When Anakin Skywalker was redeemed at the end of Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker had spent the previous year dealing with the fact that his father was actually Darth Vader. So by the time Anakin returned to the light, Luke had already come to believe there was still good in his father and was able to joyfully celebrate the return of the Jedi.
But Luke’s sister, Leia Organa? She had a much harder time.
After all, she only learned of the truth that her father was Darth Vader shortly before the Battle of Endor, and therefore we should expect her reaction to the news of Anakin’s redemption to be, well, far more complicated. It’s something the original movies never gave us a glimpse into, but thankfully, the Star Wars comics have recently done precisely that.
In Battle of Jakku: Insurgency Rising #1, the Star Wars comics begin their exploration of the post-Endor storyline, but the issue (written by Alex Segura) takes the time to give Leia a few quiet moments of reflection. As the victory celebration on Endor rages on, Leia slips away by herself into the dark forest at night – to say hello, and goodbye, to her father. Staring at the charred helmet of Darth Vader amidst the still-flaming funeral pyre, Leia deals with a complex mix of emotions. She says this to her recently-revealed father:
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to find here. This should be a happy moment. I should be celebrating. After years of pain, we finally have good news. But I’m stubborn. I can’t help myself. I needed to talk to you face-to-face. But now I’m not sure what to say. I’m not like Luke. Luke can forgive with an ease I strain for. All I feel is anger – over all the things you did. The people you hurt. The people you left behind. But I’m going to set that aside for now. My family is waiting.”
The next day, Luke pulls Leia aside to talk about what had happened, as he had sensed her anger. “Anger leads to darkness, Leia,” Luke cautions. “We can’t let that drive us.” But Leia, understandably, has trouble embracing that teaching so soon after she has learned such shocking news. “I’m not Anakin Skywalker. Or Darth Vader,” she tells Luke. “And I’m not a Jedi. I’m a person with feelings – the kind that can’t be buried. We’ve been through the darkness. All of us. That leaves scars that need to heal.”
Upon hearing this, Luke makes an offer to Leia – the first such offer we know of – to train her as a Jedi. She is non-committal here before they’re interrupted by a mission, but we know she will eventually train briefly with Luke in the ways of the Force. But for the remainder of her life, Leia will continue to struggle with her father’s true identity. The novel Bloodline (by Claudia Gray) dives into it quite a bit more, set six years prior to The Force Awakens. Leia has come to embrace the redemption of Anakin more than she does in this comic issue, but she still wrestles with her dad being Darth Vader – and the fears of her son following that same path. But the ramifications of this familial connection don’t just plague Leia internally, as the novel details how the news becomes public (decades after she first learned it) and ruins her entire political career.
So it’s safe to say that Leia Organa has a harder time embracing her father as Darth Vader than Luke Skywalker, and that makes sense. I’m really glad this comic gave enough time to pause for a moment and let Leia process it, and I hope it’s something we see more of as the series continues, and as Leia trains with Luke.
Star Wars Thoughts 