My Favourite Star Wars Character

A friend recently asked me if I could name my favourite Star Wars character. That was easy - Darth Vader.

I hope it is not a 'mainstream' answer, however I found the masked Vader fascinating, what we don't know intrigues us. Years ago I read of how his helmet was styled after the kabuto and menpo, and as someone who has had an admiration of Japanese culture for many years, this just made him even 'cooler' in my books.
It also came to pass, about a decade ago, that I was curious to see how my name was written in its original Jewish script. I took an interest in the Hebrew characters, for their aesthetics if nothing else, and I sometimes sign off on documents and blog posts with the Hebrew spelling of my name. Anyway, I was studying Vader's suit one fine day in 2003 and I noticed some characters printed on his life support machine on his chest. Upon closer inspection I concluded that they were Hebrew characters and turned to my old friend Google for deciphering.

There is some discrepancy as to what the Hebrew script reads, however a few websites translated it thus: "His deeds will not be forgiven until he merits." I was not particularly interested in whether this was the correct translation, but hey, it sounded dark and mysterious and it is befitting of him.

Other reasons I'm a Vader fan:

• black and red, my favourite colour combination,
• he wears a cape, which is excellent,
• his synthesized voice is a rich baritone,
• his personal flagship is the Executor, which I'm sure you'll agree is the most awesome capital ship in the Star Wars galaxy, perhaps even science fiction in general,
• his leitmotif is The Imperial March, a magnificent composition.

Even as the Imperial Military Executor, second highest ranking sentient being in the galaxy, he was not afraid to participate in dogfights, follow troops into enemy installations and engage Jedi and other significant rebels in melee combat.

Vader had two personal residences on two planets. There was Bast Castle on Vjun, which featured a 6m statue of himself. Apparently the castle was meant to be in The Empire Strikes Back but alas it was left out. He also had a skyscraper on Coruscant called, simply, Darth Vader's Palace. As someone who holds a keen interest in castles and skyscrapers, I admire Vader's choices of residences.

Up until the late 1990s, Star Wars fans could tell that Vader was a man with a mysterious and tormented past, full of conflict. The arrival of the prequel trilogy and subsequent illumination of his childhood lessened the mystique that surrounded Vader. A similar demystifying was visited upon the villainous Hannibal Lecter M.D. when his formative years were fleshed out in Hannibal Rising.

So there you have it, there are few cinematic villains who can stand alongside the infamous Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith.

マイケル