Without a doubt, the Star Wars fan base is one of the most passionate in all of pop culture. Sometimes, this leads to some pretty unproductive backlash when they don't get their way. Other times, their passion can augment the overall Star Wars experience and add to the franchise.
Amazing fan art is an example of the latter. Fanart gives us a beautiful look at familiar characters in new situations. The best Star Wars character is Darth Vader, and likewise, his fan art is the best Star Wars fan art out there. Here are ten pieces of Darth Vader fan art that make us want to join the dark side.
10 Vader's Skull
This art by Bosslogic may give us one of the most unique looks at Vader that we've ever seen. It also serves as a deep metaphorical reflection into the core of the character.
Underneath all of the metal and armor, Darth Vader is actually a deeply damaged, crippled shell of a man. His fight with Obi-Wan on Mustafar left the dark lord crippled. The skull in his face represents that underneath his shell there is not much that remains of his humanity, physical or spiritual.
9 Two Sides
This piece by Eli Hyder really highlights the dual nature of Darth Vader's inner conscience. He was once Anakin Skywalker, and that part of himself was never fully erased. We know this partly because of his surprising turn at the end of Return of the Jedi.
There was always that ray of light within Vader. It took the love of his son to fully pull it out of him. Even Anakin's turn to the dark side was made out of his love for Padme. Hyder did an amazing job showing this conflict deep within Vader's being.
8 If Vader Turned Luke
Luke had a struggle with the dark side during his time training under Yoda in Dagobah. The fact that his father was indeed a dark lord of the Sith caused Luke to seriously question everything he thought he knew about his own identity.
In this beautiful piece by Adam Vehige, we get to imagine a Star Wars where Darth Vader was successful at seducing his son to the dark side of the force. As an added twist, in this reality, Leia also started training as a Jedi under Yoda. This amazing piece of fan art makes us wish that this had happened in the movies just so that we could watch the following confrontation.
7 More Dark Luke
This is another great piece of artwork showing a dark Luke Skywalker alongside his father who has apparently seduced him to the dark side. Artist Andrew DeSoto does a great job of using the two characters' attire to further emotionally connect them.
Upon close examination, it becomes clearly evident that Luke is motivated by a need to emulate his father and attain Darth Vader's approval and affection. This is hinted at with the chest armor that Luke wears closely resembling the classic chest panel of Darth Vader himself.
6 Creepy Vader
At times, Darth Vader can be one of the scariest villains that the Star Wars universe has ever seen. In his ruthless determination to further the Empire's reach, there is nothing that this dark Lord of the Sith is not willing to do. One such example of this ferocity is seen in the scene involving Vader at the end of Rogue One, where he tears through an entire battalion of Rebel soldiers by himself.
Omer Tunc did a great job at capturing the eery, creepy aspect of Darth Vader in this bit of fan art that he created. The fact that Vader is no more machine than man elicits a very uncanny feeling within any viewer/reader, and this piece absolutely captures that.
5 Badass Pose
More amazing fan art by Omer Tunc shows Darth Vader making an extremely badass pose while the Death Star reigns down hellfire on, presumably, a rebel insurgency.
From the pose, we get a great sense of Darth Vader's awe-inspiring dominance. He is not afraid of anyone. Behind him, with the ensuing destruction on apart of the Death Star, we get a sense of the terror that follows Vader wherever he goes. He isn't just scary because of his powers. He is terrifying because of the deadly Empire weapons at his disposal.
4 Vader vs Xenomorphs
One of the greatest facets of fan art is that it makes anything possible. Characters from completely different franchises that we have never seen together before can meet and interact with one another. This bit of artwork by Guillem H. Pongiluppi gives us one of those such mashups.
In a series of pieces by Pongiluppi, we see Darth Vader approach and eventually, alongside a team of stormtroopers, take on a group of Xenomorphs.
3 Hoth Assault
Perhaps the most memorable moment from the entire Star Wars franchise was the Empire assault of the rebel base on Hoth. Darth Vader himself appeared on Hoth with his forces, but in the film, The Empire Strikes Back, we don't actually get to see Vader do battle himself.
In this amazing image by Christian Otazu, fans are given a glimpse into what Darth Vader might look like as he fights his way through Hoth's rebel forces.
2 Rebel Scum
Cristian Otazu has another magnificent depiction of Darth Vader available to view on his Artstation page. While the previous entry on this list showcases Vader fighting rebel forces out in the open on Hoth, this artwork does the exact opposite.
Here, fans get to see just how deadly Darth Vader would be in a closed-off, small corridor. No matter how many rebel forces you tried to jam in there, Vader would be able to use the small space to his advantage.
1 Vader's Throne
By far the best bit of fan artwork on this list was done by the wildly popular artist known as Bosslogic. One thing that Bosslogic is known for is his mashup of different pop culture franchises. In this rendition of Darth Vader, Bosslogic decided to mash up the world of Game of Thrones with that of Star Wars.
What followed was nothing short of a masterpiece. Instead of sitting on a throne made of swords, Vader sits on a thrown made of lightsabers. These most likely came from the many Jedi he slaughtered in the great Jedi purge of Revenge of the Sith. The dark lord of the Sith and leader of the Empire has never looked cooler.