By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Luke Skywalker achieves many amazing feats in Star Wars thanks to his mystical abilities, but his most impressive achievement had nothing to do with the Force. We're talking, of course, about Darth Vader's ability to escape the second Death Star despite being swarmed by Stormtroopers who could have easily killed him as they carried his body to the nearest shuttle bay. However, a fan theory may explain how Luke survived: simply put, all the Imperials would have left Luke alive because they assumed he had killed both Vader and Emperor Palpatine.
Luke Skywalker is Terrible
As viewers, we know what happens near the end Return of the Jedi: after nearly giving in to his rage and destroying Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker drops his lightsaber and surrenders. In turn, Palpatine begins to strike the young Jedi with Force lightning, only to be stopped by him Darth Vader threw his boss down the shaft. Vader is later killed by lightning striking his body, but since none of the Imperials witnessed either the throne room confrontation or the redemption of Vader's deathbed, they would conclude that Luke Skywalker is the galaxy's most feared enemy.
Think about it: To the Imperials aboard the Death Star, Luke entered the throne room of Emperor Palpatine, their biggest boss and the scariest guy they knew. The film begins by showing us how the idea of Palpatine arriving on the space station sends Moff Jerjerrod into a trembling mix of anxiety and fear. The Imperials saw Luke enter Palpatine's throne room chained up and come out alive and free… the only reasonable conclusion is that he somehow managed to kill or overpower Palpatine, and no regular Stormtrooper would want to fight a guy who fought successfully. took over the emperor.
At this point, skeptics will point out that everyone aboard the Death Star was unaware of Luke Skywalker's existence; it was, in fact, a closely guarded secret. Therefore, few emperors would realize that the young warrior had done the impossible and escaped the clutches of the most powerful man in the galaxy. would be impossible missing another important detail: Luke Skywalker is dragging what appears to be the body of Darth Vader.
Darth Vader's body
Palpatine was a very abstract threat to most Imperials, but Vader was quite tangible. This is the guy who commands Star Destroyers and visits military bases, instantly killing even the highest-ranking officers who annoy him. He was the bane of the entire Imperial service, feared by everyone aboard the Death Star. Again, several young men arrive, dragging the Sith Lord's body as a large garbage bag is carried to the garbage compactor.
None of this is to demean Luke Skywalker's powers or his many accomplishments, but the enduring lesson of the Star Wars prequels is that enough people have to fire explosives at once to kill even the most powerful Jedi. It could be Luke easily He was killed at any time on the Death Star, but he survived because everyone thought he killed the most powerful people in the galaxy. He lives by a simple misconception, though some say it's just proof that the Force works in mysterious ways.
