Warning: This text accommodates spoilers for Star Wars: The Acolyte Episode 5!
The lightsaber is undoubtedly considered one of the coolest (albeit sadly nonexistent) weapons in all of popular culture. What’s not to love a few laser sword that may lower via something but simply stow away in your pocket when not in use? Although as we have seen many instances in the Star Wars universe, some Jedi and Sith aren’t content material to stick to the conventional lightsaber design. The Acolyte is simply the newest Star Wars undertaking to proceed that proud custom.
From double-bladed lightsabers to lightsaber pikes to a lightsaber rifle (?), listed below are the strangest and most noteworthy lightsaber designs in the Star Wars franchise, together with just a few from the traditional Legends continuity.
Lumiya’s Gentle-Whip
You may have to give Marvel Comics credit score for considering outdoors the field on this one. Lengthy earlier than the days of villains like Darth Maul and Kylo Ren, 1985’s Star Wars #95 featured considered one of the most uncommon lightsaber designs ever conceived. Lumiya, former protege of Darth Vader himself, constructed a whip primarily based on historic Sith designs. Constructed from a mixture of unbreakable Mandalorian iron and lightsaber crystals, this weapon is the solely lightsaber that creates a versatile beam. Lumiya practically overwhelmed Luke with this lethal weapon, forcing him to wield two sabers directly to stand an opportunity in battle.
The Double-Bladed Lightsaber
The idea of a double-bladed lightsaber was launched prior to The Phantom Menace, however this film introduced that weapon into the mainstream thanks to Darth Maul. Maul confirmed how lethal this weapon will be in the proper palms, dominating two highly effective Jedi directly. Comparable doubled-bladed sabers have been utilized by characters like Savage Opress and Satele Shan.
The Lightsaber Pike
Certainly one of the extra attention-grabbing variations of the double-bladed lightsaber is the lightsaber pike, a weapon utilized by the guards at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. With an extended hilt and shorter blades, these sabers are designed to be used extra like a workers than a conventional sword. The hilts additionally fold in half in a switchblade-style design, one which’s began rising in popularity in the Star Wars universe.
Pong Krell’s Sabers
Star Wars: The Clone Wars launched a corrupt Jedi Grasp named Pong Krell who places his personal spin on the double-bladed lightsaber design. Krell’s saber blades are longer, like Maul’s, however the hilts fold in half, like the lightsaber pike. Krell can also be the uncommon Jedi able to wielding two double-bladed sabers directly, a feat solely doable due to his unimaginable power and additional arms.
Mace Windu’s Purple Saber
Canonically, there’s just one Jedi cool sufficient to wield a purple-bladed lightsaber. Lightsaber crystals virtually at all times come in inexperienced, blue or pink varieties, making Mace’s saber fairly the collector’s merchandise. We won’t assist however surprise what grew to become of the weapon after Anakin sliced Mace’s arm off in Revenge of the Sith.
Rely Dooku’s Saber
Rely Dooku was thought to be considered one of the most interesting swordsmen in the galaxy earlier than defecting to the Sith. His lightsaber hilt encompasses a distinctive, curved design, permitting for exact motions and strikes. This enhances the fencing-inspired preventing fashion Dooku has perfected. His protege, Asajj Ventress, wields a pair of comparable sabers, although by no means fairly as skillfully as her grasp.
Darth Sidious’ Sabers
Darth Sidious’s sabers stand out each for his or her decorative design and the indisputable fact that the hilts are so brief. That is sensible, on condition that Sidious has taken nice pains to conceal his Sith powers and retains his sabers hid inside the folds of his robes.
Ahsoka Tano’s Sabers
When Ahsoka Tano first appeared in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, she wielded a conventional inexperienced saber. However as the sequence progressed and Ahsoka grew to become extra assured in her talents, she switched to the Jar’Kai fashion of fight, which focuses on twin sabers. Like a samurai, Ahsoka carries a standard-length blade and a shorter blade referred to as a shoto. Star Wars Rebels additional units her aside by making Ahsoka considered one of the uncommon Jedi to wield white lightsaber blades, with the blades additionally showing in the live-action exhibits The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Ahsoka.
Maris Brood’s Sabers
Star Wars: The Power Unleashed launched Maris Brood, a Jedi Padawan who falls to the Dark Aspect after the dying of her grasp, Shaak Ti. Brood’s twin sabers are impressed by tonfa sticks, with a perpendicular hilt design that permit her to maintain her sabers at uncommon angles.
The Darksaber
The Darksaber is considered one of the oldest recognized lightsaber weapons in the Star Wars universe. Its archaic design outcomes in a flat, angled blade that glows black and makes a particular hum. This blade has a protracted historical past with the warriors of Mandalore. Its creator, Tarre Vizsla, was the first Mandalorian inducted into the Jedi Order, and it is since been utilized by Mandalorians like Pre Vizsla and Sabine Wren. The Darksaber additionally exhibits up in The Mandalorian’s Season 1 finale and performed a key function in subsequent seasons.
Darth Malgus’ Saber
Historic Sith Lord Darth Malgus has considered one of the few lightsabers that may most likely kill a person even when it is deactivated. The high of the hilt options two blade-like protrusions that make it appear as if Malgus carries an ax on the battlefield.
Darth Chratis’ Saber
One other highly effective Sith Lord of the Previous Republic period, Darth Chratis is notable for carrying a metallic workers than can collapse in half and emit a lightsaber blade. The unusually lengthy hilt provides Chratis further attain in battle.
Darth Bane’s Lightsaber Pike
Whereas the weapon the Jedi Temple Guards wield is named a lightsaber pike, The Clone Wars virtually launched a weapon much more in line with a conventional pike. This idea artwork exhibits the weapon meant to be utilized by Darth Bane in the Season 6 episode “Sacrifice.” It is principally a protracted workers that emits a broad, tapered blade. However whereas Bane himself did seem in that episode, his weapon by no means made the lower.
The Grand Inquisitor’s Saber
Star Wars Rebels launched the Inquistorius, an order of Dark Jedi charged with serving to Vader wipe out the final of the Jedi. Every of those villains is provided with a multi-purpose lightsaber. The hilt resembles nothing if not an id disc from Tron, although it will possibly additionally fold in half in order that it appears like the hilt of a cutlass. These sabers can be utilized in both single or double-bladed mode. These weapons also can double as, properly, personal helicopters.
Kylo Ren’s Saber
Kylo Ren wields an uncommon crossguard saber that displays his personal unstable nature. The crystal powering his saber is cracked, requiring ports on both facet of the hilt to vent the extra warmth and plasma. The benefit is that Kylo’s saber has two further blades (or quillons) that he typically makes use of to his benefit in battle.
The Lightsaber Rifle
Jedi librarian Jocasta Nu could not appear able to going toe-to-toe with Darth Vader and his Inquisitors, however she’s a surprisingly scrappy fighter when the want arises. Jocasta leveled the taking part in discipline by attaching her unusual blue lightsaber to a specifically designed rifle. That rifle makes use of the lightsaber as gasoline for its extremely damaging blasts. Sadly, the rifle can solely hearth so many pictures earlier than the lightsaber burns itself out.
Rey’s Switchblade Saber
In The Rise of Skywalker, Rey has a imaginative and prescient of herself wielding this lethal double-bladed lightsaber. This particular weapon folds in half like Pong Krell and the Jedi Temple Guards’ weapons, however the twist is that it will possibly nonetheless be used as a twin-bladed weapon even folded. Now that it has been proven in the movies (albeit as a imaginative and prescient), it is solely a matter of time earlier than we see somebody wielding an analogous blade for actual.
Vernestra Rwoh’s Gentle-Whip
Whereas Lumiya has but to make the soar from the traditional Legends timeline to Disney’s official Star Wars universe, the lightsaber whip has been canonized thanks to the Excessive Republic initiative. A younger Vernestra Rwoh wields considered one of these weapons in the books, whereas a a lot older model of the character seems (alongside together with her saber) in The Acolyte.
Qimir’s Modular Lightsaber
The Acolyte introduces Qimir/The Stranger, a Jedi-hating villain with just a few tips up his nonexistent sleeves. As well as to carrying a helmet and gauntlet fabricated from the lightsaber-shorting substance referred to as cortosis, Qimir wields a pink saber with a removable secondary hilt. This permits Qimir to battle with a normal saber and a shorter shoto, comparable to Ahsoka Tano.
For extra on The Acolyte, try our assessment of the first 4 episodes, then learn the way the present continues the most vital theme of The Final Jedi and be taught why The Acolyte has us questioning who the actual villain is.
Jesse is a mild-mannered author for IGN. Enable him to lend a machete to your mental thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.