The old Star Wars Expanded Universe saw Luke Skywalker unlock a classic superpower typically associated with Superman. There are many powers associated with the Force in Star Wars; some are common, such as telekinesis or the ability to block lightsaber bolts, but others are far more unusual. As Palpatine noted in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the dark side is the key to some of the most powerful and unnatural.
When Disney acquired Lucasfilm back in 2012, they erased the old Expanded Universe from canon, dubbing those stories “Legends.” This technically erased a massive number of Force powers from the lore, but since then the films, novels, comics, and TV shows have reintroduced a wealth of them. It’s increasingly seeming as though the basic principles of the Force, and all its associated powers, have simply been copied into the new canon. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker even featured Palpatine’s Force Storms, in a plot that seemed to be lifted straight from the Legends comic book miniseries Dark Empire.
Dark Empire by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy saw Luke Skywalker himself fall to the dark side. As he plunged deeper into the dark side, Luke unlocked powers that have never been seen before – or since. Jedi tend to use the Force to perceive others using their minds, but in Luke’s case, he demonstrated the kind of x-ray vision typically seen by DC Comics’ Superman. The power is all the more impressive given he was using “the eyes of the Force” to peer through Mandalorian walls, likely made of beskar, a substance strong enough to resist even lightsabers.
Most Force powers have been developed over time – whether in Legends, in the modern Disney canon, or in both. Oddly enough, this particular x-ray vision power is one that’s essentially been ignored. It’s easy to imagine situations where this would be tremendously valuable to the Jedi, allowing them to see traps before they were sprung. As useful as this ability may be, though, there may be a reason the Jedi don’t use it.
Luke was falling under the influence of the dark side when he tapped into this power. It may be another Force power only available to the Sith, akin to Force Lightning or the Essence Transfer that allowed Palpatine to rise from the dead. It’s less spectacular, but potentially very useful indeed, because it would allow Sith to monitor potential enemies and figure out how to manipulate them. No doubt other Force powers would give the Sith other skills perfectly suited to espionage as well. A Sith like this dark version of Luke Skywalker using x-ray vision and other Superman-esque Force powers to eavesdrop on their foes would be a true master-spy.
