The 25 most influential Star Wars characters

2. Luke Skywalker

The prodigal son. The kid who fought against his own father to stave off the Dark Side. That’s who Luke Skywalker is, or part of who he is. He’s one of the most powerful Jedi who ever was. As Leia’s brother, he has a connection to her through the Force that you don’t see with anyone else. He’s had quite the interesting journey.

Some fans absolutely hate what was done to Luke in The Last Jedi, but I’m not one of them. I found that the direction they took him in was interesting. He’s not perfect, as is made clear when he when he contemplates killing Ben Solo (now going by Kylo Ren). As horrible as that was, we also see that Luke’s never forgiven himself for it. It drove him to isolation until Rey pleads for his help.

But some fans want to remember Luke only as he was in the original trilogy, and those three movies alone would get him on this list. He’s the main character, and is put through the ringer again and again. Can you imagine what it would be like to find out Darth Vader is your father? Luke struggles with it, but that doesn’t keep him from doing what he has to do. He went from being a kid who was going to buy power converters at Tosche Station to a hero across the galaxy. He showed kids that anyone could fight against evil. In addition to the movies, there are plenty of books and comics that you can check out which also feature more of Luke’s story.