Darth Vader is one of those villains that transcends the “Star Wars” universe — even people who don’t know much about the films often have heard about this fellow. But let’s not forget that Vader wasn’t all bad. His most famous act of compassion was saving his son, Luke, from the evil Emperor Palpatine. And Vader did grow up as a cute little podracer, as we saw in “Episode I: The Phantom Menace” (1999). (The tragic fall from Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader is covered in more detail in the sequel trilogy (Episodes I to III, 1999-2005) than we can cover in a short bio.)
Vader did have many cruel moments. He constantly kills crew members who make a mistake, often by choking them using the Force. He killed the beneficent Jedi and representative of the light side of the Force, Obi-Wan Kenobi (at least in the “flesh and blood” sense.) He deliberately tortured Jedi ally Han Solo to bring Luke Skywalker out of hiding, since Skywalker would detect a disturbance in the Force. And in an infamous scene, Vader even cut off Skywalker’s right hand while trying to persuade Skywalker of the benefits of the Dark Side. Vader died at the end of “The Empire Strikes Back” (1983). [In a Cinema Far, Far Away: Hollywood’s Star Wars Films ]
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