Darth Vader to Vader and Palpatine, respectively, in a satirical article comparing politicians to various "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" characters. Many films and television series have paid homage to Darth Vader. The 1982 compilation movie "Cosmic Princess", compiled from parts of "" episodes, contains several "Star Wars" references including a character named "Vader". Marty McFly in "Back to the Future" (1985), dressed in a radiation suit, calls himself "Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan" to convince the past version of his father to ask his mother to a dance. Rick Moranis plays "Dark Helmet" in the "Star Wars" parody "Spaceballs" (1987).
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire the job after writing the novelizations of "The Mask" for Bantam, and "Aliens" based upon graphic novels by Dark Horse Comics, which had been licensed by Lucasfilm to create "Star Wars" comics. In addition to the original "Star Wars" trilogy, Perry read the first spin-off novel in the franchise, "Splinter of the Mind's Eye", to get an idea of how to write for Vader. A prequel novel was planned, to be written by author Charles Grant, but was cancelled due to a Lucasfilm Licensing move from Bantam to Del Rey Books. The comic book emphasizes the destiny of Boba Fett