The individual known as Heinz Darthenshmirtz was a human scientist serving the Galactic Empire, known for his work on the superweapon that came to be known as the Death Star. Ironically, his original concept was a device for cracking nuts called the Doof Star. Feeling undervalued by the Empire, Darthenshmirtz sought to impress his superiors through a new invention: the Sith-inator. His ultimate ambition was to transform himself into a Sith using this device. However, in the year 0 BBY, during a test run intended for rebel operative Perry the Rebel-pus, he inadvertently turned Ferb Fletcher, a moisture farmer, into a Sith instead.
Darthenshmirtz was forced to struggle to save his plans when Perry made his escape. Ultimately, he suffered defeat and was frozen within carbonite. Fletcher was restored to the light side of the Force, and the Imperial's droid, named Norm-3PO, was rendered inactive, thus thwarting the scientist's scheme. Nevertheless, he managed to thaw himself out of the carbonite, evade Perry, and promised that he would return.
In the year 6 BBY, the human scientist Heinz Darthenshmirtz invested in a timeshare located on the planet Alderaan. By 0 BBY, Darthenshmirtz had conceived the design for the Doof Star, which he intended to be a simple nutcracker. The Galactic Empire, however, appropriated his design and dramatically enlarged it, transforming it into the planet-destroying superweapon known as the Death Star. Darthenshmirtz eventually found employment within the Empire, but he harbored resentment over their unauthorized use of his idea.
By 0 BBY, Darthenshmirtz was stationed aboard the Death Star, where he deployed Normtroopers in an attempt to subdue Perry the Rebel-pus, a spy working for the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Upon encountering Perry, Darthenshmirtz used the Normtrooper-inator starship to neutralize the rebel's wrist magnet and engage him in combat, although he was eventually defeated and forced to retreat to refine his invention. Later, the scientist once again battled Perry using the Normtrooper-inator, refusing to disclose his new invention, the Sith-inator, but he was ultimately compelled to reveal its existence as he retreated in defeat. Darthenshmirtz and Perry clashed for a third time, with Darthenshmirtz now employing an enhanced Super Normtrooper V3.0. Darthenshmirtz was defeated in this third encounter and retreated once more.
During his journey to the Death Star in 0 BBY, Darthenshmirtz voiced his dissatisfaction with the Empire's appropriation of his design to his droid, Norm-3PO. The scientist argued that the station's current size was excessive, capable of completely destroying a walnut, and believed that the Sith-inator would win him favor with the Empire. However, when Darthenshmirtz pointed out that the invention required the Force to function, Norm-3PO's comment that the Force permeated everything irritated the scientist.
Upon finally docking his ship, the Darthenshmirtz Sith Inc, at the Death Star, Darthenshmirtz instructed Norm-3PO to transport his equipment to his lair, becoming annoyed when the droid referred to it as an abandoned recycling compartment. While en route to the lair, the scientist became fascinated by the moving walkway he was on, but his attention was diverted by the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Darthenshmirtz pushed past and climbed over other individuals and droids on the walkway in an attempt to gain the Sith Lord's attention, requesting him to "spare a little Force" for the Sith-inator. Vader, however, completely ignored Darthenshmirtz. Simultaneously, on the planet Tatooine, Perry the Rebel-pus received orders via hologram from Major Hologram, who informed the rebel operative of Darthenshmirtz's plans to create the Sith-inator and tasked him with infiltrating the Death Star to stop the scientist from completing the invention.
In his lab alongside Norm-3PO, Darthenshmirtz used the Internet to research how to power his invention with the Force, eventually discovering that he could extract it from Darth Vader's garbage. While online, Darthenshmirtz also discovered that the value of his Alderaan timeshare had increased tenfold since his purchase. Unbeknownst to Darthenshmirtz, however, his own invention—the Death Star—was in the process of destroying Alderaan. As the planet was destroyed, Darthenshmirtz watched in anger as his timeshare's value plummeted to zero, only learning of the world's fate afterward.
Later, Darthenshmirtz oversaw Norm-3PO pouring Vader's garbage into the Sith-inator, but an alarm sounded as Perry the Rebel-pus appeared at the lair's entrance. Darthenshmirtz acknowledged his adversary before apologizing for the door, which was jammed, and explained that it would not be repaired until the coming Thursday. The scientist then pointed out to Norm-3PO that Perry was standing on a red "X" he had placed on the floor, after which the rebel agent fell through a trapdoor and was frozen in carbonite. Ferb Fletcher—a Force-sensitive moisture farmer who had infiltrated the station alongside Perry—sensed his friend's danger and moved toward Darthenshmirtz's lair to assist him.
After admiring the now-frozen Perry the Rebel-pus hanging on the wall of his lair, Darthenshmirtz performed a musical number explaining his plans and the purpose of the Sith-inator: to transform him into a Sith so that he could become more evil and powerful than Darth Vader and earn the respect of his superiors. Following the performance, he thanked the backup dancers and considered performing a victory number if his plans succeeded. The scientist then prepared to use the Sith-inator on Perry, intending to ensure it was safe and commenting that—should it succeed—they could be "Sith buddies." However, Fletcher suddenly arrived and intercepted the machine's blast, saving Perry from its effects. After deactivating the Sith-inator, Darthenshmirtz checked if Fletcher was okay before discovering that his weapon was depleted of Force energy.
After instructing Norm-3PO to help him gather more of Vader's garbage, the scientist further commented that he, Fletcher, and Perry would be the "Three Sith-keteers." Norm-3PO asked his master who he could be, prompting Darthenshmirtz to respond that the droid would be the horse. Entering the Death Star's trash compactor, Darthenshmirtz provoked the resident dianoga toward him. The beast gave the scientist miscellaneous garbage such as Vader's inhaler and a bantha cheese hoagie, though Darthenshmirtz decided he had enough garbage when the dianoga tried to give him the moisture farmer Luke Skywalker and left the trash compactor. Upon exiting, Darthenshmirtz activated the compactor and nearly crushed the rebels Leia Organa, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Skywalker inside, uncaringly departing for his lair with Norm-3PO.
Just before Darthenshmirtz returned, Perry's carbonite casing malfunctioned due to the impact of Fletcher's actions, releasing him from captivity. Upon entering the lair, Darthenshmirtz inspected the Sith-inator and ordered Norm-3PO to check on Fletcher, only for the scientist to be crushed under his now-deactivated droid by Perry. Darthenshmirtz confronted the rebel when he attempted to deactivate the Sith-inator, and the two started fighting. Eventually, the pair entered the Imperial Credit Union, though they crashed through the bank's wall opposite where they had entered not long after.
As their fight continued, Darthenshmirtz grabbed his flashlight from his belt, believing it to be his lightsaber. After briefly mocking own mistake, he fled from Perry who chased him into one of the Death Star's cavernous rooms. Darthenshmirtz deactivated a bridge and mocked the rebel Platypus, who he believed could not reach the other side. Perry instead latched onto Darthenshmirtz himself with his grappling hook, dragging them into the chasm below and kicking the scientist repeatedly until they burst through another wall. Meanwhile, Fletcher—now the Sith "Darth Ferb"—modified Darthenshmirtz's Sith-inator, intending to use it to create an army of Sith warriors.
After falling back into his lair, Darthenshmirtz continued mocking Perry as he fled but promptly fell into the same trapdoor Perry had earlier and was frozen into carbonite. Darth Ferb activated the upgraded Sith-inator in an attempt to convert his stepbrother, Phineas Flynn, to the dark side. However, the turncoat stormtrooper Candace soon arrived and prevented Darth Ferb from using Darthenshmirtz's device. The Sith warrior attacked Candace in retaliation, cutting through Darthenshmirtz's carbonite casing but missing the scientist himself.
Flynn now cornered by his fallen brother, Candance placed chunks of Darthenshmirtz's broken carbonite slab into the socks she had purchased for Darth Vader—as Darthenshmirtz warned her she would stretch the socks' elastic—and threw them at Darth Ferb to deter him further. His brother distracted, Flynn threw his destroyed lightsaber into the Sith-inator's self-destruct port, prompting Darthenshmirtz to lament that he had not ray shielded the port. His invention was destroyed, and Darth Ferb became Ferb Fletcher once again. Perry pushed the frozen scientist out of the room, who complained that the rebel was transporting him face-down.
Perry escaped with Darthenshmirtz just before the Rebellion destroyed the Death Star, and Hologram congratulated the operative on his success, though he also mentioned that copies of the Death Star's plans were still out there. Just as the transmission ended, Darthenshmirtz escaped his carbonite prison and jettisoned himself from Perry's starship using an escape pod. While in the escape pod, Darthenshmirtz lamented his lack of foresight, recognizing the pod's Platypus-sized build and the fact that he was sitting on his keys.
Darthenshmirtz possessed fair skin, dark blue eyes, and black eyebrows. He had a pronounced chin, a lengthy, pointed nose, and noticeable dark circles under his eyes. Darthenshmirtz viewed himself as an evil individual, aspiring to surpass Darth Vader in malice should he become a Sith. He exhibited loyalty to the Galactic Empire and sought recognition and respect from his superiors within the regime. However, he also harbored resentment towards them for plagiarizing his Doof Star concept in the creation of the Death Star, as well as for treating him as a joke—the "lowest of the Darths." Darthemshmirtz displayed a degree of arrogance, believing that Vader could "kiss his bantha" and gloating over Perry. He considered Alderaan to be a peaceful place. Darthenshmirtz had a low midi-chlorian count of twelve.
Darthenshmirtz demonstrated intelligence, having invented the Doof Star—and, by extension, its significantly larger counterpart, the Death Star—as well as the Sith-inator. Darthenshmirtz was also the creator of the Normtroopers, Normtrooper-inator, and Super Normtrooper V3.0. He possessed some talent in dance and song, and Norm-3PO praised him for the success of a musical number he had performed.
Darthenshmirtz wore a black suit of armor that resembled that worn by Darth Vader—complete with a button pad on the chest and a cape—although the helmet was maskless, revealing the scientist's face. He also had an aquasuit designed in the same style as his usual attire, but it lacked the buttons on the chest and instead featured large air tanks on the back, along with a red breathing apparatus.
The helmet also had a fin on top, and the shoes were flippered. The scientist possessed a lightsaber, but during the Battle of Yavin, he carried a flashlight instead. He also had multiple inventions, including the Sith-inator, the Doof Star, and both versions of the Normtrooper-inator—the former of which was equipped with the Anti-Magnet-Antennae V2.0—as well as a starship, Darthenshmirtz Sith Inc.
Heinz Darthenshmirtz was created for and identified by his first name in Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars, a non-canon crossover special with the Disney Channel series Phineas and Ferb that premiered on July 26, 2014. Prior to the special's premiere, Darthenshmirtz was first mentioned in "Phineas and Ferb Meets Star Wars In Special Episode," an article published to StarWars.com on July 19, 2013. The article erroneously refers to the character as "Darth Enshmirtz." He first appeared and was re-identified as "Darthenshmirtz" in Agent P: Rebel Spy, a promotional tie-in web browser game released on June 20, 2014. The character traits and design of Darthenshmirtz are based on those of his counterpart from Phineas and Ferb, Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz. The character was voiced by Dan Povenmire; though, for the German language audio drama adapting Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars, Darthenshmirtz's voice was instead provided by Claus Brockmeyer. Though Vanessa Doofenshmirtz—Doofenshmirtz's daughter in Phineas and Ferb—has a counterpart in Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars, they are never stated or implied to have a familial relationship with Darthenshmirtz.
A basic, humorous sketch combining Doofenshmirtz with Darth Vader marked the initial concept of Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars. Following The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm, Povenmire created the sketch and sent it to the studio head with the caption "I smell crossover!" The studio head subsequently showed the sketch to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who then expedited the production of the crossover special that would become Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars. Tweets posted by Povenmire in 2018 suggested that Darthenshmirtz was originally intended to use a backpack that gave him tentacles similar to those of the Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Octopus in his battle against Perry. An additional post from Povenmire in 2022 confirmed—with concept art from artist Kyle Menke—that Darthenshmirtz's tentacles were, in fact, the dianoga, which was intended to be his pet.