In the Star Wars universe, the lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi and the Sith. The designs, color, and function of each lightsaber are often modified to fit a specific user and their needs and desires. Being able to modify a lightsaber in video games is seen as all but a requirement for games that let players take on the role of a force-sensitive.
Many lightsabers have taken on historic roles, influencing galactic history in ways greater than most individuals ever could. Others are simply unique and fascinating in their design and function, allowing them to stand out from the thousands of others that have existed across generations of force sensitives.
10 Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Knight Lightsaber
The weapon that closed out the original trilogy, Luke’s first hand-crafted lightsaber made an explosive debut as he and his allies made a daring escape from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt. Taking a great many design queues from Obi-Wan’s final lightsaber, the design is intricate without appearing overbearing, and its green crystal gave a beautiful contrast to Darth Vader’s red blade during the duel on the second Death Star.
With the weapon’s continued presence in now non-canon media and its return in the Disney+ The Mandalorian series, Star Wars Battlefront II, and The Last Jedi, this elegant weapon proved to be the return of a civilized class of Jedi that the Empire had all but wiped out.
9 Kit Fisto’s Aquatic Lightsaber
While not given a lot of screen time across the films, comic books, and television shows, the ever-eager and ever-at-peace Kit Fisto and his customized lightsaber stole the spotlight whenever he appeared. Kit’s lightsaber is smooth and sleek, and has internal adapters to make the weapon waterproof, a design Kit oversaw directly to accommodate his semiaquatic physiology.
While many Lightsabers would suffer internal damage like most electronics after extensive water exposure, Kit’s can function without issue even at significant depths and heavy water pressure. Kit Fisto went down fighting, and his lightsaber’s unique features make it all the more memorable.
8 Count Dooku’s Curved Handle Lightsaber
An elegant weapon for the good Count. A child of high society that returned to his socialite lifestyle after abandoning the Jedi Order, Dooku’s curved lightsaber is sleek, trimmed, and proper, a science fiction spin on the swords carried by officers and generals of the pre-industrial age.
The design is befitting of Dooku’s rich blood and attitude, going so far as to refer to Lightsabers as “Swords” in Revenge of the Sith, showing his views of these weapons as elegant antiquities to be wielded by gentlemen. It’s a shame the blade was lost when the ship broke up in Coruscant’s orbit, a rather violent and messy end to such a classy and fantastical weapon.
7 Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Last Lightsaber
First we see of these mystical weapons, all the way back in 1977, when Kenobi disarmed an angry drunkard that was attacking Luke Skywalker. Built out of spare industrial parts and a decommissioned rifle grenade, the final result can appear truly otherworldly, befitting the man who wielded it.
Kenobi used this lightsaber throughout the Clone Wars and his two confrontations with his fallen apprentice, Darth Vader, both times using it to grievously injure the Sith Lord. As the baseline that would inform future lightsaber designs for the future, Kenobi’s Lightsaber is an unforgettable piece of Sci-Fi history and artistic ingenuity from the prop designers at what would become Lucasfilm.
6 Mace Windu’s Purple Lightsaber
Samuel L. Jackson asked if he could have a lightsaber in purple, as opposed to the typical greens and blues of most Jedi, during the production of Attack of the Clones. Lucas was more than happy to oblige the beloved actor, and the result was something beautiful.
The rich purple blade compliments the polished gold and silver metals and matte black handgrips, giving the weapon a unique and powerful silhouette. This beautiful weapon came closer than most to killing the dark lord of the Sith, but interference from Anakin Skywalker condemned the lightsaber to be cast into the depths of Coruscant’s lower levels.
5 Darth Vader’s Modified Lightsaber
The man who can be seen as the greatest villain and greatest victim of the entire Star Wars saga, Darth Vader’s lightsaber is a reflection of its wielder in every way. Vaguely modeled after Anakin’s second and third lightsaber models, this weapon’s heft and brutalist design pair well with Darth Vader’s armored life-support suit.
Its usage across over twenty years of combat has made its sight a horrifying one too many across the galaxy, and its image was often the last thing many surviving Jedi saw after Order 66. Its last battle against Luke on the second Death Star saw the weapon lost down a reactor shaft and obliterated alongside the Emperor and countless Imperial personnel, a powerful sendoff to a powerful weapon.
4 Darth Maul’s Dual Lightsaber Staff
The first Sith to publicly emerge in hundreds of years, Darth Maul emerged with an audience awe-inspiring weapon, a dual-bladed lightsaber staff. The weapon’s physical design is minimalist yet striking, with silver bands of unpolished metal with 4 red ignition buttons across its length.
The imagery and fight choreography this weapon was incorporated into during The Phantom Menace made its unique design stand out even more in the eyes of the public. While the weapon was mostly lost when it was bisected by Obi Wan Kenobi, one half that still worked was carried by the wounded Darth Maul during his return to power and seizure of control over Mandalore during the Clone Wars.
3 Asajj Ventress’ Twin Curved Lightsabers
Designed after Dooku’s own lightsaber and presented to the Sith-trained assassin, Asajj Ventress would use these twin lightsabers throughout most of the Clone Wars. These two lightsabers share some of Dooku’s design elements, with polished, high-quality metal and matte black grip stripes across the hilt and the added ability to join at the hilts magnetically to become a non-standard dual-bladed lightsaber.
The weapons would later be stolen by the fallen Jedi Barriss Offee during a frame attempt on a terrorist attack, and were last seen being taken away by Anakin Skywalker to be put into storage at the Jedi Temple.
2 The Darksaber
An ancient lightsaber from the days of the Old Republic, and one forged by a force sensitive Mandalorian. The acquisition of a lightsaber by a Mandalorian, a long-time enemy of the Jedi, made the Darksaber a cultural icon among the Mandalorian houses. Anyone who wields the Darksaber, should they take it into combat, can unite most Mandalorian houses and individuals under their direct rule.
Several wielders during the Clone Wars and Imperial era would attempt to use this cultural importance to unite Mandalore for their own agendas, including Darth Maul and Sabine Wren. Cursed to seemingly pass from owner to owner for eternity, it is currently being sought after by Bo-Katan to try and revitalize Mandalorian society after the collapse of the Empire.
1 Anakin Skywalker’s Lightsaber
The one, the only, the absolute king of kings of lightsabers. First seen being handed to Luke in A New Hope, the lightsaber would feature prominently in Empire Strikes Back before being lost on Bespin, and then showing its violent past to audiences in Revenge of the Sith.
Built from an old Graflex branded camera flash handle, which has since become all but impossible to find as most have been scooped up by fans and collectors over the years, the lightsaber’s simple yet powerful silhouette has become the de facto design for lightsabers in the minds of fans. From the famed war hero Anakin Skywalker, to the Sith apprentice Darth Vader, to Luke Skywalker and finally Rey, this lightsaber has seen countless battles over nearly a century of warfare and has managed to outlive almost everyone that has wielded it.
