As the Chosen One, Star Wars fans have long believed that no one could take on Anakin and his power, not even Emperor Palpatine, but the third and fourth issue of the Darth Vader comic series reveals that the Sith Lord confronted an adversary much, much more powerful than himself.
To say that Anakin has no match in the living Force would be an understatement. The young Skywalker was essentially a prodigy of the Force and came out on top at every battle. He was a master of Form V lightsaber combat, and his Force-sensitivity far outmatched Grand Master Yoda’s. Anakin even once took on the literal manifestations of the Force on Mortis and bent them to his will.
The only reason Obi-Wan managed to defeat him on Mustafar, other than having the high ground, was probably due to his mastery of Form III, mainly utilized for defense. It appears, though, that even at his most powerful as a Sith Lord, Darth Vader met his match and barely made it out alive.
The Darth Vader comic series from 2017 picks up after the events of Revenge of the Sith, where Anakin undergoes his Sith training under the tutelage of Darth Sidious. Vader is tasked with obtaining a crimson lightsaber. To do that, he must find and kill a Jedi and then bleed his Kyber crystal to get his own.
Of course, this isn’t an easy job, especially since there are not a lot of Jedi left in the galaxy after Order 66. But Anakin’s time in the Order proves useful and leads the Sith Lord to the river moon of Al’doleem, where he finds Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a. Despite all his power, Vader finds it difficult to defeat Kirak in combat. The Jedi is much stronger than he is, and he almost kills Vader.
Kirak was not only a master in lightsaber combat, but also an exceptional mediator of the Force. Ultimately, Vader managed to outmatch his opponent, but only when he attempted to destroy a city by releasing a dam, forcing Kirak to focus his will on saving the town. The Sith apprentice uses this opportunity and holds Infil’a in his classic choke move. He then forces him to witness the destruction of the city before snapping his neck and hurling his body into the water.
Of course, it’s still strange to hear that someone in the world of Star Wars managed to almost kill the Chosen One, let alone a Jedi Master. But it also goes to prove the point that the light side of the Force isn’t necessarily weaker than the dark side and it takes only courage and determination to gain mastery over the Force.