I saw someone bring this up in a Star Wars thread the other day and it got me thinking: we always talk about how powerful Yoda is, but we kinda gloss over the fact that he literally catches Force lightning with his hands. Like—he just absorbs it, no problem. That’s not something we see every day, even among top-tier Force users.
And then the question came up—has anyone else actually done that? Not blocked it with a saber or redirected it with the Force, but just… took it, straight to the hands, and shrugged it off?
Turns out, there are a few characters who’ve pulled off similar moves. Not many. And not always in the same way. But if you look through both canon and Legends, you’ll find some wild moments that show Yoda might not be the only one who can take lightning without flinching.
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Revan Blocked Force Lightning From Darth Nyriss With His Bare Hands
So, let’s start with a Jedi. Besides Yoda, Revan was the only one I remember blocking Force lightning barehanded.
One of the most badass Force lightning moments in all of Legends comes from Revan—yeah, that Revan. Jedi Knight. Sith Lord. Redeemed warrior.
In the novel Star Wars: The Old Republic – Revan by Drew Karpyshyn, there’s a scene where Darth Nyriss unloads a massive barrage of lightning at Revan. And instead of doing what we’ve seen others do—like Windu or Obi-Wan deflecting the Force lightning with their lightsabers, Revan just walks straight into it and catches the blast with his bare hands.
The book says: “A dozen bolts of lightning sprang from Nyriss’s hand, arcing across the room to incinerate her enemies. Instead of leaping back into the cell to avoid the deadly attack, Revan stepped forward to intercept it.
Both hands were held in front of him, his arms fully extended at shoulder height, his thumbs touching and his fingers splayed wide. He drew the bolts of lightning into his waiting grasp, channeling them away from their intended targets and absorbing their power.”
So next time someone says Yoda’s the only Jedi who could do that? Just show them this. Revan absolutely belongs in that conversation.
Darth Wyyrlok III Absorbed Lightning with His Bare Hands
So we’ve talked about two Jedi—Revan and, of course, Yoda—who could take on Force lightning without a lightsaber. But there’s also a Sith Lord in Legends who pulled off the same insane feat: Darth Wyyrlok III.
As far as I know, he’s the only Sith we’ve seen do this bare-handed. You can catch the moment in Star Wars: Legacy (2006) issue #27. I won’t break down the whole comic here, but the key panel shows Wyyrlok going up against the ancient Sith spirit Darth Andeddu, and when Andeddu lashes out with a full blast of Force lightning, Wyyrlok straight-up catches it in his palm.
This panel alone cements Wyyrlok as one of the few Force users who could absorb lightning without flinching—and unlike Yoda or Revan, he’s doing it as a Sith.
Last But Not Least, Vader’s Secret Apprentice Blocking Palpatine’s Force Lightning
And finally, we have one of the wildest Force feats in all of Star Wars Legends—Galen Marek, aka Starkiller, the secret apprentice of Darth Vader from The Force Unleashed. If you’ve played the game, you already know how overpowered he is.
At the end of The Force Unleashed, Starkiller sacrifices himself to save the Rebels, and in doing so, he literally blocks and absorbs a full blast of Force lightning from Emperor Palpatine.
