Star Wars has finally answered one of the Sequel Trilogy’s greatest enigmas by depicting what happened to Luke’s lightsaber after he lost it in The Empire Strikes Back.
Anakin’s lightsaber from the Prequel Trilogy, which Luke inherited through Obi-Wan in A New Hope and lost during his duel with Darth Vader in the sequel, became an important symbol for the last three movies of the Skywalker Saga, subtly serving as a callback to what came before. The lightsaber then concluded its journey in The Rise of Skywalker when Rey went back to Tatooine and buried it on the Lars homestead.
Still, ever since The Force Awakens suddenly reintroduced the weapon, which was in Maz Kanata’s possession, fans have been wondering about its trajectory over the years in the 30-year gap between J.J. Abrams’ movie and the Original Trilogy. Well, luckily for them, the current run of Marvel’s Star Wars comic series has finally given us an answer as to what happened to the lightsaber after Luke lost it in The Empire Strikes Back.
Taking place almost immediately after the movie, the first issue ended on an ambiguous note when a panel showed a hooded individual grasping Luke’s lightsaber in their hands. This led to Leia, Lando and Luke heading back to Cloud City, each with their own objectives. While Luke’s was to find his weapon, the young Jedi warrior abandons his search when the Force alerts him that his friends are in trouble. It’s here when an Ugnaught discovers the weapon among heaps of trash.
Previous issues of this comic have revolved around Luke coming to terms with losing his lightsaber, as he struggles with the idea that being a Jedi is defined by this elegant weapon, which according to what Obi-Wan taught him in the first film, is a tool that belongs to a more civilized age. Through this new chapter, though, Luke learns that being a Jedi is much more than having a lightsaber, and by accepting this loss, he can finally move on and continue his training.
The Jedi Master did ultimately assemble his own lightsaber, of course, but now we know that the vision he saw in the new Star Wars comic was just a foreshadowing of his reunion with the lightsaber in The Last Jedi.
