Darth Vader (Star Wars 40th Anniversary)

Darth Vader, the dark lord of the Sith is one of the cinema's most iconic villains. The samurai-inspired armour and James Earl Jones' deep voice have excited and terrified generations of kids. There are times when I eschew more popular characters for the overlooked weirdos with whom I feel a deeper connection. This is not one of those times. Darth Vader is just too flippin' cool. He is probably the only Star Wars character of whom I have more than one action figure. I already spotlighted the smaller figure from the Star Wars Rebels line, and somewhere I have a more deluxe but still 3.75" scale Vader but this special edition 6" figure was too good to pass up. Especially since I managed to get the deluxe set with the retro figure display stand on sale over the holidays. The figure I'm sure is the same as the one released as part of the regular "Black Series" line but I wasn't paying attention to Star Wars figures then. Plus I thought the dark background of the space battle on the figure stand would be useful for figures that get lost in the white of my current set up. What I didn't really count on was the fact that the assembled stand is too wide to fit in my photo box. It's still cool and will fit on a shelf in my cabinet of collectibles.

"I find your lack of faith..."

"...DISTURBING..."

Breathing never sounded so sinister.

This is a replica of the figure stands that Kenner sold as part of the "Early Bird Certificate Package" when they realized they wouldn't be able to meet the demand for Star Wars toys by Christmas 1977.

It shows the original 12 action figures released in the first wave

The other side of the card shows an... interesting... interpretation of the battle with the Death Star.

"Draw pardner..."

"FWSSSHH!"

Vader Kick!

Sith splits!

Scene from an alternate ending to Return of the Jedi where Luke sides with the Emperor.

Vader and Obi-Wan's climactic final battle!

"I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan. We meet again at last"

"The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now I am the master."

"Only a master of evil Darth!"

"Wait... Didn't you have the hood up for this scene in the movie?"

"Oh right, thanks for the reminder. Continuity counts."

"Your powers are weak old man!"

"You can't win Darth. If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

"You should not have come back."

*Cue Imperial March*