Star Wars: The 10 best villains of the Skywalker Saga, ranked
By Scott Brown
2. Darth Vader
The most iconic villain in maybe the entirety of pop culture, Darth Vader deserves every ounce of recognition he gets. He’s the first true villain ever seen in Star Wars and the first introduction in the wider universe, the Force included. He’s an iconic villain in every sense of the word and no one will ever be able to take that title away from him.
Beyond just being iconic, Darth Vader is one of the most powerful and feared characters in the entirety of Star Wars. Everything from his imposing presence in A New Hope to his most recent appearances in various canon material, Vader has consistently been portrayed as more monster than man; a walking behemoth that would make even the most hardened fighters tremble in their boots.
It’s astonishing how much has been done with the character over the past forty-two years, and his character is almost always expanded upon in clever ways. Whether it’s simply by showing him to be the monster that he is in Star Wars Rebels or by showing a more contemplative side to the character in Thrawn: Alliances and Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith, he still continues to grow and become even more iconic.