Darth Vader Clone: Difference between revisions

Being one of the most iconic film franchises of all time, ''[[Star Wars]]'' has proven to be a major influence on many aspiring creators since the release of ''A New Hope'' back in 1977. Its vast array of characters, [[Cool Starships]], aliens, and [[Laser Blade|weapons]] have all ingrained themselves in pop culture, with one of the biggest standouts being [[Big Bad|Darth Vader]]. Perhaps the living embodiment of [[Evil Is Cool]], the iconic dark lord of the Sith captivated millions with his threatening presence, menacing voice, and surprising depth as a character once his familial ties to [[The Hero|Luke Skywalker]] were revealed. So unsurprisingly, he'd become a ''huge'' [[Fountain of Expies]] as the years passed, with many villains following in his footsteps.

While a '''Darth Vader Clone''' won't display ''all'' of the following traits, more than a few will definitely be present. These include:

* Wearing a life support mask or something similar.

* Being a [[Tin Tyrant]] who favors [[Black Knight|dark armor]], or at least black clothes in a more grounded setting.

* Wearing an [[Badass Cape|awesome-looking cape]].

* Having [[Archnemesis Dad|familial ties to a heroic member of the cast]], naturally leading to a [[Luke, I Am Your Father]] moment.

* Being a [[Fallen Hero]].

* Sometimes being [[The Dragon]] instead of the [[Big Bad]], often serving as the terrifying muscle to a less direct, manipulative [[Bigger Bad]].

* Having complex motivations that make him/her more of an [[Anti-Villain]], although still somewhat dark.

* [[Evil Sounds Deep|Speaking in a really deep voice.]]

* Being a [[Magic Knight]], sometimes literally.

* Being the former [[A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil|pupil of the resident mentor figure.]] Bonus points if [[Mentor Occupational Hazard|they kill said mentor figure.]]

* [[Hair-Trigger Temper|Having a ''very'' short fuse]]. While they may present a stoic front, their powers will often be strengthened by anger and hatred (if not outright stemming from it), and they'll often kill their minions for pissing them off in any way.

* [[We Can Rule Together|Extending an olive branch to the hero in a bid to rule with them at their side.]]

* Having a tragic past where their fall into villainy stems from losing a loved one, such as a parent or spouse.

* Wielding an ''awesome'', iconic weapon, often some sort of [[Cool Sword]].

* Redeeming themselves, [[Redemption Equals Death|often at the cost of their life]].

[[Fountain of Expies|Not surprisingly]], many characters of this type are found in ''[[Star Wars]]'' canon itself since many writers want to have a Vader of their own. Funnily enough, the vast majority of these tend to predate Vader in the timeline, making ''him'' an [[Expy]] of a common Sith archetype in-universe. See also [[May the Farce Be with You]] and [[Vader Breath]].

** Kylo Ren from the sequel trilogy deliberately models himself after Vader, and is even {{spoiler|his grandson}} to boot. He wears a similar ensemble, wields a unique crossguard lightsaber of his own, and has anger issues even worse than Vader's to the point of throwing violent tantrums at the drop of a hat. {{spoiler|He even gets his own [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to atone for his crimes}}.

* Dark Helmet from ''[[Spaceballs]]'', who's a goofy parody played by the very non-threatening Rick Moranis.

* Zurg from ''[[Toy Story 2]]''. Him being an evil emperor ''technically'' makes him closer to Palpatine, but his [[Tin Tyrant]] appearance, [[Evil Sounds Deep|menacing voice]], and badass weapon (a [[BFG]] instead of a [[Laser Blade]] in his case) all invoke Vader, same with him dropping a [[Luke, I Am Your Father]]-style bombshell of his own on Buzz Lightyear.

== Literature ==

== Live Action TV ==

* ''[[Fire Emblem: Three Houses]]'' has a few. Fittingly, they're associated with an evil emperor.

** The Death Knight is a very straightforward example of this trope, being a terrifying knight clad in skeletal black armor with a hellishly deep voice filtered through his helmet. He's a brutally powerful combatant that you shouldn't even ''think'' of fighting directly early in the game, and serves as the muscle of the Flame Emperor's army. He's also related to one of the heroes: {{spoiler|Mercedes of the Blue Lions}}. More specifically, he's {{spoiler|her handsome and mentally troubled younger brother Emile, who became a twisted serial killer after suffering from a psychotic break in the aftermath of killing his abusive family.}}

** {{spoiler|Should you choose to side with Edelgard (the emperor of Adrestia and the Flame Emperor's true identity) during a Black Eagles playthrough, [[The Hero|Byleth]] becomes something of a Vader Clone. He/she's the chief enforcer of the emperor's will, was born under unusual circumstances, and wields a glowing [[Cool Sword]] in battle. You even get your own [[Revenge of the Sith|Order 66]] moment where you lead an armed assault on a holy temple housing your students and colleagues, though you don't kill them until later in the game. Since Rhea, the archbishop was hoping to train up Byleth as her successor, he/she even counts as [[A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil|as a wayward pupil that turned to villainy]].}}