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Every Star Wars Character Who Knew Anakin Was Darth Vader

Darth Vader’s true identity was a closely guarded secret, and only a handful of people knew he was really Anakin Skywalker. Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker was a celebrated hero of the Clone Wars, and the galaxy believed he was killed during Order 66, along with the rest of the Jedi. Darth Vader was seen as a mysterious and enigmatic force, a powerful being who suddenly burst onto the scene as the Emperor’s enforcer. No doubt Palpatine quite liked the mystique, which would ensure people focused on Vader as the Dark Lord of the Sith rather than thought too much about his Master.

According to James Luceno’s novel Tarkin, there were countless rumors about Darth Vader’s true identity. Some believed he was a counterpart to the Confederacy’s General Grievous, held in reserve by Palpatine in case the Jedi betrayed him; others considered him to be an artificial monster created in a laboratory. “Many believed that the Emperor’s willingness to grant so much authority to such a being heralded the shape of things to come,” Luceno writes, “for it was beyond dispute that Vader was the Empire’s first terror weapon.” The secret was kept even after the events of Return of the Jedi, with Luke sharing the knowledge only with his immediate family; Han, Leia, C-3PO, and R2-D2. They kept it to themselves, although some of Leia’s more observant political allies such as Mon Mothma became suspicious. Finally, the truth exploded into the open in Claudia Gray’s novel Bloodline, destroying Leia’s political career – and shaking her son Ben Solo to the core, for even he had been unaware he was the grandson of Darth Vader.

As closely guarded a secret as this may have been, there were a handful of people who knew the truth. Here are all the ones confirmed to date in the various Star Wars tie-ins.

Palpatine

It was Palpatine that led Anakin Skywalker to the dark side and gave him the Darth Vader name. The Emperor always knew the truth, and he seems to have been the one who decided it should remain a closely guarded secret. The interesting question is whether or not Palpatine disclosed Darth Vader’s true identity to his closest advisers, or whether he quite enjoyed cultivating an air of mystery even among the upper echelons of the Empire. It’s possible Mas Amedda was in the loop, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

What’s also still to be revealed is how much influence the Emperor has over the Inquisitors, who directly answer to Vader himself. Since Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ showed that the Inquisitors know about Darth Vader’s history as Anakin and his ties to Obi-Wan it means that Palpatine chose to let his apprentice’s apprentices in on their master’s mysterious past, or Vader flouted The Emperor’s wishes and told his trusted Inquisitors about his time as the Jedi Anakin Skywalker.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi was the most obvious person in on the secret, but in the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series, it’s revealed he didn’t know about he and Vader’s shared past until many years after the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan first gains this knowledge when Reva the Third Sister taunts him, meaning he spent a decade unaware his once-Padawan survived their encounter on Mustafar.

While Obi-Wan Kenobi sent a warning message to the other Jedi telling them to flee and to hide after Order 66 in Episode III, he didn’t tell them about Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the Dark Side. He probably thought Anakin’s story over, naively believing the charred limbless creature that was supposed to be Star Wars’ Chosen One died shortly after crawling from the lava rivers of Mustafar, which explains why he was so horrified when he first heard Darth Vader was alive.

While Obi-Wan Kenobi does explain why Obi-Wan didn’t tell everyone Anakin is Darth Vader, it raises some new questions. Obi-Wan was aware of the Inquisitors, so presumably also knew of Vader, their leader. Who did he believe this previously-unknown Sith powerhouse was if not Anakin, and why didn’t he wait to sense Anakin’s presence leaving the Force before assuming he didn’t survive? Hopefully, Obi-Wan Kenobi clears up these questions by the time the six-episode series concludes on Disney+

Luke, Han, and Leia

In The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader revealed the shocking truth to Luke; that he was really Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father. It wasn’t until Return of the Jedi that Luke told Leia, but interestingly her focus appears to have been more on the fact Luke was her brother than Darth Vader was her father. In Claudia Gray’s novel Bloodline, Leia reflected on how uncomfortable she felt with being the daughter of Darth Vader. She had encountered the Dark Lord of the Sith a handful of times during her political career, but her abiding memory of Vader was as her torturer on the Death Star.

It wasn’t until Bloodline that she began to truly understand Anakin Skywalker, in a situation where she too felt tempted. “She’d always wondered what had led her father to turn to the dark side,” Leia reflected, “to become Darth Vader. She’d imagined it came from ambition, greed, or some other venal weakness. Never had she considered that the turn might begin in a better place, out of the desire to save someone or to avenge a great wrong. Even if it led to evil, that first impulse might be born of loyalty, a sense of justice, or even love.“

Leia seems to have told Han Solo the full story pretty quickly, and it’s reasonable to assume Han told Chewie in turn, but there’s actually no evidence for this.

R2-D2 and C-3PO

Unlike C-3PO, R2-D2 never had a memory wipe in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Instead, the diminutive droid appears to have kept his own counsel, perhaps wary of interfering too much in Luke’s personal journey. C-3PO lost those memories, but he remained with Han and Leia’s family after Return of the Jedi, so can reasonably be assumed to have learned the truth by eavesdropping. Fortunately, while the protocol droid is hardly discreet, he wouldn’t have seen the need to tell anyone unless it came up in conversation. C-3PO’s memories were completely restored by R2-D2 in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and he now remembers the whole saga.

Master Yoda

Master Yoda knew that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker- the boy he sensed too much fear in to train way back in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. For many years it’s been assumed Master Yoda was aware from the day Vader gained his cybernetic enhancements and signature wheeze. However, since it’s been revealed that Obi-Wan didn’t learn Anakin survived for a full ten years, it’s no longer a guarantee Yoda knew for the entirety of time between Episode III and the first Yoda appearance in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Yoda never encountered Darth Vader, even in the animated shows or canon comics and novels, although they did cross paths in the non-canon Legends material. Who would win in a fight between Yoda and Darth Vader has been one of the most divisive questions among Star Wars fans for decades. Since the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi may mean Disney need to explain how Yoda learned of Anakin’s survival before meeting Luke in Episode V,  there’s an opening for the two to finally meet on-screen. With shows that feature Order 66 surviving Jedi like Ahsoka in the works, Yoda learning Darth Vader’s identity could easily be included as a dramatic scene preceding a Yoda vs Darth Vader showdown in a way that wouldn’t feel forced or contrived.

Bail Organa

Bail Organa was present during the climactic end of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, and there can be no doubt he was aware of Darth Vader’s true identity. That makes Bail particularly impressive because he remained politically active, and any ill-judged reaction – or even stray thought – could have told Palpatine or Vader he knew more than he was letting on. Worse still, Bail had a lot to lose if he was found out, because a close look at his affairs could well have led Vader to realize the orphan in Bail’s care was actually his own daughter, Leia.

The Disney canon has done wonders for Bail, helping readers to understand what made this complicated man tick, encouraging them to appreciate his strategic brilliance as he worked to form the Rebel Alliance while being closely monitored by Palpatine and his forces.

Ahsoka Tano

Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan during the Clone Wars, Ahsoka was one of the few survivors of Order 66, and she became a key agent of the Rebel Alliance in the years before the Battle of Yavin IV. Ahsoka began to suspect the truth about Darth Vader in Star Wars Rebels season 2, and her worst fears were confirmed when she confronted the Sith Lord in the dramatic season finale. To her horror, she realized she would never be able to reach Anakin, and so instead engaged him in what should have been a duel to the death. Ahsoka was rescued by Ezra Bridger using the World Between Worlds, and her actions from that point on are something of a mystery. She clearly never told the Rebel Alliance what she had learned, although she may well have discussed it privately with Bail Organa.

Darth Maul

Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 strongly suggests Darth Maul had figured out Anakin Skywalker’s fate. He had deduced Darth Sidious’ plans, figuring out the Emperor’s goal was to seduce Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, and consequently, he would have immediately guessed who this mysterious Sith Lord really was. It’s unknown whether or not Maul ever realized Obi-Wan Kenobi was the one to cripple Vader; he would have found a certain dark humor in that.

Grand Moff Tarkin

James Luceno’s novel Tarkin confirms the Grand Moff had deduced who Darth Vader really was. Tarkin had worked with Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, and he found the Dark Lord of the Sith eerily familiar, even recognizing some of his tactics. While Vader’s face and voice made it nearly impossible to recognize his identity, Tarkin felt like Vader already had a familiarity with him, meaning he may have been someone Tarkin was already well acquainted with.

While he never confirmed it outright, Tarkin had a brilliant tactical mind and recognized Anakin’s technique with a lightsaber, his military strategy, and his interaction with the stormtroopers under his command. But Tarkin knew better than to voice his suspicions.

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Grand Admiral Thrawn had encountered Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars while on reconnaissance missions detailed in Thrawn: Alliances and Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising. In fact, it was Thrawn’s name-dropping Anakin that initially persuaded Palpatine to allow the Chiss into his presence in the first place.

A strategic genius if not a political one, Thrawn swiftly deduced Darth Vader was in fact Anakin Skywalker. He too had the wisdom to keep quiet about the knowledge, although he did indicate his suspicions to Vader in Thrawn: Alliances.

Jocasta Nu

Jocasta Nu was one of the few survivors of Order 66 to figure out the truth about Anakin Skywalker, having learned this when a medical droid scanned the Sith Lord. She attempted to use this knowledge to cause discord in Imperial forces, revealing it to a group of Stormtroopers who had arrested her, but Darth Vader killed them all in order to preserve his secret. He then cut Jocasta Nu down for good measure.

Ferren Barr

Ferren Barr was a Jedi Padawan who served in the Clone Wars and managed to survive Order 66. He fled to the aquatic planet of Mon Cala, and spent months attempting to learn the truth about the fall of the Jedi Order. A slicer he hired managed to access security recordings from the Jedi Temple, and Ferren Barr was shocked to learn that Anakin Skywalker had slain the Younglings. Ferren Barr trained a group of Force-sensitives on Mon Cala, but his band was attacked by Darth Vader. Barr did not survive his encounter with the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Verla

Verla was the only one of Ferren Barr’s disciples to survive Darth Vader’s attack on Mon Cala, and she spent a lifetime on the run before eventually meeting Luke Skywalker. Their encounter was shortly after The Empire Strikes Back, and Verla used a dark side mind probe to learn Luke was Vader’s son; she attempted to kill him in an act of vengeance, but fortunately Artoo intervened. Verla asked Luke never to approach her again, and presumably continued to live as a hermit, hiding from the galaxy.

Reva And The Inquisitors

Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ takes place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, bringing Obi-Wan and Darth Vader face-to-face once more. The action-packed exploration into this period has enriched the Star Wars canon in many ways. Among these game-changing moments was learning Reva the Third Sister is fully aware Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker. Later episodes revealed that all the Inquisitors, or at the very least those featured in the show, know about Vader’s Jedi past. It might be that Obi-Wan Kenobi marks a new narrative direction for how Darth Vader is portrayed in Disney’s Star Wars canon- if characters around him are aware of his humanity and treat him less like dehumanized malevolent presence, audiences will find him more relatable, even when he’s a 1.9m tall James Earl Jones-voiced cyborg.