Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker was a Tatooine farmboy who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the greatest Jedi the galaxy has ever known. Along with his friends Princess Leia and Han Solo, Luke battled the evil Empire.
Raised by his aunt and uncle on a Tatooine moisture farm, Luke Skywalker never knew his mother or father. He knew nothing of the Force or Jedi, but longed for a more exciting life. Soon he would have it. With his Uncle Owen’s purchase of new droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, a chain of events was put in place that would change Luke -- and the galaxy -- forever. Artoo, a plucky astromech droid, wandered off in his first night on the farm, telling C-3PO he had to deliver a message to someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi. When Luke went looking for the lost droid, he was attacked by Tusken Raiders and knocked unconscious. Before he could be taken captive, friendly hermit Ben Kenobi appeared and frightened off the Sand People. Ben revealed that he was indeed Obi-Wan Kenobi, and had something that belonged to Luke’s father: a lightsaber, the weapon of a Jedi. Obi-Wan said that he and Luke’s father were both Jedi Knights, strong with the Force, and good friends. Luke knew none of this, and asked how his father died. The old Jedi said that his former student, Darth Vader,turned to the dark side and killed him.

Obi-Wan and Luke soon discovered that Artoo was indeed carrying a message after all. It was a holorecording of Princess Leia, stating that she had hidden stolen plans for the Empire’s ultimate weapon, theDeath Star, in the memory banks of Artoo; she asked that Kenobi deliver the plans to her father on Alderaan. Obi-Wan implored Luke to come with him, but the farmboy refused. However, he and Obi-Wan found that the Jawas who sold his uncle Artoo and Threepio had been slaughtered by stormtroopers -- and they may have traced them back home. Luke raced to the moisture farm, only to find the charred remains of his guardians. Stoic, he decided to leave Tatooine, vowing to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like his father.

Along with hired pilot Han Solo and his co-pilot and friend Chewbacca, Luke, Obi-Wan, and the droids headed for Alderaan aboard the *Millennium Falcon*. But when they arrived, the planet wasn’t there -- only rubble, as it had been destroyed by the Empire’s Death Star. The *Falcon* was soon caught in the tractor beam of the giant space station, but it proved fortuitous; Princess Leia was being held there. Luke and Han, in stormtrooper disguises, staged a rescue while Obi-Wan disengaged the tractor beam. The Jedi Master, however, encountered his old student, Darth Vader, and was killed in battle. Luke saw it happen shortly before escaping in the *Falcon*, and was deeply affected by the loss of his mentor.

The small band of heroes regrouped with theRebel Alliance on Yavin 4. With the Death Star plans successfully delivered, Luke joined the mission to destroy the battle station, piloting an X-wing under the call sign Red Five. In the ensuing battle, the Rebels suffered heavy losses, and Darth Vader entered the fray in his TIE Advanced. One of the last remaining pilots, Luke flew through the Death Star trench at blinding speed with the goal of shooting a volley of proton torpedoes into a small exhaust port. Vader closed in, ready to destroy Luke's starship -- noting that “the Force is strong with this one” -- but a surprise blast from Han and the *Millennium Falcon* sent Vader's fighter tumbling into space, clearing Luke for the shot. Calling on the Force with guidance from Obi-Wan’s disembodied voice, the Jedi-to-be delivered a precise shot, and the Death Star was destroyed.

Though the Rebel Alliance had struck a major blow against the Empire with the destruction of the Death Star, the war was far from over.