Darksaber/Legends

The Darksaber was an ancient type of lightsaber that possessed a black blade.

Specifications and Unique Features


The darksaber possessed many aspects that distinguished it from almost all other known lightsabers, the most notable being the blade.

The darksaber blade possessed a black blade with a flattened and pointed shape, closer to a vibroblade in appearance. However, more interestingly, the blades core was black while the edges glowed white, as opposed to all other known blade colors, where the central core was white and the edges glowed in the specific color.

Along with the unusual appearance, the darksaber blade also produced unusual audio effects. The ignition and hum of the blade were higher pitched and softer than the typical lightsaber. Also, when striking another lightsaber blade, the darksaber did not produce a clashing sound, instead resonating with a whistling or twanging noice when the two blades came apart.

The hilt itself was very angular and squared off compared to the standard cylindrical hilts, as well as being slightly longer. However, this may simply represent the personal preferences of the original creator. Ultimately, it seemed that many aspects of the darksaber were diametrically opposed to those of regular lightsabers.

History


The only known darksaber fell into the possession of the Mandalorians, being stolen from the Jedi Temple during the fall of the Old Republic. By the Clone Wars, this weapon was in the possession of Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla, who wielded it against Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in a duel on Concordia. While Vizsla aquitted himself well against Kenobi, he was ultimately beaten, though he retained possession of the weapon.

According to Pre Vizsla, the weapon had been used to kill numerous Jedi.

Behind the scenes
Originally intended to be a vibroblade, George Lucas decided that to preserve the uniqueness of the Jedi weapon, a lightsaber should not be seen to be blocked by sword-like weapon that is not a lightsaber. With that in mind, Lucas and the show's crew conceived of an ancient precursor to the lightsaber which they named the Darksaber.

As this weapon does not feature a hip-mounted power supply, it is possible that it does not pre-date the Protosaber design. However, as seen with Vima-Da-Boda's lightsaber, protosabers can be updated to modern specifications using modern parts. Such updated lightsabers should not be confused with "retrosabers", which are lightsabers of modern make that are fitted with a hip-mounted power supply.

The Darksaber is the first black-bladed lightsaber in canon and is considered "T-canon", the second highest level of canon. A black-bladed lightsaber was previously seen as an unlockable item in The Force Unleashed video game, but its canon-status was ambiguous as it was never wielded by Galen Marek according to in-game cut-scenes or other Force Unleashed media.

Notes and references
Dunkelklinge