Courtesy Bat in the Sun Productions
May the 4th Be With You: Four Darth Vader Battles You’ll Never See in ‘Star Wars’ — Watch!
As we proclaim “May the 4th Be With You,” we celebrate Star Wars with one simple question: Who in their right mind would want to go up against Darth Vader? This is the guy who allowed Mace Windu to be killed, slaughtered the poor defenseless Jedi Younglings, cut off his son’s hand, murdered his mentor, tortured his daughter and was an absentee father. No one, right? Wrong! We have found four who have the gonads to stand up to him. Warning: beware of strong language.
Darth Vader vs. Batman
Batman wanted to kill Superman until he realized that their mommies shared the same first name (see Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), and since then, they’ve been the best of friends. So he’s certainly not going to sit back and do nothing when his buddy has been captured by Darth Vader and held prisoner on the Death Star, de-powered by a red sunlamp (which raises a question that no one has probably ever asked: can a Kryptonian tan while under a red sunlamp?).
For a number of years, Aaron Schoenke has combined his love of filmmaking with his passion for the Batman character, and created a variety of critically acclaimed fan films under the banner Bat in the Sun Productions. Along the way, he and his father, Sean, came up with the idea of a periodic webseries titled Super Power Beat Down that would take a pair of characters — as unlikely a duo as they may seem — and pit them against each other to see who proves victorious. Previous beat downs have included Marvel’s Punisher vs. DC’s Red Hood, Captain America vs. Master Chief, Wolverine vs. Predator and Superman vs. Thor. The most impressive, however, has been Batman vs. Darth Vader.
“The idea for Batman vs. Darth Vader came from my father and I,” Aaron explains. “He grew up with Star Wars and I grew up with Batman, so making them battle was the obvious choice. A lot of people thought there was no way this fight could work, but as a storyteller it’s up to you to decide that and make it work. Both universes the characters live in are amazing, which allowed for a lot of interesting elements that can crossover, plus with Batman anything is possible! He has faced simple criminals and defeated New Gods, so the stage was set.”
Darth Vader vs. Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a Space Ranger working for the Star Command from planet Morph (see the Toy Story films). He is dedicated to the cause, armed with various weaponry of his space suit, and travels either via jet pack or with his space vessel. Perhaps one of the things that have pit him against the Dark Lord of the Sith is the fact that Vader serves the Emperor, and Buzz’ sworn enemy is Morph’s Emperor Zurg. In essence, the emperor of his enemy is his enemy … whatever the hell that means.
Darth Vader vs. Lord Voldemort
He, too, started off as a nice guy corrupted by a desire for power. Led down the path to true evil, Tom Riddle ultimately became he-who-must-not-be-named, but he-who-we-don’t-fear-naming, Voldemort, the dark lord of the Harry Potter universe. On the surface you would think that Volde and Vader would have more in common than not, and should be sharing beers while plotting the downfall of the universe.
Darth Vader vs. Ted
He owes his entire existence to a bit of magic, as he was brought to life when his owner, John Bennett, made a wish. Since then, this teddy bear has lived life under his own terms, refusing to take crap from anyone. You think this force-using, lightsaber-wielding douche is gonna be any different?
May the 4th be with you.
