Summary
Few weapons in fiction have reached the heights ofStar Wars’lightsaber. Marrying together everything we love about swords and lasers with amazing sound effects, any lightsaber is automatically cool. However, some of the designs over the years have risen above the rest in terms of creativity, visual appeal, and pure wow factor.
Since Star Wars spans so many years, and so many creators, we can say for sure that we’ve had the best of the best working on lightsaber design. It’s come a long way from the standard lightsaber. Looking back on all the lightsabers that we’ve gotten to see in action, we’ve come up with the coolest lightsabers in a galaxy far, far away.
9Darth Maul’s Dual-Blade Lightsaber
Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace
Let’s get this one out of the way before we get into any of the others. The moment that Darth Maul unleashed his dual-blade lightsaber was probably the moment that most of us realized lightsabers could get cooler than they already were.
It’s a truly iconic moment that madethis Sith stand out from those who’d come before himand paved the way for lightsabers to do all sorts of new and exciting things. Every single double-bladed lightsaber since feels like a callback to this one.
8Asajj Ventress' Interlocking Lightsabers
Star Wars The Clone Wars
Gifted these lightsabers after joining Count Dooku, this Sith Assassin uses two curved-handled sabers that can lock into one dual-bladed lightsaber. It’s a design that marries our favorite aspects of Dooku’s curved handle and Darth Maul’s double-blade.
Because she can switch between both using two lightsabers and one, this design makes her combat style fluid and adaptable. While she does end up losing these sabers and moving on to wield a yellow blade, these still represent a design that captures the best of both worlds.
7Ahsoka Tano’s White Lightsabers
Star Wars Rebels
There’s a lot to like about Ahsoka’s fighting style, like the fact that we get double the lightsabers; she dual-wields two blades, one a standard lightsaber and the other a shorter, lighter Shoto lightsaber. While she does use these throughout the entire Clone Wars, it isn’t until after she leaves the Jedi Order that she gets her iconic white blades.
The hilts are minimalistic and curved, a case of sleek silver. Not only is it cool to see the character’s fighting style reflected in her weapons, but we’re also reminded of her emotional journey via her unaffiliated white blades.
6Kylo Ren’s Crossguard Lightsaber
Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens
Since lightsabers are so closely based on real types of swords, it’s not a big step to imagine that one might have a crossguard. This crossguard is explained as the result of the Kyber Crystal powering it becoming damaged: it’s the venting of excess energy, which makes this lightsaber even cooler.
The hilt has a burned, partially exposed look to it, and it adds a number of sound effects like hissing and crackling. The blade itself is shaky and unstable, so Kylo Ren’s lightsaber absolutely looks like the lightsaber you’d wantif you joined the Dark Side.
5The Inquisitor’s Spinning Lightsaber
Making its first appearance in Rebels, wielded by The Grand Inquisitor, and has since appeared in follow-up live-action shows (Like Ahsoka and Obi-Wan Kenobi) wielded by other Inquisitors. This saber consists of a ringed emitter and a detachable hilt, which means that the blades can spin in a full circle.
It also means that this circle can be thrown as well as wielded; while there are some weaknesses to this design, as Darth Vader and Ahsoka are quick to exploit by cutting it in half, it was primarily meant to be intimidating, and it is. Oh, and it can be used briefly like a helicopter; don’t worry about the physics of that, it’s just cool.
4Dark Rey’s Switchblade Lightsaber
Star Wars Episode 8: The Rise Of Skywalker
Though we only got to see this lightsaber in live-action for a very brief scene, it represents one of the coolest lightsaber designs to come out of the sequel trilogy. The ability for the blade to function both as a staff and as a dual blade allows for long-range attacks bolstered by a much stronger, reinforced short-range defense.
Technically, this isn’t the first appearance of this lightsaber. It was used by the corrupt Jedi General Pong Krell in Star Wars the Clone Wars, but since he mainly used it in the staff version, and wasn’t working with a movie budget, it didn’t have the visual impact of Rey’s version.
3The Darksaber
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
A key weapon in understanding the many conflicts happening on Mandaolre, the Darksaber first appeared in Star Wars the Clone Wars, and has only become more iconic since. Especially since it’s prominently used in both Rebels and The Mandalorian.
Unlike other, well, lightsabers, the Darksaber truly is unique in its design; instead of emitting a beam of pure light, it is instead the negative of a blade rimmed in a slim margin of white light. The handle is sleek and black like the blade itself, resulting in a design that perfectly encompasses the ethos and armor of the Manalorians.
2Ezra Bridger’s Pistol Lightsaber
As a Jedi Padawan living after the fall of the Jedi Order, Ezra Bridger was tasked with making his own lightsaber. Since he was granted full creative freedom, and wasn’t held back by the Order’s dislike of blasters, he created a unique lightsaber that could function as both a saber and blaster.
The dual purpose was practical;his master was a survivor of Order 66who taught him that wielding a lightsaber was dangerous, and he was also able to create distance between himself and enemies with the blaster function until he got better at fighting with the saber mode. Sadly, the franchise knew that this lightsaber was too cool to continue, and it was destroyed by Darth Vader to give Ezra’s other enemies a fighting chance.
1Sith Bandit Kouro’s Parasol Lightsaber
Star Wars Visions: The Duel
The best short in the first set of shorts in Star Wars Visions not only gave us a hold-your-breath lightsaber duel and plenty of atmosphere, but it also gave us one of the most unique lightsaber designs in the entire franchise. Set in a Star Wars version of Japan, the parasol-based lightsaber fits right in with the Edo period-styled village.
A flamboyant, over-the-top expression of what a lightsaber can be, the parasol lightsaber features several lightsabers coming off of one central hilt like spokes in an umbrella. She can then use it to inflict massive, difficult-to-dodge, damage, or spin it to create a shield.
