By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriors and Zombie Blues
Photo copyright Owen Quinn
I know there are probably other people that have noticed and written on this subject but I have to get my two cents in.
When recently watching Star Wars A New Hope, we get to the climatic fight between Vader and Kenobi aboard the Death Star. When Kenobi gives Vader that smartarse smirk and says “If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine,” it occurred to me that Vader has not one baldy notion of what he is talking about. Now as we know in hindsight Kenobi is a sneaky, lying old bollocks as witnessed in my article on his intentions for Luke: https://timewarriors.co.uk/2020/11/19/luke-skywalker-rebel-without-a-cause/
That, ‘I know something you don’t know’ look gets on my goat and I haven’t looked at my 12 inch Kenobi the same ever since. So when Vader cuts him down and the body vanishes, poor old Vader is left scratching his helmet in puzzlement as he prods the rags with his boot. I’m pretty sure those robes probably stank too after Tatooine’s weather. It’s not as if he had time to grab a shower or tin of Lynx before they blasted off in the Falcon. And I’m not even going to point our those rags included Kenobi’s underwear….I’ll leave that to your imagination.
So my little brain piped up and realised that Vader does not know about Force ghosts. If he did then he would have kept Kenobi alive. So how then does he become one at the end of Return of the Jedi and became his younger self. Now by Empire Strikes Back it is clear Vader knows about Luke and he is the baby daddy but surprisingly there is no canon detailing if he learned about Force ghosts and how to become one in the event of his death. I’m pretty sure this is a hole Disney would love to plug with a new series as it has it’s three fingers in every other plothole. I can’t say nothing and suddenly there’s a series about it.
Now, of course, it took an Irishman to discover how to come back from the afterlife. The big man himself, Liam Neeson, tells Yoda he has learned this great new party trick and can now visit whenever he wants. It is said literally as a throwaway line at the end of Revenge of the Sith but it has major repercussions for the Jedi. If you notice, there are no Sith Force ghosts at all. Maul is brought back by literal dark magic and Palpatine survives until Rise of Skywalker despite his death in Return of the Jedi. (Yes, we know it was a desperate ploy to save the trilogy Disney messed up with the Last Jedi but who am I to cast aspersions? *smirks smugly like Kenobi about to die in his dirty drawers*)
There is evidence in a non canon book Vader went searching for the knowledge of the Force ghosts but it doesn’t really stand. In fact, I discovered that there is no actual reason for Vader to turn up as a ghost in Return. He was probably more concerned with finding out who blew up the Death Star and how much child maintenance he would have to pay.
Now in the recent Obi-Wan Kenobi mini series or season one as it is now known, it was a sure thing Liam would turn up and teach Kenobi the secrets of becoming a Fore ghost. My only problem is you can’t float like a ghost would. You still have to walk and sit as seen when Luke pulls Kenobi up about his lying manipulation. Even as a ghost the bastard still twists it to suit himself. It’s obviously not heaven they are in. So in-between Liam coming back on Tatooine and that fateful fight on the Death Star, Kenobi had an ace over his former friend.
I would assume the Emperor didn’t know either or he would have told the Sith. He didn’t need cloning to survive. He could just return as a shimmering blue ghost and be a pain in the galaxy’s ass forever. This would indicate that only good guys can become a ghost to wander spying on everyone and spouting wisdom that they really should have taught others when they were alive. Even Yoda’s cane makes it to the afterlife but it was a loyal cane they said.
There are clearly rules as to who can cross between worlds so it could be and has been theorized that when Vader saved Luke and killed the Emperor, his soul was saved allowing him access to the afterlife. It is said that when he died, Kenobi met him on the other side with Yoda and helped him take his final step to becoming like them. This would also explain why he appeared as his younger self in the new edit as he was good as a young man. But then if your best friend cut your legs off and left you to burn alive, you wouldn’t be so forgiving either. I’d hunt the bastard down with my new longer legs too. My circle of buddies just read that and their blood drained audibly. Guys, you know me, gentle as a kitten……
But the older Anakin also became good when he saved his son and daughter from the Emperor so that’s why he appeared originally at the end of Jedi along with Yoda and Kenobi. Those two were good all their lives so their old age versions popped up. Come to think of it, Kenobi’s robes became ghosts and Anakin got new ones so are they they just visual representations of how their loved ones remembered them explaining the clothes and cane? So if this is true then either version of Anakin is valid as a ghost. Still, if I was Kenobi, I’d be asking Liam how I go about getting my younger face back.
So, that’s my meanderings of Force ghosts which might make me think, I really need to get out more, but then again; if I died without being sucked in by the Star Wars universe, things would be a lot more boring.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 