Greetings and salutations. It is I, Graham.

So last week was, well, an issue. No blogs got posted, and that is all on me. I was the villain of last week’s debacle. And speaking of villains, that is what we will be discussing for the next few weeks. We will be looking at villains from all angles. What makes a good villain? Who do we love? AFI has a Top 50 list that includes a lot of classic movies. Fortunately my favorite is on there at number three. But seriously, let me run some names past you: Mrs. Danvers, Noah Cross, Phyllis Dietrichson, Eve Harrington? These are all top villains, according to their list. But then, they also list Cruella De Vil, Freddy Krueger, Hannibal Lecter, The Wicked Witch of the West, HAL 9000, The Alien, The Terminator…

And number three, Darth Vader.

Fine, they want to put Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates above the Lord of the Sith? That’s on them. On screen, he has so much going for him. He is the right hand, the visible face, of the First Galactic Empire. He is the chosen, the best, apprentice under the Rule of Two. In numerous sources, Palpatine has admitted that while he is disappointed to have a weakened apprentice, he is in many ways glad that it happened. According to Star Wars source material, as a person loses living material in their body, they become weaker in the Force. Darth Vader has lost something like 40-50% of his human body mass, depending on your source. And yet, he is still, in this weakened state, considered to be more powerful in the Force than any of Palpatine’s other apprentices, and possibly any other living Force User, save Palpatine himself. Even Palpatine admitted in one of the Legends books that Vader likely would have grown more powerful than himself, had he not lost so much of his body.

Then there is his attitude and leadership style. Between his protective suit, his power in the Force, and his self loathing, Darth Vader rarely feared for his own life. Therefore, he had a habit of leading from the front. This had a tendency to significantly inspire the troops under his command. Add to that a bad habit of terrorizing his senior officers, and he remained a god-like figure that most Imperials stayed in awe of. In addition, his absolute faith in the power of the Force meant that he didn’t bother getting caught up in the political maneuvering of the other Imperial officers, or even other high post individuals such as Mara Jade or Prince Xizor. I respected his purity.

Behind the scenes, in the real world, Darth Vader is just as impressive. James Earl Jones, who did the voice of Vader, once did a cross country road trip. To pass the time, he said he would play on the CB, using the handle “Vader” and doing the voice. He said he eventually had to stop because he was freaking out all the truckers. How many other movie villains caused the New York City Fire Department to have to put out PSAs in newspapers and TV, begging parents to teach their kids the difference between Darth Vader and a Firefighter in full gear? They were legit having kids hide and run from firefighters because the kids were too afraid of Darth Vader. And finally, how many of YOUR movie villains were installed as a gargoyle on the top of the National Cathedral in Washington DC? I don’t see Hannibal Lecter up there. Do you?

There have been some very awesome villains on the Silver Screen. Jareth, the Goblin King deserves honorable mention. Hans Gruber, as well as his brother Simon Gruber. Add to the list Egor Korshunov from Air Force One, with Harrison Ford. Or how about Hans Landa from Inglourious Basterds? All these were excellent villains. Or if we want to go non-Human, let’s add Darkness from Legend, the T1000, T800, the Predator, or the xenomorph from the Alien movies? What about Sauron, Ramsey Bolton, or even Emperor Palpatine himself? All of these warrant attention. But none will preempt the purity and awe inspiring nature, both in the story and in the real world, of the ultimate badass of the Sith, my man, Darth Vader.

Don’t forget to love one another.

Graham