We rank the 50 Biggest WTF Moments in Star Wars History
By Josh Hill
25. Vader Almost Chokes Out An Officer
Film: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
The Moment: In an imperial meeting room, an officer questions Darth Vader’s purpose and place in the chain of command under Grand Moff Tarkin. Rather than argue back, Vader uses the power of The Force to choke the air out of the officer’s lungs, only releasing him when Tarkin demands it following Vader proving his point.
Why It’s Memorable: We take The Force for granted, but upon first viewing this is really the first time that we got to see the true power of what it was — just as Vader explains to the officer he’s choking. It has to be one of the most reenacted moments in the Star Wars saga, as The Force choke has crossed over into mainstream thanks in very large part to this scene.
But as far as it’s importance to the story, this is our introduction to not only The Force but the ruthlessness of Vader. We had previously seen him choke a character out inside the Blockade Runner, but that was with his hand. This gave us a whole different reason to fear Vader as he didn’t need to physically be choking you to inflict pain and damage using the dark side of the force.
Next: 24. Yoda Says There's Another Skywalker