Warning: contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #1!As Marvel's Luke Skywalker reacted to Darth Vader's death. That means fans are just now bearing witness to the immense anger Leia had towards her father - a feeling that offers the potential for corruption as Luke attempts to train her as a Jedi.
While the rest of her found family are partying, Princess Leia sneaks off to visit Darth Vader's funeral pyre to say goodbye to her father face-to-face. She goes originally not knowing what she's hoping to find, just that she doesn't feel the joy of what should be a happy moment.
Leia reflects that she wishes she had the ability to forgive like Luke did when Vader returned to the light side, but with all the bad he had caused as Vader, the lives he took, the people he hurt, and those he left behind, all she finds herself feeling is anger.
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Princess Leia's Anger Towards Darth Vader Conflicts With the Jedi Way
The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising (2024) #1 by creative team Alex Segura, Leonard Kirk, Stefano Raffaelle, Rachelle Rosenberg, Alex Sinclair, and Joe Caramagna
Leia Organa does eventually train with her brother Luke Skywalker in the ways of the force, but she doesn't become a Jedi. Leia was Luke's first student, doing her training on Ajan Kloss as seen in The Rise of Skywalker, but that was long before Luke built his Jedi temple on Ossus. Eventually, she has visions of serving elsewhere in the galaxy, such as the New Republic Senate, and she gives up her lightsaber. However, new information from The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #1 suggests that she wouldn't have made it in Luke's new Jedi Order anyway.
After the Battle of Endor, and after the parties have ended, Luke Skywalker approaches Princess Leia and tells her he sensed her anger while she visited their father's remains. Leia argues that she has a lot to be upset about; they all do, after everything Darth Vader has done in his lifetime. The war has left scars that need to be healed. She's not a Jedi, she's a person with emotions that cannot be buried. Luke offers to train her in the ways of the Jedi, but Leia is very hesitant to accept before they are interrupted.
Leia Organa Would Have Been Corrupted by the Dark Side as a Jedi
Her Justified Anger Was a Path to the Dark Side
Even though they are both heroes of the Rebel Alliance, Princess Leia's path differs greatly from Luke Skywalker's. Leia states she wishes she had the ability to forgive like Luke does, but all she feels is anger. When Luke tells Leia that anger leads to darkness, and they shouldn't let that lead them, Leia argues that her feelings are valid, and they deserve to be felt. Just as Anakin Skywalker's justified anger and desperation were used to corrupt him, Leia was primed to follow the same path.
Leia's enduring anger towards Vader is exactly the kind of emotion that the Dark Side uses to tempt Jedi, ultimately making it a good thing that - despite some training - Leia ultimately chose to use her abilities elsewhere. While Luke Skywalker is determined to train Leia Organa as a Jedi, it's not to be, and the Star Wars galaxy is likely better off because of it.
The Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
