Page 119 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2020)
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THE WIZARD’S JOURNEY







                                                                             “Luke is not the Årst Jedi Master
                                                                             to face terrible tragedy at the
                                                                             hands of a fallen apprentice...”
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           01   Luke Skywalker’s   Hope, he learns of his ability to use the Force, and     success founded in his faith that he can reach the
              heroic journey     successfully draws upon this gift to fire the torpedoes     good that still remains within his father. On the

              begins in
              Star Wars:         that destroy the Death Star. He also meets the mentor      second Death Star, Luke’s moment of triumph
              A New Hope.        and friends who will shape his journey, along with         comes when he tosses away his lightsaber and truly
                                 the adversary who seeks to thwart his victory. In          becomes a Jedi. It’s a show of emotional fortitude in
           02   Luke (Mark


              Hamill) hears      his first iteration of the Hero’s Journey, he has only      the face of extreme adversity that inspires Anakin
              Leia’s plea for    begun to discover the power of the Force, and the          to return from the dark side. Luke saves his father,
              help from his
              mentor, Ben        man he will become.                                        not through combat or with the Force, but with
              Kenobi (Sir Alec      In Empire and Jedi, Luke’s continuing Hero’s            compassion and unconditional love.
              Guinness).
                                 Journey refines his self-awareness as he transforms            Luke completes at least one more heroic cycle

           03   In The Empire    from apprentice to Jedi Knight. He learns more about       prior to The Last Jedi, though its details remain

              Strikes Back,      the Force, and the dangers of the dark side that come      hidden. Like the audiences of the 1980s, who
              Luke finds a new
              mentor in Yoda     hand-in-hand with the light. The story also reveals        wondered about offhand references to the Clone
              (Frank Oz).        the core nature of Luke’s heroism: his compassion.         Wars or the Kessel Run, today’s fans can only infer
                                 He is less concerned with Jedi tutelage on Dagobah         from brief bits of dialogue in the films and nuggets


           04   Luke’s
              compassion         than with saving his friends on Cloud City. He steps       of backstory in novels and comics. Those hints
              takes him to       away from the battle against the Empire to rescue          indicate that after redeeming his father, saving his
              Cloud City to      Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. He risks everything          friends, and defeating the Empire, Luke’s compassion
              rescue

              his friends.       to confront Vader and the Emperor, his belief in           becomes writ large. He endeavors to fulfill the task




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