Another love for Anakin?

Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker.

LOS ANGELES - Darth Vader: Sith lord, murderous imperialist, deadbeat dad . . . dirty old man?

The latest entry into the "Star Wars" canon features a new, female character whose charms are not lost on Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi general on the brink of becoming the baddest bad guy the galaxy has ever known.

Ahsoka Tano is smart, sassy, and skilled with a lightsaber. And she kicks up more chemistry in a few scenes with the animated Vader-in-waiting than the real-life Natalie Portman could muster over three whole films.

To be fair, there's nothing overt about "The Clone Wars" to indicate a relationship between Ahsoka and Anakin. But their mutual magnetism is a presence we haven't felt since . . . well, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

There are reasons to have a bad feeling about this. Ahsoka is barely a teenager, while Anakin is in his early 20s. What's more, he's supposed to be her teacher. Finally, he's already secretly married to Portman's character, the aristocratic, wooden Queen Amidala.

Ahsoka first arrives in the midst of battle, announcing that she's to begin immediately training as Anakin's padawan. He protests, but orders are orders.

From there, Ahsoka exhibits enough battle pluck and witty repartee to win over her brooding mentor - he warms quickly to the idea of having a young assistant.

They spend most of the film toting around a rescued infant, making veiled parenting jokes. Their petty competitions devolve into mutual concern, rescue, and more post-traumatic bonding.

A character like Asokah, voiced by Ashley Eckstein, would've given much-needed emotional juice to the romantically DOA "Star Wars" prequels. And since "The Clone Wars" is wedged between episodes two and three, her disappearance before "Revenge of the Sith" will have to be reconciled.

Maybe she and Anakin keep it clean, and she returns to her home planet to become the Togrutan equivalent of "Hanna Montana." But one can't help but wonder if a second forbidden love adds some velocity to the dark descent of Anakin Skywalker.