History Characters / StarWarsAnakinSkywalker

->'''Portrayed by:''' Sebastian Shaw (''Return of the Jedi''), Creator/JakeLloyd (''The Phantom Menace''), Creator/HaydenChristensen (''Attack of the Clones'', ''Revenge of the Sith'', ''Return of the Jedi''[[note]]as a Force spirit since the 2004 GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion[[/note]], ''The Rise of Skywalker''[[note]]voice only[[/note]], ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'', ''[[Series/{{Ahsoka}} Ahsoka]]'')

->'''Portrayed by:''' Sebastian Shaw (''Return of the Jedi''), Creator/JakeLloyd (''The Phantom Menace''), Creator/HaydenChristensen (''Attack of the Clones'', ''Revenge of the Sith'', ''Return of the Jedi''[[note]]as a Force spirit since the 2004 GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion[[/note]], ''The Rise of Skywalker''[[note]]voice only[[/note]], ''Obi-Wan Kenobi'')

* GunsAkimbo: During the Crystal Crisis arc, he resorts to using two blasters he stole from an armory after the Sugi confiscate his and Obi-WAN’s lightsabers.

** WordOfGod says that if he hadn't turned evil, he would have become skilled enough to defeat Palpatine in a duel, something even Yoda couldn't do.

** See his FantasticRacism towards the Tusken Raiders, Zygerrians, and the Hutts -- admittedly, the first ''are'' from his personal experience an AlwaysChaoticEvil race whose sole interaction with all other species is to try and kill, rob and torture them, though his actions against them are presented as being evil (and later works that gave Tuskens [[NotAlwaysChaoticEvil more sympathetic portrayals]] make his actions seem less justified in hindsight); while the latter two are slave traders.

* AxCrazy: Especially when he had turns to the Dark Side and becomes a highly unstable killer of mass destruction that let his hatred and rage corrupt him into attacking whomever gotten in his way. Before his turn to the Dark Side, he's shown shades of this after his mother's death and brutally killed the Tusken Raiders who were responsible in a homicidal rampage.

** He's also this to Obi-Wan, whom he regards as his adoptive father. Seeing Dooku about to execute Obi-Wan during their duel with him on Geonosis prompts Anakin to get back up from being electrocuted by Dooku;s Force Lightning and stop Dooku from delivering the killing blow. During the Clone Wars, witnessing Obi-Wan seemingly get assassinated by an assassin drives Anakin into a vengeful rage and exact revenge on said assassin, unaware that Obi-Wan faked his own death and impersonated said assassin. Lastly, during their final duel with Count Dooku, seeing Dooku knock Obi-Wan out and crush him under a balcony pisses him off and he promptly [[CurbStompBattle curbstomps]] Dooku, cuts his hands off, and beheads him on Palpatine's request.

* ExtremelyProtectiveChild: Anakin is very protective of his mother, Shmi. As a [[Film/ThePhantomMenace nine year old boy]], he promises Shmi he will come back and free her from slavery someday. [[Film/AttackOfTheClones Ten years later]], he defies the Jedi Council and drops everything to go back to Tatooine when he has recurring dreams of her being in danger. Upon learning she was kidnapped by Tusken Raiders, he refuses to give up on her and doesn't rest until he finds her. Unfortunately, this trope is taken to the extreme when Shmi ends up dying, with Anakin massacring ''the entire camp'' of Tusken Raiders out of grief and rage.

* EntitledBastard: While he's justified in wanting respect for his many war accomplishments, he was probably overreacting to the Jedi Council not promoting him to Master at the age of ''22''. Him getting to be on the Council at all is already well into ImprobableAge range.

->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsObiWanAndAnakin Obi-Wan & Anakin]]'' | ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsQueensHope Queen's Hope]]'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTalesOfTheJedi Tales of the Jedi]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsAgeOfRepublic Age of Republic]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' | ''[[WebAnimation/StarWarsForcesOfDestiny Forces of Destiny]]'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsAhsoka Ahsoka]]'' | ''Literature/DarkDisciple'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]''[[note]]cameo only[[/note]] | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch The Bad Batch]]'' | ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsThrawn Thrawn]]''[[note]]mentioned only[[/note]] | ''Literature/ThrawnAlliances'' | ''Series/ObiWanKenobi''] | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]''[[note]]appears in hologram and visions only[[/note]] | ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' | ''[[Series/{{Ahsoka}} Ahsoka]]'' | ''Literature/ShadowOfTheSith'' | ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''[[note]]voice only[[/note]]

->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsObiWanAndAnakin Obi-Wan & Anakin]]'' | ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsQueensHope Queen's Hope]]'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTalesOfTheJedi Tales of the Jedi]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsAgeOfRepublic Age of Republic]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' | ''[[WebAnimation/StarWarsForcesOfDestiny Forces of Destiny]]'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsAhsoka Ahsoka]]'' | ''Literature/DarkDisciple'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]''[[note]]cameo only[[/note]] | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch The Bad Batch]]'' | ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsThrawn Thrawn]]''[[note]]mentioned only[[/note]] | ''Literature/ThrawnAlliances'' | ''Series/ObiWanKenobi''[[note]]archival footage from ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' and flashbacks[[/note]] | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]''[[note]]appears in hologram and visions only[[/note]] | ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' | ''[[Series/{{Ahsoka}} Ahsoka]]'' | ''Literature/ShadowOfTheSith'' | ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''[[note]]voice only[[/note]]

* CurbStompCushion: During his duel with Dooku in ''Attack of the Clones'', he actually manages to last slightly longer than Obi-Wan did and briefly puts him in the back foot in the start of the duel, making Dooku put a little more effort fighting him than he did with Obi-Wan. Despite this, Anakin is still no match for Dooku and he comes out of the fight [[AnArmAndALeg in worse shape than Obi-Wan]].

** Inverted and possibly subverted. Databooks published around the prequels and ''Vader: The Ultimate Guide'' stated that Anakin's origin might be tied to Darth Plagueis, who would have caused his conception while trying to summon a "living embodiment of the Force" in order to have the perfect Sith candidate (one of the sources also speculates that it was Sidious who did it after killing Plagueis). The 2012 novel ''Literature/DarthPlagueis'' altered this backstory, implying that Plagueis had failed in his experiment and that Anakin was actually the Force striking back by giving Plagueis the opposite of what he wanted. However, with the separation between ''Legends'' and Canon, this second origin was erased too, and it is now suggested that the first one is closer to the truth, with Vader suspecting that it was Sidious himself who created him through the techniques of his old master. Nothing about this is confirmed, though, it having been officially stated that those are just Vader's own thoughts on the matter.
** Inverted with his Jedi Knight rank. In ''Legends'', Anakin was knighted for his military victories in Praesitlyn and Vjun, where he frustrated two Separatist operations led by Asajj Ventress. In canon, according to an official visual guide, Anakin was knighted ''before'' the Clone Wars in order for him to be eligible to serve as a Jedi General in the Republic.

* AesopAmnesia: A key plot point in ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'' is that the young Skywalker was once taught never to allow himself to become so obsessed with victory that he leaves himself open to harm in the process. He ignored that advice throughout ''The Clone Wars'' and then some, most notably being so obsessed with trying to capture Count Dooku that ''he'' winds up being the one captured, with the Republic being forced to trade the recently captured General Grievous for him to get him back. And that's not even getting into how badly he forgot this lesson when he became Vader.

-->'''Obi-Wan:''' From [[LampshadeHanging himself.]]

* HurtingHero: He grows up to become one of the most powerful and heroic Jedi in the Canon thanks to his status as TheChosenOne. [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne However,]] he is forced to leave his mother behind at a young age, witnesses her death firsthand years later, tries to cope with the lack of trust from his peers, and lives in fear of his [[StarCrossedLovers forbidden love]] with Padmé being discovered.

** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', he urges for Mace not to kill Palpatine because killing an unarmed opponent is not the Jedi way. Not only did Anakin do just that earlier in the movie, he's shown throughout ''Attack Of The Clones and ''The Clone Wars'' that he is far from someone who follows the Jedi way and often is commented on just how frequently he deviates and struggles with it. That said, this was mainly said to sway Mace's judgement, rather than a genuine belief.

** We also see how different they are with Luke in the sequel trilogy. Whereas Anakin has a NeverMyFault attitude and shifts the blame to others for everything that goes wrong in his life, Luke's response to the failure of his new Jedi Order (having been undermined by Snoke) is ItsAllMyFault. Where Anakin jumps to the Dark Side and helps establish a tyrannical government, Luke flees society to live in seclusion and wallow in guilt for his failure.

* PrimaryColorChampion: In ''The Clone Wars'', his main outfit during the first few seasons is a mix of red and blue.

* SavedByCanon: Because of his major role as Darth Vader in the Original Trilogy, Anakin cannot die no matter how much he suffers in the Prequel Trilogy and The Clone Wars.

* AnArmAndALeg: Loses his right arm in his first duel against Count Dooku in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''. He gets a metallic replacement during the Clone Wars, and later gains more robotic limbs after being defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.
* AndIMustScream: Being trapped in a robotic suit in constant pain for the rest of his life, haunted by memories of his dead wife, and aware of the fact that he made a terrible mistake in siding with Darth Sidious is simply a FateWorseThanDeath.

->'''Voiced by (French dub):''' Julien Bouanich (''The Phantom Menace''), Emmanuel Garijo (''Attack of the Clones'', ''The Clone Wars'', ''Revenge of the Sith''), Matthieu Sampeur (second voice in ''The Clone Wars''), Roland Ménard (''Return of the Jedi'')

* FrontlineGeneral: While many Jedi Generals led their troops this way during the Clone Wars, Anakin had a particular knack and reputation for charging right into the thick of battle with his loyal 501st clone troopers at his back, or flying point in his Jedi starfighter during space battles throughout the war
.

** In the canon, the reason for Anakin's reduction in power is purely physical. When he first dons his armor, he sends Palpatine flying in a fit of rage using the Force where he was unable to do that in ''Legends''. Vader is far less tormented in the canon; while he still carries immense guilt and self-loathing, he buries it beneath his constant rage at his situation which actaully makes him much more powerful in the dark side. His reason for not being as strong as he could be in the canon is that dark side power takes a toll on a healthy body over time. Vader's body is so injured and dependent on his life support armor that his own great power actaully becomes a weakness in that he can no longer bear the weight of his extreme levels of Force potential and pushing his power to its limits would be too much for his body and kill him.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheChosenOne, showing how and why this character would cause more problems than they would fix. Anakin is indeed incredibly powerful with the Force, but it makes him a SmugSuper who [[NeverMyFault blames Obi-Wan and the Jedi]] for any personal failings or feelings of not being treated seriously. This makes him TheFriendNobodyLikes, with the Jedi Council rarely trusting him fully which he picks up on and only creates a bigger distance between him and them, not to mention that his arroagnace only worries those who do believe in the prophecy. All of this means he was easy for Palpatine to manipulate, and when he starts to dream about Padmé's death he doesn't even think to directly ask anyone for their help.

* IveComeTooFar: The reason he swiftly sides with Palpatine after inadvertantly helping him kill Mace Windu; he believes that there's no coming back from the Dark Side and sees it as his only chance to save Padmé. Later, when Padmé is trying to talk him into leaving the Dark Side, he insists that he has brought peace to the galaxy and refuses to listen to her, even proclaiming that everything he's done is to protect her, implying this trope.

* WorldsStrongestMan: Played with. He is stated to have the [[PowerLevels highest midichlorian count]] in recorded history, so much so that Qui-Gon even suggested he might have been conceived by the midichlorians, and WordOfGod says had he reached his full potential, he would have been more than twice as powerful as Palpatine (and by extension than Yoda, who's roughly equal to Palpatine), who's stated to be the most powerful Sith ever. However, he never reaches this full potential, due to his personality flaws and the crippling injuries he suffers after becoming Darth Vader. However, we get a brief glimpse of what he could have become in [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS3E15Overlords "Overlords"]], when he simulatenously defeats the Son and the Daughter, [[PhysicalGod embodiments]] of the Dark and Light sides respectively.