Antagonist

Character Role Analysis

Emperor Palpatine

The Emperor is a character so relentlessly evil that we're surprised he doesn't have "antagonist" tattooed on his wrinkly forehead. He has a laser-like focus on the annihilation of not just Luke, but the entire Rebel Alliance. He wants to break Luke's faith, crush the Alliance's morale, and then obliterate the Alliance, period.

Power is what he's after, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. His only loyalty is to his shriveled, malevolent self. He may refer to Darth Vader as his friend, but that's just semantics: for the Emperor, Vader is merely another tool of destruction to use and abuse on his greedy road to galaxy-wide domination.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader may be reduced to the Emperor's guard dog in Return of the Jedi, but that doesn't make him any less of an adversary. Because he's willing to do the Emperor's bidding, he's a major threat to Luke—and the entire Rebel Alliance. He serves his own son right up to the Emperor, conspires with his gnarly master to corrupt Luke, and even battles Luke lightsaber-to-lightsaber.

Wait, though—there's more. Vader doesn't just antagonize Luke; he also tortures himself. The biggest obstacle Luke faces as he attempts to save Darth Vader's soul isn't the Emperor and his lightning-filled fingers; it's Darth Vader's inner conflict.