Give yourself to the Dark Side

A recent delve into my geekish side, has revealed what I suspect to be an old fascination with the villain we all hate to love, Darth Vader. As a child watching the Star Wars movies, I was drawn to his voice (lent lovingly by James Earl Jones of course) and his cool demeanour (after all, how much emotion can one show in a metal black suit with dials), but really more interested in the cuddle appeal of Chewbacca.

But I revisited that old classic, which has spawned games, t-shirts, Lego sets (I admit my ownership of one or two of these with my own pocketable Darth with red glowing lightsabre attached), and again, my interest has perked. Perhaps because I need yet another distraction - perhaps? But no, I stand true to his appeal. It is his boots, his gloves, his anguish and his temper. Trying to translate him into a present-day setting is a little difficult and I can only imagine that we are simply drawn to his human-like qualities behind the mechanics, which manifest in fatherly concern, the desire for redemption, confusion, and conflict.

Ah, whatever it is. He is pretty cool.