Did Vader Feed His Power From His Fallen Enemies
Darth Vader is considered the most powerful Sith in the Galaxy. But how did Vader get so powerful? As the saga goes, all Sith Lords have special powers from the dark side of the Force. If you remember, in Episode III, Palpatine (Darth Sidious) tells Anakin stories of the Sith Lords’ powers they received from the dark side. Darth Vader became so powerful because he was sent to the Jedi Temple to destroy all Jedi and younglings living there. Darth Vader’s task and journey to the Jedi Temple occurred just shortly after Palpatine initiated Order 66. For Vader, accomplishing this heinous task only pushed him more into the dark side, giving him more power. The massacre of the Jedi brought Darth Vader power in many forms.
The story of Darth Vader's massacre at the Jedi Temple was portrayed in the comic series, Darth Vader (2017) #3 and #4. Vader’s exact orders were to hunt down survivors of Palpatine’s treacherous Order 66. The comic series began where Revenge of the Sith left off. Vader had just been defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi and had also lost his lightsaber. Vader now had to find a new lightsaber and headed to the Al’doleem moon, where he confronted the Jedi Master, Kirak Infil’a to acquire his lightsaber crystal. Jedi Master Infil’a sensed a dark shadow coming to Al’doleem. It was actually all the suffering of the Jedi being destroyed; the same grief that Yoda, Ahsoka and Jaro Tapal felt at the time. Infil’a sensed the dark shadow was responsible for destroying the Jedi Order.
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Master Infil’a had set many traps and obstacles for Vader. Master Infil’a was also able to deflect Vader’s force choke. Infil’a sensed the feeling of death of every Jedi was strong with Vader. Infil’a then mused that Vader accepted this pain within him, absorbing the suffering the destruction of the Jedi Order had caused. This conduit to the dark side made Darth Vader very powerful. Jedi Master Infil’a thought that this dark shadow could be felt throughout the galaxy. If that was the case, then everyone who felt this dark presence felt Anakin Skywalker’s personal misery. Absorbing of Force energy was nothing new for Force wiedlers. An individual's life force could be transferred through the Force to heal others, while other specific typologies of Force lighting could drain the life force of other individuals. Master Infil’a dueled Vader but was unable to defeat him, as Vader held a city on innocent civilians hostage to gain the upper hand.
In addition to Vader internalizing and drawing power from the destruction of the Jedi, the Sith used another ability to transfer the energy of the Force upon their enemies with devastating results. Force lightning was an ability used only by practitioners of the dark side. Darth Sidious (Palpatine) stated “The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be... unnatural.” Only the Sith dare expose powers that the Jedi dare not exert, such as conjuring Force lightning which corrupts the Force through intensive wrath. According to the StarWars.com databank entry;
“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.”
Force lightning was a powerful resource for Sith Lords. While Vader was unable to wield it, as he was more machine than man, Force lightning served many other Sith Lords well. Looking at Legends, there is a powerful Sith, Darth Vitiate (Tenebrae) who possessed legendary skill, ability, and evil. During the Great Hyperspace War, Darth Vitiate seized control of the Sith, calling for the 8,000 Sith survivors to come to his homeworld, Nathema. There, Vitiate used Dark Side sorcery to dominate the mind of every Sith there. Darth Vitiate used the power of the Dark Lords to absorb the life force and destroy all life on the planet except for his own, forever stripping the planet of the Force.
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Source: CBR, StarWars.com, Wookieepedia