Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker was born in Polis Massa in 19 BBY. His birth was kept a secret because it was occurring during the Great Purge of the Jedi by Emperor Palpatine through the use of his clone army. The majority of the Jedi were killed or being hunted down, as were all those with a high enough midi-chlorian count to be Force sensitive. In order to protect Luke from his father - Darth Vader - Luke and his sister Leia were split up and hidden by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Leia with given to Senator Bail Organa on Alderaan and Luke to his step uncle and aunt on Tatooine where his father (Darth Vader) grew up.

Despite the kindness and generosity of his foster father Luke and Owen often didn't get along. Luke was far too adventurous for Owen's liking (a trait he inherited from his father Darth Vader) and he spent precious time training to be a pilot instead of a moisture farmer like Owen wanted. At first Obi-Wan Kenobi, having chosen to watch over Luke on Tatooine, would frequently visit and tell him stories of his father's exploits as a Jedi, although never revealing to Luke that he was there with Anakin (Darth Vader, Luke's father) as a fellow Jedi.

Luke listened to the tales never suspecting that old Ben Kenobi was anything other than a crazy old man. Owen began to dislike these tales that Ben was regaling Luke with as he felt these nurtured and expanded the adventurous side of Luke. He promptly banned Ben from visiting Luke before Luke became a teenager.

In 0 BBY, Skywalker's life changed forever. A chance purchase of two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO, led to him to receive training in the ways of the Force from Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and to meet Han Solo, and Princess Leia Organa, who was, unbeknownst to him, his twin sister. Skywalker then destroyed the first Death Star and joined the Rebel Alliance.

Over the next few years, he fought in many of the most important battles of the Galactic Civil War, helping to found Rogue Squadron and fighting Imperial forces across the galaxy. In 3 ABY, Skywalker received Jedi training from Yoda, and learned from Vader that the Sith Lord was his father.

In his youth, Luke was often impatient, looking ahead to the future with little regard for his present surroundings. Like his father, he was impulsive, reckless, and often had little regard for his own personal safety. According to Han Solo, his first impression of Skywalker was a naïve kid who needed to be taught a thing or two.

However, as his skills in the Force progressed and after losing a hand to Darth Vader, Luke became more patient and seasoned, and was often seen as having wisdom beyond his years. However, he still retained his idealistic worldview of his youth, believing that Vader was redeemable. Luke was known for being empathetic to his friends and would go to great lengths to help them, whenever he could. At some times, he could be almost passive, serene—a result of his mastery of the Force that allowed him to remain calm and in control even in the heat of battle. His loyalty and devotion to his comrades was virtually unshakable.

Though Luke received little training and was mostly self-taught, he became an exceptionally skilled Jedi in combat, making him one of the most skilled Jedi to ever live. Without a master, it was his natural and unparalleled aptitude that contributed in the impossible advancement of his skills. On Bespin, Luke revealed that he was an extraordinarily gifted duelist after only one brief session with Obi-Wan Kenobi, and later, Yoda, able to pose a challenge to his much more experienced father, visibly impressing Vader.

Luke Skywalker inherited immense levels of strength in the Force from his father, enough so as to actually rival Anakin, giving him the Force potential to become what his father was supposed to become—the Force potential of the Chosen One.[194][195] Luke's first conscious use of the Force was to locate a lost screwdriver under a couch, when he was only 6 years old. Ever since then, Luke greatly advanced his skills and powers in the Force, becoming incredibly skilled in a great number of Force powers and was considered to be the most powerful Force Sensitive in history by some.

During the Battle of Yavin, Luke managed to destroy the first Death Star by letting the Force tell him when to fire his proton torpedoes, while traveling at very high speeds, not knowing the distance to the port, and having no previous knowledge of proton torpedoes and their capabilities. Astonishingly, Luke only had little training with the Force at the time.

Only a short time after being given a lightsaber by Obi-Wan, Luke was able to instinctively block several blaster bolts fired in rapid succession by a remote, despite his lack of prolonged formal training. Without any guidance except a handbook left by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker successfully built his first lightsaber, merely three years after he was first introduced to the Force, and undergoing formal training for less than a year. Further testament to this was shown when Luke was able to successfully Mind trick a stormtrooper into disregarding his concealed lightsaber, roughly two months after he had first seen Ben Kenobi perform it. Luke's skill with telekinesis was as remarkable as it was overwhelming.

Like his father, Luke was an expert pilot, being the person who was responsible for destroying the first Death Star and managing to evade Darth Vader himself (albeit with help from Han Solo). Luke was proficient in unarmed combat. He was able to defeat Guri, who was an expert in unarmed combat.

After losing his father's lightsaber on Bespin, Luke wielded another lightsaber of unknown origin until, half a standard year after the duel, he used designs in Kenobi's home on Tatooine to build a new weapon similar to the late Jedi Master's saber, a practical weapon with a green Synth-crystal blade. Inadvertently Kenobi and Skywalker kept the tradition of the apprentice modeling their lightsaber on their master's.

The Galactic Civil War is a major galactic conflict fought primarily between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The Alliance is a rebel faction dedicated to the restoration of the Galactic Republic, the government that the Empire had supplanted at the culmination of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY.