Every Star Wars character who knew Anakin was Darth Vader

Darth VaderHis true identity was a closely guarded secret in the Star Wars galaxy, and only a handful of people knew that he was really Anakin Skywalker. A celebrated hero of the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker is generally assumed to have been killed during Order 66. To the galaxy as a whole, Darth Vader emerges fully formed as a powerful and enigmatic being. No doubt Palpatine quite liked Darth Vader’s mystique, which ensured people focused on his apprentice rather than his master.

Based on James Luceno’s novel TarkinThere have been countless rumors about Darth Vader’s true identity. Some thought he was an opponent of the Confederacy General Grievous, held in reserve by Palpatine in case the Jedi betrayed him. Others thought he was an artificial monster created in a laboratory.

“Many believed that the Emperor’s willingness to give 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 is kept even now Return of the JediWith the Skywalker family hiding the truth until it exploded in public decades later, ending Leia’s political career. Here are all the people who have been confirmed to know the truth before that fateful time.

16

Palpatine

The Sith Lord responsible for Anakin’s fall

Palpatine led Anakin Skywalker to the dark side and gave him the name of Darth Vader. The Emperor always knew the truth, and seems to be the one who decided it should remain a closely guarded secret. It is unknown whether he ever told Darth Vader’s true identity to his closest advisors; Some of them knew Palpatine’s identity as a secret Sith, so they might also know about Darth Vader. It is possible that Mas Amedda in particular was in the loop, but this has not been confirmed.

15

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Although Obi-Wan believed that Darth Vader was dead for years

Obi-Wan Kenobi was aware of the truth, of course. The Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV show revealed He actually didn’t know that Anakin survived their battle on Mustafar until a decade laterWhen he was dragged out of hiding by Reve and the inquisitors. This discovery does raise some rather strange questions, though; He was aware of the Imperial Inquisitor, so presumably also heard from their leader. He never seems to have spent much time considering who this Sith powerhouse might be, simply trying to keep his head down.

14

Luke, Han and Leia

Darth Vader’s children are shocked to learn the truth

Darth Vader tells Luke he was his father The empire strikes backLeaving Luke as a shackle up to his ears. It wasn’t until Return of the Jedi That Luke tells Leia, but interestingly, her focus seems to have initially been on the fact that Luke was her brother. The emotional impact is explored in Beth Revis’ The Princess and the ScandalSet immediately after Return of the Jedi; It was then dealt with decades later in the universe by Claudia Gray’s blood line.

It wasn’t until blood line That Leia began to truly understand Anakin Skywalker, in a situation where she also felt tested. “She always wondered what caused 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. She never thought that the three would start in a better place than wanting to save someone or take revenge. Great injustice. Even if it leads to evil, the first impulse may be born of loyalty, a sense of justice, or even love.“

13

R2-D2 and C-3PO

One of the droids always knew…

Unlike C-3PO, R2-D2 never had a memory wipe Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Instead, the diminutive droid seems to have kept his own lawyer, perhaps wary of interfering too much in Luke’s personal journey. C-3PO lost his memories, but he remained with Han and Leia’s family after Return of the JediSo can reasonably be assumed to have learned the truth through eavesdropping. Fortunately, while Threepio was hardly discreet, he wouldn’t have seen the need to tell anyone unless it came up in conversation. C-3PO still remembers the whole saga now Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

12

Lord Yoda

Always knew, the Jedi Master did

Lord Yoda knew that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker – the boy he sensed too much fear in to train his way back into Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. For many years, it was assumed that Lord Yoda was aware of the day Vader received his cybernetic enhancements and signature powers. However, since it is revealed that Obi-Wan did not know that Anakin survived for a full ten years, it is no longer a guarantee that Yoda knew for the entire time between Episode III And the first Yoda appearance in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

11

bail organa

The rebel leader took a terrible risk

Bail Organa was present during the climactic end of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the SithAnd there can be no doubt that he was aware of Darth Vader’s true identity. This 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, Bale has a lot to lose if he is found out; A closer look at his affairs may have led Vader to realize that the orphan in Bail’s care is actually his own daughter, Leia.

10

Ahsoka Tano

Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan was shocked by the realization

Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan during the Clone Wars, Ahsoka survived Order 66 and became a key agent in the nascent Rebel Alliance. Ahsoka began to suspect the truth about Darth Vader Star Wars Rebels season 2, and her worst fears were confirmed when she confronted the Sith Lord in the dramatic finale. She would have died if not for the intervention of Ezra Bridger through the world between worlds. She clearly never told the Rebel Alliance what she learned, although she may have discussed it privately with Bail Organa.

9

Darth Maul

The first apprentice of Darth Sidious had it too late

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7 strongly suggests Darth Maul has shaped the fate of Anakin Skywalker. He deduced Darth Sidious’ plans, realizing the Emperor’s goal is to seduce Anakin Skywalker to the dark side. It is unknown whether Maul ever realized that Obi-Wan Kenobi was the one to kill Vader; He would find a certain dark humor in this.

8

Grand Moff Tarkin

Darth Vader’s closest ally in the Empire

James Luceno’s novel Tarkin Confirms the Grand Moff has deduced who Darth Vader really was. Tarkin 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 almost impossible to recognize his identity, Tarkin felt like Vader already had a familiarity with him, meaning he could have been someone Tarkin was already familiar 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 Storm under his command. But Tarkin knew better than to voice his suspicions. He and Darth Vader became close allies, even doing favors for one another throughout the Dark Times.

7

Grand Admiral Throne

The foreign grand admiral took out the truth

Grand Admiral Thrawn encountered Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars while on reconnaissance missions detailed in Throne: Alliances And Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising. In fact, it was Thrawn’s name-dropping Anakin that initially convinced Palpatine to allow the Chis in his presence in the first place. A strategic genius if not a political one, Thrawn quickly deduces Darth Vader is in fact Anakin Skywalker. He also had the wisdom to keep quiet about this knowledge, though he did share his suspicions with Vader in Throne: Alliances.

6

Jocasta No

The Jedi Archivist used the knowledge

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

5

Ferran Bar

A Padawan who learned the shocking truth

Feren Bear was a Jedi Padawan who served in the Clan Wars and managed to survive the Order 66. He fled to the water planet of Mon Cala, and spent months trying to learn the truth about the fall of the Jedi Order. A slicer he hired managed to access security recordings of the Jedi Temple, and Ferren Barr was shocked to learn that Anakin Skywalker had killed 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.

4

Verla

A survivor of Darth Vader’s wrath

Verla was the only one of Feren 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 meeting was soon after The empire strikes backAnd Verla used a dark side mind probe to learn Luke is Vader’s son; She tried to kill him in an act of revenge, but luckily Artoo intervened. Verla begged Luke to never approach her again, and presumably continued to live as a hermit, hiding from the galaxy.

3

Reva and the Inquisitor

Darth Vader’s Inquisitors knew the truth

The Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV show confirmed that the Inquisitors knew that Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader. This was the real reason why Rabbi joined the inquisitors; She was an Order 66 survivor, and she sought to kill Darth Vader in an act of revenge. Needless to say, it was not going to plan. It is possible that Reva learned this by accessing confidential files, as the Inquisitors had access to records helping them identify Order 66 survivors.

2

Bylan

The most surprising addition to this list

Introduced in AhsokaBaylan was an Order 66 survivor who became a mercenary and continued to work even five years after Return of the Jedi. During one confrontation with Ahsoka, he name-drops her former master and confirms that he is aware of Anakin’s legacy of death and destruction. He could not have specifically referred to Darth VaderBut he clearly knew who Ankin had become.

1

Sabé, the Queen’s Shadow

Padmé Amidala’s primary decoy

In the aftermath of Empire strikes back, The canonical Star Wars Comics revealed that Sabé learned the truth about Darth Vader, Padmé Amidala’s former maid and deck. After Luke Skywalker’s refusal to join him, Darth Vader wanted to learn the specifics behind his wife’s death and the birth of his son. This brought him into contact with Sabé and the Amidalans, a group of handmaidens and those loyal to Padmé from Naboo, who revealed that Vader was the one who killed Padmé and Anakin Skywalker.

While Vader defeats the majority of the Naboo force seeking revenge, Sabé is among the survivors. Later, Sabé discovers a holo-recording of Padmé’s final moments on Polis Massa, telling Obi-Wan of her belief that there is still good in her husband who has become a Dark Lord of the Sith. how so Sabé made it her mission among Empire strikes back And Return of the Jedi To see if Padmé’s words were trueAnd she even served for a time at Weiter. However, they finally parted ways just ahead of the Battle of Endor after Palpatine seemingly broke his apprentice’s defiant spirit.