This week’s Major Spoilers Podcast features a discussion of ‘Star Wars: Vader Down’, wherein we talk about their use of Darth Vader as an unstoppable monster cutting through the Rebellion like a light saber through sour cream. On the one hand, I appreciated the story treating the Dark Lord of the Sith as a force to be reckoned with, but Stephen would have preferred seeing him actually struggle with his situation. It’s difficult to maintain the balance between ‘Protagonist’ and ‘Galactically-Feared Cyborg Telekinetic Space Ninja’, especially since that balance is going to be subjective for the reader, leading to today’s Ponda Baba query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) is still impressed by his appearance in ‘Rogue One’, a moment which explains why he is so feared in ‘Star Wars’, even though he walks kinda like Herman Munster, asking: Should Darth Vader have weaknesses and foibles or is he better as an unstoppable force of nature, ala ‘Vader Down’?
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My original view of Vader was a evil black knight mixed with a bit of slasher villain, which was changed at the end of Return. Then it sort of crumbled in prequels with stiff and whiny characterization of Anakin. Now, I’m not sure anymore, but try keep that original concept from when I was a kid in my head.
@Malone, the solution to your problem is to think of the prequels as fan-fic…
Lord Darth Vader does have “weaknesses and foibles”, however through his “unstoppable force of nature” he is able to overcome having one hand, two artificial legs and a respirator. He was left for dead by Obi Wan and kept himself alive until the Emperor provided aid.