Skywalker family

"The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it."

- Luke Skywalker

The Skywalkers were a family of people strong in the ways of the Force. The family first rose to prominence upon the discovery of Anakin Skywalker, who the Jedi Order believed was the Chosen One foretold to bring balance to the Force. Skywalker fought throughout the Clone Wars before falling to the dark side of the Force and becoming the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Years later, his children, born to the late Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, rose to prominence as members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. Luke Skywalker redeemed his father, who sacrificed himself to kill Darth Sidious and, in doing so, bring balance to the Force. Luke's twin, Organa, continued with military affairs in the New Republic and, eventually, the Resistance against the First Order. Serving the First Order was Organa's son with the smuggler Han Solo. The young man, whom they named Ben, became Kylo Ren, a dark Force user and master of the Knights of Ren.

History
Nearly two decades before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Shmi Skywalker gave birth to a son, Anakin Skywalker. As a boy, Anakin was discovered by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who theorized that Anakin, who did not have a father, was conceived by the will of the Force itself and was the Chosen One prophesied to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force. After Jinn's death, Anakin was trained as a Jedi by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. Anakin's power grew stronger, but he also had difficulty with his darker emotions, particularly after the death of Shmi at the hands of Tusken Raiders&mdash;who Anakin slaughtered out of revenge for his mother’s death. Before her death, Shmi had married a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars, who had a son named Owen.

The outbreak of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems saw Anakin come to prominence within the Republic, serving as one of the Jedi Generals of the Grand Army of the Republic. He married Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, a union kept secret because the Jedi Code forbid emotional attachments like marriage. At the end of the war, Amidala became pregnant and Anakin saw visions of his wife dying in childbirth. Hoping to save her life, Anakin turned to the dark side of the Force and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader, apprenticing himself to the Dark Lord Darth Sidious&mdash;who, in actuality, was the Republic's Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Having witnessed a lightsaber duel between the chancellor and Jedi Master Mace Windu, Vader believed that the Jedi Order betrayed the Republic. On Sidious' order, Vader attacked the Jedi Temple and began the extermination of the Jedi. Sidious declared himself ruler of the galaxy and transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Shortly thereafter, Anakin's visions came true when Amidala died after giving birth to twins, Luke and Leia. Luke was taken to Tatooine to live with Owen Lars and his wife, Beru, while Leia was adopted by Senator Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa of Alderaan.

In the two decades that followed, Leia became a member of the Imperial Senate and a prominent member of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Luke also joined up with the Rebel Alliance after his family was killed and he became caught up in Leia's mission to deliver the plans to the Imperial superweapon known as the Death Star to the Rebellion. Luke also began training as a Jedi with Kenobi, who was killed in a duel with Darth Vader aboard the Death Star. Luke became a hero of the Rebel Alliance after destroying the Death Star in the Battle of Yavin, and he and Leia fought in numerous battles throughout the Galactic Civil War. After cutting short his training with Jedi Master Yoda on Dagobah, Luke confronted Darth Vader and learned that the Dark Lord was his father. Believing that there was still light inside of his father, Luke confronted Vader yet again during the Battle of Endor. The Emperor attempted to kill Luke after the boy proclaimed himself a Jedi Knight and refused to turn to the dark side, but Vader killed his master, an act that sacrificed his own life.

After the war, Leia married the smuggler and Rebel General Han Solo and the two had a son, Ben. Like his grandfather before him, Ben struggled with the dark side of the Force, so Leia sent Ben to be trained by Luke as part of Luke's new generation of Jedi. It was too late for Ben, however, as he was seduced to the dark side by Snoke, the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Ben turned against his uncle, joined the Knights of Ren, slaughtered the new generation of Jedi, and declared himself Kylo Ren. Luke blamed himself for what happened and went into exile, until he was discovered by a young Force-sensitive named Rey, who found him using a star map pieced together by Leia and the Resistance she led against the First Order.