Some of the Most Popular Lightsabers From Star Wars
Since its debut in the first Star Wars movie, fans have been enamoured with the lightsaber, and with good reason. With its glowing energy blade, thrilling hum sounds and futuristic metal hilt, the lightsaber was a weapon well ahead of its time. Over the years, the Star Wars franchise has introduced us to several new and interesting characters with their equally interesting lightsabers. Below are some of the most popular lightsabers from the franchise.
Anakin’s Lightsaber
Sometimes known as Luke’s lightsaber or Rey’s lightsaber (depending on the timeline). This blue-bladed lightsaber has to be one of the most storied and interesting lightsabers from the franchise. The saber which was created by Anakin Skywalker (back when he was still a Jedi) to replace his first lightsaber (that was destroyed in Episode II: Attack of the Clones), has a lot of significance in the saga. The lightsaber which was powered by an Adegan Crystal had an alloy metal and carbon composite hilt of about 28cm long.
Its blue blade had an adjustable length in addition to customisations such as a rubberized grip and mechanisms for fine-tuning its energy output. Anakin used this lightsaber in numerous fights during the Clone Wars and even to defeat Count Dooku. The lightsaber remained in his possession even after he turned into Darth Vader, but after Obi-Wan Kenobi bested him on Mustafar, his former master took possession of the saber.
About two decades later, Obi-Wan Kenobi passed the lightsaber down to Luke Skywalker (Anakin’s son), who trained and fought with the weapon until he lost it, together in a duel against Vader on Cloud City. Another three decades later, the lightsaber resurfaced on Takodana where it called out to Rey, who although hesitant at first, eventually wielded the weapon against Kylo Ren. Rey tried to return the weapon to Luke on Ahch-To but he rejected it, so she kept the weapon in her possession and went on to use it in defeating Darth Sidious before burying it on Tatooine.
Darth Vader’s Red Lightsaber
After his fall to the dark side and defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader constructed a new lightsaber. The lightsaber which featured a crimson red blade was created in the traditions of the Sith. To construct the lightsaber, Vader bleed the kyber crystal of a Jedi (Kirak Infil’a) he killed during a mission. The bleeding, which involves a force user psychically pouring their negative emotions (anger, pain, hatred and rage) into a kyber crystal, corrupts the crystal and turns the blade red.
Vader’s lightsaber featured a hilt that had a black ridged hand grip with a length of 28cm and a round shrouded emitter. The saber was also powered by two kyber crystal (synth-crystal and regular kyber crystal) in a dual-phase design that allowed him to alter the length of his blade during battle.
During the Battle of Endor, the lightsaber was lost to the core of the Second Death Star after Luke cut off Vader’s hand.
Luke Skywalker’s Green Lightsaber
After Luke lost Anakin’s lightsaber on Cloud City, the young Jedi set out to create his own lightsaber and in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, it is revealed that Luke had constructed a green lightsaber which was inspired by Obi-Wan Kenobi’s final weapon. The lightsaber also utilises a kyber crystal and a hilt that is simple, yet elegant. Its design is near perfect and the blade colour contrasts nicely with Darth Vader’s red version. This lightsaber is an iconic weapon from the original trilogy and its appearance on The Mandalorian only further reinforces its legacy.
Mace Windu’s Purple Lightsaber
As an incredibly wise master and champion of the Jedi Order, Mace Windu wielded one super unique lightsabers of the era. The saber which had a purple blade gave fans quite a surprise when it first appeared. The saber sported a cylindrical hilt of about 28cm with an electrum-plated alloy that gave it a golden finish. The hilt also had vertical ribbing on its bottom portion which allows for a superior grip. The weapon was lost on Palpatine after Anakin Skywalker cut off Windu’s arm and the saber along with the severed arm fell out from the high-rise window of Palpatine’s office.
Kylo Ren’s Crossguard Lightsaber
One of the new characters revealed in the Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was the masked Sith, Kylo Ren. This character quickly drew fans attention with his crossguard lightsaber. The lightsaber featured an unstable red blade which was due to its kyber crystal being cracked. The lightsaber also had dual-vented exhaust ports for the cracked kyber crystal, all of which added to its visuals.
Ahsoka Tano’s Curved Hilt White Lightsabers
When Ahsoka Tano started out as Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan, she trained with a green lightsaber. However, she soon left the Jedi order to take her own path, so she constructed her own white-bladed lightsabers. The white colour of her lightsabers symbolises the path of neutrality that she has taken. She made use of a combination of two white lightsabers with curved hilts. One of the lightsabers was regular-sized, while the other was shoto-sized.
The Mandalorian Darksaber
While Star Wars features quite a few one-of-a-kind lightsabers, none compares to the history and legend of the Darksaber, which was created by Tarre Vizsla (the first Mandalorian Jedi). The darksaber, which is a renowned weapon among the Mandalore, features a black blade that is rimmed with white energy.
Conclusion:
The Star Wars franchise has introduced so many iconic characters and their equally iconic lightsabers over the years. Above are some of the most popular ones but you may also want to the check out alternatives like the xenopixel and neopixel lightsaber which are perfect for duelling othe Jedi’s.
