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Smugglers Rants

by: janlomona

date posted: Oct 02, 2005 3:12 AM

Kenobi. Ben Kenobi.

The Prequel Trilogy.
All through Phantom, Clones and Sith he is referred to, and only referred to, as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Never as Ben.
By the time of A New Hope he is known to Luke as Ben. This makes sense. To Luke, the gang at Toschi Station and anyone in or near the Homestead he's just a "Crazy old wizard." Owen, to protect Luke from his father, has tried to keep Kenobi away, and Kenobi for his part plays into that role, all the while keeping a watchful eye over young Luke's development.
So, to native Tatooinians he would be known as Ben Kenobi. Fair enough.
It makes sense to assume that the name Ben was created by Kenobi himself to deflect attention away from the fact that a hero of the Republic and one of the great Jedi is living just a few kilometers away from the son of the Chosen One on the planet where Anakin Skywalker himself was raised.
And therefore, the reason why he was never referred to as Ben during the time of the Prequels.
Given that, it still makes one wonder why Luke continued to go by the name Skywalker, risking detection by carrying a surname that was notorious throughout the galaxy...

http://blogs.starwars.com/galantesdiary/18

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Bach Solo
Bach Solo's Blog

date Posted: Oct 02, 2005 3:31 AM

Just something else to point out, Leia also knows him as Ben. Ofcourse there is the whole "Help me Obi-wan Kenobi, youre my only hope." But there is also this exchanged between Luke and Leia when he rescues her "I'm here with Ben Knobi..." Leia: "Ben Kenobi?! Where is he?"
Probably Bail knows of him going as "Ben" so when he sends Leia for him he tells her of this so it is easier to locate him on Tatooine

janlomona
Smugglers Rants

date Posted: Oct 02, 2005 3:36 AM

Good point Bach, I thought that too when I was originally writing the blog, but it's Luke who says Ben first. I think Leia reacts to the name Kenobi rather than Ben.
Thing is, Lucas could have made mention of the name Ben in the PT but never does, and he had plenty of chances. Either that name was created between the two trilogies, or Ben came up with it himself.

	warrenTK421 TK421, Still not at his post!
date Posted: Oct 02, 2005 4:27 AM I'm sure there are several hundred people named Skywalker throughout the galaxy.

	mubos
date Posted: Oct 02, 2005 4:34 AM skywalker wasnt a name known for being evil. as far as anyone would remember hed be related in some way to anakin skywalker the jedi hero bla bla bla... darth vader is the name remembered for being evil.

	Darth Flibble1
date Posted: Oct 02, 2005 4:43 AM well, the people on tatooine will have know shmi skywalker & that she woz married to owen's dad. so when owen & beru start hanging around wiv a kid called skywalker they'll most likely assume he's some kind of relation to her...i very much doubt your average tatooinian made the link between former slave shmi & bad-### jedi anakin!

	darthyoda340
date Posted: Oct 02, 2005 7:25 AM Anakin Was A Huge HeroIn The Clone Wars And Many Children Would Of Been Named After Him Some Would Of Even Given Them His Surname Of Skywalker So It Would Not Of Been Obvious

Tyranus2005
Tyranus Rumblings

date Posted: Oct 02, 2005 9:36 AM

Perhaps there is a cover story that has yet to be told. Perhaps the galaxy thinks Anakin Skywlaker is dead and to a degree he is. Maybe this will be told in the new Luceno novel next month. If people think Skywalker is dead then Luke's name may be meaningless.

Also, you get the impression that Luke never strayed to far from the farm. He had never been to Mos Eisley. Owen didn't want him going to the academy...and wasn't it Beru who said "He's got too much of his father in him". To which Owen replied "That's what I am afraid of".

Sinister

T

janlomona
Smugglers Rants

date Posted: Oct 02, 2005 9:53 AM

Good point tyrannus, it is made clear (even in the Marvel comics) that Luke got about as far as Beggars Canyon - a fair distance, but not enormous. And Skywalker would likely be a common name on Tatooine, like Darklighter for instance.
But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. If a character with the surname `Fett' appeared in the Expanded Universe every single Star Wars fan would assume it was related to Boba or Jango, no doubt about it. And rightly so.
I stand by my thought that keeping the name Skywalker was an uneccessary risk. Ben knew Vader lived. What if he had returned to Tatooine for some reason? Darth Maul located our heroes easily enough in Phantom Menace - why not Vader in a similar manner?

	Siilos Vast
date Posted: Oct 03, 2005 5:55 PM NO ONE GOES TO TATOOENE. Only pilots, slaves, moisture farmers, and criminals hang out at Tatooene. No one important. And they probably dont know about the name Skywalker, and you think what, there going to go to Luke's place and go... "Heeeeeeeyyy, isn't your last name Skywalker, the surname of the Jedi hero? Can I have your autograph?" I dont think so.

Darth Gehena

date Posted: Oct 11, 2005 11:26 PM

Here I've thought Obi-wan changed his name to Ben in order to "avoid any Imperial entanglements." Regarding the name Skywalker, I believe somewhere in the databank there is a reference to how the Jedi were viewed as little more than a myth during the time of the Empire. Ideas like the Jedi and the Force were reduced to little more than urban legends or what not among the people of the Empire. If that's so, than any specific Jedi would also have been grouped with the same folk lore. Han Solo's attitude about the Force was most likely indicative of the galaxy at that time. "I haven't seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything."

Darth Gehena

date Posted: Oct 11, 2005 11:32 PM

Regarding Vader going to Tatooine, I doubt that would ever have happened. Darth Maul's motivation for going there was to find Queen Amidala and company, who just happened to be on Tatooine at the time. I don't think Vader would have been looking for anyone who happened to have been on Tatooine. Besides, since his mother died there (and perhaps some part of Vader deep down did not want anyone like his relatives to see what he became), Tatooine may have held memories too painful even for Vader to bear. And since he abandoned his identiy as Anakin Skywalker, Tatooine would have held as much meaning for him as his old name.

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