If there's one person to fear in the Star Wars universe, it has to be Darth Vader. At least, that's what we thought before we watched the video we're about to show you below. Here now is Darth Vader's official kill count.
Mr. Sunday Movies did the due diligence in this round of bean counting, and the results are shocking to say the least. The count evaluates Darth Vader's ruthless pursuit of Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance; tallying every kill Lord Vader has made on screen. So what did we learn from this clip show? Well, Darth Vader made most of his kills during the events of A New Hope, with 8 kills credited to his record. Which is interesting, considering that Lord Vader's total kill count is only 11 bodies during Star Wars' original trilogy.
Apparently, Vader was so busy with the politics of the Galactic Empire, as well as learning he had two kids, that between The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, he only killed a whopping 3 people. That can't be right, can it? This is Darth Freaking Vader after all! The man was the scourge of the galaxy, wiping out the Jedi during his betrayal at the end of the Clone Wars. Of course, he went by a different name back then, and even Vader himself doesn't look too pleased to be reminded that once upon a time little Anakin "Annie" Skywalker was a pretty effective killer.
That's right, nitpickers! The Darth Vader Kill Count includes the many exploits of Anakin Skywalker, and that means that Darth Vader's overall rep is boosted – but at the cost of having to remember that the Prequel Trilogy exists. With 4 kills in The Phantom Menace, 21 confirmed in Attack Of The Clones, and 24 notches for Revenge Of The Sith - Vader's pre-transformation kill count is 49 bodies strong – one of which belongs to his loving wife, Padme. Once and for all, the cause of death on Anakin's lady love has been determined, and it sure as hell wasn't a broken heart.
So what have we learned from the Darth Vader Kill Count? Well, for starters, the theory that having kids mellows you out is apparently true in a galaxy far, far away; as our favorite Sith Lord killed way more people than he did after becoming more man than machine. Also, as much as we want to moan about how horrific the Prequels were, Anakin's actions are sadly essential to the mythos of his rise to power. At the very least, if we want to relive those essential plotlines, without having to dig up those copies of Episodes I – III that we own to "complete the set," we can either watch this video or partake in Star Wars: A Musical Journey - a special feature that's included on the soundtrack to Revenge Of The Sith. Don't worry about trying to dig that out of storage, as we have a link to that video here.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens gives Kylo Ren a chance to outdo Vader's high score on December 18th.
