Comic Book Easter Eggs is a feature where I share with you comic book related “easter eggs.” An easter egg is a joke/visual gag/in-joke that a creator (typically a comic book artist) has hidden in a TV episode, or a movie or the pages of the comic for readers to find (just like an easter egg). They range from the not-so-obscure to the really obscure. Today, in honor of May the 4th, we look at some times that Darth Vader showed up in non-Star Wars comic books.
I’ve done a few Star Wars comic book Easter Eggs over the years, and in fact, a decade ago, I did a collection of a bunch of them. However, I haven’t done any SINCE then, and there really have been a lot of them over the years, so for this year’s May 4th, I figured I would spotlight a number of times that Darth Vader showed up in some NON-Star Wars comic books.
Some of them are OUTRIGHT mentions, and some of them are, you know, lawyer-friendly usages, but we all know the intent. So with that in mind, here are a number of Darth Vader appearances in non-Star Wars comic books.
Related
Hawkeye’s Most Absurd Deep-Cut Marvel Cameo, Explained
In their latest feature on comic book easter eggs, CSBG spotlights how a LARPer codename on Hawkeye references one of Hawkye’s oddest enemies.
What counts as a “Darth Vader” appearance?
First off, I’m not going to do Darth Vader appearances on posters in people’s rooms. It’s not a BAD thing, per se, but at the same time, I dunno, man, it seems like a bit too easy. It’s notable when someone sneaks Darth Vader into a comic book. It just feels LESS notable when a Star Wars poster or Star Wars toys figure into a comic book story. So I personally wouldn’t count, say, this bit in Spectacular Spider-Man #72 (by Bill Mantlo, Ed Hannigan, Al Milgrom, and Rick Magyar), where a Doctor Octopus fan is also a Star Wars fan…
Image via Marvel
I also think I’m NOT going to count stuff like people wearing Darth Vader costumes, like this bit from Reggie and Me #104 (by George Gladir, Dan DeCarlo Jr. and Rudy Lapick) or this Adam Strange backup story in Green Lantern #146 (by Laurie Sutton, Carmine Infantino, and Dennis Jensen)…
Mysterio references Darth Vader when discussing his origins
In Daredevil #7 (by Kevin Smith, Joe Quesada, and Jimmy Palmiotti), Mysterio gives his big speech to Daredevil where he explains his villainous plot, and in doing so, he discusses his history as a movie special effects expert, and in doing so, he references famous film moments, including Darth Vader killing Obi-Wan Kenobi (or Obi-Wan choosing to be assumed by The Force, if you prefer that take)…
Image via Marvel
Kitty Pryde decides to look like Darth Vader
In Uncanny X-Men #155 by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum and Bob Wiacek, Kitty Pryde uses a Shi’ar clothing gizmo to make an amusing outfit…
Image via Marvel
You could argue this should fit in the category as costumes, and, well, obviously you’d be right, but come on, it’s so cool that I couldn’t help but feature it here. Kitty was a big Star Wars fan, and had some Star Wars posters in her room.
Related
Remember When Man-Thing Showed up on Dungeons and Dragons?
In their latest spotlight on comic-related Easter Eggs, CSBG looks at a familiar cameo in a Steve Gerber-written episode of Dungeons and Dragons!
Ninja High School loved to work Darth Vader into the series
The basic concept of Ninja High School is that two major female characters have been pursuing the main character, Jeremy. One of those characters was an alien, and so naturally, this led to some alien plotlines that allowed writer/artist Ben Dunn to fit in cameos of science fiction characters.
For instance, in Ninja High School #8, we see a few different Vader references…
And in the 16th issue of the series, Dunn worked in Vader amongst a group of villains…
Image via Ben Dunn
Years later, after Dunn was no longer doing the book regularly (it was written by Herb Mallette and drawn by Rod Espinosa), Vader showed up again amidst a group of science fiction characters…
Image via Antarctic Press
Darth Vader and Thanos team-up?!
In Infinity #1 (by Jonathan Hickman, Jimmy Cheung and Mark Morales), Darth Vader was shown as part of Thanos’ crew…
Image via Marvel
Darth Vader helped invade Australia
In Uncanny X-Men #245 (by Chris Claremont, Rob Liefeld and Dan Green), the issue was a parody of DC’s then-current Invasion! crossover. You see, as part of Invasion!, the aliens invading the DC Earth invaded Australia. The X-Men happened to be headquartered in Australia at this point in time, so Claremont had some fun with the idea of aliens invading Australia and encountering the X-Men.
In the collection of aliens, Liefeld snuck in some Star Wars aliens (plus some other movie aliens), including Darth Vader…
Image via Marvel
Here’s a detail showing it better…
Image via Marvel
Darth Vader is part of a hero’s inspiration
In Sleepwalker #10 by Bob Budiansky, Bret Blevins and Mike Manley), we enter the mind of Rick Sheridan, the young man who connected with the alien interdimensional being known as Sleepwalker. Sleepwalker ended up being tricked into bonding with a SINGLE human, instead of everyone, and in the process, Sleepwalker was able to enter the Marvel Universe whenever Rick Sheridan fell asleep. Rick, of course, was a hero, as well, and in this issue, we see how Star Wars (and Superman) had a major impact on Rick deciding to become a superhero. So he sees Luke and Vader fighting…
Image via Marvel
Homer Simpson is caused to be Darth Vader
In Treehouse of Horror #13 (by Ian Boothby, Pia Guerra, and Terry Austin), items are being sold on eBay that are cursed, and are transforming characters into the items that they are connected with. This leads to Homer Simpson becoming Darth Vader, and he is NOT happy that there is no beer in space…
Image via Bongo Comics
Happy May the 4th, everyone!
If anyone else has a suggestion for a good comic book easter egg, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!