Fans of the Star Wars franchise know Luke Skywalker as one of the Galaxy’s saviors from the clutches of the Galactic Empire. His skills as a Jedi are invaluable in the fight against Darth Vader and the Emperor. However, Star Wars fans who explore the lore more deeply may realize Luke isn’t as benevolent on the surface.
While Luke Skywalker remains a hero in the eyes of Star Wars fans, it’s essential to explore what some might consider “questionable.” His character much more profound than what some fans make him out to be, and he has layers of good and bad. Just like any human, he's capable of making mistakes. What are the worst things Luke Skywalker did, and what are his justifications for his actions?
8 Falling Into Waru’s Trap
Fans of the Star Wars Expanded Universe may have heard of The Crystal Star, a 1994 novel about a cross-planetary adventure between members of the Skywalker family. When Princess Leia goes off on a mission to find her kidnapped children, Luke and Han investigate the planet Crseih. There, a mystical being known only as Waru has been gathering followers due to his mysterious healing abilities.
While The Crystal Star introduces several questionable moments (Leia bringing her kids to a planet known for child abductions, the Skywalker children outsmarting a Darth Vader apprentice, and more), it’s Luke quickly falling prey to Waru’s manipulations that make his competence questionable. When it’s discovered that Waru is an extradimensional entity that lures people into his cult to feed off their life force, Luke only manages to wake up from the trance when Waru attempts to eat Leia’s youngest child. Had this not happened, Luke may have been instrumental in a full-scale galactic invasion via Waru’s blob species.
7 No Effort To Correct The Kiss
Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa sharing a few kisses throughout the Original Trilogy became one of the most contentious moments in the Star Wars franchise, especially with the reveal that they were the twin children of Anakin Skywalker. Luke and Leia’s characters could have benefited from an on-screen reconciliation of that awkward moment.
While the siblings’ bonds were heavily implied throughout the sequel trilogy, the lack of efforts to “fix” this awkward moment in the eyes of the fans may only cement what others believe is an unfortunate weakness of Luke’s character growing up. While not necessarily an “evil” thing, there’s an implication of Luke being afraid of confrontation. This weakness in character can’t be afforded with the secret growth of the Dark Side in their midst.
6 His Misadventures Kept His Family In Danger
Obi-Wan entrusted Anakin Skywalker’s son Luke to Anakin's stepbrother, Owen Lars, to protect him from the prying eyes of the Empire. Unfortunately, Luke’s growth was littered with misadventures stemming from his desire to leave Tatooine, an instinct young Luke may have acquired from his father, who was serving the Galactic Empire as Darth Vader by then.
Some misadventures include running to the roof of the homestead to pretend to be a pilot, running away only to get lost in a sandstorm, and even joyriding a skyhopper in a canyon only to crash it. And his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru would always be in danger whenever he ran. While this isn’t an intentional evil act, Luke should have realized that being a more muscular young man gives him some capacity to protect his adoptive parents from many dangers. After all, after leaving with Obi-Wan to investigate a suspicious attack, Luke was too late to protect Owen and Beru from Stormtroopers, who eventually killed them.
5 The Incident With Young Ben
Many members of the Star Wars fandom consider The Last Jedi one of the most divisive films in the sequel trilogy and the entire franchise, especially with the film’s treatment of Luke Skywalker. Throughout the film, Kylo Ren has shown resentment towards the New Jedi Order, and for good reason.
In a flashback sequence, Luke’s connection to the Force helped him sense a great darkness in Ben Solo, and alongside it, pain and suffering. Thinking of all the pain that Emperor Palpatine and his father Darth Vader had caused, Luke had a moment of weakness and ignited his lightsaber while facing a sleeping Ben. Although Luke overcomes this moment of darkness, it’s too late, as an awakened Ben thinks his mentor has tried to kill him. This trauma became the jumping-off point that catapulted Ben into the same darkness Luke had been afraid of, creating Kylo Ren.
4 Lying About The Ben Incident
To add insult to injury to Luke’s character in The Last Jedi, his version of his lightsaber ignition incident with Rey declared a narrative that Ben had not only attacked Luke, but destroyed the Jedi Temple on top of killing half the students. And in Kylo Ren’s perspective, Luke had attempted to swing his lightsaber to kill him.
As Luke eventually admits to Rey, both versions of the events were wrong. Although Luke had confessed to lying to Rey and sharing the actual course of events, his initial lie may have already twisted Rey’s perspective toward Kylo Ren. A more violent Rey could have taken a wrong turn and retaliated against Kylo Ren without fully understanding the situation, which may have pushed her to the Dark Side.
3 Giving Up On The Jedi Order
Ben Solo’s confrontation with Luke Skywalker caused the destruction of the New Jedi Temple and the deaths of many of its students. Although a move driven by darkness, Ben’s outburst was somewhat justifiable as his woken eyes saw his mentor igniting a lightsaber with the intent to kill him. The destruction of the Temple was something Luke personally (and to some degree, rightfully) felt responsible for.
While his self-imposed exile and hopelessness towards the Jedi Order seemed a normal reaction, Luke's connection to the Force must surely have made him feel the growth of the Dark Side alongside the First Order. Considering the impact of Force-sensitives such as Rey and Kylo Ren, Luke being the son of Anakin Skywalker would have posed a threat to Snoke and may have helped stave off the First Order - something a Jedi would have done. Luke’s exile may have unnecessarily doomed entire planets to their deaths.
2 Succumbing To The Dark Side
In more Expanded Universe stories, strange clues lead Luke to new secret chambers in the Imperial Palace. There, a Force Vortex brings him to an Imperial Dungeon Ship and face to face with an old enemy: Emperor Palpatine himself, who is revealed to have avoided death through Sith knowledge and cloning. Luke realizes the Emperor's power scope and decides to become an acolyte to the Dark Side. Although Luke intended to "destroy" the Dark Side from the inside, his Skywalker heritage wasn't enough to stave off its temptations.
Despite Luke’s plans, his naivete in ignoring Yoda’s teachings about the dangers of dabbling into the Dark Side came close to destroying the entire galaxy. Luke's aggressive efforts in sabotaging the Empire's efforts fed his ego, and he could only watch the Emperor blast Leia with Force lightning to imprison her. When Luke fails an assassination attempt, only Leia's connection to the Light Side helps her twin stop the Emperor. Had Leia not been there, Luke may have not been able to resist aiding the Emperor's plan to possess the body of Leia's son Anakin.
1 Destroying The Death Star
Both Star Wars fans and the Rebel Alliance recognized Luke Skywalker as the “Hero of the Rebellion” as early as the destruction of the first Death Star in the Battle of Yavin. Given the sheer firepower of this moon-sized, planet-destroying superweapon, its destruction crippled the Galactic Empire and provided a significant step forward in the Alliance’s efforts.
Of course, destroying the Death Star meant killing the approximately 1.2 million crew members inside it. While one might argue that the Death Star was used in service of destruction and genocide and the situation of war had justified these deaths, one should remember that these crew members aren’t always highly loyal to the Empire. After all, there’s always the possibility of some crew members being coerced or conscripted into joining, only following orders.