Star Wars: 10 Characters Most Influential In Anakin Skywalker Becoming Darth Vader

The entire Star Wars Skywalker saga rests on the shoulders of Anakin Skywalker, and he is one of the characters who could truly be considered the main character of the saga. The prequels tell of his rise as a Jedi and then his fall to the dark side, while the originals deal with his time on the dark side and eventual redemption. He is undoubtedly one of the best and most fascinating figures in the franchise as well.

One of the most tragic and interesting parts of the character is how many different people did affect, and could have changed, his story. Ultimately there is only one, arguably two, people who truly were responsible for his fall, but there are other characters who had some sort of influence along the way, some through no real fault of their own.

10 Watto (& Other Slavers)

Anakin’s hatred of the practice of slavery and the crime lords who sanction it is documented but not hugely explored in the films. It is only glimpsed in both the prequel trilogy and The Clone Wars.

However, when it is touched on, it brings out an instant rage and passion from Anakin that he simply cannot control. That is where Watto comes in; having owned Anakin and his mother as slaves, he was a big part of Anakin’s formative experience and helped instill a rightful rage and hatred inside of him, a hatred he took with him into being Darth Vader.

9 Shmi Skywalker (& Captors)

As mentioned, it was not just Anakin kept as a slave, but also his mother, Shmi Skywalker, a character whose impact on Anakin’s life can’t be understated.

One of the biggest issues with Anakin becoming a Jedi at the age he did was that he had already formed a loving, dependent attachment to his mother. He missed her when he left, and he dreamt of her before she died. That loss affected him greatly, not just in that he slaughtered a village of Sand People, but also because his dreams of her death came true, building on his fear and paranoia, especially when he dreamt the same things about Padmé. His mother was not specifically responsible for his descent into darkness, but her connection with Anakin did play a role.

8 Separatist Leaders

Anakin had a different viewpoint on the war compared to other Jedi. He believed they had to be more, in a word, ruthless, to do whatever it took to win the war. This often left him susceptible to a lot of anger and hatred towards the opposition leaders.

This is especially true for Dooku. Dooku taunted Anakin throughout all of their battles, and when it came to killing or arresting Dooku on the Invisible Hand, he hesitates, but he does it and is fine with that choice. There are also glimpses into his dark side via other characters like Trench, who he is happy to murder. They brought something out in Anakin that Palpatine pounced on.

7 The Whole Jedi Council At Points

One of the most significant reasons for Anakin’s fall was his belief that the Jedi had gone bad, that the dark side was the right way to go. This was largely due to years of mistrust and a constant loss of faith in the Jedi Council.

Time and time again, they mistreated Anakin or did things to get on his nerves: They used him to get close to the Chancellor, they gave Ahsoka a sham trial to banish her, they outright told him they did not want him to be a Jedi, and time and time again, they made decisions that left Anakin feeling cast aside, untrusted and undervalued.

6 Mace Windu

Moving on from the Jedi Council as a whole and onto specific Jedi who influenced Anakin’s fall, Mace Windu is the most obvious example in this regard.

Mace constantly proved to Anakin he did not trust him. It took over a decade in the Jedi Order alongside the discovery of a Sith for Mace Windu to say, “You will have gained my trust.” Anakin really could never have won with Windu. All that treatment combined with Mace refusing to arrest Sidious made it relatively easy for Anakin to see Windu as the bad guy.

5 Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi was Anakin’s brother, as well as a father figure in his life, and even though he never intended to hurt his friend, nor did he distrust Anakin like other Jedi, Obi-Wan still had some influence in Anakin’s fall.

For one, he was not perfect and did do some not-so-great things to Anakin, like pretend to be dead, not stick up for Ahsoka, and allow Anakin to be a bit of a pawn in order to get close to the Chancellor. On a more heartbreaking level but, Obi-Wan was never the perfect fit as Master for Anakin despite how good the two were together. On top of that, yes, Anakin was attached to Obi-Wan, but he also let himself get massively angry with Obi-Wan, allowing a rage build inside him anytime he disappointed his master. All these emotions played right into Palpatine’s hands.

4 Ahsoka Tano

Unlike the rest of the Jedi, Ahsoka Tano never did anything to make her Master question her trust or loyalty to him. In fact, she never hurt him, except for one occasion that was not her fault whatsoever.

Ahsoka leaving the council served to make Anakin trust them less and less. It also hurt him to see his little sister go. As Yoda points out in The Clone Wars movie, the real test for Anakin was to see if he could let go of his Padawan when the time came. He could not. Ahsoka was a positive presence in Anakin’s life, but events in their relationship contributed to his fall.

3 Padmé Amidala

Speaking of attachment, there is, of course, nobody Anakin found himself more hopelessly attached to than Padmé Amidala, the love of his life.

Like Ahsoka, Padmé never did anything to make Anakin become Vader. But Anakin became so paranoid about the survival of his wife, so angry and hate-filled at the thought of losing her, that he was so susceptible to seduction, and fell to the dark side.

2 Sheev Palpatine

That is where Sheev Palpatine, a.k.a Darth Sidious, comes in. He is one of two characters who truly influenced Anakin’s fall to the dark side, and Palpatine’s doing so was a masterpiece of genius and seduction.

Palpatine preyed on every insecurity and every emotion Anakin had. Every time the Council did something to betray Anakin’s trust, Palpatine was there, any time Anakin felt underappreciated, Palpatine was there, anytime Anakin needed reassurance, Palpatine was there. Palpatine was a friend to Anakin in Anakin’s eyes, and Palpatine manipulated him masterfully to become his apprentice.

1 Anakin Skywalker

The only other person responsible for Anakin Skywalker’s downfall? It is, of course, the only person truly responsible for his own fall to the dark side, Anakin Skywalker himself.

Ahsoka, Padmé, Obi-Wan, the Jedi, the Separatists, none of these people forced Anakin to the dark side. What they each did do was make Anakin feel emotions that he could not control; they made him love them, or hate them, or feel anger, sadness, fear, and pain. At times Anakin was a toxic husband, a whiny teen, an emotionally unbalanced individual, and overall, nobody truly influenced his fall to the dark side as much as himself. It is truly nobody’s fault that Anakin became attached to them and could not control himself. It’s not like anyone, but Palpatine predicted the evil Anakin could do. Was Anakin mistreated by some people? Absolutely. Could the people around him have done more to help? Of course. Did he deserve to be alive and happy with his wife? Definitely. But was it anyone else’s fault that he succumbed to the dark side and became Darth Vader? No.