None of the stories people tell about me can change who I really am.
—Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker was the Jedi Grand Master of the New Jedi Order. He trained all students in the first years of the Academy, though as others were knighted they took apprentices of their own.
Biography[]
Early life[]
The son of Anakin Skywalker, Luke was strong in the Force. Growing up on Tatooine under the watchful eyes of his uncle and aunt, Owen and Beru Lars, and the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke longed for more in life. At age nineteen, Luke left Tatooine after his aunt and uncle were killed by the Empire. Luke became the Jedi apprentice to Kenobi, who was then killed aboard the Death Star. After becoming a member of the Rebel Alliance, destroying the Death Star, and eventually forming Rogue Squadron with Wedge Antilles, Luke continued his training under the Jedi Master Yoda.
In 3 ABY, Luke discovered that his father was Darth Vader. Vader cut Luke's hand off on Bespin, and Skywalker spent the next year planning a rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. After that rescue, Luke confronted his father aboard the second Death Star, where Vader turned back to the light side and killed Emperor Palpatine. Shortly thereafter, Vader himself died. Luke proclaimed that he was a Jedi Knight, becoming the first one since the rise of the Empire.
Defeat of the Empire[]
As a Jedi, Luke searched for any way to further his training. Though Yoda and Kenobi were both dead, they—along with his father, Anakin Skywalker—could speak to him as Force ghosts. They directed him to certain hideouts where Jedi holocrons and other information were stored. They also led him to a Force-sensitive man named Kam Solusar. Solusar and Skywalker became friends, and Solusar agreed to become a Jedi, as well.
In 6 ABY, two years after the deaths of Palpatine and Vader, the Empire was on the edge of defeat. It's final leader, Lumiya, had pulled all her forces back to the Imperial world Muunilinst. Skywalker, along with Kam Solusar, led the strike against Lumiya's forces. Skywalker and Solusar fought through Lumiya's command base and encountered the Dark Lady, engaging her in combat. With her lightwhip, she swiftly defeated Solusar, though Skywalker defeated—and supposedly killed, Lumiya. With the Empire's final leader defeated, Luke's sister Leia Organa signed a peace agreement with the Empire.
Building the Academy[]
Luke trains with Kyp Durron.
For years after the peace with the Empire, Skywalker built the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. His new students included Kyle Katarn, Mara Jade, Kyp Durron, and others. Due to the relative peace brought on by the treaty with the Empire, Skywalker's students grew up in an age where their training was through negotiation and the occasional pirate hunt, as opposed to combat. This led to most of them using the passive lightsaber form Niman rather than forms like Soresu or Juyo.
Skywalker took special interest in Durron; he felt Kyp had much potential in the Force, as he had a very strong connection to it. Durron, who had been rescued from the Spice Mines of Kessel by a Republic strike team, pushed himself in training, excelling in lightsaber combat and telekinesis. However, Durron was frustrated that he was not advancing faster. Skywalker convinced Durron that he would reach his full potential in time, and Kyp agreed to stay and continue his training under Skywalker. One of Skywalker's other students, Kueller, was not so easily assuaged, and left the Academy in a fit of rage.
Marriage[]
Mara Jade Skywalker, Luke's wife.
In 9 ABY, Skywalker married Mara Jade, and the two shared a brief honeymoon before Luke returned to the academy. Upon returning, he found that Han and Leia had entered their children, Jacen and Jaina, in the academy, alongside a noble youth, Raynar Thul, and a street boy named Zekk. Luke and Mara began training the Solo children as their apprentices, Luke teaching Jacen and Mara teaching Jaina.
First child[]
Ben Skywalker, Luke's eldest son.
Luke's first son, Ben, was born in 10 ABY, a year after the Skywalkers' wedding. Luke sensed his son would be strong in the Force, and upon his birth he began playing with him through the Force, using games that would enhance Ben's telekinetic skills. He would roll a ball to Ben with his mind, or lift Ben in the air and playfully flip him. Mara did the same, playing her own games to train Ben in the Force. At age ten, Ben was as skilled in the Force as his cousins had been at fifteen. Luke took him to Endor at age twelve, where Ben built his first lightsaber.
Five years later, Mara conceived a second child, Owen. As he grew, he was less intrigued by the Force than his brother was. Luke was disappointed, but he understood that his children needed to find their own way in life, and that if Owen wanted to be something other than a Jedi, he could.
As Ben and Owen grew, their father continued to train them, but he also became more focused on his other students, due to constant new arrivals, such as Tenel Ka Djo and Damien Farrell. Damien and Jaina grew close, as did Tenel Ka and Jacen. Luke watched as his son, Ben, became a third member of Damien and Jaina's trio, while Owen was more and more withdrawn to himself. Luke was concerned for him, but Mara insisted that he would learn to connect with them in time.
Jacen's Disappearance[]
Years later, the Jedi Praxeum was attacked by Kueller, who returned after disappearing for years. Luke felt he had failed Kueller; the angry student had stormed from the Academy after Luke had told him he was not ready to take Knighthood trials. When Kueller returned, he and his Dark Jedi followers fired on the Praxeum without warning.
While Luke fought the forces on the ground, Jacen led a team of Knights up to Kueller's warship to take him down. Kueller was slain, but his warship exploded, and Jacen was believed to be dead. Luke grieved for his nephew, and combined with his perceived failure in Kueller's life, he believed Jacen's death was his fault. He left the Praxeum under Kam Soluar's charge, and set off on a hermitage.
Hermitage[]
Luke Skywalker before leaving on his hermitage.
Luke traveled through the galaxy to find a peaceful place to meditate—he believed he needed to rediscover himself, and he eventually settled on one of the few uncharted islands on Mon Calamari. He stayed there for many years with only a few basic tools at his disposal and built a cave dwelling. He remained there for years, communing with the Force.
Return of the Sith[]
After years of absence, Luke finally returned when he sensed a disturbance in the Unknown Regions. He contacted his wife and told her of what he had felt. Thrilled to hear from her husband, Mara agreed to meet him and brought Damien, Ben, and Jaina with her aboard Han Solo's warship, the Retaliation. Luke boarded the Retaliation to find that Mara had brought his X-wing and R2-D2 with them.
Luke greeted his family warmly and then went to the bridge to meet with Han. He told Han what he'd felt and gave him a destination. The Retaliation jumped to hyperspace. Before they could reach the coordinates Luke had indicated, the Retaliation's hyperdrive failed and she dropped out of hyperspace. They were close enough to Tatooine for the X-wings to reach, however, so Luke, along with Mara, Ben, Jaina, and Damien, took their fighters to the planet to call for help in getting the ship repaired.
When they arrived, while Luke and Mara were negotiating for repairs, the younger three Jedi were attacked by Etera Fett and a squad of Mandalorians. Luke and Mara engaged the Mandalorians and defeated them all, while Ben and Damien captured one and Jaina chased Fett into the desert. She fought Fett, but he escaped before she could defeat him. However, having successfully contacted the Republic for aid, they returned to the Retaliation with their prisoner.
As soon as the repairs were finished, the Retaliation again jumped to hyperspace. When they arrived in the Unknown Regions, they were attacked by a squadron of TIE Defenders. Luke, the other Jedi, and Rogue Squadron launched and fought the TIE Defenders. A few of the Defenders retreated and traveled to an unknown world nearby. The Jedi followed them down and found an ancient temple built over the ocean. They landed and were met by two beings in gray Jedi robes. They led them inside and one of them said he would escort them into the Master's chambers.
Battle in the Unknown Regions[]
Brisha, the source of the darkness Luke sensed.
When they entered the chambers, the guard who had escorted them removed his robes, revealing himself as Jacen Solo. The Jedi were stunned to see him alive. Jacen explained to them that he had been saved from death after Kueller's flagship was destroyed, and had come to the Unknown Regions to teach Jedi a new way—that only by looking into the darkness could they hope to stop it. Though Luke was wary of these teachings, he went along with Jacen and agreed to stay at the temple.
Later, Jacen revealed that he had been saved by a woman named Brisha. Jaina told him that TIE Defenders had attacked them, and Jacen realized that it had been Brisha who had flown the lead Defender. He and Jaina engaged her, but he was unable to harm the woman who had saved his life. Before she could hurt Jaina, Luke came in and engaged her. Etera Fett then came out of hiding and fought Jaina. Brisha managed to push Luke and Jaina back and capture Jacen, taking him in her Defender.
Many of Brisha's students had secretly been Sith, and they attacked Luke's Jedi. They fought and many of them escaped with Brisha and Jacen. The Jedi, with those who had not followed Brisha, prepared for a counterattack. They tracked Brisha into a forest nearby and engaged her forces. Jacen managed to kill Brisha, and the rest of her forces were defeated. However, unknown to the Jedi, one of them managed to escape.
Returning to Yavin IV[]
With the danger seemingly over, Luke finally decided it was time to return to Yavin IV. He and the others helped those of Jacen's Jedi who had remained loyal to him load aboard the Retaliation; they had agreed to join the Jedi Order on Yavin IV. Once they had all the students loaded, they returned to hyperspace. In his quarters aboard the ship, Luke spoke with the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who told him that the danger was not yet over, and that Owen would be important in the events to come.
Back on Yavin IV, Luke and the others, with the help of the Jedi Council, got Jacen's students settled in. Luke spoke to Mara and asked her where Owen was; she told him that he had been working for Talon Karrde, and was now a member of a mercenary squad called the Red Sabers. Luke contacted Owen, who told him he was getting ready to go on a mission and when it was over, he'd visit Yavin IV. Luke decided he couldn't wait; there was still danger and he needed to investigate.
Excursion to Korriban[]
Darth Ruin was returned from the dead at the hands of Ahli Keros.
Luke and Mara loaded up the Jade Sabre and prepared to leave. Ben came to them, worried about his father leaving again so soon. Luke told him it was just a mission, and they'd be back. Ben insisted on coming along, to which Luke and Mara reluctantly agreed. As they entered orbit, Luke was spoken to by his father's spirit, and he decided to go to Korriban.
When they arrived, they instantly sensed a disturbance even over the darkness that permeated the planet. Luke led his wife and son to a tomb. Inside, they found Owen facing down a tall man, Ahli Keros, and red-armored warriors. Luke introduced himself, and the tall man replied that he was Darth Ruin. The two of them battled briefly, but Ruin blasted Luke back and escaped with Keros and the Red Sabers out a back door.
Ben and Mara helped Owen and Luke back to the Sabre, and they pursued the Sabers' ship. Ben went to the back and boarded his X-wing, shooting ahead of the Sabre to engage the Sabers' ship. However, the ship managed to escape to hyperspace. Ben docked back with the Sabre, and Luke ordered them to follow Ruin through hyperspace.
Battle of Yavin IV[]
The Jedi traced Ruin to a space station that Owen said the Red Sabers used as a base. When they arrived, they found a fleet of mercenary vessels arming for an assault. Realizing that it must be against the Jedi, Luke ordered them back to Yavin IV with all possible speed, although the fleet had a head start on them.
When the Jade Sabre arrived on Yavin IV, the battle was already well under way. Han had brought the Retaliation in to defend the planet, but despite this Ruin and his Sith forces had landed on the moon and were combating the Jedi. Mara piloted the Jade Sabre down toward Yavin IV and dropped Luke, Owen, and Ben off to fight while she went to pick up the younger Jedi apprentices to evacuate them. As Ruin prepared to strike down a Jedi, Luke Force-shoved him away. The two of them fought and found themselves almost evenly matched.
Ben dies at Ruin's hands.
As the battle continued, Jedi began to evacuate. Eventually, Luke fell out of the Grand Audience Chamber's back windows and landed atop the Jade Sabre. He went inside and Mara flew the ship off Yavin IV. The Retaliation jumped out of system a short distance, giving the Jedi time to take a breather. However, many Jedi had been killed on Yavin IV, and others had been captured or stranded in the jungles. As they prepared to mount a return offensive, the Jedi were contacted by Darth Ruin.
Luke and the rest of his family present—Mara, Owen, Jaina, Leia, and Han—met on the Retaliation's bridge to listen to the message. Darth Ruin said that he would begin killing Jedi one by one unless Luke surrendered, and to prove that he meant it he struck down Ben before them. Luke felt his son's death in the Force and collapsed to his knees, horrified. He agreed to surrender to Ruin, believing it to be the only way to stop the deaths. Owen promised his father that they would make Ruin pay.
Imprisonment[]
As he prepared to return to Yavin IV, Luke advised Mara to take the Jedi and hide them on Nar Shaddaa. He told her to prepare to fight the Sith in whatever way she could. Mara was unhappy that Luke planned to return to Yavin IV, but she agreed to do as he'd asked. Luke took one of the Retaliation's shuttles and jumped back to Yavin IV.
When he landed, a Sith and two mercenaries were waiting for him. The Sith taunted Luke, but he showed them with a quick Force push how easily he could defeat them. Nonetheless, he agreed to surrender peacefully for the sake of the other Jedi. They took him to cells in the sublevels below the Praxeum and held him there. Ruin came and spoke briefly to Luke, and then left him alone.
Several days later, as Luke meditated, he heard fighting outside his cell. His cell door opened, and Ben was standing outside. Luke hugged his son, unable to believe he was alive. Ben told Luke that Ruin had used Darth Plagueis' techniques to keep him alive as an experiment, but Wraith Squadron had come to rescue the Jedi. Ben and Luke quickly left the Academy together, along with all the other escaped Jedi.
Striking Back[]
Ruin prepares to fight Luke.
Luke and the others went to the Jedi hideout to Nar Shaddaa. Wraith Squadron informed them that the Jedi, led by Mara, had been taking out Sith around the galaxy one by one, and now all that remained were Ruin's forces, which had left Yavin IV and gone to Geonosis. Ahli Keros, who they'd captured on Yavin IV, also revealed that Jacen, the one Jedi prisoner who hadn't escaped, must also be on Geonosis. After reuniting with Mara and Owen, Luke began to make a plan to strike back at Ruin.
Soon, all available Jedi, along with Wraith Squadron, took X-wings to Geonosis. They were met by the Republic vessels Retaliation, New Hope, and Redeemer, the latter two of which were commanded by Leia and by Luke's old friend Wedge Antilles. The three vessels also brought their own contingent of fighters, including Rogue Squadron. Together, they massed to fight Ruin's forces.
Luke Skywalker, master of the light side.
They found that the planet had been desolated by a super-weapon mounted to Ruin's flagship. Luke and the others aboard the Jade Sabre, along with the Raven's Claw, Wraith Squadron, and several other Jedi, boarded Ruin's flagship while the Republic warships battled Ruin's other vessels. They were joined by Etera Fett and his Mandalorians. While the groups split up to accomplish separate objectives, Luke, Mara, Kyle Katarn, Jacob Nion, and Jaden Korr fought to the bridge to confront Ruin.
On the bridge, they found Ruin, Jerec, and several Jedi Hunters waiting for them. Also on the bridge was Jacen, who had been forced by Ruin to fire the super-weapon. Jacen was mentally unstable, feeling guilt for his actions. Luke confronted Ruin, and while the other Jedi took on Jerec and the Hunters, Luke and the Sith Lord fought. Luke drew completely on the Force during the battle, glowing like a star, while Ruin's body coursed with the dark side, projecting black smoke and red lightning. Their battle tore through the ship and ended with Luke using the full power of his light to extinguish Ruin's darkness.
With the battle over, Luke was too weak to leave the ship on his own, and he had to call for help. Jacob Nion came and helped Luke back to the Sabre, where Mara had taken Jacen. Kyle Katarn, having flown the warship into Geonosis' asteroid field, returned to the Raven's Claw. All of the Jedi and their allies fled the warship as it was destroyed. With the battle over, they returned to Yavin IV. Jacen's mental state was eventually restored, although he decided to go on a pilgrimage away from the Jedi. Ben and Owen also decided to leave, although they were still going to act as Jedi and use Yavin IV as their base; they merely wanted to use their abilities to help those in need in the Outer Rim.
Political Strains[]
Fyor Rodan, a political rival of Luke's.
In the next year, Luke and the Jedi were looked at with a great deal of suspicion by the Senate. Leia was removed from office just months before her term would've ended normally, stating that she had misused her governmental power to assist her brother too many times. For the same reason, Han was asked to step out of his role as general. Han complied, and he, Leia, and Chewbacca willingly went into exile. Luke, meanwhile, went to Coruscant with Mara to discuss the role of the Jedi with the Senate.
The debates went on for months. One of Luke's most bitter rivals, Fyor Rodan, insisted that the Jedi had caused more harm than good in the galaxy and that they should firmly be brought under the thumb of the government. He blamed them for the desolation of Geonosis and the destruction of the New Hope and Redeemer there, among other things. Luke argued that it was the Sith who'd done those things, and the Jedi had been opposing them. At the same time, Cal Omas and Chelch Dravvad announced that they were both running for Chancellor. Luke threw his support behind Omas, who was an Alderaanian and old friend of the Jedi.
As these debates continued, Rodan was kidnapped by a terrorist named Qazir Radique, who allegedly wanted the Republic to stand down from its explorations of the Unknown Regions. Luke was unable to leave Coruscant to save Rodan, because he was still in debate with the Senate, but his sons, along with Jaina, Damien, and Tenel Ka went in his place. They managed to save Rodan and bring him back to Coruscant unharmed. However, this did not seem to reassure Rodan of the Jedi's good intentions as Luke had hoped it would. In fact, Rodan seemed more against the Jedi than ever. In addition, Rodan announced his candidacy for Chancellor.
Persecution of Force-users[]
Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, aging but still fighting.
While Luke and Mara continued to attempt to persuade the Senate that the Jedi only had the galaxy's best interests in mind, Force-sensitive beings around the galaxy began to come under attack from different beings. Luke's sons and their friends opposed these persecutors and tried to help those who were being harmed.
One of the investigations was into a Force-sensitive woman named Seha Dorvald. Ben contacted Luke and asked if anyone at Coruscant Security Force owed him any favors. Luke told him to ask for help from Lon Shevu, a man Luke had befriended years before.
In the Senate, Rodan became more popular, and he jumped ahead in the polls. Dravvad was too far behind and was forced to drop out. Luke continued to support Omas, who was a more level-headed voice than Rodan, who was considered something of a firebrand. However, the Senate liked Rodan's style of governing, and he became even more popular. Luke and Mara began to worry about what would happen if Rodan won the election; Luke feared that he might try to force the Jedi to work directly for him, as Palpatine had. Refusing to allow that to happen, Luke told Mara that he would rather have the Jedi withdraw from the Republic altogether than be forced to be Rodan's personal secret police.
As things progressed, Ben and his friends began to have to protect other Force-using groups such as the Jensaarai from the persecutors, who they'd identified by name as the Purists. Luke recommended they look into the Fallanassi on Pydyr, and Ben and the Rangers agreed. They tried to convince the Fallanassi that they should accept their help, but Akanah, the Fallanassi leader and an old friend of Luke's, refused the offer.
Internment[]
Just weeks later, Ben and the others finally defeated Radique. With the Purists apparently defeated, Damien proposed to Jaina, and Luke and Mara returned to Yavin IV for the wedding, which Luke officiated. At the reception dinner, Luke and Mara congratulated the newlywed couple and informed them that they would be returning to Coruscant for the election of the Chancellor. Ben, Jacen, Owen, and Tenel Ka also joined them.
When they arrived on Coruscant, Ben was approached by Shevu, who told him that a group of criminals bearing a white-fisted emblem had attacked a woman resembling Seha Dorvald. Ben agreed to look into it after he voted. Once the voting was over, Luke and Mara went to the Coruscant Jedi Enclave and held a meeting with the Jedi Council via holocom while Ben and the others investigated the criminals. After the Council meeting, in which they decided that the Jedi would be pulling off Coruscant permanently, Ben and the others returned and showed Luke and Mara what they'd found: a box with a white-fist emblem that contained images of many Jedi, including the Rangers.
After two days of investigation, the time came to announce the new Chancellor. Luke, Mara, and the others went to the Senate and sat in Senator Triebakk's pod as it was announced that Fyor Rodan had won the election. As soon as this was announced, Rodan declared that all Force-users would be registered with the government and interned immediately. Luke urged Ben and his friends to leave, which they did, reluctantly. Luke and Mara remained on Coruscant and were put under house arrest. Lon Shevu visited them, apologizing for not being able to do anything, but Luke encouraged him that he'd done everything he could.
Prisoner of the Purists[]
You will be called Liora, for you are my light.
—Luke Skywalker, naming his daughter.
Luke during his imprisonment.
Luke and Mara were kept on Coruscant, although after three months under house arrest they were moved instead to an internment camp for Force-users, along with several other Jedi, Jal Shey, and other Force-users who'd been arrested. Luke and Mara kept tabs on all of the Jedi who'd been captured and did their best to keep up their training during their time there. At some point during their imprisonment, Mara conceived another child, much to her and Luke's surprise. They sensed that the child would be a female.
Fyor Rodan came to visit Luke several times during his imprisonment. He was always cordial with Luke, asking for his help in finding the Jedi who had escaped the Purists. Luke always refused, knowing that his students would someday manage to defeat the Purists. Luke began to hear rumors at this time that his sister, Leia, had gone to war with a new Imperial group called the First Order, leading a Resistance against them at Vitor Reige's insistence. Several of the Jedi had joined up with Leia to help her with the fight. Luke wished he could help them, but knew that to break out of the internment camp would only serve to prove Rodan's fears about the Jedi correct.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: The Fragile Peace
- Star Wars: Restoration of Darkness
- Star Wars: Masters of the Force
- Star Wars: Purity—Pilot (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Purity—Dorvald
- Star Wars: Purity—Flowing Current