Obi-Wan Kenobi managed to hide from Darth Vader for almost twenty years in the Star Wars saga, and he might have achieved this through a traditionally dark side-associated Force power. When properly trained to tap into the Force or its dark side, a being can have almost any power, though some powers are more closely associated with the dark side of the Force than others. One such ability, in which someone masks their presence from other Force-users is typically associated with the dark side, thanks to Palpatine’s mastery of it in the prequel trilogy, but Obi-Wan Kenobi, who successfully resisted the temptation of the dark side, might have used the power several times, including during his years on Tatooine.
The Force is a fundamental energy field that permeates the entire galaxy. With proper training or discipline, any being can tap into it, letting the Force guide them or using the Force in similar ways to superpowers. This includes telekinesis, telepathy, physical enhancements, hypnosis, and healing. The Force’s dark side, however, is a corruption of the natural energy field, whose use is similar to a Faustian bargain, promising anything and everything its victims could want, and leaving them with nothing but themselves and their corrupted power in the end. Anakin Skywalker’s tragic fall to the dark side led him to join the Sith Order and become Darth Vader, nearly wiping out the Jedi and leaving his mentor and friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, a fugitive of the Galactic Empire.
Viewers often mistake Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda as having gone into exile during the reign of the Empire, and while they were lying low for their safety, they never gave up on their ideals, nor did they allow evil to succeed through inaction. The two bided their time, playing the long game and ensuring the eventual Jedi training of one or both of Anakin Skywalker’s children. When the time was right, the Jedi would return and defeat the Sith, toppling Palpatine and Vader’s fascist Empire. In the nineteen years between Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi, using the alias Ben Kenobi, lived on Tatooine, only revealing himself to Darth Vader once more aboard the Death Star.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Hid On Vader’s Homeworld For Almost 20 Years
Darth Vader’s homeworld is Tatooine, with Anakin Skywalker having been enslaved as a child in Mos Espa before joining the Jedi Order. The desolate planet is also where Anakin took one of his first steps towards becoming Darth Vader, slaughtering an entire village of Tusken Raiders to avenge his mother. During the Empire’s reign, Imperial military forces often kept a small military presence on Tatooine, despite its obscurity and seeming insignificance. With this in mind, Obi-Wan’s decision to hide himself and Luke Skywalker on Tatooine seems like a foolish plan that Darth Vader would easily foil, yet the Sith Lord never found either of them on the Outer Rim world.
Obi-Wan Kenobi most likely used the Force to mask his presence (and perhaps Luke’s too), since his connection to Darth Vader is extremely strong, and residing on Tatooine is risky enough already. Obi-Wan’s choice to hide Luke on Tatooine was due to his and Yoda’s plan of waiting to train Anakin Skywalker’s children as Jedi. While Leia was adopted by Bail and Breha Organa, Luke stayed with Anakin’s distant relatives, Owen and Beru Lars, who’d give Luke a normal upbringing before the time came for him to learn about the Force. By masking his and Luke’s presence from Vader and the Emperor and allowing Luke to grow up without any knowledge of the Force, Kenobi kept them both safe.
Cloaking One’s Presence Isn’t Necessarily A Dark Side Ability
Cloaking one’s presence with the Force (known as Force stealth, concealment, or clouding) is typically thought of as a dark side power, which the Sith Lords of Darth Bane’s lineage used for over a thousand years. Following the Sith Order’s seeming destruction, Bane and his successors traded their armor and brutish tactics for cloaks and secrecy in both a figurative and literal sense. The Sith kept their survival secret from the Jedi with astounding success, due in part to their mastery of concealing themselves with the dark side. While Darth Bane’s Sith Lords are the most famous users of Force concealment, the power is not intrinsically tied to the dark side of the Force.
The difference between Force powers and dark side powers is often their intention. The two most famous dark side abilities, Force choke and Force lightning, have been used to some degree by Jedi without succumbing to the dark side. Force choke is merely an application of telekinesis, which Jedi and Sith alike often use. Electric Judgement, essentially the Jedi counterpart to the Sith Lord’s Force lightning, is typically used non-lethally. While Sith Lords used Force concealment with malice, growing in strength to enact their revenge, Obi-Wan and Yoda likely used the same ability to protect themselves and Anakin Skywalker’s children.
Obi-Wan Has Cloaked Himself With The Force Before
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s nineteen years on Tatooine wouldn’t be the first time he hid from another Force user using Force concealment. In Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Kenobi spies on Count Dooku, a powerful Sith Lord, on Geonosis. While not hiding in plain sight, Kenobi was close to Dooku as he addressed the Separatist Council, yet the Count was none the wiser to Kenobi’s presence. While the two hadn’t met before, they shared a connection through the late Qui-Gon Jinn, who mentored Kenobi and was an apprentice of Dooku’s. Kenobi likely used Force concealment to hide from the perceptive Dooku.
In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Obi-Wan fakes his death and disguises himself as the bounty hunter Rako Hardeen for four episodes. During this story arc, Kenobi interacts with Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Count Dooku, remaining hidden once again. Considering his connection to all three Force users, Kenobi likely concealed himself with the Force here as well. With Force concealment being a power that Jedi or Sith could use, plus Kenobi’s experience in hiding his presence, Obi-Wan likely protected himself and Luke Skywalker from Darth Vader with this power that is often associated with the dark side of the Force in between the prequel and original Star Wars trilogies.
