MovieChat Forums > Star Wars (1977) Discussion > Strike me down, and I will become more p...

Strike me down, and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.


As long as you can't imagine me slightly transparent with an echo-y voice because that's all that I seem to be able to do as a ghost. Pretty powerful, huh?

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Love Star Wars (at least, the original trilogy), but one of the things I don't care for is any hippy-dippy new age feelings-based stuff, "Stretch out with your feelings" Obi-Wan tells Luke. "How feel you?" Yoda asks young Skywalker in Phantom Menace.

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.

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Scared, sir. YIPPIE!

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Pretty powerful, yes, since Anakin chose to join him after he died. Or did you forget that, Moonglum9?

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Not sure how Anakin choosing to join him after death shows how powerful OBW became after death. What power was that? Super Persuasion?

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Was it ever established how Jedi become ghosts, or not? The PT had no established ghosts, until Yoda contacted Qui-Gon from the netherworld, and from then on, many Jedi became ghosts, including Obi-Wan, Yoda, Anakin and even Luke and Leia themselves! Blame the canon, not me, Moonglum9!

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They might not be ghosts , just the imagination of {whoever } on screen at the time . Mainly Luke.

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he does became inmortal, which is a very nice power

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I always figured that Obi-wan was talking about becoming a martyr. However, since George massively altered the original plans for Return of the Jedi it's possible that something else was originally planned for Obi-Wan after he was killed.

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The martyr idea would make some sense.

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Yeah some... but I never really got it either. So, your question is a good one.

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His transcendence allowed his voice to guide Luke. He could always be with Luke and speak to him at important moments. Therein lies the "power."

Telling Luke to run instead of staying put and having a shootout with Storm Troopers. Later telling Luke to "trust his feelings" when on the mission to blow up the Death Star. We can extrapolate from these moments to understand how the continued presence and mentorship would help Luke to become a Jedi.

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Not sure I would classify that as "more powerful than you can possibly imagine". But maybe, since Obi Wan knew Vader very well personally, he knew that Vader was the least imaginative person in the galaxy and so even those lame powers would be beyond his limited imagination.

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Vader hates sand. Force ghost Obi would sneak up behind him and pour sand into his life-support panel.

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Lol.

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Well, I'm certainly not arguing that the film fully explored the concept, only that that's the implication we are supposed to derive out of the line.

We get a tidbit more in Empire, where Obi Won appears and tells Luke to go to the Dagobah system to meet and train with Yoda. Then later of course when he appears to further instruct (or argue) with Luke.

So how well this idea is fleshed out in the films is in the eye of the beholder, but I think in the first film when the boast is made that was the intended idea.

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But for Vader that IS a power that he can't imagine because it involves letting go. Being selfless.

Obi-Wan's death has the power to inspire wonder and hope in the force. That death is not an end in some scenarios.

Vader's idea of power is to destroy everything around that is a possible threat to him or won't bend to his will. That might is right.

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Yes, more powerful than he could possibly imagine, from a certain point of view.

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Looking at the new Star Wars universe, there seems so many Jedis out there. By becoming a higher being, he could be basically contact all of them and unify, help them even when they were in disguise. Quite powerful.

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