One of the most powerful Sith Lords of all time, Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, assisted Darth Sidious in ruling over the galaxy with an iron fist. As Anakin Skywalker, he was a Jedi Knight who trained under Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi. Anakin's path to the darkside began when Chancellor Palpatine, secretly Darth Sidious, began to befriend him and start to implant visions into Anakin's head. These visions led to fear of losing what was most important to him, Padme Amidala, former Queen of Naboo. As Anakin gave into his fears, Palpatine's grasp over him grew stronger. Anakin eventually fully turns to the dark side, kills Padme in his rage, and becomes Palpatine's Sith Apprentice under the new name of Darth Vader
This Video goes into the history of Darth Vader, and the tragedy of his story-
The Tragedy of Skywalker | A History of Darth VaderAnakin first met Padme Amidala on Tatooine, his home planet, while she was traveling with Obi Wan and Qui Gon Gin. While Padme was much older than Anakin at this time, the two become friends, even more so once Anakin joins the trio after winning his freedom in a pod race. A few years go by until Anakin and Padme meet again, and once they do they hit it off romantically nearly instantly. The two are married within the span of a few months, and within a few years are already expecting twins. This is when Palpatine begins to manipulate Anakin's fears of losing Padme, and eventually explains that there is only one way to save Padme, which is to join him as an apprentice. When Padme learns of Anakin joining Palpatine, she confronts him and begs him not to succumb to the hate. Anakin notices his former master Obi Wan standing behind Padme, and becomes enraged. In his rage he chokes Padme, rendering her unconscious. Padme stays alive long enough to deliver the twins, but dies shortly thereafter. Once Anakin, now Vader, discovers that Padme has died, he is even more enraged and heartbroken, leading him into a life of rage and depression.
This video discusses the history of their relationship much deeper-
Movie Couple Therapy: ANAKIN and PADMEThere are two sides of the force, light and dark. The lightside is associated with good and peace, while the darkside is associated with power and control. The darkside of the force feeds off of much stronger emotions than the lightside, so it makes users capable of becoming much more powerful than most lightside users. Anakin Skywalker was a highly emotional person, suffering through the loss of his mother, not being trusted by the jedi council, and being fearful of the loss of Padme all made him highly susceptible to influence from the darkside of the force. Palpatime saw this volatility in Anakin, and exploited it. Anakin was one of the most powerful Jedi, even as a young Jedi Knight. He had a significantly stronger connection to the force than most, and was thought by many to be the chosen one, or the one to bring balance to the force. However, Palpatine gets to him before he can truly meet his potential as a jedi. Palpatine had many possible options for apprentices, but Anakin is who he felt was the best option to fulfil his dreams of ruling over the galaxy.
This video discusses why exactly Anakin was chosen over other possible candidates-
Why Palpatine Chose Vader Over 6 Other Dark Side ApprenticesLuke Skywalker was the secret son of Darth Vader. Luke was hidden away from Vader shortly after his birth and the death of his mother on Tatooine on Anakin's home planet of Tatooine. It was believed that Anakin would never revisit the place where he was formerly enslaved and where he witnessed the murder of his mother. Luke and his uncle buy a few droids, and one of them claims to be property of Obi Wan Kenobi, who has secretly been watching over Luke under the name Ben Kenobi. This is where Luke and Vader slowly converge paths, eventually meeting up on Cloud City where they have a duel. Once Vader learns of the name of this young Jedi, he realizes that Padme had given birth to the twins, and that Luke at the very least had survived as his son. Vader extends the offer to Luke of joining him as his apprentice, however Luke declines this offer to continue his Jedi training and the fight for good. Vader and Luke meet again several years later, after Luke has finished his training. Luke and Vader duel once more, which culminates with Luke and Vader defeating Palpatine together, but results in Vader's Death. With Vader sacrificing himself and killing Palpatine, he has effectively brought balance to the force, and lived up to the prophecy that was bestowed upon him in his youth. He was able to do all of this with the help and affection of his son, who always believed that the Jedi Knight he had heard tales of was still inside the evil dictator of Darth Vader
This video discusses the role that Luke played in Vader's life-
The Importance of Luke SkywalkerIt was discovered by Qui Gon that Anakin was exceptionally strong in the force, much stronger than nearly all other Jedi. Anakin’s connection to the force led to his training as a Jedi, but also led to him being exceptionally volatile and susceptible to the Darkside of the force
This portion of Vader's Wiki discusses his force power
Force PowersWith his strong connection to the force, Anakin, and then Vader, was one of the best lightsaber duellists in the galaxy. His ability surpassed that of Count Dooku during the Clone Wars, and he was able to defeat many Sith apprentices during his time as a Jedi Knight. As a sith lord, Vader used his lightsaber abilities to strike fear into his opponents and defeat them with ease.
This portion of Vader's Wiki discusses his lightsaber and his usage of it
LightsaberThe legacy of Vader is mixed. While most will always know him as an evil tyrant, his son and the rest of the Jedi know that he was able to turn away from the dark side of the force and defeat the evil of Darth Sidious.
This portion of Vader's Wiki discusses the legacy of Vader deeper
Legacy