What If Vader Survived Endor And Not Luke?

[Mr Light]

This scenario popped in my head just now and the more I thought about it, the more exciting it became.

In the final confrontation with the Emperor, Luke is electrocuted to death. Vader in a rage tosses Palps down the shaft but survives.

Vader escapes the Death Star with Luke's body and flies down to Endor to find his daughter.

What happens then? Would Leia ever be willing to forgive him? To work with him?

What does Vader do next? Does he join the Rebels? Does he go back to the Empire, assume leadership, and then dissolve it? Do the Moffs turn on him?

And even if Vader successfully dissolves the Empire and the New Republic takes over... what happens to him then? Does he get immunity from his decades of crimes for helping them beat the Emperor and the Empire? Surely he would be a social pariah no matter how helpful he was. But would Leia work to redeem his name? Or would she refuse to have anything to do with him?

 

[JD]

That is an interesting idea. I thought maybe the Inifinities: Return of the Jedi comic might deal with something like that, but apparently

Spoiler: Vader

the redeemed Vader/Anakin only appears at the very end in a white version of the Vader suit.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I figure Vader would try and do good from within the Empire as sort of a benevolent dictator (until a proper New Republic government could be established), similar to what he suggested to Padme in AotC. Even "reformed," he can't immediately overcome all his character traits, and he probably has a greater chance of doing good from within the Empire than abandoning it completely. I could see him working with Leia (reluctantly on her part, but she'd see the utility of it eventually) toward the eventual disbanding of the Imperial infrastructure and integration with the New Republic leadership. After stepping down from power, he might also try and reinstate the Jedi Order to make up for his past crimes, and maybe Leia would eventually agree to be trained by him when she finally forgives him.

 

[Mr Light]

Would anybody be willing to be trained by Darth Vader though? Maybe it's just a long con to round up the Force sensitives and corrupt/kill them all!

 

[JD]

It would be interesting to see a Jedi Order run by Luke and a post Vader Anakin.
I wonder what Anakin would wear once he was redeemed. I would assume he would try to find something less intimidating, and that wasn't connected to his time as a Sith.

 

[Gaith]

I can't imagine Vader sticking around under any scenario, dead Luke or alive Luke. He'd be like the wandering gunslinger in a Western, riding off to seek his redemption in unfamiliar lands beyond the sunset, never to be seen by the village again. It's a no-brainer; anything else would just be horrible writing/storytelling... IMHO.

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[Kelthaz]

The Rebel Alliance arrests Vader on Endor, tries and quickly finds him guilty in the deaths of billions and the extermination of the Jedi Order, and then sentences him to death.

 

[Turtletrekker]

The Rebel Alliance arrests Vader on Endor, tries and quickly finds him guilty in the deaths of billions and the extermination of the Jedi Order, and then sentences him to death.

At least. Remember Alderaan.

 

[Mr Light]

But Vader could take control of the Empire and neuter it.

Actually, thinking more on it... Vader sneaks down to Endor to meet Leia and deliver her brother's body. Then he promises he's going to make amends... Force chokes her unconscious... and slips away into the night.

He sneaks back to the Empire (so the Rebels can't try to arrest him) and assumes control of the Empire to redeem his sins. But the question then becomes... can he control the Empire and make it peaceful without becoming corrupted all over again...?

 

[Icemizer]

Theres no redemption for Vader. His perception of good/evil is twisted beyond fixing. He will always belive in using force and power to attain his goals. His fragile psyche would crack even further were he put in a true position of power and tasked with making galactic decisions which is why he was always on the Emperors leash.

 

[-Brett-]

Vaders "redemption" such as it was, came from saving Luke. If he didn't, then he wasn't. If he'd let Luke die, nothing changes. He's still as big a piece o' shit as ever.

 

[Guy Gardener]

"Vader didn't do anything illegal."

Oliver North.

 

[Captaindemotion]

The Rebel Alliance arrests Vader on Endor, tries and quickly finds him guilty in the deaths of billions and the extermination of the Jedi Order, and then sentences him to death.

At least. Remember Alderaan.

Playing Devil's Advocate (or at least Sith Lord's Advocate), did Vader really have a role in its destruction? Wasn't it Tarkin who ordered that the planet be destroyed? And IIRC, it was Imperial flunkies who pulled the levers, fired the trigger etc. Vader merely stood there the whole time.

Sure, he wasn't exactly protesting vigorously against it, but is inactivity enough to condemn him for genocide? It's not like he's trying to say 'I was only obeying orders' (which isn't a defence to crimes against humanity) - he was merely a bystander, other than bringing Leia to Tarkin. I don't know that his taking her to Tarkin is enough to constitute joint enterprise. Do we know that he knew what Tarkin had planned?

That's not to say that there aren't other imperial war crimes for which they could've prosecuted him, of course.

 

[Kelthaz]

The Rebel Alliance arrests Vader on Endor, tries and quickly finds him guilty in the deaths of billions and the extermination of the Jedi Order, and then sentences him to death.

At least. Remember Alderaan.

Playing Devil's Advocate (or at least Sith Lord's Advocate), did Vader really have a role in its destruction? Wasn't it Tarkin who ordered that the planet be destroyed? And IIRC, it was Imperial flunkies who pulled the levers, fired the trigger etc. Vader merely stood there the whole time.

Even if the Rebel Alliance knew that Vader was innocent in the destruction of Alderaan, they wouldn't care. They would still blame him and punish him as the destroyer of Alderaan as a moral boost for the Republic and as a political tool. Kinda like "The Duet", but far more justified.

 

[JD]

I've always kind of wondered how much a person who had fallen to the Dark Side and then been redeemed and returned to the Light would be held responsible for their actions? I don't know if it would work, but couldn't they at least try and say they weren't in their right mind, and try to get some kind of counseling or something?
Would Anakin be responsible for Vader's actions, or Jacen Solo for Caedus's?
Weren't there several Jedi in the Legacy EU who fell to the Dark Side but were then redeemed and forgiven?

 

[Reverend]

At least. Remember Alderaan.

Playing Devil's Advocate (or at least Sith Lord's Advocate), did Vader really have a role in its destruction? Wasn't it Tarkin who ordered that the planet be destroyed? And IIRC, it was Imperial flunkies who pulled the levers, fired the trigger etc. Vader merely stood there the whole time.

Even if the Rebel Alliance knew that Vader was innocent in the destruction of Alderaan, they wouldn't care. They would still blame him and punish him as the destroyer of Alderaan as a moral boost for the Republic and as a political tool. Kinda like "The Duet", but far more justified.

Well given that the only living witness to the event also happens to be one of the Alliance's highest ranking leader, I think it's a fair bet that any tribunal would get an accurate accounting.

Regardless, from a mythic storytelling perspective the only thing to happen next had a redeemed Vader survived instead of Luke is pretty much as Gaith suggested. Maybe he takes a new name, gets some less recognisable cybernetics and becomes the Jedi version of a rōnin, wandering the outer rim. Or if you want to go cosmic: sets off in search of Mortis to help undo the damage he caused and help restore balance to the force.

 

[Richard Baker]

I can see Vader going off on his own, having no official contact with either the new Republic or the Imperial Remnants. He would show up in a weird customized ship of some kind, do something which would alter the outcome of some significant battle then disappear once again with people not being sure if it was him or not...

 

[Silvercrest]

Theres no redemption for Vader. His perception of good/evil is twisted beyond fixing. He will always belive in using force and power to attain his goals. His fragile psyche would crack even further were he put in a true position of power and tasked with making galactic decisions which is why he was always on the Emperors leash.

Vaders "redemption" such as it was, came from saving Luke. If he didn't, then he wasn't. If he'd let Luke die, nothing changes. He's still as big a piece o' shit as ever.

I'm with both of these, but with the caveat that if both Luke and Vader survived, then Vader would have a chance at redemption by recognizing his son's wisdom and following him. Attempting to walk out of the darkness by letting Luke lead him out, so to speak. I think this would only work to a certain degree, the extent of which is debatable. And it assumes he wasn't shot on sight by the Rebels!

If Luke didn't survive, then Vader wouldn't be redeemed. He might very well go after the Emperor — by giving in to his anger. Surely no one thinks love for his son would be the driving force as he chopped Palpatine into little tiny bits? Well, actually, Vader might think so, but really it would be the same sort of self-deception that led him to the Dark Side the first time. And that's exactly what would happen again.

Mr. Light and Locutus: He'd take control of the Empire, all right, but....