rhodrymavelyne

One of Darth Vader’s compelling traits as a villain isn’t just his iconic armor, the sinister sound of his breathing; although those things are compelling. Nor is it the fact that he took a suit meant to compensate for life-threatening disabilies and turned it into an expression of power; complementing his formidable mastery of the Force.

All of these traits make him one of the most memorable villains of all time. I’m struck by a quality which drives the plots with Darth Vader, making him again a force to be reckoned with.

This character is obsessive to the point of madness. He directs all of his considerable strength; personal and temporal towards his obsession.

When he was Anakin Skywalker, he was obsessed with Padme. When he became Darth Vader, he became obsessed with Obi-Wan Kenobi. No longer was he restained by morality or anything else. He was set up finding his old master, defeating him, and triumphing over him.

Neither of these obsessions ever left Vader, not completely. They rekindled and became one when he discovered Padme had children, a child Obi-Wan had been training. They became fixated upon Luke Skywalker, his son. Luke was the only legacy of his love for Padme (or so he thought). Young Skywalker had been Obi-Wan’s remaining triumph over Vader, the hope he died for.

An obsession with reclaiming his son threatened to tear the galaxy apart, completely focused upon Luke and anyone in his way.

Maybe the very thought of Leia enduring being the focus of that dangerous obsession drove Luke to fight his father with all his checked rage in Return of the Jedi. In the end, Luke stopped himself, stopped his rage.

Did Vader ever stop himself? Did he let others stop him? I’ve wondered at the way Obi-Wan, Padme, Luke, and even Leia have slipped through his fingers in the movies and the series.

Vader told Obi-Wan that he betrayed and murdered Anakin Skywalker in his battle with his former master at the end of Obi-Wan Kenobi; a lie Ben chose to embrace and pass on to Luke.

This turned out to be a lie in more ways than one. Maybe Anakin was always there, making Vader hesitate at crucial moments, rather than lashing out with his full power.

It’s something I find myself thinking about, after seeing the movies and certain series multiple times.
Yes, I’ve seen them multiple times. I’ve got something in common with Darth Vader; I can be obsessive.

I’ve sometimes imagined having the power to push aside or rip apart anything which stands between myself and what I want. When I was a child, I used to imagine having such power.

As an adult, I sometimes still visualize such an ability vibrating in my entire body, wanting to get out, wanting to lash out.

It’s just as well I don’t have such a power. Such a power could very difficult to stop. You might need others to help stop you.

Perhaps Vader did have those people, even if he didn’t realize it at the time.

It’s something to wonder about.

I became more aware of this conflict when I was reading Jason Aaron’s beautiful and well-written Star Wars comics. These graphic novels take place during the time period between Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. They showed some of the adventures Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Artoo Detoo, See Threepio as well as their enemy, Darth Vader had during after the destruction of the first Death Star.

Vader’s growing obsession with Luke and acquiring the means to pursue it was beautifully developed within these books. A major part of this obsession is the Sith Lord's realization that Luke Skywalker is Obi-Wan’s last hope and what he died for. Acknowledging that hope is accompanied by a determination that this untrained youth is going to be his weapon, not his former Master’s. Determination becomes obsession when Vader discovers that Luke is his long lost son, whom Obi-Wan successfully hid from him for years.

The fact that Obi-Wan managed to conceal Luke infuriates Vader. Realization that the Emperor told him Padme died in childbirth cracks his loyalty to his new master and kindles a new goal, to kill Palpatine and take the Empire from him. The only person Vader wants or needs at his side is his son. Luke becomes the prize in the silent dialogue Vader has with his old master when Vader retraces Luke’s steps and searches for him, for the past Obi-Wan was a part of and he was not. It’s an intense conflict, a deeply personal one which Vader shares with no one, even as it intersects with Luke’s own quest to find a teacher, anything that’s left of the Jedi, to become what Obi-Wan wished him to. The dark side and light of the Force are pitted together through its agents as they both strive to guide this young man toward his destiny.

It’s a fascinating struggle and brings back memories of another mentorship rivalry which was quite intense in the X-Men comics between Emma Frost and Ororo/Storm. No hint of any romance between Scott Summers and White Queen existed at the time. Emma was every inch the White Queen, devoted to acquiring and training young mutants to serve the Hellfire Club. Storm was a member of the X-Men and would later become their leader. The two of them encountered Kitty Pryde, a young mutant Emma wanted to acquire and Storm wishes to nurture. This conflict over Kitty had an arc over several stories, including one where Emma Frost and Storm switched bodies. Both of them wished to teach the girl, impart their particular values to her. It was intriguing to watch. In many ways it was a battle for mutant future. Whose path would this young representative of their kind choose to follow?

Kitty’s loyalties were to Ororo, much as Luke’s were to Ben. Kitty did, however, have the potential to become a member of the Hellfire Club, which Emma pointed out to her several times, just as Luke had the potential to become one of the Sith. (In truth, it was Leia’s morals which were challenged, who found herself veering closer to the darkness in Jason Aaron’s comics, but that’s another story.) Conflicts with their mentors led both Kitty and Luke to question their mentors, leaving them more vulnerable to the other’s outstretched hands.

Those who shape our beliefs have a lot of power over us. Their visions live on through us. Those we shape carry on our thoughts and ideas. They carry on a vital part of us, even when we’re no longer here.

If two viewpoints come into conflict, two ways of life, two paths are destined to struggle to reach their goals, those on these paths want others to follow them. They could strive against each other for a particularly gifted and potentially strong student, who has the ability to take this path further.

It’s one of the most intense, powerful forms of conflict I’ve ever encountered. Perhaps this is why in story, I find it fascinating.