Despite Darth Vader being one of Star Wars' most powerful villains, his story is truly a tragedy. His life, from childhood, was filled with traumatic events, and, while that doesn't absolve Anakin of the decisions he made and the violence he enacted in response, those events do explain and contextualize his arc. These 15 moments specifically defined Anakin Skywalker's path to the dark side and sadly cemented his future as Darth Vader.

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15 The Jedi Council's Initial Rejection Of Anakin Skywalker

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

First Appearance

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Alliance

Jedi, Sith

Description

Shmi Skywalker (Mother), Pe Amidala (Wife), Luke Skywalker (Son), Leia Organa (Daughter), Ben Solo (Grandson), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Master), Ahsoka Tano (Apprentice)

Created By

George Lucas

Franchise

Star Wars

Died

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi

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Anakin's introduction to the Jedi comprises rejection and being made to feel as though his (natural) feelings of missing his mother are not only bad, but also make him a threat. That moment defines his association with the Jedi even after they accept him into the Order; although Qui-Gon's death means that Obi-Wan agrees to train Anakin, Anakin re that they initially found him unworthy. This was particularly damaging to Anakin given that he had just left his mother, the only family he had ever known.

14 Anakin Skywalker Loses His Father Figure When Qui-Gon Dies

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

After leaving his mother, Anakin latches onto two people: Qui-Gon Jinn and Pé Amidala. While his attachment to Pé goes on to be much more significant, Anakin's loss of Qui-Gon was a key step on his path to the dark side because it was his first real loss. Although he'd been raised as a slave, which was a terrible upbringing, he hadn't lost anyone he loved. Particularly because Qui-Gon had become a father figure to him, this had a massive impact. Anakin felt as though he'd lost a parent, which went on to inform his fears about losing his mother.

13 Anakin Is Prevented From Helping His Mom

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

While Anakin's loss of his mother is one of the most significant moments on his path to the dark side, the events leading up to her death make it all the more painful. Anakin had been experiencing nightmares for some time, seeing that his mother was in danger and needed him to save her. However, the Jedi refused to allow him the opportunity to make sure she was okay, likely because of their continued concern over his attachment to her.

This no doubt haunted Anakin when he realized he had been right, but was too late to save her. Anakin knew that his premonitions had tried to warn him but that he was prevented by the Jedi from going to his mother. This is made all the worse by the fact that, had he been permitted to go, he likely would have been able to save his mother in time. This also surely worsened his growing resentment of the Jedi, whom he likely blamed, alongside himself, for his mother's death.

12 Anakin's Mother Dies In His Arms

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Of course, Anakin's inability to reach his mother in time means that she is already on the brink of death when he finally finds her, and she then dies in his arms. This is one of the major turning points in Anakin's journey. While he had clearly struggled with anger and ego in the years since Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, he had yet to exhibit true violence. When his mother dies, he is filled with such insurmountable rage that he taps into the dark side and commits one of his worst acts.

11 Anakin's Tusken Massacre In Attack Of The Clones

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Anakin's massacre of the Tuskens in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones is his darkest act before fully becoming Darth Vader. Fueled with hatred, he kills the men, women, and children of the camp in a rage. Even once he returns and has buried his mother, though, he shows no remorse. In fact, he doubles down on the act, referring to the Tuskens as "animals" and saying he hates them.

This was really the beginning of the end for Anakin. While he had been troubled and made questionable choices until that point, including his escalating romance with Pé that directly defied the Jedi Order's code, he had yet to tap into his anger and hate, and he had yet to murder. While it wasn't necessarily too late for him to turn back, this moment would come to define his willingness to use the dark side and symbolized his lack of control when it came to his attachments.

10 Anakin Is Forced To Become A Soldier

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

On the heels of Anakin's slaughter of the Tuskens is a completely new way of life for him that does nothing to alleviate his growing anger or his history of violence. When the Clone Wars begin at the end of Attack of the Clones, Anakin is thrown into war despite being trained as a peacekeeper since childhood. After already enacting such terrible violence against the Tuskens, Anakin is asked to fight and destroy battle droids constantly, blurring the lines of the principles on which he was raised.

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9 Anakin Experiences Extreme Jealousy With Rush Clovis

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 6, Episode 6 "The Rise of Clovis"

Star Wars: The Clone Wars fleshed out Anakin's path to the dark side of the Force even more, filling in the major gaps between Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. During this time, Anakin underwent some of the most significant changes that catapulted him toward the dark side. The show added a number of new storylines and characters, one of them being Rush Clovis, who certainly affected Anakin's Jedi path.

Rush is introduced as someone who has a history with Pé, and while she's not entertaining her feelings anymore in light of her relationship with Anakin, it's clear the two had something of a romantic connection in the past. This posed a threat to Anakin that he hadn't experienced before. While he had gotten jealous in Attack of the Clones when Pé described a boy she previously had a crush on, that was minimal compared to a man who was actively pursuing Pé.

In response to Rush's actions, Anakin attacks him, which is alarming enough to Pé that she asks for time apart. While this pales in comparison to what Anakin did to the Tuskens, it shows Anakin's mounting willingness to be violent, now for much lesser offenses. It also proves that the issue between Anakin and Pé wasn't exactly attachment in the way that the Jedi defined it. Anakin's real issue was a need to control.

8 The Council & Obi-Wan Trick Anakin Into Believing Obi-Wan Died

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 4, Episode 15 "Deception"

The Jedi Order, unfortunately, makes a number of bad decisions throughout the Clone Wars, but one of the most confusing is the decision to fake Obi-Wan Kenobi's death for the sake of a mission. To pull off the stunt and make it seem believable, the Council keeps even Anakin in the dark, making him think his dear friend and master is dead. This was a bewildering choice by the Jedi Council, who were already so wary of Anakin and worried that he was too reactive, but it also caused serious damage to Anakin's relationship with the Jedi.

Because of this plot, Anakin begins to doubt the Jedi, seeing that they could be deceitful even to him. This also furthered his sense that he was outside the Council and even outside the Order. He hadn't been trusted to handle the secret appropriately, and, worse, the Council had even weaponized Anakin's very sincere grief to make it seem as though Obi-Wan had truly died.

7 The Order Turns Its Back On Ahsoka

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5, Episode 20 "The Wrong Jedi"

Ahsoka Tano

Cast

Rosario Dawson

First Appearance

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Alias

Ashla, Fulcrum

Alliance

Jedi

Description

Anakin Skywalker (Master), Sabine Wren (Padawan)

Created By

George Lucas, Dave Filoni

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Perhaps the single biggest event contributing to Anakin's doubts about the Jedi is The Clone Wars plot when Ahsoka is framed for murder and, rather than believe and protect her, the Jedi Council removes her from the Order, taking her trial from one within the Order to one in the Senate. The Senate then determines that this trial is one that could result in Ahsoka being put to death if she is found guilty, which she almost is. It is only because of Anakin's unfaltering determination to prove her innocence that Ahsoka survives this ordeal.

Anakin does not forgive the Order for their role in this situation, and he seems outwardly disgusted by their behavior. In addition to infuriating him because he loved Ahsoka, this event likely also triggered an awareness that Anakin hadn't had before and was extremely detrimental to his relationship with the Jedi. By seeing how quickly they abandoned Ahsoka, Anakin realized that not only would the Jedi not protect him, but also that their loyalties were thin.

6 Ahsoka Leaves The Jedi Order

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5, Episode 20 "The Wrong Jedi"

While not Ahsoka's fault, Ahsoka leaving after Anakin clears her name and refusing to re the Order broke Anakin. It was another devastating loss of someone who was like a family member, a list which now included a father figure, his mother, and Ahsoka. It also showed him that the Order was seriously flawed. He recognized that not only had they mishandled Ahsoka's trial, but also that they were the reason she was now on her own. This no doubt made it clear to him that the Jedi weren't necessarily the right fit for everyone, perhaps himself included.