From: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi

Luke Skywalker was a young moisture farmer on the barren desert planet of Tatooine who dreamed of adventure and excitement, until fate intervened in the form of two droids, and thrust him in the middle of the adventure of a lifetime.

When Owen Lars, Luke's guardian, bought the droids C3PO and R2D2 from jawas, it set Luke on a path from which he could never turn back.

Threepio and Artoo were the custodians of stolen data tapes, which contained the hopes of the Rebel Alliance, whose crusade against the tyrannical Empire had reached a dangerous crossroad.

While cleaning the droids, Luke unwittingly came across a mysterious recording of a desperate plea for help from a beautiful princess. He soon learned that the message was meant for Obi-Wan Kenobi, an old Jedi Knight who lived as a hermit on Tatooine, who was now being called upon to help the Rebellion.

From Kenobi, Luke learned that his father had also been a Jedi Knight, and when the Empire brutally murdered his foster parents in an effort to recover the droids, Luke set out with Obi-Wan to the planet Alderaan to help the Rebellion, and to begin his training in the ways of the Force. Luke hoped to become a Jedi Knight, like his father once was.

They never made it to Alderaan, however. The Empire had used its terrifying new weapon, the Death Star, to destroy the planet. Luke and his friends were drawn into the Death Star, where they found and rescued the captured Princess Leia Organa.

Luke and his friends were able to escape from the Death Star, but his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, was killed in the escape.

Despite the loss of Obi-Wan, Luke went with Princess Leia and Han Solo to the secret Rebel Base on Yavin 4, and became a fighter pilot in the Alliance. His power in the Force helped him destroy the dreaded Death Star, thus allowing the Rebels to come away with a crucial victory.

His triumph exposed him to danger, however, as the evil dark lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, sensed Luke's strong presence in the Force and set out to pursue Luke to turn him to the dark side.

Luke later went to Dagobah to begin his training as a Jedi, under the tutelage of the great Jedi Master Yoda. While on Dagobah, Luke began having visions of his friends, Princess Leia and Han Solo, being tortured on the planet Bespin. Determined to help them, Luke rushed to Bespin, despite the protests of his Jedi Master, who warned him of great peril if he were to abandon his training and rescue his friends.

On Bespin, Luke discovered that his friends had been captured by Darth Vader for one reason only: to lure him. Luke and Vader faced each other in a dramatic lightsaber duel, during which Vader cut off Luke's hand, and stunned him with the revelation that he was Luke's father.

Facing defeat, Luke was given a choice by Vader: join him, or be destroyed. Rather than join the dark lord, Luke leapt to what seemed like his death. He was saved by Leia, who heard his desperate cry for help.

There was little time to digest Vader's revelation, as Luke and Leia had to rescue their friend Han Solo from the clutches of the evil gangster, Jabba the Hutt. Returning to his home planet of Tatooine, Luke and his friends freed Han from Jabba's palace, and raced to join the Rebellion in one last epic battle against the Empire.

Meanwhile, Luke returned to Dagobah to finish his training with Yoda. But Yoda was dying, and Luke was once again left alone on his journey. The ghost of Obi-Wan visited him, and revealed to him that he was destined to face his father once again. He also made the surprising revelation to Luke that he had a twin sister--Leia.

With this knowledge, Luke returned to the Rebels and joined his sister and Han on a dangerous mission on the moon of Endor, to sabotage the shield generator on the Empire's new and even more powerful Death Star. However, while on Endor, Luke sensed the presence of Vader, and rather than endager the mission, he surrendered himself to the Imperials.

Vader came to meet his son once more, and though Luke believed there was still good in him, Vader nonetheless brought him before the Emperor. Palpatine was determined to turn the young Jedi to the dark side, but Luke remained steadfast, refusing to fight until Vader taunted him by threatening to lure Leia to the dark side.

Father and son dueled once more, until Luke realized his momentary madness and threw away his lightsaber, telling the Emperor, "You've failed, your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me." He vowed that Palpatine would never turn him as he did with Luke's father.

Incensed by Luke's refusal, Palpatine tried to kill him with deadly laserbolts, until Vader, finally touched by his son's desperate pleading for his life, destroyed the Empreror once and for all.

Father and son said one last goodbye, as Luke unmasked Vader, seeing his father, Anakin, for the first and last time.

The boy who once thought he would never leave Tatooine, became a hero who saved the galaxy, and redeemed his father from darkness.