Luke Skywalker

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This article is about the Star Wars character Luke Skywalker. For rapper Luke Skyywalker, see Luther Campbell.

Star Wars character
Luke Skywalker
Position	Moisture farmer, X-Wing pilot, Commander in the Rebel Alliance, Leader of Rogue Squadron, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, Grand Master of the New Jedi Order
Homeworld	Tatooine (born on Polis Massa)
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	1.72 m (5' 8")[1]
Affiliation	Jedi Order, Rebel Alliance, Rogue Squadron, New Republic, Galactic Alliance
Portrayed by	Aiden Barton (Episode III) Mark Hamill (Episodes IV-VI)

Luke Skywalker (born 19 BBY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is the son of Padmé Amidala of Naboo and fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, he's also twin brother of Leia Skywalker.

Luke plays a major role in the Star Wars saga as he learns the ways of the Jedi and becomes an important figure in the Rebel Alliance, leading the struggle against the Galactic Empire. He appears in Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. In the Expanded Universe, he becomes a powerful Jedi Master and eventually the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order. He is the central character of the classic trilogy of Star Wars.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early years - Revenge of the Sith 1.2 Fighting for the Alliance 1.3 Learning the ways of the Jedi 1.4 Luke and Vader 1.5 After the Battle of Endor 1.6 Dark Empire and the Jedi Knight falls into the Dark Side 1.7 Jedi Academy 1.8 New threats 1.9 The New Jedi Order, The Yuuzhan Vong Invasion and the Legacy of a Master 2 Talents 3 Casting 3.1 Aiden Barton 3.2 Mark Hamill 3.3 Joshua Fardon 3.4 Bob Bergen 4 Trivia 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years - Revenge of the Sith

Despite being hidden from his sister and Emperor Palpatine, Luke is brought up as the son of Jedi Knight turned evil Sith Lord Anakin Skywalker. A few years later, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin's former mentor, returns to the Lars farm carrying Anakin's lightsaber, as he now felt Luke was old enough to have a keepsake of his father's Jedi legacy. Owen confronted and berated Kenobi; he didn't want Luke to make the same mistakes Anakin did, as 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.

Luke is raised on Tatooine for the first 19 years of his life, where his uncle tries, unsuccessfully, to discourage him from following in his father's footsteps. He is told that his father was "a navigator on a spice freighter."^[2] For all Owen's efforts, however, Luke 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. He dreams of leaving Tatooine, attending the Imperial Academy, and flying among the stars to distant, exotic worlds.

[edit] Fighting for the Alliance

When Darth Vader intercepts Princess Leia Organa'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 and become a Jedi like his father. At about this time, Obi-Wan tells Luke that Anakin was a Jedi who fought in the Clone Wars, and that "a young Jedi named Darth Vader... betrayed and murdered your father."

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 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 Vader cuts Obi-Wan down in a lightsaber duel. (Obi-Wan does not exactly die, but rather ascends to a higher plane of existence and becomes one with the Force.)

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. During the battle, he loses one of his closest friends, Biggs Darklighter.

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, the tow-cable assembly from his Snowspeeder, and an explosive charge, before escaping in his X-wing, flown to him by R2-D2.

[edit] Learning the ways of the Jedi

Following advice from the spirit of Obi-Wan, Luke travels to Dagobah to learn the Jedi arts under Jedi Master Yoda. Though he trains for only a few weeks, his power in the Force grows rapidly, and he is soon a formidable warrior.

His training is interrupted, however, by a vision of his friends torture and pain in a "city in the clouds". Against Obi-Wan and Yoda's advice, he travels to Bespin to save them, only to be lured into a confrontation with Darth Vader. In the intense lightsaber duel that follows, Luke loses his right hand to Vader's saber, and is also told by the Dark Lord of the Sith that Vader is in fact Anakin Skywalker - Luke's father. Faced with this horrifying claim and the even more fearsome temptation to join Vader, Luke finds the moral courage to choose death over evil, throwing himself down a deep shaft. However, using his new found Force powers, he avoids immediate death by hurling himself into a vent leading to the very bottom of the floating city. There, he calls out through the Force to Leia, who senses his call as well as his location, helplessly hanging under Cloud City. Exhausted and barely able to hang on any longer, Luke is saved when the Millennium Falcon arrives. Thus, Luke himself ends up being rescued by the friends he had intended to save. Meanwhile, R2-D2 proves his usefulness by repairing the Falcon's hyperdrive just in time to escape. Before the Falcon leaps into hyperspace, Luke has a telepathic conversation with Vader, where Luke admits the Dark Lord is indeed his father. After he rejoins the Rebels, Luke's missing hand is replaced with a prosthetic hand.

After Luke is defeated at Bespin, his affinity with the Force 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, as well as in the Return of the Jedi Radio Drama.)

On Tatooine, Luke - with Leia, the droids, and Lando Calrissian - also hatch a plan to save Han Solo from the gangster Jabba the Hutt, who had acquired the carbonite-encased Solo from the bounty hunter Boba Fett after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. With solemn confidence, an unarmed Luke confronts Hutt in his palace while exhibiting his newly acquired Jedi abilities. Jabba, however, would not be bargained with nor intimidated. Vastly outnumbered, Luke is made Jabba's prisoner and sentenced to die along with Solo and Chewbacca by means of the Sarlacc. Leia meanwhile is made Jabba's slave. However at the execution, using his lightsaber which was smuggled to the site by the aid of R2, Luke overpowers Hutt's minions and frees his friends. During the struggle, Jabba is killed when Leia garrottes him with the chain binding her to his throne, just before escaping with Luke and the others.

During his return trip to Dagobah, Luke learns from the dying Yoda and Obi-Wan confirms that Vader is indeed his father, and that Leia is his twin sister. Yoda also makes it clear that Luke still will not truly be a Jedi until he confronts Vader again. Obi-Wan grimly informs Luke that he must kill his own father in order to save the galaxy. Luke insists that there is still good left in Vader, but remains deeply torn.

[edit] 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. 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, Luke glances at his own bionic 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, passing the final trial given to him by Yoda and proudly declaring his allegiance to the Jedi.

The Emperor, realizing that Luke cannot be turned, 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.) In horrible pain, Luke calls out to his father for help. 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 dies and 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. Luke sees the spirits of his Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan and his father Anakin. With this final victory, Luke comes full circle as a Jedi and as a person.

[edit] After the Battle of Endor

The Expanded Universe detailed Luke's exploits following the Rebel victory at Endor.

One day after the battle of Endor, Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles recover a message droid from the planet Bakura, which was being invaded by the Ssi-Ruuk. Luke commanded a task force, turning back the enemy army. He also met Dev Sibwarra, a Force-sensitive human who had been captured by the Ssi-Ruuk, who was killed in the battle after turning against her captors.

Four years after the Battle of Endor Luke travels to the planet Dathomir, and there discovers the Force-sensitive witches. While there, he assists in destroying most of the Nightsisters, and recovered old Jedi records left by Yoda about 400 years prior.

The following year, Luke meets former Emperor's Hand Mara Jade, and they fight against his clone, Luuke Skywalker, the apprentice of Joruus C'Baoth. During the combat, Mara Jade destroys the clone and, with Leia's help, destroys C'Baoth.

[edit] Dark Empire and the Jedi Knight falls into the Dark Side

Luke suffers a brief lapse to the dark side when he goes undercover as the apprentice of the resurrected Palpatine, who now rules an army of chaotic agents on the planet of Byss. The Jedi Knight fights nobly, but is bested by the clone Emperor, who forces his former adversary to bow and to call him "Master." Leia, who has let herself be caught, confronts both the Sith Lord and her fallen brother. She finds 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 disrupts the dark side within her brother. Luke Skywalker turns against the dark side and vows to only serve the Light forever. He later fights the Emperor in a lightsaber duel and reaffirms his commitment to rebuilding the Jedi Order. Also, his enhanced powers allow him to become the first new Jedi Master of the New Jedi Order. He allows his sister to break the darkness within Palpatine, defeating and ultimately destroying him.

[edit] Jedi Academy

Luke resigns 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 use against him. Luke becomes the Order's de facto leader. His students in the ways of the Force include: Gantoris, Dorsk 81, Kam Solusar, Tionne, Streen, Cilghal, Kirana Ti and others.

An older and wiser Luke Skywalker also appears in the Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy video games at the rank of Jedi Master. 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.

[edit] New threats

Years later, the former Rebel hero works again with his mercenary ally Mara Jade, who has learned to better her Force knowledge since her training at Luke's Jedi Academy. He falls in love with her, and they eventually marry. They have a son, whom they name Ben (after Obi-Wan Kenobi, who used Ben as a pseudonym).

[edit] The New Jedi Order, The Yuuzhan Vong Invasion and the Legacy of a Master

During the conflict with the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, the Jedi Master reconstructs a new Jedi Council some months after the destruction of the Jedi Academy. He idealises a new conclave, made up of Jedi, politicians and military officers. Included in this new Jedi Order are Tresina Lobi, Kenth Hammer, Kyle Katarn, Kyp Durron, Cilghal, Saba Sebatyne and himself. From the politicians and military came new Chief of State Cal Omas, Admiral Sienn Sovv (Sullustan male) and four others.

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 were mostly destroyed 4,000 years prior, where, along with the Jedi 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 controlled by a former Nightsister named Lomi Plo, who became their Unseen Queen with her ability to become invisible by exploiting the doubts of inferiors. 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 discovers recordings of Anakin Force-choking Padmé on Mustafar, his own birth, and his mother's death. 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' 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. Jedi Danni Quee and Tenel Ka have resigned because of their duties to Zonoma Sekot and Hapes, respectively, while Corran Horn has tried to resign, 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.

Most recently, Luke has begun having visions of a figure cloaked in darkness bringing about great destruction to the galaxy and Jedi Order. In his dreams, this figure's presence is much like that of his father, Darth Vader. Luke has been troubled by the fact that he has been unable to discern the identity of this being. Complicating matters even more is the recent schism that has developed between Luke and his nephew, Jacen Solo. Already a tremendously powerful Jedi Knight, Jacen has begun adopting radical and extreme interpretations of the Force, causing a dramatic change in his personality. Luke has become greatly fearful that Jacen is pursuing the same path that ultimately led to Anakin Skywalker's fall to the Dark Side. Increasing this concern is the fact that Luke's own son, Ben, is Jacen's apprentice. Luke must also battle his wife, Mara, who despite sharing some of Luke's apprehension, refuses to confront Jacen for fear of alienating Ben. Recently, Luke has determined that the dark figure from his dreams is Lumiya, a former Emperor's Hand now known as the "Dark Lady of the Sith".

Although he and Mara have agreed not to have any more children, a Force-sensitive prophet did tell him that he would have children in his future before he even met Mara.

He dies at some point between 40 and 130 ABY, as he is seen as a Force Ghost in Star Wars: Legacy, pleading with his descendant Cade Skywalker to return to the Jedi Order.

[edit] Talents

Despite receiving little training, Luke's 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" in the final battle against the Yuuzhan Vong. This technique has been described to look like "green sparks," which can instantly kill its victim.^{[citation needed]} The only other character that can generate such powerful lightning was Palpatine, who blew holes through Rayf Ysanna and Emptatojayos Brand. 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 Emperor's Force Storm, which had the ability to destroy massive ships. He confronted in a vicious lightsaber duel and with help from Leia and her unborn child 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 10 or 20 blades all moving at once."^{[citation needed]} 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, who on his own could destroy many Jedi.

[edit] Casting

Luke Skywalker has been portrayed by four different actors:

[edit] Aiden Barton

• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (May 19, 2005)

[edit] 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 Vector Prime, the first of the New Jedi Order novels by science fiction and fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, in 2000. 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.
• 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 both Luke and himself on shows such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, and Robot Chicken.

[edit] Joshua Fardon

• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Audio Drama (1996)

[edit] Bob Bergen

• Shadows of the Empire (1996)
• Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
• Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
• Star Wars: Battlefront II

[edit] Trivia

• Luke's last name was originally "Starkiller." His last name was changed to Skywalker on the first day of shooting A New Hope, because director 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 Anakin 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 19 year old teenager.

Luke was to have had a major role in the now cancelled sequel trilogy as an Obi-Wan/Yoda type Jedi Master in his 60's passing on the torch to the next young hope.

• William Katt auditioned for Luke's role.
• Just as 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 cipher for "Lucas".' in his book Science Fiction.
• Interestingly, whether deliberate or coincidental, 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.
• 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," although 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 A New Hope.
• 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 6, 1995, Swedish rock band Broder Daniel released their second single titled "Luke Skywalker."
• On Blink 182's album, Dude Ranch, there is a song called A New Hope, which includes lyrics such as: And of course I'd do anything for her, I'd search the moons of Endor, I'd even walk naked through, the deserts of Tatooine
• Some aspects of Luke's life and personality were incorporated into the character Kira Yamato from the anime series Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny.

[edit] References

• The Essential Chronology (Star Wars), 1st edition, 2000. Kevin J. Anderson, Daniel Wallace, Bill Hughes, ISBN 0-345-43439-0
• 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 0-7894-3481-4
• Revised Core Rulebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game), 1st edition, 2002. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, J.D. Wiker, Steve Sansweet, ISBN 0-7869-2876-X
• Rebellion Era Sourcebook, 1st edition, 2001. Bill Slavicsek, ISBN 0-7869-1837-3

[edit] External links

• Luke Skywalker at the Star Wars Databank
• Luke Skywalker on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki
• Luke's Original Lightsaber