Grendel is Darth Vader!

            When you think the best villain in cinema the first one that comes to mind for most people is Darth Vader. He is a tall, dark, monstrous figure that wields a dark force, just like Grendel and both of them just love to destroy everything until they are satisfied. But the greatest weakness for great villains is not magic swords, naked men, or The Millennium Falcon, it is backstory. Both Vader and Grendel were completely neutered by telling the stories of their teenage angst, going from awesome villains to whiny teens that we wish would die.

            The next few paragraphs contain spoilers for the entire Star Wars Franchise (minus the new one), so for the five people in the entire world who have never seen Star Wars you have been warned.

            In Beowulf the only thing we know about Grendel is that he is a large ugly monster who kills Danes and destroys a mead hall on a nightly basis just because they were having fun. Same with Vader, all we know is that he the second in command of the Empire in charge of using the Death Star to destroy planets and kill rebels (sound familiar). Then after several years people decided that the villains cannot be evil just because, no every villain needs a reason for being bad so they can be more sympathetic. So the book “Grendel” was written in 1971 and the Star Wars prequels began releasing.

            In “Grendel” they traded excessive religious symbolism for excessive philosophy. The story is told from Grendel’s point of view, which could have been exciting until you realize that Grendel does nothing but complain and be nihilistic. So this great beast that did nothing but destroy and torment is now saying things like “Pity” I moaned, “O pity! Pity!” I wept”, who has ever heard of a monster who cries for pity (Gardner). Grendel continues his angst as he complains about his mother’s love, the dragon and the Shaper’s philosophies, and even his own death.

             Anakin’s (Vader) backstory is extremely similar to Grendel’s almost to the point I feel like there was some plagiarizing going on. Anakin starts out life in a small cave-like hut with only his mother, living as slaves. Then he becomes an angsty teenager complaining that nothing matters, sand is irritating, and that no one believes in him, except an old guy that speaks philosophy and is clearly evil. Anakin then begins to go a little murdering venture starting with wild desert people, then children, and finally everyone he has ever loved. He is stopped when his mentor cuts Anakin’s arm off and lets him fall in lava. So in the end let villains be evil for the sake of evil, and never ruin a good story with prequels or CGI.