Talk:Lightsaber

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Deskana (talk) 21:21, 26 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Lightsaber copyright?

If anyone uses a sword made out of light or energy from another tv show or movie can they be sued by Lucas? Or is it just the name Lightsaber that's copyright? I mean wasn't there lightsabers before Star Wars came out? It would be messed up if you had to ask for permission to use something that's close to a lightsaber. --Anon.

No. They would have to borrow a large number of other elements before Lucas could sue under copyright. --Maru (talk) Contribs 22:09, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Movies VS Expanded Universe

To be clear since as I see it this has not been addressed. There is a difference between the lightsabers in the Star Wars movies and other Star Wars sources. Lightsabers, as far as the movies are concerned, are four colors: blue, green, purple, and red. All colors except red are used by Jedi and red is reserved for Sith or dark Jedi. There are no differences between lightsabers in the movies, they all are the same strength and are not drastically specialized in any way. In contrast the Expanded Universe section which is far less reliable because George Lucas for the most part has allowed people to write books and other articles that have changed many basic rules from the movies. One of the aforementioned rule's is the colors of lightsabers apparently they come in almost any color you would like. Other things have changed as well such as the ability to change the particular use of the lighsabre. Many feel that the only true resource to go by are the movies themselves because those are the only resources that are true to the original vision of George Lucas. --Anon.

I somehow doubt Lucas is crying his eyes out because of a half-dozen lightblade colors. The double-bladed lightsaber was an EU invention, you know. --Jon Hart 01:44, 13 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Weren't there some yellow Lightsabers in the battle of Geonosis?

Lightsaber Colors

Do lightsaber colors really include pink? And, as seen in the original trilogy's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, does not turquoise exist as a lightsaber color? This is when Luke travels out looking for R2-D2, Ben Kenobi finds Luke, and gives him the lightsaber; it looks distinctly turquoise on my video-cassette non-special edition release. --qrc 01:04, Apr 3, 2005 (UTC)

The OT lightsaber colours are Blue, Green and Red. The blue is a very light colour, almost white, but the terms used by Lucas discribing the orginal movies is "The good guys get blue and green and the bad guys get red." The Expanded Universe has all the shades of the rainbow and pink. --Drhaggis 01:41, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

There was actually a "black" lightsaber called the "Darksaber" in a book, I think it was a book anyway (Not the Darksaber book, that weapon was different). The weapon I have heard of was like a lightsaber but had a black beam instead of a white one and a dark purple aura around the blade. It was meant to be immensely powerful. I do not know who wielded it though.

Never heard of it. --Maru (talk) Contribs 22:09, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Why does it say there is a mistake on the DVD that gives Luke a green lightsaber? He built a green one after he loses his father's. --XAlpha 21:18, 26 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If I remember correctly, this was before he constructed his green one and still had Anakin's blue one. Deskana (talk) 21:19, 26 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Mace Windu and the Battle of Naboo

The article currently contains the following text:

"A Jedi would modify the lightsaber or construct a new one to suit the demands of the situation at hand, such as with Mace Windu and his lightsaber after the Battle of Naboo. It is, however, an unrevealed occurrence that made him build a new lightsaber in the ten year period between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones."

Did Mace Windu have any part in the Battle of Naboo (which I understand to have taken place during The Phantom Menace; correct me if there was a separate battle during the Clone Wars)? Shouldn't the above statement refer to Obi-Wan Kenobi, who lost his lightsaber during the events of The Phantom Menace? --Dsibilly 05:20, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The sentence does not state that Mace Windu fought in the Battle of Naboo; it is simply a reference to a time period. The source for this information is the Ask the Jedi Council segment that existed on www.starwars.com, which also revealed details about the Concordance of Fealty. --24.253.120.206 21:03, 5 Dec 2005 (UTC)

I believe it is maroon, not pink, the maroon lightsaber is used by healers. but does Plo Koon ave a yellow or blue lightsaber ?

He has a blue one in Clones and a yellow one in revenge. --70.105.106.147 22:37, 16 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I heard Samuel L. Jackson say in an interview that he asked George Lucas for a purple lightsabre, so he would stand out in the mass scenes. This can be read in the interesting notes on Mace Windu, but would be valuable information on this page as well.

That's right. Samuel L Jackson wanted to stand out in the scene for the Battle of Geonosis, and the purple lightsaber immidiately shows you where he is. That's all there is to it. I saw it on the special features disc for Episode III, I believe. Deskana (talk) 21:27, 26 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No Mass?

Several discussions exist on this topic.

The sabers cast shadows, e.g. they should have a solid energy blade, which does not allow lieght to pass through while still glowing itself (like a light tube does).

Often a gyroscopic effect is mentioned, which would rely to the style the weapon is mastered.

The sabers cast shadows because the models used when filming are carbon rods and the animation is then added. This causes the saber to cast a shadow that is not removed in editing. The only weight in a lightsaber is the handle which is one of the reasons why it is so hard to use.

Furthermore:

"A lightsaber can cut through anything (blast doors and enemies alike) except another lightsaber blade (why this is is conspicuously unexplained)."

This is explained above, intending ls use a forcefield to contain plasma and that they ls can´t cut thru (certain) forcefield.

BUT:

This does interfere with the whole anti-proton explanation, where forcefields aren´t narrowly mentioned.

suggestions for this page

-the last paragraph could do with more illustration. who used the great lightsaber? And Dual phase? Was it Luke in the later (earlier) movies? you know what I mean. Darth's lightsaber should be shown... in fact, what about a daughter article illustrating a lightsaber of every Jedi/Sith who ever owned one? would be cool to do. -also requires an interior illustration like the one that came in time, anyone has that?

In the concordance of felty para, something about the real mix-up with the two different versions showing up in the two official releases of mace's pic should be shown, citing the reason for the whole concordance of fealty being drawn up. anyone has those pics?

only suggestion guys. At least go ahead with the lightsaber of every guy who woned it thing...

Can something be added about using a light sabre for blocking force lightning. Does it take any particular skill or could anyone do this? Also something about using them for deflecting blaster fire.

Lightsabers reality x fiction

Hi Avsa,

While I understand why you moved the "Lightsabers in reality" to the top of the page I would disagree with the reasoning simply because I would believe that someone looking up Lightsabers on Wikipedia is more interested in the story behind them rather than their appearance on screen. Of course that is debate-able however if you look at all the other articles on the various aspects of Star Wars (Category:Star_Wars) you'll see that they all place the subject in the Star Wars context before talking about their place in reality. Would you object if I moved the reality section back to the end of the article? --Lochaber 10:23, 9 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I am afraid of turning this into a walled garden for Star Wars fan. That's the kind of thing that makes outsiders shout that Wikipedia is not serious, and that content should go to a wikifanclub. The most important is to leave the hierarchy: lightsabers in reality/ lightsabers in fiction. As it was before, this article treated lightsabers as a real weapon, and then in the end gave a footnote on what they really are. We have to weight them up: as there is so much more content on the fiction, let's at least give reality more weight by putting it first. But then that's just my opinion. --Alexandre Van de Sande 19:44, 12 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

To be honest I still disagree, the lead paragraph of the article states that:

"The lightsaber is the traditional elegant weapon of the Jedi Knights in the Star Wars fictional universe."

It is clear from the outset that this article is about fictional object. As long as the intro is clear that it is fiction then that's enough. By moving the "In reality" section to the top of the article it makes it more about film props and special effects than Lightsabers. If you look at the many articles on fictional characters / objects (for example Mace Windu / Palantír or even to look wider Loki) they all deal first with the mythology, if you will, rather than how that mythology was created.

All that said, I do think that the lead paragraph of this article needs to be expanded to include a bit more about its place in reality, something along the lines of...

"The lightsaber is the traditional elegant weapon of the Jedi Knights in Star Wars. They play a vital role in Star Wars fictional universe and feature in the movies, games and novels."

The reason that it doesn't at the moment is that it was only de-merged from Weapons of Star Wars in March and a lead paragraph wasn't necessary there. Would it be acceptable if I expanded the lead paragraph as above (and potentially add a bit more from the in reality section) and then moved the main "In reality" section to the end? --Lochaber 09:55, 13 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

you're right. It needs a lead, that would do it. --Alexandre Van de Sande 23:34, 13 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I remember hearing, however, that it would be possible to create an electromagnetic field capable of holding in energy. Shouldn't we look this up so that we may add "however, such fictional devices ARE possible"... --Anonymous User

Double-bladed lightsabers

Could someone please write on double-bladed lightsabers as mentioned in Darth Maul? Thanks! --Poli 04:50, 24 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Anakin's Saber

Isn't it true that in Episode 2, Anakin's lightsaber gets smashed in the assembly line and he comes back to fight Dooku with a new green one? I added "green" to his list of colors, but apparently someone took it off. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so. --4.42.112.247 23:31, 24 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The green one technically wasn't Anakin's. It was a random lightsaber that Mace Windu brought along and tossed to him in the Arena. It is unknown as to where it comes from. He did use the green one,but it technically wasn't his. --Firestorm 19:21, May 25, 2005 (UTC)

Yes, but it should be listed under Italics, then because he used it and it therefore was his temporarily just like if you borrowed a pen from someone: It was yours until you gave it back as long as they let you borrow it

That's debateable. I wouldn't count a pen as mine if I had it just borrowed. It'd still be someone elses, I was just using it. Deskana (talk) 21:29, 26 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Lightsaber Construction

The article on lightsaber construction seems unprofessional and basically crappy. Also none of it makes sense. On a related note, why do dueling Jedi not simply run their blades down each other, amputating the others hands? Do the lightsabers get 'stuck'? And why? --Danielfong 03:12, 30 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Because that wouldn't be cool and they wouldn't take any skill at all, and it is dishonest and the Jedi wouldn't do anything dishonest, it is like shooting them in the back. Furthermore, they would have a handguard made out of cortosis ore or something. Also, they would move their hand out of the way so it doesn't get cut off

Obi wan did this while fighting Grievous. (just to add my 2 cents) 70.105.106.147 22:41, 16 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Try it with a real sword (or stick) a quick parry will protect you hands from being cut.

I always figured it was because if you slide the blade down, your own blocking of the other blade grew increasingly less effective, so your head or arm could be chopped off before you ever reached their hand. --Maru (talk) Contribs 22:09, 21 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Lightsaber Mass

Lightsabers do not cut through anything instantly. Qui-Gon Jinn must press his saber into the door in the opening scene of "Phantom Menace". Also, Darth Maul is able to use his Double-Bladed saber to vault up for a kick. It doesn't slide right down into the floor, but in fact sustains his weight for a half second.

Origin of the Lightsaber

Back when Lucasarts first realized they could get even richer by churning out crappy SW computer products by the barrel-full, I remember owning a CD entitled "Star Wars: Behind the Magic". I think I remember something there about Lucas originally wanting the lightsaber to be a standard stormtrooper weapon, but changing his mind when he realized it would have more of a mythic cachet if only a select few wielded them. I'm reluctant to edit this in without asking if anyone else remembers it or could provide a reference.

I do remember reading in a Star Wars behind-the-scenes type book (can't remember which book though) that lightsabers were indeed intended to be a standard stormtrooper weapon (the book also had a concept art picture of a trooper running through a hall wielding a lightsaber-like weapon). Before this is edited in, though, I think that it should be confirmed what book (or other source) this information was displayed in. --InvaderJim42 08:20, 4 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I've seen this as well, I have Behind the Magic myself, though not installed at the moment. Might have to fire it up and see. -Graptor

Fired it up, confirmed. Taken from 'behind the scenes' on the Lightsaber entry:

"While writing the early drafts of Star Wars, George Lucas envisioned Lightsabers (also known as 'laser swords') as a fairly common weapon used by stormtroopers, Rebel soldiers, and others. He soon realized, however, that the weapon would seem much more powerful and mysterious if it was reserved for use by Jedi alone."

The 'Behind the Scenes Images' also feature a very early storyboard showing two soldiers in body armor, one of which vaguely resembles a stormtrooper, fighting with Lightsabers...as well as a concept art image that shows what is undoubtably a very early stormtrooper(with more 'stormtroopers' racing up behind him with what appear to be some variant of a(physical) shield), holding a lightsaber, confronting a group of three people, one of whom also has a lightsaber(and one of whom looks vaguely like a wookiee...) -Graptor

Plo Koon's Lightsaber

Does anyone know why Plo Koon changes his saber from yellow to blue, and why was a figure of Plo Koon released with a green saber? I know there is a blue sabered figure too, but this is a different figure, not a miscolor.

To answer, Plo Koon had a Yellow/Orange Lightsaber That he made When He was a padawan. However about five years or so after Episode I His First lightsaber was destroyed. He then Made a second lightsaber with a more traditional design and a blue blade. He has this in in the arena battle in AOTC and in ROTS. When Plo Koon dies his Lightsaber is thought to be destroyed with him.

Lightsaber users

Does the list of lightsaber users also include non-Force-sensitive people? -- Ed Telerionus 30 June 2005 22:31 (UTC)

Leia is in there, although she is sensitive to the Force, being Anakins daughter, she is not a Jedi,Though

I think that being able to block lasers the dexterity might come from the force so not many regulars could use it -Jedi dude-

Mace Windu's lightsaber?

There is an illustration on the left side of the paper near all the stuff about Mace Windu. The illustration says Mace Windu's lightsaber but I don't think it's right. I could be wrong, could someone clarify it.

Vandalism

69.251.152.102 got in some more vandalism when I reverted again. In the "History" section: The line with "The Blood is the Life." should be blank.

Sorry about the vandalism making it through my original non-vandalism-related revert, BTW. --Ergbert 05:26, 30 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I just got rid of talk page vandalism that 69.251.152.102 made as I wrote that. --Ergbert 05:28, 30 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Star Wars Wiki

The article on lightsabers featured in the original Wikipedia is much better than the one found on the Star Wars Wiki. I suggest a moderator or someone who knows how copy this article to replace the article found in the Star Wars Wikipedia. Thank you!

Regarding the Galaxies entry

I had to correct this, the person obviously didn't know very much about Jedi in SWG. Mainly the fact that you can still power lightsabers in that game using normal crystals. I've replaced the whole Galaxies section with a Krayt section, since it was about Krayts anyway and I can add a little bit more on the subject. I also added some markup. --Rushyo

I've made a change to your Galaxies entry in its temporality. Star Wars Galaxies was actually released before KOTOR (SWG in June 2003, KOTOR July 2003) so I removed the part where it says KOTOR was the earlier game. --Aooogah 04:41, 30 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Kyle Katarn's Lightsabers

I noticed in Kyle Katarn's lightsaber list, he had an orange lightsaber. I erased it, but I'd like to know if he did actually have one. 'Cause all I know is that he started out with a green one in Dark Forces II, it was destroyed and used Yun's yellow lightsaber, and then he eventually built his own blue one. -Jedi Striker

He did have an orange, in the books on tape series, he finds an orange one -Jedi dude-

In the Mysteries of the Sith expansion pack for DF2, Kyle wielded an orange lightsaber.

Lightsaber or Lightsabre

Which is the correct spelling?

Lightsaber would be American English, Lightsabre would be British English. Since it's mainly an American film, and made by an American man, the correct spelling would be Lightsaber. Deskana (talk) 21:24, 26 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Lightsaber Forms

I'm starting a section on Lightsaber Forms Help would be appreciated :D --Scorpiusdiamond 18:44, 12 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Why not just link to the article on the matter? Luis Dantas 11:38, 13 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

It noticed that afterwards, but a shorter overview should be created for non-extreme fans --Scorpiusdiamond 09:42, 20 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Regeneration

"Lightsabers lose little power (and only when they come in contact with other objects), and thus can last almost indefinitely." However, the very fact that they emit light and sound indicates that they do lose energy simply by being on. The only way for the lightsaber to be completely regenerative (barring contact with a solid object) would be if the blade was invisible and the saber emitted no sound.

Deep evil 01:15, 26 December 2005 (UTC): Well, if you want to discuss the impossibility of lightsabers being completely regenerative, why not talk about the impossibility of sound in space? lightsabers themselves? the Force?[reply]

Hilt ergonomics

The prop replicas I see for lightsaber hilts don't look ergonomic at all. They are too thick or covered with bumpy bits. I can't imagine such designs being used for handtools, let alone weapons. Perhaps someone in-the-know should comment on what the designers were thinking when they proposed these designs.

Got me. Got two ForceFX sabers, one's the Blue Anakin, one's the Purple Mace Windu. The Anakin one is clunky and has all sorts of knobby bits that get in the way(so far, my opponent has cut my knuckle and abraded his thumb with the thing, in two duels), but the Windu one is actually pretty comfortable...but the Anakin one was designed for episode IV, the Windu one for Episode II. So I dunno. :| -Graptor

Saber Colors in OT, PT, and EU

As has been mentioned countless times, lightsaber blade colors are determined by the focusing crystal. In the times of the PT lightsabers were generally made from crystals harvested in the caves of Illum. These crystals only create blue and green blades. The red blades of Sith lightsabers are attributed to synthetic crystals created specifically for this purpose, although that hasn't been verified as far as G-cannon is concerned. As far as EU, lightsaber colors vary because they are no longer created using the Illum crystals. Many different crystals are used and thus many different colors occur.

what was wrong with what i added?

Well?

Pece Kocovski 04:24, 30 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Can you please be more specific? Your comment is too vague to investigate. Deskana (talk) 21:25, 26 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Lightsaber Shadows

From the article: "In some circumstances, the props cause a goof: they cast their shadow on floor, while the energy 'blade' shouldn't."

There's an interesting point with this, actually. I just got a Master Replicas Force FX Saber([1]) for Christmas. In terms of looks, it is by far the closest thing I've ever seen to looking anything like the sabers in the movies. I don't think it glows quite as brightly, but it's really suprisingly bright. I was somewhat suprised to discover that when it's on, it casts a very noticible shadow, even when it's very close to the surface the shadow is showing on. Definately weaker than it would be, and definetly purple tinged, but any reasonably strong light source quickly overwhelms it and causes it to cast a shadow, even though it is itself casting light. In fact, it only doesn't cast a shadow when in dim lighting conditions, where it's the strongest lightsource in the area. This actually may not be too far off, as in the movies, when they DO cast light on something they don't really cast all that much.

Now granted this thing's got a solid, opaque center...but you can't see through the lightsaber blades in the movies either(obviously because it's a solid prop, but who's to say a pure energy weapon couldn't be opaque?) So the question is...is this really a goof, or just one of those things that common sense tells you wouldn't be the case when it, in fact, is?(or in this case, might be, as so many properties of the things are undescribed.)

Just an observation.

-Graptor

You're right. It has been stated (I think in a Star Wars Insider issue) that the lightsaber blades are opaque - light can't go through them, even though they emit light. Common sense says that they shouldn't cast a shadow, but once you think about it, light can't pass through the blade of a lightsaber - how do you know this? - because you can't see through it. -Xol 02:42, 26 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Electrum Saber

My friend was mugging around on internet and found "somewhere" that the electrum lightsaber usues no crystals at all. While I don't know about that, he did make a good point about function. In EP II, Kenobi's lightsaber absorbs the force lightning Count Dooku shoots at him. In EP III, Mace Windu's Lightsaber reflects Darth Sidious' lightning rather than absorbing it. 68.126.90.131 07:44, 2 January 2006 (UTC)Luke N.[reply]

StarWars.com describes Mace Windu's saber as having "unique crystals" ([2]). Luis Dantas 11:07, 2 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Feature Article

If we could get three to five references and some inline citations, this would make one hell of a Featured Article. Any fans want to find some? Captain Jackson 23:32, 19 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I think it needs far more than that, but I'd love to see it get there too. What it needs is for all information to be sourced, so that we know exactly what movie or book portrays what, and the article should give this in the order of publication. Right now much of the article is written as if lightsabers were real, rather than a subject of fiction used over time in different works of fiction. See Captain Marvel for a recent FA on a fictional subject, and compare the treatment and voice of the article.

Here's an example from this article to illustrate what I mean: "Mace Windu braved the rock-encrusted natives of Haruun Kal to obtain the rare purple crystal." No, Mace Windu never braved anything because he's a fictional character. Instead, "In the 2000 novel, Star Wars: Mace's Long Journey, Mace Windu braves the rock-encrusted natives of Haruun Kal and obtains the rare purple crystal." I made the book up of course because I have no clue where that story actually happens...but not only should the work of fiction be cited to, but the fiction itself should be summarized in the present tense. This is because every time you pick up that book, the event is still there—fictional chronology is just that. If this article can focus on real world context and chronology, then it may achieve FA status. Postdlf 23:43, 19 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]