Luke Skywalker
Template:SW Character Luke Skywalker (b. 19 BBY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He was a Jedi Knight, who played a major role in the Star Wars story. In the Star Wars films, he appears in Episodes III, IV, V, and VI. In the Expanded Universe, he becomes a powerful Jedi Master and eventually the Grand Master of the Masters' Council.
Born in the midst of chaos with his younger twin sister, Leia Amidala Skywalker (after their father turned to the dark side and their mother's death, she was adopted by Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan), to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his secret wife Padmé Amidala, former Queen turned Senator of Naboo. Luke was raised by his aunt and uncle on the desert world of Tatooine. After going off to join the Rebel Alliance, he became a major player in the events of the Galactic Civil War, and ultimately, the fate of the galaxy.
History
Early years - Revenge of the Sith
Luke Skywalker is the son of Senator Padmé Amidala and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Luke is the slightly elder twin brother of Leia Amidala Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi's and Yoda's final Padawan.
In Revenge of the Sith, Padmé Amidala gives birth to the Skywalker twins at the Polis Massa asteroid before she dies in childbirth. Bail Organa, the viceroy of Alderaan, adopts Leia, and Obi-Wan provides sanctuary for Luke on Tatooine, so as to protect both of them from their corrupted biological father and the newly-formed Galactic Empire he serves.
Baby Luke was put in the care of Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun on Tatooine after his father turned to the Dark Side of the Force, the death of his mother, the separation between him, and Leia. Although he was born before Leia and Padmé briefly touches his forehead after his birth, he has no memories of mother while Leia does. There has been quite bit of speculation as to why. Theories include: Leia and Padmé bonded throughout her pregnancy and Leia, named first by their mother while in labor. Padmé believed she was carrying a boy for sometime, until Anakin says its a girl; Luke's eyes were shut after his birth while Leia's were open. It is also possible that Leia was speaking of her adopted mother.
Despite being in hiding from his father and Emperor Palpatine, Luke is brought up as the son of Anakin Skywalker, by his father's nearest surviving kin (his stepbrother and his wife) Owen Lars and Beru Whitesun. Obi-Wan chose Tatooine, and the Lars homestead deliberately, believing (correctly) that Vader would be loath to set foot on the planet as a reminder of Anakin Skywalker, an aspect of his personality that he continually tried to expunge.
Unbeknownst to young Luke, a few years later, Kenobi returned to the Lars farm carrying Anakin's lightsaber, as he now felt Luke was old enough and should be allowed to have his father's lightsaber. Owen, refusing to allow it, confronted and berated Kenobi, telling him how he didn't want Luke to make the same mistakes Anakin did, stating how he felt Anakin should have never left his mother and gotten involved with the "foolish idealistic Jedi crusaders" in the first place. He vehemently told Kenobi to leave and to stay away.
Kenobi continued to watch Luke from a distance, sometimes seeing Luke pilot his Skyhopper very skillfully. During this time, Luke distinguished himself as a T-16 Skyhopper pilot, along side Biggs Darklighter and Laze “Fixer” Loneozner. Luke also spent much time in Anchor Head with Fixer at the Toschi Station, along with other friends, such as Camie (a possible love interest), Deak and Windy.
Luke is raised on Tatooine for the first 19 years of his life, where his uncle tries, unsuccessfully, to discourage all tendencies towards the Jedi Order from him. He is told that his father was "a navigator on a space freighter." Despite this untruth, he is still an adventure-seeking youth with talents in droid repair, piloting, and, unbeknownst to him, the Force—he is very much his father's son. Obi-Wan Kenobi, until then known to Luke as "Ben Kenobi," an eccentric old hermit, tells Luke that his father was killed by Darth Vader, a rogue Jedi Knight.
Fighting for the Alliance
When Vader intercepts Leia's spaceship carrying plans for the Death Star, a planet-sized battle station/superweapon, she sends droids R2-D2 and C-3PO to meet Obi-Wan. However, on their journey they end up in the service of Luke himself, who follows the droids to meet Obi-Wan. After the deaths of his aunt and uncle at the hands of Imperial stormtroopers, Luke realizes there is nothing left to keep him on Tatooine, so he decides to follow Obi-Wan to help Princess Leia. They depart from Tatooine on Han Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon. They travel towards Alderaan, and Obi-Wan takes the time to allow Luke to begin the first stages of training as a Jedi, even giving him Anakin's old lightsaber. They arrive at Alderaan, only to find that the planet has been obliterated into mere rock and debris by the Death Star. The Death Star's tractor beam captures their ship, and they are forced to land. They rescue the Princess, and escape the Death Star, but in the process Obi-Wan seems to die in a duel with Vader. In fact, he ascends to a higher plane of existence and becomes one with the Force (his cloak, as it falls to the floor, is unsinged by Vader's lightsaber.) They travel back to the Rebel Alliance's base on Yavin 4, but are tracked by an Imperial tracking beacon. The Death Star follows, and the Empire prepares to destroy the moon with its superweapon. The Alliance uses the stolen plans of the station to lead a final attack on the Death Star, known as the Battle of Yavin. Luke pilots an X-wing starfighter in Red Squadron, and under the guidance of Obi-Wan's spiritual voice, uses the Force to send a proton torpedo into the narrow reactor shaft, destroying the Death Star. However, he also suffers the loss of one of his closest friends, Biggs Darklighter, who had told Luke of his plans to join the Rebellion, when his X-wing was destroyed by Vader.
Following the Rebel victory at Yavin, Luke is promoted to the rank of Commander and co-founds the elite Rogue Squadron starfighter unit with Wedge Antilles, another young Rebel pilot.
Desperate to find Luke, whom he recently learned is his son, Vader sends probe droids to thousands of planets across the galaxy in search of the Jedi hopeful. When a droid discovers the Rebels' new base on Hoth, Vader brings the hammer of the Empire down on the ice planet. Luke demonstrates his burgeoning power as a potential Jedi when he plays a key role in the defense, leading Rogue Squadron in battle using Snowspeeders, and especially when he single-handedly downs an AT-AT using his father's lightsaber, before escaping in his X-wing.
Learning the ways of the Jedi
Following advice from the spirit of Obi-Wan (now one with the Force), he travels to Dagobah to learn the Jedi arts under Jedi Master Yoda. It can be said that the old Jedi Master pretends to have little confidence in the young man's potential (which is the very reason the Skywalker babies were hidden and Luke especially to be raised by his family, presumably also to escape the Jedi rhetoric that doomed the Order), but is persuaded to train him. After being trained for only a few weeks and growing rapidly in his skills and force powers, Luke eventually has a vision of his friends being captured by Vader, and, against Obi-Wan and Yoda's advice, travels to Bespin to save them, only to be trapped by Vader. In the intense lightsaber duel that follows, Luke learns that Vader is his father, and loses his right hand in combat with the Dark Lord of the Sith. Faced with this horrifying claim and the even more fearsome temptation to join Vader, Luke finds the moral courage to choose death instead of evil, throwing himself down a long shaft. However, using his new found Force powers, he hurls himself into a vent leading to the very bottom of the city and calls out to Leia, who senses his call and his location hanging underneath Cloud City. Exhausted and barely able to hang on any longer, Leia and Chewie come to his rescue and he escapes aboard the Millennium Falcon, nearly costing them their own chance at escape. Thus, Luke himself ends up being rescued by the friends he had intended to save, while R2-D2 proves his usefulness by repairing the Falcon's hyperdrive just in time to escape. After he rejoins the Rebels, Luke's missing hand is replaced with a cybernetic prosthetic.
After Luke is defeated at Bespin, losing his father's lightsaber in the process, his affinity with the Jedi traditions grows more serious. One of the significant events between the end of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi is that Luke returns to Obi-Wan's hut on Tatooine and constructs his very own lightsaber, exactly in the tradition of Jedi training (this is chronicled in Shadows of The Empire.) His new lightsaber was of a design that, while unique, closely resembled that of the final lightsaber owned by the old Jedi. However, Yoda makes it clear that Luke still will not be a Jedi until he successfully confronts Vader.
Luke once again goes to Tatooine, with Leia in tow, to save Han from the gangster Jabba the Hutt, whom the bounty hunter Boba Fett had sold Han to on Bespin after Vader froze him in carbonite to test the process, hoping to place Luke in carbon freeze in order to transport him to the Emperor. Luke is made Jabba's prisoner and sentenced to die along with his friend, while Leia is made Jabba's slave. Then with his lightsaber smuggled into Jabba's palace inside of R2, Luke overpowers their guards, and escapes with Han. Jabba, meanwhile, is killed when Leia garrottes him with the chain binding her to his throne.
During his return trip to Dagobah, Luke learns from the dying Yoda and Obi-Wan that Vader is indeed his father, and that there is another Skywalker. To Luke asking Obi-Wan why he didn't tell him the truth about his father, Obi-Wan responds "Luke, you will find that many of the truths we cling to greatly depend on our point of view". According to Obi-Wan, the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker died the moment he turned to the Dark Side and transformed into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. By Obi-Wan's reasoning, what he told Luke about his father, Anakin Skywalker being murdered by Darth Vader, was therefore indeed true, form a certain point of view. Furthermore, Luke learns from Obi-Wan that the other Skywalker Yoda spoke about was separated from Luke moments after they were born, to keep them out of the Emperor's hands. Luke quickly realizes that this other Skywalker is none other than Leia, his twin sister, and that she would be in terrible peril from their father should he find out as well, as Obi-Wan tells Luke that Vader is "more machine than man... twisted and evil", seemingly beyond redemption. Luke however, disagrees with Obi-Wan, saying that there is still good in him left; something he claimed to have felt during his duel with Vader at Bespin.
Luke and Vader
Arriving on Endor as part of a Rebel commando squad, Luke surrenders to Vader in an attempt to bring the Dark Lord back to the light side of the Force. He ultimately becomes a prisoner of the Emperor on the half-completed second Death Star, in orbit around Endor.
Once there, the Emperor and Vader attempt to corrupt Luke with promises to save his friends from certain death if he joins the dark side. When that fails, the Emperor goads Luke to strike him down to save the Rebels, who were losing the Battle of Endor. Luke, in a moment of weakness, momentarily lashes out, but Vader stops his strike, and father and son duel each other one final time. Despite the clash, Luke manages to keep emotional control — until Vader telepathically senses the existence of Luke's sister and threatens to corrupt her instead. Enraged, Luke attacks with full fury. Vader is not able to hold his ground as Luke lands blow after blow and tears through the Sith Lord's defenses, and after a swift fight, Luke forces Vader on his back and severs his father's mechanical right hand. Just as he is about to commit patricide, however, the Emperor tells Luke to strike down and "fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side". This causes Luke to refocus his emotions while he glances at his own cybernetic hand, and realizes with a visceral horror that he is right on the verge of suffering his father's fate. Luke regains control, deactivates his lightsaber and emphatically throws it away, proudly declaring "Never... I'll never turn to the Dark Side. You failed your Highness! I am a Jedi, like my father before me!" and his allegiance to the Jedi.
The Emperor, realizing that he has failed to convert Luke, unleashes Force lightning against Luke in retaliation, nearly killing him (in the novelization of Return of the Jedi, Luke was able to deflect the bolts at first with his bare hands, which is something that only Yoda had been seen to do before.) Seeing his son in pain, and perhaps remembering the mercy shown him, compassion finally breaks Vader's stony heart. In an act of self-sacrifice, Anakin Skywalker re-emerges, seizes the Emperor and throws him to his death down a reactor shaft. In the process, he is mortally wounded by the Emperor's Force lightning, which short circuits his mechanical lungs and life support equipment. On the deteriorating Death Star, at the foot of Vader's shuttle, Luke removes the breath mask that had caged Anakin Skywalker's face for more than two decades, and looks upon his father's eyes for the first and only time, before Anakin becomes one with the Force. The prophecy of the Chosen One is finally fulfilled, as Anakin has brought balance to the Force and destroyed the Sith. Luke escapes the Death Star's destruction with the remnants of his father. Back on Endor, in the manner of a Jedi's funeral, Luke burns the last vestiges of his father that had been Darth Vader, and joins in the celebration of the defeat of the Empire; thus, Luke comes full circle as a Jedi Knight and as a person.
After the Battle of Endor
In the Expanded Universe, Luke had met his father Anakin/Vader before the Battle of Hoth (according to the novel/comic Splinter of the Mind's Eye). Years later, after Anakin/Vader's death, Luke meets Mara Jade. They fought against his clone, Luuke Skywalker, the apprentice of Joruus C'Baoth, and during the combat, Mara Jade destroyed the Luuke Skywalker; then with the help of Leia, the two women destroyed Jorrus c'Baoth.
Dark Empire and the Jedi Master falls into the Dark Side
Luke had a brief lapse to the dark side when he went undercover as the apprentice of the resurrected Palpatine. The new Sith Lord ruled an army of Evil chaotic agents on the planet of Byss. The Jedi Master fought, but was bested by the clone Emperor. Darth Sidious forced his former adversary to bow and to call him "Master". Leia Organa Solo, who had let herself be caught, confronted both the Dark Master of the Sith and her fallen brother. She found a Jedi Holocron where a prophecy affirmed that a sister would redeem her fallen brother before defeating the Evil Sovereign. With little training, the princess disrupted the dark side within her brother. Luke Skywalker turned against the Dark Side and vowed to only serve the Light forever. He later fought the Emperor in a lightsaber duel and reaffirmed his commitment to rebuilding the Jedi Order. He suggested Leia to join him into breaking the Emperor's dark side energy, which Leia was already doing. He allowed his sister to break the Darkness within Palpatine, defeating him.
Jedi Academy
He resigned his commission in the New Republic's starfighter corps to pursue his Jedi studies and rebuild the Jedi Order in the Massassi Temple on Yavin 4, a decision some anti-Jedi politicians used against him. Luke became the Order's de facto leader. He formed students in the ways of the force such as: Gantoris, Dorsk 81, Kam Solusar, Tionne, Streen, Cilghal, Kirana Ti and others.
A more Force-conscious and wiser Luke Skywalker also appeared in the Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy video games at the rank of Jedi Master. Also in Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast Luke helps Kyle Katarn in his fight against Desann and Empire Reborn by driving off Desann and his Reborn forces from Valley of the Jedi.
New threats
Years later, the former Rebel hero worked again with his mercenary ally Mara Jade who had learned to better her Force knowledge since her training at Luke's Jedi Academy. He fell in love with her, and they eventually married. They had a son, whom they name Ben (after Obi-Wan Kenobi, who used Ben as a pseudonym).
New Jedi Order/Yuuzhan Vong Invasion
During the conflict with the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the Jedi Master reconstructed a new Jedi Council some months after the destruction of the Jedi Academy. The former little farmer of Tatooine idealised a new conclave, but not only Jedi could siege and counsel but especially politicians and military officers. From the New Jedi Order came Tresina Lobi, Kenth Hammer, Kyp Durron (despite his actions), Cilghal, Saba Sebatyne and himself. From the politicians and military came new Chief of State Cal Omas, Sienn Sovv (Sullestean male, Admiral) and four others. It was a better way to have a conclave composed of both Jedi and Politicians.
He later spearheads the mission into the Unknown Regions during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion to find the mysterious planet of Zonama Sekot, a planet that creates living starships. After the invasion is defeated with the help of the new Mandalorian Warriors, a Sekotian fleet and a Galactic Alliance-Imperial Remnant fleet, Luke leads the New Jedi Order on Denon, the temporary capital of the Galactic Alliance and the site of the newly rebuilt Jedi Temple on Coruscant.
The New Jedi Order is eventually moved to Ossus, the site of former famous Jedi temples and libraries that was mostly destroyed 4,000 years prior, where, along with the Temple on Coruscant, serves as a base for the Order. Upon the Killik's invasion of Chiss space and the transformation of most of the Myrkr mission survivors into Killik Joiners, Luke determines that the Killik's collective mind is being unconsciously controlled by one of their nests called the Dark Nest. The Dark Nest is being controlled by a former Nightsister named Lomi Plo who became their Unseen Queen, due to her ability to hide herself by using the doubt in someone's mind to become invisible, in a way. One of the Myrkr mission survivors, Alema Rar, attempted to plant seeds of doubt in Luke's mind by suggesting that his wife, Mara, may be somehow responsible for the death of his mother, Padmé Amidala, which he slightly believes because of Mara's previous involvement as the Emperor's Hand. This allows Lomi to escape from Luke as she is barely seen. Luke does discover recordings of Padmé and Anakin Skywalker from within R2-D2 and, although R2 resists Luke's efforts to protect Anakin, Luke is able to see Anakin's actions on Mustafar against Padmé, his own birth and his mother's death (as depicted in Revenge of the Sith). Because of this, he is able to overcome his doubts about Mara and defeat Lomi Plo in the final battle of the Swarm War, cutting her into four pieces. Luke also withdraws the Jedi from Cal Omas's Advisory Council as he plans to create a Jedi Council that will give aid to the Galactic Alliance when needed. He also becomes the Grand Master of the Jedi Order to give the Jedi a clear sense of direction. He has told the Jedi to either follow his leadership and make the order their priority or leave the order. So far, Danni Quee and Tenel Ka have left the order because of their duties to Zonoma Sekot and Hapes respectively, and Corran Horn has tried, but Luke talked him out of it. Luke was also forced to exile Tahiri, Lowbacca, and Tesar Sebatayne to Dagobah for divulging secret information to people outside the Jedi Order. So far, this radical reorganization seems to have kept the Order together, but the consequences of such actions remain to be seen.
Luke is also father to Ben Skywalker. Although he and Mara have agreed not to have any more children, a force-sensitive prophet did say that he would have children in the future (this was before he even met Mara).
Talents
Luke Skywalker, despite how little training he received, became a powerful Jedi Master. His skill with both the Force and lightsaber are remarkable. In the New Jedi Order novel series, Luke uses a powerful and unique ability of the Force known as "Emerald Lightning" by fans of the series in the final battle against the Yuuzhan Vong. This technique has been described to look like "green sparks," which can instantly kill its victim. No other character can generate such powerful lightning. Throughout the Expanded Universe, he displays an amazing mastery of the Force, by manipulating black holes, gravity, and planets.
Even in Luke's earlier years as a Jedi, he is a powerful figure. During the Dark Empire crisis, he disrupted the clone Emperor's Force Storm, which had the ability to destroy massive ships. He confronted in a vicious lightsaber duel and helped Leia defeating Palpatine. His niece, Jaina Solo, describes him in the final Yuuzhan Vong battle as a maelstrom of Force energy, so calm and focused that he was unstoppable. She also says his lightsaber looked to be like ten or twenty blades all moving at once. Luke's abilities with a lightsaber and the Force allow him to prevail over thousands of Yuuzhan Vong warriors, along with other enemies. Luke defeated the Supreme Overlord Shimmra (although he wasn't the real one), who on his own could destroy many Jedi. Because of this, some say that Luke is one of the greatest lightsaber duelists and probably the most powerful Jedi in the history of the galaxy, maybe surpassing even Yoda.
Casting
Luke Skywalker has been portrayed by four different actors:
Aiden Barton
Mark Hamill
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (May 25, 1977)
- The Star Wars Holiday Special (November 17, 1978)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (May 21, 1980)
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (May 25, 1983)
- Star Wars: A New Hope Audio Drama (1977)
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Audio Drama (1980)
- He reprised his role as Luke Skywalker for a speaking role in a commercial for a Star Wars novel in 2000. The novel was the first in New Jedi Order series of books, Vector Prime, by famous science fiction author R.A. Salvatore. In the commercial, he briefly recalled his past experiences as a Jedi and with the Rebel Alliance, and told of some new threat that he was unsure he could defeat. This threat would be revealed in the book as an alien species from another galaxy known as the Yuuzhan Vong. To view the commercial, click here or here.
- Mark Hamill also played Luke in a number of comedy skits on TV over the years. In 1977, he briefly played Luke on The Donny and Marie Show Star Wars Tribute, and again on an episode of The Muppet Show in 1980. In more recent years, he's "reprised" his role by voicing Luke on shows such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Robot Chicken.
Joshua Fardon
Bob Bergen
- Shadows of the Empire (1996)
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
- Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
- Star Wars: Battlefront II
Trivia
- Luke's last name was originally "Starkiller." His last name was changed to Skywalker on the first day of shooting Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, because George Lucas felt that the surname "Starkiller" implied violence too strongly. Also Star Wars was originally known, at the time of writing the script, as The Adventures of Annakin Starkiller. The name "Starkiller" was later used in the Knights of the Old Republic game for the Taris duelist, Bendak Starkiller.
- According to an interview with Lucas, Luke was originally scripted to be female and to include the aspects of Leia. Luke was changed from a young woman to a dwarf and then to a 60-year-old general before being finally scripted to be a young man becoming a Jedi.
- It has been claimed by some that the revelation of Darth Vader as Luke's father (and, subsequently, Princess Leia as Luke's sister) is a blatant case of retroactive continuity that does not fit with the mythology established in the first Star Wars film.
- William Katt auditioned for Luke's role.
- Just as George Lucas took the name "Anakin" from his friend and fellow film director, Ken Annakin, the name "Luke" is derived from Lucas' own name. Adam Roberts claims that '"Luke S" is a cypher for "Lucas".' in his book Science Fiction.
- Interestingly, whether deliberately or accidentally, the name "Luke Skywalker" bears an incredible similarity to the name of a Norse god of mischief named Loki, who was often called Loki Sky-Walker.
- Some fans have speculated that while his father may have been destined to bring balance to The Force, Luke's own destiny is to recreate a more humble and humane Jedi Order that makes allowances for its members' emotional needs.
- The Dakin building on the San Francisco Bay in Brisbane, California, an architecturally acclaimed headquarters building for several major corporations, is nicknamed the Luke Skywalker building due to its bold appearance of "good", and a nearby ominous looking building is dubbed the Darth Vader building. The Renaissance Tower in Sacramento, California, and the Columbia Tower building in Seattle also share the distinction of sometimes being referred to as the Darth Vader building, though the latter more typically is referred to as The Dark Tower.
- Ben Burtt auditioned for Luke's role before he signed on as the sound designer of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
- Some fans incorrectly identify Luke as a cyborg like his father. This is not technically accurate. Although Luke does possess a mechanical hand, he does not need it to survive and by definition, a cyborg cannot survive without its mechanical componants.
- According to the novel Heir to the Empire, Luke's favorite drink is hot chocolate, which he was introduced to by Lando Calrissian. This preference is mentioned or alluded to in other novels.
- On April 6th 1995, a Swedish rock band Broder Daniel released their second single titled "Luke Skywalker".
See also
References
- The Essential Chronology (Star Wars), 1st edition, 2000. Kevin J. Anderson, Daniel Wallace, Bill Hughes, ISBN 034-543439-0
- The Essential guide to Characters (Star Wars), 1st edition, 1995. Andy Mangels, ISBN 0-245-39535-2
- The New Essential Guide to Characters, 1st edition, 2002. Daniel Wallace, Michael Sutfin, ISBN 0-345-44900-2
- Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1998. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-789-43481-4
- Revised Core Rulebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game), 1st edition, 2002. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, J.D. Wiker, Steve Sansweet, ISBN 0-786-92876-X
- Rebellion Era Sourcebook, 1st edition, 2001. Bill Slavicsek, ISBN 0-786-91837-3
External links
- Luke Skywalker at the Star Wars Databank
- Luke Skywalker on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki