Can you be choked by a ghost?
Would Force lightning short out your robo-arms?
How powerful is Darth Vader, really?
Young Anakin Skywalker was a Force-sensitive prodigy long before he was discovered by Qui-Gon
Jinn on Tatooine.
Born to a single mother with seemingly no father, Anakin grew up fast as a slave serving
Watto, a local junk dealer.
Young Ani was instinctively good with machines, even building his own protocol droid known
as C-3PO; he is also known locally as the "only human" who can podrace without dying.
It's clear that his connection to the Force, the life-giving energy that surrounds all
living things in Star Wars and the supposed explanation of Anakin's immaculate conception,
is stronger than just about anyone's.
In fact, Anakin's midi-chlorian count surpassed that of even Yoda.
Despite this, the boy lacked the proper training.
When Qui-Gon discovered Anakin, he vowed to train him, recognizing the boy to be the fulfillment
of an ancient prophecy that foretold of a Jedi who would bring balance to the Force.
Anakin is also a natural star-pilot.
He is capable of turning even disastrous crash landings into military victories.
Although Anakin started out incredibly skilled, it's worth noting that he struggled to use
his exceptional abilities until he began proper training.
For 10 years, Obi-Wan Kenobi trained Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Jedi, teaching
him invaluable lessons of balance and lightsaber technique.
Due to Obi-Wan's training and constant support, the young Skywalker grew incredibly skilled
with the Force, willing to perform life-endangering feats if it meant bringing villains to justice.
Anakin exemplified this attitude in Attack of the Clones, when he jumped out of a speeder
on Coruscant only to land on a bounty hunter's speeder without coming to any real harm.
Anakin was so in tune with the Force that he could sense danger from miles away, and
even between planets.
Because of these feats, Anakin quickly became one of the most notable Jedi in the entire Order.
During the Clone Wars, Anakin was promoted to a Jedi Knight and given his own apprentice,
Ahsoka Tano.
Anakin's own stubbornness and quick-to-action strategies were quickly inherited by his padawan,
who only grew more powerful thanks to Anakin's teaching.
For years, Anakin fought alongside his master, his apprentice, and the Clones against the
Separatists and their droid armies, dueling with the most dangerous criminals in the galaxy,
Anakin won battles against Sith Lord Count Dooku, Darth Maul, and General Grievous, saving
countless lives in the process.
Anakin would even save his master from harm's way a number of times.
"You owe me one, and not for saving your skin for the tenth time."
"Ninth time.
That business on Cato Neimoidia doesn't count."
Years went by, and Anakin Skywalker only became a better Jedi.
Though there were moments of darkness that he would experience throughout the Clone Wars,
Anakin ultimately served the Jedi well.
His potential and ability were only highlighted further with each new battle and every challenge
that awaited him.
Perhaps one of Anakin's strongest suits was his skill with a lightsaber.
He preferred the fifth form of lightsaber technique, which emphasizes strong counter-attacks
with the goal of saber-to-saber combat.
While it took him years to view the weapon as his "lifeline," Anakin's swordsmanship
and form were excellent.
As a padawan, he even took on Count Dooku single-handedly, though he lost a hand in the duel.
In his final encounter with Dooku in Revenge of the Sith, Anakin overpowered the Sith Lord
before Supreme Chancellor Palpatine talked him into killing the villain to progress the
Jedi Knight's fall to the Dark Side.
This premeditated murder strengthened Anakin's connection to the Dark Side so that by the
time he defected from the Jedi, he was immensely more powerful than most Sith apprentices.
Throughout his time as a Jedi, Anakin Skywalker continually felt the need to prove himself.
Whether it was his own personal insecurities about his role as the Chosen One or his desire
to be the strongest Jedi in history, he always believed he could be better.
Unfortunately, Anakin's lust for power only took him down darker paths, and in moments
such as his slaughter of Tusken Raiders after his mother's death and his murder of Count
Dooku, he tasted what that power could bring.
At one point during The Clone Wars, he even saw a vision of his eventual fate, a vision
he would tragically forget.
It was these small steps towards darkness that would prepare Anakin for his role as Darth Vader.
Unlike emotionally balanced Jedi such as Obi-Wan, Yoda, or even Ahsoka, Anakin was prone to
fits of anger and rage.
This was seen a few times when Anakin used Dark Side powers such as the Force choke with
ease long before he actually defected to the Sith.
Unfortunately, it also left him open to weakness, as he was slowly seduced by Palpatine and
his empty promises.
Although Obi-Wan and Ahsoka anchored Anakin to the Light Side of the Force, even they
weren't strong enough to keep him there forever.
Eventually, the young Skywalker, left alone, let fear overtake his best judgment.
Anakin Skywalker spent so much time training his body for battle that he rarely spent time
training his mind.
This weakness would prove devastating as he left his mind open to attack from thoughts
of fear and failure.
It was for this reason his prophetic dreams of his wife, Padmé, dying in childbirth led
him to the path of the dark side.
Even among Jedi, prophetic dreams were a rare gift, further illustrating how strong Anakin's
connection to the Force truly was.
However, they crippled him with fear and serious doubts about his allegiance.
"I'm not the Jedi I should be.
I want more and I know I shouldn't."
Palpatine preyed on these fears, ultimately convincing Anakin to betray the Jedi Order
and join him as Darth Vader.
Ashamed of his choices and manipulated into anger at those closest to him, Anakin attacked
his former allies and slaughtered all the remaining Jedi at the Jedi temple.
Overpowering many Jedi Masters, including the high-ranking Council member Mace Windu,
proved how strong in the Force the young Skywalker truly was, and his new Dark Side abilities
dialed his strength up to 11.
Killing younglings, padawans, and even Council members with ease was just the rush of power
Anakin needed to become Darth Vader.
Of course, this was only made possible once Palpatine harnessed Anakin's fear and rage
into something that the new Sith Lord's own wife would soon not recognize, breaking her
heart and ultimately killing her.
With each Jedi life he took, Darth Vader grew stronger.
Completely divorcing his former morality from his current actions, Anakin Skywalker severed
his conscience in a way very few ever could.
Thus, when Anakin met Obi-Wan on the volcanic battlefield of Mustafar, their skills were
equally matched.
Obi-Wan represented Anakin's last tether to the Light, while Anakin represented the Sith,
fully embracing the Dark Side.
Had Vader not lost this battle, he might've grown to become an even more powerful Sith
Lord, and possibly the most powerful Sith of all.
But ultimately, Anakin's own unchecked anger was his undoing, with severed limbs and burning
flesh acting as the harsh consequences of his own pigheadedness.
"Anakin Skywalker was weak.
I destroyed him."
However, revenge is a powerful motivator.
It was this that drove Vader to hold onto his life and, eventually, to hunt down Obi-Wan
in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka in Star Wars Rebels.
This rage that Vader felt towards his former master even gave him the strength to stop
an entire spacecraft mid-takeoff, throwing it back to the ground and ripping it apart
in search of the Jedi.
In his second duel with Kenobi, Vader almost won, but rather than finish off his former
master, his own arrogance got in the way, reminding Obi-Wan that he chose his life as a Sith.
Years later, in A New Hope, Vader would finally kill Kenobi in battle.
However, Obi-Wan only allowed this because he thought that it might help Luke defeat
Vader and the Empire.
Throughout the Star Wars canon, Darth Vader has done some incredible things with the Force.
In the comics, he destroys a dam that floods an entire city, killing millions.
In Star Wars Rebels, he impossibly survives the destruction of a Sith Temple.
Yet sometimes Vader seems pretty selective with his power.
For example, he doesn't stop the Millennium Falcon from leaving Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back.
Nor does he stop Leia's ship in Rogue One when the Rebels escape with the Death Star plans.
For many, these signs of mercy prove to be major plot holes in established canon, especially
given his apparent power boost in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The truth is, to tap into the power of the Dark Side, one must give in completely to
their emotions, and in Vader's case, that emotion is often some sort of anger or rage.
While he can still use basic Force abilities regardless thanks to his prior training, he
needs an intense amount of rage to perform the more incredible feats he's known for.
In Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader's hatred for his former master allows him to stop the spacecraft
from taking off, but once that burst of rage is over, his power gauge essentially resets.
In The Empire Strikes Back and Rogue One, Vader simply didn't have that same desire
for revenge to pull from, making his burst of power in Obi-Wan Kenobi both exciting and unique.
Although Darth Vader was further enhanced by his new robotic limbs and the suit that
controlled it all, it wasn't always what it was cracked up to be.
The suit gave Vader enhanced physical strength and a healthy amount of stamina, things Anakin
Skywalker's broken body could not survive without.
Left alone, he would have eventually died, but with his new enhancements, Vader could
focus on his connection to the Dark Side rather than forcing himself to keep breathing.
However, being more machine than man came with its own downsides and challenges as well.
Though Vader's connection to the Dark Side was still strong, his robotic limbs left him
with some serious power disadvantages.
While he could rebuild himself if need be, he was forced to retrain himself to fight
without being able to feel his limbs.
More importantly, Darth Vader would never be able to learn the Sith lightning powers
that Palpatine used to kill Mace Windu.
In fact, the lightning itself would fry Vader's cybernetics, and would eventually be the cause
of his death at the end of Return of the Jedi.
This weakness severely limited the powers Vader could eventually possess, as well as
his ability to overthrow the Emperor.
This is why he would ask both his former apprentice Ahsoka Tano and his own son Luke Skywalker
to join him in ruling the galaxy.
He couldn't do it alone.
"We need not be adversaries.
The emperor will show you mercy, if you tell me where the remaining Jedi can be found."
The discovery that he has a son would turn out to be Vader's greatest weakness and his
source of redemption.
After learning about Luke, all bets were off for Vader, who quickly sought out the boy
to use against the Emperor.
Between Episode IV and Episode V, Vader would hunt for the younger Skywalker and almost
capture him, though the emotional connection he'd feel toward his son would prevent him
from killing the boy in battle.
Vader even crashed his TIE Fighter rather than risk killing Luke in the Vader Down crossover.
Of course, he'd have no problem cutting off his son's hand in The Empire Strikes Back,
though it's worth noting he did allow Luke to escape after their battle.
It's Vader's children who reintroduced him to the Light Side of the Force, allowing him
to rectify his mistakes over the past 20-something years and finally usurp the Emperor.
Though Vader fought the Light, he eventually embraced it after seeing Luke tormented by
his evil master.
The love that Vader had for his children, and for Padmé, overpowered all his anger
and rage, giving him the final burst of strength he needed to toss Palpatine down to his demise.
Although this self-sacrificing act was ultimately what killed him, Anakin Skywalker reclaimed
his role as the Chosen One and finally brought balance to the Force, a feat that he could
only accomplish with Luke's help.
Though Anakin Skywalker only returned to the Light Side of the Force in his final moments,
this selfless act proved enough for him to appear as a Force ghost at the end of Return
of the Jedi.
While not much is known about Anakin's time as a Force ghost, we do know that he would
eventually come to Rey's aid alongside many other Jedi in The Rise of Skywalker to finally
put an end to the threat of Emperor Palpatine once and for all.
Without the strength of the Chosen One by her side, it might've been impossible for
her and Anakin's grandson, Ben Solo, to defeat the Sith Lord.
According to Obi-Wan, becoming a Force ghost makes one even more powerful than they were in life.
In The Last Jedi, Yoda's Force spirit is seen using a form of Force lightning, while Kenobi's
Force ghost often spoke to Luke before he was even ready to see him.
While it's quite possible deceased Jedi are capable of a wide array of abilities, we have
yet to see Anakin's Force ghost beyond the final moments of Return of the Jedi.
However, Anakin may have more power now than viewers could even imagine.