Admiral Thrawn Knew Darth Vader Was Anakin Skywalker (But He Was Too Smart To Admit It)

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Thrawn - Alliances #4

Summary Thrawn tested Darth Vader's reaction with a strategic reference to the Dark Lord's Jedi past as Anakin Skywalker.

Thrawn was well aware of Vader's true identity, risking his wrath by alluding to it in Thrawn Alliances #4.

Thrawn is clearly planning to fully confirm his knowledge about Anakin/Vader in the near future.

Although Grand Admiral Thrawn correctly deduced that Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker were the same man, he was far too smart to reveal it outright in the Star Wars canon. A brilliant tactician and strategist who served the Empire before his exile just before the original trilogy, Thrawn had a history with both Anakin Skywalker and a working relationship with Darth Vader years later. As such, it didn't take long for Thrawn to realize that dark truth about the Jedi he once met during the Clone Wars.

As seen in the comic adaptation of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Alliances, Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader have been thrust together by their shared master Emperor Palpatine. Working to uncover the source of a disturbance in the Force sensed by Palpatine, Thrawn and Vader venture to the world of Batuu, the very same planet where Thrawn and Anakin Skywalker first met and joined forces years prior. With the events in the present Imperial era mirroring their adventure during the Clone Wars, Thrawn seemingly slips up by implying his knowledge about Darth Vader in Thrawn Alliances #4:

Vader is clearly of the mind that Anakin Skywalker is dead and that Thrawn knows not of what he speaks, carrying a threatening tone that Thrawn easily picks up on. However, there's no way someone as smart as Thrawn simply misspoke about such a major Star Wars secret. Instead, his words were quite intentional and tactical.

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Thrawn Was Merely Testing Darth Vader's Reaction

Thrawn's Too Smart To Slip Up

In truth, it certainly seems as though Grand Admiral Thrawn wanted to test the Dark Lord's reaction. After all, the list of beings in the galaxy who knew that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker was incredibly small. Furthermore, Darth Vader had long striven to cultivate the mindset that he had well and truly killed Skywalker, thinking of himself as a completely separate being from the man he once was before his corruption to the dark side.

It's not surprising that Vader would essentially threaten Thrawn when the Grand Admiral makes this implication. However, Thrawn's testing of the waters will prove useful in future issues of Thrawn Alliances. As seen in the original novel by Timothy Zahn, Thrawn chooses to invoke the name of Anakin Skywalker only when absolutely necessary, such as his attempt to extend their mission mandate beyond the benefit of the Empire alone.

Darth Vader's Jedi Past Is Valuable Information

(And Grand Admiral Thrawn Knows It)

Now knowing that he'll only have one chance to appeal to his shared past with Vader, Thrawn knows that he'll have to pick his moment carefully. Likewise, he also now knows that any attempt will carry the inherent risk of the Dark Lord's wrath. For those who haven't read the original Star Wars novel, it will no doubt prove to be very exciting to see the moment when and where Thrawn chooses to confirm his knowledge about Anakin/Vader more explicitly (and the deeply personal reason why).

Star Wars: Thrawn - Alliances #4 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Star Wars: Thrawn - Alliances #4 (2024) Writers: Timothy Zahn and Jody Houser

Artists: Pat Olliffe and Andrea Di Vito

Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Letterer: VC's Travis Lanham

Cover Artist: Rod Reis