Luke Skywalkeris the greatest heroStar Warshas ever seen, as he was integral in toppling the Empire, which simultaneously brought an end tothe rule of the Sith in the galaxy, while simultaneously markinga new beginning for the Jedi. Luke was the hope the galaxy needed when it was at its most desperate, and he lived up to that expectation beautifully. And, what’s even cooler is that Luke Skywalker didn’t just do it once, but twice - between two separate continuities.
There aretwo distinct continuities inStar Wars: canon and Legends(formerly called Expanded Universe). Both continuities branch from the original trilogy, asEpisodes IV - VIare the same in both. However, that’s about where the similarities end, especially regardingLuke Skywalker’s character. Indeed, the version ofLuke Skywalker in Legendsis vastly different from what fans got in canon, with some of the differences being for the better, some for the worse. But, whether good or bad, here are the10 ways canon Luke Skywalker is different from hisStar WarsLegends counterpart.
10New Jedi Order
Legends Luke Skywalker Successfully Brought Back the Jedi, Canon Luke Did Not
After the events ofReturn of the Jedi,Luke Skywalker began his journey of forming the New Jedi Order, which was his main objective in both canon and Legends, and in both cases, he succeeded. However, forming a New Jedi Order isn’t just about training some Jedi and then calling it quits, it’s about building something that’s destined to last long after he’s gone - and that’s where canon and Legends Luke differ greatly.
InStar Warscanon, Luke Skywalker gave up on his New Jedi Orderafter the corruption of Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren, which also resulted in the destruction of the Jedi Academy and the deaths of all of Luke’s students.In Legends, however, Luke Skywalker established a Jedi Order so strong, that it not only continued long after his death, but it endured another Jedi Purge (as seen inStar Wars Legacy).
9Training Han Solo & Leia Organa’s Child (Children)
Legends Luke Skywalker was Much More Successful with His Nephew (& Niece)
In both canon and Legends, Luke Skywalker’s earliest padawans were the children of Han Solo and Leia Organa. In canon, the pair only had one child, Ben Solo. In Legends, Han and Leia had two kids: Jacen and Jaina (before later having a third named Anakin). BothStar Warscontinuities showLuke Skywalker training Han and Leia’s children as Jedi, but with vastly different results.
In canon,Luke Skywalker utterly failed Ben Solowhen he tried to kill him upon sensing the dark side within him. In Legends,Luke trained Jacen and Jaina well. While it is true that Jacen ultimately fell to the dark side as Darth Caedus, that was after multiple wars (including a battle that resulted in the death of his little brother, Anakin), and Jaina was the one who stopped him, which proves that Luke wasn’t a complete failure.
8Force Ghost Training
Canon Luke Skywalker Trained a Totally Different Skywalker as a Force Ghost
In both canon and Legends, Luke Skywalker continued training the next generation of Jedi even after his death as a Force Ghost. In canon, this was shown inStar Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker, whenLuke offered Rey guidance during her time of need, effectively completing her Jedi training before her final battle against Emperor Palpatine. However, in Legends, Luke’s Force Ghost trains an entirely different Skywalker.
In the Legends comicStar WarsLegacy,Luke’s Force Ghost appears before his descendant, Cade Skywalker, when Cade was on the verge of either falling to the dark side, or giving up on being a Force-user entirely (by blocking his connection to the Force with Death Sticks).
7Palpatine’s Return
Legends Luke Skywalker Defeated Palpatine Upon His Return, Canon Luke Didn’t
“Somehow, Palpatine returned” wasn’t just a major plot point at the climax of the sequel trilogy, it was also aStar WarsLegends storyline calledDark Empire- and, for the most part, they’re pretty similar.Emperor Palpatine uses a combination of cloning and a dark side technique called Essence Transfer to come back to lifeafter his death inReturn of the Jedi, and he’s ultimately stopped before he can fully return to power. However, from Luke Skywalker’s perspective, these stories couldn’t be more different.
Luke Skywalker is the main protagonist inDark Empirewho battled Emperor Palpatine and was primarily responsible for Palpatine’s defeat.InRise of Skywalker, however, Rey was the main protagonistwho ultimately defeated Palpatine - pretty much leaving Luke out of the story entirely.
6Fall to the Dark Side
Legends Luke Skywalker Fell to the Dark Side, Canon Luke Stayed a Jedi (Sort Of)
Luke Skywalker may be the greatest Jedi hero inStar Warshistory, but in Legends, he doesn’t exactly stay that way. In the Legends storyDark Empire, Luke pretends to be Palpatine’s Sith apprentice in order to stop him from the inside of his operation. Unfortunately,Luke succumbs to the dark side, and briefly becomes a Sith Lord.
InStar Warscanon, Luke Skywalker never succumbs to the dark side. In fact, he’s so careful to stay away from it that he’s even willing to murder his own nephew to keep his Jedi Order - and the galaxy at large - from corruption. However, one could argue that attempting to kill Ben was its own kind of corruption, but still, canon Luke never became a Sith.
5Mid-Original Trilogy Adventures
Canon Luke Skywalker Did Much More Than Legends Luke During the Original Trilogy
So far, it really feels like Legends Luke Skywalker is just all-around better than canon Luke. However, there’s one aspect of canon Luke that’s definitely superior to Legends Luke, and that’s all thanks to the canonStar Warscomics published by Marvel Comics. InMarvel Comics’Star WarsVol. 2-3, readers are shown what took place in between the original trilogy films. These eras revealed that Luke Skywalker had a yellow lightsaber, that he fought in a war against an evil droid hivemind, and that he even defeated the Grand Inquisitor in a lightsaber duel.
9 Things Luke Skywalker Did Between The Empire Strikes Back & Return Of The Jedi
Luke Skywalker was pretty busy between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi with much of it explaining his evolution into a Jedi Knight.
That only scratches the surface of Luke Skywalker’s adventures in the canonStar Warscomics, but it’s more than enough to prove thatLuke did a lot more during the Original Trilogy than what was shown in the movies- which also means he did a lot more than he did in Legends during that time.
4Fights an Evil Clone of Himself
Legends Luke Skywalker Battles Himself as a Clone
While canon Luke went on some adventures his Legends counterpart did not, Legends Luke did one thing that canon Luke has never done and likely will never do: fight an evil clone of himself. At the end of the Thrawn Trilogy (in the Legends novelStar Wars: The Last Commandby Timothy Zahn),Luke battles an evil clone of himself named Luuke, who was created with Luke’s severed hand that he lost while fighting Darth Vader in Cloud City inThe Empire Strikes Back.
Star Warsset up the canon introduction of Luuke inStar Wars: Darth Vader#11, but has yet to follow through on it.
This moment inStar WarsLegends history is absolutely epic, asit allows Luke to face off against a version of himself that was turned to the dark side, which actually pays off the vision he had on Dagobah inEpisode V- and it’s a moment Luke’s canon counterpart never experienced.
3Mara Jade
Legends Luke Skywalker Has a Wife, Canon Luke Doesn’t
Canon Luke Skywalker never gets married (as far as fans know), and instead commits himself fully to the ways of the Jedi of old, focusing entirely on the light side of the Force while building his New Jedi Order. That is not what Legends Luke Skywalker did. Instead,Legends Luke met a woman named Mara Jade and fell in love, and rather than fighting those feelings, he committed himself to her and their relationship while also becoming a Jedi Master and building the Jedi Order.
Luke’s marriage to Mara Jade is actually a really cool addition toStar Warslore in Legends continuity, asit shows that Luke is willing to change the ways of the original Jedi to suit a brighter future, rather than shackling himself to their ways (like in canon). Plus, Mara Jade herself is simply a badass new character!
2Ben Skywalker
Legends Luke Skywalker Has a Son, Canon Luke Doesn’t
A direct result of Luke Skywalker’s marriage to Mara Jade was the birth of their son,Ben Skywalker, who doesn’t exist inStar Warscanon(again, as far as fans know). While Ben Solo sort of played the canonical role of Ben Skywalker (as well as Jacen Solo), those characters couldn’t have been more different. For starters, Ben Skywalker never fell to the dark side, and he even played a role in completing Jacen’s Jedi training before Jacen became Darth Caedus.
Ben Skywalker represented the expansion of the Skywalker family name and bloodline, which ended up giving life to Nat Skywalker, Kol Skywalker, and Cade Skywalker. While canon did something similar by making Rey Skywalker the adopted daughter of Luke (and Leia), that doesn’t erase the fact that Luke’s son, Ben Skywalker, doesn’t exist in canon.
1Luke Skywalker’s Death
Canon Luke Skywalker Dies Fighting Kylo Ren
One of the major differences between Luke Skywalker inStar Warscanon and Legends is the story of how he died - and the lack thereof.In Legends,Star Warsfans don’t know exactly how Luke Skywalker died, but it’s assumed he passed away peacefully in his sleep, becoming one with the Force (similar to Master Yoda). However, in canon, fans know exactly how Luke Skywalker died, as they see it happen in the second installment of the sequel trilogy.
InThe Last Jedi,Luke Skywalker projects his essence across the galaxy to fight Kylo Ren, which is a Force technique that drains a Jedi of their life. And that is just one of the 10 waysLuke Skywalker’sStar WarsLegends and canon versions are different.
