So, could Luke Skywalker have taken on the whole First Order with his laser sword?

[FFNB]

No. He's not an anime character.

One of the things I hate about extended universe content like comic books is that the creators always feel like they have to up the power fantasy to 9000, and it just always comes off as ridiculous to me. We get it, the Force is incredibly powerful, and is practically limitless, but I feel like I'm more than happy with Force users that can shoot lightning from their finger tips, heal wounds, move things with their mind, communicate across vast distances through the Force, run super fast, jump super high, do flashy moves with a lightsaber, and influence "weak" minds. Like, isn't that enough? That's already an insane skill set that is, useful to get our heroes (and villains), out of a number of dangerous situations. Force users don't have to be gods. At least, for me.

With that said, I think Luke would cut a swath through a large number of First Order folk before finally being taken down eventually. I love how Rian Johnson handled that scenario in TLJ. It was epic, but also, so Luke. He shook the First Order, and didn't even lift a finger to do it. It's about as Jedi as you can get, really.

 

[Cranster]

No, he couldn't have. We have seen Jedi get killed by far less than that.

 

[HStallion]

 

[Ballou]

No. He's not an anime character.

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[HStallion]

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TATOOINE SMASH

 

[mikeys_legendary]

He probably could. Stormtroopers never hit main characters.

He could probably body Ben if he needed to, Snoke...is an enigma as far as I know.

 

[Wispmetas]

I would love to have old Luke going around doing flips while cutting AT-ATs legs and zipping around at the speed of light.

It would look amazing.

 

[AstronaughtE]

No, because the first order isn't a group to be defeated, it's a state of mind as demonstrated by palpatine lifting a fully staffed fleet from his ass.

 

[CloudWolf]

He would have died in about 10 seconds.... in the movie as written and directed by Rian Johnson.

I'm sure that if Abrams or Favreau or Filoni would've written the movie, Luke would've brought down the entire army with a flick of his wrist. It would be one of the dumbest things in Star Wars, but I just know plenty of people in the fandom would cheer.

 

[theBmZ]

Spoiler

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Lol in all seriousness though, I'd like to think that no, Luke would have been wiped off the map. Simply because The Last Jedi was about exploring the man behind the myth. But in the end he found a way to be exactly the hero everyone needed. Until TROS pissed it all away that is.

In JJ's episode VIII, he would have crushed them.

In Rian's, no.

 

[Wispmetas]

I'm all for people enjoying Star Wars how they want to and everything, and I mean this with no disrespect... but who gives a fuck, and who wants to see that?

I'm so tired of the conversation surrounding Jedi and Luke in particular revolving around power levels, and finally getting to see "Prime" Luke, or "Badass" Luke, when all I want is an enjoyable, well written, well developed character.

The shit in those comics is stupid as hell, and just diminishes the characters because there are no stakes I can believe in. Same goes for TROS.

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Spoiler: Mandalorian S2 Final episode spoilers

Just look at the reaction to the hallway scenes and you'll find that this type of conversation is exactly what the fandom seems to enjoy and want to watch at the end of they day. Lightsaber wielders wrecking shit and being badass.

I sometimes wonder if these fans still enjoy the original trilogy. It was so mild with it's duels.

 

[CloudWolf]

Spoiler: Mandalorian S2 Final episode spoilers

Just look at the reaction to the hallway scenes and you'll find that this type of conversation is exactly what the fandom seems to enjoy and want to watch at the end of they day. Lightsaber wielders wrecking shit and being badass.

I sometimes wonder if these fans still enjoy the original trilogy. It was so mild with it's duels.

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I've seen plenty of Star Wars "fans" arguing that the OT except for Empire is "actually pretty bad" and that The Force Awakens (which is basically just a flashier A New Hope with more action scenes thrown in) is somehow far superior to A New Hope.

 

[Ororo]

I've seen plenty of Star Wars "fans" arguing that the OT except for Empire is "actually pretty bad" and that The Force Awakens (which is basically just a flashier A New Hope with more action scenes thrown in) is somehow far superior to A New Hope.

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These are the same fans that say TLJ is good

 

[CloudWolf]

These are the same fans that say TLJ is good

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No, those are generally the fans that hate TLJ because it made Luke "uncool", but nice try.

 

[mbpm]

Maybe if he had two laser swords

 

[Deleted member 17207]

No. At least I want to believe that.

 

[Wispmetas]

These are the same fans that say TLJ is good

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So the fans that say TFA is amazing also say TLJ, the movie that "destroyed" whatever JJ had set up for the new trilogy, is also good? Did you think this through?

 

[Vincent Alexander]

I've seen plenty of Star Wars "fans" arguing that the OT except for Empire is "actually pretty bad" and that The Force Awakens (which is basically just a flashier A New Hope with more action scenes thrown in) is somehow far superior to A New Hope.

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People still whine about TFA being similar to A New Hope? Like...god damn, people. The characters are still better than what we've gotten in most of our Star Wars movies, and I'd take good characters over good plot any day.

 

[CloudWolf]

They could have made Luke able to do that if they felt like it. The sequel trilogy clearly just went crazy with powers characters had never demonstrated before, or had been established by any characters in the prequels.

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I still get a kick out of the Force Heal ability that just came right out of nowhere in TRoS. Gee, imagine if any of the Jedi Masters in the previous films would've had that ability, sure would've been handy.

 

[Deleted member 17207]

I also feel like comparing comics to live action to cartoons, despite a shared canon - is a little...iffy.

 

[Midramble]

The guy one shots AT-ATs and death stars. He'd be fine.

 

[theBmZ]

I still get a kick out of the Force Heal ability that just came right out of nowhere in TRoS. Gee, imagine if any of the Jedi Masters in the previous films would've had that ability, sure would've been handy.

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Qui-Gon Jinn: Train the boy. He will... bring balance.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Wait master. (Presses hand to Qui-Gon's wound) There.
Qui-Gon Jinn: Well now. Yes... I feel, yes I feel quite alright. Where is that red motherfucker?
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Oh I cut him in half, and he fell down that shaft.
Qui-Gon Jinn: Ah so he definitely won't be back.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Right, and now you can train Anakin yourself, and I can take the trials. Whatever the fuck those are.
Anakin: Yippee!

 

[Cuburger]

He could probably force lightning the whole fleet, but short of that, I doubt he'd put the energy into doing any force push/crush/block or whatever. It just makes sense to fight smarter and not harder if he's going to go head-to-head with a fleet of vehicles. I also think that the laser sword would play no role in the same scenario.

 

[Brickhunt]

No. There is no reason to think Luke could perform any better than his father at his prime as a Jedi (Clone Wars) and Anakin was always backed-up by his own clone troopers, which is far above your average stormtrooper. He did lots of impressive stuff against the droid army, but always with their support.

I feel like Lucas never intended Jedi to be one-army badasses, but still very important pieces in the battlefield.

If Luke had the support of a resistance force then yes, I could see him taking on and winning against the First Order at that moment. But alone? Nope.

 

[Midramble]

I still get a kick out of the Force Heal ability that just came right out of nowhere in TRoS. Gee, imagine if any of the Jedi Masters in the previous films would've had that ability, sure would've been handy.

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I see you.


Completely off topic, the most egregious part of TRoS to me is probably ignored by most. That sith knife. An ancient knife has the etched horizon of a 30 year battle station crash pointing to a chamber (thats already a main area of the station not hidden away) but only works when standing in an unmarked non-descript spot on a random shore? National treasure was better than that...

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Force projection across the galaxy is honestly one of the most impressive things a Jedi has ever done on film, in my opinion. We saw just how difficult it was for Luke to do and maintain as he literally died from it. Luke, THE Jedi Master, died from it. It felt like something a legendary figure would do in an old story, the tale of the Jedi Master who was so powerful and in tune with the Force that he/she could project themselves hundreds of millions of lightyears away and perfectly interact with the people on that planet.

Honestly, it was the greatest moment in that movie to me (and possibly in the entire sequel trilogy), and this is coming from someone who has much criticism for TLJ as a whole. It was a fitting end for a character I hold dear.

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I'd agree if he was physically projected there,
sending an HD-hologram across the galaxy just doesn't seem that special especially with what we see Rey & Kylo do and for it to cost a life?
eh, it so specific to the one situation they created it for and is a single one off use.

Life for life Force heal is better, Ezra's creature communication even freezing laser shots in mid-air

All more useful personally.

 

[BrightLightLava]

His power level is directly proportional to how mad fan boys are online.

So I'd say he'd only be able to if they'd accidentally tried to do something interesting with him and "purists" didn't like it.

 

[Green]

I still get a kick out of the Force Heal ability that just came right out of nowhere in TRoS. Gee, imagine if any of the Jedi Masters in the previous films would've had that ability, sure would've been handy.

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"Baby Yoda" did it first. I think it's to show that this sort of ability is quite rare and requires a particularly powerful light-side force user.

There's plenty of Jedi along the way that have abilities that others do not. For example, Mace Windu was one of the very few Jedi with a purple lightsaber, due to his ability to balance light and dark side combat styles (Form 7?) without succumbing to the dark side because of it. Ahmed Best's (Jar Jar) new character, Kelleran Beq, is another Jedi with this ability.

We also know that QuiGon for example more or less invented the idea of "returning from the netherworld of the force" as a ghost. Only Yoda, Obi-Wan, Luke and Anakin achieved that in the movies. No other Jedi. It's to be believed that once Jedi "die", Qui-Gon becomes their master and teaches them how to "return", but not everyone could.

It's not that big of a stretch to assume there are multiple "classes" of Jedi, multiple "focus" paths they can take, with multiple schools of abilities they might learn or be naturally gifted toward.

 

[FFNB]

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XD XD

Honestly, that whole sequence was very anime, so I may have to rescind my previous statement lol

 

[Deleted member 11039]

You think, what? I'm gonna walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order?

Alright, so in The Last Jedi, Luke obviously does just that but we learn it was all just an impressive projection. Luke used his status of a legend to trick TFO and Kylo into believing he was there and could do all those things. Yet, once the trick is revealed and the ending is over we're still left questioning whether Luke really could have survived against TFO like that, alone. This was actually a pretty nice open question that added to the myth about the Jedi and Luke, as you aren't really sure so it only further fuels the stories about the Jedi and their supposed feats.

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I don't really think there was an open question there.

I think TLJ is clear that a lone Luke Skywalker couldn't take down the FO. The people who had convinced themselves of that were believing in tall tales. The real Luke can't do the things the "legendary Luke Skywalker" people had built up in their minds could. And that's what makes what Luke does so special. He somehow finds a way to live up to the legend and single handedly defeats the FO... in a way at least.

The boring answer is that Luke, or whichever Jedi, can do whatever the author of that specific story wants them to do. There's no rules and unfortunately a lot of writers have no problems ramping up the feats of the force to silly levels. I actually think TLJ itself is guilty of ridiculous power creep with Luke. I've argued before that one of the things TLJ gets wrong is that OT Luke didn't "win" because of the force. He didn't defeat the emperor because of his Jedi training. The force isn't what made Luke a hero. The force isn't what made Luke special. So to have him go out with a huge grand feat of the force was such a let down. It was kind of the worst of both worlds. We had to see him stripped of all the positive character traits of hope and loyalty, etc and also had to see him go fully force god at the end. Bleh.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

If we judge Master Level Luke on the same scale as the ultra wank Darth Vader recontextualisation we got in Rogue One, then sure, why not.

 

[janusff]

Luke was already a a broken man by the time the first order and Kylo Ren was a thing. So no, probably not.

 

[Wilf Netherton]

Could Darth Vader stop the Rebel Alliance blowing up the Death Star?

 

[Yukari]

Lets not forget the other stupid comic idea in which Palpatine nukes the Jedi Academy with force lightning out of nowhere even though he's just a spirit in a dying clone husk.

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We don't know who does it.
Could be Palpatine, Could be Snoke or Ben himself.

 

[The Silver]

Rey Two Sabers would have deflected the mini death star beam and each one of those giant laser bolts right back at those fuckers. Luke just don't got that TROS drip.

 

[Cronogear]

TLJ makes it clear that no, he certainly can't.

In terms of sheer power. Luke is definitely low tier among force users. Certainly beneath Palpatine, Vader, and Rey. Probably beneath Snoke, Kylo, and prime Obi-Wan.

Though considering he was almost entirely self taught throughout his life, can't really blame him.

 

[Callibretto]

I can buy a Jedi's weakness being lasers.

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it's like rock paper scissors. Jedi beat droid, droid beat human, human beat jedi

 

[PhaZe 5]

He could have crippled their leadership structure by killing Snoke or Kylo Ren, two things he was clearly strong enough to do if he had the will.

 

[Hollywood Duo]

His power level is directly proportional to how mad fan boys are online.

So I'd say he'd only be able to if they'd accidentally tried to do something interesting with him and "purists" didn't like it.

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Strike him down and he'll become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.

 

[BossAttack]

Could Darth Vader stop the Rebel Alliance blowing up the Death Star?

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He almost did if not for the heroics of a certain unknown pilot with a strong connection to The Force.

 

[Team_Feisar]

[

"Baby Yoda" did it first. I think it's to show that this sort of ability is quite rare and requires a particularly powerful light-side force user.

There's plenty of Jedi along the way that have abilities that others do not. For example, Mace Windu was one of the very few Jedi with a purple lightsaber, due to his ability to balance light and dark side combat styles (Form 7?) without succumbing to the dark side because of it. Ahmed Best's (Jar Jar) new character, Kelleran Beq, is another Jedi with this ability.

We also know that QuiGon for example more or less invented the idea of "returning from the netherworld of the force" as a ghost. Only Yoda, Obi-Wan, Luke and Anakin achieved that in the movies. No other Jedi. It's to be believed that once Jedi "die", Qui-Gon becomes their master and teaches them how to "return", but not everyone could.

It's not that big of a stretch to assume there are multiple "classes" of Jedi, multiple "focus" paths they can take, with multiple schools of abilities they might learn or be naturally gifted toward.

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Mace Windu has a purple lightsaber because Sam Jackson specifically wanted to have something special. The jusrification came afterwards.

The problem with force healing, in comparison to say the force ghosts, is that it has the potential to trivialize many conflicts and it retroactively makes little sense that the jedi did not even try (AFAIK) to make use of this borderline OP ability.
The force can and should be used in new in creative ways but you create a problem as soon as you introduce abilities that are so gamechanging that they almost breaks the in-universe logic. The force ghost thing works well on the spiritual level the force was originally introduced, the person is still dead in the world the actual story takes place in. Straight up healing somebody in the real-world is much more "direct" in terms of impact.

 

[Coyote Starrk]

The REAL Luke Skywalker? Absolutely.


The Sequel version of Luke Skywalker? Meh. Probably not.


Edit: /s

 

[Bionic]

The REAL Luke Skywalker? Absolutely.


The Sequel version of Luke Skywalker? Meh. Probably not.

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Please explain what makes one of them realer than the other.

 

[Solo]

The REAL Luke Skywalker? Absolutely.


The Sequel version of Luke Skywalker? Meh. Probably not.

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They are one and the same.

 

[Coyote Starrk]

Please explain what makes one of them realer than the other.

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Oh apparently I needed a /s. I thought my post was more than sarcastic enough for it to show though. I was kidding.


I know better than to try and argue about the two Skywalkers.

 

[Perzeval]

He has a pretty nice plasma sword and can shove peeps with his mind, I think he could do more if he wasn't such a pussy

 

[Wilf Netherton]

He almost did if not for the heroics of a certain unknown pilot with a strong connection to The Force.

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This response is in a CYA format.

For "Yavin was different because the Rebellion had a Force User" turn to spoiler 2.

For "Vader totally blew it because Luke messed with his mojo" turn to spoiler 1.

For "Everything in Star Wars is really about space wizard power levels" turn to spoiler 3.

1. I don't think Han Solo and Chewbacca are force users.
2. Thank goodness Luke won't have to face any force users in the First Order! Oh wait
3. Han and Chewy got a medal for something at the end of ANH. Was it their excellent hygiene?

 

[Deleted member 5876]

Considering the power creep that's been happening in the franchise, yes, probably. And Star Wars is lesser because of it.

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My understanding was that the Force has certain places where there is vergence (exceptionally strong with the force). Anakin Skywalker was special in that a vergence was centered on him - which is why he is so exceptionally powerful.

This new trilogy kind of made it out to be that since so few Jedi exists that means more of the force is available to the few that still exists to utilize making them more powerful.

 

[Green]

[


Mace Windu has a purple lightsaber because Sam Jackson specifically wanted to have something special. The jusrification came afterwards.

The problem with force healing, in comparison to say the force ghosts, is that it has the potential to trivialize many conflicts and it retroactively makes little sense that the jedi did not even try (AFAIK) to make use of this borderline OP ability.
The force can and should be used in new in creative ways but you create a problem as soon as you introduce abilities that are so gamechanging that they almost breaks the in-universe logic. The force ghost thing works well on the spiritual level the force was originally introduced, the person is still dead in the world the actual story takes place in. Straight up healing somebody in the real-world is much more "direct" in terms of impact.

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How can you complain about in-universe logic being broken when you just refuted the in-universe logic for another unique Force ability as the actor wanting to do something cool and they wrote the justification afterwards? Who cares?

 

[Team_Feisar]

How can you complain about in-universe logic being broken when you just refuted the in-universe logic for another unique Force ability as the actor wanting to do something cool and they wrote the justification afterwards? Who cares?

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Because you can do a lot of fun and creative stuff for all possible reasons but it becomes tricky as soon you go into deus-Ex-machina levels of rewriting the existing rules.

A purple lightsaber is just that, a new color.