The lightsaber from the Star Wars franchise might be the most popular weapon in all of fiction. The person who helped the lightsaber to earn this distinction was Luke Skywalker, as his use of the weapon was the most impressive of any of the characters in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber was the one given to him by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, which had been taken from Anakin Skywalker after his defeat on Mustafar.
He would go on to lose this lightsaber (as well as his hand) after being defeated by Darth Vader during their duel in Cloud City.
Luke Skywalker created his second lightsaber during the time between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which helped to signify his growth into a true Jedi Knight.
The fate of Luke Skywalker's two lightsabers has been different in various forms of fiction. This is to say nothing of the effect that these weapons have had in real-life, with two simple props being given the same weight as a famous work of art.
We are here today to reveal the secrets of Luke Skywalker's iconic weapons, from the surviving recording of Anakin's lightsaber to the evil clone of Luke who wielded a familiar blade.
Here are the 15 Things Only True Fans Know About Luke’s Lightsaber!
The Lightsaber Training Video
The blue lightsaber that was given to Luke Skywalker by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope was the second blade wielded by Anakin Skywalker, as his first one was destroyed by a mechanical cutting arm on Geonosis.
This is the same lightsaber that would be used by Rey during the events of The Last Jedi and it would be destroyed during her encounter with Kylo Ren. This lightsaber is currently broken, though many fans suspect that it will be repaired in the next movie.
Anakin was considered to be one of the best lightsaber duelists of the original Jedi Order. His skills were so good that they were recorded on holograms so that they could be passed down to future Jedi Knights.
In the Star Wars Rebels episode "Shroud of Darkness", it is revealed that Ahsoka Tano possesses one of Anakin's hologramatic lightsaber lessons, in which he wields his iconic second lightsaber and gives instructions on techniques that can be used to fight droids.
Ahsoka was unaware of Anakin falling to the dark side and becoming Darth Vader, as the knowledge of his fall wasn't widely known at the time.
This recording had managed to survive until the A New Hope era, which suggests that others may also have survived as well.
It Accidentally Saved His Life
One question that was never directly answered in The Empire Strikes Back was how exactly Darth Vader knew that Luke Skywalker was his son. It's possible that the name tipped him off, but there is a whole galaxy full of people out there and we don't know how common Skywalker is as a name.
Many fans assumed that Darth Vader discovered his connection to Luke Skywalker through the Force, but this is never confirmed in the story.
The new Star Wars comic books have revealed how Darth Vader learned of his familial connection to Luke.
In Star Wars 2: Skywalker Strikes, Part 2, we see another duel between Darth Vader and Luke that takes place between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Vader easily manages to overpower Luke and takes the lightsaber from his hand.
It was at this point that Vader realized that he was holding his old lightsaber from when he was a Jedi Knight. This momentary distraction gives Han Solo enough time to save the day, as he crashes an AT-AT into the area where the duel is taking place. Luke is able to retrieve the lightsaber and escape.
This encounter piqued Darth Vader's interest in Luke Skywalker, which is why he hired Boba Fett to learn his true identity. It is through Boba Fett's information that Darth Vader learned the true identity of his son.
The Long-Awaited Deleted Scene
The original Star Wars trilogy has received more special editions than any other movie series out there.
George Lucas is often credited with creating the concept of a special edition that improves upon the visuals of an older movie with the help of modern special effects.
The fans eagerly awaited the release of a Star Wars Blu-ray set that had versions of the movie of the same visual quality that had only previously been seen in the cinema. The Blu-ray of Return of the Jedi came with an extra surprise that fans had been clamoring to see for years.
There had been many rumors over the years of extra footage from Return of the Jedi that had never been included on any home release of the movie.
This footage supposedly showed Luke Skywalker creating his second lightsaber, before beginning his plan to save Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt.
George Lucas had claimed that this footage did not exist and was nothing more than an urban legend. This turned out to be a deflection, though, as the footage of Luke Skywalker completing his second lightsaber finally made its way onto Blu-ray, after being sporadically shown at Star Wars events and conventions.
The False Crystal
In order for a lightsaber to function, it requires a special crystal that emits the energy that forms the blade of the weapon. The crystal itself needed to be infused with the Force, which was done via a ritual that was performed by the Jedi or Sith who was creating the weapon.
The nature of the crystal would also determine the color and strength of the lightsaber blade that it would create.
Luke Skywalker ran into a problem when creating his second lightsaber, as Darth Sidious had ordered the destruction of all known sites that produced lightsaber crystals.
He had acquired all of the other pieces within Obi-Wan Kenobi's home on Tatooine, but he still lacked a crystal or the means to find one. This meant that Luke Skywalker had to use a synthetic crystal in order to make a new weapon.
A synthetic lightsaber crystal is made using a special kind of furnace. The synthetic crystals are said to be even more powerful than naturally grown crystals due to the fact that they are easier to tailor to the individual user's needs.
Synthetic lightsaber crystals became commonplace after the downfall of the Empire, as the New Jedi Order was forced to rely on them for the creation of their new lightsabers.
Luke's Red Lightsaber And His Turn To The Dark Side
The idea that Luke Skywalker eventually turned to the dark side is a popular one in non-canon forms of Star Wars media, such as the Expanded Universe novels or the various comic books that have been released over the years.
This is due to how close Luke comes to falling to the dark side in Return of the Jedi, as it was only due to Darth Vader's redemption that he was able to survive his encounter with the Emperor and escape the Death Star with his life.
Dark Empire was a comic book series that acted as a sequel to the original Star Wars movie trilogy. This series revealed that the Emperor had survived the destruction of the Death Star, as he possessed the power to use the Force to move his consciousness into a new body.
The Emperor had prepared many empty clone bodies for this very purpose.
It was during his second encounter with the reborn Emperor Palpatine that Luke Skywalker finally gave himself over to the dark side and joined the ranks of the Sith. It was during this brief period of time that Luke Skywalker wielded a red lightsaber in battle.
Luke Skywalker was redeemed by Princess Leia in the same way that he had redeemed Darth Vader years before and they were able to defeat the reborn Palpatine together.
It Has Gone Into Space
Star Wars is similar to Star Trek in that it helped to inspire interest in space travel. There are many accomplished NASA scientists who have claimed that the adventures of Luke Skywalker inspired an early interest in exploring space.
The original lightsaber prop that was used in the first two Star Wars movies has earned the distinction of being one of the few parts of the franchise to actually make the journey into outer space.
In 2007, the prop for Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber was sent up on the space shuttle Discovery, which was traveling to the International Space Station in order to deliver an important piece of technology that was needed by the crew.
The lightsaber prop was then returned to Earth when Discovery returned home.
NASA treated the arrival of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber as if it were a celebrity event, with actors dressed like several of the major characters from the series (such as Chewbacca, Boba Fett, and R2-D2) seeing the handle off as it took its journey to the stars.
The lightsaber was greeted upon its return by a group of armed Storm Troopers.
It Was Sold For Almost Half A Million Dollars
Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber went from being a cheap piece of camera equipment that was used as the handle for a fake sword to being considered a worthy enough cultural artifact that it deserved to take a journey into outer space. It's rise in status allowed to to travel with Discovery to outer space, before it was returned to Earth.
However, the infamous lightsaber's journey didn't stop there. In fact, life was just as exciting for the lightsaber when it returned home as it was in space, as the lightsaber sold for an incredible amount of money at an auction.
Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber was sold for $450,000 at an auction. It was part of a series of Star Wars memorabilia that was auctioned off to the public.
The lightsaber was purchased by Ripley company for the express purpose of displaying it at the various Ripley Believe it or Not locations across the world.
Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber wasn't even the most expensive piece sold at the auction, however.
A private buyer purchased the original R2-D2 suit for $2. 7 million dollars.
The Explanation For The Last Jedi Lightsaber Plot Hole
The Last Jedi took a lot of abuse when it was first released, due to certain story elements that were not popular with the fans, such as Vice Admiral Holdo not telling anyone how she planned to escape from the Imperial fleet or Luke giving up on his nephew and turning away from the Force.
One of the common complaints about The Last Jedi involves a story element that many fans have accused of being a plot hole.
In The Last Jedi, Luke Skywalker uses his Force powers to create an illusion of himself in order to distract Kylo Ren long enough for the rebels to escape. This powerful ability would end up costing Luke Skywalker his life.
Many fans claim that Kylo Ren should never have fallen for this ruse, as Luke was using his blue lightsaber, which Kylo had seen destroyed in an earlier scene in the movie. The lightsaber had broken apart during his fight with Rey.
Rian Johnson has defended the scene by claiming that Kylo Ren never actually saw the destruction of Anakin's lightsaber, as he only saw a flash of light.
Luke specifically chose that lightsaber to enrage Kylo Ren and keep the attention focused on him, as Kylo was still obsessed with Darth Vader, despite the fact that he had destroyed his old helmet during an earlier scene in the movie.
The Secret Fate Of Luke's Second Lightsaber
The first lightsaber that was wielded by Luke Skywalker was destroyed during the battle between Kylo Ren and Rey in The Last Jedi and is currently in pieces aboard the Millennium Falcon.
We do not learn the fate of Luke's second lightsaber in The Last Jedi, as the version of Luke that finally emerges to do battle with Kylo Ren was a Force projection.
The Last Jedi novelization reveals the fate of Luke Skywalker's second lightsaber, though the canonicity of the information is uncertain.
According to the novel, the lightsaber fell into the hands of the Caretakers who maintained the original Jedi Temple and the island that Luke was living on for so many years.
It's their job to prepare the area for any prospective Jedi Knights who can find the temple, which includes storing any useful items for those who may require the knowledge that comes with them.
All of Luke Skywalker's possessions that had been brought with him to the island were taken by the Caretakers so that they could be saved for future generations of Jedi Knights who may need them.
If this information is kept for the movies, then we may see Luke's second lightsaber appear in the hands of a young Jedi Knight (or Sith Lord) in one of the later movies in the franchise.
Ben Skywalker found it and used it
The galaxy is a big place and the Jedi and Sith orders have spent decades where they had to operate in secret. This raises the question of what happens to Force-sensitive people who have no access to training?
A lot of these individuals become Dark Jedi, which is a name given to those who learn how to use the Force without following the ways of either the Jedi or the Sith.
These people are not bound by the traditional rules followed by those orders (such as not taking romantic partners or their only being two Sith at any one time), so their abilities develop in different ways.
The last known bearer of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber in the Expanded Universe was Ben Skywalker, who was the son of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade.
Ben Skywalker was a major character in the Expanded Universe novels and starred in many different stories. He was the one responsible for finding Luke Skywalker's lightsaber after it had been taken by a Dark Jedi, who were attempting to bind dark powers into the blade.
Ben used this lightsaber for a while, before returning it to his family.
When Mara Jade passed away, Luke Skywalker left the lightsaber in the Jedi Temple for good.
It's Small Role Role In The Holiday Special
Mark Hamill was involved in a car accident that occurred in 1977. The accident resulted in him breaking his nose and left cheekbone.
This incident resulted in several scars on Hamill's face, which led to the creation of the Wampa scene in The Empire Strikes Back, in order to explain the scars to the audience.
These injuries ensured that Mark Hamill would only have a small role in The Star Wars Holiday Special, as he was caked in makeup during his brief scenes during the special.
Those who look closely during the brief Luke Skywalker scene at the start of The Star Wars Holiday Special may notice that Luke's lightsaber looks different.
This is due to the fact that a new prop was used for the lightsaber hilt, which was made from a Graflite flash unit, rather than the original model that was used in A New Hope.
Luke Skywalker never actually uses his lightsaber during The Star Wars Holiday Special, as he only appears in a few brief scenes and the budget likely couldn't accommodate even a single activation of the weapon.
The bulk of the movie follows Chewbacca's family as they make unintelligible noises into the camera, in a motion picture experience that is still somehow better than The Phantom Menace.
The Romantic Lightsaber Gift
One of the most notable original characters from the Expanded Universe was Mara Jade. She was one of Emperor Palpatine's most accomplished secret agents and was considered to be the finest of the "Emperor's Hands" who dealt with opposition to the Empire through assassination and sabotage.
Emperor Palpatine used the last of his energy to send a telepathic message to Mara Jade, in which he commanded her to deal with Luke Skywalker.
Mara Jade would attempt to assassinate Luke throughout the Thrawn trilogy, until she learned the truth of the events surrounding Darth Vader's betrayal and the destruction of the second Death Star.
Mara Jade managed to slay Luuke Skywalker and claimed Anakin Skywalker's second lightsaber, which Luuke had been using in his battle against Luke. Mara Jade would use this weapon to defeat Joruus C'baoth-- the insane Jedi Master who was responsible for cloning Luke Skywalker.
When the pair returned to Coruscant, Luke Skywalker gave Mara Jade his father's old lightsaber as a gift, as he felt that she had earned it due to her saving his life. This act represented the start of the romance between the two, with Luke and Mara eventually getting married.
Mara would become a Jedi Master and she would use Anakin's old lightsaber until she perished at the hands of Jacen Solo.
Luke Built A Lightsaber For Leia
Princess Leia was established as having a powerful connection to the Force in the original Star Wars trilogy, but she was never given the chance to develop them on the screen.
The Last Jedi gave Leia a chance to use these powers once more, in one of the most ridiculous looking scenes in the series. It seemed as if the later movies were going to give Leia a more active role in the creation of whatever the next Jedi Order would look like, but the passing of Carrie Fisher means that we won't ever see these plans come to fruition.
The Expanded Universe and other outside material have flip-flopped on whenever Leia became a Jedi Knight or not. In several of the Expanded Universe novels, Princess Leia wielded a blue lightsaber that she had found, rather than creating one of her own.
In Ambush at Corellia, Luke Skywalker builds a smaller lightsaber for his sister that is intended to be easier and more comfortable for her to use.
The limited availability of lightsaber crystals meant that he was forced to give her one that had a red colored blade, which meant that Leia was one of the few Jedi to ever use a red lightsaber.
Luke's Evil Clone Used His Father's Lightsaber
There are many Star Wars fans who lament the end of the Expanded Universe, which officially became non-canon after Disney purchased the rights to the series and decided to scrap all of the events that had happened after Return of the Jedi.
A few of the historical elements from the Expanded Universe (such as background information about characters like Darth Sidious) have reappeared in some of the new novels, but most of the content is no longer part of the story.
The Expanded Universe had some great ideas. Luuke Skywalker was not one of them.
In the Expanded Universe novels, Darth Vader found Luke Skywalker's severed hand and his lightsaber after their duel in Cloud City.
The hand was eventually claimed by Joruus C'baoth, who created a clone of Luke Skywalker that he could unleash upon the original. This clone was named Luuke Skywalker and it wielded the same blue lightsaber that had once been created by Anakin Skywalker.
Luke Skywalker would go on to battle his evil clone. Luuke would have won if it weren't for the intervention of Princess Leia and Mara Jade, with the latter responsible for slaying the clone in battle.
The experience of encountering Luuke had a profound effect on Luke, as it proved to him that he could have fallen to the dark side if he had been born into different circumstances.
The Camera Prop
We often take for granted the convenience of having access to a camera at all times through our cell phones. The quality of the pictures taken by an iPhone or similar device is incredible for such a small device.
This is in stark contrast to the cameras that existed only as far back as twenty years ago, which required a lot more effort to take pictures of a lesser quality than what we can easily make nowadays with a phone.
The only reason why lightsabers exist is due to these original cameras, as the ones used by the press required a separate device in order to create a flash of light.
The original lightsaber that was given to Luke Skywalker was made from a Graflex 3 cell flash unit, which was used in conjunction with a camera in order to take the pictures that were used on the covers of newspapers.
The part of the flash unit that held the lightbulb was removed and several blocks made of plastic were added, in order to make the device look more mechanical.
Graflex flash units are still used for lightsabers in the modern movies, with all of the lightsabers in The Force Awakens being made from the same props as the ones from the original trilogy.
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