Darth Vader/Synopsis


 *  NOTE: This page is for Vader's life in Star Wars Canon. Vader's life in Star Wars Legends & non-canonical sequences are not accepted. For an article on both Vader's life in Canon and Legends, visit his page on Wookiepedia. 

This is the whole story of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader from the Star Wars franchise in chronological order. See Anakin's beginnings on Tatooine, how he became a Jedi Knight on the Jedi Order, served as a general in the Clone Wars, how Emperor Palpatine turned Anakin to the dark side and renamed him Darth Vader, Anakin's service with the Empire, and how his son Luke eventually helped him redeem himself.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace


"Are you an angel?"

- Anakin asking Padme if she's a angel.

Anakin Skywalker was a young boy from a desert planet Tatooine, controlled by the Hutts. Anakin and his mother Shmi are poor slaves owned by Watto, a Toydarian junk dealer. In his spare time, Anakin had built a protocol droid named C-3PO.

During the battle between the Galactic Republic and the Trade Federation, a Naboo cruiser's hyperdrive had been damaged, and it is forced to land on the planet. Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn searches for a replacement, and finds the nine-year old boy. He sensed that the Force was very strong with Anakin, and sent a blood sample to his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The result came back as a reading higher than Yoda's midi-chlorian count. This suggested that Skywalker was the one who could bring balance to the Force.

Since Qui-Gon didn't have credits that were worth anything in Tatooine, he placed a bet with Watto in an attempt to win the needed hyperdrive, involving the pod race which Anakin was going to participate in. Before the race, Qui-Gon gave the boy advice about using his instincts, and to feel, not think. Anakin won, and he made the Jedi proud, as well as his mother, Shmi.

As soon as Qui-Gon acquired the needed parts for his ship, and as soon as Anakin brought home the winnings, the boy was freed. His new destiny was to become a Jedi. It was very difficult for him to leave his mother, and he knew there was much ahead of him. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan took him to Coruscant to meet with the Jedi Council, who refused to allow Anakin to be trained as a Jedi because they sensed great fear in him.

When the corrupt Trade Federation invaded the planet, Naboo, however, Anakin proved his worth by piloting a space fighter and destroying the Federation's command ship, helping the Galactic Republic claim victory. After Qui-Gon was mortally wounded in a lightsaber duel with Sith lord Darth Maul, his dying request was that Obi-Wan train the boy. The Council reluctantly approved the request, and Anakin wasset to be trained as a Jedi.

During the mission, Anakin formed strong friendships with Naboo's Queen, Padme Amidala, and its senior senator (and the Republic's future Chancellor) Palpatine, who promised him, "We will watch your career with great interest."

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones


"One day, I will become the greatest Jedi EVER. I will even learn how to stop people from dying."

- Anakin, after killing a tribe of Sand People

Ten years later, Anakin was a young Padawan he had been trained in the ways of the Jedi. But as he grew stronger and more powerful, he wanted more, yet he knew it was wrong. Anakin gotten to see Padme again. His crush on her turned into genuine love. Anakin was assigned to protect Padme from Jango Fett (a bounty hunter trying to kill her). Meanwhile, they hid in Naboo until Anakin had a dream of his mother, Shmi Skywalker, in pain. Anakin and Padme went to Tatooine to find Shmi.

The two of them, with the droid R2-D2, came across Anakin's old droid C-3PO, who now metal on his wires, and Watto, Anakin's old owner, who told him that he sold Shmi to a man named Cliegg Lars, who then married her. Anakin soon met his stepfather Cliegg Lars and his stepbrother Owen Lars. They learned that Shmi had been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders a month before, so Anakin headed off and eventually found her at the Tusken Raider camp. Unfortunately, Shmi died in her son's arms, having been starved and terribly beaten by the Tusken Raiders. Consumed with grief and rage, Anakin slaughtered all the Tuskens; men, women and even children. He tearfully confessed his crime to Padme, who comforted him.

After Shmi's funeral, they got a message from Obi-Wan that said to save him so that's where they reunited only to get stuck in the arena with scary creatures.

When Count Dooku attacked with his supporting droids from the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which he led alongside Palpatine, by striking at planet Geonosis, the Jedi Order plunged into war with Dooku using the army of clones made from the DNA of mercenary Jango Fett. Anakin and Obi-Wan chased after Dooku as he tried to escape Geonosis, and in the battle, Obi-Wan was slightly injured while Anakin's right forearm was cut off. Yoda fought Dooku and overpowered him, but the latter got away when Yoda had to prevent a pillar from flattening the wounded Anakin and Obi-Wan.

After the battle, Anakin was fitted with a robotic arm, and married Padme in a secret ceremony.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Movie
Anakin received a Padawan, Ahsoka Tano with whom he did not agree at first, but ended up accepting her after their mission to save the son of Jabba the Hutt, Rotta.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Series
Anakin and Ahsoka continued to battle evil together during the duration of the war, sometimes with Obi-Wan and sometimes with R2-D2 and Padme.

During an unexpected journey on Mortis, Anakin saw a vision of him sinking from the dark side.

At one point, Ahsoka was framed for crimes against the Jedi Order and the Republic. Anakin caught the Jedi who set her up, Barriss Offee, but Ahsoka still left the Order, much to Anakin's dismay.

Episode Appearances
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" width="100%" ! Appearances on The Show

Season One
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Season Two
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Season Three
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Season Four
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Season Five
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Season Six
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 * }

Anakin's Fall Into Darkness Begins
"What kind of nonsense is this? Put me on the Council and not make me a Master? It's never been done in the history of the Jedi, it's insulting!"

- Anakin to Obi-Wan. "Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become... the boy you trained gone he is, consumed by Darth Vader."

- Yoda to Obi-Wan, talking about Anakin's transformation.

Towards the end of the Clone Wars, Chancellor Palpatine was kidnapped by General Grievous during the Battle of Coruscant. Obi-Wan and Anakin went to rescue him.

They came across Count Dooku and the two Jedi battled him once again. In the middle of the fight, Dooku knocked Obi-Wan unconscious and Anakin had to fight him alone. Using his anger and hatred, Anakin brutally overpowered Dooku and sliced off both of the Sith Lord's hands, leaving him helpless. Palpatine then encouraged Anakin to kill Dooku; after initial hesitation, Anakin decapitated Dooku with both his and Dooku's lightsabers. Anakin then freed the Chancellor.

After Palpatine was saved, Padme told Anakin she was pregnant. When he saw in a dream that Padmé was going to die for some unknown reason, he swore that he would do everything he could to save her. He talked to Yoda and told him of his feelings of loss and pain. If the Jedi Council knew he had a wife, and love was strictly forbidden for a Jedi, then he would be expelled from the Jedi Order.

Anakin found security and refuge in talking to Palpatine. The Chancellor had been like a father to him and had made him a member of the Jedi Council. But while talking to his dear friend one day, Palpatine revealed to Anakin that he knew the ways of the dark side of the Force, and it was clear that he was indeed the Sith Lord. Anakin was nearly brought to kill him on the spot, but Anakin realized that the evil Chancellor was the only person who might be able to help him save Padmé.

The Choice and Becoming Darth Vader
"The Force is strong with you....a powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth you shall be known as "Darth... Vader"!"

- Chancellor Palpatine giving Anakin's title of Darth Vader to him.

Shortly after Obi-Wan Kenobi had dealt with General Grievous on Utapau, Anakin delivered the message to the Chancellor. Palpatine began to talk calmly with Anakin, about how he was being excluded from the Council, and that they distrusted him. It was then that Palpatine revealed the truth about himself he was Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Anakin pulled out his lightsaber to kill him, but he knew that since he was a Sith, he had the power to save his wife. In despair, he told Jedi Master Mace Windu about the news. In great shock, Mace needed to move quickly to make sure the Jedi Order survived, Anakin asked to come along but Mace told Anakin to wait at the Jedi Temple. Anakin insisted he had to come, but Mace told him that he had earned his trust.

So Anakin waited at the temple while Mace took various members of the Jedi Council, including Kit Fisto, to arrest the Chancellor. Anakin stared at the building which contained Palpatine's office, and his thoughts and emotions took control of his decisions. Anakin heard the Sith Lord's voice in his head: "If the Jedi destroy me, any chance of saving her will be lost." Anakin did not want to lose Padmé the way he lost his mother. He hurried as fast as he could to the Chancellor's Suite.

After going to the office of Palpatine, the young Jedi found the Sith Lord on the ground, with Mace's lightsaber blade pointed at his chest. Mace told Anakin the only way to bring peace was to destroy the Sith Lord, but Anakin said it should not be done; it was not the Jedi way. Anakin had to make the choice, Jedi or Sith. As soon as the purple laser started its way to kill the Sith, Anakin's blue blade cut off Mace's hand. A smirking Palpatine yelled power and blasted the Jedi Master out of a the window with devastating Sith lightning. After helping the Sith Lord, Anakin realized that he had nowhere left to go and pledged himself to Palpatine's teachings. At this point, Palpatine then christened him as Darth Vader.

Knightfall and Duel of the Brothers
"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy!"

- Anakin breaks off his friendship with Obi-Wan.

Palpatine convinced Anakin-Vader that the Jedi were the enemy of the universe, including Obi-Wan. Vader then led Clone Troopers in Operation Knightfall and assaulted the Jedi Temple, killing even younglings in the process. He then was sent to Mustafar and then killed the Separatist leaders, including Nute Gunray, and deactivated the battle droids. The CIS was no more and then Padme arrived. Anakin-Vader then met her for the last time and offered her half the power that he would have after he overthrew Palpatine.

Padme could not believe what she was hearing and realized that the Anakin she knew was no more. Obi-Wan appeared, having stowed away on Padme's ship, and Anakin accused his wife of bringing his former master to kill him, lashing out at her with the Force and choking her into unconsciousness. The Sith apprentice accused Obi-Wan of turning her against him, when it was his own anger and lust for power that did that. Anakin-Vader then attacked his former friend and mentor, and the two men engaged in a vicious and brutal lightsaber duel that ripped across the Separatist stronghold, eventually causing it to deactivate and fall into the molten lava rivers of the planet.

The duel came to a climactic end when Obi-Wan claimed the high ground and warned Anakin-Vader not to attack. In a mixture of anger and pride, Anakin-Vader attempted to continue the duel, only to have his legs and left arm severed by his former master's blade. Obi-Wan could only express his regret and disappointment in Anakin-Vader's ways before the Sith Lord slid too close to a lava flow and was burned alive. Obi-Wan retrieved his former pupil's lightsaber and departed, leaving his former student to die.

Armored
"Anakin (in his Darth Vader voice): Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she all right? Palpatine: It seems in your anger, you killed her. Anakin (in his Darth Vader voice): I - I couldn't have! She was alive! I felt it! (breaks free of the table he is strapped to) NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

- Vader asks his new master about Padme's fate and Palpatine's response. Also both Vader and Palpatine's last words in Revenge of The Sith.

Shortly afterwards, the crippled and disfigured Anakin-Vader was rescued by Palpatine and his clone troopers, and brought to a medical facility on Coruscant. He had prosthetics fitted into his legs and left arm before being outfitted with a life support suit of armor. Vader then inquired Palpatine of Padme's fate saying "Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she all right?" and the newly-crowned emperor lied, saying, "It seems in your anger, you killed her." This was partially true as Padme died sometime after Anakin choked her. Devastated and heartbroken by this news, Vader broke of the cuffs restraining his wrists and ankles to the table he was strapped to, releasing the powerful Force, and shouted "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!". Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader was complete. With his wife gone, the heart-broken sith lord only had on remaining purpose in life and that was to serve Palpatine, unaware that before Padme's death, she had given birth to two children, Luke and Leia, who would grown up to redeem their father and defeat his new evil master.

After his recovery, Vader took his place as the Emperor's right hand and chief enforcer, serving as the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military, as well as a Jedi Hunter.

Star Wars Rebels
"The power within will soon serve the Emperor."

- Vader

Shortly after the fall of the Jedi Order and the rise of the Empire, Vader and the Emperor formed a band of Force-Sensitive Imperial Inquisitors to serve as Vader's assistants in hunting down and killing any Jedi that had survived Order 66's strike. The most notable individual of this organization was the yellow-eyed Pau'an "Grand Inquisitor," though it also consisted of the grey-skinned Fifth Brother, the blue-eyed Sixth Brother, the deadly, green-skinned Seventh Sister, and the nimble and acrobatic Eighth Brother.

Fourteen years later, the Emperor sensed a new threat that could rise against him; the children of the Force. Under the command of his master, Darth Vader tasked the Grand Inquisitor with hunting down this new enemy.

Following the escape of a rebel cell consisting of crew members of a freighter called the "Ghost" that led to the Inquisitor's death above Mustafar, rumors of what had happened became known, riots and uprisings begun to occur on several worlds. Concerned at the rise in rebel activity, the Emperor sent Vader to Lothal with Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin to end the growing rebellion.

Vader met with Agent Kallus and Minister Maketh Tua to discuss his plans with dealing with rebels. Vader then had Kallus escort the Minister to her shuttle, where she was killed and the incident was blamed on the rebels. When the Rebels tried to steal a ship to make their escape, Vader and his Stormtroopers confronted them. Vader then dueled with the leader of the rebels, a former Jedi trained under Master Depa Billaba named Kanan Jarrus, and his apprentice, Ezra Bridger. Vader was easily able to overpower them and attempted to kill Ezra with his own lightsaber until Kanan intervened. Their fellow rebels Zeb Orrelios and Sabine Wren used thermal detonators to cause an AT-DP to fall on Vader, but he survived and used the Force to lift the burning walker off him. The Rebels fled the scene in a stolen shuttle and instead of pursuing them, Vader let them go.

Vader then allowed the rebels to escape through the blockade, letting them lead him to his true target; the Rebel fleet. Vader took his TIE Advanced x1 fighter to attack the Rebel fleet, destroying most of the fighters and severely damaging the command ship. During the fight, Vader sensed that his former apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, was alive and part of the Rebel fleet. Vader tried to capture her, but was unable to get past the Ghost. When two Star Destroyers arrived, Vader tried to stop the Rebels, but lost them when they jumped into hyperspace and he was caught in the tractor beam instead.

Following his victory, Vader contacted the Emperor and informed him that Skywalker's apprentice was still alive and working with the rebels. Both Vader and the Emperor were pleased by this, knowing she could lead them to other Jedi survivors, even Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom Vader was still obsessed with seeking revenge upon for his defeat on Mustafar. The Emperor urged Vader to to be patient when searching for his former master, and then ordered him to send another Inquisitor to hunt the rebels down. As per his master's orders, Vader assigned the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister to the task.

Many months later, Vader arrived at the Lothal Jedi Temple and was impressed by the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister's work. The Fifth Brother revealed that the Jedi are growing in their power, to which Vader calmly retorted that it would be their undoing.

Later, Vader arrived on Malachor on top of his TIE Advanced x1 and confronted Ezra. He questioned the boy as to how did he open the path to the Malachor Sith Temple; Ezra told him to find out himself and engaged Vader in battle, but the Sith Lord was too strong and easily destroyed Ezra's lightsaber.

But before he could finish the boy off, Ahsoka arrived and engaged Vader. He eventually managed to knock Ahsoka out of the Temple and attempted to stop Ezra and a blinded Kanan from escaping with a Sith Holocron.

A recovered Ahsoka charged up behind Vader and slashed half of his mask off, knocking him down to the floor and exposing a considerable amount of his disfigured face, including his yellow right eye. Seeing that he really was her former master, Ahsoka refused to leave him again. For a moment, Ahsoka's compassion appeared to have reached Vader, but he then shrugged it off. Coldly declaring that she would die, he ignited his lightsaber and moved to attack her again. As the pair resumed their battle, the temple collapsed and exploded around them, with Kanan and Ezra barely managing to escape.

Vader had the opportunity to strike Ahsoka down, but at that moment a time-displaced Ezra pulls Ahsoka into a portal with a dumbfounded Vader left alone in the collapsing temple.

Vader survived the collapse and later limped away from the ruins, unaware that Ahsoka was able to return to the temple's ruins some after his departure.

Episode Appearances
{| class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed wikitable" width="100%" ! Appearances on The Show

Season One

 * Spark of Rebellion (Appears as hologram)
 * Gathering Forces (Mentioned only)
 * Fire Across the Galaxy

Season Two

 * The Siege of Lothal
 * The Lost Commanders (Mentioned only)
 * Relics of the Old Republic (Mentioned only)
 * Always Two There Are (Mentioned only)
 * Stealth Strike (Mentioned only)
 * The Future of the Force (Mentioned only)
 * Shroud of Darkness
 * Twilight of the Apprentice (Part 2)

Season Three

 * Steps into Shadow (Mentioned only)
 * Ghosts of Geonosis (Mentioned only)
 * Twin Suns (Mentioned only)

Season Four

 * A World Between Worlds (Appears in vision)
 * }

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
"Be careful not to choke on your aspirations, Director."

- Darth Vader to Director Krennic.

Shortly after the confrontation with Ahsoka, with a meeting with Grand Admiral Thrawn (whom he highly regards), Vader returns to his refuge, a sinister castle on Mustafar. While in a regeneration capsule and guarded by two of his loyal Imperial Royal Guards, Vader is visited by Imperial Director Orson Krennic, who is in charge of the creation of the Death Star. Krennic complains to him that Grand Moff Tarkin has taken over the Death Star - his project. Krennic urges Vader to allow him to present the weapon to the Emperor to make sure the Emperor understands what the weapon is capable of. However, Vader is more concerned with the recent security leak and orders Krennic to make sure that the weapon will be operational and invulnerable. Seeing that as a sign that he and not Tarkin is in charge of the Death Star operation, Krennic asks Vader, who is already leaving, whether Vader will secure him an audience with the Emperor. Enraged at being questioned by one of his underlings, Vader silences Krennic by force choking him while turning around to see the man, telling Krennic to 'be careful not to choke on his aspirations' before releasing Krennic and returning to his regeneration chamber.

When the plans of the Death Star are broadcast from Scarif to the Rebel fleet, Vader arrives in his Imperial Star Destroyer the Devastator moments before the fleet can jump to hyperspace. Leading a boarding commando himself, Vader enters the flagship of the Rebel fleet, intending to retrieve the plans. Once aboard the ship, he starts slaughtering the nearby rebel soldiers but cannot prevent a small group escaping onto a smaller ship with the plans. As Vader enters the hangar, he can only watch as the ship carrying the plans docks loose and escapes.

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner now I am the Master."

- Darth Vader meets his former master.

Shortly afterwards, Vader is charged with recovering the stolen plans of the Death Star and finding the Rebel Alliance's secret base. He and the storm troopers attack the ship owned by Princess Leia, who was in fact his own daughter. He captures and "interrogates" Princess Leia and, along with Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin, destroys her home world of Alderaan. Shortly afterward, he duels his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has arrived at the Death Star to rescue Leia, and cuts him down, turning him into a spirit in the Force. He then encounters his son, Luke, during the Battle of Yavin, and senses in him a great strength in the Force; this is confirmed moments later when the boy destroys the battle station. He was about to shoot Luke down using his TIE fighter, but Han Solo disabled his ship using the guns on the Millennium Falcon, and sent Vader spinning into space. The Death Star was then destroyed by Luke's torpedo, forcing construction of a second one.

When Obi-Wan told Luke about Vader and his father, instead of revealing Anakin's fall from grace, Obi-Wan instead said that Anakin and Vader were separate entities: Anakin was said to be his friend while Darth Vader used to be his apprentice until he joined the dark side of the Force, and killed Anakin during the fight. This was the half-truth however, though in some ways, it was true from Obi-Wan's point of view: The statement where Vader killed Luke's father actually refers Anakin's fall from grace where the good inside him almost gone, and Vader was his apprentice right when he was Anakin.

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
"Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the darkside! Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father. Luke: He told me enough! He told me YOU killed him! Darth Vader: No. I am your father!"

- Darth Vader tells his son that he is his father, one of Vader's most famous quotes.

Three years later, Vader leads an assault on a rebel base on planet Hoth, dispatching probe droids to confirm this. Though the Empire takes the base after a while, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Vader's old droid C-3PO escape in the ship, the Millenium Falcon. One scene shows Vader speaking with Emperor Palpatine via hologram, when Palpatine senses a feel in the Force that confirms the rebel Luke Skywalker to be Vader's son. In Cloud City, he strikes a deal with the administrator of Cloud City, Lando Calrissian to give Han over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Calrissian, Fett and Vader he capture Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and 3PO on Cloud City to lure Luke into a confrontation. and has Solo frozen in carbonite. Luke, who has been partially trained by Yoda, confronts the Sith Lord in the carbonite chamber, and ignites his lightsaber. Vader does likewise, and Luke attacks him. An increasingly one-sided duel broke out, in which Luke was overwhelmed by lightsaber, Force and strategy time and again, all the while Vader calmly fended off every single attack. Eventually, Luke managed to land a blow on Vader's shoulder. Then, deciding that the duel had gone on long enough, Vader resorted to unleashing the full breadth of his lightsaber skills and brutally overpowers Luke, ending the duel abruptly by cutting off his right hand. Vader then reveals his true identity as Luke's father and offers his son the chance to overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy as father and. Luke refuses, throwing himself down a mine shaft. He is sucked into a garbage chute and rescued by Leia, C-3PO, Chewbacca and Lando. He is fitted with a robotic hand to replace the one Vader had cut off.

Father vs. Son
"Give yourself to the dark side it is the only way you can save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong, especially for... sister. So you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now you have betrayed her too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps she will."

- Darth Vader taunts Luke and learns of his daughter.

Some time later, he was charged with overseeing the completion of the second Death Star. He met with Palpatine on board the half-constructed station to plan Luke's turn to the dark side. By this time, Luke had nearly completed his Jedi training, and had learned from a dying Yoda that Vader is indeed his father. He learned about his father's past and fall to the dark side from Obi-Wan's spirit, and also learned that Leia is his sister. On a mission to the forest moon of Endor, Luke surrendered to Imperial troops and is brought to Vader. Luke then talked with his father, insisting there is good in him, which Vader denies. Aboard the Death Star, Luke resisted the Palaptine's appeals to his anger and fear for his friends, but eventually tried to attack Palpatine. Vader stepped in and defended his master, and Luke and his father engaged in a fierce lightsaber duel. This time, they seemed to be evenly matched, but Luke calmly resisted Vader's lulling him to the dark side. However, when Vader telepathically probed his mind, learned of Leia's existence, and threatens to corrupt her instead, Luke snapped. Enraged, Luke violently attacked and very nearly killed Vader, severing his father's mechanical right hand. He controlled his anger at the last minute, however, as he looked at Vader's cybernetic hand and then at his own; he realized that he was perilously close to suffering his father's fate.

Redemption and Death
"Anakin (unmasked): Now go, my son. Leave me. Luke: No, you're coming with me. I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you. Anakin (unmasked): You already... have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right."

- A redeemed Vader's last words before he dies in his son's arms.

As Palpatine approached, encouraging Luke to kill Vader and take his place at his side, the Jedi threw down his lightsaber, refusing to strike the final blow. Angered, Palpatine viciously attacked Luke with Force lightning. Luke writhed in agony under the Emperor's lightning, begging his father for help. As Palpatine tortured Luke, Vader looked at Palpatine then at Luke. Then, as he was unable to bear the sight of his son in pain, Vader remembered his life as Anakin Skywalker - his thoughts of Shmi, Qui-Gon and Padme coming back to him - then suddenly Vader spiritually ceased to exist and became Anakin Skywalker once again. Anakin knew that despite all the terrible things he had done as Darth Vader, he couldn't let his son be killed. So with whatever strength he had left in him, Anakin picked Palpatine up in the air, carried him over to the very core of the Death Star and threw him right down it. When Palpatine hit the bottom of the shaft, he exploded into a wave of dark side energy. Anakin had saved the galaxy from Palpatine's wrath. However some of Palpatine's lighting went into Anakin's suit and was killing him.

After regaining enough strength, Luke dragged his father (who had been mortally wounded by Palpatine's lightning) from the throne room to the docking bay holding the ST 321 shuttle. Moments from death, Anakin realized that he would die whether or not his son got him into the shuttle in time. He begged his son to take off his Darth Vader mask so he could look at Luke "with [his] own eyes." Luke complied and for the first (and as it turned out, the only) time, Luke and his father truly saw each other. In his dying breaths, Anakin told Luke that he was right about the good in him, then died of his wounds, forcing Luke to mourn for the loss of his father. Luke escapes with his father's body as the Death Star explodes, destroyed by the Rebel Alliance.

That night, Luke burned his father's Sith armor in the manner of a Jedi's funeral. During the victory celebration on the forest moon of Endor, Luke saw the spirits of Obi-Wan and Yoda, standing with the spirit of a redeemed Anakin Skywalker.

Legacy
In the years following Vader's death, his family kept the fact that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader had been the same person a closely guarded secret. No one outside the Skywalker family knew that Luke and Leia were the children of Darth Vader (other than Obi-Wan, Yoda and Bail Organa), though some people like Mon Mothma long suspected that Leia was Skywalker's daughter.

The secret was finally revealed in 28 ABY by New Republic Senator Ransolm Casterfo. This had the effect of ruining Leia's political career, and she resigned from the Senate not long afterwards. Leia soon founded the Resistance when it became clear that she could not talk the Senate into opposing the First Order.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
"I will finish what you started, Grandfather."

- Vader's grandson Kylo Ren tells to his damaged mask.

Though Vader has been long dead by this point, he will be referenced a lot in the sequel trilogy. Darth Vader's damaged mask has appeared in trailers for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, directed by J.J. Abrams.

Instead of Vader, the new villain Kylo Ren took Vader's place. Taking Vader's damaged mask aboard his flagship, Ren vowed to Vader that he would finish what Vader had started. It is revealed later in the film that Ren is truly Ben, the son of Han and Leia, thus making him Vader's grandson.

The events of The Force Awakens reveals an unfortunate fact where the impact of Anakin's evil actions as Vader proved to be greater than either he, Luke, Leia, and Han Solo expected: Ben, Luke's nephew and apprentice as well as Han Solo and Leia's son, whom upon learning Anakin's dark past as Darth Vader, decided to embrace the dark side and became Kylo Ren. This causes a major setback on Luke's dream to restore the Jedi Order to the point that he went to exile until Rey discovered him and give him a hope. Worse, Ren would ultimately be the frightening dark warrior who was responsible for terrorizing and killing possibly millions of innocent people, and the means to brought him back to the good side proved to be more difficult.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
Following the destruction of Starkiller Base and the evacuation of its surviving personal, including its prominent leadership, Kylo Ren is brought before his master, Supreme Leader Snoke, and is scorned by Snoke for his failure to protect the base and how he was defeated by Rey, a non-Jedi and a rookie lightsaber user. Kylo leaves in anger and after he manages to deal heavy damage to the Resistance fleet, he begins communicating with Rey through the Force and she eventually turns herself into the First Order in an attempt to convince Kylo to turn away from the Dark Side.

She's then brought before Snoke where he then praises Kylo for his actions even going as far as to call him the Heir of Vader in another reference to the Dark Lord. Snoke is seen having his own guards similar to Palpatine and the interactions between Snoke and Kylo are similar to that of Vader and Palpatine. After Rey is pinned down and is a position to be executed by Kylo Ren, he instead kills Snoke and cooperates with Rey in killing his guards. After the fight, Kylo reveals that he only helped Rey just to deal away with Snoke and he reveals his true intentions to her; establish a new legacy where the previous establishment, the Jedi, Sith, Rebels, etc. are all erased from galactic history and their impact negated.

This shows that Kylo Ren has either achieved a status similiar to Darth Vader or has even surpassed him and seeks to prove himself worthy in galactic history by leaving a mark far different from the one Vader left and his goal on letting the past "die" might be a reference to finally ending Vader's impact on the galaxy.