Character Spotlight: Luke Skywalker

Orphan, farm boy, pilot, hero, knight, master, son, brother, uncle, legend, all these apply to Luke Skywalker throughout his life. How do you go from working on a moisture farm on one of the furthest reaches of the galaxy to becoming its spiritual center? Let’s find out!

Born to Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker and Senator of Naboo, Padme Amidala alongside his twin sister, Leia. The twins were forbidden children, Jedi were not allowed to have such relationships, had in secret aboard a ship. Their father had fallen to the dark side of the Force, killing many children and other Jedi who got in his way. Their mother died from being choked by her husband when she was mere hours from giving birth and the grief of the entire situation at hand, knowing the Republic she fought so hard for was dying.

To protect the twins, they were separated and raised in different locations, Leia sent away to Alderaan. Luke would go with Obi-Wan Kenobi, his father’s former mentor and friend, to Tatooine to be raised by the family who had bought his grandmother as slave before freeing her. While Luke grew up with his uncle Owen and aunt Beru, he had a fairly normal life for a moisture farmer. If any trouble ever started to brew, Kenobi waited in the shadows to deal with it. Luke had a talent for flying, like his father before him, and would take to it with ease.

By the time Luke was nineteen, he was eager to leave Tatooine behind. He would get this wish granted at the cost of his aunt and uncle’s lives. Having purchased the two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, earlier, who had a long history with his family, he would become embroiled in events that would effect the whole galaxy. Luke would finally meet Obi-Wan Kenobi face to face and seek out the planet Alderaan to rescue Princess Leia (yeah, THAT Leia from earlier) They would get a ride from smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca.

Little bit of a hitch occurred when seeking Alderaan, seems the Imperial Empire had created a space station, the Death Star, capable of blowing up planets. Alderaan was their first target, Luke and company would go to rescue Leia from the clutches of Darth Vader but Obi-Wan would sacrifice himself for them to escape. Now with the people who would become his family, Luke would be the one to destroy the Death Star with the power of the Force guiding him, just like his father once had.

Luke would spend time training himself to better use the Force until Obi-Wan’s ghost would tell him to seek out master Yoda. Luke would train with the kooky hermit and advance in his training until he sensed his friends were in danger. Leaving Yoda behind, Luke would confront Darth Vader to protect his friends. Luke would lose his hands and learn that Darth Vader wasn’t the man who killed his father, he was his father.

While Luke was able to distract the Empire long enough for Leia and company to escape, they had lost Han to a bounty on his head. Luke would aide in getting Han back before heading back to Dagobah to continue his training from Yoda. Sadly, the nine hundred year old frog baby man was dying and Luke would learn he had a sister in Leia. While everyone was telling Luke he must resist the dark side of the Force while confronting Darth Vader and to kill him and the Emperor, Luke felt he could save his father still. In their final encounter, Luke would battle his father in front of the Emperor, the man who helped corrupt his father. Nearly killing Vader, Luke would stop fighting, refusing to kill him and fall to the dark side.

The Emperor rewarded him with lightning bolts to the face. Luke’s compassion and agony was enough to turn Vader against the Emperor and kill him to save Luke. This would be one of the last things Vader would do, as Luke would be there for his final moments. Luke was told that he had saved his father from the dark side. A bittersweet victory as with that and the destruction of the second Death Star, the beginning of the end of the Empire was at hand. There were years spent with Luke and the others helping re-establish a new Republic.

Soon, it was time for Luke to restart the Jedi Order, he would begin taking in students from across the galaxy, including Leia and Han’s own son, Ben. Things would take a turn when Luke began to sense the dark side in Ben. Worried for the boy, he would sense Ben while he slept, feeling such a darkness frightened Luke to take up his lightsaber for a moment before he realized that was the wrong course of action. It was too late, the igniting of his saber awakened Ben who saw Luke ready to kill him. This began the destruction of the new Jedi Order, leaving many students dead, Ben becoming the villainous Kylo Ren, and Luke going into hiding.

Cutting himself off from the Force, Luke would go to Ach-To, an ancient holy place of the Jedi to live the rest of his days solitude. Until, one day, Rey of the Resistance would arrive with his father’s lightsaber, seeking training in the Force. Disgusted in the concept of the Jedi and ashamed of his own past actions, he would refuse her at first but eventually begin her training. He saw her willing to go towards the dark side without resistance and felt as much power in her as he had in Ben all those years ago. He would tell her what happened between them and then tell her to leave, but not before taking her pleas to help the Resistance against the First Order to heart.

Luke would Force project himself across the galaxy to talk to Leia one last time before aiding the Resistance by distracting Kylo Ren in a battle. Luke Skywalker would walk toward the First Orders battle tanks and show them that every hit they had was meaningless against him, then best Kylo Ren in lightsaber battle, only being struck with a lightsaber when he refused to fight anymore. This was just a projection though so he was able to show that he could bother the First Order from anywhere in the galaxy. Then he vanished from the site, giving the Resistance enough time to flee. The stress of such an act was enough for Luke to die, passing peacefully into the Force, knowing he was not the last Jedi and hopeful for a new tomorrow.

There you have it! Luke Skywalker may have started as a character in film but he’s been a part of comics for nearly as long as he has existed. He’s had many adventures, most not canon anymore, but plenty of new ones are being written about him. He truly is a legend in his own time. See you next time and may the Force be with you!