shroudofsorrow

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Darth Vaders of the Omniverse

Since his debut in the original Star Wars movie in 1977, Darth Vader has rightly gone down in history as one of the greatest villains of all time. And in fact, his "archetype" has actually become fairly commonplace across fiction. Now in order to qualify for the "Darth Vader archetype", at least some of the following criteria ought to be met:

  • Cyborg
  • Dressed in black or some other dark color (and ideally an armored look as well)
  • Again, armor, ideally also with a cape and an eerie mask or helmet that conceals the face
  • Some kind of dark/darkness motif (dresses in dark colors, uses a dark power source, etc.)
  • Major villain/the main villain of the story
  • Right-hand to a greater evil
  • Being manipulated and used by a greater evil
  • Tragic villain (ideally a fallen hero)
  • Related to the main hero in some way (ideally the main hero's parent)
  • Evil former friend of a hero
  • Once part of a heroic team/group/organization that he/she betrayed and contributed to the destruction of
  • Remorseful, insecure, and/or capable of redemption
  • Ruthless / Failure-Intolerant
  • Incredibly powerful and dangerous
  • Deep, booming voice

List items

  • The definitive, and the original...or is he?

  • The Darth Vader that existed before Darth Vader! It is often speculated that Doctor Doom was an inspiration for him, and looking at the character, it's not hard to see why.

  • Here's another Marvel one. I mean, just look at him!

  • Toy Story/Pixar's Darth Vader parody, and arguably the most famous Darth Vader parody there is.

  • Street Fighter's Darth Vader (garbed in black, super powerful, kills the main hero's mentor/father-figure, might be the main hero's father, etc.)

  • Serves as a Darth Vader parody in one of the episodes of the original Rugrats cartoon. Seriously.

  • An evil cyborg version from an alternate future shown in a Justice League story arc is basically a Darth Vader figure (tragic fallen hero, cyborg, father of a blonde hero, remorseful, right-hand to a greater villain, redeems and sacrifices himself, etc.)

  • One of DC's most prominent Darth Vaders

  • Becomes a Darth Vader parody in one episode

  • Serves as a Darth Vader parody at the beginning of the Fairly Odd Parents movie "Abra Catastrophe"

  • Sort of; a tragic fallen hero who's name sounds a lot like Darth Vader and who dresses in dark colors and conceals his face.

  • Another of DC's Darth Vaders (evil, failure-intolerant big bad with a deep voice, dark motif and great power who is the arch-nemesis father of a hero).

  • Every now and then, Star Wars tries to take another stab at/recycle the Darth Vader archetype and basically use it again. Malgus here is one of the more shameless but also more successful attempts.

  • Gargoyles' female Darth Vader (fallen hero, parent of a hero she's trying to corrupt and bring to her side, manipulated by a wholly evil villain into doing what he wants, etc.)

  • Of all the Inquisitors, he's the one who feels most evocative of Darth Vader based on his black helmet.

  • While I personally regard him as being more Palpatine than Vader, he does have some things in common with the latter also: villainous father of two children, the female of whom is a princess, tyrannical and failure-intolerant, hurt his own son, and is rivals with his son's wise old, bearded mentor figure. The big difference of course, is that Ozai is 100% evil, and not redeemed.

  • In the Non-Canon Dark Side ending to the Force Unleashed, he's basically turned into the spitting image of his former master.

  • Every now and then, Star Wars tries to take another stab at/recycle the Darth Vader archetype and basically use it again. As a tragic, wheezing cyborg villain who hunts and kills Jedi at the behest of Palpatine, Grievous is the Prequel film's attempt.

  • One of several Final Fantasy villains who is evocative of Darth Vader, this one being arguably the most deliberate and blatant.

  • He's got a bit of a Darth Vader vibe aesthetically, which is ironic, as he and Vader were rivals. Nonetheless, as a major Imperial villain who is a cyborg with black leather gloves and a black breather mask, he definitely feels almost like a Non-Force Sensitive version of Vader.

  • DC's Anakin Skywalker. No seriously; cocky but powerful brunette male with good piloting skills who is also an orphan. Joins, becomes one of the greatest members of, and then betrays an order of humorless intergalactic space protectors led by a diminutive being of great power. From there he turns into an armored, cape wearing arch-villain who dies redeeming himself after fighting the first of a new generation of the space protectors. Sounds like Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader to me.

  • In Legends of Tomorrow, he's basically a Darth Vader/Boba Fett parody as Chronos (and in fact is explicitly likened to both characters during the course of the season!)

  • Black helmet, evil father to a space hero, I mean come on, this is pretty obvious.

  • Like grandfather, like grandson

  • Another of Final Fantasy's Darth Vader figures, being as he is the evil but sympathetic father of the main (blonde), swordsman hero.

  • You could pretty easily make the case that all of the Chaos Space Marines have a Darth Vader vibe, but Kharn still stands out by way of being a fallen "hero" who betrayed and killed in huge numbers those he used to be loyal to, and is now a highly feared and powerful villain.

  • Loosely the Once Upon a Time version

  • Every now and then, Star Wars tries to take another stab at/recycle the Darth Vader archetype and basically use it again. This is the New Republic Era's attempt.

  • Every now and then, Star Wars tries to take another stab at/recycle the Darth Vader archetype and basically use it again. This is the Sequel Trilogy's attempt.

  • The first one (Arthas): Fallen Hero, intimidating dark armor with helmet and cape, tragic backstory, desired a forbidden power to save loved ones, cool melee weapon that he's highly skilled with, etc.

  • Steam War's analogue to Darth Vader

  • Parody of Darth Vader in the Marvel Multiverse who is also one part Doctor Doom (and remember that, as already noted, Doom is thought to be an inspiration for Darth Vader)

  • D&D/High Fantasy Darth Vader

  • Loosely (and I stress loosely), the Power Ranger's Darth Vader/Palpatine

  • By way of being another Doctor Doom

  • Son of Darth Vader who, in the Legends continuity briefly followed in his father's footsteps as an apprentice to Palpatine, and even at such a time dressed like his father apart from the armor and mechanical parts on the torso (and also not having the helmet).

  • Basically Rule 63 Darth Vader (still an awesome villain regardless though).

  • Something of a Darth Vader figure in my opinion: tragic and extremely powerful Lawful Evil Big Bad who wears a cape and a helmet and is the father of sibling twin heroes who he always wants to join him. Plus the fact that he and a wise old heroic mentor used to be friends, his capacity for redemption, his being a fallen hero...

  • Loosely the Angelina Jolie version (fallen hero with telekinesis garbed in black who's parental love for an idealistic, young, blonde protagonist redeems them).

  • Loosely Max Steel's Darth Vader mixed with Lex Luthor, though he's not a sympathetic villain.

  • Soul Calibur's Darth Vader, at least the version that was once Siegfried. Think about it; a powerful but arrogant young swordsman who was a "knight" with long hair and a scar on his face, who became a tyrannical, destructive, armored arch-villain with a powerful red blade who ultimately redeems himself. Sound familiar?

  • Superman if his story was like Darth Vader's.

  • Hal Jordan Parallax for, again, being basically DC's Anakin/Vader.

  • Every now and then, Star Wars tries to take another stab at/recycle the Darth Vader archetype and basically use it again. This is Knights of the Old Republic's attempt, and also the best and most successful attempt overall (and obviously as a Revan fan I'm not biased at all here).

  • Loosely the Transformer's Darth Vader, or at least it comes off that way to me.

  • The third of Final Fantasy's Darth Vader figures. Not as explicit as with the other two, but I still feel like he's got enough in common with him for it to count.

  • This one might be reaching a bit, but it's worth noting that, whenever comparisons between Star Wars and Harry Potter characters are made, it is generally accepted that Snape is the closest thing HP has to a Darth Vader equivalent. And to be fair, there ARE some similarities between them; tragic villains, right hand/pawn to a pure evil, pale and deformed big bad, kills the hero's mentor figure, dies redeeming themselves, etc.

  • Ironic, as the TMNT creators outright said that Shredder was never intended to be this (the "Darth Vader of the series"), but he nevertheless became so. Especially true of the more tragic and sympathetic 2012 cartoon version.

  • Well, he IS an armored and cape wearing fallen hero with a weapon that looks suspiciously like a lightsaber. And, one of his chief minions (Vile), looks a lot like Boba Fett!

  • Another DC Darth Vader, this one female

  • As a parody of Darth Vader in the greater Family Guy Star Wars parodies.

  • IGAU version due to being a fallen, cape-wearing hero of great power who's fall into darkness was at least partially informed by the death of his pregnant wife. Also his having once been the best friend of a main hero and opposing an idealistic, blonde-haired relative who he wants to have on his side.

  • Blatantly and shamelessly Kingdom Heart's Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, and noted by more than one critic and fan.

  • Every now and then, Star Wars tries to take another stab at/recycle the Darth Vader archetype and basically use it again. This is the attempt from the "Tales of the Jedi" comic books.

  • Loosely DBZ's Darth Vader

  • Wannabe Darth Vader...who existed thousands of years before the real deal :/

  • One of Darth Vader's spiritual predecessors, and generally seen by nerds like me as Darth Vader's equivalent in Lord of the Rings.

  • Let's see...fallen hero turned cape-wearing cyborg villain? Check. Nemesis to an idealistic blonde-haired hero who is also his child? Check. Need I say more?

  • More Anakin Skywalker, but close enough. I mean the scar plus going back and forth between good and evil alone are dead giveaways.
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