Yes, I mentioned Star Wars in a previous post. Yes, there is another Star Wars movie that will be released in a week or so. Yes, social media is blowing up over “baby Yoda” memes from the Disney+ streaming series “The Mandalorian”. Whether you like it or not, the force is all around all of us.
All of this brings up the question…who is the greatest Star Wars character of all time?
As Tammy and I ate supper tonight, a Star Wars commercial came on. I posed this question to her. And she answered rather quickly & decisively. This shocked me. She hasn’t watched all of the movies, neither likes nor dislikes the movies, loves the fact that her daughter loves her current job (COOL) but otherwise could care less.
Her answer–YODA. I asked why? “Because he is a good guy and everybody knows that he is good.”
But he actually only appears in 5 of the movies. #1? Maybe.
We aren’t going to mess with a bunch of obscure characters that only appear in a couple of scenes, here and there. For that matter, don’t expect Boba Fett to make this list. I don’t care if they are making a whole series around this character. He does not make the story. However, he might make the stories better.
13. tie Lando Calrissian & Kylo Ren–both are kind of cool, kind of creepy and bring key notes to the stories.
12. Emperor Palpatin–one evil SOB. I don’t like him but you have to have this creep for the story. As sneaky, evil, manipulative and bat crap sorry as he is, I’m pretty sure that he is now part of the impeachment panel.
11. Rey–I bet that her stock will increase after we see this upcoming flick. Wicked tough chick that has a lot of intangibles.
10. Padme/Amidala–she’s such a key part of the story. Leader, fighter and then the mother of Luke & Leia. She was among the first to witness the power of Vader.
9. C3PO–I don’t like this one but I can’t put him lower. He is such a part to all of the stories.
8. Obi Wan Kenobi–Vader knew his powers. Yoda knew his powers. Luke learned the beginning of the force from Old Ben. Great story about Alec Guinness as the original actor. He thought it was “fairy tale rubbish”. Yet, he didn’t take a salary. He just took 2.25% of the director’s cut of the earnings. PHAT paycheck! Excellent reading that I highly recommend. That and start whistling that “Bridge on the river Kwai” song which he also played in.
And go ahead and read about George Lucas’ bet with Steven Spielberg.
7. Han Solo–This list is starting to hurt. Personally, this is the coolest character to ever grace the big screen. Harrison Ford killed the role. Who shot first? The captain of THE Millennium Falcon. Is he a good guy or just a money-hungry dude that ends up doing good? Cool! YES! He has disdain for almost every other character EXCEPT for Chewbacca.
6. Princess Leia–She is kind of the reason that the whole story gets set in motion. Tough chick that helped make the franchise. I won’t argue if you want to move this one higher. And don’t use the slave bikini scene as an argument. I was 12 in 1983 when that scene first aired. I get it.
5. R2D2–the more movies that they make, the more important this droid becomes. He consistently saves everyone else’s proverbial donkey. Much like Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy, one can’t understand him but we all want R2 on our team. He just gets it done. All of it.
4. Luke Skywalker–should this one be #1. I can’t do it. He is a central figure that ties all of the films together. But, the role is almost cliche yet, it isn’t. Always a good guy. Always fallible yet…..
3. Yoda–One of the best characters ever created for the big screen. NOBODY saw this little bitty green dude being the master of the force. How about the first time we saw Yoda spark up a light saber? The theater erupted! Bad Ass! One of my favorite in-theater movie scenes of all time is Yoda wielding a light saber. I can’t put him #1 but, I won’t argue if you do.
2. Chewbacca–if you were to hold an nfl-style draft of Star Wars movie characters, Chewie is the #1 overall pick. Everybody wants him on their team. He saves ALL of them at some point in time. Yoda relies on Chewbacca. Leia loves her some wookie. Lando and Kylo are scared of Chewie. Luke relies on the big fur ball. Han Solo is made cooler because of Chewbacca. And if I was to get a chance to ride in the Millennium Falcon, I want Chewbacca on board as the pilot. Chewbacca is one of the most unique characters to ever grace the big screen. Another plus, Chewbacca was a welder. Why isn’t he #1? One reason and one reason only, he doesn’t use a light saber. I believe that the force surrounds Chewbacca. Yet, he can’t use it like others. There is only one threat to Chewbacca. And that would be….
- Darth Vader–He has been voted the most evil villain of all time. But is he really that evil? The Good vs. Bad in this character is what makes him #1. That and he can choke people out with the force or wield a light saber as good as any. Han Solo is not a threat to him. He kills those that taught him–Obi Wan and the Emperor. He could have killed Luke or Solo but didn’t for obvious reasons. Blasters were of no use against him. Yoda vs. Vader could still make for a blockbuster movie. All characters in this movie series are tied to Darth Vader in some form or fashion. Vader is the struggle of good vs. evil. Vader makes the story lines of these movies. Those that haven’t seen any of the Star Wars movies know of Darth Vader. This is the character that pushes the needle.
And yes, I did have the Star Wars theme song playing as I typed this jargon. The Imperial March gets played anytime that I call the Dragon Lady’s phone. Did I spark up a light saber during the writing of this crap? You know that I did!
Here’s to hoping that you have a Chewbacca at your side, a Yoda that you can glean info from, an R2D2 that will constantly save you and if you are facing something like Darth Vader, well……..he did end up on the good side.
Good luck
and may the force be with you.
