Summary
When consideringLuke Skywalker’s Jedi training inStar Warscanon, one would more than likely think of the iconic image of him doing a handstand on Dagobah inEpisode V, while Yoda is off to the side watching his progress. While that is, indeed, one of the most widely recognized frames from the movie, most fans may not know that Luke was only doing this particular training exercise for the opposite reason they would think.
In Legends’Star Wars Adventures: Luke Skywalker and the Treasure of the Dragonsnakesby Tom Taylor and Daxiong, readers are shownLuke Skywalker’s training on Dagobahfrom another’s point of view: King Dragonsnake. Dragonsnakes are seemingly the apex predators on Dagobah, with King Dragonsnake being the baddest of the bad. The King witnesses Luke’s arrival on Dagobah, and watches as he trains with Yoda, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Within that time, Luke undergoes much of the same training fans saw him do inThe Empire Strikes Back, including and especially the iconic headstand. As Luke is doing this training exercise - for two hours - Yoda makes a comment about how he’s always complaining, and that standing on his head will ‘soften’ it. To that, Luke responds by asking if the only reason he was doing the handstand was to ‘soften’ his head, which basically means Yoda made him do that because Luke was annoying him. Yoda answers with a cryptic ‘yes’, but a ‘yes’ all the same.
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Luke Skywalker’s Iconic Training Image Only Exists Because Yoda Finds Him Annoying
Upon seeing Luke doing this training exercise for the first time, Star Wars fans assuredly assumed that Yoda was teaching Luke how to find balance in the Force, and that the cosmic balance would help him balance his body in that position for a long period of time. But, as confirmed by this story, Yoda’s motives weren’t purely based in teaching Luke the ways of the Force, but effectively punishing him for being annoying.
Of course, it’s safe to assume that Yoda - being a Jedi Master who’s been training Jedi for centuries - was killing two birds with one stone by forcing Luke to do a handstand: messing with him for being annoying and teaching him balance in the Force. However, that doesn’t detract from the fact that Yoda finding Luke annoying played any part in his Jedi training at all, which makes the image of Luke standing on his head impossible to see the same way again.
The Truth of How Yoda Trained Luke Redefines How Luke Trained Rey
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
Knowing that Yoda made Luke stand on his head as a way to mess with him for being annoying utterly redefines how Luke trained Rey inThe Last Jedi. Luke messed with Rey constantly during her training, and while many assumed that was due to the fact that Luke had all but lost faith in the mission of the Jedi, it was actually because that’s exactly how Yoda trained him. Luke was simply using the training methods of his master while training Rey, which is a hilarious twist that many fans would not know without this wackyStar Warscomic.
There was so much riding on Luke’s Jedi training during the events of the original trilogy - given that he needed to be trained as quickly as possible to defeat the Empire and save the galaxy - that it’s hard to imagine that Yoda would waste any time messing with him, even if he was being annoying. But, Yoda has always played by his own rules, so while unexpected, it’s not too shocking that the iconic image ofLuke Skywalker’s Jedi training means the opposite of whatStar Warsfans think.
Luke Skywalker
The son of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, Luke was brought up on the desert planet Tatooine. Initially mentored by Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke fired the fateful shot that destroyed the Death Star, and he became a rebel hero. Despite the fears of Obi-Wan and Yoda, Luke’s faith in his father was proved well-founded when Vader returned to the light. With the Emperor defeated, Luke dedicated himself to bringing back the Jedi; his first attempt ended in tragedy due to Palpatine’s manipulations, but Luke’s legacy lives on in Rey.
