Darth Vader also appears in numerous iterations of the "Star Wars" Expanded Universe including television series (most substantially ""), video games, novels, literature and comic books. Darth Vader has become one of the most iconic villains in popular culture, and has been listed among the greatest villains and fictional characters ever. The American Film Institute listed him as the third greatest movie villain in cinema history on "100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains", behind Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. His role as a tragic hero in the prequel trilogy was met with mixed reviews. In the first draft of "The Star Wars",
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