In the original Star Wars movies, Luke Skywalker is the central character. He goes from a farm boy on Tatooine to becoming possibly the most powerful Jedi.
From training with Obi-Wan to confronting Darth Vader, we see Luke’s power develop progressively. Yet, he does meet his obstacles, and other Jedi were quite powerful before him.
How powerful is Luke Skywalker? If we focus on the original trilogy and an episode from The Mandalorian, we could rank him as the second most powerful Jedi of all time.
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How Did Luke Skywalker Start to Become Powerful?
We can review key parts of the original Star Wars movies to understand how Luke Skywalker became powerful.
Luke Skywalker was raised on the desert planet of Tatooine. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi discovers Luke after Tusken Raiders attack him. At this point, he is a farm boy without power.
Yet, he quickly takes to Obi-Wan’s instructions in the Force and starts wielding a lightsaber on the Millenium Falcon. He begins to tap into the Force sensitivity that he inherited from his father, Anakin Skywalker.
In A New Hope, Obi-Wan confronts Anakin, now Darth Vader, and is killed in a lightsaber fight. Luke witnesses this and is initially devastated by the loss. But he rebounds rather quickly and starts to draw on his inner strength to aid the Rebellion.
As he joins the Rebel Alliance, he takes a lead role in the mission to destroy the first Death Star.
He pilots an X-Wing and shows his power in flight by surviving the heavy losses inflicted upon the Rebels by the Imperial TIE fighters.
By being one of the last surviving pilots, Luke begins to show how powerful he is. He flies into the Death Star’s trench to shoot a proton torpedo into a tiny exhaust port. As Vader comes from behind, he remarks, “the Force is strong with that pilot.”
With some help from Han Solo, Luke gets cleared to take his shot to destroy the Death Star.
Here, he demonstrates his Force strength for the first time. After Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost has spoken to Luke about using the Force, Luke relies only on the Force to hit the target and blow up the Death Star.
With this moment, Luke begins his rise to power.
How Did Luke Skywalker Become Powerful?
In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, we see Luke become more powerful even while he falters.
For one, he is now a Commander at the hidden Rebel base on the planet Hoth. Two, he survives an attack by a Wampa and a night in a freezing ice-snow environment.
Then, Luke travels to see Jedi Grand Master Yoda on the planet Dagobah. He studies the Force and trains at this swampy location, reflecting his resolve to become a Jedi.
However, his training is not complete when he leaves to rescue his friends at Cloud City. Darth Vader waits for Luke there, and the two of them battle with lightsabers. Luke is not powerful enough yet to defeat Vader and ends up losing his hand in the fight.
At this point, Luke is down but not out, and he has still come a long way since Tatooine.
In Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, we see how Luke has become more powerful.
In the opening scenes, he appears in a black Jedi robe and enters Jabba the Hutt’s palace to recover carbon-frozen Han Solo. By using the Force, he casts aside Jabba’s guards with ease.
Luke also demonstrates his power by negotiating with Jabba alone and defeating the Rancor in the dungeon that Luke fell into.
Next, Luke is sent to be executed at the Sarlacc pit.
As Luke walks out on the plank to be pushed into the mouth of the Sarlacc beast, he gives Jabba one more chance to release his friends, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca. As Jabba laughs, Luke looks calm, poised, and powerful.
Luke then jumps around and launches himself from the plank back onto the skiff. He catches the lightsaber that R2-D2 threw in the air for him. Luke then cuts through Jabba’s guards and almost single-handedly wins the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon.
Luke even gets the better of a fight with Boba Fett and destroys Jabba’s sail barge Khetanna.
How Powerful Is Luke Skywalker?
In Return of the Jedi, Luke returns to Dagobah to complete his training with Yoda. Yet, Yoda has reached the end of his 900 years and tells Luke that he has attained his Jedi power. Now, he must confront Darth Vader.
Luke demonstrates that he is one of the most powerful Jedi by defeating Vader, but also by not giving into the Emperor’s designs. As Luke says, “I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”
Vader redeems himself by eventually casting the Emperor into a reactor shaft. Anakin and Luke connect as father and son briefly before Anakin dies.
It is a passing of the baton moment when the son has replaced the father as perhaps the most powerful Jedi.
By the end of Return of the Jedi, Luke is indeed powerful. Yet, at least one other Jedi still ranks above him.
Grand Master Yoda showed his power through the use of the Force, lightsaber skills, and diplomacy. Obi-Wan Kenobi could arguably have been more powerful than Luke too.
Still, Luke’s power is impressive. Some of it derives from his biology.
Why Was Luke So Strong?
Luke is the child of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala. Both of his parents were formidable figures in the Star Wars galaxy. Padmé was known for her diplomacy and fighting skills.
Anakin was considered to be the Chosen one. By genealogy, Luke inherited part of this Force sensitivity. Luke also gained his mother’s diplomatic and fighting skills.
By parental lineage, Luke was gifted with strength. He also had to draw on his inner strength.
Living on the desert planet of Tatooine, he also had to be resourceful. Raised by his aunt and uncle, he worked with them on a moisture farm. He also learned to fly a T-16 skyhopper at a young age.
Through genetics and experience, Luke grew to be strong, even before his Jedi training.
How Strong Is Anakin Skywalker?
During the Republic era, Anakin was referred to as the Chosen One because of his powers with the Force. Anakin was so strong because his midi-chlorian count was the highest ever known.
Jedi like Qui-Gon Jinn believed Anakin would bring balance to the Force.
When he trained under Obi-Wan Kenobi, Even as a Padawan, Anakin surpassed other Jedi. Anakin was also a military leader during the Clone Wars. His combined Jedi and military skills made him incredibly strong.
Yet, strength lies within as well. And Anakin faltered when he succumbed to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader.
Is Luke Skywalker More Powerful Than Anakin?
If Anakin had continued on the path of the Light Side of the Force, he would have been the most powerful Jedi ever. But he became Darth Vader and prevented this from happening.
Based on Luke’s accomplishments and his ability to withstand the Dark Side, Luke is more powerful than Anakin.
Luke’s crowning moment is when he did not give in to the Emperor, as his father had before him. He then went on to bring his father back to the Light Side of the Force.
This inner strength made him more powerful in the end.
How Powerful Is Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian?
Since The Mandalorian occurs about five years after Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker would have advanced even more in his Jedi training and wisdom. He would surely be more powerful than in the original trilogy.
When Luke appears in the second season finale of The Mandalorian, we see evidence of that power. As Din Djarin battles to save Grogu from Moff Gideon, Luke arrives to decimate a team of Dark Troopers.
Luke not only defeats the Dark Troopers, which would have overrun Din Djarin and his companions, but he shows calmness and strength that surpasses his appearance in Return of the Jedi.
Luke ultimately saves Grogu. This act impresses Din Djarin to the point that he is convinced that Grogu should be with Luke.
The episode helps show Luke’s development.
Is Luke the Most Powerful Jedi?
While Luke is quite powerful, Yoda seems to still rank above him. Yet, fans may disagree.
Some Star Wars discussion posts rank him as the highest Jedi, especially after his ability to Force project himself at the Battle of Crait in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.
This is a good point. If we fully factor in Luke’s development across all the movies and television shows, he may be the most powerful Jedi. It depends on how we view the use of the Force by the Jedi.