When Force lightning made its debut in Return of the Jedi, it was the epitome of power in Star Wars. It showed that, with only the Force, the Emperor could dominate anyone he wanted, and he didn’t even need a lightsaber. Clearly, no one could stand up to the electrical bolts that emitted from his hands. Luke was nearly killed, and Vader was actually killed when it overloaded his suit with power. From there, Force lightning developed into the trademark weapon of the Dark Side of the Force. To this day, it’s one of the coolest and most effective powers a Force-user can employ.
Most Star Wars fans are familiar with the concept of Force lightning, and even casual fans have probably seen Emperor Palpatine screaming, “Unlimited power,” as he shoots torrents of electricity at Master Windu. However, what some fans may not know is that Force lightning can come in a variety of colors. While the root cause for the color variation is often ambiguous, it’s still cool to look and see who used what type. So, here are all four colors of Force lightning in canon and who used them.
Blue or Purple Force Lightning
The most common variation of Force lightning is a blueish-purple color. It was the original version that the Emperor used in Return of the Jedi, and it has continued as the mainstay for most Dark Side users. As such, it has been seen many times on the big screen. Darth Sidious used it to (allegedly) kill Master Windu, Snoke used it punish Kylo Ren and Count Dooku used it as a way to subdue Anakin Skywalker. More recently, Rey unveiled her Palpatine heritage when she conjured lightning in an attempt to save Chewbacca, who she believed was trapped in a First Order transport that was leaving Pasaana.
Yellow Force Lightning
A second color that Force lightning can be is yellow. This color is much less common and is not seen in the Star Wars movies. It was described in some canon novels, but its most well-known appearance was in Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith #22. There, it was conjured by an ancient Sith scholar named Darth Momin. In the depths of history, he had planned to pour his lightning into an engine with enough power to destroy an entire city. Momin was a powerful Sith, so there is no reason to believe that yellow Force lightning is a lesser variant of blue lightning. In fact, there’s no indication as to why Momin’s lightning was a different color.
Green Force Lightning
Mother Talzin is the only known wielder of green Force lightning, which she used during the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series. Talzin and her Nightsisters channeled their Dark Side magicks from a magical ichor called the Waters of Life that was found deep within the planet Dathomir. The tone of that ichor was green, and their powers often emanated out of them in the form of a green mist. So, it makes perfect sense that her version of Force lightning would also be green.
Red Force Lightning
The final color of Force lightning is red, and it was most notably used by the Son during Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Mortis arc. The Son was a literal manifestation of the Dark Side itself and was practically immortal, so some fans have hypothesized that red is the most powerful color of Force lightning, but there isn’t any real proof for that theory. Red Force lightning also appeared in the comic book Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith #25. In the comic book, Darth Vader sent a projection of himself into an otherworldly portal on Mustafar. There, he killed a Palpatine who was blocking him from reaching a vision of his wife, Padmé Amidala.