Summary
- Darth Siberus, an ancient Sith Lord, had a unique Force lightning power that allowed her to drain the life-essence of others, a power not even possessed by Palpatine.
- The Hand of Siberus, an ancient Sith weapon that can emit lightning bolts, confirms the existence of Darth Siberus and showcases the power of her unique Force lightning ability.
- Darth Siberus likely had the strongest and most refined version of Sith lightning.
Darth Sidious was the ultimate Sith, yet one canon Star Wars Sith Lord had a Force lightning power that Palpatine never achieved. Star Wars’ Force lighting power was introduced in Return of the Jedi, when the mysterious Emperor shot lightning bolts from his fingertips against Luke Skywalker. The idea was for the Emperor, who did not carry a lightsaber in the film, to have a different fighting style compared to Darth Vader. Since then, several Star Wars characters have used Force Lightning, not just in the movies but in animated shows, comics, novels, and video games.
More recently, Rey used Force lighting in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This was meant to show how similar to Darth Sidious she could become, as Force lightning is usually associated with Palpatine. However, as iconic as moments like Palpatine’s “unlimited power” scene are, Sidious’ Force lightning abilities are not Star Wars’ strongest.
Darth Siberus Knew How To Use A Unique Force Lightning Power
George Mann’s Dark Legends, a collection of short stories, include the legend of an ancient Sith known as Darth Siberus. Despite the name, Dark Legends is a canon Star Wars book. The “Legends” term here refers to actual in-universe legends, stories that are passed down from one generation to another in the Star Wars universe. Therefore, the idea is that no one knows whether there is any truth to those legends and the characters they mention. One of those characters is Darth Siberus, who, according to the legend, could drain the life-essence of others using a special type of Force lightning. Interestingly, Darth Siberus’ existence has now been confirmed.
When Dark Legends was published in 2020, Darth Siberus’ story was just an in-universe legend. However, The High Republic #10 (2022) by Cavan Scott introduced an ancient Sith weapon known as the Hand of Siberus, all but confirmed that Darth Siberus did exist at some point. The Hand of Siberus is a gauntlet that the Jedi were keeping hidden on Jedha. Coincidence or not, the Hand of Siberus could emit lightning bolts, which ties into the legend of Darth Siberus. The Hand of Siberus is portrayed as an extremely dangerous weapon, adding to the idea that Darth Siberus existed and had a unique Force lightning power.
Palpatine's Force Lightning Was Far Less Powerful Than Darth Siberus'
While the Emperor was the first Star Wars character to ever use Force lightning in a movie, Darth Sidious’ lightning power does not come close to what Darth Siberus could do. The full extent of Darth Siberus’ power, as well as how much of her legend is true, remains a mystery. Still, based on what the Hand of Siberus can do, Darth Siberus likely had the strongest and most refined version of Sith. lightning. Force lighting is often portrayed as a medium-range attack used by Sith, but Darth Siberus’ story shows that there are other ways to employ this ability.
The High Republic comic book series has portrayed the Hand of Siberus’ power as purple lighting. This suggests that Darth Siberus’ version of Force lighting also emitted purple energy, which by itself is a significant difference from other Sith. The ability to drain someone’s life essence through Force lightning, which is something that not even Palpatine could do, ranks high in the list of most powerful Star Wars abilities and makes for a fascinating lore addition.