The Three Faces of Darth Vader

the full fat podcast is back join me as i catch up on the latest episodes of the mandalorian and delve into concept art from the cancelled star wars battlefront 4. you can get it wherever you get your podcasts and there will be links provided in the description below now on to the video ever since i've known you you've been searching for a life greater than that of an ordinary something's happening i'm not the jedi i should be i want more i won't lose you part of it the fear of loss is a path to the dark side you're not all powerful well i should be they see your future they know your power will be too strong to control the chosen one the hero with no fear the fallen jedi the emperor's hands the man who was once anakin skywalker a man with many monikers darth vader is the most complex and multi-layered character of the entire star wars saga the prequel trilogy expanded his story significantly to of course explain anakin's tragic fall to the dark side of the force lucas was keen to make sure that both trilogies mirrored and paralleled each other but perhaps the most obvious surface difference is that vader remained the lead antagonistic presence across all three original trilogy movies in the prequels each respective villain was tossed aside to make way for their successor but upon closer examination it seems these three villains darth maul count dooku and general grievous have more in common with lord vader than it would initially seem in a star wars reddit post created just a few weeks after the release of star wars the force awakens on december 31 2015 user swz seemed to conceive the idea that vader was the sum of all three prequel villains i feel like all three prequel villains equal darth vader more the sealed saberist tyrannus the powerful force wielder and grievous the mechanical man on star wars newsnet's cantina forum on january 12 2017 user funny nightmare discussed the notion of the prequel villains as split versions of vader darth maul he is loyal obedient and in this film only he seems to have no motive or mind of his own he simply does as sidious commands him to he is also disregarded and replaced as soon as he is no further use as if he really was nothing more than a tool to be used count dooku he is the fallen jedi what ultimately made dooku fall to the dark side was not his doubts but the loss of his padawan qui-gon jinn it was when he lost his closest friend and apprentice that his transformation into a sith was complete just like how anakin fell at the loss of his wife padme general grievous a being who suffered wounds physical and mental so terrible that the only way he could live was to become a machine a cyborg he at the time was the ultimate jedi killer years later jedi and many others would fear vader in the same way as grievous was feared on june 30th 2018 reddit user tracer bullets noted three key ways each villain related to anakin skywalker including the key idea that he and maul were both coerced into giving away their agency and their freedoms in episode 1 anakin is seemingly freed from slavery but in actuality he gives up his moral agency to the jedi order this is reflected by darth maul who is wholly subservient to his master ten years later anakin begins to reject the jedi code he gives into passion and power over honor and order this is reflected by the fallen jedi count dooku finally in episode 3 anakin loses his humanity slaughtering hundreds even within his own order this is reflected by the ruthless cyborg general grievous what further parallels can be drawn between sidious's four horsemen how does the tall the jedi and the cyborg feed into palpatine's ultimate victory what is it in the visuals dialogue performances and the construction of story that proves this idea runs throughout each prequel movie i was apprenticed to the most powerful being in the galaxy once at last we will reveal ourselves to the jedi at last we will have revenge [Music] tracer bullets specifically mentions anakin and mall being coded as slaves to their respective orders maul was taken by palpatine on his home world of dathomir and raised as a warrior a fate not too dissimilar to anakin taken by qui-gon on his homeworld of tatooine and raised as a warrior himself anakin's induction into the jedi as a neat juxtaposition with maul's induction into the sith and his tenure as palpatine's apprentice it's an interesting take to suggest that like maul anakin was not freed and given the promise of a better life but subjugated under the mantra of a rigid and in some ways oppressive code is these rules and restrictions that drive anakin to marry the love of his life padme in secret a buried truth that would go on to tear him apart for both warriors the orders they join are not the idealized and perfect organizations they were led to believe maul is tossed aside after his defeat on naboo replaced by darth tyranus and left to rot for over a decade his intense hatred of his former master would carry on right up until his death hoping that luke will be the chosen one who can destroy the emperor he will avenge us anakin 2 is betrayed by palpatine but doesn't get the luxury of being freed like maul does he instead pays the price at his master's side for decades as the emperor's fist maul anakin are both utilized by palpatine as blunt force instruments as he watches and waits in the shadows his young warrior apprentices keep his hands clean by plunging their own into chaos maul is sent to naboo only to be defeated and crushed by kenobi palpatine is the one to give the order for the jedi to be killed but it is anakin who goes to the temple and carries out the bloodshed it is anakin who is forced to slaughter a room full of children the notions that maul and anakin are both slaves to the jedi and the sith as well as becoming personal puppets of palpatine are compelling parallels but i think there's also something to be said for their shared traits of overconfidence aggression and hubris maul's aggression and overconfidence are his downfall it's no coincidence that the way in which obi-wan defeats maul and anakin are mirrors of the two obi-wan is arguably outmatched at both points in his life as a padawan against the mighty maul and as well anyone going up against the chosen one really and yet kenobi uses their own hubris against them both maul and anakin believe the fight is over and that their victory over kenobi is inevitable they believe kenobi has underestimated them when it is in fact kenobi who has been underestimated you underestimate my power don't try it this is why he still manages to beat maul when maul has the higher ground and just as a little cherry on top i'd say this idea is key to maul across the expanded material that goes beyond the movies his rage never subsides he never grows beyond this prevalent need to seek revenge on the man who bested him both maul and vader have an ego driven needs to best kenobi in combat because of the defeats they suffered by his blade when i left you i was but a learner now i am the master look what has become of you a rat in the desert they have to assert their superiority over kenobi because deep down they know that's all they have it's also key to understanding in part why anakin managed to save himself and return to the light he lets the anger go in the end but maul remains that version of himself right up until his final choice and he pays the ultimate price it is obvious that this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of force and by our skills as you see my jedi powers are far beyond yours back down darth tyranus is probably the most unique of all the sith where most dark side users channel their anger and passion more overtly often relishing the opportunity to feed off of the pain and torment they caused dooku appeared far more reserved and focused dooku is cunning but charming his oft one-handed proficiency of the lightsaber echoed by vader at the height of his dark side powers [Music] whilst he does indeed work from the shadows he prefers to use his real name rather than his sith title of darth he touches the dark side and channels his anger but it doesn't appear to take a strain on his body dooku is never claimed by the disturbing sith yellow eye he left the jedi order because of his political leanings and uses the dark side as a tool for his own ends rather than becoming completely immersed in its corrupting addictive power vader shares dooku's elegance he shares with him the facade that he is reasonable this is a mistake a terrible mistake they've gone too far this is madness in empire vader strikes a deal with lando that is entirely hollow the deal means nothing and both of them know it but vader pontificates anyway i am altering the deal pray i don't offer it any further when dooku isn't given what he wants from obi-wan he delivers a thinly veiled threat it may be difficult to secure your release vader and dooku never fully drop all pretense it would be unfortunate all the sith have unique and beautiful fashions but it is vader and dooku that share the most dna they stride reserved and measured so powerful that they can afford to fight with strong precise movements alongside an onslaught of force powers not to mention sweet as [ __ ] apes in an arresting piece of concept art for episode 3 this design for anakin which was ultimately unused seemed to bridge the look between ex-jedi dooku and sith cyborg vader was anakin at one point set to take dooku's cape as a trophy following their fateful duel on the invisible hand dooku helps to show the idea of the jedi as fallible and arrogant in their own abilities the arc that we witness anakin go through in revenge of the sith is not too dissimilar to what dooku experienced when he left the jedi order anakin wants to join palpatine in the vain hope he can stop the terrible prophecy surrounding padme but he's also disillusioned with the council and frustrated they seem to treat him with disdain take a seat young skywalker he's not ready to become a master but skywalker has always tried to run before he can walk i am [Music] qui-gon got anakin into the order because he had the conviction to push through some of the more archaic thinking of the jedi council he was a jedi ahead of his time but clearly his willingness to challenge the order of things is something that was passed down to him by his master dooku a deleted scene from attack of the clones details dooku's departure i never understood why he quit well one might say he was always a bit out of step with the decisions of the council much like your old master kwai konjin in the end i think he left because he lost faith in the republic obi-wan was certain that qui-gon jinn would never have followed in his master dooku's footsteps then again he was certain anakin would never let him down either i don't think i could ever see qui-gon turning to the dark side but leaving the order the seeds were sown in his final days if dooku marks the start of a chain of disillusionment with the jedi way of thinking qui-gon continues it and anakin is the decided end game to that cycle qui-gon dies for it anakin kills for it the circle is now complete unlike the other faces of vader obi-wan kenobi doesn't have a dedicated rivalry of dooku across the movies instead that honor goes to anakin himself my powers have doubled since the last time we met count i've always found it interesting that kenobi has managed to best maul grievous vader but he struggles with taking on dooku in both attack of the clones and revenge of the sith there's something about count dooku that vexes the clone war general [Music] kenobi can easily comprehend the fortitude and will that is required to fight a sith lord or a dark warrior but an ex-jedi for a member of the order as loyal and attuned of the light side of the forces kenobi maybe that is a path he finds difficult to contend with anakin follows dooku down the same path and kenobi determines his old padawan's fall as his greatest failing failing to best dooku in lightsaber combat was the warm-up for taking on an ex-jedi of his own making i've been looking forward to this dooku was once the man anakin was destroying him would mean getting the chance to tangibly confront the part of him that still lingers inside his own heart his jedi nature killing anakin is the chance to burn that out completely you have hate you have anger but you don't use them like anakin dooku is frustrated by the bureaucracy of the jedi council believing that they are ultimately an ineffective peacekeeping organization they are too interested in the politics of the senate and their power within that complex seemingly above their responsibility to safeguard the residents of the galaxy of course one key point of difference between skywalker and dooku would be their circumstances anakin was born a penniless slave his mother and he having no one else but each other dooku's early life saw the inverse was true he was born a nobleman but was quickly discarded by his despotic father he had means but no love in his life it would not be until he returned to his home planet of sorrento that he would begin to take full advantage of his financial advantages but there's no doubt that dooku's lofty status would have only bred his entitlement anakin defies the council because he came from nothing and he knows what it feels like when people are forgotten by the republic dooku is the heir of a powerful aristocratic dynasty and carries the arrogance that comes with it into every decision he makes feeling it is his place to decide the fate of the little people not to mention dooku had the privilege to fall back on his wealth when leaving the order it's a brave decision to leave no doubt but how many jedi attempted to leave would actually be able to do so without familial footing to fall back on and finally perhaps most crucially he allows himself to become a pawn of palpatine dooku is rendered speechless when he finds himself at the mercy of anakin skywalker and his master makes no attempt to save his life whatsoever he goads anakin into killing dooku and the ex-jedi realizes all too late that his life only mattered to shiv so long as he was useful the irony here is that anakin gets to watch all of this unfold and when the truth is later revealed he is unable to see how he too is the next piece on the board to be moved like dooku he is so blinded by what he wants to possess and maintain that he is willing to sell his soul to the devil years later he would come to realize this but rather than fight it vader merely resides himself to his fate he knows that palpatine is grooming luke to be his next apprentice and that he will likely meet his end just as dooku did perhaps if qui-gon jinn had still been alive someone would have been able to pull dooku back to salvation the same way luke did for his father christopher lee is perfect casting for the star wars universe hailing from hammer horror royalty lee asked for his lightsaber hilt to be curved to better reflect his own fencing prowess and famously here's a fact you already know but if i don't mention it i will get comments about it like last time lee told peter jackson what it actually sounded like for a man to be stabbed in the back from his experience during world war ii at the ministry of and gentlemanly warfare count dooku is legit lee was the first choice to play grand moff tarkin back in the day luckily we got the late great peter cushing and lee ended up playing one of the most unique sith lords in star wars canon dooku is responsible for anakin's first step towards becoming more machine the man [Music] but it is in revenge of the sith where vader's cyborg essence is more closely examined [Music] general grievous the droid commander jedi killer cyborg in the final installment of the prequel trilogy it's fitting that we are introduced to a cyborg who is once fully organic it is of course no coincidence that he coughs and splutters a more frenzied mirror to vader's iconic breathing lucas did this in both instances to remind us of the organic creature hidden inside of these largely cybernetic looks but i think he also reflects the weakness invader in spite of having four arms each of a lightsaber and being taught in the jedi arts he is quickly dispatched by obi-wan and forced to flee he is no match for the force equally the cyborg body holds vader back too he is never fully able to learn from the treasure trove of sif's specific abilities like lightning his movement is restricted general grievous's connection to vader serves as a dark prophecy for the tragedy that will befall the newly christened dark lord grievous is no droid he is a member of the alien species the kalish his transformation occurred in a life or death situation that was secretly orchestrated by dooku himself from out of the shuttle crash the grievous we know was born the parallels to vader's origin are obvious both are transformed into cyborgs against their will in an effort to manipulate and control them under the guise that their lives are being saved george lucas has openly stated it was his intention with general grievous i wanted somebody who is reminiscent of what anakin is going to become which is a half-man half-robot in this case grievous is sort of 20 alien and 80 robot although it should be noted that this was later contradicted in the clone wars tv series which chose to imply grievous was gradually enhancing his body by choice to go toe-to-toe with the jedi thus muddying the waters of his vader connection somewhat as with maul it is no coincidence that grievous's primary nemesis in his respective movie is obi-wan kenobi between fighting maul dooku and grievous kenobi has been training to fight anakin skywalker his whole life he just didn't know it however grievous is more of a coward he's unable to sit still he moves like an insect i've always thought four lightsabers is a little excessive and over the top but i do think they reflect his character well grievous is all about pumping up his chest and putting on a show to hide his cowardly nature four lightsabers are an intimidating visual but he has little real skill enough to kill jedi sure but not enough to prove anything but a nuisance for a milk machine like general kenobi [Music] where grievous and dooku intercepts to create vader vader takes on dooku's power and security leaving behind grievous's insecurity and cowardice grievous his personality translates the least to the characterization of vader but he does take with him his military strategy and commanding presence a leader of one of the most powerful military forces in the galaxy a cyborg losing touch with their humanity but vader is a far more headstrong and powerful destructive force grievous went through a whole host of different versions the art department giving george a variety of different species ages and palettes for the droid general when a series of alien and robot looks became amalgamated george spearheaded the idea that the character would be a cyborg thus tying his creation to the central thread of the movie [Music] at one point gary oldman was approached for the role but ended up turning it down in the end supervising sound editor matthew wood led his own voice to the character not bad for a lad that started out as a game tester for lucasarts eh what a badass even though lucas opted to give each episode in the prequel trilogy a new antagonist they work in tandem to emphasize anakin's arduous early life and tragic downfall cleverly i think it also means that the essence of vader the themes of his character are present across all six movies anakin is always present behind that metal mask because of luke and leia in the original trilogy in turn vader always lingers inside the heart of a young anakin and is represented by maul dooku and grievous in the prequel trilogy i think it just further exemplifies the point i made in my palpatine essay last year that the construction of the prequel trilogy and the themes it delves into are strong but it is the execution of these ideas the dialogue the effects the performances that come to hinder them in the long run as complete cinematic packages the build up to get vader at the end of revenge of the sith is there across all three movies anakin has rage he questions the jedi code and ultimately becomes more machine than man the prequel villains might not be as great as vader but they do equal him in a manner of speaking i've just started making digital art on instagram if you like my thumbnails and want to see me do more photoshops now i post daily please consider giving me a follow you'll get access to updates regarding the channel as well as unused thumbnail designs doctors as jedi all kinds of crazy stuff it's gonna be a lot of fun i'd appreciate it the star wars tracks in this video were very kindly provided by samuel kim music you can check out some of his awesome tracks over his channel the details of which are in the description below hi guys matt here thank you for watching another full fat video don't forget to click that subscribe button and hit the bell so you know when a new video drops if you'd like to get in touch with me why not follow me on twitter at full fat videos or on instagram at full underscore fat underscore videos a big personal thank you to our full fat tia patrons dr cheeky jax merrick and cyrus sulker your ongoing support keeps the lights on until next time keep it full fat

Channel: Full Fat Videos

Views: 699,291

Keywords: the three faces of vader, the three faces of darth vader, full fat videos, star wars prequels video essay, anakin vs dooku, star wars, best star wars, sith explained, star wars video essay, revenge of the sith, star wars theory, anakin skywalker analysis, anakin vs count dooku, obi wan vs anakin, greatest lightsaber duel, greatest lightsaber duel ever, palpatine explained, darth maul explained, count dooku explained, General grievous explained, Darth vader explained

Id: disltyt9W6E

Length: 23min 25sec (1405 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 19 2020