As with most of these columns, the reasons why Darth Vader is unique also reach into why he's the best. From the moment the black-caped and armored character marched onto the screen, surrounded in starkly contrasting white stormtroopers, you knew: this guy is bad. The idea that with only a little crawl of backstory, and just a few moments of establishing shots, a villain of this magnitude could be introduced in such a nonchalant yet impressive way is so foreign to modern cinema. Once you've been introduced to the instantly imposing figure, his screentime is relatively brief in that first film. You don't usually see a villain held back quite that much anymore, either. When he's on screen, however, his presence is so strong that you