Star Wars: The best vehicles from the Original Trilogy

Star Wars #52. Photo courtesy Marvel Comics.

Luke Skywalker’s T-65B X-wing starfighter

First seen in: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

This is the aircraft that fired the proton torpedoes that led to the destruction of the aforementioned first Death Star! Piloted over the years throughout the galaxy by the son of Anakin Skywalker, aircraft call sign “Red 5”, saw the growth of a young farm boy into one of the most powerful Jedi that the universe had ever seen.

The X-wing was Luke’s primary mode of individual transportation throughout the Original Trilogy and it served him quite well. Even though he was initially inexperienced in flying the X-wing aircraft, Luke was able to quickly adapt to his new vehicle. He was able to catch on so quickly because the controls of the X-wing aircraft were virtually identical to the old T-16 skyhopper that was such an expert in back on his home planet of Tatooine.

Being the aircraft that destroyed the Death Star is cool enough on its own but for me, there is another more remarkable sequence that involves this vehicle.

It comes on the planet of Dagobah as Yoda is taking Luke through his more in-depth Jedi training. Luke became distracted as his ship was sinking into a body of water and Yoda encouraged Luke to reach out with the Force in order to recover it.

Showing promise at first, Luke failed soon thereafter and mentioned it was an impossible task. Yoda then succeeded where his pupil failed and successfully rescued the sinking craft out of the water despite his own diminutive stature.

It was a frustrating yet necessary lesson for Luke to learn if he was going to ever develop into a capable enough Jedi to defeat his father.