The Imperial Officer Who Heard Luke Call Vader “Father” and Why Did He Lose His Faith in the Jedi?

On Endor, an Imperial officer heard Luke call Vader his father. It happened after Luke had turned himself in to be taken to Vader. This character has a minor role in Return of the Jedi. Yet, his story reveals that he found out about Vader’s secret and that he had formerly fought on the side of the Jedi. 

The Officer, Luke, and Vader

Before the Battle of Endor, Imperial commander Altadan Igar led a squadron of stormtroopers in search of missing scout troopers. Those scouts had had a run-in with Luke and Leia. As the group searched, they encountered a mysterious Rebel dressed in black who said he had come to surrender to Vader. Igar found his lightsaber and suspected he was a Jedi. 

Before bringing him to Vader, Igar continued the search for the missing scout troopers and spoke with Luke, who informed Igar that the troopers were dead. As relayed in this video, Igar revealed that he had served with the Jedi and now hated them.

Igar said to Luke, “I was young when I went to war, and like you, I was a fool.” He had lost most of his friends in the Clone Wars and felt the Jedi and Force were leading the galaxy in the wrong direction (more on this topic below). 

After finding the dead scout troopers, a stormtrooper attacked Luke in revenge before Igar intervened. Igar then brought Luke before Vader and handed over Luke’s lightsaber, as shown in Return of the Jedi. Vader congratulated Igar and told him to continue his search on Endor for other Rebels.

Before Igar departed, though, he overheard Vader and Luke talking. Igar heard Luke respond to Vader with “I know, father.” Igar was “stunned”, and this remark may have shaken his confidence in the road he had taken.

Officer Igar’s story is revealed in the canon book From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi. This story, part of an anthology, provides more insight into an Imperial officer who mainly drops Luke off in the movie version. 

In his main scene, he comments to Vader, “This is the Rebel that surrendered to us,” before asking for permission to “conduct a further search.” We may think Igar has completely left before Luke and Vader start talking, but he and his stormtroopers are actually still behind them in the AT-AT Walker side door opening. 

Igar thus knew the truth, and as he commenced his search, he may have reconsidered his distrust for the Jedi. 

Why Did Officer Igar Lose His Faith in the Jedi? 

The above video also conveys some of the reasons why Igar came to reject the Jedi. He distrusted how the Jedi made decisions based on how the Force directed them and were willing to sacrifice the lives of others in the war. Igar also thought the Jedi had tried to assassinate Palpatine. Correspondingly, he came to believe in “having a galaxy ruled through clarity and reason.” 

These overarching reasons stem from fighting under a Jedi general in the Clone Wars. On Celes IV, this female Jedi “led a dangerous and high-risk assault” against the Separatist forces that resulted in the death of many Republic soldiers. Igar and his fellow troopers had been “pinned down” in a cave in front of a fortress, but the anonymous Jedi “insisted that the Force was with them.” 

The Jedi did evince a moment of hesitation, though, before she led the charge. Both that indecision and the terrible cost to Igar’s friends disillusioned Igar’s belief in the Force and the Jedi. He came to see all of the Jedi’s actions as wayward, and he believed they lacked direction for the galaxy. 

Author Max Gladstone wrote the story “The Man Who Captured Luke Skywalker” in the 2023 anthology, lifting the curtain on this backstory to show a former Republic soldier who turned Imperial stalwart. As with the other stories in the From A Certain Point of View volume, we get to learn about background characters from the movie and, in this case, gain insight into the Empire.

Igar’s Story Fits in With Recent and Older Trends

Discovering Igar’s backstory corresponds with the recent turn to explore the Imperial side in shows like Andor. As commentators in this forum expressed, the ISB and Imperials explored in the two seasons could be more interesting than characters like Inquisitors. Igar would perhaps agree with that thought too. 

Andor certainly dives into Imperial oppression. Yet, it also explored motivations and backstories behind the villains. The terror inflicted on “regular people” is a mainstay of the series, but so is the use of former normal people in the ranks of the Imperials. 

Igar’s story also taps into a longstanding fan interest. As attested to here, many Star Wars fans are more intrigued with the Empire than the Rebels. The World War II associations help drive some of this fascination, but it’s also how characters like Igar or Syril Karn have a deeper side to them than expected.