How Darth Vader forged his red lightsaber through pain, defeat, and murder

Shortly after the events of 'Revenge of the Sith’, Darth Sidious tasks his new apprentice with a grim rite of passage: to become a true Sith, Vader must kill a Jedi and corrupt their lightsaber crystal. This story unfolds in Marvel’s 'Darth Vader’ (2017) comic series, written by Charles Soule.

The hunt for Kirak Infil’a

With most Jedi wiped out by Order 66, Vader targets Kirak Infil’a, a powerful Jedi Master who had taken the Barash Vow, a pledge of isolation and non-interference. Living in exile on Al’doleem, Infil’a is spared from the purge and remains one of the few surviving warriors.

• In their first duel, Infil’a defeats Vader, shattering his armor and nearly killing him
• Vader rebuilds himself using parts from a damaged droid
• In a second encounter, Vader destroys a dam to distract Infil’a, forcing him to choose between saving civilians or fighting
• Vader kills Infil’a and claims his green-bladed lightsaber

Bleeding the Kyber crystal

Vader travels to Mustafar, the volcanic planet where he lost everything, to perform the Sith ritual known as bleeding, a process that corrupts a Kyber crystal by channeling rage, pain, and hatred into it.

• The crystal resists, showing Vader a vision of Obi-Wan Kenobi and a possible path back to the light
• Vader rejects the vision, embracing the dark side fully
• The crystal turns crimson, symbolizing his transformation into a true Sith Lord

Legacy of the saber

This corrupted crystal becomes the heart of Vader’s first red lightsaber. Though the hilt is later destroyed, he salvages the crystal and builds a new weapon, one that would become iconic across the Star Wars saga.

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