Great Villain Showdown: The Final Match! [The Winner is..]

[Mad Hatter]

Though I do have to say that its very interesting that only among geeks does there seem to be any dispute as to Darth Vader NOT being the ultimate villain.

We are a sad lot my friend. Actually, I like to believe it's because I'm smarter than the common man that has no use for such exercises.

And also, my last word (hopefully, I'm optimistic at least ) Lucas, to me is inconsistent a little bit on his take of Vader/Anakin. The prequels really and truly muddy up the waters on how he feels about it. I choose to believe that Anakin is a part of Vader, otherwise it's just a giant cop out and the impact of the Dark and Light side of the Force is lost. I like the Vader/Anakin dichotomy. It's what makes him a good character and to deny one to validate the other is somewhat silly to me. He was Light then he was Dark and then he was Light again.

 

[takyris]

AM-Guard: Lucas is welcome to say whatever he likes, but I also believe that Peter Parker is Spider-man, Bruce Wayne is Batman, and Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader. A lot of people get bolder and more aggressive when given the comfort of a mask.

And man, if you could take the good things you've done and declare that THOSE things are done by you, whereas the evil things you did were actually done by another person, you could get off the hook for, well, anything, in Lucas-land.

"Yes, right up until I killed the kittens and set fire to the orphanage, I was me. But when I did that, I became Darth Corrigible, so all of that stuff -- the murder, the arson, the destruction of entire worlds -- all of that can be blamed on him. I'm back to being me, though, now, so no worries."

If only Shakespeare had done it like that:

Hamlet: My blade twists sharp and lively in my hand,
Which trembles, womanish, before the deed,
Minerva's wit and Hermes' speed command,
But 'tis no longer my will thou willst heed.
Thine former owner Hamlet stands here dead,
And Darth Convenience guides the blade instead!

(Darth Convenience kills Claudius)

 

[Mad Hatter]

Takyris, thank you. Thank you a lot. I could not have said it better.

 

[Kelek72]

Joker

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

BOTH are very evil concepts, but to some its simply true that chaos is more terrifying than betrayal.

Needlessly metaphysical. You're distilling it down too much. I nominated Arthas, the Betrayer. I get why Dante stuck Betrayers in the deepest Pit. Generally speaking, betrayers are more evil in my mind than raving loons. But, as a person, the Joker is scarier than Vader. I'd rather be fighting Vader. I'd rather lose to Vader, because the most he's likely to take from me is my life.

 

[johnsemlak]

Vader

 

[johnsemlak]

AM-Guard: Lucas is welcome to say whatever he likes, but I also believe that Peter Parker is Spider-man, Bruce Wayne is Batman, and Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader. A lot of people get bolder and more aggressive when given the comfort of a mask.

And man, if you could take the good things you've done and declare that THOSE things are done by you, whereas the evil things you did were actually done by another person, you could get off the hook for, well, anything, in Lucas-land.

Uh, we're talking fantasy here, not real life. If Lucas wants to say that Anakin died when he turned to the dark side, then was raised from the dead by his son, why not accept that? Just because it sounds like some convenient formula that could only happen in a Fantasy roleplaying game?

 

[johnsemlak]

Though I do have to say that its very interesting that only among geeks does there seem to be any dispute as to Darth Vader NOT being the ultimate villain.

I think Vader may be just a tad more iconic, more well-known per say. Bigger brand name.

 

[Aris Dragonborn]

Vader

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

This is too hard for me to think about it, as they are both possibly my favorite villans. So I'm going to just go with my gut and vote...

Darth Vader