Darth Vader is undoubtedly one of the most iconic characters in cinematic history.
He captivated fans when he first appeared on the big screen in 1977, and more recently
in Rogue One we witnessed his terrifying presence once again.
But how much do we actually know about his powers?
The movies have shown us that Vader is a master of the Force choke…no one’s denying that…but
what else can he do?
In this video we will explore 10 of his lesser known powers…So let’s begin…
1.
FORCE LIGHTNING If someone says Force lightning, most people
will think of Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi.
But did you know that Vader also possesses this power?
Unfortunately, he can’t use it…because it will kill him…
In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, the Junior Novelisation, it is mentioned that:
“The Force — dark side as well as light — was generated by living beings, and it
took living flesh to manipulate it.
Darth Vader would never be able to cast blue Force lightning; that required living hands,
not metal ones.
And with so much of his body replaced by machinery, he would never come close to the potential
he’d had.”
So Vader has the knowledge, but the suit once again holds him back….
2.
FORCE SHIELD What many don’t know is that Vader’s mastery
of the Force is so strong that he’s actually able to manipulate it into pure energy, and
project it outwards into a Force field…
Also known as Force barriers, this technique was used mainly for defence.
Depending on the strength of the individual, the barrier could only withstand a few attacks
before collapsing.
In Darth Vader issue #4, we witness Vader using this power effortlessly, when he protects
himself and Doctor Aphra from falling rubble…
In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed both Jedi and Sith that Galen Marek fights utilize this
technique.
Vader uses it to block off Galen's lightsaber and his Force lightning.
3.
LEVITATION
If someone says Star Wars you don’t usually think of flying characters.
Well, maybe except this one…That’s more in the realm of superheroes as opposed to
Jedi…right?
Well, not exactly.
Although it’s not often shown, Vader is actually able to levitate himself off the
ground…
We see a brief example of this in the Empire Strikes Back when he hovers down some stairs…bear
in mind Vader’s armour weighs around 200 kilos…
With this power Vader is able to hover, move swiftly in any direction, or just generally
scare people who aren’t expecting the menacing Sith Lord to fly around like Harry Potter.
4.
ANIMAL CONTROL If someone mentions Vader the last image on
people’s minds would be him playing with cute animals….but, this is exactly what
he can do…
Considering the Star Wars universe isn’t exactly short on strange and unique creatures,
it only makes sense that someone like Vader should be able to control them.
And that’s exactly the case, using the force he can take control of a creature’s brain…a
technique no doubt similar to the Jedi mind trick…
Taming beasts, as it’s officially called, is an ability of the Force that allows its
user to connect mentally with a wild animal.
During the Battle of Geonosis, Anakin Skywalker used the Force to tame a ravenous reek in
the Petranaki arena.
We can only assume that as Vader, he can still do this…probably in private...with his hamster…
5.
INVISIBILITY
Also known as Force Cloak or Force Camouflage, Vader’s also possesses the power of invisibility.
He actually learned this power as Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars and used it to successfully
destroy the cortosis droid factory on the planet Metalorn.
In addition, as Vader, he used the ability to cloak his presence on Bespin before fighting
Luke Skywalker While some of the greatest characters in comics
have achieved invisibility through various means, Vader’s method is more unique.
The trick involves using the Force to manipulate light waves, bending them around the user
to create the illusion of invisibility.
Over the years the usage of this power has dwindled…due to the fact that...oh I don’t
know, there’s no Jedi left…
6.
BREATHE WITHOUT OXYGEN
Vader not exactly known for his strong lung capacity, but did you know that he can actually
survive for short periods without his famous helmet?
Being in space and all, this is certainly a useful power to have.
We see evidence of it in the Marvel comic Star Wars #2 when Vader loses his helmet during
the rebel attack of Cymoon 1.
The exact technique is unclear.
Perhaps he is using the Force to draw extra oxygen into his lungs, or perhaps, he is using
rage and hatred alone to stay alive…
7.
ENHANCED HEALING So you may be asking yourselves, if Vader
has healing powers, why doesn’t he fix his face?
Well, considering Vader was lying face down in lava for around 45 minutes, his body is
actually not that badly damaged.
Well except for ahhh….ff..never mind….That’s because he was using dark side hatred to keep
himself alive.
After the incident, Vader was slowly able to expand the duration of his lung's functionality,
starting at a few seconds and gradually managing up to a few minutes.
He theorized that, with much practice and enormous willpower, he would eventually master
the process and no longer be constricted by his life support system.
8.
SUPER-SPEED AND AGILITY Vader is not exactly known for his speed and
agility, but once again he can call on the Force to fix this.
Force speed, also known as burst of speed or Force sprint, was a core power that allowed
the user to maintain sprinting speeds for a brief time.
This increased speed of the Force-user enabled the individual to see the world and the entities
around them in slow motion, allowing them to dodge attacks easily and attack more quickly
with greater accuracy.
We have witnessed Anakin use this power many times in the prequel trilogies.
Then there’s the Force Jumping, a power we see in the Clone Wars that makes Vader
quite formidable.
Luke Skywalker also favoured this power, and he utilised many Force jumps when fighting
Vader on Cloud City.
9.
ENERGY ABSORPTION One of the most bad ass scenes in the Empire
Strikes Back is when Vader absorbs Han Solo’s blaster bolt through his hands.
This is actually one of many Force energy absorption techniques.
Tutaminis is an umbrella term used to describe these skills.
Force users could draw potentially harmful heat or electrical energy into their bodies
and diffuse it or channel it away completely.
Viewed as a starting point for Jedi students, the Council of First Knowledge designated
the study of Tutaminis to be taught during the very first classes…
In addition to deflecting energy weapons, this ability could eliminate the harmful effects
of other energy-based Force powers such as Force lightning.
With additional effort, after absorbing a blaster bolt or Force power, the user could
utilize the absorbed energy to heal his or her wounds.
10.
PRECOGNITION Precognition, also known as danger sense,
was a universal Force power, and a trademark of Force-sensitives…
It manifested in the form of Force visions of future events, guiding premonitions or
warnings, and an inflow of prescience that helped the Jedi predict their opponent's movements.
Anakin possessed this power at a very young age, and it was the reason he was the only
human who could pod-race.
This ability in the Force was not restricted to the Jedi, however, as the Sith also were
known to perceive direction and insight from the dark side.
Battle Precognition was a variant which allowed one to sense the flows of the Force while
engaged in battle.
So that’s it, those are Vader’s 10 lesser known powers...If I missed any, please leave
a comment below.
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