So, one thing has bugged me for a while -
How did Vader find out that he was Lukes father? Obviously, Obi-wan and Yoda knew who was who. But presumably (from Obi-wans little speech in Jedi) neither Vader nor the Emperor actually knew that he had sired any children. So, how did he go about verifying paternity, as it were, between ANH and Empire?
I’m gonna go out on a limb, here, but…the force?
“…Luke is your sooooooon…”
Not sure who’d get to do the voice, seeing as Mr. JEJ is already taken. Perhaps his father. Now wouldn’t that be ironic.
Hmm… never had reason to wonder before, but I’d like to think of Gilbert Gottfried as the voice of ‘the force’, should one ever be needed. 
Um, maybe the fact that his last name was ‘Skywalker’, heralding from Tatooine, and being trained by Obi Wan Kenobe had something to do with it.
Maybe he heard Luke whining “It’s just not fair”.
Agreed. the name “Skywalker” was probably the biggest hint.
Yes, I would think that if someone called Skywalker from planet Tatooine would do something like blow up a space station might ring some bells in Vader’s helmet. I mean, that’s what he did. Little bit of a déjà vu there.
In line with the OP, but a slight hijack
how could Palpatine or Anakin not have known he had [alec guiness]any offsping[/alec guiness]? I mean, even for a powerfull Jedi, sleeping with Amydala must have been a memorable experience. So why didn’t they start looking sooner? Two jedi children seem cerainly worth the effort.
Maybe Anakin was like a lot of young people and didn’t know that sex could lead to pregnancy?
Judging by his oh-so-smooth performances hitting on Amidala all through AotC, I think it’s a fair bet the lad doesn’t know much about women point blank.
If Yoda and OB1 were trying to hide Luke from his father, why did they allow him to grow up as with a last name of Skywalker anyway?
However, I don’t think Vader was written as Luke’s father in “A New Hope” and the line about Vader killing Luke’s father was true (i.e. it wasn’t from a “certain point of view”).
Still, after Vader tracks down the one who is “strong with the Force” using his spies in the rebellion, and finds out it’s a guy named Skywalker, it may still be a leap to think that he’s his son. I think the story was written in order to give the father/son confrontation without much concern as to how they got there.
True, he hasn’t been Mr Smooth (Amydala takes all the credit for the conception of Luke and Leia), but what about Palpatine?
Shouldn’t The Emperor at least have asked Anakin what was going on with his floozie?
Vader always knew. His father and Owen fight about the boy. He even left his lightsaber for Luke when he got old enough.
Missing word in your sig Skott.
Him or Bobcat Goldthwait. Or maybe Mel Brooks.
Because on Tatooine, the name Skywalker is as common as Johnson is in the US. You can’t swing a dead womp rat without hitting a damn Skywalker.
Take out “the lad” and replace it with “George Lucas” and I’ll agree with you.
Hmm. Never considered that. Vader kills all the Jedi, but purposely lets Obi Wan live and escape with his son, hoping his son will live in obscurity on Tatooine and not end up like his dad. Poignant, foreshadows his eventual redemption, gives his character depth and pathos. I like it!
Needless to say, it’s not going to happen like that in the last movie.
Yes, that’s how it should go! Fern Forest for scriptwriter.
Why not off Obi Wan? Kid grows up, doesn’t have a mentor, misses the whole big space war. Give him to some peasant woman (Man!).
Though this’d probably lead to hack fantasy plot #3: Adopted child has special powers and turns out to be related to the Big Bad Guy.
Cause Obi Wan kicks his ass in Episode III :D.
I think it’s obvious the Force makes it known. After all, Luke figures out Leia is his sister without being told, and Leia does the same regarding him in RotJ. (“I know. Somehow, I’ve always known. . . .”)
The question is, why couldn’t Luke figure out Vader was his father? Perhaps believing his father was dead caused him to ignore what he felt around Vader, or think it meant something else?
My geek quotient for the week is filled.