WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars #13 by Charles Soule, Ramon Rosanas, Rachelle Rosenberg and VC’s Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Force wielders within the Star Wars universe show off some truly extraordinary feats during their adventures. Many of the Jedi perform jaw-dropping doing extreme flips and intense lightsaber flourishes while battling their foes. While Yoda, Anakin and Obi-Wan may have had training within the Jedi Temple to teach them how to channel and control these powers, Luke was not so lucky. Even though Luke got to train with some of the strongest Jedi, he did not truly get a formal education in lightsaber combat. Star Wars #13 shows that Luke developed an extensive training routine of his own.
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After losing his hand and lightsaber in a battle with Darth Vader on Cloud City, Luke traveled to Tempes where he retrieved a new yellow lightsaber. Luke has not had much practice since he acquired his new lightsaber, but he finally found some time to train while aboard the Rebel fleet. Luke gathered an armful of training remotes and headed to the gym.
Luke took a deep breath before he started his routine and repeated the words that Obi-Wan said to him when he first trained with the Jedi Master in A New Hope. He immediately defies the laws of gravity and begins flipping through the air, avoiding blaster fire, slicing through some remotes, and even using a force push to explode a remote. Luke is extremely acrobatic as he trains. He pulls off stunts that were common in the Prequels but not so much in the Original Trilogy. Luke did not stop his training as C-3PO interrupted but continued to deflect blaster fire while he talked with his droids. While Luke’s new training regimen is much more extreme, it does reflect Luke’s initial training with Anakin’s lightsaber in A New Hope.
When Obi-Wan and Luke first boarded the Millenium Falcon, Obi-Wan released a single training remote for Luke to practice his lightsaber combat and force skills. Luke struggles in the beginning as he is struck by a few shots from the remote. Obi-Wan straps a helmet on Luke with the blast shield down, preventing him from seeing where the blaster fire is coming from. The remote initially gives Luke some trouble, but he is able to channel the Force and deflect a few of the blasts. While Luke’s new training routine is an upgraded version of his training from this scene, his sessions with Yoda in Empire Strikes Back also helped shape Luke’s exercise.
Though Obi-Wan helped Luke begin his lightsaber and Force training, it was not until he trained with Yoda that Luke started to realize his true potential. Yoda’s training was much more physically exhausting because he had Luke run all over the swamps of Dagobah with Yoda on his back. This helped Luke truly grow in strength and also assisted in his knowledge of the Force and how to use it to his advantage. He would take the strength and Force portions of these exercises and combine them with his lightsaber training to create his new exercise routine.
It’s interesting that Luke would remove one of the more challenging aspects from his original training to this upgraded version. He does not wear the blast shield while training with his new lightsaber. He uses the Force to do flips and tricks but he does it with full vision. While his Force powers would have been stronger than the first time he tinkered with a training remote, it’s still surprising that Luke would not wear the blast shield to fully channel the Force.
Luke’s individual training would have differed greatly from what the Padawans of the Old Jedi Order would have learned. Yoda can be seen training the Younglings in Attack of the Clones, and this is actually very similar to Luke’s initial training with Obi-Wan. Each Youngling was given a lightsaber and a training remote to practice with. They would then go on to learn lightsaber forms I – VI, something that Luke never would have learned.
Luke did not have the privilege of the Jedi Order or their technology to train and reach his maximum potential. Luke had a passion and drive that allowed him to excel where others failed. This passion led to the development of a training regimen so that Luke could undoubtedly assist the Rebel Alliance. Luke’s new training seems to have been helpful as his flips and acrobatics can be seen during the Sarlacc Pit battle in Return of the Jedi. Luke’s incredible feats and skills are just a testament to his training discipline.
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