The Star Wars saga is essentially a fairy tale in space. Most fairy tales have a traditional hero — in the case of Star Wars, bright-eyed farm boy Luke Skywalker — and a wise old wizard to guide them on their quest. Luke has Obi-Wan Kenobi, one of the two Jedi to survive the devastating massacre of Order 66.
Even though Obi-Wan died halfway through the first part of the trilogy, his Force ghost stuck by Luke right to the end, watching over his journey toward becoming a Jedi Knight and bringing down the Galactic Empire. Throughout the trilogy, they shared some iconic moments.
Obi-Wan Saves Luke From Sand People
When R2-D2 runs off to find Obi-Wan, Luke and C-3PO head off across the Tatooine desert in a landspeeder to find him. Out in the hostile wilderness, the naive young farm boy and his new protocol droid are ambushed by Tusken Raiders.
As Luke struggles to fight off the Sand People, Obi-Wan appears in the distance and uses his Jedi powers to scare them away. He warns Luke, “The Sand People are easily startled, but they’ll soon be back, and in greater numbers.”
Obi-Wan Gives Luke His Father’s Lightsaber
Back at Obi-Wan’s hideout, he gives Luke his father’s lightsaber. He tells him a couple of white lies, like that his father was killed by Darth Vader, but he sets off Luke on his hero’s journey.
In 1977, Luke igniting Anakin’s lightsaber, which Obi-Wan recovered following their duel on Mustafar, was the first time moviegoers had ever seen one, and it was spectacular.
Entering A Wretched Hive Of Scum And Villainy
After seeing Leia’s message on R2-D2’s memory drive, Obi-Wan takes Luke and the droids to Mos Eisley Spaceport in order to find a pilot to take them to Alderaan.
Before heading into the spaceport, Obi-Wan tells Luke, “You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”
Obi-Wan Saves Luke From A Bar Brawl
Upon arrival in Mos Eisley Cantina, Luke is confronted at the bar by a couple of troublemakers looking to start a fight. Luke tries to defuse the situation, but they’re persistent.
So, Obi-Wan steps in to save him. He ignites his lightsaber and lops off one of the guys’ arms in one of the Star Wars saga’s most shockingly violent scenes.
Luke’s Initial Training On The Falcon
In Mos Eisley Cantina, Luke and Obi-Wan meet Han Solo and Chewbacca, who agree to take them to Alderaan in the Millennium Falcon. While they’re on the ship, Obi-Wan begins Luke’s Jedi training.
He uses a training remote and a visor that blocks his eyesight to learn how to tap into the Force and predict attacks before they happen, deflecting them with a lightsaber.
Luke Watches Darth Vader Kill Obi-Wan
After infiltrating the Death Star and helping Luke, Han, and Chewie free Leia, Obi-Wan confronts Darth Vader and engages him in their first lightsaber duel since the emotionally charged one on Mustafar that left Vader scarred and disabled.
This time, Vader emerges the victor. When Obi-Wan can see that Vader is winning, he tempts him to “strike me down” before laying down his lightsaber and allowing Vader to kill him. Luke is devastated to watch his old mentor get killed.
Obi-Wan Helps Luke Destroy The Death Star
During the final battle sequence of the original Star Wars movie, the destruction of the Death Star rests on Luke. He gets his X-wing down the main trench. Han and Chewie shoot the TIE fighters off his tail as he approaches the air shaft he needs to blast with a torpedo.
Obi-Wan’s voice appears in Luke’s head, telling him to use the Force, and Luke decides to turn off his navigation system and trust his Jedi instincts to guide the torpedo where it needs to go.
Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost Appears To Luke On Hoth
At the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back, Luke is stranded on the snowy plains of Hoth, slowly freezing to death after killing the wampa that abducted him.
While him is passed out, right before Han shows up to save him, Obi-Wan’s Force ghost appears to him and tells Luke to go to the Dagobah system to be trained by Yoda.
“From A Certain Point Of View...”
In The Empire Strikes Back, when Darth Vader revealed that he’s actually Luke’s father as opposed to the guy who killed Luke’s father, Luke realizes Obi-Wan lied to him.
The next time he sees Obi-Wan’s Force ghost on Dagobah in Return of the Jedi, he confronts him about the lie. Obi-Wan insists, “What I told you was true, from a certain point of view.”
Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost Joins The Celebration On Endor
After the Rebellion finally defeats the Empire and peace is restored to the galaxy, Luke joins his friends on Endor for an awesome party. The Ewoks sadistically play glockenspiel on the helmets of Imperial soldiers they killed.
During the party, Luke’s three mentors — Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin — all appear as Force ghosts to join the festivities and watch over him.