The Other Luke Skywalker

          

  Between 1991 and 2014, a hero named Luke Skywalker saved the galaxy dozens of times, not at the movies, but on the bookshelves. This version of Luke was vastly different than the one we saw on screens this December in “The Last Jedi”. The book version of Luke Skywalker much more resembled the one that we saw in “Return of the Jedi”. This is not to say that the two Luke Skywalkers are completely different from one another. In fact there are some notable similarities.

Rebuilding the Jedi Order

            In 1994, Kevin J. Anderson published the “Jedi Academy Trilogy” which told the story of Luke founding the New Jedi Order seven years after the Battle of Endor. Luke trained twelve students at the Great Temple on Yavin IV. Of course, things did not go very well. One of Luke’s new students, Kyp Durron, started seeing visions of an ancient Sith named Exar Kun (See Tales of the Jedi). Kun corrupted Kyp Durron and Kyp turned against Luke and the other students.

Sound familiar? In “The Last Jedi” Luke claims that he trained a dozen Jedi. In this case, Snoke corrupted Ben Solo and it was Ben Solo that turned against Luke and the other students. 

Romance & Marriage 

In “The Last Jedi” Luke has secluded himself on the Island of Ahch-To away from his friends and family. It is unknown if Luke ever had any romance in his life (besides his sister). But in the old Expanded Universe, Luke had many love interests.

Luke’s first love interest in the books is a mysterious woman named Callista. Callista was a Clone Wars era-Jedi Knight whose force spirit became trapped on a dreadnaught-class ship known as “The Eye of Palpatine”. When Luke became a prisoner aboard the ship he encountered the force spirit of Callista and the two began developing feelings for each other. Eventually, Callista is able to regain corporal form and she and Luke have many adventures together.

The character of Callista was a project that Lucasfilm had assigned to Barbara Hambly and Kevin J Anderson. According to Anderson, Lucasfilm wanted Callista to be the great love interest in the life of Luke Skywalker. However, fan reaction to another Star Wars EU character would cause Lucasilm to change its mind about Callista.

The other EU character, of course, was Mara Jade. Originally, Jade served as an agent to Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine gives her the command to kill Luke Skywalker and even after Palpatine's death, Jade is driven by this command. Of course Jade doesn’t end up killing Skywalker, she ends up falling in love with him.

Jade was created by Timothy Zahn for his “Thrawn Trilogy” first published in 1991 by Bantam Books- though Zahn didn’t initially intend for the two to be an item. Bantam Books ruled the Star Wars EU from 1991 to 1999 and one of the final titles under the Bantam line was Timothy Zahn’s “Thrawn Duology” which sees Skywalker and Jade fall in love and become engaged.

The wedding of Skywalker and Jade is depicted in the 4-issue comic series “Union” which sort of ties a nice ribbon around the Bantam line of Star Wars novels published in the 1990s. At the turn of the Millennia, Star Wars novels began being published under Del Rey and things became much darker.

The Yuuzhan Vong War & Ben Skywalker

When Del Rey took over the Star Wars publishing line they wanted to do something big with the Star Wars galaxy. They wanted to raise the stakes. In “The New Jedi Order” series of books, the mysterious Yuuzhang Vong invade the galaxy. Many characters are killed including Chewbacca and Anakin Solo. Mara Jade Skywalker became terminally ill with spores created by the Yuuzhan Vong and even after she is cured, she believes that she will never be able to bear a child. Later, however, she discovers that she is pregnant. When their child is born Luke & Mara name him “Ben” after Luke’s former master.

In “The Force Awakens” fans discover that Kylo Ren's real name is “Ben Solo” which is reminiscent of “Ben Skywalker”. However, Kylo Ren more closely resembles Jacen Solo, Luke’s nephew who eventually turns to the Dark Side and slaughters Mara Jade.

The End of the Expanded Universe

            In 2013, the novel Crucible became the last story to feature the “other” Luke Skywalker. The other Luke was 64 years old during this novel which saw one last adventure with his twin sister and a 70+ Han Solo. All three survive the story- only for the past 40-years of their existence to be wiped out when Disney purchased Star Wars. Luke’s wife, Luke’s son, Han and Leia’s children and grandchild, everything they had done… was undone by "The Force Awakens".

            It is no wonder that some fans when viewing “The Last Jedi” were upset seeing the grizzled shell of a man that claimed to be Luke Skywalker. Fans of the novels knew that the real Luke Skywalker that “other” Luke Skywalker would not have given up, would not had given in. They knew in their heart of hearts that the “other” Luke Skywalker, their hero, is still alive out there somewhere- alive and well.