Luke Skywalker, while forced into a tragic fight for galactic freedom against his own father, was spared from the sinister oppressive pressure that Anakin was forced to endure. Depending on the love and from his allies and family, Luke overcame his tragedies and prevailed against the unyielding temptation of the Dark Side that once consumed Anakin. However, seeing how Luke escaped puts into perspective how sad Anakin’s fate became.

While Disney has long since cast Star Wars Legends stories aside as non-canon reference material to be ignored, there is a lot to be gleaned from the intense character-building moments those tales had to offer.

Set six years after Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Dark Empire - by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy - follows Luke and the newly established New Republic as the infant government tries to regain control of the galaxy. Still followed by the shadows of his past, Luke is forced to face a new evil threat that finally pushes him over the edge.

Luke Skywalker Was Saved By His Connection With Leia

Star Wars: Dark Empire - Written by Tom Veitch; Art by Cam Kennedy; Lettering by Todd Klein

Struggling with his trauma following the war and the guilt, knowing that Palpatine killed millions to turn Luke into his apprentice, the Jedi is pulled toward the Dark Side when he feels a new evil presence calling to him. By this point in his journey, he isn’t a young inexperienced farm boy, he is a Jedi Master. Luke is the only Jedi Master. Through all of his lessons and thousands of years of Jedi texts to learn from, he has attuned to the Force, sensing its ebbs and flows throughout the galaxy.

Luke reiterates the phrase, “Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side,” before walking into the void of a Hyperspace Wormhole. On the other side of the ensuing energy storm, Luke feels a presence, equal to his but familiarly dark: Leia embraces her Jedi heritage, combining her powers with Luke and breaking his soul free.

Palpatine Controls the Skywalkers Through Isolation

Luke and Leia Were the First Force Dyad

Before the Prequel or the Sequel Trilogy were to exist, Dark Empire established the concept that would later inspire the modern “ Force Dyad .” Luke and Leia are both extremely force-sensitive and have been connected since their conception. Throughout the Legends material, Leia embraces her Jedi heritage, frequently training with Luke. Their bond, one of blood and soul, helps one ground the other. In moments like this series, when Luke precariously balances on the event horizon of the Dark Side, it’s the twins’ bond that saves Luke.

The tragedy of Anakin Skywalker is defined by Anakin’s artificial isolation.

However, Palpatine, who had a tighter grip on Anakin, never allowed this type of bond to fruit for his first Skywalker apprentice. Sheev’s power over Anakin was the sense of dependency he wove in the young Jedi’s mind. Palpatine emotionally cut Anakin out from the outside world, sewing the seeds of Anakin’s distrust of the Jedi and, ultimately, Pe. It wasn’t until Return of the Jedi that Darth Vader had the chance to share that liberating bond with his son, freeing both from Palpatine’s grasp. The tragedy of Anakin Skywalker is defined by Anakin’s artificial isolation.

The Firstborn Son of Han Solo Became Palpatine’s Pawn in Legends and Canon

Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren - Written by Charles Soule; Art by Will Sliney; Color by Guru-eFX; Lettering by VC’s Travis Lanham

It’s not a secret that Darth Sidious’s greatest power is his art of manipulation. The man who has a contingency for everything, Palpatine is an expert at weaving lies and implanting Dark Side visions in the minds of his victims, swaying them toward his designs. While the Luke Skywalker of the modern canon did not face such direct tactics from Palpatine, Luke’s nephew did. Much like Jacen Solo in Legends, Ben Solo became one of Palpatine’s targets of reincarnation the moment his life began. Through Snoke and the Knights of Ren, Ben was pulled further away from his networks.

With the Dark Side corrupting his mind, driving his dependency on Palpatine, Ben became only one of many pawns of the true Master of the Dark Side.

While he tried to fight it every step of the way, all of his doubts were held within an echo chamber that Palpatine controlled. Like Anakin, Ben was caught in a web with no one to depend on for survival but the Emperor. With the Dark Side corrupting his mind, driving his dependency on Palpatine, Ben becomes only one of many pawns of the true Master of the Dark Side. What ultimately saved him, much like it did Luke in Legends, was his connection with another, grounded in the Light Side.

Anakin Was Always Emotionally Isolated by Sheev Palpatine

Star Wars: Obi-Wan & Anakin - Written by Charles Soule; Art by Marco Checchetto; Color by Andres Mossa; Lettering by VC’s Joe Caramagna

The current canon has gone on to reinforce this relationship between Anakin and Palpatine. During the Star Wars: Obi-Wan & Anakin comic miniseries - by Charles Soule, Marco Checchetoo, and Andres Mossa - readers are given a glimpse into the early days of Anakin’s padawan journey. While it’s easy to believe that Anakin spent every waking moment with his Jedi master, there were a disturbing number of moments where the boy was left alone with Chancellor Palpatine. From boyhood, Anakin was caught in a trap without the means to escape. Fortunately, his children would spare each other from the same fate.

Luke Skywalker, regardless of canon, escaped the pull of the Dark Side by having someone pull him out. Someone grounded in the Light Side that Luke could trust more than anyone to set him free. During Star Wars: Dark Empire, this proved to be Leia. Both Anakin and Ben drowned in the corruption of the Dark Side because Palpatine forced them to. They were alone. They were scared. They were angry. They were exactly where Darth Sidious wanted them. When faced with Emperor Palpatine’s cruel machinations, it wasn’t his heroic will that saved Luke Skywalker, it was those he trusted.