What was the initial reception to Force Lightning in RotJ?

The Emperor made is first physical appearance in RotJ. The fans have no idea of Darth Sidious and his feats in the PT. We learn through Vader that the Emperor is powerful in the dark side of the Force, and that's it (I think). Then we see this deformed dark wizard dude suddenly shoot lightning out of his fingers. Up until then, the Force powers known are push/pull and mind control. What did the fandom back then think about this shocking new power? Was it easily accepted since we didn't know much about the dark side of the Force, or was it also controversial? via /r/StarWars https://ift.tt/2MD7rx6