64

In Star Wars Episode II, battling with Count Dooku Yoda was. Force Lightning against Yoda Dooku uses. The lightning from affecting him Yoda stops. Then Force Lightning back at Count Dooku he uses.

Using Force Lightning was Yoda or Count Dooku's Lightning back at him just reflecting?

Yoda and Count Dooku's battle with Force Lightning

PriestVallon
  • 10,236
  • 16
  • 64
  • 100
  • 2
    Only problem I have with this is that the screenshot appears to be from Yoda's battle with Darth Sidious in Episode III (notice the Senate chamber repulsorpods in the background). – G_Hosa_Phat Sep 17 '15 at 15:59

3 Answers3

86

Reflecting Dooku's Force Lightning Yoda was. To generate his own, fall to the Dark Side he must. Absorb and reflect he can, as a great master of the Light Side.

Requested, a citation has been. Point to Wookiepedia I can, for strong in the source are their articles. The film itself, their reference is. The novelization possibly more detail contains. Force Lightning only Sith wield, at least in G-canon. Force Lightning also some Jedi wield, in lesser-canon tales.

Wad Cheber
  • 11,793
  • 6
  • 61
  • 69
  • So many levels of epic and information :D – Tablemaker Feb 05 '13 at 18:24
  • 4
    Can you provide a source for this? I always imagined that falling to the dark side would not be a requirement for something like force lightning, it would just make force lightning far easier to wield. – user606723 Feb 05 '13 at 20:09
  • 11
    Adding a citation while maintaining that voice is hard. –  Feb 05 '13 at 21:17
  • 3
    From what I understand the Expanded Universe is considered canon, unless it directly contradicts the movies. In this case it actually seems to provide an explanation for why Jedis usually don't use Force Lightning: ...its use was viewed as inherently corrupting, and most Jedi Councils forbade its use. – Oliver_C Feb 06 '13 at 09:11
  • 2
    @Oliver_C Yeah, Star Wars canon is stratified. What's in the films and the current TV series is canon. What's in the licensed books, games, etc. is a level below that in canon. So the books and such can fill in details that the movies and show never will, but when the movies and show do fill in details it'll override what was in the books. –  Feb 06 '13 at 15:20
  • 10
    The mod in me want to edit everything to be easily legable, the SW nerd in me approves. CRISIS! – DForck42 Feb 06 '13 at 22:16
  • Awesome question and answer this is. – Steve Melnikoff Feb 08 '13 at 16:33
  • @DForck42: add a legible translation, but hidden as a spoiler. – b_jonas May 02 '14 at 17:01
  • Wookieepedia says it was "most often used by practitioners of the dark side of the Force, especially the Sith. The ability was commonly referred to as Sith lightning, due to the affiliations of its typical users." However, it goes on to say: "Force lightning ability was not restricted to dark-siders. Jedi and other light-siders who were strong of will and character could learn this power without falling to the dark side—but its use was viewed as inherently corrupting, and most Jedi Councils forbade its use." http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Force_lightning – Wad Cheber Apr 26 '15 at 01:48
  • Also, the Wookieepedia page on Yoda makes it very clear: "Master Yoda arrived in a hangar to confront Dooku, after he had grievously wounded Skywalker and Kenobi. After deflecting Dooku's Force powers, among which was Force lightning, Yoda realized that Dooku had turned to the dark side of the Force, becoming a Sith Lord." http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Yoda#Battle_of_Geonosis – Wad Cheber Apr 26 '15 at 01:52
  • We're it possible, +10 would I give you – Joseph Rogers Jan 04 '16 at 22:21
  • 1
    "strong in the source", OLL! – pacoverflow Dec 26 '17 at 06:36
6

The very short answer is that Yoda is certainly theoretically capable of casting Force Lightning, but to do so would require a 360° rethink of his Light Side philosophy. Basically he would need to discard a lifetime of Jedi teachings and become a Sith before he could do it.

The StarWars.com website notes that Force Lightning is a specifically dark side power, one that requires the user draw on anger and hatred to disfigure the Living Force enough to draw raw energy from the Force itself. Yoda and Mace (and Luke) are said to be capable of deflecting it, but there's no indication that they can generate it:

FORCE LIGHTNING

Force lightning is a dark side ability used to torture, disfigure, and even kill one’s victims. Blue in color, Sith shoot Force lightning from their hands by calling on their hatred and aggressive feelings. However, while a deadly weapon, it is not unstoppable. Force lightning can be deflected and absorbed by a lightsaber, and select Jedi have proved able to neutralize the technique through the power of the light side. - Star Wars Databank: Force Lightning

and

Palpatine raised his spidery arms toward Luke: blinding white bolts of energy coruscated from his fingers, shot across the room like sorcerous lightning, and tore through the boy’s insides, looking for ground. The young Jedi was at once confounded and in agony — he’d never heard of such a power, such a corruption of the Force, let alone experienced it. - Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - Official Novelisation

1

Shooting force lightning would defeat the object of what it means to be a Jedi. If you belive in the butterfly effect a tru master of Tai Chi is someone who can take the agression of others and reflect it back to achieve peace, even if it means reflecting it directly towards the attacker as the fastest means of achieving this outcome. Yoda could easily summon force lightning but at most it would be to cook his breakfast not at all to inflict harm, the path to the dark side this is.

Mercury
  • 11
  • 1