# How many times did Darth get each limb chopped off? (No spoilers boxes, please.)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 26, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217 "2006-02-26T20:51:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/21 "2006-02-27T14:04:54Z")
IIRC, the _Empire Strikes Back_ novel more or less said that had Vader given in wholly to the Dark Side, he would have been able to regenerate his limbs and lungs et al easily. He would have then returned to full force potency, presumably.
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### Author:  [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/22 "2006-02-27T14:10:02Z")
The wording I seem to recall is that Darth Vader with limbs has about 200% the power level of the Emperor. Without his limbs it’s about 80%.
> [@AndyPolley](#):
>
> I think there’s a tiny hint of subtle foreshadowing in RotS with the creation of General Grievous as a main villain. Maybe it was the constant coughing coming from what seems to be a droid?
He was once fully…well, an alien of some kind, but biological. A famed general, he turned down the offer to work for Sidious/Palpatine, so…an accident was arranged. They rebuilt him (they have the technology. He can be stronger, faster be…uh, never mind) and programmed in “Serve Palpatine” in there while they were at it.
His cough is the result of Mace Windu using the force to crush the vital organs he had left in a fight they had prior to RotS.
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### Author:  [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/23 "2006-02-27T14:37:34Z")
> [@vaderspal](#):
>
> However, prosthetic-limb mechanics seem to be fairly impervious to blaster-fire. Luke takes a hit to his mechanical right hand at the beginning of _Return of the Jedi_. Aside from a cosmetically inconvenient hole in the skin, the hand works just fine for the remainder of the film.
That and Darth Vader is seen repeling blaster fire with his one hand on Cloud City in “The Empire Strikes Back”.
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### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/24 "2006-02-27T15:09:56Z")
> [@AndyPolley](#):
>
> I think there’s a tiny hint of subtle foreshadowing in RotS with the creation of General Grievous as a main villain. Maybe it was the constant coughing coming from what seems to be a droid? I dunno. He’s apparently schooled in the ‘Jedi arts’ (by Palpatine?) and he is certainly “more machine than man (or whatever) now…” I think Lucas is trying to hint that this may have been the path of Vader if he wasn’t redeemed at the end of the whole saga. This of course implies that Grievous has been around for a while, even though that would ruin the line about there’s only 2 Sith at any given time.
I haven’t seen the Clone Wars cartoons, but I never got the impression that Grievous was a Sith. The precision and speed of his mechanical limbs allows him to use lightsabers, but he has no mastery of the Force.
RE Alloys
After RoTS, Vader knows there are only two Jedi left. Making himself lightsaber proof would not be a big priority.
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### Author:  [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/25 "2006-02-27T15:30:27Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> That’s been my suspicion for a while. I read the novelizations of the original three movies when I got into them in the early '90s, and I remember “Darth Sidious” being in there. Amazon says the novel of _Star Wars_ came out in 1986, almost a decade after the movie.
Amazon is wrong. It came out in 1976, a few months before the movie was released.
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### Author:  [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/26 "2006-02-27T15:51:38Z")
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is that in the Clone Wars cartoons (volume 2) Anakin’s machine-like mechanical hand gets disintegrated when he sticks it through an energy field.
That results in him getting his more…sculpted arm he was packing in RoTS.
-Joe
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### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/27 "2006-02-27T16:03:37Z")
> [@Merijeek](#):
>
> That results in him getting his more…sculpted arm he was packing in RoTS.
That’s a disappointment, albeit a minor one. I assumed that the arm we see at the end AOTC was a standard prosthetic replacement and that Anakin designed and built himself a custom replacement and had it attached sometime before ROTS.
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/28 "2006-02-27T21:27:57Z")
IIRC, in the Star Wars roleplaying game (original version) artificial limbs on a Force user can make him/her more powerful, but also more suceptible to the Dark Side. Once turned, one has to do even more evil things than “normal” to keep from imploding.
As for Vader not using lightning, I don’t think it matches his personality.
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### Author:  [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/29 "2006-02-27T21:33:11Z")
> [@DocCathode](#):
>
> That’s a disappointment, albeit a minor one. I assumed that the arm we see at the end AOTC was a standard prosthetic replacement and that Anakin designed and built himself a custom replacement and had it attached sometime before ROTS.
I think it was more of a “we’re in the middle of a war so here’s something to keep you going” and, once he lost that one, they decided to do a better replacement.
I assume there’s a book out there that covers this or something. Either way, though, the Clone Wars 'toons were really cool. Especially the second season.
-Jo
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/30 "2006-02-27T21:58:06Z")
> [@vaderspal](#):
>
> OK, I’ll grant a pass on that one. 🙂
>
> I forgot about that. It reinforces my suspicion that “Darth Vader” was originally supposed to be a full name, and GL decided later that “Darth” would designate Sith. Or did this come from the EU? I never got into the books or anything. I never liked the idea of “Darth” being a title, personally. I think it’s such a cool name I’d like it to be Vader’s alone. But I didn’t write the damn thing.
Yeah, I think so too. But this is one of those redone concepts that works. It just makes it that much more insulting when Obi-Wan says, “Only a master of evil, _Darth_.”
And **DocCathode** is correct, Grievous is NOT a Sith. Not only that, but he isn’t even Force-sensitive. He’s just trained in the Jedi fighting styles.
Plus, when he was reconstructed after his “accident”, his brain was messed with, so he’s been conditioned to believe he was always so ruthless, but there’s some hints that that’s not necessarily the case.
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### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/31 "2006-02-27T22:09:26Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#):
>
> Plus, when he was reconstructed after his “accident”, his brain was messed with, so he’s been conditioned to believe he was always so ruthless, but there’s some hints that that’s not necessarily the case.
So Sidius has a habit of getting his subordinates seriously injured and rebuilding them with metal?
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### Author:  [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/32 "2006-02-27T22:12:00Z")
> [@DocCathode](#):
>
> So Sidius has a habit of getting his subordinates seriously injured and rebuilding them with metal?
Hey, if I’m ever Evil Overlord of the Galaxy I can assure you that ALL my henchmen are getting cortex bombs.
Every single one.
-Joe
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### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/33 "2006-02-27T22:28:29Z")
> [@Merijeek](#):
>
> Hey, if I’m ever Evil Overlord of the Galaxy I can assure you that ALL my henchmen are getting cortex bombs.
>
> Every single one.
>
> -Joe
This pops up in one of the Jabba The Hut comics. “Y’know, Bib, I never really trusted him. I always thought he might try to take me out. That’s why I had a large bomb implanted in him. Now, where did I put that remote? Ah, here it is.”
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### Author:  [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/34 "2006-02-27T22:54:40Z")
> [@DocCathode](#):
>
> This pops up in one of the Jabba The Hut comics. “Y’know, Bib, I never really trusted him. I always thought he might try to take me out. That’s why I had a large bomb implanted in him. Now, where did I put that remote? Ah, here it is.”
Mine will also be set to auto-detonate in the event of my death.
After all, in life there’s loyalty and there’s **loyalty**.
-Joe!
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### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/35 "2006-02-27T23:03:39Z")
I don’t think you’ve thought this through. With that setup, if an enemy manages to have you assassinated, they kill all of your henchmen as well. This leaves nobody to avenge your death.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/36 "2006-02-27T23:28:06Z")
> [@DocCathode](#):
>
> I don’t think you’ve thought this through. With that setup, if an enemy manages to have you assassinated, they kill all of your henchmen as well. This leaves nobody to avenge your death.
Simple: sleeper agents.
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/37 "2006-02-28T01:09:51Z")
> [@vaderspal](#):
>
> _Please_. If you’re going to bring up this topic at least get the names right. There are _nerds_ in attendance here!
>
> 1. Darth _VADER_, not “Vadar”
> 2. _Darth_ is not a first name, it’s a title. So you don’t say “how many of Darth’s limbs were chopped off?”, you say “how many of _Vader’s_ limbs were chopped off?” Or, if we’re being respectful, use the full name.
> 3. _Obi-Wan_ is Kenobi’s first name, not “Obi.” A certain Gungan has been known to address him using the inappropriate shorter version, but we don’t like to speak of him.
> 4. Count _DOOKU_, not “Duku”
Well don’t I feel extremely stupid now. Or superior. Yeah, I think what I’m feeling is slightly superior. Thanks.
Also, Luke chops off DARTH’S arm in between the second movie and the third. Come on nerds. Don’t you read the books?
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/38 "2006-02-28T01:11:18Z")
> [@Biggirl](#):
>
> Also, Luke chops off DARTH’S arm in between the second movie and the third. Come on nerds. Don’t you read the books?
Which books, if any, are considered canon?
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### Author:  [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/39 "2006-02-28T01:16:41Z")
IIRC Lucas has said that everything is canon. He has also given a hierarchy of what trumps what. I can’t remember what the order is.
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### Author:  [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-times-did-darth-get-each-limb-chopped-off-no-spoilers-boxes-please/346217/40 "2006-02-28T01:17:20Z")
> [@DocCathode](#):
>
> I don’t think you’ve thought this through. With that setup, if an enemy manages to have you assassinated, they kill all of your henchmen as well. This leaves nobody to avenge your death.
I’m dead. The universe can burn for all I care. After all, I AM the Evil Overlord.
-Joe
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