How & When Did Anakin Get His Scar?

In Revenge of the Sith, audiences saw Anakin Skywalker appear on screen with a scar. It happened sometime between Attack of the Clones and the third prequel movie but is not explained in the films.

When and how did Anakin get his scar? Our best answer is probably from a Star Wars comic, but other ideas persist.

Anakin’s Distinctive Scar

The Hero With No Fear is distinctive for many reasons, including his willingness to risk his life to save Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Clone Wars.

Compared to this moniker, the scar above his right eye may not seem that special. But Anakin’s mysterious scar is a mark of his journey to the dark side of the Force. 

As Star Wars fans have posted, many loved Anakin’s character portrayal in The Clone Wars show.

He came off as “brave and bold and creative” and “deeply human, more than the other Jedi, at least.”

These character attributes made him more passionate and prone to stray from the light side.

As this article aptly states, Anakin is “the most interesting in terms of character arc” and “his turn to the dark side.” Anakin’s scar sits squarely amid this character arc. 

At some point before the Revenge of the Sith, Anakin’s mix of emotions earned him a prominent scar on his temple.

This scar became a distinctive character trait and reflected a Jedi on his way to losing his way. 

How Did Anakin Get His Scar?

As one article points out, Star Wars canon does not explain the scar, but the non-canon comic Star Wars: Republic 71 does.

It reveals how Anakin faced off in a lightsaber duel with Count Dooku’s apprentice Asajj Ventress, and she sliced his face and gave him the scar. 

The above article also references how the scar appeared in the feature-length animated movie The Clone Wars, indicating that Anakin got it “early in the Clone Wars.”

Likewise, the 2-D Clone Wars microseries reveals Padme’s reaction to Anakin’s scar, but not how he got it. 

This more recent article echoes these sentiments but explains more of the story, including how Ventress baited Anakin to fight by “threatening to go after Padme.”

As she lands a blow, Ventress warns Anakin that she could have taken his “head off.”

Anakin’s ensuing rage and lust for revenge fuel his path to the dark side.

So, the when and how of his scar appears to come from this Legends comic. This video captures the narrative well with visuals of Anakin fighting Ventress. 

However, one fan indicates that the canon animated series The Clone Wars also captures this moment. In the Season 4 episode “Brothers,” Anakin battles with Asajj Ventress and gets injured, leading to a scar on his face.

This is the episode with the return of Darth Maul in spider-like form.

Yet, it does not contain that battle and scar, so the post appears to be mistaken. 

Another fan points out that the Clone Wars does not show him getting the scar but him with it in a montage after he was knighted.

This response, though, seems to mix up the latter show with the earlier Cartoon Network’s 2-D microseries since the 3-D Clone Wars begins with Anakin already having the scar.

The knighting ceremony occurred in the first Clone Wars series (Legends) and the book Brotherhood (Canon) from 2022.

So that leads us back to the Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars: Republic #71. If we go by this comic, Anakin got the scar from Ventress closer to the end of the Clone Wars (maybe a year out), not near the beginning. 

Where Else Could the Scare Have Originated?

However, Anakin’s scar is one of the intriguing mysteries of Star Wars that leads to much speculation.

As this video conveys, and other articles have reported, Lucas himself contributed to the mystery because he claimed to have just put it in there to show Anakin’s progression toward the dark side.

Lucas even jokingly said Anakin got it slipping in the bathtub.

Maybe there is some truth to that idea. Perhaps Anakin got it by accident during a training session.

Or, maybe he got hit when he was decimating the Tusken Raiders, but the scar did not form until later. 

Another possibility is that Anakin became scarred after his lightsaber duel with Ventress on Yavin 4.

This is a lengthy battle scene with Anakin emerging victorious, but he does get tossed down and could have received a light lightsaber blow.

The scene does not overtly show him getting it but again the scar could have formed later.

Anakin Gets His Scar

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin has his scar. Our most trusted non-canonical source for how and when he got it is the comic Star Wars: Republic # 71, which directly shows Asajj Ventress striking Anakin about a year before the events of the movie.

Yet, if we look for other answers, we have multiple trajectories that lead us to possible accidents or another fight with Ventress.