Leia’s Red Lightsaber

That is not a euphemism for anything.

I am obsessed with all things Princess Leia. I am. She’s my hero. Really. I grew up watching her adventures on the silver screen and believing she could do anything. Hey, come on, she got that scoundrel Han Solo to fall for her, didn’t she?

Anyway, as I stated in a previous blog, I have a love/hate relationship with some of the EU fiction released. But one thing I do love is the fact that, after the twenty or thirty years through which ll these expanded universe novels take place, Leia is finally a Jedi Knight. She may become a Jedi Master, soon. And it’s about freaking time.

One thing that I’ve always found intriguing is that someone, some author in the large pantheon of  Star Wars EU authors, just decided that Leia’s lightsaber blade was red. Ruby red, to honor her father, Anakin Skywalker. (Though, he only carried a red lightsaber blade as her nemesis, Darth Vader)

(The artwork above, commissioned by trading card maker Topps, shows Leia and her youngest boy, Anakin Solo. Leia holds her ruby-red bladed lightsaber.)

Now, according to George Lucas who created this character and the universe in which this character lives, there are three standard lightsaber colors. They are blue, green, and red. The good guys use mostly blue and green. The bad guys use red. (Yes, Mace Windu carried a purple-bladed lightsaber; interestingly enough, Jaina Solo’ and Anakin Solo both used purple-bladed lightsabers. But these are the only three.)

I don’t know when Uncle George established this color scheme. I am fairly certain it was after Leia had been using her red-bladed lightsaber for a few years. According to the EU timeline, Leia constructed a lightsaber in the months before she gave birth to her twins. During the “Dark Empire” storyline, a wizened old Jedi named Vima da Boda bestowed her own lightsaber to the young princess. Then, at the beginning of the Centerpoint story, Luke presented Leia with a lightsaber he had constructed for her. However, she seemed to favor her ruby-red blade.

I think the ruby-red blade is cool. The action figure made for the Dark Empire series came with a red lightsaber. And, having read several of the New Jedi Order series, it is clear that Leia’s lightsaber has a red blade. It is only after she completes her training with Master Saba Sebatyne that Leia constructs a new lightsaber. I am not sure what the color of this one is.

I just really like the idea of Leia using that ruby-red blade. I do. I know it goes against Lucas code but it sets Leia a part from the others. Leia’s Jedi training has been unorthodox and I think her lightsaber should reflect that. And it sort of tempers Leia's darker side. It's there, especially if anyone threatens her children. And I really like that.