CT Favorite version of Vader?

I feel that Vader is most pathetic in TESB, killing his subordinates like a bratty kid breaking his toys after not getting his way which further rounds him out. But I liked him best in ANH, where some officers clearly disliked him. He seems to have the highest rank in TESB but seems to be just an agent who does the odd jobs in ANH and ROTJ.

 

He is rather bratty in TESB. I thought about this a couple of months ago. He has no patience, and oddly enough, that shows how Vader isn't that different from his young self as Anakin.

 

His behavior in TESB is very much like Anakin's worst behavior but amplified. Even in ANH he strangles a prisoner and then throws a tantram about finding the plans. In ROTJ Palps sends Vader to the command ship like sending a kid to their room. There is a deleted scene when Vader comes back to see Palps, the royal guards were going to attack him for disobeying orders, which show Palps didn't trust Vader.

 

It is amplified, indeed. He has no restraint any longer. Vader is the worst nightmare that the Jedi Order in the prequels feared.

 

Didn't we already know that Vader had been Obi-Wan's pupil?

 

Sure.

But he wasn't supposed to be that close to Ben Kenobi as Father Skywalker was. He was just his former student.

 

None of these versions of Darth Vader are my favorite. I like him the most in the early drafts of Revenge of the Jedi where he is only serving the Emperor out of force and lack of choice. The Emperor could kill him at any time by using the Force to stop his breathing apparatus as he does in the script and regain his loyalty. This is a tactic Palpatine should use to gain control over his apprentice.

 

Ironically everyone seems to love the ESB version of Vader the most, however the ESB version is the one that most resembles the "bratty, impulsive" teenage version of him we see in AOTC and ROTS that everyone seems to hate. People often complain about Vader already being evil before his fall, however I believe Anakin was to an extent intentionally written as a "psychotic teenage white male" by Lucas' s choice not *entirley* bad writing alone. (Not to sound like a Hipster but Lucas is kinda an oddball "artsy" guy himself. I mean seriously anyone remember what he said the sarlacc represents? ... yea he's a little bit of an loon)

 

RotJ is the most interesting from the point of view of characterization. His conversation with Luke, on the Endor platform, features excellent dialogue and acting performances, notably, key moments of silence.
Vader is actually listening to his son, and considering the implications of his words. When Luke continues to press him, Vader admits to being indoctrinated by using the words "I must."
I detect a feeling of regret in his voice when he mentions Obi Wan. Luke persists and Vader says sorrowfully, "It is too late for me, son."
Complex, dramatic and suspenseful, this scene shows a deeply conflicted Vader. Will he destroy his son or bring balance to the Force?

 

ROTJ

 

Empire Strikes Back

 

Couldn't have said it better. That's what I think when I view that scene.

 

What do you suppose was going on in that exchange?

 

There is only one...

*said in Lankester Merrin voice*

 

She was creeped out by him. She was concerned for Han primarily, but also for Luke, considering the trap Vader was setting. Leia does sense Luke when he calls to her through the Force in TESB, but I doubt at that point that Lucas had gone back to his idea of having Luke and Leia being siblings. However, that doesn't mean that we can retroactively bear that in mind. Therefore, you could use your imagination and see that Leia was sensing something she didn't understand in Vader. Indeed, that little moment has always stood out to me, as well. She's staring at Vader out concern for Han, she's seeing how he commands Boba Fett's respect, and she's intimidated by him. We can speculate that she, as Force-sensitive who didn't understand her abilities, felt something else there, as well. She did, after all, strangle Jabba the Hutt with the aid of the Force without understanding it.

 

What did he say about the Sarlacc?

 

I'm pretty sure i'm not allowed to say that here.

 

I always find it a bit odd that people consider Star Wars Vader a henchmen when he is actually quite smart in the film. It was his idea to let the Falcon escape with a homing beacon and he was the one who took the threat of the Rebel fighters seriously, when Tarkin ignored it.

 

Henchmen can be smarter than their bosses.

He's a smart henchman working for a not-so-smart boss (Tarkin) in the earliest interpretations of ANH:


STAR WARS: OFFICIAL POSTER MONTHLY #5
Published February 1978 by Galaxy Publications. Text writers Michael Marten, Jon Trux, John May.

http://www.theforce.net/image_popup/image_popup_global.asp?Image=timetales/misc/arcana/post5-03.jpg

 

Vader was always, by definition, a "henchman". He may have been the primary antagonist of the OT, but don't forget, he was always subservient to the Emperor. Even Obi-Wan said he helped Palpatine hunt down and destroy the Jedi.

 

Vader was clearly the guy who performed odd jobs for the Empire and didn't have an offical rank. The films showed that many officers dislike and had contempt for him, even the royal guards didn't trust him.

 

Like Slicer said, there were many officers who didn't like Vader. I'm sure many held him in contempt. Yes, Vader did odd jobs, but I go by the EU explanation that he was Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet. TESB makes that clear. That particular deleted scene wasn't that well-acted by the dude who portrayed Jerjerrod, but it's a pity they couldn't have reshot it. It emphasizes the theme from ANH of Imperial officers distrusting Vader.

As Dinos4ever said, Vader's primary function was to be Sidious Palpatine's henchman. I would describe Vader as a Byronic hero. It's an old term that could be used to describe reprehensible but somewhat sympathetic characters like Claude Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. They're tormented souls who are doing what they think is right, but they are also incredibly vindictive and vengeful. After Vader lost Padme, he took his pain out on the entire galaxy. I think he held the Jedi responsible for his misery, and that's part of why he was such a lethal Jedi hunter. He also viewed the Republic and the Jedi as ineffectual, and he felt that Palpatine's Empire could stabilize the galaxy. Despite his hatred for Palpatine, he also was afraid of and attached to him. His revelation to Luke affected him in a way he did not anticipate. This is pretty much why I appreciate the character. He's a good example of Star Wars is literature and not just some popcorn flick.