the first place was to discover the location of the Death Star plans.

 

So, was his reputation more important for him than a planet full of innocent people ?

 

Yes. Trauma can make people go cold inside. Vader's heart did not warm until he met Luke imo.

 

So, it means that he really is partially responsible for the destruction of Aldraan. So, it's ok to blame him for it.

 

yup

 

Tarkin is responsible. Vader's responsibility only goes as far as the other Imperial personnel aboard the Death Star, who didn't bother to stop him. Vader wasn't the only one who could have found a way to prevent Tarkin's order from being carried out. But Tarkin is responsible. And no one didn't have to encourage him to carry out the order.