Why A Lightsaber Probably Wouldn’t Damage Superman

It’s always fun to explore questions of the “What If” variety, imagining crossover scenarios between different characters and/or elements across genres and properties. For example: would a lightsaber from Star Wars be able to cause damage to DC Comics’ Superman? A lightsaber is one of the most powerful weapons in Star Wars, but Superman is one of the most powerful superheroes in the DC Universe. Which one wins?

The lightsaber is the traditional weapon and blade of Force-users in Star Wars, regardless of whether they practice the Light Side of the Force as Jedi Knights or operate in the shadows with the Dark Side of the Force as the ruthless and fearsome Sith Lords. Lightsabers are blades of contained plasma emitted from a hilt and can be turned on an off by the user. As such, they can cut through almost every substance in the known Star Wars galaxy with very few exceptions, while also being able to deflect incoming energy such as blaster bolts or Force lightning. Due to its ability to cut through and melt blast doors as seen performed by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, fans have theorized that a lightsaber could run as hot as 25,000°C.

While this is impressive, it doesn’t really hold a candle to The Man of Steel in the DC Universe. Being a Kryptonian, Superman is nearly invulnerable thanks to the solar radiation and power he receives from Earth’s yellow sun. Speaking of the Sun, Superman has flown incredibly close to and even through our Sun, suffering little to no damage whatsoever. Because the Sun itself runs as hot as 15 million degrees Celsius at its core, this effectively proves that causing damage to Superman with a normal lightsaber would be ineffective and just straight up wouldn’t work. However, what if a lightsaber’s kyber crystal was replaced with something that could hurt Superman, like kryptonite?

Kyber crystals are Force-sensitive crystals traditionally recovered on Jedi worlds such as Illum, powering a Jedi’s lightsaber while also providing the blade’s color. Building a lightsaber was a rite of passage for students of the Jedi Order, and making the pilgrimage to Illum to choose and connect with the living kyber crystals served as a big part of the Jedi’s overall training and their sabers’ construction. However, there were some exceptions, such as the lightsaber of Jedi Master Mace Windu, whose blade was uniquely purple due to the crystal he chose being unique and coming from a completely different world (and which was perhaps not even true kyber). Using Windu’s lightsaber to support this idea, a Jedi could use a shard of kryptonite to power their lightsaber if they truly had a vendetta against Superman, which would then be able to do some major damage to Metropolis’ protector.

While a kryptonite lightsaber would no doubt be extremely effective, a standard and typical lightsaber, as seen in the Star Wars films and shows, would most likely not get the job done against the Man of Steel. However, it is known that Superman is susceptible to magic, and lightsabers are powered through the Force by the living crystals residing within them, so perhaps they could actually have an effect on Superman? With this lens, the answer might still remain somewhat undefined, but either way it’s still fun to imagine and theorize different crossover scenarios all the same.

More: Is Superman Strong Enough to Beat Marvel’s Phoenix Force?

About The Author

Kevin Erdmann
(2525 Articles Published)

Kevin Erdmann is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers. With a major in Cinema Studies and a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin is pretty sure he’s writing for the right site. While Kevin is a huge Marvel fan, he also loves Batman because he’s Batman and is a firm believer that Han shot first. Disney also shares a big part of his fan patronage. Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise.

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