Darth Vader Mask, Gun Do the Job for Bank Robber

Thought this would have happened more by now, yet this story is news precisely because it is out of the ordinary.

Seems a man wearing a Darth Vader costume robbed a bank. He (of course it was a he – woman just don't don the Darth helmet and robe, especially when they're robbing a bank) wielded not a light saber but a gun, which is what made the other customers and especially the bank sit up and take notice, enough to give him the large pocketful of cash that he got for his efforts.

Comic-Con is going on these days, in San Diego, the natural assumption would be that some Star Wars fan really needed money to buy a collectible and so went from the convention to the bank, one thing led to another, and the security cameras tell the rest of the story. But not, this happened in New York, a continent away from Comic-Con. This was the real deal, and it went down in Setauket, a Long Island town with the modest population of just more than 15,000.

No word yet on how the man's voice sounded (and whether it resembled the deep tones of James Earl Jones). Supposedly, the security tape that will be eventually released in this world of 24/7 video publication will contain this crucial information.

This wasn't a joke. The gun the man had was real. The customers and bank staff believed that he would use that gun, which is why the customers got on the floor and the bank staff gave away the money.

The man was seen running from the bank, his cape billowing behind him.

Bizarre? Sure. But is the Darth Vader costume any more ridiculous than the ski masks or pantyhose that other bank robbers have worn? The key is to mask their identity. This man's identity was certainly masked — by his helmet.

The one little detail that the man might want to work on for next time is changing his below-the-waist attire. Look closely in the photo to the right. See the camouflage pants? SO not-Force-like.