In all of the pop culture sphere, there are very few heroes who have had such a significant impact on people's lives and the overall landscape of geekdom like Luke Skywalker. He is one of, if not the central hero of Star Wars' adored original trilogy, and was brought to life by the equally as beloved Mark Hamill iconically on five and a bit occasions.
Luke goes on a terrific journey throughout the original trilogy. In the sequel trilogy, he goes on a journey that is, at the very least ambitious, and at worst, immensely divisive. Luke grows and develops a lot across his movie appearances, and here we look at ten of the biggest ways he does so.
LOSES AUNT BERU & UNCLE OWEN
The first big thing to happen to Luke Skywalker when we meet him in A New Hope was the death of his Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen when stormtroopers murdered them.
Luke was not going to go with Obi-Wan due to his commitments to his Aunt and Uncle. They were the only family he had - that he knew of - and finding them dead, and Homestead burning meant Luke had nothing left, and so had nothing left to lose, and was able to go to the stars.
FINALLY GETS OFF TATOOINE
Speaking of leaving Tatooine, that is something that Luke had longed for and been desperate for his entire life. Like his father, Luke dreamed of the stars, and he finally did that.
Had Luke not left Tatooine, nothing else that will come upon this list would have happened. It changed the course of not just Luke's life, but the fate of the Galaxy. The famous binary sunset shot sees a young Luke staring at the sky, with his dreams out of reach, and with leaving Tatooine, he was finally able to reach them.
JOINS & BECOMES A GENERAL IN THE REBEL ALLIANCE
Once off of Tatooine, Luke's rescue of Leia from the Death Star led to him joining the Rebel Alliance and being apart of the Battle of Yavin. Luke's role in the Battle of Yavin can not be understated and brought about significant changes in Luke.
Luke ended up becoming a General in the Rebel Alliance. From this, Luke grew a family, he went on immense adventures, and instead of just becoming a Jedi, he helped save the Galaxy from the tyranny of the Empire, and it helped Luke grow, mature, and learn a lot.
BECOMES A JEDI
Arguably even more important to Luke and his growth, and the story of the original trilogy is Luke's journey to becoming a Jedi Master, growing from the farmboy in A New Hope to the wise master of Return Of The Jedi and beyond.
Some of the best scenes in The Empire Strikes Back are the scenes of Yoda training Luke. Throughout this training, we see Luke learn new skills, and become more attuned to the Force. By the time of the sequel trilogy, Luke has learned immense Force powers and has had his academy to train the next era of Jedi, even though it did burn.
LEARNS THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS FAMILY
One of the greatest, and most essential twists in movie history, was the revelation in 1980 of "No. I am your father." The revelation of Vader being Anakin Skywalker, was and remains phenomenal, and massively impacted Luke's life.
Had Luke not known the truth, he may not have been more sympathetic or patient with Vader. Knowing Vader was his father meant he kept confidence that there was good in his father, and meant he would do everything he could to help him, and bring him back to the Light Side of the Force. He succeeded. On top of that, Luke knowing Leia was his sister, and sensing the Force in her, allowed for him to train her later, and made his found family, his blood family.
CREATES A NEW LIGHTSABER
In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke lost his/Anakin's iconic blue lightsaber when Vader sliced off his hand, holding the saber. In a deleted scene for Return Of The Jedi, Luke crafted his iconic green lightsaber.
The lightsaber itself is a small change for Luke, but what it represents is a massive change in Luke. It is him completing his Jedi training; it is him learning, growing, becoming a Jedi Master, and embodying all of the qualities that come with that.
GOES INTO ISOLATION
One of the most divisive storylines of the sequel trilogy was the entire treatment of Luke Skywalker and his severing of his Force connection, and going into isolation.
This isolation marks a point in Luke's life like no other. He is low. He has lost the hope that he is most known for; we have seen him deal with the Empire and unable to fathom it happen again, and when he becomes weak, he runs. It is a unique point in Luke's life and was a considerable shift from what fans had gotten used to from Luke.
LEARNS PATIENCE & SERENITY
When we first meet Luke, and when he begins his Jedi training, he is a bit hotheaded, impatient, a bit too confident, and far too ready to jump into situations for which he is not prepared.
As we progress through each movie, though, we see Luke grow the virtue of patience. Instead of immediately jumping into fight Jabba, he has a plan and patience, very different from what happened on Bespin. Additionally, Luke becomes very calm, and is peaceful within himself, as highlighted in his meeting of Vader when he remains calm, and simply tells Vader that there is still good within him and that he will not turn.
MATURES
Alongside the learned patience and peace of Luke, every time we see him again, he is more mature from the last. He grows and grows to the point that when Return Of The Jedi comes, he is a different person, a mature person, a true Jedi.
Instead of being whiny, impatient, a bit selfish, and stubborn, Luke ends up as a wise, mature individual. He understands what must get done, he knows how to do things peacefully, and in the right way rather than to jump right in. His outfits and looks change and are very representative of how much Luke develops and is grown up.
SACRIFICES HIMSELF
Luke ended up rectifying his venture into isolation in a big way. He realized his mistake, he admitted to it, and he made the ultimate sacrifice to give back because of it.
Luke uses all of his life energy to Force project himself onto Crait, distract Kylo Ren, and help the Resistance escape. He then becomes one with the Force, and we see him in The Rise Of Skywalker as a Force Spirit, where he has learned from and admits to his mistakes. Lukes death meant a lot and was an emotional moment for most fans, and his sacrifice shows a final act of growth in the character and a massive literal change as he goes from living to living in the Force.