Star Wars “The Force Looks Back” Pt. IV: ‘Episode IV: A New Hope’ (1977)

Written by: J. Johnson

New life has been breathed in the hope of survival. The light side of the force has been able to see some range of peace, but the dark side of the force has been stretching their influence throughout the galaxy with two old adversary of man; FEAR & POWER. 19 years has pass by from the time of what was once the Jedi Order, the Republic, and a war of clones being utilized by a traitor, a tyrant, and former Jedi apprentice. The completion of Lord Sidious’ Death Star has seen its inception and the force is something the dark side of the force is willing to use if deemed necessary.

One thing that’s important to notice is the blank points prior to ‘A New Hope’. Darth Vader & Lord Sidious are using the Death Star as a means to influence any who oppose the Galactic Empire. Even with all that in ‘Revenge of the Sith’ Padame had fraternal twins named Luke & Leia. For their own safety, Luke and Leia will be split up in hopes that the Sith would not sense their presence. Leia will be adopted by Bail Organa and Luke would be sent to his father’s step family on Tatooine. Obi-Wan and Yoda will watch and wait until the time is ready for the Skywalker children to do their part. In the present time (‘A New Hope’ timeline) the two would have their time to bring the balance to the force that was thought to be 19 years ago.

‘A New Hope’ started with Princess Leia, a leader of the Rebel Alliance being captured by the Empire after stealing plans for the Death Star in order to find a weakness in the secret weapon. C-P30 & R2-D2 would escape from the seize of Tantive IV in order to find the one person who can also help bring balance to the force; Luke Skywalker. It has been years since Obi-Wan Kenobi shown face in public, but Luke is brought to him by C-P30 & R2-D2 who have convinced him to search for “Old Ben”. After they meet the mysterious Jedi master they start Luke’s training to become a Jedi and bring peace to the galaxy once again. After some training, some insight about the past  from the Jedi master Obi-Wan (Ben), and the brutal murder of his aunt and uncle Luke agrees come they move to recruit a smuggler by the name of Han Solo & first mate; wookie Chewbecca to rescue the princess.

After being pulled aboard the Death Star, they try to locate the princess, but Obi-Wan (Ben) had other plans in mind.

IV. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ben Kenobi) vs. Darth Vader
It can be said, to be the second or the first time these two met, but canonically it’s the second time the former master and padawan duel. In this battle the methodical pace is what makes this battle unique. Add the intriguing dialogue that is exchanged it’s actually hard to know these were once close like brothers. Vader and Obi-Wan(Ben) begin the duel slowly trying to one each other up. “You can’t win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” is one line in the Star Wars franchise re-used in many fashions of pop-culture. Honestly, in my opinion this battle was an introduction to how the series could develop the use of lightsaber battles. I like this one for the usage of simplicity in the lightsabers. Nothing fancy (besides the stabbing motions by Vader; like what are you doing. I laugh every time I see it) like the other lightsaber battles. It did seem that Obi-Wan wasn’t trying to defeat Vader, but wait for the fatal moment that occurred. After a short duel with his former Padawan, Obi-Wan (Ben) sacrifices himself, thus becoming one with the force and allowing Luke and the others to escape. Horrified and angered having witnessed Obi-Wan’s (Ben) demise at the hands of Vader, Luke would blast at the stormtroopers before leaving in the Millennium Falcon.

In the end you would see the destruction of the Death Star seen its end by a squadron of TIE fighters, on the battlestation. Vader would lead a flight of Imperial fighters to destroy the incoming TIE fighters, but he was tossed out of the battle. Only a few survived hose of (Wedge, Luke, Han, and a Y-wing Pilot) return to Yavin 4 and a victory celebration commences, complete with medals for the heroes, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, presented by Princess Leia. The message here is that even with something that could bring about the end to everything that you may know there’s always a shred of hope that can turn into a tremendous victory. Over zealousness will overshadow the truth unless you realize that you look long and hard to confront your arrogance to progress yourself for a greater good.

Next: ‘Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back’ featuring Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader (Part I)