Luke Skywalker faced only a few dark side enemies in Star Wars films, but he has defeated several Sith Lords and Dark Jedi in Star Wars canon and legends. Among Luke’s on-screen duels with Darth Vader, the first Star Wars the comics began giving him other Force users to fight, a trend that continued as the Expanded Universe explored the next era. Return of the Jedi. When the EU was rebranded as Legends in favor of a new Star Wars Canon, the stories published by Disney added even more dark side users that Luke faced on his journey to become a Jedi.
With all these stories combined, Luke has fought Sith, Dark Jedi, warlords, holograms, clones, alumni, family and more. Each encounter challenged Luke differently, whether pitting him against a physically superior opponent or tempting him to give in to the dark side to achieve victory. Many of Luke’s duels came at a great cost, but he also learned something valuable that made him a better Jedi and helped those in need. Luke has already triumphed over 15 Sith and dark side users in Star Wars Canon and Legends, but future projects will certainly reveal even more.
15
Darth Vader
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
One of the most well-known Sith Lords that Luke Skywalker defeated in canon and Legends was his father, Darth Vader. However, Luke probably wouldn’t consider physically defeating Vader in his triumphbut rather his refusal to give in to the dark side and spare his father’s life.
Choosing love for his family, upholding the best aspects of the Jedi, and placing faith in others truly allowed Luke to defeat the Sith.
Choosing love for his family, upholding the best aspects of the Jedi, and placing faith in others truly allowed Luke to defeat the Sith. This faith in his father inspired Anakin Skywalker to return to the light and save Luke’s life, committing one last act of good before becoming one with the Force.
14
Cronal/Lord Shadowspawn/Blackhole
Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor (Legends)
Lord Cronal was given several names during his service to the Empire, known as “Blackhole” when he served Palpatine and later “Shadowspawn” when he became a warlord fighting the New Republic. Newly promoted General Luke Skywalker managed to defeat Cronal’s forces on Mindorbut only at the cost of a crushing death, causing Luke to resign from the New Republic military service out of guilt.
Later operating under the name “Perek”, Cronal attempted to infect Luke’s cybernetic hand with a dark side technique called Mechu-derubut Luke survived and defeated Cronal for good.
13
Darth Maul hologram
Star Wars Tales #17 “Phantom Menaces” (Legends)
At some point during the New Republic era, Luke traveled to Iridonia to negotiate new trade routes to the Outer Rim. However, he was suddenly attacked by a solid-state hologram of the deceased Darth Maul that could physically interact with objects, forcing Luke to engage him in a lightsaber duel. Luke tracked down the origin of the hologram, a scientist who recovered Maul’s body and kept his brain alive, which Luke turned off. Maul’s return and updated story in Star Wars: The Clone Wars contradicts much of this storybut the overall story could still be “canon” in the Legends timeline.
12
Emperor Palpatine
Star Wars: Dark Empire (Legends)
Before Palpatine returns Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerhe was the villain of Star Wars: Dark Empire by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. Six years later Return of the JediLuke discovered that Palpatine had survived by transferring his spirit into a clone body, consolidating power in the deep core to strike back against the New Republic.
Luke temporarily turned to the dark side and became Palpatine’s apprenticebut with Leia’s help, he freed himself from the Emperor’s influence and defeated him. Palpatine would return again in Dark Empirein the two sequels, where he was defeated for good.
11
The Dark Side Elite
Star Wars: Dark Empire II (Legends)
The Dark Side Elite were a group of seven powerful warriors who served Palpatine and his Dark Empireproving to be a challenge for Luke and his allies. Fortunately, Luke helped rescue one of their own, Kam Solusar, who became one of Luke’s Jedi students. Each time a member of the Dark Side Elite was killed (usually by Luke and Kam), Palpatine nominated a new candidate to bring the number back to seven. Luke, Kam, and their allies eventually defeated or captured the remaining members, and with Palpatine’s final death, the Dark Side Elite’s time was finally up.
10
Brakiss
Star Wars: The New Rebellion (Legends)
Brakiss was a former student of Luke who fell to the dark side and became an apprentice to another fallen Jedi, Kueller. Luke eventually defeated him and begged his student to return to Yavin 4, which Brakiss refused. However, Brakiss gave away the location of his former master Kueller, allowing Luke and his New Republic allies to defeat the warlord. Brakiss returned years later as part of the Second Empire, led by what appeared to be the resurrected Emperor Palpatine. Unfortunately, Brakiss only learned before his death that this was a ploy by Palpatine’s Kingsguard to attract followers.
9
Lumiya
Star Wars: Legacy of the Force – Sacrifice (Legends)
Lumiya was a servant of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader during the Galactic Civil War, tasked with infiltrating the Rebellion and killing Luke. Along the way, Luke fell in love with her and was tricked into thinking he had shot her, a crime he was later cleared of. This left her seriously injured and after receiving cybernetic replacements Lumiya embraced her new identity as Dark Lady of the Sith. She returned decades later and converted Luke’s nephew, Jacen Solo, to the dark side. Jacen killed Luke’s wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, and Luke killed Lumiya when he believed she was responsible.
8
Darth Caedus
Star Wars: Legacy of the Force – Inferno (Legends)
After joining the Sith and killing their Mara Jade, Jacen Solo left his old life behind and became Darth Caedus. He later attempted to forcibly convert his cousin, Ben Skywalker, to the dark side, but Luke arrived and engaged his former student in a fierce lightsaber duel.
After seriously injuring Caedus, Luke gained the upper hand with Ben’s help, and they chose to spare his life rather than give in to the dark side. Caedus was eventually killed by his twin sister, Jaina Solo, but she believed Jacen had returned to the light in his final moments.
7
The Lost Tribe of the Sith
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi (Legends)
Although the Sith appeared to be defeated with the death of Darth Caedus, Luke’s New Jedi Order was soon opposed by the Lost Tribe of Sith. Descendant of a group of Sith who crash-landed on a remote planet 5,000 years earlierthe Lost Tribe escaped confinement and plotted to reconquer the galaxy for the Sith. Its members clashed with Luke on many occasions, but formed a temporary alliance with him to defeat a common enemy. Despite this, their ultimate goals were incompatible, and the Lost Tribe was defeated and forced to retreat to their world.
6
Abelote
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi (Legends)
An ancient dark side entity connected to the Mortis Force godsAbeloth was freed from her captivity and began to influence the Jedi and Sith. She afflicted the younger members of Luke’s New Jedi Order with a mental illness that drove them insane, while the Lost Tribe of Sith eventually allied with her.
Luke fought and defeated Abeloth more than once, but knew she would inevitably return. He dispatched a group of Jedi known as the Ten Knights to find the Dagger of Mortis, giving future Jedi a way to kill her for good.
5
Spirit of the Grand Inquisitor
Star Wars (2020) #6 (Canon)
One of the first dark side opponents Luke defeated in canon was the spirit of the Grand Inquisitor, whom Vader tasked with protecting a Jedi outpost in Tempes. The Inquisitor attempted to unbalance Luke by observing the tragic fate of the Jedi and Luke’s incomplete training.but Luke gained the upper hand and committed himself to remaining on the Jedi path. The Inquisitor later begged Vader to free him, but the Dark Lord insisted he was a tool who would continue to serve. Luke returned to the Rebel Alliance with a new yellow lightsaber that helped give the Rebels hope.
4
Goal
Star Wars (2020) #43 (Canon)
A more recent addition to Star Wars canon is Gol, first appearing as an unnamed Sith Lord whose essence Luke found in a kyber crystal that the Sith had bled. After they dueled, Luke managed to redeem Gol by confronting his memories and reversing the kyber crystal’s bleeding.. Writer Charles Soule suggested a reason why the Sith was not named in the comics and his identity as Gol was revealed in Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Complete Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy.
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3
Ren and the Knights of Ren
Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #2 (Canon)
Although the Knights of Ren were used sparingly in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, its story was expanded in the Star Wars comics. Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #2 featured a flashback where Luke, Ben Solo, and Lor San Tekka traveled to a Jedi outpost to retrieve valuable artifacts, but were ambushed by the Knights of Ren. After dispatching the other knights, Luke hired their leader, Ren, who ultimately decided it was best to leave with his life.. Unfortunately, Ren offered Ben the chance to join them, which he accepted years later after destroying Luke’s Jedi temple.
2
Kiza (possessed by the spirit of the Sith viceroy Exim Panshard)
Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith (Canon)
Originally a member of the Acolytes of the Beyond, Kiza later donned a mask that caused her to become possessed by Exim Panshard, a long-deceased Sith Lord. She followed his orders and ended up confronting Luke, who learned more about her past and engaged her in a duel. Luke finally killed Kiza and destroyed the maskfreeing her from Sith control.
1
Kylo Ren
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Canon)
The last dark side user Luke faced directly was his nephew, Ben Solo.who became Kylo Ren. Luke arrived on Crait and distracted Kylo long enough for the Resistance to escape, deactivating his lightsaber and giving Kylo an opening.
However, as the blade passed through Luke’s body, Kylo realized he had been tricked by a Force projection as Luke disappeared. Although the technique cost Luke his life, he ultimately confessed his failure to Ben and stopped him purely with knowledge and defense, embodying what it means to be a Jedi in Star Wars.