Darth... Vader
How does a Sith Lord pick a name for his new apprentice, anyway?
What prompted Palpatine to pick that name? He obviously didn't have it prepared in advance. If it were Sith practice for a master to pick a name he thought would suit his apprentice, you would think Palpatine would have spent the last thirteen years thinking about it and would have had a name ready. So that must not be the way they did things. The Sith wouldn't want to give their apprentices just any old names, though, so I don't think Palpatine just picked the first name that came into his head. Where'd he get it?
I don't have any real evidence from the movie for this idea. The novelization isn't much help, though it could support it, depending on how you read it. A possible explanation is that the Sith let the Force guide them when it comes time to name an apprentice. Why they would do this? I don't know, but why not? Maybe it was just Palpatine's little quirk. Anyway, just for fun, pretend that's what happened.
If the Force did give Palpatine a little nudge toward "Vader", then the Force either has a great sense of humor or it was trying to tell them something.
"Vader" (spelled but not pronounced the same--I think it sounds like "FAH-dur") is Dutch for "father". Hmm. Darth Father. Why didn't Palpatine pronounce it properly? Who knows? I doubt Force-nudges are very precise when it comes to pronounciation. Or maybe Palpatine thought it sounded cooler that way.
So, now he's Darth Dad. So what?
Time for another big leap, once again, just for fun. "The Emperor knew, as I did, that if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him." A threat to Anakin or a threat to the Emperor? I could see it either way: Luke was a threat to Anakin-as-Vader because he turned him away from the Dark Side; Luke was a threat to Anakin-as-Anakin because, well, Anakin died saving Luke; and both Luke and Leia were a threat to the Emperor's power and position, and, through Anakin, his life. Maybe Ben meant all of the above. Regardless, the upshot is that Anakin is threatening if he is a father.
So if the Force picked the name Vader, then it was basically naming naming Anakin as a threat to himself/the Emperor and thus a destroyer of at least one Sith right then. It's as if the Force were saying, "Hey! Don't celebrate New Apprentice Day too much, because I know how it's all going to end, and you're not gonna like it!"
Even if I'm completely off here, it's still fun. I think the Humorous Force has a lot of potential.
Edit: As Yoda says, "Always in motion, the future is." So maybe if "Vader" is supposed to be related to "father", then all the Force is saying is that fatherhood is or will be very important to him in one way or another. Whether fatherhood will ultimately help him destroy the Sith is a possibility, but not a certainty.
I also like the "inVader" theory. Since I like both possible meanings of Vader, I decided that the Force is very clever (it is the Force, after all!) and meant both.
The Force: Hmm, what's a name I haven't used before...gotta be fitting...let's see...Darth Loverboy, because--no, that's just stupid. Darth Balancer? Too obvious. What else is important to him? Well, he is a dad...but Darth Dad isn't at all Sithy, and anyway, it's even more obvious than Darth Balancer. Er...he's about to invade the Temple...hey, what about Vader? That sounds menacing! And it also sounds a bit like "father," but not too much...it's perfect! Oh, Palpsy...hey, Palps, I got one for ya!
What prompted Palpatine to pick that name? He obviously didn't have it prepared in advance. If it were Sith practice for a master to pick a name he thought would suit his apprentice, you would think Palpatine would have spent the last thirteen years thinking about it and would have had a name ready. So that must not be the way they did things. The Sith wouldn't want to give their apprentices just any old names, though, so I don't think Palpatine just picked the first name that came into his head. Where'd he get it?
I don't have any real evidence from the movie for this idea. The novelization isn't much help, though it could support it, depending on how you read it. A possible explanation is that the Sith let the Force guide them when it comes time to name an apprentice. Why they would do this? I don't know, but why not? Maybe it was just Palpatine's little quirk. Anyway, just for fun, pretend that's what happened.
If the Force did give Palpatine a little nudge toward "Vader", then the Force either has a great sense of humor or it was trying to tell them something.
"Vader" (spelled but not pronounced the same--I think it sounds like "FAH-dur") is Dutch for "father". Hmm. Darth Father. Why didn't Palpatine pronounce it properly? Who knows? I doubt Force-nudges are very precise when it comes to pronounciation. Or maybe Palpatine thought it sounded cooler that way.
So, now he's Darth Dad. So what?
Time for another big leap, once again, just for fun. "The Emperor knew, as I did, that if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him." A threat to Anakin or a threat to the Emperor? I could see it either way: Luke was a threat to Anakin-as-Vader because he turned him away from the Dark Side; Luke was a threat to Anakin-as-Anakin because, well, Anakin died saving Luke; and both Luke and Leia were a threat to the Emperor's power and position, and, through Anakin, his life. Maybe Ben meant all of the above. Regardless, the upshot is that Anakin is threatening if he is a father.
So if the Force picked the name Vader, then it was basically naming naming Anakin as a threat to himself/the Emperor and thus a destroyer of at least one Sith right then. It's as if the Force were saying, "Hey! Don't celebrate New Apprentice Day too much, because I know how it's all going to end, and you're not gonna like it!"
Even if I'm completely off here, it's still fun. I think the Humorous Force has a lot of potential.
Edit: As Yoda says, "Always in motion, the future is." So maybe if "Vader" is supposed to be related to "father", then all the Force is saying is that fatherhood is or will be very important to him in one way or another. Whether fatherhood will ultimately help him destroy the Sith is a possibility, but not a certainty.
I also like the "inVader" theory. Since I like both possible meanings of Vader, I decided that the Force is very clever (it is the Force, after all!) and meant both.
The Force: Hmm, what's a name I haven't used before...gotta be fitting...let's see...Darth Loverboy, because--no, that's just stupid. Darth Balancer? Too obvious. What else is important to him? Well, he is a dad...but Darth Dad isn't at all Sithy, and anyway, it's even more obvious than Darth Balancer. Er...he's about to invade the Temple...hey, what about Vader? That sounds menacing! And it also sounds a bit like "father," but not too much...it's perfect! Oh, Palpsy...hey, Palps, I got one for ya!