Thunderdome
Why Darth Vader is the Best Star Wars Character
“I find your lack of faith disturbing”
Thunderdome is a FanFare series where our writers good-naturedly debate some matter of pop culture and then leave it to the readers to decide. Read each post and vote at the bottom!In the pre-internet age, one of the main ways films were advertised was through the movie poster that appeared both outside and inside theaters. Because they had limited space, the poster had to convey the message in as succinct a manner as possible, using only the most important images to explain the film. The original poster from the 1977 release of Star Wars is a perfect example such messaging.
In the poster, we see several images from the film: X-wing fighters attacking the Death Star, C-3PO and R2-D2, a more buxom Leia than actually appeared in the film, and a cartoonishly muscular Luke Skywalker. Looming over all of them and menacing before we ever knew who he was, is Darth Vader. George Lucas didn’t know how the film would be received (in fact, he expected it to flop), but from the outset he knew that Darth Vader was the key to the whole thing. I agree, and will go one step farther; I believe Darth Vader is the best character in the entire Star Wars series.
There is no question that over eleven films the Star Wars saga has produced more than its share of great characters; Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jyn Erso, Chewbacca, and BB-8 all come immediately to mind. But replace all of them with a different character and the series would survive (yes, even Han). Remove Vader and the whole thing falls apart. There is a reason that Vader appears, either as a young Anakin, full-on Sith Vader, or a memory-icon worshipped by Kylo Ren in every film in the series. He is ubiquitous.
Darth Vader has topped the list of best movie villains for more than four decades; his spot on that list is set in stone. I believe he transcends the villain category, however, and here is why (there are obviously spoilers ahead, so if you have not seen the films, go watch them first).
First and foremost, he had possibly the best entrance scene of any character ever, good or bad. When he first steps onscreen, clad fully in black amid a group of white-suited stormtroopers, you immediately know this is a serious badass. When James Earl Jones’ voice comes booming out of him, any doubt about how much of a heavyweight he is instantly vanishes. No other character in the series ever approaches the gravitas of Vader, and it is further solidified when you add composer John Williams’s “The Imperial March” (also known as “Darth Vader’s Theme”) to his entrance in The Empire Strikes Back. With that scene he takes the prize for second-best entrance ever as well.
Another reason he is clearly the best character is the impact the mere idea of him has on the first three films. For such a major figure, his screen time is surprisingly limited. There is no filler when it comes to his appearances; all of them move the story forward in one way or another. Yet even when he is not on screen, the mere threat of him looms over every action the heroes take. He is the Bogeyman on steroids, the thing we all feared was waiting there in the dark when we were children. He is the conflict that drives the narrative.
The reason he’s a great character and not just a great villain is that unlike most villains, his character develops, grows, and changes over the course of the films. This happens in the original trilogy, well before we get his backstory in the prequel trilogy. He moves from simply a cardboard cutout bad guy in the first film (menacing though he is) to one who clearly has feeling for his son in The Empire Strikes Back (though his overall intentions remain evil) to finally someone willing to sacrifice himself for the good of someone else in Return of the Jedi. Villains just don’t get that kind of development in films; hell, in most films today the good guys don’t get that much of a character arc. You never saw Voldemort show even a hint of change in the Harry Potter films, to use another big baddie as an example. With Darth Vader, Lucas gives us a truncated version of the same hero’s journey he gives Luke, but from the opposite direction.
My final reason for believing Darth Vader is the best character in the Star Wars saga is that he has the best lines, and with how bad George Lucas is at writing dialogue that is saying something. The Hollywood Reporter ranks “I am your father” (there is no “Luke” in the quote) at #11 in its list of 100 Best Movie Quotes. Simple lines like “I find your lack of faith disturbing” and “The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am” are ones you might chuckle at if they weren’t so damn frightening when delivered by Vader. When he says to Luke, “You don’t know the power of the Dark Side,” it is both a statement of fact and a plea from someone trapped by it himself. He also delivers the line that finally sends Luke into the rage he seeks, by bringing his sister Leia into the struggle: “If you will not turn to the Dark Side, then perhaps she will.” Take that, golden boy.
I’ll wrap up my defense of Darth Vader as the best Star Wars character with a simple question. When you think of the films, when someone mentions them, when you consider a Star Wars-themed Halloween costume, who comes first to mind (it’s not Jar Jar Binks, that’s for sure)? It’s Darth Vader, every single time.
What say you?
Based only on the arguments presented (you have read all of them, haven’t you?) and not on personal preference: who wins this bout? Voting closes on August 26 at 7:59 AM.
