When did Vader find out Luke was his son?

[John Picard]

Corridors, quarters and everything? That's some fancy shootin'!

Once you've got the hole to build it in, it's not going to take three years to build the whole thing. I've been part of a construction team that built a church in two weekends. And they hadn't been in Echo Base long; the Snowspeeders weren't even adjusted to the cold yet when The Empire Strikes Back begins. Whatever the official timeline says, there's nothing in the movie itself to suggest that three years have passed since A New Hope; that date was largely picked because there are so many comic books that take place in that time frame.

But we don't know how long the Rebels had been running, scouting for a base, and all that. Hell, it takes a lot of time and effort to set up equipment, run wiring, establish patrols, and the like. So naturally, it could have been months before they even thought about taking the speeders out on patrol.

 

[Lindley]

Luke didn't become a Jedi Master until "Courtship of Princess Leia", before that he was just a Knight.

My memory was that Luke was declared a Master by Leia and the rest of the (very small) Force-user community sometime during the Jedi Academy Trilogy. Certainly he was still referring to himself as a Knight during the Thrawn crisis.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I forget, is Luke returning to Yoda in ROTJ the first time they see each other since he left for Bespin?

Seems implied that way. My thought is that he trained a little on his own, possibly in Tatooine and then rescued Han. Then, after having completed that task, returned to Yoda.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Who then confirmed that there is nothing more he could teach Luke.
The final step was learning who he really was by confronting Vader on his own terms. Turns out he really was a Jedi Knight who was not afraid of his destiny and able to turn Anakin back to the light side. What more can you ask of a Jedi knight?

 

[Mr Light]

It was Luke defeating the witches of Dathomir that made him a Master, or so he said in the Courtship book, as I recall. I remember a scene where the witches "kill" him and he comes back to live perceiving the Force and life as never before and becomes much more powerful, and thus a Jedi Master.

 

[Candlelight]

I hate that they use the Battle of Yavin as the turning point in galactic history. The Battle of Endor makes far more sense.

The Battle of Yavin was the first true victory by the rebellion.

Yes the Battle of Endor saw the end of Palpatine's reign, but it was Han and Luke's efforts at Yavin that started it all rolling.

 

[Thrall]

He recognized that he had his mothers ass.

 

[JediKnightButler]

Once you've got the hole to build it in, it's not going to take three years to build the whole thing. I've been part of a construction team that built a church in two weekends. And they hadn't been in Echo Base long; the Snowspeeders weren't even adjusted to the cold yet when The Empire Strikes Back begins. Whatever the official timeline says, there's nothing in the movie itself to suggest that three years have passed since A New Hope; that date was largely picked because there are so many comic books that take place in that time frame.

But we don't know how long the Rebels had been running, scouting for a base, and all that. Hell, it takes a lot of time and effort to set up equipment, run wiring, establish patrols, and the like. So naturally, it could have been months before they even thought about taking the speeders out on patrol.

Every chronology I've ever read puts ESB approximately 2-3 years after ANH

 

[Praetor]

Yeah, he found out in the Vader's Quest comic from 1999 or so, I forget the details. I always thought the DVD Edition revamp of the Emperor's dialogue was a little strange because they're trying not to spoil the reveal at the end of the movie. But yeah if the damn kid's name is Skywalker and he's from Tatooine, would anyone think that's a coincidence?

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about, the new dialogue makes no sense in the context of the movie. He had to have known before that. I guess we can assume he's feigning ingnorance with the emperor because he wanted to find Luke and make him his secret apprentice, so they could overthrow the emperor together and rule the galaxy.

That's the way I've decided to reinterpret the scene. Seems fitting considering the prequel trilogies, to be honest.

That makes me not hate that scene revamp so much now.

 

[Gaith]

But we don't know how long the Rebels had been running, scouting for a base, and all that. Hell, it takes a lot of time and effort to set up equipment, run wiring, establish patrols, and the like. So naturally, it could have been months before they even thought about taking the speeders out on patrol.

Who says the Rebels built it? Maybe it was an obscure mining outpost that they decided to squat in.

 

[Praetor]

Also, one might suppose the rebels had a cell arrangement and multiple relatively redundant bases for just such an emergency - if they had any brains, anyway. The one on the Yavin moon was just the HQ that week.

 

[Marc]

Once you've got the hole to build it in, it's not going to take three years to build the whole thing. I've been part of a construction team that built a church in two weekends. And they hadn't been in Echo Base long; the Snowspeeders weren't even adjusted to the cold yet when The Empire Strikes Back begins. Whatever the official timeline says, there's nothing in the movie itself to suggest that three years have passed since A New Hope; that date was largely picked because there are so many comic books that take place in that time frame.

But we don't know how long the Rebels had been running, scouting for a base, and all that. Hell, it takes a lot of time and effort to set up equipment, run wiring, establish patrols, and the like. So naturally, it could have been months before they even thought about taking the speeders out on patrol.

Don't forget they would of also been running and hiding from the Empire staying one step ahead.

Hoth was probably one of many places they'd been. Wasn't Ord Mantell given as the place Solo ran into one of jabba's bounty hunters.

Also isn't there a line from early on when Vader is seeing the footage from the probe droid and says that it's the Rebels and "Skywalker is with them" or am I confusing the with the radio dramas?

 

[John Picard]

But we don't know how long the Rebels had been running, scouting for a base, and all that. Hell, it takes a lot of time and effort to set up equipment, run wiring, establish patrols, and the like. So naturally, it could have been months before they even thought about taking the speeders out on patrol.

Don't forget they would of also been running and hiding from the Empire staying one step ahead.

Hoth was probably one of many places they'd been. Wasn't Ord Mantell given as the place Solo ran into one of jabba's bounty hunters.

Also isn't there a line from early on when Vader is seeing the footage from the probe droid and says that it's the Rebels and "Skywalker is with them" or am I confusing the with the radio dramas?

I loved listening to the radio dramas. I was upset when the schedule changed and I missed out on the remainder of the stories.

 

[Heeroyuy]

There are a few contradictory Expanded Universe stories regarding the discovery of Hoth. (BTW, apparentally the planet/system was named after the Jedi that vanquished the Sith during the last war before the prequels).


In the old comic strips from the 80s, it's Luke that stumbles upon Hoth, in the 3D comics it's Han that finds it, X-wing has some aliens find it and Force Unleashed has it one of the key staging eras of the alliance.

I like the Luke story the most since it fits in the opening scroll, "Led by Luke Skywalker..."

There's also a few contradictory Ord Mantell stories

 

[Captaindemotion]

But we don't know how long the Rebels had been running, scouting for a base, and all that. Hell, it takes a lot of time and effort to set up equipment, run wiring, establish patrols, and the like. So naturally, it could have been months before they even thought about taking the speeders out on patrol.

Don't forget they would of also been running and hiding from the Empire staying one step ahead.

Hoth was probably one of many places they'd been. Wasn't Ord Mantell given as the place Solo ran into one of jabba's bounty hunters.

Also isn't there a line from early on when Vader is seeing the footage from the probe droid and says that it's the Rebels and "Skywalker is with them" or am I confusing the with the radio dramas?

No, you're right. He either says 'That is the one and Skywalker is there' or 'That is the one and Skywalker is with them.' I've never heard the radio drama but remember that from the movie.

As for the main topic (joining it very late), there's a comic called Vader's Quest, in which he gets the name Skywalker after torturing it out of a rebel source. While I'm no EU fan, that works for me. I've always assumed that he wasn't so stupid as not to make the connection. Especially given his own comment that the force was strong in that pilot, during the Battle of Yavin.

As for the amended dialogue in ESB Spec Ed, it only makes sense if you accept that Vader was playing innocent to the Emperor and pretending that he was unaware of who the young pilot really was. Given that Vader's obsession with finding Skywalker is mentioned in the opening scroll, he must have known that this was his son. Even if you accept that Vader is a complete idiot (perhaps not that hard to assume, having seen the PT!) and hadn't actually realised that the force strong pilot bearing his name was his son, it's hard to see any other reason for his obsession for finding the young rebel. Revenge for the Death Star? Not really, that was Tarkin's pet project. Vader warned that it was no match for The Force.


But for all that the new dialogue ties in with the scheming nature of the Sith and their constant plotting against each other, I still prefer the dialogue in the original ESB. I've no problem with Lucas inserting Ian McDiarmuid into the movie for the sake of continuity, but I don't know why he didn't leave the original dialogue intact.

 

[Marc]

Don't forget they would of also been running and hiding from the Empire staying one step ahead.

Hoth was probably one of many places they'd been. Wasn't Ord Mantell given as the place Solo ran into one of jabba's bounty hunters.

Also isn't there a line from early on when Vader is seeing the footage from the probe droid and says that it's the Rebels and "Skywalker is with them" or am I confusing the with the radio dramas?

No, you're right. He either says 'That is the one and Skywalker is there' or 'That is the one and Skywalker is with them.' I've never heard the radio drama but remember that from the movie.

As for the main topic (joining it very late), there's a comic called Vader's Quest, in which he gets the name Skywalker after torturing it out of a rebel source. While I'm no EU fan, that works for me. I've always assumed that he wasn't so stupid as not to make the connection. Especially given his own comment that the force was strong in that pilot, during the Battle of Yavin.

As for the amended dialogue in ESB Spec Ed, it only makes sense if you accept that Vader was playing innocent to the Emperor and pretending that he was unaware of who the young pilot really was. Given that Vader's obsession with finding Skywalker is mentioned in the opening scroll, he must have known that this was his son. Even if you accept that Vader is a complete idiot (perhaps not that hard to assume, having seen the PT!) and hadn't actually realised that the force strong pilot bearing his name was his son, it's hard to see any other reason for his obsession for finding the young rebel. Revenge for the Death Star? Not really, that was Tarkin's pet project. Vader warned that it was no match for The Force.


But for all that the new dialogue ties in with the scheming nature of the Sith and their constant plotting against each other, I still prefer the dialogue in the original ESB. I've no problem with Lucas inserting Ian McDiarmuid into the movie for the sake of continuity, but I don't know why he didn't leave the original dialogue intact.

Wonder if the fact that very few people knew that Darth Vader had been Anakin Skywalker (By the time of ANH the count is 4 - Vader, Palpatine, Kenobi and Yoda) played a role in how it was handled. Vader and Palpatine would of wanted him for his Force skills but told the rest of the Empire it was revenge for the Death Star.

The EU can of worms does touch on your point of about the Sith plotting against each other. In the Heir to Empire, Luke and Mara discuss the offer Vader made in ESB about overthrowing the Emperor. Luke thinks it was just a bluff but is told Vader was always on the edge of treason and ht it was a kosher offer.

 

[Lindley]

No, you're right. He either says 'That is the one and Skywalker is there' or 'That is the one and Skywalker is with them.' I've never heard the radio drama but remember that from the movie.

I have an uncanny memory for dialog. I think it was:
Vader: "That's it. The Rebels are there."
Ozzel: "My Lord, there are so many uncharted settlements. It could be pueblos, it could be---"
Vader: "That is the system, and I am sure Skywalker is with them. Set your course for the Hoth system!"

 

[TheArsenal]

The Empire Strikes Back table read.

 

[DaleC76]

Wonder if the fact that very few people knew that Darth Vader had been Anakin Skywalker (By the time of ANH the count is 4 - Vader, Palpatine, Kenobi and Yoda) played a role in how it was handled.

I think Bail Organa and Owen and Beru Lars also knew, but of course, they don't survive ANH.

 

[Anwar]

Luke's Uncle and Aunt knew, right? I'm guessing that Obi Wan must have told them, seeing how it wouldn't make much sense for them to know otherwise.

On an off-topic, do any of the EU books ever have Luke actually mourn his dead Uncle and Aunt (the ones who actually RAISED HIM) or does he just brush off their deaths there as well?