The lightsaber has a long and fascinating history that spans thousands of years before the age of the Galactic Republic. Like any technology, lightsabers evolved significantly over time into the elegant plasma blades we know today. First, we will explore the history and evolution of the lightsaber within the Star Wars universe. Then, we will delve into the history of toy lightsabers in the real world.
The History and Evolution of the Lightsaber in Star Wars
The history and progression of lightsaber development spans several stages:
- Force-Imbued Blades.
- Forcesabers.
- Protosabers.
- Modern Lightsabers.
Before Lightsabers: Force-Imbued Blades
Around 36,000 years before the events of “A New Hope “, the ancient Jedi known as the Je’daii wielded metal swords called Force-imbued blades, first conceived on the planet Typhon.
These blades became the main weapon of the ancient Jedi for approximately 10,000 years.
Each Force-imbued blade was crafted by a Jedi past the rank of Padawan, the Jedi would pick a high carbon metal bar, often Durasteel and use the Force to form it into a sharp and strong blade.
The Jedi put a crystal in the hilt, they used deep Force focus to link the blade and crystal, the Jedi then sent Force might through the crystal to the blade, this made the blade glow and one with the Force.
The First Energy Blades: Forcesabers
The Rotta created the first energy based blades, known as Forcesabers, around 24,000 BBY, distinct from those made by the Jedi. The cruel Rotta Infinite Empire used the dark side of the Force, they made weapons that sent dark energy through grown Ebon crystals.
Forcesabers came in purple, red, blue, orange and yellow, some looked like normal lightsabers and were used by Force strong Rotta helpers called Force hounds, other Forcesabers had long grips like pikes and were used by the main Rotta race.
Forcesabers had links to the dark side, using them put Jedi at risk of falling to the dark side’s corrupt ways.
The Forcesaber was a catalyst for the Great Divide between the light and dark sides of the Force within the Jedi Order during the Ratta invasion of the Tython system.
The First Portable High Energy Blades: Protosabers
By 16,000 BBY, Jedi research into blaster technology led to the first portable high energy blades called protosabers. However, these early lightsabers were not stable, not efficient and could only be used briefly before overheating due to a belt mounted power source.
Protosabers were not stable, they used too much power. they were mostly for rituals, not real fights. Even as tweaks smoothed out first bursts and melt downs, the protosaber models stayed bulky siege weapons slowing the wielder’s movement with weighty outside power wires and battery packs fixed to their belts.
Modern Lightsabers
It seems the early Sith Lords were ultimately responsible for the advancements that led to modern lightsabers, driven by an endless pursuit of more powerful dark side weaponry and domination over their Jedi rivals.
The Sith innovated core lightsaber technology, they replaced the belt mounted power pack with an internal power cell and superconductor, solving the power supply problem by only expending energy when the blade was cutting something.
The first wielders of these original modern lightsabers included the Dark Jedi Karness Muur, who established the Sith tradition of using synthetic red lightsaber crystals (unlike the natural kyber crystals used by Jedi).
Widespread Adoption and Advancements
By the time of the Great Hyperspace War between the Republic and Sith Empire around 5,000 BBY, the Jedi had widely used modern lightsaber designs made first by the Sith. A thousand years later, during the Great Sith War against Exar Kun, the double bladed lightsaber was redesigned based on a Sith holocron and began seeing more use, along with the dual phase lightsaber with an adjustable blade length.
In combat, the double bladed form allowed for surprise shifts between single and dual blade modes and better defense.
In 1050 BBY, the unique dark saber with a crackling black blade was forged by the first Mandalorian Jedi Tarre Vizsla, becoming an important lead symbol for Mandalorians. Made through unknown means, the dark saber sent out an intense angular plasma blade with distinct electrical bands around its harsh black energy core.
By the Clone Wars era, most Jedi used naturally formed kyber crystals from the sacred caves of Ilum to power their lightsabers, this revered source crystals aligned with the light side of the Force made the classic blue and green blade colors that became iconic for the Jedi Order’s weapon of choice.
Kit Fisto made a clever split cyclical ignition pulse tweak that solved a key limit allowing lightsaber use underwater without short circuiting, this novel fix enabled reliable function even in fully submerged fights like the aquatic battles of Kamino and Mon Cala during the Clone Wars.
With the Jedi Purge, lightsabers became contraband except for those wielded by Darth Vader and the Inquisitors, forcing surviving Jedi to hide them creatively in innocuous canes, survival packs and even cybernetic limbs to escape detection by Imperial forces.
From ancient Force-imbued metal blades to the modern energy swords we know today, the lightsaber changing over thousands of years shows how technology got better and how different beliefs influenced its design and importance in Star Wars.
The History of Toy Lightsabers
Since Star Wars became super popular in 1977, both kids and adults have enjoyed pretending to fight the Empire with toy lightsabers, these toys combine science-fiction and medieval themes and have changed a lot over the past decades.
The Force Beam (1977)
There was a time when there were no Star Wars toys, but in the summer after the movie came out in 1977, bootleg makers saw an opportunity and created fake lightsabers to fill the gap, this led to “The Force Beam”, one of the most famous bootleg toys that copied the Star Wars idea but didn’t make it accurate.
The Force Beam was basically a red flashlight with a clear plastic tube attached, it worked for kids who were eager for toys and had to wait a whole year for the official lightsabers to arrive. The best part might have been its mail-in ad which featured “Luke and Leia Starwalker”.
Kenner Inflatable Lightsaber (1978)
A year after the Force Beam, Kenner finally took advantage of the Star Wars craze by releasing the first official toy lightsaber, it had an inflatable yellow blade that didn’t look like the ones in the movie but it did match the Luke Skywalker action figure, this toy lightsaber could also light up.
Kenner’s “Light Saber” is a charming reminder of a different era, it didn’t look much like the real lightsaber, but that wasn’t the point.
Takara Lightsaber (1979)
Across the Pacific Ocean, Japanese toy maker Takara created a stronger and fancier lightsaber with a cool feature, it could change colors using round discs that fit into the handle. Instead of an inflatable blade, it had a hard plastic one making it a highly desired toy, although it was difficult to find even back then.
Kenner’s The Force Lightsabers (1981, 1983)
“Star Wars” was already big, but the movie “The Empire Strikes Back” released in 1981 made it even bigger, so the toys also got an upgrade. In 1981, Kenner introduced “The Force Lightsaber” a new toy that came in yellow and red, it made a whirring sound when swung even though it didn’t sound like the real lightsabers in the movies, this showed that big changes were coming.
In 1983, Kenner released the Force Lightsaber again, this time with a green blade to match Luke’s lightsaber in “The Return of the Jedi”.
The Kenner Droids Lightsaber (1985)
By the mid-1980s, “Star Wars” was hugely popular, in 1985, George Lucas made an animated prequel to “A New Hope” called “Star Wars: Droids” which followed C-3PO and R2-D2 on their adventures.
To go along with the show, Kenner released their last lightsaber toy “A Droids Lightsaber”, it came in red and green and had a hilt that looked a bit like Obi-Wan’s lightsaber from “A New Hope”.
The Droids lightsaber had some good and bad points, on the plus side, it could pop out of the hilt and light up with AA batteries making it feel more like a real lightsaber, on the minus side, it was very short, about the length of a popsicle, which limited the fun.
Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker Electronic Lightsabers (1996)
The early ’90s were a tough time for “Star Wars”, but in 1996, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox re-released the original trilogy on VHS, cleaned up by George Lucas’s THX.
With “Star Wars” popular again, toy maker Hasbro started making new lightsaber toys, these lightsabers lit up, had retractable blades and had hilts modeled after Darth Vader’s and Luke Skywalker’s lightsabers from “Return of the Jedi”.
While the blades didn’t retract all the way, kids’ Luke and Vader Halloween costumes looked much better, these two lightsabers set the standard for toy lightsabers for years to come.
Fully Retractable Lightsabers by Rubie’s (1999)
As excitement for The Phantom Menace hit new heights, toy lightsabers became more realistic than ever, they were fully electronic with real sound effects and a big glow when two blades clashed.
The Phantom Menace set a new standard and spoiled a new generation of kids who didn’t have to blow up their lightsabers. In 1999, there was even a toy version of Darth Maul’s double bladed lightsaber which was the coolest toy of the year.
Hasbro wasn’t the only company involved, Rubie’s, a big name in Halloween costumes, released slimmer lightsabers to go with their Star Wars costumes including Darth Maul, these lightsabers had a new feature “fully retractable blades” which is now a must-have for all lightsaber toys.
Build Your Own Lightsaber (2005)
The prequel era of Star Wars brought many different lightsaber toys. There were basic, non-electronic lightsabers with retractable blades and belt clips that you could find in almost any toy store.
The more advanced toys like those based on Count Dooku and Mace Windu, had extra features that made adults who grew up in the ’80s jealous.
with the release of “Revenge of the Sith” in 2005, Hasbro introduced the “Build Your Own Lightsaber” kit. This toy let kids feel like real Jedi by creating their own lightsaber, the kit included parts from different characters’ lightsabers that could be combined and matched, along with red, green and blue blades.
Even though it reused old parts, it was still a unique and popular toy. Today, you can build a similar lightsaber at Disney’s theme parks following the same design and concept as this kit.
Force FX Lightsaber Replicas (2007)
In 2007, Hasbro made something that adult Star Wars fans had wanted for a long time “very accurate lightsaber replicas”.
This coincided during the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, first released under the “Master Replica” label, “The Force FX Lightsabers” were made of lightweight aluminum and had all the lights and sounds of a real lightsaber, while custom replica lightsabers had been popular among collectors, those wanting to perfect their cosplay could now do so easily.
Ultimate FX Lightsabers (2011)
When “The Phantom Menace” came back to theaters in a cool new remastered 3D format, Hasbro made a more affordable and kid-friendly version of the Force FX lightsabers called “Ultimate FX”, these lightsabers are made of plastic and have shorter blades making them the perfect mix between a toy and a replica.
Kids can feel like a Jedi or Sith Lord without worrying about breaking a $200 item, they first came out in Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader versions, and later included Rey/Luke and Kylo Ren designs.
Bladebuilders (2015)
In the fall of 2015, Hasbro introduced Bladebuilders, a customizable lightsaber set. Kids can combine and match different parts to create unique lightsabers like double sided or three pronged lightsabers.
The “Bladebuilders Jedi Master Lightsaber” set includes a lightsaber with lights and sounds, an expansion hilt and other accessories.
Additional Bladebuilders lightsabers, such as those modeled after Obi-Wan, Vader and Kylo Ren can be combined with other Bladebuilders pieces, there are also cheaper and extendable versions that are interchangeable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rajivari and his followers captured the Temple of Kaleth in an attempt to overthrow the Jedi Order, after Rajivari’s defeat and the suppression of other dissidents, the Je’daii Order was finished paving the way for the rise of the Jedi Order.
The Prime Jedi was the first user of the Force and founder of the Jedi Order establishing it on Ahch-To around 25,025 BBY.
Ajunta Pall was the oldest Dark Lord of the Sith, he established the first Sith Empire and expanded it into other worlds.
Around 4000 BBY, Jedi used different lightsaber crystals to indicate their roles, blue crystals were for Guardians and skilled fighters, Green crystals were for Consulars and those who studied the Force to battle the dark side.
“Shii-Cho” is the oldest and most basic of the seven lightsaber forms.
