10 Best Star Wars Lightsabers Ranked

Star Wars has revolved around merchandise for its entire existence. George Lucas and the men and women of ILM created a universe that lent itself well to toys, and one of these creations became the most recognizable symbol of Star Wars: the lightsaber. It was a magical moment when Luke Skywalker ignited the first lightsaber on screen; ever since then, they’ve become a cornerstone of playtime for almost half a century. George Lucas didn’t create the first sword with a laser blade, but he made it into an icon. Lightsabers have become one of the coolest parts of Star Wars, with even people who have never seen the movies — yes, they do actually exist — recognizing them.

Over the years, Star Wars has introduced a variety of lightsabers. The lightsaber is often looked at as an expression of its user, and there have been some amazing designs, both in Legends and in canon. These are ten lightsabers are the best in Star Wars, each one a work of art.

Tenel Ka’s Lightsaber

Tenel Ka is a Legends character. In Legends, Dathomir isn’t just home to the Nightsisters, but also Force witches who don’t use the dark side. It’s also full of rancor monsters, which the non-Nightsister witches form relationships with. Tenel Ka’s mother is from Dathomir, while her father is royalty from the Hapes Consortium, and she joined Luke Skywalker’s Jedi academy when she was young. This led to her creating her own lightsaber, which would pay homage to the Dathomiri and Hapan legacy of her family.

Tenel Ka had two of the smaller teeth of her great-grandmother’s rancor, and decided to use them in her lightsaber. The first lightsaber she made was a failure, costing her much of her left arm in a practice duel with Jacen Solo. She was pulled from the Academy by her grandmother, but eventually she rejoined her friends and constructed a second one. The hilt’s end is capped with one of the rancor teeth, and its focusing crystals are Rainbow gems from the Hapan Royal Princess’s tiara, producing a turquoise-colored blade. Tenel Ka’s lightsaber is one of the most unique in Star Wars, and there are even ways to make a similar one at Savi’s Workshop in Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

Anakin Solo’s Lightsaber

In Legends, Anakin Solo was the youngest son of Han and Leia. His older brother Jacen was the cerebral one, his older sister Jaina was the wild one, and Anakin was the heroic one. Anakin felt that because he was named after the man who became Darth Vader, he had to work extra hard to escape the negative connotations of the name. When the Yuuzhan Vong invasion began, Anakin threw himself into the war. While he was a mere Padawan, he became a symbol for the rest of the Jedi. When the Vong attacked Yavin IV to destroy the Jedi Academy, Anakin sprang into action.

While on the planet, Anakin’s lightsaber was damaged and he needed to get a new crystal. So, he used a Yuuzhan Vong lambent, a living crystal that produced light. His violet-bladed lightsaber gave him what he called “Vongsense.” The Yuuzhan Vong had been removed from the Force millennia before and Jedi couldn’t sense them. However, with Vongsense, Anakin was able to. Anakin sacrificed himself on a mission and his lightsaber was eventually recovered, a symbol of heroism for generations to come.

Luke Skywalker’s Green-Bladed Lightsaber

Luke Skywalker’s road as a Jedi was very different from others. Instead of building a lightsaber, he was given his father’s. However, he would lose this lightsaber in battle with Darth Vader, along with his hand in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. This led to him building another one in the interim between Empire and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. He made it using plans that he had inherited from Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is why it looks so much like Kenobi’s.

Luke’s new lightsaber’s blade was green instead of blue, and the hilt was quite different from his previous one. For one thing, it was longer than his original saber, which seemingly suited Luke better. Luke’s green-bladed saber was the one he carried into battle against Vader and the Emperor at the Battle of Endor, and would be the weapon he used in the years between then and during the destruction of his Jedi Academy by Ben Solo and the Knights of Ren. In Legends, it was the most storied lightsaber since the Clone Wars, as that version of Luke was much more of a warrior, defeating countless enemies to the freedom of the galaxy.

Yoda’s Lightsaber

No one expected Yoda to have a lightsaber when he first appeared — he is, after all, the one who said the line, “Wars not make one great.” Lightsabers were such an important part of Star Wars, and whether Yoda had one was one of many questions about the diminutive Jedi Master. Most figured he had reached a power level where he no longer needed one centuries before. This is why it was such a shock when he busted out a lightsaber in Star Wars: Attack of the Clone. Yoda dueled Count Dooku in one of the most kinetic and exciting lightsaber duels in the entire saga.

Yoda’s lightsaber was scaled to his size and had a green blade. Yoda’s lightsaber fighting style was all about acrobatics, taking advantage of his Force-enhanced agility. The hilt’s design was pretty simple, chrome and black. It shared some design elements with Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, but still had a rather unique feel to it. Yoda lost it during his battle with Emperor Palpatine in the Senate during Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

The Lightsabers of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

There’s a simple reason why the lightsabers of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are in one entry — they’re basically exactly the same. Anakin/Vader is one of the most powerful Star Wars characters, as well as one of the greatest lightsaber combatants ever. Anakin actually went through several lightsabers in the prequel trilogy, and his most well known one wouldn’t appear until Revenge of the Sith. This is the lightsaber he used against Count Dooku, the one he carried in the massacre at the Jedi Temple, and the one he used in his battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi. It would be inherited by Luke and Rey Skywalker, and ended up buried on Tattooine after the defeat of The First Order.

Anakin created a new lightsaber after his transformation into Darth Vader and he basically completely copied the hilt design for his Sith blade. This design is one of the coolest in Star Wars lore, made all the more epic by its use by Anakin/Vader. These ligthsabers are some of the most iconic in-universe, alternately responsible for the freedom and destruction of many sentients.

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Emperor Palpatine’s Lightsaber

Much like Yoda, no one ever expected Emperor Palpatine to have a lightsaber. He seemed to be someone who transcended such things, depending instead on Force powers to battle his foes. However, Revenge of the Sith would reveal that Palpatine did indeed use a lightsaber and was actually extremely skilled with it. He used it to kill most of the Jedi that Mace Windu led to arrest him and then dueled Yoda with it before the two of them decided to depend on their Force powers.

Palpatine’s lightsaber hilt is quite small compared to other lightsabers, which is one of the factors that makes it so cool. Its gold and silver coloration is unique among lightsabers, and gives it a sense of opulence. It feels like the kind of weapon that an emperor would use, especially one as arrogant as Palpatine. It’s one of the coolest lightsaber designs in the entire saga; it has its own look and says a lot about the person who uses it.

Count Dooku’s Lightsaber

Count Dooku was considered one of the greatest lightsaber combatants of his generation of Jedi. Dooku took great pride in his skill and his lightsaber fit that. Dooku’s lightsaber was different from those used by other Jedi and Sith. Instead of a straight hilt, the bottom of Dooku’s lightsaber curves, which gives him different grip options in combat. The emitter also had an interesting hook-like protuberance, which gives it a sinister, almost cruel look.

The prequels are full of great lightsabers, and Dooku’s stands with the best of them. Like Palpatine’s lightsaber, it actually says a lot about Dooku as a character. It has a elegant and civilized feel, and looks like the kind of weapon that someone who holds their skill in great esteem would have. However, there’s also that menacing feel to it. All of that fits who Dooku is to a tee. It’s a beautiful lightsaber.

Darth Maul’s Double-Bladed Lightsaber

It’s hard to describe what it was like to be on there on the opening night of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and see Darth Maul ignite both ends of his lightsaber at the palace on Naboo. Many fans had already wondered why Maul’s lightsaber was so long when it first appeared in Maul’s battle with Qui-Gon. The moment the second blade ignited, people lost their minds. While it wasn’t the first time a double-bladed lightsaber had appeared in a Star Wars project — Exar Kun had used one in the Old Republic set comics Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: The Dark Lords of the Sith and Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War — but seeing it in all of its glory on the big screen was a magnificent experience.

Darth Maul was the coolest thing in The Phantom Menace, and his unique lightsaber was a huge reason why. It fit his martial-arts aesthetic perfectly, and Maul actor Ray Park, himself an accomplished martial artist, made it look amazing in combat. The hilt’s design itself was pretty cool, as well. Propmasters could have went crazy with it, but they kept it simple, and that was the right choice. It’s one of the most iconic lightsabers in Star Wars history for good reason.

Rey Skywalker’s Lightsaber

Rey Skywalker is a controversial character for mystifying reasons — she’s basically just a gender-swapped Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy — but even her biggest haters have to admit that her lightsaber is excellent. Early in the sequel trilogy, she used Anakin and Luke Skywalker’s blue lightsaber, even repairing it after it was pulled apart in a Force tug of war with Kylo Ren. After defeating the reborn Emperor Palpatine, she decided to let the weapon have peace on Tattooine. She then pulled out her new lightsaber and ignited it, revealing an orange blade.

Rey’s new lightsaber is awesome, and that’s all there is to it. It had the same kind of look as the quarterstaff she carried, which was a great design choice. Giving it an orange blade instead of a blue or green was also a smart decision. The coolest thing about Rey’s lightsaber is how it breaks from Jedi tradition. Instead of being silver and black like most Jedi lightsabers and having the blade colors everyone is used to, its unique look spoke to Rey’s singular journey as a Jedi. With Rey getting her own films in the coming years, we’ll get to see it in action, and that’s going to be great.

Qimir’s Lightsabers

Star Wars: The Acolyte gave Star Wars fans the greatest lightsaber ever when it introduced the Sith known as Qimir. Qimir found himself alone against a group of Jedi and pulled out his lightsaber. While the hilt design was pretty unique — it’s one of the only all black lightsabers — it seemed like it was just going to be a regular lightsaber. And then Qimir pulled the hilt apart and ignited the smaller end, giving him a light dagger.

There have been a lot of interesting lightsaber designs in Legends and canon, but Qimir’s jumped to the top of the heap immediately. It was completely different from any other lightsaber anyone had seen before. It fit Qimir perfectly and told its own story about him. It’s hard to imagine that any lightsaber is ever going to top it and it’s a shame The Acolyte didn’t get a second season so we could see it in action more.