Anakin Skywalker goes through a lot throughout Episodes I to VI. He loses several limbs, a wife, and an entire way of life when he falls to the Dark Side – but even before then, he receives a mysterious scar on the side of his face.
Later on, this scar is used visually in both animated and live-action films to highlight Anakin’s inner conflict, with the scarred side of his face often highlighted in red light to show his temptation to the Dark Side of the Force. However, for such a noticeable mark, how he got it is never actually addressed in the core live-action titles.
Still, that doesn’t mean that we don’t know how it happens. We’ve got the answers for you here, sourced from the Star Wars comics.
How Did Anakin Skywalker Get His Scar in Star Wars?
In between Episode II and Episode III, Anakin’s face changes from unblemished handsome to sexy and scarred, with no one addressing its presence or origin on screen. It’s only in Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars: Republic #71, when Anakin crosses lightsaber blades with Asajj Ventress, that the answer can be found.
Ventress is Sith Lord Count Dooku’s apprentice and she faces down Anakin before he turns to the Dark Side. Ventress travels to Coruscant, the Republic’s capital planet, to hunt down and eliminate Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos (who was referenced in Obi-Wan Kenobi).
Vos had previously infiltrated Separatist leader Count Dooku’s inner circle, posing as a dark Jedi in order to source information for the Jedi Order. However, Vos’ true goals were discovered and he was forced to flee from the Sith.
Ventress, one of Dooku’s deadliest assassins, is sent out to kill Vos, but finds him beyond her reach. Instead, she decides to taunt and fight Anakin Skywalker, seemingly keen to take down any Jedi she can find.
Anakin had left the Jedi Temple in order to view a message from Padmé, the secret isolating him from his Jedi companions and leaving him vulnerable. She baits him to fight with her, threatening to go after Padmé –a surefire way to get under Anakin’s skin and lose his cool. His unbalanced rage allows the calmer Ventress to play with the Jedi Knight, ultimately landing a face blow with her saber that produces Anakin’s scar.
The pain of the scar, while not posing much of a threat to Anakin, does reveal how far to the Dark Side he is slipping. He immediately goes for revenge, wrapping Ventress in electrified cables and throwing her the dark abyss of Coruscant’s lower levels.
While this makes for a good story, all of the comic series from Dark Horse, including, Star Wars: Republic are now not canon. There is no canon reason for the scar, but with Disney’s love of producing prequel TV series digging further into popular characters could well provide us with the reason. Even Disney shorts like Tales of the Jedi have been offering us answers to a number of questions, such as how Ahsoka Tano survived Order 66.
(featured image: Lucasfilm)
Published: Nov 7, 2022 08:37 am