Throughout theStar Warssaga,Luke Skywalkeris repeatedly tempted towards the Dark Side. While the Dark Side attempts to consume all the light it can, it’s clear the ultimate force of evil and its adherents particularly want Luke Skywalker as a champion. From Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader each trying to recruit Luke as an apprentice, to his experiences inthe Cave of Evil on Dagobah, to his momentary desire to slay Kylo Ren,Luke was courted by the Dark Side as long as he was a Jedi - and there’s a chilling reason why.
Like his father before him, Luke Skywalker has an incredibly deep bond with the Force, making him potentially its most powerful wielder in the galaxy. This natural connection is part of the reason Palpatine put so much energy into manipulating (and potentially even creating) the Skywalker line. Indeed,Palpatine believed that were he able to turn Luke to the Dark Side, no force in the universe could stop himseizing total control of the universe.
Palpatine reveals this belief in 2019’sAge of Resistance - Supreme Leader Snoke #1from Tom Taylor and Leonard Kirk. As Snoke submitsKylo Ren to the Cave of Evil, he senses Luke’s energy, causing Kylo to complain that he speaks of Skywalker with respect. Snoke slaps down his apprentice, telling him thatif he had Luke by his side instead, he’d already rule the entire galaxy, insisting,“he is not weak, he is misguided.”
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Why Palpatine Was So Obsessed with Recruiting Luke
While Palpatine always had plans within plans - his puppet Snoke being one - his main goal was to use first Anakin and later Luke to subjugate the galaxy via the Force. Palpatine’s initial faith in Anakin was lost when his battle with Ben Kenobi on Mustafar injured the young Sith, lessening his connection with the Force, but Luke offered a second chance if he could be broken and turned into Palpatine’s latest thrall - and perhaps even physically possessed. Speaking toVanity Fairin 2005, George Lucas explained:
Anakin, as Skywalker, as a human being, was going to be extremely powerful. But he ended up losing his arms and a leg and became partly a robot. So a lot of his ability to use the Force, a lot of his powers, are curbed at this point, because, as a living form, there’s not that much of him left. So his ability to be twice as good as the Emperor disappeared, and now he’s maybe 20 percent less than the Emperor. So that isn’t what the Emperor had in mind. He wanted this really super guy, but that got derailed by Obi-Wan. So he finds that, with Luke, he can get a more primo version if he can turn Luke to the Dark Side. You’ll see, as this goes on, Luke is faced with the same issues and practically the same scenes that Anakin is faced with. Anakin says yes and Luke says no.
Palpatine saw Luke Skywalker as yet another superweapon- one whose connection to the Force would have handed him the galaxy.Emperor Palpatine drew his powerfrom the fear and anger of the galaxy, including his apprentices. As he told Darth Vader inStar Wars: Darth Vader #40by Greg Pak and Raffaele Ienco, Palpatine’s apprentices are incapable of defeating him while they remain connected to the Dark Side. Palpatine intellectually and emotionally manipulates his apprentices, but he also draws literal power from them.If Luke Skywalker had become a Sith, he could have become Palpatine’s weapon and the galaxy would have been doomed.
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During Dark Empire, Luke Skywalker Joined the Sith… And Couldn’t Leave
Fans of the original Star Wars Legends canon already know this because they saw it happen. In 1991’sStar Wars: Dark Empirefrom Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy,Luke joins the reborn Palpatinein order to undercut and defeat the Emperor. In order to infiltrate Palpatine’s forces, Luke indulges in the Dark Side, quickly finding that it has an irresistible hold on him.While Luke fights to be free, he finds it impossible to resist his inner darkness, and falls genuinely under Palpatine’s control.It’s only when Leia joins her own Force power to Luke’s that he is able to tear himself free of Palpatine’s influence and the Dark Side’s hold.
Anyone hoping that Luke Skywalker might have slain Palpatine and become a different type of Sith will be disappointed by how stronglyStar Warsdisagrees. All evidence suggests that despite his power,Luke Skywalkerjoining the Sith would have led to him being twisted by the Dark Side and falling under Emperor Palpatine’s spell, with the Sith master gaining a living weapon that would have handed him theStar Warsgalaxy.
Source: Jim Windolf,Vanity Fair
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
