Karbin, a commander of the Mon Calamari species, first appeared on the planet of Mon Cala which resides in the Outer Rim. He served as a member of the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. Near the conclusion of the war, his starship suffered critical damage, leaving him with severe and irreparable injuries. Following this incident, Karbin was sustained by life support for eighteen years. During the final two years of this period, Doctor Cylo augmented him with cybernetic enhancements, drawing inspiration from the deceased General Grievous. He was then trained to potentially supplant Darth Vader, the Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious, in service to the Galactic Empire.
While Darth Vader was occupied with another assignment, he had a personal goal of hunting down the pilot responsible for the destruction of the Death Star. The Rebel pilot was, in fact, his son, Luke Skywalker. Upon learning of Luke Skywalker's presence on the rugged world of Vrogas Vas, Karbin devised an ambush to eliminate him. Vader's ship crashed on Vrogas Vas, where he engaged with rebel forces. Princess Leia Organa deployed a squadron of bombers with the intention of taking down Vader, but Karbin's forces intercepted and destroyed them upon his arrival on the planet. In a climactic battle, Karbin challenged Darth Vader, a rival Sith Lord. Despite his enhanced body and impressive ability to wield multiple lightsabers, Vader outmaneuvered Karbin. He instructed Chelli Lona Aphra to crash the Ark Angel into Karbin, which nearly killed him. Aphra ejected before her ship collided with the mountainous terrain. The defeated Mon Calamari was ultimately killed. Karbin's upper body was then delivered to Sidious' office located within the Imperial Palace.
A commander from the Mon Calamari species, Karbin, was born on the planet Mon Cala situated in the Outer Rim. As a member of the Galactic Republic, he participated in the Clone Wars until approximately 20 BBY when his ship was destroyed in a crash. This resulted in severe and irreparable injuries. For the next eighteen agonizing years, he was sustained on life support within a medical center. During the last two years of this period, he underwent surgery to receive a cybernetic body. This body was inspired by the late General Grievous and was created by the renowned cyberneticist Doctor Cylo. Subsequently, he was trained to potentially replace Darth Vader, the Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious, in service to the Galactic Empire.
His cybernetic form featured two arms that could divide to reveal an additional pair, granting him a total of four arms. This allowed Commander Karbin to wield as many as four lightsabers concurrently, mirroring his predecessor, General Grievous. Furthermore, Cylo integrated propulsors into his back, providing him with a combat advantage.
Shortly following the Battle of Yavin, the Sith Lord Darth Vader located Cylo's research base and encountered both Cylo and the potential "replacements" he had created, which included Karbin among other cybernetically-augmented individuals. Before Vader could attack Cylo, he was interrupted by his master, Sidious. With the Emperor's approval, Cylo unleashed his creations upon Vader and each other to showcase their capabilities. After observing their performance and learning about the background of each contestant, including Karbin, Sidious instructed Cylo to halt the battle. The Emperor then informed them that until he decided who would stand by his side, all of the assembled warriors would contribute to overseeing the Galactic Empire's efforts against the Rebellion.
Shortly thereafter, Grand General Cassio Tagge tasked Commander Karbin with locating the Rebel pilot responsible for destroying the [Death Star](/article/ds-1_orbital_battle_station]. While Lord Vader was assigned a different mission, he was also pursuing the same target for his own reasons: the young man was, in fact, his son, Jedi trainee [Luke Skywalker](/article/luke_skywalker]. Vader discovered that Luke was on the planet [Vrogas Vas](/article/vrogas_vas]. However, Karbin plotted an ambush with the intention of eliminating Vader.
The Sith Lord's ship crashed on Vrogas Vas, where he engaged in combat with the insurgents. During the battle, the Rebel leader Leia Organa dispatched a squadron of bombers to eliminate Darth Vader. However, Karbin's forces intercepted and destroyed them upon his landing on the planet. As the Imperial and Rebel forces clashed, Karbin personally challenged the Sith Lord to a duel, believing that his four lightsabers would give him the advantage over Vader's single blade. Utilizing the Force, Vader gained the upper hand and severed one of Karbin's arms, which held his green lightsaber. Eventually, the cyborg lured the Mon Calamari onto a natural rock bridge and instructed his minion, Doctor Aphra, to crash her ship, the Ark Angel, into him. Karbin barely survived the impact and was subsequently executed by the Sith Lord. In his final moments, Karbin realized that Vader had a personal motive for pursuing Luke, but he would never learn what it was.
Following their confrontation, Vader carried the upper half of Karbin's body into Sidious' office at the Imperial Palace, sarcastically answering the Emperor's inquiry about Karbin's whereabouts. Later, during his encounter with Tulon Voidgazer aboard Cylo's Whale-Ship fleet, Vader came to understand that Karbin had surrendered himself to Vader due to his sense of duty as a soldier. In her final 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, a male Mon Calamari, possessed yellow eyes and mottled brown skin. As a cyborg, he had clawed feet, two arms that could split into four, and his design was inspired by and paid homage to the Kaleesh warlord General Grievous. He also had propulsors installed in his back. Karbin wore a short cape with a round gold clasp, which hung halfway down his body, and a waist cape around his waist.
Karbin was indignant that the mission to eliminate the Plasma Devils was assigned to the twins, Aiolin and Morit Astarte, believing that it was more fitting for him, given his rank as general. He held Darth Vader in contempt 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 could wield four lightsabers simultaneously and even rotate his wrists to spin all four blades, making him just as dangerous as the Separatist leader had been. His clawed limbs allowed him to climb walls and ceilings. For instance, he crawled from the ceiling to surprise Vader and slash him from behind with one of his two lightsabers.
Karbin was one of Cylo's initial creations that Vader eliminated, yet he engaged in the longest fight with the Sith Lord, despite briefly fleeing after losing one of his arms. Vader even requested Aphra's assistance in fighting him, although this was more to save time than out of fear.
Karbin made his first appearance in the fifth issue of the 2015 comic-book series Star Wars: Darth Vader, authored by Kieron Gillen, illustrated by Salvador Larroca, and published by Marvel Comics on May 13, 2015. He was later formally identified in the sixth issue of the same series.