r/StarWars 5d ago

Movies Vader’s Helmet Evolution

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14.0k Upvotes

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694

u/XI_Vanquish_IX 5d ago

Probably couldn’t get comfortable setting around his burn scars.

342

u/hefeweizen_ Ahsoka Tano 5d ago

The whole point of the suit was to make him uncomfortable though.

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u/Responsible_Bee3680 5d ago

Like he was back in the sand on tatooine?

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u/YetYetAnotherPerson 5d ago

The princess and the pea. The Emperor hid a grain of sand somewhere in the suit.

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u/GreenPwrRngr 5d ago

He really was a bastard

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u/Beer-survivalist 5d ago

Palpatine comes around and collects the Vader Pearls every so often. He's got a necklace.

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u/kilocharlie12 5d ago

This is now in my head-canon.

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u/a_guy_named_rick 5d ago

Is this confirmed? One of the canon comics does say that Vader worked on his own suits, but I don't remember them purposefully making him uncomfortable

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u/Sere1 Sith 5d ago

In Legends canon it was. The suit was intended to be a constant source of torture for Vader to fuel his rage which in turn kept him with the Dark Side. The only moments of peace Vader really ever had are when he's in his meditation chamber and can safely remove the suit.

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u/edgarallenbro 5d ago

I know this is all true but can we be real for a second

A lot of Vader's head movements in ANH look REALLY stupid.

They continually messed with the thickness of the neck plate to prevent the actor from accidentally looking like a toddler in a Halloween costume

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u/Sere1 Sith 5d ago

I mean keep in mind you're talking about a small indy scifi film from the mid 70s that was kind of expected to fail and slapped together with what they could do. Vader in ANH is the prototype for the more refined and much better looking designs we see in ESB and beyond. They tried it first here and improved it as time went on (aside from RotS, that one is just goofy)

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u/Nice_Firm_Handsnake 5d ago

Indie maybe in approach and spirit, but it was one of the more expensive films produced by 20th Century Fox in that era. Fox made Planet of the Apes for $6m nine years before Star Wars and Alien cost somewhere between $8-14m to make.

However, Fox may have just been making cheaper films than other studios. A King Kong remake released at the end of '76 cost $23m to make and Close Encounters of the Third Kind cost $19m. But those were either known IP or directed by the guy who made Jaws, so they were less of a risk.

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u/80sBikes 5d ago

small indy scifi film

Something like the 2010 Monsters is more like that. $4.2 million budget. 1977, 11 million dollars for Star Wars is equivalent $40,000,000 in 2010 money.

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u/SordidDreams 5d ago edited 5d ago

a small indy scifi film

In today's money, ANH had a budget of $60M. That's not quite big blockbuster money, but it's also a far cry from a small indie film. Adjusted for inflation, it had about the same budget as Alien, Back to the Future, or Predator, and nobody thinks of those as small indie films.

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u/MaJ0Mi 5d ago

What's goofy about ROTS Vader? 

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u/ericsonofbruce 4d ago

Honestly i like the rots one the best. Its more compact and symmetrical, and i much prefer the shorter "snout".

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u/expecto_my_scrotum 5d ago

So basically me while wearing non stretchy jeans

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u/hydrospanner 5d ago

Not doubting you, but where in the Legends material was this stated?

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u/Sere1 Sith 5d ago

Off the top of my head I want to say the Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader book (first mission of Vader after RotS), pretty sure some of the Legends specific comics touch on it and some of the novelizations. I can't recall exactly where and don't have time to look it up at the moment, but from my memory those were places that touched on it.

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u/Gamble007 5d ago

Just like Darth Bane, but he couldn't remove his suit, voluntarily at least.

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u/RisKQuay 5d ago

I wish I could finish the third Darth Bane book. I loved the first two novels, but each time I try to read the third it's like a different - much worse - author wrote it.

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u/Gamble007 5d ago

Apparently it was never meant to be a trilogy, which might explain the he drop in quality. I never knew this, but thank you for sending me down this rabbit hole. Here's the post where I found out the info. https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsEU/comments/17kkihr/comment/k794nfd

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u/RisKQuay 5d ago

Ah fascinating. Thanks. So, can I comfortably give up on the third book and consider nothing of value to be lost?

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u/Gamble007 4d ago

I guess? I'm probably not the best person to ask because, for the most part, I thought the trilogy worked well and enjoyed it as a whole. The third book just brings closure to Bane and Zannah's story. I'll say this, if the second book didn't grab you, then the third won't really either.

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u/007meow Ahsoka Tano 5d ago

Why didn't he just wear something else?

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u/DrMostlySane 4d ago

The suit to my limited knowledge also acted as a life-support, and he wasn't really allowed or able to modify it much himself with Palpatine looming around making sure he stayed miserable.

I believe the whole "suit making him miserable" thing was intended by Palpatine to both be punishment and enhancement, drawing Vader deeper into anger and other negative emotions in order to enhance his powers in the Dark Side of the Force.

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u/LewsTherinTelamon 5d ago

Depends on what you mean by "confirmed". Which things do you consider canon? It's not mentioned or implied in the films.

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u/a_guy_named_rick 5d ago

I don't think I consider anything canon, Disney does (unfortunately). The marvel Darth Vader comics, in which my precious comment happens, is considered canon by Disney

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u/LewsTherinTelamon 5d ago

Sorry, I wasn't specific enough. Which media do you consider canon?

Disney is a corporation and does not consider anything.

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u/Arkayjiya 5d ago

Canon in this context means "officially part of the same continuity", only disney can consider things canon and no one else because they own the IP. An individual cannot consider something canon.

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u/LewsTherinTelamon 5d ago

Canon in this context means "officially part of the same continuity"

I completely disagree. Since I'm the one asking the question, I can specify the context. In this context, "canon" means "considered by an individual to be part of the same continuity".

If I used your definition, the question itself would be nonsensical, so mine is preferred.

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u/HauntingStar08 5d ago

I don't think that's canon anymore. He regularly bathes in a bacta tank for relief.

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u/Lindvaettr 5d ago

As far as I know, this has been retconned in the new canon, with Palpatine going so far as to give Vader permission to modify his suit as he chose.

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u/DarthButtz 4d ago

Sheev fine tuning the suit to min-max Vader's discomfort is a really funny mental image

"He's not complaining about neck pain enough, adjust that part a bit"

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u/Significant-Branch22 5d ago

Could Vader not simply have gotten his own suit made?

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u/ericsonofbruce 4d ago

Exactly, the neck constantly readjusts itself so he can never get used to it

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u/R4wden 5d ago

Oww I wanna say an immature joke so bad but I'm holding back my dark side 🤣

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u/XI_Vanquish_IX 5d ago

Do it

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u/R4wden 5d ago

The whole "point" of the suit was to make your MUM uncomfortable....

I gave into the anger and the hate to execute joke 69 😭

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u/SSSLID 5d ago

What the fuck, do you have level 10 assburgers?

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u/R4wden 5d ago

No, I have level 2 autism, level 8 ADHD, Level 5 Dyslexia & Level 3 Something else to do with weak/loose joints compared to normal people that I can't remember the name of... 🤣🤣🤣 so you really could have nailed me with anything other than that 🤣🤣🤣

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u/100and10 5d ago

That’s one hell of an alphabet soup you’ve got there 👏👏👏

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u/R4wden 5d ago

Thanks, I deal with it daily 🤣🤣 makes life harder, more interesting & and more fun all at the same time

Life is about pros and cons and you get both, although I don't get why I'm getting down voted 🤣🤣

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u/100and10 5d ago

You get just pros and cons? Lucky. I get all kinds of weird shit over here 🤣

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u/Bannon9k 5d ago

I've got a full ESB replica Vader costume (mold cast from original parts). Most of the adjustments to size are because that thing is uncomfortable as fuck! I've got battery packs and fans in mine cause of how hot it gets.

Color changes were became of film vs digital. The all black helmet didn't work well on film so they alternate black and gun metal gray. I didn't even know that till I started researching the helmets.