Star Wars: 10 Most Powerful Things Darth Vader Ever Did

As a younger man, Anakin Skywalker was one of the most powerful Jedi Knights to serve in the Jedi Order. Under the guidance of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Skywalker was a general in the Clone Wars, where he received much acclamation from his peers and superiors. This all changed when Skywalker fell to the dark side of the Force, undergoing a transformation into one of the most powerful Sith Lords that ever lived: Darth Vader.

For the remainder of his life, Darth Vader would serve the Galactic Empire; wiping out the remaining Jedi, establishing Imperial rule and attempting to crush the Rebel Alliance that formed as a result. All the while, Vader honed his renowned talents for the Force, piloting and lightsaber combat to serve the will of the dark Emperor Palpatine, turning his back on everything he once stood for.

Vader was respected and feared throughout the ranks of the Imperial Army (not to mention the rest of the galaxy), and after hearing of his feats of raw strength and skill, it's easy to understand why.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's former apprentice attained a level of infamy second only to the Emperor itself, and he did so by hunting down and killing the surviving Jedi and terrorising the Rebel Alliance - overcoming great odds in the process...

Although Darth Vader would eventually redeem himself at the end of Return of the Jedi (1983), this only occurred after more than twenty years of suppressing what was left of Anakin Skywalker. One early instance of this happened right after Vader had battled surviving Jedi Kirak Infil'a for his lightsaber (more on that later).

Once he had claimed the weapon, Vader was told to go to Mustafar in order to make the kyber crystal inside "bleed", i.e. pouring all of his rage and hatred into it so that it would be corrupted and produce a red blade. As Vader went about doing this, the energy inside the crystal forced him to hallucinate a different series of events in order to dissuade him from carrying the bleeding out (the kyber crystal was a sentient being, of course).

Within the vision, Vader turned his back on the dark side by travelling to Coruscant and killing Emperor Palpatine. Once that was done, he found Obi-Wan Kenobi and begged for forgiveness for the atrocities he had committed. Everything seemed to be going well for a moment, until Obi-Wan referred to him as "Anakin", which enraged Vader enough to dismiss the hallucinations entirely and complete the bleeding process.

This would be Vader's first rejection of the good left within him, but it would certainly not be his last. For the time being, Darth Vader was consumed by the dark side of the Force.

But at least he got a shiny new red lightsaber out of it, so that's a plus.