Lit Zaarin's biggest mistake

He might've not trusted them, but I'm sure he knew he could rely on zealots to behave predictably (like Il-Raz's reaction to the "death" of the Emperor).

 

True.

 

When did GA Grant's after-the-Empire story get fleshed out? Essential Atlas? I'd really like to see his confrontation with the Vong in a story.

 

I think his biggest mistake was not listening to the tech trying to tell him something was wrong.

Or exploding, whatever.

Actually, from what I understand, lightsabers are very dangerous to the wielder without the guidance of the force...or some other method of enhancing your reflexes to super human levels. Considering that Ysalamari don't just bring jedi done to normal, but actively disorient them, I don't think they would be up for some swashbuckling. They certainly wouldn't be up for blocking blaster bolts.

Remember, it is the jedi that makes the lightsaber dangerous, not the other way around.

 

I think Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire was one of the first sources (though far from the last) to show a non-Force Sensitive engaging in an outright sword fight. Han uses a lightsaber to cut open a tauntaun in ESB, but we never see him actually fight with it.

Luke and Mara both make use of the lightsaber on Myrkr in Heir to the Empire- which has enough ysalamiri to guarantee no help from the Force. He kills a vornskr with it, she cuts tree branches with it- and later, he chops through an archway pillar with it- crushing stormtroopers.

EDIT: Marvel may have had them too- but I know much less about Marvel SW.

 

In Enemy of the Empire, Boba Fett specifically called out the lighstaber guy for thinking he was as tough as a jedi just for having a lightsaber, then set him on fire. Marvel did have someone who could use a lighstaber without the force, but he spent years, even decades, training with it, and was still no match for an untrained Luke in a straight fight.

As for the other examples - there is a bit of difference between using the lightsaber as a cutting tool and as a weapon - the danger from the lightsaber is that since it produces no heat and has next to no weight, so it is easy to lose track of it and harm yourself. It can be safely used with slower, more controlled movements sure - matter of fact, I wonder why rescue services don't have any, because that seems really useful.
Besides, without the precognitive ability to deflect blaster bolts, you are just begging to reenact the Indiana Jones swordsmen scene.

Also, Luke had his powers back when he was in the city.

 

Wasn't it Enemy of the Empire that had Boba, and Vader, duelling with lightsabers? Or am I thinking of some other comic?

No, he didn't. A point is specifically made about how "at that distance, and without the Force, Skywalker wasn't that good a shot"- Lando and Aves argue- with Aves claiming that because of the ysalamiri Luke's no Jedi at the moment- Lando responds that even without the Force, Luke's still a Jedi.

And he specifically feels the Force come back to him, on the trip up to space- a km or so up in fact.

 

Sorry, I was thinking of Agent of Doom. I keep thinking that is "Enemy of the Empire" since he goes after imperial targets. And thank you for the correction to my other comment as well.

 

Remember the fake Jedi that injured Nek in FotJ - he was also blocking Blaster bolts with a Lightsaber!

 

Callista, without access to the Force, is still able to duel Luke without any obvious problems.

 

that's because Luke does not want to hurt his sexpartner! unlike Jacen

 

And there's always Baron Tagge. He simply had the benefit of extreme training, shonen manga style.

 

Without her hurting herself, is the point. And going by the narration, she's actually a significant challenge for him- since he can't "read" her, the way he can normal Jedi.

It could be compared to fighting a Yuuzhan Vong with all the lightsaber skills of a Jedi.

So- there's reason to believe that ability to use the Force is not that essential to "not injuring yourself with the lightsaber".

 

Corran (although, I grant you, a Jedi-in-waiting) also used his grandfather's Lightsaber in Krytos Trap, Bacta War and Isard's Revenge - with a mixed bag of results!

 

Leia also used one in Splinter of the Minds Eye in a duel with Vader. And a point is made in later books that, even after Luke told her she had the Force, it took a long time after that before she was actually using Force powers.

 

And which has a "gyroscopic effect".

Still not as hard as its sometimes made out to be though.

 

Especially given that they started out as being pretty commonly used, per the ANH novel.

 

The text from the ANH novel, iirc, is this:

"At one time they were very commonly used. Still are, in certain galactic quarters." -Ben Kenobi.

Come on now, if we're down to not even trying with the major novels, surely we can get a full planetfuls of people wandering around with lightsabres.

 

Only if Stormtroopers get to wear McQuarrie shields and lightsabers too on this planet!

 

That or ride giant bats.

 

Why is this not an action figure already? Putting my stormtrooper on my Pteranodon from The Lost World just isn't quite the same.

 

I liked the Harkov campaigns better than Zaarin. I never could get the asteroid base secret mission to work. But one Tie interceptor, a couple tie bombers and the Osprey against a minefield and an entire VSD starfighter complement? Awesome.