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Darth Vader

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Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is the pivotal character to the original Star Wars trilogy and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. In the original trilogy, he was portrayed by David Prowse and a series of stunt doubles, while his voice was supplied by James Earl Jones. Vader is one of the most iconic villains in film history and was ranked third on American Film Institute's 100 Heroes and Villains list.[1]

In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Vader is depicted as the cunning, brutal enforcer of the Galactic Empire's rule across the galaxy. A Dark Lord of the Sith, Vader serves as Emperor Palpatine's right hand, using the dark side of the Force to mercilessly pursue the Jedi and the Rebel Alliance to the ends of the galaxy. The prequel trilogy recounts the heroic rise and tragic fall of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin was portrayed by Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen in the prequel trilogy, while Sebastian Shaw played the role in Return of the Jedi.

In the Star Wars movies and Clone Wars series

History

Prequel trilogy

In the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Anakin Skywalker is the primary protagonist. He is taken in by the Jedi Order at a young age, and eventually becomes a powerful Jedi and a legendary warrior of the Clone Wars. Skywalker is ultimately seduced to the dark side by his own hubris and fear of loss, as well as by the machinations of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious.

Childhood and Discovery of Anakin Skywalker
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Anakin Skywalker as a boy on Tatooine

Anakin first appears in The Phantom Menace as a selfless nine-year-old boy (played by Jake Lloyd). He and his mother, Shmi (Pernilla August), are slaves in the service of Watto, a curmudgeonly junk dealer. A child prodigy, Anakin excels at engineering; even at his young age, he can build or repair nearly anything, evidenced by the creation of his own protocol droid, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and podracer, each from salvaged parts. He is also a remarkable pilot with quick reflexes.

Anakin is found on Tatooine by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), who is convinced that he is quite strong with the Force. Anakin had no father, and Shmi comments "I can't explain what happened." Qui-Gon discovers that Anakin has the highest known number of midi-chlorians, a measure of Force-aptitude, and theorizes that the boy is a creation of the midichlorians. Anakin forms a strong bond with Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), whom Qui-Gon and his padawan apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), are guarding.

After winning Anakin's freedom, Qui-Gon brings the boy to Coruscant and requests that the Jedi Council allow him to train Anakin. This request is denied, as the Council thinks that Anakin's future is clouded by the fear and anger he exhibits from his days as a slave and his separation from his mother. Ultimately, Anakin helps to win the final battle against the Trade Federation in the Battle of Naboo. A dying Qui-Gon, slain in a fearsome duel with Darth Maul (Ray Park), urges Obi-Wan to train Anakin, and Council leader Yoda (Frank Oz) reluctantly approves. The Republic's newly-elected Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), befriends the boy, promising to "watch his career with great interest."

Prelude to War
File:AnakinEp2.jpg
Anakin Skywalker (right) with Obi-Wan Kenobi

In Attack of the Clones, set 10 years later, Anakin (now played by Hayden Christensen), is now Obi-Wan's apprentice. He has developed into an arrogant loner during his years of Jedi training. His relationship with his master is complicated; although he says Obi-Wan is like a father to him, he believes his teacher is holding him back and chafes against his authority. Frustrated, Anakin turns to another teacher for advice: Palpatine, who feeds the young Padawan's fragile ego with assurances that he will one day be the greatest Jedi in the galaxy.

Anakin pushes the boundaries of the Jedi Code with his attraction to Padmé, as Jedi are forbidden to form romantic attachments. In conversation with Padmé, he reveals his affection for her, as well as his distrust of the political process and the need he perceives for there to be one strong leader.

While guarding Padmé, Anakin senses that his mother is in danger. Upon returning to Tatooine, he finds his mother in a camp of Tusken Raiders, but arrives too late; she has been tortured and beaten so badly that she is beyond saving, and she dies in his arms. Seized by a blind rage, he slaughters the entire tribe, even the women and children. This disturbance in the Force is sensed by Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn's ghost. He returns with his mother's body, and tearfully confesses to Padmé what he has done. She is clearly troubled by his actions, but being in love with him, she is not truly repulsed, and instead tries to soothe him with sympathy.

Anakin and Padmé learn that Obi-Wan has been taken hostage by the Geonosian-engineered droid forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a faction of star systems that want to secede from the Republic. They rush to his rescue — where they are also captured. Faced with their impending demise in a gladiatorial arena, they profess their love to one another. Escaping the fray with the help of a cadre of Jedi and the clone army, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda engage Separatist leader and renegade Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) in a lightsaber battle. Obi-Wan quickly is left out of the battle, and Anakin fights him alone. He is easily defeated by the older, more experienced warrior, who severs his lower right arm. Back on Coruscant, his arm is replaced with a mechanical prosthetic, and he marries Padmé in a secret ceremony with only C-3PO and his counterpart, R2-D2, there to witness.

Clone Wars

During the events of the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, Anakin is made a full-fledged Jedi Knight despite the Jedi Council's reservations. During the next three years of fighting in the Clone Wars, Anakin becomes a legend throughout the galaxy, renowned as "The Hero With No Fear." Among his most noted moments are a battle with Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, which left him with a scar on his right temple, and the liberation of the Nelvaanians from the Techno Union. During that time, he goes on a spiritual journey which gives him a cryptic glimpse of his future. The ordeal cost Anakin his prosthetic arm, though he later creates a modified version with help from R2-D2.

Turning Anakin to the Dark Side

In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin and Obi-Wan return from the Outer Rim Sieges to rescue a kidnapped Palpatine during the Battle of Coruscant. They board the Invisible Hand, flagship of the Separatist fleet and its cyborg leader, General Grievous (Matthew Wood). Tracking the captive Chancellor to the Hand's observation deck, they duel with Count Dooku. While Obi-Wan is unconscious, Anakin faces the Sith Lord alone. Following a short duel, Anakin overpowers Dooku and neatly sears off both of his hands. Palpatine then commands Anakin to behead the shocked Count. After minimal protest, Anakin gives in to his anger and complies, but instantly regrets it, as killing a defenseless prisoner is not the Jedi way. After rescuing the Chancellor, they attempts to escape but is again captured by Genral Grievous and escorted to the control room. When Anakin orders R2-D2 to malfunction, Anakin and Obi-wan stage an attack, leaving only Grievous alive. Grievous immediately seizes a lightning stick and breaches the window, causing the room to decompress. Grievous escapes through the hole and on to a escape pod. Anakin finds that the flagship is in critical condition, and, with some help from Obi-Wan, barely lands its front half safely on an airstrip on the surface.

Anakin returns to Coruscant, where Padmé tells him she is pregnant. That night, he has a horrible nightmare of Padmé dying in childbirth. He is immediately afraid this vision will come true, as it is similar to the one he had of his mother just before she died.

Palpatine, who by now has amassed near-dictatorial power in the Senate, makes Anakin his representative on the Jedi Council. The suspicious Council accepts Anakin, but denies him the rank of Jedi Master, and tell him to spy on Palpatine. Angered by the perceived snub and instructions to commit treason, Anakin loses all faith in the Council. Ultimately, the Chancellor offers him the chance to learn the dark side of the Force, which he claims holds the power to prevent death. Anakin realizes that Palpatine is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious that the Council had been hunting for since the beginning of the war, and reports Palpatine's secret to Jedi Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson). As Windu goes to confront Palpatine, Anakin broods over an inescapable thought: without Palpatine, he will lose the chance to save his wife.

File:Vader march.jpg
Darth Vader marches on the Jedi Temple with the 501st Legion

Anakin arrives to find Windu holding his lightsaber on a disarmed Palpatine. Windu declares the Dark Lord under arrest, but Palpatine defiantly unleashes a torrent of Force lightning at Windu. The Jedi Master deflects the lightning with his lightsaber back at Palpatine, scarring his face. The attack continues unabated until Palpatine suddenly tires, giving Windu a chance to strike a deathblow. Anakin pleads with Windu to spare Palpatine's life, but Windu refuses, raising his lightsaber to deliver the final blow. Anakin intervenes, severing both Windu's hands. Palpatine then springs to life, bombarding him with Force lightning and hurling him out the window to his death. Anakin then submits to the dark side, and is dubbed Darth Vader.

Vader's first task as a Sith Lord is to assault the Jedi Temple with the 501st Legion and to kill everyone inside, including the younglings. Vader is then sent to Mustafar to assassinate Nute Gunray (Silas Carson) and the other Separatist leaders. After completing this task, he is met by Padmé, having arrived at the planet unannounced, pleading with him to flee Palpatine's grasp with her. He refuses, saying that the two of them can overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy together. Obi-Wan, who had hidden himself on Padmé's ship, suddenly reveals himself. Vader accuses Padmé of conspiring against him, and uses the dark side to choke her into unconsciousness. The former friends then engage in a lightsaber duel throughout the mining complex.

File:Skywalker kenobi duel.jpg
Darth Vader fighting Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar

At the climax of the duel, Vader leaps from the hovering stand above the lava river to deliver the killing blow, but Obi-Wan has the higher ground, cutting off his legs and one of his arms and leaving him to die. Vader catches on fire and is subsequently burned almost to immolation, sustaining near-fatal burns and lung damage. He is rescued by Palpatine, who sensed his apprentice's impending defeat during his own duel with Yoda.

File:Vader complete.jpg
Vader's life support suit is placed on him for the first time

Palpatine reconstructs his apprentice's ruined body with extensive prosthetics, and then suits him in the iconic suit of black armor first seen in A New Hope. Once Vader regains consciousness, Palpatine tells him that Padmé had died as a result of Vader's anger. As Palpatine intended, this half-truth breaks what remains of his apprentice's spirit, leaving him nothing but his service to his master and the newly declared Galactic Empire.

Original trilogy

In the original Star Wars trilogy, Darth Vader is the primary antagonist: a dark, ruthless figure, out to capture, torture, or kill the films' heroes to prevent them from thwarting the Empire.

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Darth Vader in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Battling the Rebellion and his son

In A New Hope, set 19 years after the fall of the Jedi, When Vader is aged 39-40, Vader is charged with recovering the stolen plans of the Death Star and finding the Rebel Alliance's secret base. He captures and tortures Princess Leia and, along with Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin, destroys her homeworld of Alderaan. Shortly afterward, he duels his former master, Obi-Wan, who has arrived at the Death Star to rescue Leia, and cuts him down, turning him into a spirit in the Force. He then encounters his son, Luke, during the Battle of Yavin, and senses in him a great strength in the Force — confirmed moments later when the boy destroys the battle station.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Vader kidnaps Leia, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and C-3PO on the planet Bespin to lure Luke into a confrontation. He strikes a deal with the administrator of Cloud City, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) to give Han over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch), and has Han frozen in carbonite. Luke, who has been partially trained by Yoda, duels Vader, but is eventually defeated, losing his right hand to the Sith Lord's lightsaber. Vader then reveals his true identity as Luke's father and offers Luke the chance to overthrow Palpatine and rule the galaxy as father and son. Luke refuses, throwing himself down the deep Bespin mine shaft. He is sucked into a garbage chute and rescued by Leia, C-3PO, Chewbacca and Lando. He is fitted with a robotic hand to replace the one Vader had cut off. They then go to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt, to whom Boba Fett has delivered Han's frozen body.

Redemption and rebirth

.

In Return of the Jedi, Vader is charged with overseeing the completion of the second Death Star, with Moff Jerjerrod (Michael Pennington) as his immediate subordinate. He meets with Palpatine onboard the half-constructed station to plan Luke's turn to the dark side.

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Darth Vader escorting Luke Skywalker to Palpatine in an attempt to turn him to the dark side

By this time, Luke has nearly completed his Jedi training, and has learned from a dying Yoda that Vader is indeed his father. He learns about his father's past from Obi-Wan's spirit, and also learns that Leia is his sister. On a mission to the forest moon of Endor, he surrenders to Imperial troops and is brought to Vader. Aboard the Death Star, Luke resists the Emperor's appeals to his anger and fear for his friends, but snaps when Vader telepathically probes his mind, learns of Leia's existence, and threatens to turn her instead. Enraged, Luke nearly kills Vader, severing his father's right hand. He controls his anger at the last minute, however, as he looks at Vader's cybernetic hand and then at his own; he realizes that he is perilously close to suffering his father's fate.

As the Emperor approaches, encouraging Luke to kill Vader and take his place, Luke throws down his lightsaber, refusing to perform the killing blow. Seeing that the young Jedi is a lost cause, the Emperor attacks Luke with Force lightning. Luke writhes in agony under the Emperor's torture, begging his father for help. Unable to bear the sight of his son in pain, Vader turns on his master and throws him into a deep shaft, where he explodes in a fury of dark energies. However, Vader is mortally wounded in the process by the Emperor's lightning.

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Anakin Skywalker in his last few moments of life

Moments from death, he begs his son to take off his breath-mask so he could look at Luke "with my own eyes." Luke complies and for the first time, father and son truly see each other. Unmasked, Anakin Skywalker is a sad, withered man in his mid-40s, his skin ghostly pale from not having seen natural light for more than two decades. In his dying breaths, Anakin Skywalker is redeemed, finally admitting to Luke that the good within him was not destroyed after all. Luke escapes with his father's body as the Death Star explodes, destroyed by the Rebel Alliance.

That night, Luke burns his father's body in the manner of a Jedi's funeral. During the victory celebration on the forest moon of Endor, Luke sees the redeemed spirit of Anakin Skywalker, standing once again with Obi-Wan and Yoda.

Expanded Universe

The Cartoon Network micro series Star Wars: Clone Wars chronicles Anakin's adventures and trials in the many battles of the Clone Wars. The series, which covers the period between just after Episode II and just before Episode III, sees Anakin become a Jedi and galaxy-renowned war hero, and foreshadows the temptations to power and fear of loss that would transform him into Darth Vader.

In the young adult series The Last of The Jedi, Boba Fett, at the age of 14, is hired by Imperial leader Inquisitor Malorum to investigate Padmé Amidala's death at Vader's request. Vader may make a cameo appearances in the upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series, which is slated for a 2009 release and will run approximately 100 episodes.

As chronicled in James Luceno's book Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, Vader sheds his identity as Anakin Skywalker after incurring his injuries on Mustafar. In the months afterward, he systematically pursues and kills the survivors of the Great Jedi Purge (save Obi-Wan and Yoda); in the process, he fully embraces his new identity as a Sith Lord and disavows any connection to his former Jedi self. The novel also reveals that Vader plans to eventually overthrow Palpatine and rule the Empire himself, and that his primary motivation for betraying the Jedi was that he resented their supposed failure to recognize his power.

In the comic book Vader's Quest, he hires bounty hunters to bring him information about the pilot who brought about the destruction of the Death Star, ultimately meeting his son Luke for the very first time. Later on, in the Alan Dean Foster novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye (which takes place shortly after the events in A New Hope), Vader meets Luke for the second time and combats him in a lightsaber duel on the planet Mimban. On Mimban, Luke nearly defeats Vader, severing his right arm, and Vader suffers massive injuries when he falls into a pit.

In The Star Wars Holiday Special, Vader searches for the Rebels responsible for the destruction of the Death Star, almost thwarting Han and Chewbacca's goal of reaching Kashyyyk in order for Chewie to reach his family for Life Day.

Vader also has a prominent role in the 1996 novel/comic/video game Shadows of the Empire, which takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. In the story, Prince Xizor, leader of the crime organization Black Sun, plots to overthrow Vader and take his place as the Emperor's second in command. The story also gives more insight into Vader's thoughts and ambitions as it reveals that he knows there is some good left in him and that he wishes to heal his body through the Force and return his physical appearance to that of his former self. At one point in the novel, Vader is in his chamber with his suit completely removed as he attempts to heal his body.

Vader also makes occasional appearances in Dark Horse's Star Wars comic books set between the movies, especially Star Wars: Empire.

In the Thrawn trilogy, it is explained that Darth Vader was the first representative of the Empire to find the Noghri, a race with exceptional combat skills, whom he manipulated into serving as his personal commandos and revering him as their master. Later, Vader transferred their services to Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Leia Organa Solo, who was initially horrified to learn that Vader was her father, eventually forgave him after learning her family's full history, as chronicled in the book Tatooine Ghost. She named her youngest son Anakin in remembrance of her father's redemption [2].

In the novel The Unifying Force of the New Jedi Order series, set 30 years after A New Hope, Anakin's voice would speak to his grandson, Jacen Solo, telling him to "Stand firm" in his battle with the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong.

Darth Vader can also be seen in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy movie Billy & Mandy's Big Boogey Adventure in the Jury in the underworld court

Behind the scenes

Portrayals

During filming of A New Hope, David Prowse played the role of Darth Vader. To his dismay,[3] after filming, James Earl Jones was hired to read Vader's lines over Prowse's performance; Orson Welles was originally considered for the role until Lucas decided he was too recognizable. He was instead chosen to voice-over the teaser trailer for A New Hope. Prowse was originally given the choice between the roles of Chewbacca and Darth Vader. He chose Darth Vader because he said "people would remember him." Prowse wore the Vader suit and Jones provided Vader's voice for all of the films in the original trilogy. Jones has since been closely identified with the role.

The character of Darth Vader was also played by several stunt doubles, most notably fencing instructor Bob Anderson. Anderson handled all of Vader's fight sequences in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Mark Hamill (who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy) noted in a 1983 interview in Starlog #72: "Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader’s fighting. It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George I didn’t think it was fair any more. Bob worked so hard that he deserves some recognition. It’s ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man."[4]

In 1978, Jones returned as the voice of Darth Vader (footage of Prowse in the suit is actually unused footage from A New Hope) in The Star Wars Holiday Special, as well as to shoot new footage that was released with the Star Wars: The Interactive Video Board Game, when it was released in 1996.

Actor and former Industrial Light & Magic visual effects artist C. Andrew Nelson has also portrayed Vader at a number of events for Lucasfilm, as well as the video games Rebel Assault II and Dark Forces, and in new footage filmed for the Special Edition releases of the original three Star Wars films in 1997. Over the years Nelson has also appeared as Vader on various television shows and in numerous commercials.

For Revenge of the Sith, Hayden Christensen (who had played Anakin Skywalker since Attack of the Clones) wore the Vader suit, instead of Prowse. However, as he is shorter than Prowse, certain perspective trickery was used to make him seem as physically large as Prowse: a slightly scaled-down costume was created for him; the costume had extensions built into the boots and helmet; and some of the shots of Vader standing next to Palpatine were filmed using forced perspective. James Earl Jones again supplied Vader's voice.

Character creation and concepts

File:Vadersketch.jpg
An early conceptual drawing of Darth Vader (then called "Prince Valorum") vs. Luke Skywalker (then called "Annikin Starkiller")

The character of Darth Vader was not originally planned to be a suited cyborg. The current image of Vader was created when concept artist Ralph McQuarrie drew the opening scene where the Rebel ship Tantive IV was being boarded. It was initially imagined that Darth Vader would fly through space to enter the ship, necessitating a suit and breathing mask. This was later made permanent and incorporated in the story.

The iconic breathing sound of his respirator was created by sound designer Ben Burtt, who created the sound by simply recording himself breathing into an old Dacor scuba regulator. Vader's musical leitmotif is "The Imperial March".

In a 2005 interview, George Lucas was asked the origins of the name "Darth Vader", and replied: "Darth is a variation of dark. And Vader is a variation of father. So it's basically Dark Father." (Rolling Stone, June 2, 2005). "Vader" is the Dutch word for "father" (the Dutch word is instead pronounced "fah-der"), and the German word for "father" (Vater) is similar. However, in the earliest scripts for Star Wars, the name "Darth Vader" was given to a human Imperial general.

Vader's revelation to Luke that he is his father is one of the most famous movie plot twists of all time. An IMDb poll on 10 November 2003[5] asked users to choose which one of a set of movie spoilers was too infamous to be considered a spoiler anymore; Vader's true identity was a clear winner, by a 40% margin.

Vader is called "Dart Fener", "Dark Vador", and "Daxi Weida" (which literally means "reaching the west reaches") in Italy, France and China, respectively.

A figure of Vader has been included in every Star Wars Miniatures set (except for Clone Strike, but Anakin Skywalker was included in that set). In fact, the contract between George Lucas and Wizards of the Coast for the game demanded that Anakin/Vader be included in every expansion set.

Cultural figure

Due to his central role, Vader has entered the public consciousness as the quintessential villain. His powerful baritone voice, coupled with his heavy breathing, is easily recognizable, and the American Film Institute's list of the greatest movie villains placed him third, beating the fearful Wicked Witch of the West coming just after Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. He has been parodied by such figures as "Dark Helmet" from Spaceballs, "Duck Vader" from Tiny Toon Adventures, "Darth Benkyou" in an episode of Doraemon, "Dearth Nadir" as played by Gonzo on The Muppet Show's "Pigs in Space" sketch, "Girth Plotz" from an episode of Animaniacs that parodied the first trilogy, "Darth Koopa" from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, "Dark Laser" from The Fairly OddParents, an episode of Codename: Kids Next Door where President Jimmy dressed in black and, now devoted to evil, takes over the school, country singer Darth Brooks in Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and Chef from South Park as Darth Chef in the episode The Return of Chef. Another kind of tribute to Darth Vader comes from Stargate SG-1, in which there are similarities between Anubis and Vader, played for both dramatic and comic effect (complete with Death Star-esque spaceship and superweapon), and his name is mentioned when the issue of Vala's immaculate birth is brought up. Marty McFly in Back to the Future (dressed up in a radiation suit) pretended to be "Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan" in an effort to get his science fiction-loving father to date his mother.

In 2006 Sky One aired a program Ultimate super villains showing the top 20 fictional villains chosen by a panel of experts, Darth Vader came first beating The Joker at 2 and The Terminator at 3 (Other Star Wars villain Jabba the Hut came 20th).

In 2006, Blame Society Productions created a series of short videos featuring Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager. Chad Vader is ostensibly the younger brother of Darth Vader, who wears the same armor and cape, and uses phrases and concepts associated with Darth Vader in the context of a modern-day grocery store.

The American Dragon: Jake Long villain, the Huntsman, was inspired by Darth Vader and both share some similarities as being disfigured, ruthless warriors, there is a scene in one episode that parodies a scene of Darth Vader in Empire Strikes Back where the Huntsman's helmet is lowered upon his head and the back of his bald, scarred head can be seen.

The name Darth Vader as a cultural metaphor

Vader's name has become a synonym for evil. Lucas has pointed to Vader's iconic status as a reason he made the prequel movies, since he felt the icon overshadowed the fact that Vader was intended to be a tragic character.

  • John Thompson during the 1980's was called the Darth Vader of College basketball
  • Martin Kove said his character in the Karate Kid was the Darth Vader of the Martial arts world
  • On June 22, 2006 U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney called himself the Darth Vader of the Bush administration. Discussing the need to vigorously pursue intelligence, Cheney said to CNN's John King, "It means we need to be able to go after and capture or kill those people who are trying to kill Americans. That's not a pleasant business. It's a very serious business. And I suppose, sometimes, people look at my demeanor and say, well, he's the Darth Vader of the administration."[6] (Humorously, Jon Stewart put on a Darth Vader helmet to 'talk' to Dick Cheney as a 'kindred spirit' on The Daily Show on January 25, 2007)
  • In 2005, former Cornell University entomologists Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller named 65 new species of slime-mold beetle of the genus Agathidium, with one named after Darth Vader.[7]
  • During a major renovation, Washington National Cathedral held a competition for children to design new gargoyles for the west towers. One winner was a design featuring Darth Vader. [1]
  • Two significant office buildings in Brisbane, California are highly visible landmarks by the San Francisco Bay. The ominous looking one made of all dark reflective glass has been dubbed the Darth Vader building. The other is the architecturally acclaimed Dakin Building, a brilliant white futuristic antithesis, and is known in the San Francisco Bay area as the Luke Skywalker building.

See also

Notes and references

File:Spiritsjedi.jpg
Sebastian Shaw, left, as the original portrayer of the spirit of Anakin Skywalker
Hayden Christensen, left, as the spirit of Anakin Skywalker in the new 2004 editional DVD release

Sources

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