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Star Wars: can Darth Vader use force lightning?

Darth Vader's one of the most powerful Sith lords to ever exist so could he use the deadly Dark Side ability known as force lightning?

Star Wras: can Darth Vader use force lightnign

Can Darth Vader use force lightning? Force lighting is one of the most iconic powers of the Sith. First seen in Return of the Jedi, the final Star Wars movie in the original trilogy, force lightning was used by the Sith lord Emperor Palpatine to torture Luke Skywalker while attempting to turn the Jedi knight to the Dark Side.

It was later established in the Prequel Trilogy that this deadly power wasn’t unique to Palpatine when Count Dooku used it during a duel with Obi-Wan and Anakin. The power is usually presented as one of the most dangerous Dark Side abilities used by those truly lost to evil.

The question is, then, could Darth Vader use force lightning? He was a powerful Sith, after all, and the Chosen One with more midichlorians than any force user in recorded history. So surely, with Vader’s great power and seemingly infinite reserves of hate, he could generate a spark or two?

Can Darth Vader use force lightning?

No, Darth Vader cannot use force lightning and never uses the ability in any of the Star Wars movies. Despite being a powerful Sith lord, Vader’s cybernetic limbs and respiratory device are very sensitive to electrical discharge and therefore using force lightning was potentially life-threatening for the former Jedi.

That said, in some of the Marvel comics and the expanded lore, there are examples of Vader using abilities similar to force lightning. During a vision Vader experienced while attempting to resurrect Padme, his spirit was capable of generating red lightning, which he used to destroy an apparition of Emperor Palpatine.

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Still, in the physical world, Vader was too vulnerable to electricity for him to make use of the power. Indeed there’s some speculation the Emperor deliberately built Vader’s suit to be vulnerable to lightning so he’d always have the edge over his apprentice.

If you love Star Wars, then chances are you’ve been enjoying the new Star Wars series Andor. Well, check out our guide to the Andor season 2 release date. If that’s not enough, we’ve also got articles on Vader’s apprentice Ahsoka Tano and what the Lightsaber colours mean.