Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader had several battles during the original Star Wars trilogy. Naturally, the biggest showdowns occurred on-screen in the movies from George Lucas. However, Luke and his corrupted father had a handful of battles in between the films as well in the Star Wars timeline.
Having begun his Jedi path during the events of A New Hope, Luke Skywalker quickly became one of the Rebellion’s greatest heroes. Naturally, this put him directly in the sights of Darth Vader who took a special interest in the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, especially after learning that the boy was his own son. To that end, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader face each other a total of nine times in the established canon, culminating in Vader’s redemption as seen in Return of the Jedi.
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9 First Death Star
A New Hope
Joining the Rebellion’s attack on the first Death Star, Luke Skywalker was given his own X-Wing and was enlisted with Red Squadron. While flying through one of the battle station’s trenches, Darth Vader was in close pursuit in his TIE Advanced, attempting to destroy the Rebel pilots before they could get to the reactor shaft to blow up the Death Star. Sensing the boy’s power in the Force, Vader did not yet know that Luke was his son. Ultimately, Vader was hit from above with the surprise arrival of the Millennium Falcon while Luke blew up the Death Star.
8 Cymoon 1
Star Wars (2015)
In the aftermath of A New Hope, Darth Vader and Luke had their first face-to-face encounter on Cymoon 1, home to one of the Empire’s biggest weapons factories which the Rebellion was attempting to sabotage. Recognizing his own Jedi lightsaber in the hands of the boy who blew up the Death Star, this encounter is what motivated Vader to later investigate Luke’s identity, confirming that the Rebel hero was his son. Likewise, Luke escaped Vader’s clutches on Cymoon thanks to Han Solo and Leia Organa who tried stepping on the Sith Lord with a commandeered AT-AT walker.
7 Vrogas Vas
Star Wars (2015)
As seen in the Vader Down crossover event, Darth Vader found himself facing the entire Rebel Alliance on his own with survival as his only goal. Thanks to his skills as a gift and deadly pilot, Vader was holding his own against multiple X-Wing Squadrons before Luke himself slammed his fighter into Vader’s, sending them both down to the world of Vrogas Vos below where Vader continued fending off the Rebellion on foot.
6 Planet K43
Star Wars (2015)
In the canonical comics directly leading to the Battle of Hoth, the Rebellion tries using a presumably uninhabited planet known as K43 to lure and blow up a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers. During the confrontation, Luke would have been powerless against Vader had Chewbacca not intervened and fought the Dark Lord hand-to-hand. Luke then uses the Force to trigger an avalanche in an attempt to bury Vader, yet the Sith continues his pursuit. Even with all the Rebellion heroes opening fire against him, the only thing that stopped Vader was the entire planet coming apart with the reveal that it was actually a massive sentient life-form made of rock.
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5 Dagobah’s Cave of Evil
Empire Strikes Back
During his Jedi training with Yoda in Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker enters the Cave of Evil on the swamp world of Dagobah where Yoda had long been in exile. Receiving a key vision in the Force, Luke fought and killed a manifestation of Vader bearing the face of Luke himself, warning him about the danger of the dark side while also foreshadowing the truth about Vader and Luke’s relationship as father and son. While not a true confrontation, the encounter is still quite notable in the Star Wars canon and their overall journey.
4 Cloud City
Empire Strikes Back
Unable to let his friends die whom Vader was using to bait Skywalker, Vader and Luke’s first lightsaber duel occurs on Cloud City at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, one of the most epic moments in cinematic history. Wanting Luke to join him to overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy together, Vader revealed to Luke that he was his father. However, Luke refuses to join Vader, jumping down the chasm below and entering one of many vents where he is later rescued by Leia who heard him calling out through the Force.
3 Jekara
Star Wars (2020)
Still reconciling with the truth about Darth Vader, Luke and his father’s next encounter in the Star Wars canon wasn’t long after their Cloud City duel. During Crimson Dawn’s auction of Han Solo still frozen in carbonite after stealing the smuggler from Boba Fett, Vader believes Han could be used once more to lure Luke to him. As such, both the Rebel heroes and Vader come to the world of Jekara where Solo is being auctioned.
Out-maneuvering the Dark Lord and forcing Vader’s TIE down to the surface, Luke had an open shot on Darth Vader in his X-Wing. However, he was still struggling with the truth about Vader while also questioning his still-limited power as a Jedi in training. Unwilling to face Vader directly, Luke chose to abandon the battle rather than continue it.
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2 World Between Worlds
Star Wars (2020)
During Luke’s search for more Jedi knowledge between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the young Jedi’s spirit seemingly entered a Force nexus that could have very well been the World Between Worlds, or at least a very similar vergence. Unlike the Cave of Evil on Dagobah, Luke’s spirit truly did face Vader across time and space, confronting Vader’s own Force spirit from 20 years prior when the Dark Lord entered a nexus in the aftermath of Revenge of the Sith.
1 Second Death Star
Return of the Jedi
While there may be more confrontations between Vader and Luke that have yet to be seen in the Star Wars canon, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader’s final known encounter beyond the aforementioned battle occurs in Return of the Jedi. Dueling in front of Emperor Palpatine on board the second Death Star, Luke refuses to give in to the dark side, an act that motivates his father to come back to the light. Sacrificing himself to save Luke and destroying his dark master, Darth Vader fulfills the prophecy as the galaxy’s Chosen One, having become Anakin Skywalker once more in the Star Wars timeline.
