Watch: Darth Vader rings the opening bell on NYSE

As he rang the bell marking the start of the New York Stock Exchange's trading day Thursday, Sith lord and Halloween costume favorite Darth Vader reminded us that we should not be too proud of this economic terror we've constructed.

Seeing Emperor Palpatine's right-hand man (pardon the pun) ringing the bell may be a thrill for sci-fi and fantasy geeks, but for those critical of Wall Street for its role in the financial crisis, the tableau of one of Hollywood's greatest villains opening the NYSE was a perfect bit of symbolism.

Howard Roffman of Lucas Licensing, the company that licenses toys based on the Star Wars saga, appeared at the NYSE Thursday morning to celebrate his company's three-decade-long stint running the number-one licensed toy brand in the country. Darth Vader, as well as a number of stormptroopers and even R2D2, made an appearance as well.

As of 1 p.m. ET Thursday, the Dow Jones was up by 0.52 percent for the day, indicating that, at least for today, these may well be the stocks you're looking for.

The following video was uploaded to YouTube by The Associated Press, December 22, 2009.