There is one thing that Darth Vader has always wanted since before he even put on the helmet and suit, but Star Wars never gave it to him in canon, at least until now. No matter what the focus of a Star Wars project is, it can seemingly always be traced back to Darth Vader. The Skywalker Saga is entirely centered around Anakin Skywalker and explores him in great depth. Additionally, multiple novels and canon comics have continued to improve his character and leave no stone unturned, and now seemingly unrelated TV shows have even brought Vader into the fold and included important character moments for him.
Darth Vader recently made a surprise appearance in the final episode of Disney+'s Maul - Shadow Lord Season 1. In the episode, which was titled "The Dark Lord," Vader was more terrifying than ever, and he had one goal: to kill everyone the show had introduced who wasn't an Inquisitor. While the moment was epic to see for many viewers and seemed like a really cool lightsaber duel between multiple characters, there was actually a much deeper meaning for the encounter, and, at its core, it finally gave Vader what he had wanted for nearly all of his life — a face-off against Maul.
Throughout all of the canon movies, shows, books, and comics Vader has been in, there's one box that has never been checked when it comes to his character arc coming full circle, and that box is fighting Maul.
In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon was the one who believed in Anakin Skywalker and took the ultimate chance on him. Qui-Gon was the one who bet everything on Anakin winning the podrace, was responsible for him being freed from slavery, convinced the council to let him be trained, and more.
However, before Anakin could really formally become Qui-Gon’s apprentice, Qui-Gon was killed by Maul. Anakin never got to fight Maul or even interact with him, which means fans have never been able to see anything between Anakin and the person who killed his first master, who was also responsible for Anakin becoming a Jedi, which ultimately led to him becoming Vader.
Essentially, Maul killing Qui-Gon set everything in motion. Without that happening, Anakin may have never gone down the path he did. So, the fight between Vader and Maul in Shadow Lord finally allowed Anakin to come face-to-face with the one important person he never got a chance to get revenge on. So, now that it has happened, Anakin’s character arc is complete and has come full circle.
It has been established all throughout canon Star Wars media that Anakin hates himself. Yes, he was upset at the Jedi Order, Obi-Wan, and other people, which initially made him turn to the Dark Side, but after he committed the heinous acts he did, his self-hatred was what fueled him as a Sith Lord. When everything is boiled down, Maul is kind of the one responsible for Anakin being in the position he is and for Anakin's hate for himself.
So, it is only logical that Anakin would want nothing more in life than to finally interact with Maul and get revenge for everything that ultimately happened from Maul killing Qui-Gon.
It is somewhat surprising that it has taken Star Wars this long to fully complete Vader's character arc and give him what he has always wanted. Vader has been around for 49 years since 1977, and one would have to believe that getting revenge on Maul would be his top priority.
Now, Maul wasn't introduced in Star Wars until 1999, but even then, in 27 years since that movie was released, Anakin never got to interact with Maul (at least not in canon). They were both central characters in The Clone Wars and even in Rebels, but their paths never crossed. In the latter, both characters were even on the same planet (Malachor) at the same exact time, but they still didn't have a proper face-off.
The Most Important Moments In Anakin's Character Arc in the Prequel Trilogy
Since Anakin Skywalker is the central character in the world of Star Wars, there have been a lot of major moments throughout the movies and shows that have directly affected his character arc and journey.
As mentioned, the first major one was the death of Qui-Gon in The Phantom Menace. Many fans debate how Anakin's life would have turned out if Qui-gon hadn't been killed, and it is entirely possible that he would have never turned to the Dark Side. If Qui-Gon had trained Anakin, he would not have put the same limitations on Anakin that the council did. Anakin would have been allowed to love Padme and would have had someone to talk to about it, and Qui-Gon likely would have been able to talk him through the death of his mother.
Speaking of Shmi Skywalker's death, that is absolutely another moment in time that directly shaped Anakin's future. After Shmi passed due to what she had endured from the Tusken Raiders, Anakin really gave in to his rage for the first time, which led to a genocide of the entire Tusken village.
The Star Wars movies included a lot of really important character arc moments for Anakin, while The Clone Wars featured a lot of smaller moments. For instance, there were multiple points throughout The Clone Wars where a different side of Anakin would show itself, and, essentially, it added a lot of little straws to the camel's back before it finally broke in Revenge of the Sith.
Undoubtedly, the most crucial event from The Clone Wars was Ahsoka walking away from the Jedi Order and from Anakin. She ultimately made the right decision, but Anakin trusted her and confided in her on a level he did with no one else, not even Obi-Wan. If Ahsoka had stayed in the Order, she may have been able to keep him from turning fully to the Dark Side.
As far as specific projects go, Revenge of the Sith definitely showcased the most events that directly affected Anakin's character arc. Anakin's visions of Padme's death, the council dismissing his worries, Palpatine telling Anakin of a Sith Lord who could save people from death, Anakin killing Mace Windu, Order 66, and Anakin getting three of his limbs cut off were all incredibly important moments that led to what he would become as Darth Vader.
The Most Important Moments in Anakin Skywalker's Character Arc in the Original Trilogy
While the prequel trilogy was the story of the fall of Anakin Skywalker, the original trilogy told the tale of the redemption of Darth Vader. There weren't as many major character arc moments in the original trilogy for Anakin/Vader as there were in the prequels, but he was still the central focus of the story.
At the time, it wasn't made out to be as big a deal as it actually was, but Vader killing Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope was an extremely pivotal event. Obi-Wan was the last piece of Vader's past that was still alive (or so he thought, as he didn't know about Luke being his son at the time), so killing him allowed Vader to cut off anything that still tied him to the Jedi Order or the Light Side of the Force.
However, in The Empire Strikes Back, Vader tells the Emperor that he knows Luke's name is Skywalker, which changed everything. However, something that came between those moments makes everything even more important. The original trilogy never explained how Vader figured out Luke was a Skywalker and that he was his own son. In a canon comic book from 2015, it was revealed that Boba Fett learned Luke's full name, which led him to tell Vader about it between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
Hearing about Luke's existence caused Vader to realize that Palpatine lied to him about Padme's death and the death of his children. Therefore, that revelation planted some major seeds of doubt in Vader's mind and made him hate the Emperor even more, which definitely went on to help lead him back to the Light Side in Return of the Jedi.
That interaction between Vader and Boba Fett also made Vader's meeting with Luke in Empire even more meaningful. Vader fought Luke, but he was never trying to kill him. Throughout the fight, and especially at the end, Vader made it clear that he wanted his son to join him. However, Luke refused, which was another major moment in Vader's overall character arc.
Obviously, the final moments of Vader's life were arguably the biggest in terms of importance. In Return of the Jedi, he stopped Luke from striking down Palpatine, which saved Luke from giving in to his anger and turning to the Dark Side himself. He then threw the Emperor down the seemingly bottomless shaft in the Throne Room, which ultimately signified that Vader had turned back to the Light.
Then, Luke took Vader's mask off, which was the ultimate moment where Darth Vader turned back into Anakin Skywalker, at least for a moment or two, before dying.
However, Anakin then became one with the Force and appeared to Luke as a ghost beside Yoda and Obi-Wan, completing his character arc.
