Lightsabers in Star Wars: A Closer Look
StarWars.com continues its intel sessions with a treatise on lightsabers!
You just had to laugh when Luke Skywalker said it:
You think what? I’m gonna walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order?”
And, sure, it was very funny. Especially when he (or at least his visage) went out and did just that.
But for all of the laughter, hearing Mark Hamill (or George Lucas for that matter) call a lightsaber a “laser sword” feels, at first, to be just a little too irreverent. As was the sight of Luke throwing his family’s lightsaber over his shoulder on Ach-To.
Did You Laugh?
I will admit, even I — a huge fan of The Last Jedi — was shocked to see Luke throw his lightsaber over his shoulder. Did I laugh? Of course. But it was more of a shocked chortle than an honest chuckle.
Image: Lucasfilm
After all, the “more civilized” weapon has an almost mythical status within a galaxy far, far away.
Walkthrough any toy department anywhere, and you will find lightsabers. There are lightsaber technique guilds, classes, and competition. Like Excalibur, the heroes’ lightsaber — the blue-hued blade wielded by Anakin, Luke, Rey, and Ben Skywalker — ended up as the MacGuffin for nearly the entire Skywalker Saga.
Inside Intel: Lightsabers
Image: Lucasfilm/pinterest.com
Today, StarWars.com continued its fabulous deep dive to the lore and legend of Star Wars with “Star Wars Inside Intel: Lightsabers – Learn all about the galaxy’s most elegant weapon.”
And, thankfully, Emily Shkoukani treats the subject with the appropriate reverence as they recount the technical specs of sabers.
Image: Lucasfilm
In order to build a lightsaber, Jedi would go on a rite of passage type journey known as the Gathering. Younglings would travel to the sacred planet of Ilum, where they were tasked with finding their kyber crystals in the ice caves. The caves tested the younglings in distinct ways personal to each individual. Only when the younglings overcame those obstacles would they find their unique kyber crystal that was attuned to them. Kyber crystals are an integral part of any lightsaber, producing the energy beam that defines them. But it’s not as simple as slapping a crystal inside a hilt and getting a lightsaber out of it; there are many other pieces that make up lightsabers.
Ahsoka’s new lightsabers. Image: Lucasfilm
And, of course, I am going to send you over to StarWars.com for more on lightsabers. And you can read another lead-in to a StarWars.com Intel series story about Darth Vader’s mask below.
Tell us: Which is your favorite lightsaber in Star Wars?
Feature Image: David Roark/Disney Parks
