11 Reasons Darth Vader Was Terrible at Being a Villain

Darth Vader might be the most iconic villain in movie history. The helmet, the breathing, the voice, the lightsaber: he walks into a room and everybody starts reconsidering their career choices. But here's something Star Wars fans don't like talking about. When you look at his track record, Vader was terrible at his job.

He couldn't catch the rebels, couldn't turn his own son to the dark side, kept murdering his employees, and eventually killed his own boss. I've counted down 11 reasons he sucked at being a villain, and the closer we get to number one, the worse his resume gets.

11. Vader couldn't protect the Empire's Death Stars

The Empire spent an unbelievable amount of time building the Death Star, a moon-sized battle station capable of destroying entire planets. Vader was one of the most powerful people in the Empire, in the universe, and somehow he ended up seeing the thing explode.

I'm not blaming him for the exhaust port. That was not his design. But during the Battle of Yavin, Vader personally went to stop the rebel attack. He got knocked out of the fight by the Millennium Falcon and saw Luke Skywalker destroy the station.

Then they built another one. You would think the Empire might have learned something the first time, but apparently the solution to losing a giant space station was to build another giant space station. Vader was there for that one too. Two Death Stars, two explosions, zero successful defenses, and somehow this guy was still considered upper management. I don't get it.

10. Vader couldn't get the rebel base location out of Princess Leia

In A New Hope, Vader captured Princess Leia, had her imprisoned aboard the Death Star, interrogated her, and still couldn't get the location of the Rebel base. Leia deserves credit here. She's incredibly tough, and Vader was not dealing with somebody who could break easily.

But think about what happens. The Empire has to threaten an entire planet before Leia gives a location, and even then, she lies. Vader is supposed to be this terrifying interrogator who can reach into people's minds with the Force, and he can't get the information he needs from one prisoner.

This wasn't the last time his intimidation failed to produce results, which brings me to something Vader was very good at: making everybody who worked for him miserable.

9. Vader kept killing his own officers

Imagine showing up to work knowing that one mistake could get you strangled by your boss from across the room. That's what serving under Vader was like. One admiral brings the fleet out of hyperspace too close to Hoth, ruining the element of surprise. Vader kills him. The captain who loses the Millennium Falcon personally comes aboard to apologize. Vader kills him.

And in The Empire Strikes Back, Admiral Piett spends half the movie looking like he is one bad status report away from becoming a floor decoration.

Fear can certainly motivate people, but there's a difference between maintaining discipline and creating an environment where everybody's terrified to tell you something went wrong. You need experienced officers to run a galactic military, and Vader keeps removing them from the payroll. The Empire didn't need a better human resources department. It needed one that could survive a meeting with Vader.

8. Han Solo made Vader look ridiculous at Yavin

Back at the Battle of Yavin, Vader is flying his advanced TIE fighter through the Death Star trench, personally hunting down the rebel pilots trying to destroy the station. He's already taken out several fighters. Luke is directly in front of him, and he's got the shot lined up. Then Solo shows up.

One smuggler flying a modified freighter comes screaming into the fight, attacks Vader's wingman, and suddenly the most feared pilot in the Empire is spinning helplessly into space. Han didn't directly shoot Vader down. One of Vader's wingmen collides with his fighter while trying to evade the attack, but that almost makes it funnier.

Vader survived countless battles and became one of the most dangerous Force users alive, and he got taken out of the most important fight of his career because his own wingman crashed into him. Meanwhile, Luke blows up the Death Star. That's rough.

7. Vader won on Hoth but still let the rebels escape

The Empire finally discovers the rebel base on Hoth. There are Star Destroyers, walkers, thousands of troops, overwhelming firepower and awesome looking snowtroopers. This should be a complete disaster for the Rebel Alliance. This should be the end.

To be fair, the Empire wins the ground battle. The base is lost and the rebels are forced to evacuate. But here's the problem: the rebels get away with much of their leadership and personnel. Leia escapes. Han escapes. Luke escapes. The Empire destroys the base but fails to eliminate the organization operating out of it.

Remember, Vader's primary objective isn't capturing territory. He wants Skywalker. So after bringing an enormous military force to Hoth, Vader ends up chasing the Millennium Falcon across the galaxy while Luke heads to Dagobah. He wins the battle and still doesn't get the people he came for. It's starting to become a theme.

6. Obi-Wan Kenobi outplayed Vader one last time

In A New Hope, Vader finally gets the rematch he's been waiting for for 20 years. Well, technically the second rematch. Obi-Wan Kenobi is the man who defeated him on Mustafar and left him horribly injured, did it again in the Obi-Wan series, and helped set him on the path to becoming the walking life support system we know.

Vader finally has him cornered aboard the Death Star, and that's what makes this interesting. Obi-Wan realizes Luke and the others are escaping. He sees them near the hangar. He smiles and lowers his lightsaber, and Vader strikes him down.

Technically, Vader wins. Obi-Wan's dead. But Obi-Wan accomplishes exactly what he needed to. He distracts Vader long enough for the others to get away, and his death allowed him to continue guiding Luke through the Force. Vader got his revenge, but Obi-Wan got the bigger victory. Imagine waiting 20 years to settle the score, thinking you've won, and the other guy still gets the last laugh. The next failure is even worse, because Vader practically hands his enemies the information they need.

5. Vader couldn't keep his own identity secret on Cloud City

One of the biggest mysteries in the original Star Wars trilogy is the identity of Darth Vader. He's this terrifying masked enforcer of the Empire. Nobody knows what he looks like underneath, and his past is something he desperately wants to leave behind. Then he captures Luke on Cloud City, and what does he do? Tells him everything.

Vader has a reason. He wants Luke to join him, overthrow the Emperor and run the galaxy together. But consider the situation. Luke hates him. Vader has just cut off his hand. His friends are in danger. And Vader decides this is the perfect moment to reveal that he's Luke's dad. That's the sales pitch: I know I just tried to kill you, but have you considered joining the family business?

Luke responds by throwing himself down a giant shaft rather than accepting the offer. Vader reveals his biggest secret and gets nothing in return.

4. Vader was Palpatine's personal attack dog

For somebody who spends so much time talking about power, Vader doesn't have much control over his own life. Palpatine gives the orders and Vader carries them out. It's not a temporary arrangement. Vader spends more than 20 years serving the man who manipulated him into betraying everything he once believed in.

Palpatine used Vader's fear, his guilt and his anger to make him obedient, and he even makes it clear that Vader is replaceable. Vader knows what kind of person Palpatine is. This is the guy who convinced Anakin that the Jedi were holding him back, promised him the power to save Padmé, helped him turn into the very thing he once swore to destroy, and then told him, "I don't have the power, but we'll find it together."

Vader occasionally plots against his master, but he never manages to overthrow him while remaining loyal to the dark side. He is one of the strongest Force users in the galaxy, and he's still taking orders from the same old guy who ruined his life. That makes the next entry even more embarrassing.

3. Vader couldn't turn his own son Luke to the dark side

Vader spent a significant portion of the original trilogy trying to turn Luke, and from his perspective, Luke should have been the perfect candidate. He's powerful in the Force. He's emotional. He's impatient. He has attachments. He's terrified of losing the people he loves. Sound familiar? Vader knows exactly how those weaknesses can be exploited, because Palpatine did it to him.

So he tries everything. He threatens Luke's friends. He reveals their family connection. He offers him power and even suggests they overthrow the Emperor together. Luke still refuses. In Return of the Jedi, Vader brings Luke directly to Palpatine, where the Emperor attempts to finish the job himself, and that doesn't work either. Luke throws away his lightsaber and declares himself a Jedi.

Vader had years to manipulate Luke, and somehow Luke ends up being the one who changes him. That is a pretty spectacular role reversal. And if you think that's bad, Vader's greatest failures started before he ever put the helmet on.

2. Almost everything Anakin wanted, he destroyed himself

This is where Vader goes from being an ineffective villain to being one of the most tragic characters in Star Wars. Think about what Anakin wanted. He wanted to protect the people he loved. He wanted to save Padmé. He wanted enough power that nobody could ever take his family away from him again.

We know his choices helped destroy almost everything he was trying to protect. He betrayed the Jedi, murdered innocent people, helped Palpatine establish the Empire and attacked Padmé on Mustafar. He wanted to save his wife, and instead he became someone she was terrified of. He wanted freedom from the limitations of the Jedi Order, and he ended up enslaved to an even more controlling master.

The guy wanted power to prevent death, but he spent the rest of his life trapped inside a mechanical suit keeping him alive. That's the terrible irony of Darth Vader: the more power he gained, the less control he had. For somebody who supposedly embraced the dark side to get everything he wanted, I think he ended up with almost nothing.

1. Vader saved the galaxy from his own boss

I think the single biggest reason Vader sucked at being a villain has to be this one. After more than 20 years serving the Emperor, hunting Jedi, terrorizing the galaxy and helping maintain the Empire, Vader gets the opportunity to prove his loyalty one last time. Luke has refused to turn to the dark side, Palpatine is attacking him with Force lightning, and Vader has a choice. He could stand there and let the Emperor kill his son, or he could turn against the man he spent decades serving.

We know what happens. Vader picks up Palpatine and throws him down the reactor shaft. Later Star Wars stories complicate what happened to Palpatine after that, but in Return of the Jedi, Vader's decision saves Luke, ends the Emperor's immediate reign and helps bring down the Empire.

Think about that. The Empire's most feared enforcer spends decades hunting down its enemies, only to become the guy who turns on the Emperor at the most important moment. The rebels spent years fighting the Empire. Luke spent years learning to become a Jedi. And in the end, Darth Vader himself makes the decision that changes everything. He doesn't get a promotion. He doesn't take the throne. He doesn't rule the galaxy. He saves his son, and then he dies.

That's what makes Vader such a fascinating character to me: for all the terrible things he did, the one thing Palpatine could never completely destroy was Anakin Skywalker. Does that erase everything Vader did? No. He was responsible for some horrific things, and one final act of redemption doesn't magically undo decades of suffering. But as a villain, he failed his master, betrayed the Empire and saved the person he was supposed to help destroy. I think that's a pretty impressive way, I guess, to lose your job.

And before anybody gets too upset, I think he's one of the greatest villains ever created. That's what makes a list like this so much fun.