The Clone Wars Introduced A Force Lightning Stronger Than Palpatine’s

In the Star Wars universe, force lightning is Emperor Palpatine’s terrifying signature attack, but Star Wars: The Clone Wars showed a version even stronger and more dangerous. Stronger than any Sith, one of the most dangerous characters in all of Star Wars uses a Force power that could outdo Palpatine. His attack is a lot like the lightning used by the Sith, but blood red.

One of the short storylines in Clone Wars reveals some interesting Star Wars lore, as well as foreshadowing Anakin’s entire life story. A three-part story across season 3, episodes 15-17, sees Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano finding their way to a mysterious world known as Mortis, hidden in the wild space between the Star Wars galaxy’s hyperspace routes. Seemingly outside both time and space, Mortis is a conduit for the Force, with only three inhabitants. The Daughter, aligned with the light side, the Son, aligned with the dark side, and the Father, tasked with keeping them in balance. The three Force users show some stunningly powerful abilities, including being able to block lightsabers with their bare hands. The Son’s weapon of choice is his deadly red lightning.

While Palpatine shoots lightning at his forest, the Son of Mortis’ power involves throwing pure dark side energy at his powers. As a manifestation of the dark side itself, the Son’s lightning must be the most powerful form possible. The same color as lightsabers created by the Sith, red lightning is the purest power of the dark side. Unlike the Sith Lords with their blue Force lightning, the Son’s fingertips glow bright when he casts it, showing the amount of energy he’s projecting into it. While Palpatine’s lightning is by far the most powerful thing seen in the Star Wars movies, the Son’s red lightning is certainly more dangerous. It’s only been used by one other character in Star Wars canon, and that character was none other than Darth Vader.

Darth Vader normally cannot use lightning, because doing so would destroy his cyborg body, but there was one time in Star Wars canon when he didn’t have that constraint. In the comic book Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith #25, Vader finds his spirit separate from his body. Entering a portal in his castle on planet Mustafar, Vader confronts an image of his master, Palpatine. He blasts the illusory Palpatine with lightning, and the lightning he uses is bright red.

The red lightning wielded by the Son also has the ability to lift and throw its targets. The Son uses it to carelessly fling Obi-Wan aside, but it’s used far more dramatically in the confrontation between the Son and the Daughter. Catching the Son’s lightning, the Daughter uses it to lift him high into the air and restrain him against a wall, where he is unable to move. Using Force lightning this way is a skill shared by Count Dooku, who often uses it to lift and throw his adversaries. Interestingly though, Palpatine never seems to use his lightning this way, simply using it to knock his enemies away, or just to inflict pain.

There are obviously Force users in Star Wars with powers far greater than any major character in the saga, and the Mortis storyline in Star Wars: The Clone Wars shows how powerful they could be at their strongest. It’s sobering to see the Jedi main characters in Clone Wars so hopelessly outclassed that they’re effectively powerless. Palpatine is unquestionably one of the strongest Force users in Star Wars canon, but compared with the Son of Mortis, even the mighty Sith Lord still has much to learn.