# When and how did Darth Vader realize Luke was his son? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711 "2009-05-26T17:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/61 "2009-05-28T19:53:58Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > You’d think that if the Rebels were trying to find an out of the way, middle of nowhere spot to hide their secret base, Solo might have mentioned the wildcat gas mining facility in the system next door. He didn’t seem aware Lando was in the neighborhood himself. Besides, it’s a floating, self-contained city. There’s definitely a few problems with that: 1. Living capacity. Bespin could be big enough to hold the Rebels, but then it might not, as there’s plenty of people living there, which brings us to: 2. Civilians. If the Empire figured out where the Rebels are hiding, the Rebels have suddenly put a lot of innocent lives involuntarily at risk. Plus, with that many eyes around in an enclosed city like Bespin, it’d be awful hard to hide the Rebels’ presence, which goes to: 3. Witnesses. Being such a full city, it’s doubtful the citizens are all of one mind. All it takes is one Imperial sympathizer or merc looking for a reward to notice the Rebels and call the fleet down on them. Hoth was a pretty good choice, all things considered. Uninhabited, POS rock with horrific living conditions, plenty of natural caves to house ships and people within the need for artificial structures…had Vader not been aggressively sending out probes on hundreds of wild goose chases, they might have survived there for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/62 "2009-05-28T20:30:07Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > If that’s the case, would it be very wrong for me to assume that Leia and Han passed the time by having lots and lots of sex? Not as wrong as it was for me to read that as first as ‘Luke and Han’. > [@Bosstone](#): > > 1. Civilians. If the Empire figured out where the Rebels are hiding, the Rebels have suddenly put a lot of innocent lives involuntarily at risk. How many innocent people lived in Bespin, really? I have a feeling most of them were pretty guilty. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/63 "2009-05-28T20:34:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > If that’s the case, would it be very wrong for me to assume that Leia and Han passed the time by having lots and lots of sex? If they were traveling at near-light speed, what time? 😉 > [@Bosstone](#): > > He didn’t seem aware Lando was in the neighborhood himself. > > Besides, it’s a floating, self-contained city. There’s definitely a few problems with that… I think **Lumpy** ’s point was that Cloud City’s proximity might have attracted unwanted Imperial attention to the general vicinity. If Bespin and Hoth are at most a light-month apart or so, that puts them basically in the same neighborhood. Then again, Bespin was fairly free from Imperial meddling until after the Battle of Hoth, so maybe it was the other way around. 😛 Actually, though, I expect the writers just weren’t thinking about the distances involved at all when writing the plot to _Empire_. According to Wookieepedia\*, [Bespin](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bespin) is 49,100 light years distant from the galactic core, while [Hoth](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Hoth) is 50,250 light years distant from same. That gives a lower bound of 1150 light years between Hoth and Bespin! If Han and Leia were really obliged to travel at sublight speeds, by the time they got there, Luke, Vader, and everyone else would be long dead, assuming, of course, that they were traveling close enough to _c_ to make the journey before their own expiration became a concern. - The Wookieepedia articles reference _Star Wars: Complete Locations_, which I’m assuming is an authoritative source. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/64 "2009-05-28T20:39:20Z")
> [@Stealth\_Potato](#): > > I think **Lumpy** ’s point was that Cloud City’s proximity might have attracted unwanted Imperial attention to the general vicinity. If Bespin and Hoth are at most a light-month apart or so, that puts them basically in the same neighborhood. Then again, Bespin was fairly free from Imperial meddling until after the Battle of Hoth, so maybe it was the other way around. 😛 Whoops, you’re totally right. I misread it, my bad. > [@](#): > > Actually, though, I expect the writers just weren’t thinking about the distances involved at all when writing the plot to _Empire_. This gives rise to one of my favorite concepts when it comes to movies that play fast and loose with physics. The _Falcon_ clearly travels at the speed of plot. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/65 "2009-05-28T21:45:21Z")
Keep in mind too that Han had no idea Bespin was even in the general vicinity. Leia had to mention it to him, and that’s only after looking at in through the computer. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/66 "2009-05-28T21:55:37Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’m not sure if this is 100% canon, but in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game (the materials for which are all vetted by Lucasfilm), ships like the Milennium Falcon do have a backup hyperdrive, which is much, much slower than the normal hyperdrive, but still far faster than trying to make an interstellar trip at sublight speeds. While that would explain why it didn’t take Han and Leia 10 years to get to Bespin, it doesn’t entirely jibe with the claims of “we _can’t_ jump to hyperspace!” Maybe you have to stop what you’re doing, unbox it, and hook it up. Not practical to do while being pursued by Star Destroyers. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/67 "2009-05-28T22:16:33Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > If that’s the case, would it be very wrong for me to assume that Leia and Han passed the time by having lots and lots of sex? Leia and Han? No way. Leia was into Wookie Nookie! ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/68 "2009-05-29T00:27:26Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > There was also one (TC-14) on the Trade Federation ship at the beginning of The Phantom Menace. It’s yet another example of the doofiness of the prequels…young Anakin builds his own droid out of spare parts, and makes one that is an exact replica of a common model. Not really. Where do you think he got the parts? What’s more likely, that he has a forge in back so he can cast his own outer shell pieces, or that he can find pieces from a junked droid in the yard of the junk dealer that owns him? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/69 "2009-05-29T01:58:46Z")
DO NOT WANT the responsibility of a kid. ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/70 "2009-05-29T04:00:06Z")
All this talk about the warp issue makes me wonder about a different problem: When the Falcon left the asteroid fleet/threw the Star Destroyers off their track Boba Fett follows them. How did he guess where the Falcon was going? It would have to have been pretty soon after they left the system so they could overtake them and take over the gas minig facility. ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/71 "2009-05-29T10:17:39Z")
> [@fiddlesticks](#): > > I would imagine that even if the Rebel Alliance was able to keep the name of the pilot of the X-Wing that blew up the Death Star closely held (e.g., his picture wasn’t splashed all over that galaxy’s version of the Internet within seconds), the Empire would surely know the identity of the pilot within a few weeks of HUMINT work. I think it is fair to say that Vader knows who Luke is at the beginning of Empire and everything Vader does in the movie is meant to make a personal confrontation with Luke inevitable. This is what gets me. If the whole point was to hide Luke from his father, Wouldn’t it be smart to change his name to, say, Flute Airsleeper? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/72 "2009-05-29T11:42:02Z")
> [@DiggitCamara](#): > > All this talk about the warp issue makes me wonder about a different problem: When the Falcon left the asteroid fleet/threw the Star Destroyers off their track Boba Fett follows them. How did he guess where the Falcon was going? It would have to have been pretty soon after they left the system so they could overtake them and take over the gas minig facility. Because Fett was faster. Keep in mind that this is Space Opera space, not the Chicago Loop. It’s safe to assume a straight-line course, so once Han plotted a course and started heading toward Cloud City, it would be nothing for Fett to determine Han’s destination and then beat him there. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/73 "2009-05-29T14:28:45Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Because Fett was faster. Keep in mind that this is Space Opera space, not the Chicago Loop. It’s safe to assume a straight-line course, so once Han plotted a course and started heading toward Cloud City, it would be nothing for Fett to determine Han’s destination and then beat him there. Indeed. Also consider: 1. Han thought he’d gotten clean away. He didn’t think he had any reason to not take a direct course to Bespin. 2. The Falcon was going to be going slowly, anyway, and taking an indirect course would just slow them down even more. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/74 "2009-05-29T16:50:22Z")
Darth Vader clearly just isn’t the most energetic lightsaber on the utility belt. Of course, Luke isn’t exactly the brightest constellation in the sky, either. And Obi Wan’s comment about the destroyed Jawa transporter (“These blast points, too accurate for Sand People; only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise,”) tends to indicate that he’s pretty full of crap as well, as the rest of the films make it clear that a stormtrooper could hit the broad side of a barn with a blast riflle only at contact range, and can readily be taken down by a bunch of Paddington Bear clones with rocks and big sticks. In fact, pretty much everybody in the _Star Wars_ universe seems to be afflicted with some kind of mental disability. “It’s a trap!” No shit, fishhead? Maybe you shouldn’t have collected your fleet into one big battle group. I’m firmly of the opinion that Jar-Jar ‘Captain Obvious’ Binks was one of the smartest characters in the film, even though he would be challenged at playing Scrabble against Pinky the lab mouse. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/75 "2009-05-29T18:58:23Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Yes. “That’s it. The rebels are there, and Skywalker is with them”. > > As for C3P0, keep in mind that he’s not exactly a unique-looking droid. We see at least two others I can think of off the top of my head, and that’s just in ESB. Hoth base had one, and there was another in Cloud City that C3P0 ends up close to right before getting blown to bits. > > -Joe Also, when Vader first encounters C3PO, he’s in pieces in a sack on Chewie’s back. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711/76 "2009-05-29T22:00:07Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Darth Vader clearly just isn’t the most energetic lightsaber on the utility belt. Of course, Luke isn’t exactly the brightest constellation in the sky, either. And Obi Wan’s comment about the destroyed Jawa transporter (“These blast points, too accurate for Sand People; only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise,”) tends to indicate that he’s pretty full of crap as well, as the rest of the films make it clear that a stormtrooper could hit the broad side of a barn with a blast riflle only at contact range, and can readily be taken down by a bunch of Paddington Bear clones with rocks and big sticks. In fact, pretty much everybody in the _Star Wars_ universe seems to be afflicted with some kind of mental disability. “It’s a trap!” No shit, fishhead? Maybe you shouldn’t have collected your fleet into one big battle group. > > I’m firmly of the opinion that Jar-Jar ‘Captain Obvious’ Binks was one of the smartest characters in the film, even though he would be challenged at playing Scrabble against Pinky the lab mouse. > > Stranger Beautiful post! 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-how-did-darth-vader-realize-luke-was-his-son/497711.md?page=3)