It's Time To Talk About That Darth Vader Scene In Obi-Wan Kenobi Part V
Contains spoilers for "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part V
In Disney+'s "Obi-Wan Kenobi," Ewan McGregor reprises his role as the iconic Jedi master. The series takes place between the prequel films and the original trilogy and finds our hero living in exile on Tatooine as he watches over a young Luke Skywalker (Grant Feely). But the series quickly moves away from the desolate Outer Rim planet as Kenobi takes on a mission to protect Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair), who's been kidnapped by the Inquisitors as a way of drawing the remaining Jedi out of hiding following their destruction thanks to Order 66.
It's a smart plan, but one that is all in service of bringing Kenobi face-to-face with Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen and James Earl Jones) for the first time since their fateful battle on Mustafar in "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith." Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy previously teased an epic rematch between the two at the 2020 Disney Investor Day, and Part V perfectly sets up the finale, as the episode gives Vader a chance to show off just how powerful he really is.
Darth Vader pulls a ship out of the sky
Toward the end of "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part V, Darth Vader arrives on Jabiim to finally catch Kenobi and the rest of the Force-sensitives who are trying to escape from the Empire. The Sith Lord sees a ship leaving the base, but he reaches out with the Force and brings it crashing to the ground in a stunning display of power. He then goes one step further and starts ripping chunks out of the ship, only to find it empty — which is when the villain sees a second ship taking off into the sky with our heroes in tow. Oh, dear.
It's possibly the most powerful feat of Force usage that fans have seen in live-action. Sure, both Yoda (Frank Oz) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) managed to lift a submerged X-Wing back onto the ground — but it was stationary on both occasions. Vader grabs a ship that is actively flying away from him, and he yanks it down like a balloon. What's equally impressive is that this doesn't even sap his strength, because he duels Reva (Moses Ingram) almost immediately afterward. It seems like Vader's hate for Kenobi is fuelling him more than a Sithbucks coffee ever could.
The villain has pulled off a number of impressive moves in the comics, such as in "Darth Vader" #13 by Kieron Gillen (via Wookiepedia), where he kills most of a battalion of Rebel commandos by using the Force to pull the pins on their grenades, before swiftly destroying a tank. But the end of Part V is possibly the most powerful act we've ever seen from a live-action Force-user to date.
The Force has always made for great action scenes
Now, it's important to note that this obviously isn't the first time that a Jedi or a Sith has used the Force to control something heavy — far from it. Aside from Yoda and Luke lifting the X-Wing, there have been a few other instances of people using the Force to devastating effect. In "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones," both Yoda and Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) hurl giant pieces of machinery at one another in the finale. Meanwhile, in "Revenge of the Sith," Yoda and Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) fling those giant hovering pods at each other in the Senate building.
However, the only one who really comes close to Vader's latest Force feat is Rey (Daisy Ridley) in "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker" when she grabs a First Order troop transport in the sky and accidentally blows it up using Force lightning. It's shocking because fans hadn't seen a Jedi wield their power with such a devastating effect before that point.
But let's face it, the troop transport is a relatively compact vehicle and it's much smaller than the ship that Vader grabs and tears apart in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" Part V. There's a reason, after all, why he's the best live-action "Star Wars" villain of all time.