There’s a sense in which the Star Wars prequel trilogy was “going through the motions,” because the ending was always clear; but one twist took viewers by surprise. The Phantom Menace revealed that C-3PO was actually built by Anakin Skywalker himself, meaning Luke’s father was the “Maker” Threepio referred to in the first Star Wars movie. George Lucas loved the idea of tying C-3PO to the Skywalker family, turning Threepio and Artoo into the saga’s connective tissue.
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There is, of course, a strange but distorted Messianic image now running through this scene. C-3PO is now speaking about “the Maker” while he’s standing in the presence of the Maker’s son, perhaps the first hint of the Messianic imagery Lucas would develop into the Chosen One prophecy. But now, 48 years later, Star Wars has just added yet another strange layer of depth to the scene by giving Darth Vader a new title.
Darth Vader is Now Officially “the Great Unmaker”
Adam Christopher’s new Star Wars novel, “Master of Evil,” is set shortly after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Starring Darth Vader himself, it sees the Dark Lord of the Sith pursue a powerful dark side vergence, and experience powerful visions in the Force – one of which sees Darth Vader confront Anakin Skywalker himself, light and dark meeting in combat and proving equally matched. What’s more, Darth Vader receives a new title, one that seems oddly fitting.
“The dark side is the path to that truth. It lives through you, Lord Vader! It is your destiny. Darth Vader, master of evil. Darth Vader, the great Unmaker.”
Anakin Skywalker was “the Maker,” remembered fondly by C-3PO (if only partially, due to memory wipes). Darth Vader, however, is the great Unmaker – another word for destroyer. His role in the Force is to bring an end to things; to wipe out the Jedi when he led Order 66 and through his leadership of the Inquisitors. Oddly, though the Sith Apprentice does not know it at this time, he is destined to be the Unmaker of the Sith themselves when he kills Palpatine in Return of the Jedi.
Darth Vader Really is the Yin to Anakin Skywalker’s Yang
“Master of Evil” deliberately establishes a sense of yin and yang around Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader. This new title fits well, because it hints at that; Anakin is creation and light, while Darth Vader is destruction and darkness. Together, these two iterations of the same person embody the balance of the Force in a way very different to Lucas’ original intent.
In doing so, “Master of Evil” does not break with Lucas’ tradition. Rather, it builds upon it, continuing to extend an idea Lucas himself began to hint at in Star Wars: The Clone Wars – that both light and dark are somehow essential to the balance of the Force, and that to be the Chosen One is to embody them both in some sense. Ahsoka season 1 hinted at the same with Anakin Skywalker’s Force Ghost, revealing that the Chosen One still has darkness in him even after death. Adam Christopher is simply developing that idea once more, in a very smart way indeed.
“Master of Evil” is on sale now, and can be bought on Amazon.
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