Clearly influenced by the current Darth Vader comics and some of the more recent Star Wars films, Danny Ramirez’s “Vader Episode I: Shards of the Past,” which we came across at Geek Tyrant, imagines a tale set between the first two trilogies. This Darth Vader has yet to fully let go of Anakin Skywalker, and still blames his mentor Darth Sidious, a.k.a. Emperor Palpatine, for failing to help him save Padme.

If you liked the Rogue One corridor sequence and the way Vader’s grandson Kylo Ren froze a laser blast in mid-air, you’re going to enjoy the early confrontation where The Artist Formerly Known As Anakin mows through an Imperial battalion to get to his twisted boss. But things don’t quite go as planned:

There are more installments to come, as we’ll have to eventually see what awaits in Padme’s tomb. But what’s interesting is that Ramirez isn’t just enamored of Vader as badass; he also wants to get the sadness of lost love across. It’s also interesting that he imagines Palpatine being so overt about fostering Vader’s desire to kill him. This was always heavily implied, but seeing it spelled out is a new wrinkle.

While the casting choices aren’t absolute look-alikes, they’re close enough that there’s never any doubt who is being portrayed. But the effects shots are the most impressive, presumably using elements from the films along with new models like an Episode III-style fighter for Vader with a hyperspace ring.

As Vader himself would say: “Impressive.”

Images: Star Wars Theory