Star WarsThe most iconic weapon is, without a doubt, the lightsaber. All lightsabers are made of five main parts: the power cell, the casing, the focusing lens, the emitter, and the kyber crystal. Kyber crystals, also known as living crystals, are the heart of the lightsaber and what gives it its color. A connection is formed between the user and the right crystal. A raw kyber crystal of course, but when a Jedi meditates on a crystal and awakens it to the force, it will change its color to match the Jedi's nature.
The exception to this are red and white crystals. 2016 Ahsoka by EK Johnston introduced the concept of "healing" and "bleeding". Red crystals are formed when a dark side user focuses all of their pain into one crystal, causing it to "bleed". White crystals are bled crystals that have been purified. “Healing” is an exercise in empathy where the Jedi must understand the pain of the dark side that incorporated their memories into the crystal. Although the concepts were introduced in Ahsoka, they were focused in much more detail on Star Wars (2020) #42-43 and Darth Vader (2017) #5.
Luke Skywalker consults Yoda for his green lightsaber
Even Jedi need help from time to time
Marvel's Star Wars #34-35 from creative team Charles Soule, Madibek Musabekov, Rachelle Rosenberg and Clayton Cowles reveal the exact process of how a Jedi changes the color of their kyber crystal through Luke Skywalker. After Luke lost his father's lightsaber and his repurposed Temple Guard lightsaber was crushed in Star Wars #33he was stuck with the difficult task of finding a new crystal. Skywalker traveled to Christophsis, where he met Dr. Cuata, an expert in kyber crystals. Cuata gave Luke a red crystal and a clear crystal to connect with them and let the future happen.
"Whatever he wants to show you... or whatever you bring with you."
In Star Wars #35Luke hears the following about his crystal: "Whatever he wants to show you...or whatever you bring with you." This further emphasizes the connection between Jedi and crystal. Luke reaches the crystal through the force and has a vision where he finds Yoda, who tells him that all Jedi must follow their own path. Frustrated, Skywalker abandons the vision to find the transparent crystal that has turned green. Luke's frustration with Yoda's teachings and choice to follow his own path culminated in a green crystal. The connection between Jedi and crystal was formed.
Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker face different trials to heal their Kyber crystals
No two force users have the same script
Kyber crystals are attuned to the force. They demonstrate a collective consciousness and are even able to communicate non-verbally with other living beings. When a kyber crystal bleeds and the dark side pours all its pain into the crystal, the crystal can feel it. A year after the Clone Wars, when an inquisitor arrived where Ahsoka Tano was hiding, she searched for new kyber crystals. She heard the call and followed them back to the inquisitor. Ahsoka defeated the sixth brother and pulled out the crystals from her lightsaber. Tano knew they belonged to her and she healed them, turning them white.
Luke Skywalker demonstrates the complex purification process in Star Wars #42-43. Skywalker meditates on the red crystal he received and appears before a Sith. Luke finds a younger version of the Sith and painlessly raises him. However, healing is an exercise in empathy, so Luke must face his own pain. In a vision with Darth Vader, Skywalker realizes that, like the other Sith, Vader was someone before he was evil. Luke realizes that his destiny is not to destroy Vader, but to bring out the good in him. When Luke wakes up from his vision, the crystal has turned white.
Darth Vader faces trials from his past to corrupt his Kyber crystal
Darth Vader's Kyber crystal is unique
Any kyber crystal can be bled by any dark side user, even the own crystal of a Jedi who has fallen to the dark side. When Anakin Skywalker was tempted to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine with the promise of power, he became known as Darth Vader. After losing his lightsaber in a duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, Vader needs to build a new one. Most Sith believe that the kyber crystal that powers their lightsaber must be stolen from a Jedi lightsaber, so Palpatine sends Vader on a mission to kill Jedi master Kirak Infil'a.
In Darth Vader #5, After Vader successfully returns from his mission, Palpatine sends him to Mustafar, the site of his greatest failure, to complete the construction of his new Sith lightsaber. Kyber crystals are naturally aligned with the light side of the force, so when Vader tries to bend the crystal to his will, the crystal fights back, urging him to return to the light side. The Dark Lord has visions of killing Palpatine and returning to Obi-Wan, but Vader refuses to give in, successfully filling him with his pain and corrupting him.
These comics expand on the lore of the kyber crystal, the crystal used to power lightsabers and the Death Star laser, and demonstrate just how complex the process of building a lightsaber is. Luke discovers the incredible amount of empathy needed to purify kyber, and Vader learns the pain that comes with the dark side and moves away from his past. Luke's profound experience in obtaining his own kyber crystal further demonstrates the strong connection between Jedi and crystal, and how each Jedi obtains different colored lightsabers as the crystal changes to match the Jedi's nature.