The Star Wars comics have revealed Luke Skywalker really shouldn't have survived his first duel with Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker has always had a reputation for bravery; he literally joined up with the attack on the first Death Star almost as soon as he'd set foot on Yavin IV. In general, this tends to work out fine; after all, the Force is a powerful ally, and Luke is strong enough in the Force to get out of most of the scrapes he lands himself in.

The problem, of course, is that - to quote Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace - "There's always a bigger fish." As powerful as Luke may be, there are others who are greater still. And, while the dark side of the Force may not be stronger than the light, the Sith Luke faced were among the most powerful in history. Emperor Palpatine considered himself the greatest Sith that ever lived, and he conquered the entire galaxy as a demonstration of his might. His apprentice Darth Vader was the Chosen One, conceived by the midi-chlorians to bring balance to the Force, greater than even Master Yoda. When Luke joined the ranks of the Rebellion, standing as a champion of the light, he was seriously outmatched. Not that Luke - courageous to a fault - recognized that truth at first.

Luke learned that lesson the hard way in Jason Aaron and John Cassaday's Star Wars #1-3. The books saw Luke Skywalker come face-to-face with Darth Vader for the first time, and he was foolish enough to engage in a brief duel. This took place shortly after the destruction of the first Death Star, before Darth Vader had any idea he was dealing with his son, and the Dark Lord of the Sith initially viewed the boy with disdain. Luke had no idea about the Force; he handled the lightsaber in his hand like a novice, and he was taken aback when Darth Vader telekinetically plucked the blade from his hand. This was literally the first time Luke had ever seen that particular Force power.


Luke actually ignored the spectral voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi when he confronted Darth Vader, and it was frankly dumb luck he survived the encounter. Luke and his friends were attempting to destroy a major Imperial weapons factory, and Luke was trying to keep Darth Vader occupied while his friends sabotaged the reactor. Plans went wrong, and Han and Leia stole an AT-AT to make an escape attempt - blundering straight into the duel between Luke and Darth Vader, bringing a ceiling crashing down upon an enraged Vader and giving Luke a chance to grab his lightsaber and run.

Ironically, during the desperate escape, Luke earned Darth Vader's respect when he kept running interference for Han and Leia, taking to an Imperial speeder and demonstrating his piloting skills. Darth Vader would no doubt remember that his own earliest manifestations of the Force had included piloting, and he had to admit the mysterious teenager was impressive. By the end of the encounter, Darth Vader had come to realize just why Obi-Wan had been willing to die for Luke - even if he did consider the Star Wars saga's greatest hero to be very poorly taught indeed.