If you’ve ventured through our blog before you will know that I am a big Star Wars fan. Before the explosive hype about the newest Star Wars sets in I thought I would take a moment to reflect on my favourite characters Star Wars has given us.
5. Darth Maul
Just like many die hard Star Wars lovers, I am not a fan of the prequel trilogy for reasons I don’t need to put into writing. However, I do think The Phantom Menace wasn’t quite as bad as the other two because of Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul. Qui-Gon was damn cool and a very close to making this list but in the end Darth Maul is, in my opinion, the best part of the prequel trilogy.
This might be because he didn’t say anything and so didn’t ruin it with some rubbish dialogue, but for whatever reason I thought he was a brilliant character because he looked evil and moved with purpose. Apart from the fact that he nearly took down two Jedi Masters at the same time, he resonated with everything we needed from a new Sith character.
I think that Darth Maul is as close as we have come to having a character as deliciously evil and bad-ass as Darth Vader.
4. Han Solo
Han Solo was the guy every guy wanted to be. The rugged and slightly rude Space Pirate who can’t help but become a hero despite his best efforts. He was a great pilot, good shot and Wookie interpreter and clearly wasn’t too afraid to get his hands dirty.
The whole “who shot first” argument was in my mind a rather stupid endeavour. We all know that Han shot first but it didn’t make us like him any less. Hero’s aren’t always going to be good upstanding citizens especially when we already know they worked as a smuggler for a crime boss. I always assumed Han had probably killed people in questionable circumstances before, but this made his decision to join the rebellion all the more meaningful. He put a life of crime and selfishness behind him to aid in defeating evil.
I think one of the best things about the original trilogy is that it focuses on 3 great characters who could easily be the lead of the films, of course now we are getting an independent film for Han Solo which I think is a questionable choice. We have already had Darth Vader’s back story buggerised, maybe they should leave the existing characters alone and explore the vast universe they have created.
3. Princess Leia Organa
Princess Leia managed to be both a feminist icon and sex symbol at the same time. She didn’t take any crap from anyone and certainly didn’t need any help from the men around her (apart from to escape the Death Star). If you think about it, she pretty much organised the destruction of the Death Star and the downfall of the Empire as well as having the potential to become a Jedi Master.
It is hinted in the films that Princess Leia had just as much to become the main hero of the story as Luke did and in some ways it is a bit of a shame that she didn’t. Unfortunately The Force Awakens didn’t really add a huge amount to her Character other than, like everyone in Star Wars, she is a rubbish parent.
Princess Leia was a huge part of what made the original Star Wars trilogy great, and not just because of the Gold Bikini.
2. Luke Skywalker
Luke is a given in this list, but I couldn’t bring myself to give him the top spot, i will explain why in a bit.
Luke is the humble beginnings story we all want to believe in. Wide eyed farm boy goes off to become a sexless telekinetic space ninja, defeat evil and get a robot hand, you know, the real classic stuff.
Luke's story very much seems like "fate" thrust him into greatness, but I always liked watching the scenes from the first film where he wanted to go off and join the rebellion and managed to blow up the Death Star without his lineage really having a whole lot to do with it.
Who knows what Luke is up to in the next films and that is really the bit i want to hear about, but I'm not going to pin all my hopes on it because hes clearly having some kind of Jedi mope for years on a random planet. The fact that he defeated the Empire and then sulked while the Empire 2.0 took over is a little questionable.
Luke's Return of the Jedi entrance is really how I think of cool and when he escapes the Sarlacc pit concretes that for me.
1. Darth Vader
To make this clear, this is not Anakin Skywalker from any of the prequel trilogy I am talking about, this is purely original trilogy Vader.
Darth Vader is the villain that all others will be compared too. He oozed classic evil with a long black cape and that infamous breathing, nearly everything about him was memorable.
I loved that when deciding to kill a useless Imperial he wouldn't tell the others to make sure they don't fail him, just give the guy next to him a promotion. Also, he wouldn't waste effort with his Lightsaber unless it was actually necessary and just magic choke them instead.
Like all real bad guys he wasn't all bad, in the end it was him who finally defeated the Emperor, therefore completing his journey as both the villain and hero of the story.
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