Force lightning/Legends



Force lightning is Dark Side Force power: the user projects lightning from their fingertips, causing the victim intense pain and, if sustained, death. It is capable of rendering a target unconscious with only a short burst. Strong Light Side Force users are sometimes able to resist Force-lightning, and it can also be blocked with a lightsaber.

Emperor Palpatine used Force lightning to punish Luke Skywalker for his resistance to the Emperor's persuasion. He used it to slowly torture Luke, building slowly up to a lethal level. When Darth Vader turned on the Emperor, Palpatine used the lightning at a much higher intensity, yet Vader was still able to endure long enough to hurl his master into the reactor pit. Darth Tyranus also used the technique to incapacitate Anakin Skywalker during the Battle of Geonosis. He also attempted the technique on Obi Wan Kenobi, who was able to block with his lightsaber, and Master Yoda, who managed to reflect and dispel the energy.

Darth Sidious used Force lightning on Mace Windu, though Windu deflected it back into Sidious's face, permanently disfiguring it. It has been theorised that the disfigurement was not the direct effect of the lightning (which has never been seen to have such physical effect before), but merely removes the illusion Palpatine had been projecting.