InStar Warslore,Emperor Palpatinewas obsessed with finding a means to cheat death, with nearly every act he committed throughout his career as a shady politician-turned-fascist leader lending itself to achieving his ultimate goal of living forever — something he wasn’t able to accomplish in the slightest. InStar Wars: Legacy, a now non-canon comic series set in Star Wars Legends continuity,a descendant of Darth Vader finally acquires a power Palpatine couldn’t: command over death.
Tempting a vulnerable Anakin Skywalker inStar Wars: Revenge of the Sithwith the story of Dark Plagueis, a Sith Lord who could avoid death and create life, it’s here where Palpatine officially introduces the idea of using the Force’s power to accomplish feats that should be impossible.
Unfortunately for Palpatine and his failed quest for immortality, he’s shown up in the inaugural issue of 2006’sStar Wars: Legacy— a series set over 125 years after the original trilogy — by Anakin’s distant grandson,Cade Skywalker, who utilizes the “dark transfer” ability, giving him the power to resurrect the dead.
Palpatine Always Wanted Power Over Death
First used by a young Cade inStar Wars: Legacy #1, by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, Cade unleashed this unexpected power after his father is murdered by Darth Nihl right after his mentor, Master Wolf Sazen, is mortally wounded. Losing his father butgetting the chance to save Master Sazen as he drew his last breath, Cade had to bring himself “to the edge of the dark side”to pull this incredible feat off, with his eventual mastery over dark transfer allowing Cade to tap into the light side of the Force and further bolster his power as well.
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When used by Cade,dark transfer looks like an offshoot ofPalpatine’s blue Force lightningas it crackles around Cade’s hands and onto the people he’s saving. AsLegacycontinued, Cade could not only reliably bring people back from the dead, but also heal them and himself at an incredible rate, withthe sheer effort of using this ability having serious repercussions on Cade. Seen exhausted and huddled in a corner inStar Wars: Legacy #7after using the ability, Cade, staring with eerie “Sith eyes,” looked like a gaunt shell of himself — an ever-constant consequence of using this power.
Dark Transfer Is a Powerful but Dangerous Force Ability That Even Palpatine Couldn’t Master
Star Wars: LegacyIs a Star Wars Legends Story
Along with imposing his fascist rule across the galaxy,Palpatine’s desire to conquer deathwas a major goal of his from the moment he became Darth Sidiousuntil his long reign as Emperor concluded. Though Palpatinedidhave a contingency plan to survive Darth Vader’s final act of betrayal where he transferred his essence into a faulty clone of himself, Palpatine never acquired Cade’s dark transfer ability — a power that was used by Darth Krayt to revivehimselffrom death and one Cade used to healtwopeople at once — ensuring that he never stood a chance at living forever.
Star Wars: Legacy’s first volume ran for 50 issues from 2006 to 2010.
Incredibly powerful in its own right, dark transfer wasn’t always used to resurrect or heal. In fact,dark transfer can be wielded to hurt others, with Cade, instead of healing someone’s wounds by pouring the Force into their broken body, purposely using dark transfer toinflict pain on Darth TaloninStar Wars: Legacy #16. Immediately made to heal her by his captor, Darth Krayt, it’s interesting to wonder how Palpatine would have utilized this dark side-adjacent ability, as he would have undoubtedly used it to benefit himself but also to torture his enemies, much like how Cade does here.
Rise of SkywalkerMade Dark Transfer Canon in Star Wars' Film Universe
Ben Solo Sacrificed Himself for Rey to Live
A life-giving power adapted into live-action inStar Wars: Rise of Skywalkerafter Ben Solo, in a final act of sacrifice, supercharges his Force healing to bring back a recently deceased Rey, Ben, instead of being drained of power like how Cade is, dies on the spot in a successful exchange of life essence, showing the stark difference in the power’s usage. Though clearly not as effective or even as visually interesting compared to Cade’s dark transfer ability, it’s clear this technique was partially inspired byLegacylore, with Reyalsoshowing off her healing powers earlier in the film.
Despite these examples,there aren’t many other obviousStar Wars: Legacyelements that have made the jump into “main” Star Wars continuity, but never say never, as other unique ideas exclusive toLegacycanon, like non-human species serving as Stormtroopers complete with specialized armor that fits their alien anatomy, being concepts that could be incorporated into future films, shows, video games, or even upcoming Star Wars comics. Cade Skywalker harnessing the power between life and death is somethingEmperor Palpatinewould have killed for, making this comic-exclusiveStar Warshero one of the most powerful characters in the entire franchise.
