As I’m sure you know, Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader wasn’t a
smooth one.
He was burned, dismembered, and then shoved into a biomechanical suit.
Thanks to Rogue One we know his injuries meant he continued to need medical attention nearly
twenty years after his duel with Obi-Wan.
But what does all that mean for Darth Vader?
Was he weaker on stronger in the suit?
How did it affect his connection with and influence over the Force?
I’ll be covering the Canon and Legends answers in this video.
This is something that’s been debated for a while, with fans pointing out that losing
arms and legs would mean losing the midichlorians in those limbs as well, weakening an individual’s
abilities in the Force.
For Anakin, that loss would be substantial, seeing as he lost both arms and legs.
Personally, I’ve always felt that Force-sensitivity was mental more than physical, based on Yoda’s
statement luminous beings are we, not this crude matter, referring to Luke’s flesh.
I believe the canon book Lords of the Sith supports that theory.
In the very first chapter it states that Vader’s injuries had broken his body, but perfected
his spirit, strengthening his connection to the Force.
In fact it continues on and discusses multiple ways that not only his suit but the injuries
he sustained had actually made him stronger than he was as a Jedi.
His deformities and his burned flesh were in constant agony.
The pain fed his hate, and the hate fed his strength in the dark side.
Like we saw in Rogue One, he spend time meditating outside of his suit, or in The Empire Strikes
Back, outside of his helmet.
The helmet itself had nueral needles that stabbed into his skull and spine that would
ease his pain, but again to quote the book, the rage still burned within him.
The armor itself also had some advantages that enhanced his strength in the Force.
First, it took care of his bodily needs and allowed him to focus completely on his relationship
with the Force.
In addition the suit terrified others, another emotion he could use to feed his strength.
Canon examples of his immense strength within the suit include stopping an AT-AT foot from
stepping on him, disabling a shuttle’s engines, or when he wanted to be less subtle, he could
simply pull a freighter out of the sky.
I think the new Star Wars canon intends to show Vader as more powerful in the suit than
out of it.
Legends is a little more ambiguous.
Sources state that he did in fact lose a significant amount of strength thanks to the events on
Mustafar.
However he was so strong in the Force to begin with that it didn’t really matter.
He was thought to have about eighty percent of the Emperor’s strength.
Had he not been injured, he would have been stronger than Sidious himself.
However, even Sidious thought that Vader’s limitations were psychological and not physical.
Darth Plagueis believed that cyberization would not affect one’s abilities in the
Force.
So I think that when we compare canon to Legends, the same rules apply, but what changed is
how Anakin decided to handle being put in the suit.
Canon Vader did hate the suit at one point, but he overcame his past, embraced his future,
and grew stronger in his power.
Legends Anakin was haunted by his decisions.
His confidence was shaken.
In his own words, he felt like a painter gone blind, or a composer gone deaf.
He remembered where the power was, but could not find it within himself to reach it again.
So when it comes to Legends, I do think Vader was weaker in the suit, but not because of
his injuries.
I think the deck was stacked against Vader a little more in Legends as well.
From what we’ve seen in canon, Palpatine actually does want Vader to increase in strength.
He’s even proud of Vader for taking steps to eliminate him, because that means he’s
truly embracing the way of the Sith and the Rule of Two.
I don’t think we know the whole canon story yet, but so far we’ve seen Sidious be much
more in line with the traditions of the Sith, desiring a worthy apprentice and successor.
In Legends we see Palpatine actively work against Vader.
He did not respect the Sith of old or the Rule of Two.
He wanted to be the culmination of their Sith, not just another step towards greatness.
He never intended for his apprentice to overtake him in power.
To wrap up, I think that in the current Star Wars Canon intends to show that Darth Vader
is indeed stronger in his suit than he ever was as Anakin Skywalker.
In Legends, I think most of the evidence points towards Vader’s connection with the Force
becoming weaker, but only because of his own inability to reconcile his actions.
But I would love to hear what you think, so leave your thoughts in the comments!
But that’s it for today!
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As always, thanks for watching and may the Force be with you!