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Few villains are as iconic as Darth Vader. From his samurai-influenced design, James Earl Jones’ inimitable voice, and his tragic redemption, the Dark Lord’s reputation in pop culture is well-earned.
As with anything sufficiently popular, imitators are bound to follow. There are multiple villains, from film, television, and animation, who are some of the most obvious Darth Vader copies.
10 Vilgax Is Described As “Darth Vader Without The Sense Of Humor”
It’s easy to forget because of how scary he is, but Vader does have a sense of humor—a very dark, deadpan one. Captain Needa’s apology for losing the Millennium Falcon is met by Vader choking him to death. Walking across his corpse, Vader remarks, “Apology accepted.”
Vilgax, the main villain in Man Of Action’s Ben 10, was pitched as Vader without this sense of humor. The differences don’t end there—Vilgax doesn’t answer to a higher authority and his Cthulhu-inspired design is more inhuman than Vader’s. However, he’s still an interstellar conqueror reliant on cybernetic life support. The respirator he wears, in particular, seems inspired by Vader’s mask, and his employing bounty hunters mirrors Vader doing the same in The Empire Strikes Back.
9 Zoom In The Flash Is Closer To Vader Than Comics’ Zoom
The CW/DC shows have never been shy about diverging from the source material. One big case came in Season 2 of The Flash. Comics Hunter Zolomon/Zoom wore basically the same costume as the previous Reverse-Flash, Eobard Thawne.
Since Thawne had been the villain of Season 1, Zoom was redesigned to have a black costume that might as well be “speedster Vader.” Tony Todd voicing the character without physically portraying him is also the same as James Earl Jones dubbing over Vader’s physical performer, David Prowse.
8 Duskmon Is As Close To Vader As Can Be
Digimon Frontier broke with the franchise formula. Instead of the Chosen Children having Digimon partners, they became Digimon. The five main children held the spirits of five of the Digiworld’s “Legendary Warriors,” while the other half were in service to the villainous Cherubimon. The last one to debut was Duskmon, Warrior Of Darkness.
Duskmon’s black armor also bears some resemblance to Vader, and topping it off he wields a pair of red swords mirroring Vader’s iconic lightsaber. The connection goes beyond the aesthetic—unlike Cherubimon’s other warriors, Duskmon is a transformed human, namely, Koichi Kimura, long-lost twin of Koji Minamoto (who holds the spirit of Light). Mirroring Vader’s redemption, Duskmon is purified into Lowemon and Koichi, free of Cherubimon’s influence, joins the heroes.
7 Dracula In Castlevania Has Similar Family Dynamics
Return Of The Jedi and the prequel trilogy made Vader into a tragic villain. The latter in particular revealed how he fell to the dark side out of misguided love. Despite the dodgy handling of this fall, it’s a motive anyone can relate to.
One who certainly can is the version of Dracula from Castlevania. The vampire fell in love with a woman named Lisa, but after she was executed for practicing witchcraft, Dracula declared he would wipe out humanity for stealing his beloved. Solidifying the Vader comparisons, one of Dracula’s main opponents is his and Lisa’s son, Adrian/”Alucard.” What brings him back from evil and leads to his redemptive demise is his love for his son.
6 Fire Lord Ozai Is A Mix Of Darth Vader & Emperor Palpatine
Avatar: The Last Airbender’s main antagonist is Fire Lord Ozai, despotic and supremely powerful ruler of the Fire Nation. He’s also Prince Zuko’s horrifically abusive father, who ultimately turns against his father to help Team Avatar. Ozai’s voice actor, Mark Hamill, must have surely enjoyed being on the opposite end of the “heroic son, evil father” dynamic.
However, Ozai’s other characteristics, from being the ruler of an empire and his lack of redeeming qualities, to his ability to blast lightning call to mind a different Star Wars villain: Emperor Palpatine.
5 Emperor Zurg Is A Parody Of Vader
Toy Story 2 introduced Buzz Lightyear’s arch-nemesis, Evil Emperor Zurg. The Emperor’s design, particularly his head, bears resemblance to Vader. Things are complicated for the heroes when two toys get released—Buzz Lightyear and Zurg action figures who both believe themselves to be the real thing.
The Vader homage comes to a head when these two toys reenact the iconic “No, I am your father” scene from The Empire Strikes Back.
4 Bane In The Dark Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan chose Bane as the villain for The Dark Knight Rises because he felt Bane posed a physical threat to Batman no previous villains had. Indeed, like his comic counterpart, Bane breaks the bat—their confrontation in the sewers mirrors Vader’s humbling of Luke in Empire Strikes Back’s third act.
Cinching the comparison, TDKR Bane’s mask resembles Vader’s more than it does comic Bane’s luchador mask.
3 The Winter Soldier Is Another Hero-Turned-Villain Cyborg
The Winter Soldier’s comic version already bore some similarities to Vader—he was a former friend of the hero fallen into evil, with some cybernetic enhancements. Unlike Anakin, Bucky’s descent into evil was not of his own choice, meaning his redemption is easier, if still a bit rocky.
The MCU takes this even further. Instead of the simple domino mask the Winter Soldier wore in the comics, in his eponymous film he wears a black lower face mask and goggles with bulging lenses. The resemblance to Vader’s mask isn’t minor.
2 Black Manta Was Made Similar To Vader In Young Justice
The Kaldur’ahm/Jackson Hyde iteration of Aqualad is Black Manta’s son. Young Justice ran with this connection in its second season. During the five-year time skip between Seasons 1 and 2, Aqualad defected to Manta’s side. The storyline that plays out essentially asks “what if Luke Skywalker had fallen to the dark side and become his father’s apprentice?”
Manta is a proud father, and heartbroken when Kaldur turns out to be a spy still loyal to his heroic friends. Kaldur’s attempts to win his father away from evil are less successful than Luke’s.
1 Kylo Ren Is A Deconstruction Of Vader Aspirants
Vader copies are so prevalent that Star Wars itself eventually explored the trope. Kylo Ren, Vader’s grandson and the sequel trilogy’s villain, admires his grandfather’s Sith self. However, his greatest fear is that he can never live up to Vader, and it’s well-founded.
Even when he tries to forge his own path, he stumbles. The message is clear: no one should want to be like Darth Vader, and anyone who tries to will lead a life of only pain and misery.
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