Karbin was a Mon Calamari who served as a commander at the time of the Clone Wars. Towards the end of the conflict, his starship was damaged, causing him considerable and untreatable injuries. After the incident, Karbin spent the next eighteen years on life support, the final two of which he spent being enhanced with a cybernetic body inspired by that of the late General Grievous by Doctor Cylo and trained to replace Darth Vader, Darth Sidious' Sith apprentice.
Karbin had suspicion that Darth Vader was more knowledgeable about Rebel pilot's identity, who had destroyed the Death Star, and monitored Vader and his spy Chelli Lona Aphra, discovering that Luke Skywalker was on the planet Vrogas Vas, and then felt that he could achieve his goal of capturing Skywalker while also eliminating his competition for the Emperor's favor. Arriving on Vrogas Vas to capture Luke, Karbin's also the one Vader's been attempting to defeat in the search for Skywalker. Despite his impressive abilities in wielding multiple lightsabers, the disgruntled Mon Calamari was defeated and slain dueling with Vader.
Karbin's cybernetic enhancements
Karbin was a commander and fought in the Clone Wars until his ship crashed and was lost towards the end of the conflict, which resulted in him receiving considerable and terrible injuries that were considered to be untreatable. He spent the next eighteen miserable years on life support in a medical center, and during the final two of which he was operated on and given a cybernetic body inspired by that of the late General Grievous by the famous cyberneticist Doctor Cylo and received training as well.
His cybernetic body had two arms which could split to reveal another pair, giving him four arms, thus Commander Karbin could wield up to four lightsabers at once, just as his predecessor General Grievous did. Although he was fitted with propellors in his back to give him an advantage in combat.
Karbin and his contemporaries meet Darth Vader.
Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, the Sith Lord Darth Vader discovered Cylo's research base and met up with both the latter and his own potential "replacements": several cybernetically-augmented candidates among whom Karbin was counted. Before he could strike down Cylo, Vader was interrupted by the intervention of his Master, Sidious. With the Emperor's permission, the Doctor unleashed his creations upon both former's Sith apprentice and one another to demonstrate their abilities. After having seen enough of their display and having been introduced to the background of each contestant, including Karbin, Sidious bid Cylo to have the battle cease. The Emperor then informed them all until he would make his mind on whom would stand by his side, all of the assembled warriors would play a part in overseeing the Galactic Empire's efforts against the Rebellion.
Not long after, Grand General Cassio Tagge dispatched Commander Karbin to track down the Rebel pilot who had destroyed the Death Star. While Lord Vader was assigned another mission, he was personally pursuing the same target for his own reason: the young man was in fact his son, Jedi trainee Luke Skywalker. He learned that the latter was on the planet Vrogas Vas. However, Karbin planned an ambush to eliminate Vader.
Vader delivered Karbin's remains to Palpatine after his death.
The Sith Lord crashed on Vrogas Vas and fought the insurgents there. In the middle of the battle, the Rebel leader Leia Organa sent a squadron of bombers to eliminate Darth Vader, however they were shot down by Karbin's forces as he landed on the planet. While the Imperial and Rebel soldiery clashed, the commander personally engaged the Sith Lord in a duel, believing that with four lightsabers against his rival's one, he would be victorious. Using the Force, Vader got the upper hand on Karbin and severed one of his arms that had his green lightsaber. Eventually, the cyborg lured the Mon Calamari onto a natural bridge made of rock and had his minion Doctor Aphra crash her ship, the Ark Angel, into him. The commander barely survived the impact, and was executed shortly after by the Sith Lord. In his last moments of life, Karbin realized that Vader had a personal reason for pursuing Luke, but would never know what it was.
Following their confrontation, Vader hauled the upper half of Karbin's body into Sidious' office at the Imperial Palace, mockingly answering the Emperor's question as to the commander's whereabouts. Sometime later, during his encounter with Tulon Voidgazer aboard Cylo's Whale-Ship fleet, Vader understood that Karbin had handed himself in to him because of his sense of self as a soldier. In her dying words, Tulon expressed her gratitude to General Tagge for Vader allowing the criminals to escape with their fortune, and when Karbin went after the Rebel pilot.
Karbin's arrival on the planet Vrogas Vas
A Mon Calamari male, Karbin had yellow eyes and brown mottle skin. As a cyborg, he had clawed feet, two arms that could be split into four, and was modeled after the late Kaleesh warlord General Grievous, while also having propulsors fitted in his back. Karbin wore a short cape with a circular gold clasp, hanging halfway over his body, and a waist cape around his waist.
Karbin was outraged that the mission to eliminate the Plasma Devils was assigned to the two twins, Aiolin and Morit Astarte, and would fit him more, considering his rank as general. He was disdainful of Darth Vader and made an effort to insult him, even referring to him as a withered old relic.
With the ability to split his two arms into four, he was able to wield four lightsabers at once and could even rotate his wrists to spin all four blades, rendering him equally dangerous as the Separatist leader had. His clawed limbs enabled him to climb walls and ceilings; for instance, he crawled from the ceiling to sneak up on Vader and slash him behind with one of his two lightsabers.
Karbin was one of Cylo's first creations that Vader killed, yet he had the longest fight with the Sith Lord, despite fleeing briefly after losing one of his arms. Vader even asks for Aphra's help in fighting him, although it was more to save time than fear.
Karbin indirectly tricked Chelli Aphra into notifying Darth Vader of Luke Skywalker's whereabouts, but failed to tell Aphra that Luke would not be alone, accompanied by numerous Rebel squadrons
Karbin appeared in the fifth issue of the 2015 comic-book series Star Wars: Darth Vader, written by Kieron Gillen, illustrated by Salvador Larroca, published by Marvel Comics on May 13, 2015, and was later first identified in the sixth issue of the same name.
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