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Summary
Darth Vader ’s true identity operator was a tight guarded secret in theStar Warsgalaxy , and only a fistful of masses knew he was really Anakin Skywalker . A notable submarine of the Clone Wars , Anakin Skywalker was generally assume to have killed duringOrder 66 . To the galaxy as a whole , Darth Vader emerged to the full - 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 .
There were countless rumors about Darth Vader ’s lawful indistinguishability .
According to James Luceno ’s novelTarkin , there were countless rumor about Darth Vader ’s dependable identicalness . Some think he was a opposite number to the Confederacy ’s General Grievous , held in reservation by Palpatine in grammatical case the Jedi betrayed him . Others thought he was an stilted monster created in a lab .
" Many believe that the Emperor ’s willingness to grant so much authority to such a being heralded the shape of things to come , " Luceno writes , " for it was beyond conflict that Vader was the Empire ’s first scourge weapon . " The mystery was kept even afterReturn of the Jedi , with the Skywalker family conceal the true statement until it exploded into public decades later , ending Leia ’s political vocation . Here are all the hoi polloi who have been confirmed to know the truth before that black time .
What ’s the best way to watch over Star Wars ? Here ’s everything you need to know to watch in freeing or timeline monastic order , and how to admit the TV show .
16Palpatine
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 have been the one who resolve it should remain a closely guarded secret . It ’s unknown whether he ever told Darth Vader ’s true identity to his close advisers ; some of these knewPalpatine ’s identity as a mystical Sith , so may have known about Darth Vader as well . It ’s possible Mas Amedda in special was in the loop , but that has n’t been confirmed .
15Obi-Wan Kenobi
Although Obi - Wan consider Darth Vader dead for years
Obi - Wan Kenobi was aware of the truth , of course . TheObi - Wan KenobiDisney+ television set show revealedhe did n’t actually know Anakin survived their struggle on Mustafar until a tenner later , when he was pull back out of concealment by Reva and the Inquisitors . This reveal does raise some rather odd questions , though ; he was aware of theImperial interrogator , so presumably had also heard of their drawing card . He never seems to have spent much prison term considering who this Sith powerhouse could be , simply trying to keep his head down .
The Obi - Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV show let out quite a few Jedi survived Order 66 - and some of the type named were straight from Legends !
14Luke, Han, and Leia
Darth Vader’s children were shocked to learn the truth
Darth Vader told Luke he was his fatherinThe Empire Strikes Back , leaving Luke shaken to the magnetic core . It was n’t untilReturn of the Jedithat Luke told Leia , but interestingly , her focus seems to have initially been on the fact Luke was her pal . The aroused impingement is explored in Beth Revis’The Princess & the Scoundrel , set forthwith afterReturn of the Jedi ; it ’s then dealt with 10 later in - universe of discourse by Claudia Gray’sBloodline .
" She ’s always enquire what had lead her father to turn to the obscure side , to become Darth Vader . "
It was n’t untilBloodlinethat Leia set about to in truth see Anakin Skywalker , in a situation where she too felt tempted . " She ’d always wonder what had lead her father to reverse to the dark side , " Leia reflected , " to become Darth Vader . She ’d imagined it derive from ambition , rapacity , or some other venal weakness . Never had she regard that the turn of events might begin in a salutary position , out of the desire to salve someone or to avenge a great damage . Even if it led to evil , that first impulse might be born of dedication , a sense of justice , or even love . "
While trained to emulate her mother , the first two installment of Star Wars : Obi - Wan Kenobi show a young Princess Leia move more like Anakin Skywalker .
13R2-D2 and C-3PO
One of these droids always knew…
Unlike C-3PO , R2 - D2 never had a retentiveness rub inStar war : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith . rather , the lilliputian droid appears to have kept his own counsel , perhaps wary of interfere too much in Luke ’s personal journey . C-3PO lost those storage , but he persist with Han and Leia ’s family afterReturn of the Jedi , so can reasonably be assumed to have find out the accuracy by eavesdropping . Fortunately , while Threepio is scarce discreet , he would n’t have seen the demand to recite anyone unless it came up in conversation . C-3PO now remembers the whole sagaafterStar war : The emanation of Skywalker .
12Master Yoda
Always knew, this Jedi Master did
Master Yoda knew that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker - the boy he sensed too much fear in to train way back inStar Wars : Episode I - The Phantom Menace . For many twelvemonth it ’s been assume Master Yoda was aware from the twenty-four hour period Vader gained his cybernetic enhancements and theme song wheeze . However , since it ’s been reveal that Obi - Wan did n’t learn Anakin survived for a full ten years , it ’s no longer a guaranty Yoda knew for the entirety of time betweenEpisode IIIand the first Yoda appearing inStar warfare : The Empire Strikes Back .
11Bail Organa
This rebel leader took a terrible risk
Bail Organa was present during the climactic end ofStar war : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith , and there can be no doubt he was aware of Darth Vader ’s true identity element . That makes Bail in particular impressive because he rest politically fighting , and any ill - judge reaction - or even tramp thought - could have told Palpatine or Vader he knew more than he was letting on . Worse still , Bail had a destiny to miss if he was incur out;a close tone at his affairs could well have led Vader to realize the orphan in Bail ’s caution was in reality his own daughter , Leia .
10Ahsoka Tano
Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan was shocked by the realization
Anakin Skywalker ’s Padawan during the Clone Wars , Ahsoka survived Order 66and became a central agent in the nascent Rebel Alliance . Ahsoka begin to suspect the truth about Darth Vader inStar Wars Rebelsseason 2 , and her worst fears were confirmed when she confronted the Sith Lord in the dramatic closing curtain . She would have died if not for the intervention of Ezra Bridger via the World Between Worlds . She clearly never told the Rebel Alliance what she ’d study , although she may well have discourse it in private with Bail Organa .
9Darth Maul
Darth Sidious' first apprentice worked it out too late
Star Wars : The Clone Warsseason 7 strongly suggestsDarth Maul had figured out Anakin Skywalker ’s destiny . He had deduced Darth Sidious ' plans , realizing the Emperor ’s goal was to seduce Anakin Skywalker to the dark side . It ’s obscure whether Maul ever realized Obi - Wan Kenobi was the one to lame Vader ; he would have found a certain dark humor in that .
8Grand Moff Tarkin
Darth Vader’s closest ally in the Empire
James Luceno ’s novelTarkinconfirms the Grand Moff had deduced who Darth Vader really was . Tarkin had work with Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars , and he found the Dark Lord of the Sith spookily familiar , even recognizing some of his maneuver . While Vader ’s face and representative made it nearly impossible to spot his identity , Tarkin felt like Vader already had a familiarity with him , signify he may have been someone Tarkin was already well acquainted with .
Tarkin recognise better than to voice his misgiving .
While he never sustain it outright , Tarkin had a smart as a whip tactical intellect and recognized Anakin ’s proficiency with a lightsaber , his military strategy , and his interaction with the stormtroopers under his command . But Tarkin know well than to vocalise his suspiciousness . He and Darth Vader became closelipped ally , even doing favour for one another throughout the Dark Times .
7Grand Admiral Thrawn
The alien Grand Admiral deduced the truth
Grand Admiral Thrawnhad encountered Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars while on reconnaissance mission delegation detail inThrawn : AlliancesandThrawn Ascendancy : Chaos Rising . In fact , it was Thrawn ’s name - dismiss Anakin that initially persuaded Palpatine to allow the Chiss into his comportment in the first topographic point . A strategic mastermind if not a political one , Thrawn swiftly deduced Darth Vader was in fact Anakin Skywalker . He too had the wisdom to keep still about the knowledge , although he did bespeak his suspicions to Vader inThrawn : Alliances .
