Star Wars: The Last Jedi disappointed some fans when Luke Skywalker's story ended without paying respects to Obi-Wan Kenobi - but that's a problem fixed in the comic book adaptation of the movie.
This isn't the first time we've praised the comic adaptation for 'fixing' Last Jedi's most controversial moments, but it may be the most meaningful for fans who felt old Ben Kenobi should've played a role in Episode 8, since Luke steps into his former role when asked to train Rey in The Force. At the very least, the comic version shows that Luke finally understood Kenobi's last (living) lesson shortly before his death. At most, that Luke truly understood how The Force had turned the student into the master... and showed how he could follow Obi-Wan's path himself.
- This Page: Obi-Wan's Sacrifice For Luke
- Page 2: Luke Finally Understands Obi-Wan's Last Lesson
Obi-Wan Kenobi Chooses NOT To Fight
It's a moment that fans may not recall, assuming they don't have every line of dialogue or Jedi motto committed to memory. As the heroes of the first Star Wars movie arrive at what used to be the planet Alderaan, they find in its place a field of debris... and the biggest battle station they've ever seen. Instantly, they're pulled into the villains' clutches as the hotshot smuggler Han Solo boasts that even the Empire won't be able to take him in without a fight.
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For Han, dying is a victory in itself if it happens while violently fighting against a bigger, stronger, and more victorious enemy. But it's Obi-Wan who voices a sentiment that, at the time, audiences couldn't perceive in its full importance. Obi-Wan knows their chances, and tells Han that "you can't win. But their are alternatives to fighting." And he doesn't mean surrender, either.
Obi-Wan's 'Alternative to Fighting' is Sacrifice
Obi-Wan doesn't say it at the time, but his plot to embrace stealth, misdirection, and sabotage can only accomplish so much. The tractor beam drops, sure, and the rest of the young heroes make their way back to the Falcon. But for Obi-Wan - once a proud Jedi Knight who leaped into combat with pride, confidence, and determination to win the day - the pull of The Force takes him elsewhere. Face to face with his former pupil, whom he failed to keep to the Light Side.
Obi-Wan crosses sabers with Anak-- with Vader for a time, but when he sees the next generation of heroes making their escape, only then does he truly embrace the 'alternative to fighting.' It should be a sad moment, now that Obi-Wan's story is fully known - and his chance to "finish his fight" is stolen from him - passed to a new generation by the will of The Force. But The Last Jedi suggests this was the very moment Obi-Wan became a true Jedi Master, in all that those teachings and distinctions used to mean. As Yoda puts it, Obi-Wan has met "the true burden of all Masters... We are what they grow beyond."
The Last Jedi gives that very same moment to Luke Skywalker, or something close to it. But only the comic adaptation reveals that Luke actually knew fate was repeating itself before he ever faced Ben Solo, his own former student... and chose an alternative to violence himself.
Page 2 of 2: Luke Finally Understands Obi-Wan's Last Lesson
Luke Finally Understands Obi-Wan's Last Lesson
There will be some fans of Star Wars: The Last Jedi who defend it as a perfect or near perfect story. For them, the parallels are obvious and as meaningful as they can be: Luke is now the older Jedi hermit, like Obi-Wan was. Rey is the plucky new Jedi, like Luke was. And Kylo Ren is the new Vader, trained and lost to the Dark Side. The cycle is obvious, and satisfying, whether or not the characters are aware of it.
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But we would argue that the comic book adaptation of The Last Jedi includes one detail that makes the finale far more rewarding for Luke Skywalker fans. Writer Gary Whitta already showed how much a few lines of dialogue can change a major Star Wars moment, letting Luke Skywalker narrate his own death. But the former upstart Jedi student didn't just gain that perspective in the final moments of his life. Luke may have relied upon Force Projection to re-enter the galactic war, and not an invitation from a young princess, but he effectively plays the same part. Rey and the Resistance want him to stand up to the First Order with only his sword... but Luke remembers the last lesson Ben Kenobi taught him in life.
In the comic book version of Luke and Leia's reunion, more words are exchanged than in the movie. Luke reminds Leia that she knows hope has never faded since she first took it in her hands (in the form of plans to the Death Star). She accepts that her son Ben is gone, just as she does in the film. But in the comic, Luke reminds her of a truth that she wasn't there to hear in the very first Star Wars: that now, as then, there are alternatives to fighting.
It took Luke decades to realize that he was living out his own Jedi Master's exile all over again, before realizing that he must also answer the call. And if Luke remembered Ben's words to recite them to Leia, fans can safely assume he remembers how they ultimately proved true. And most importantly, the price that he would have to pay for others to continue the fight.
Ben Kenobi's Student Truly Becomes The Master
While Ben Kenobi, or Obi-Wan is absent from the film - instead leaving Yoda, his second Master, to talk some sense into him - it's Old Ben whose words give him his path. Ben Kenobi used his history as a great Jedi to stand between the villains and the next generation, giving his enemy nothing else to see. Decades later, Luke does the exact same. Some can claim that those themes are present in the movie whether the characters know it or not. Even if Luke is just doing all he can, the cycle of fate is visible. But there are plenty of fans who will be happier to see this line of dialogue added, showing Luke rising to the role they hoped to see.
Returning to the fight knowing the odds. Realizing Ben knowingly put aside violence for sacrifice, recognizing The Force giving him that same purpose, and becoming the true Jedi Master that his fans always knew he could be. The difference between movie and comic may be small, but they are the difference between Luke walking Ben Kenobi's path... and choosing it for himself.