Warning! This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Dark Droids #3Darth Vader just displayed perhaps the most impressive Force-power in his entire Star Wars history by replacing his lost limbs not with cybernetics, but with raw Force energy itself. While he only did so for a few moments, Darth Vader still pulled off a Force ability that has never been seen in Star Wars before, leading one to wonder if this power is something he could have accessed sooner.
After Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side and became Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, he and Obi-Wan Kenobi had their climactic battle on Mustafar that resulted in Vader losing all his limbs and suffering severe burns throughout his entire body. This made Darth Vader not only reliant on three additional robotic limbs, but also a full bodysuit that acted as both protective armor and respirator.
While any Star Wars fan worth their salt knows the purpose of Darth Vader’s suit and how he got it, it’s important to note that winding up in that suit was perhaps totally avoidable. How is that possible? Well, the fact that Darth Vader was filled with so much rage and hatred during the events of his latest adventure that he was able to conjure energy-limbs from the raw Force means he could have arguably done so sooner, even on the lava banks of Mustafar (with only one reason as to why that wouldn’t work).
Darth Vader Creates Force-Limbs In A Life-Or-Death Situation
In Star Wars: Dark Droids #3 by Charles Soule and Luke Ross, the Scourge has infected a number of droids on Darth Vader’s personal vessel. During his trip to Coruscant, a few of those droids attack Vader while he’s resting in his bacta tank. Without his cybernetic limbs or his suit, Vader was totally vulnerable, and was nearly defeated by the Scourge’s brilliant tactical maneuver right then and there.
However, the Scourge woefully underestimated Darth Vader’s power in the dark side of the Force. With the power summoned through pure rage and hatred, Vader conjured four limbs made purely from Force energy, and he used his new limbs to dismantle the attacking droids with ease. Vader maintained this form for only a few moments, but it was enough to save his life right as he was on the verge of utter defeat.
Could Darth Vader Have Used His Force-Limb Power To Beat Obi-Wan?
Since Darth Vader was able to create Force-limbs during the life-or-death situation presented in this comic, could he have done the same in Episode III during his fight with Obi-Wan? The freshly-turned Darth Vader was filled with the necessary amount of rage and hatred to turn against everything he once believed in, and everyone he once loved. If he concentrated enough, could that raw hatred have been used to create temporary Force-limbs that would have saved him from being burned by the lava after he was dismembered, thereby avoiding the cruel fate of his suit, and even perhaps allowed him to get the jump on Obi-Wan? While that question is a valid one based on what was shown in this comic, there’s actually one reason why it wouldn’t have been possible for Anakin to create Force-limbs in Episode III: the current surges in the Force.
When the Fermata Cage was opened in Hidden Empire, it released two things: the Scourge and waves of Force-ripples throughout the galaxy. These ripples grant Force-users either extreme surges of power the likes of which they’ve never experienced before, or cut them off from the Force entirely. Darth Vader recently learned how to tap into his hatred and control these ripples, allowing him to do things that wouldn’t normally be possible – like Force-limbs. So, while Darth Vader’s new ‘Force-limb’ power is impressive, it’s not something he can do every day, and it’s definitely not something that could have saved him in Episode III.
Star Wars: Dark Droids #3 by Marvel Comics is available now.
