In the galaxy far, far away, the stakes are always high. As the war between the Jedi and the Sith wages on, members of both parties make the ultimate sacrifice each day. Even those who don’t succumb to death are often permanently scarred — and that’s the best-case scenario. The Star Wars franchise has never shied away from giving audiences a look at the true cost of war, per Inverse, and one aspect of ceaseless power struggles stands out amongst some of the galaxy’s most influential characters: dismemberment.
Many a Force-user have lost limbs in the throes of lightsaber fights. Some gave a single body part in the heat of battle while others lost far more than that. Regardless, it’s a common theme we can detect amongst some of the most prominent Jedi and Sith in the universe, and we often get to see it happen on-screen. It’s shocking and a bit gruesome (though lacking in gore thanks to the cauterizing powers of a lightsaber), and some characters have more memorable scenes than others. Let’s take a collective look at those who have lost limbs in the Star Wars films!
8 C-3PO in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi
Via: Lucasfilm Ltd.
How could anyone do something as awful as dismember C-3PO? We don’t know, but it happened twice in the franchise. The first instance was in The Empire Strikes Back, where a distraught C-3PO temporarily lost an arm to a Tusken Raider; later, in Return of the Jedi, he was entirely disassembled by Darth Vader in an antagonizing act against his son and the Rebel Alliance. His experience was also a subtle parallel to the fate of his builder, Anakin — both lost an arm in one film and were torn apart in the sequel.
7 General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith
A highly memorable villain in Star Wars history, General Grievous stole every scene in Revenge of the Sith with his terrifying appearance and vicious, cocky personality. His final showdown with Obi-Wan was truly unforgettable, especially when Grievous wielded four stolen lightsabers at once. Fortunately, the Jedi Master was highly tactical and managed to sever two of his robotic arms before finally doing him in for good. Everything about this fight was stylistically gorgeous, and Obi-Wan definitely earned his victory.
6 Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace
To say that Darth Maul lost a limb is a bit of a stretch — his whole body was severed in two in The Phantom Menace, so both halves of him technically lost several limbs. Nevertheless, he saw his doom at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi in a fit of rage akin to what you would expect from someone tapping into the Dark Side. His death was equally depressing and satisfying; he was one of the coolest villains and killed off way too quickly, but it’s hard to pity him after what he did to Qui-Gon.
5 Count Dooku in Revenge of the Sith
Lucasfilm
Count Dooku was the source of a lot of grief throughout the prequels, and his fight against Obi-Wan and Anakin left the Jedi duo permanently scarred. The opening sequence of Revenge of the Sith gave them revenge in a rematch, wherein Anakin personally cut off both of Dooku’s hands before beheading him. Not only was this sweet, sweet justice (considering Dooku took Anakin’s arm in their previous encounter), it was a defining moment that caused Palpatine to let out just a little bit of his true nature.
4 Mace Windu in Revenge of the Sith
Revenge of the Sith gave us a surprising amount of mutilation, and even Mace Windu wasn’t exempt from those affected. After attacking Chancellor Palpatine, Mace Windu subdued the Sith Lord by deflecting his powerful lightning attack back at him. Seemingly having weakened his opponent, Mace readied his lightsaber for a fatal blow, only to have his hand sliced off by Anakin Skywalker. In a truly maddening display, Palpatine revealed himself to be more than capable and blasted his opponent out of the window and to his death. What makes this scene so grounding is that it marked Anakin’s change of allegiance from Jedi to Sith, and it gave way for Palpatine to finally reveal himself as Darth Sidious.
3 Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones
Bounty hunters are simultaneously revered and hated in the galaxy far, far away, and Jango Fett quickly became a target for the Jedi in Attack of the Clones. After being pursued by Obi-Wan for most of the film, he made his final appearance at the stadium during the Battle of Geonosis; there, he lost his life to Jedi Master Mace Windu, who beheaded him in front of his young son, Boba. Unbeknownst to anyone, this was a huge moment of development for Boba, and his father’s death marked the beginning of his journey to becoming the ultimate bounty hunter.
2 Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back
Luke Skywalker was destined to take a hero’s journey that would only get worse before it got better. In his case, he lost his right hand to none other than his own father in The Empire Strikes Back! The stories are so immersive that it’s often jarring when someone suddenly loses a limb to a lightsaber, and the fact that Darth Vader dismembered his own son is enough to leave anybody in temporary shock. Plus, his intensely painful reaction coupled with Vader’s intimidating approach made the whole sequence feel extra heavy.
1 Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Anakin’s story is rife with loss, grief and tragedy, and he’s one of the few characters in the Star Wars franchise to lose multiple body parts throughout several movies. We first see him lose part of his right arm to Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones, and this was devastating enough after the Battle of Geonosis.
Always one to outdo itself, the saga would go on to give Anakin the most brutal dismemberment of all: his battle with once-beloved mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi resulted in him losing his legs and remaining organic arm. After a breathtaking fight scene, the two shared a bitter moment of despair and finally severed their relationship as Obi-Wan left Anakin in a fiery lake of lava. Everything their battle stood for combined with his subsequent rise as Darth Vader makes his experience the most prominent in the series.
