Everybody remembers the line "I am your father" near the end of "The Empire Strikes Back", this is Luke's Dad, Anakin Skywalker, the greatest jedi that ever lived. Its just a shame he spent most of the time fighting for the bad guys! As Emperor Palpatine's right hand man, Vader wiped out the jedi and brought terror to the galaxy.

The reasons for Anakin taking the path to evil are made clear in the first three episodes of the Star Wars saga, showing the seperation and then loss of his mother, the secret relationship with Padme Amidala and his frustration at not being able to control everything. The jedi master Yoda could sense this from the beginning, but allowed Anakin's training to go ahead, knowing how uncertain the future was.

Anakin is described as being the one who will "bring balance" to the force, which to me seems to obviously mean a reduction in light jedi so that there are equal amounts of dark and light. This is exactly what he does, virtually exterminating all jedi in the galaxy. By the time we reach Episode 4 - A New Hope, there are only 2 trained Jedi left, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

Vader is forced to wear a suit that maintains his body and keeps him alive. The reason for this should be made clear in Episode 3, though it is likely to involve Obi-Wan, Anakin and a large volcanic pit. In the later episodes however, Vader has learned to use his mask to his advantage, knowing it only adds to his imposing form. At two meters tall, this dark jedi is not somebody to be messed with.

In Episode 4, it seems as if all remnants of Anakin Skywalker within Vader have been erased when Vader strikes down his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, this turns out not to be the case when he is finally rescued from evil by Luke in Episode 6. The sight of the Emperor torturing, and preparing to kill his son is enough to bring Anakin back. Vader, now Anakin, sacrifices his life to destroy the Emperor and save Luke, bringing hope back to the galaxy after so many years of destroying it.