Top 10 Unique Lightsabers

Mace Windu
Jedi Master Mace Windu’s aggressive Form VII fighting style makes him a fierce opponent in combat. His purple lightsaber also stands out! It operates like any other, as a result ranks lower on our list. Yet its debut in the prequel films should be recognized as one of the earlier instances of lightsaber deviation. The color was actually requested by actor Samuel L. Jackson, as he wanted to be able to spot himself during the Battle of Geonosis in “Attack of the Clones”. We’ve seen a lot of lightsaber variations over the years, but this purple blade was certainly unique for its time.

Gungi
It’s only fitting that this Wookiee Padawan has a distinct weapon - as droid professor Huyang points out. After obtaining his Kyber crystal on Ilum, Gungi eschewed the traditional metals that Jedi typically use in lightsaber construction. Instead, he selected wood from the Brylark Tree. The wood is incredibly durable, the only kind that’s as resilient as metal. And it seemed to serve Gungi well. In fact, the resourceful Padawan managed to survive Order 66, and continued fighting the good fight against the Empire.

Master Yoda
Judge a lightsaber by its size, do not! Lightsabers come in many different shapes and sizes - such as the Shoto lightsaber favored by Jedi on the shorter side. The compact hilt and blade made it perfect for Master Yoda. And he used it with formidable skill, against opponents such as Count Dooku and even Darth Sidious. It’s a versatile weapon, suitable for dextrous attack patterns as well as defense. It can also be used by dual-wielders as a second blade. Ahsoka Tano adopted a shoto lightsaber to great effect during the Clone Wars, continuing to use it in the aftermath of the Empire’s fall.

Ezra Bridger
A traditional lightsaber is not a projectile weapon. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be! Given that Ezra Bridger’s mentor, Kanan Jarrus, also had a unique, two-piece lightsaber, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Padawan came up with his own distinct design. Ezra employed a Lightsaber-Blaster-Hybrid built out of spare parts that featured an adjustable blade and blaster mode. As Ezra was an outlaw from the Empire, the design made his lightsaber a less recognizable weapon, and gave him an edge in combat, especially against multiple foes or more seasoned duellists. Such hybrid weapons weren’t completely unknown to the Jedi - Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu used a Lightsaber rifle against Darth Vader during the Great Jedi Purge.

Kylo Ren
The conflict and chaos that rages in the heart of Ben Solo, or ‘Kylo Ren’, is reflected in his Crossguard Lightsaber. For starters, some of the wiring is exposed, running along the outside of the hilt, symbolizing Ren’s internal turmoil. The vents are there to divert the dangerous extra heat, as the Kyber crystal inside cracked when Ren bled it. There’s a whole lot of emotional intensity and character depth captured by the design. It’s actually based on an ancient variant used by both Jedi and Sith, dating back thousands of years.

Asajj Ventress
A true survivor, Asajj Ventress has had to switch allegiances and livelihoods more than once, adapting to every new situation. She’s been a Nightsister, a Dark Jedi, and a bounty hunter. Her weapons are equally versatile. A master of Jar'Kai, she uses two sabers with curved hilts, which can also be attached into a double-bladed lightsaber. However, she generally prefers to enter the fray with sabers blazing in each hand. As a result, her fierce and unpredictable fighting style gains a whole other level of danger. Another split-saber user was Keeve Trennis, a Jedi during the High Republic Era.

Vernestra Rwoh
“The Acolyte” has divided fans, as has this unusual lightsaber. But it’s not actually the first time we’ve seen a Lightwhip in the “Star Wars” universe. The now Legends character Lumiya wielded one in the Marvel Comics series back in the 1980s. Jedi Vernestra Rwoh also debuted her lightwhip on the page rather than the screen, in the canon novel “The High Republic: A Test of Courage”. However, it’s a more versatile weapon than Lumiya’s that can also be used as a standard lightsaber. Like it or not, it’s most definitely distinct!

Ahsoka Tano
This onetime Jedi Padawan has always had a unique fighting style. Ahsoka favored a reverse grip, and became a skilled practitioner of Jar'Kai, wielding a second, shorter Shoto blade, often for deflection or disarmament. While her standard blade was originally green, and her Shoto blade yellowish-green, both became blue after Anakin’s tinkering. She reappeared after Order 66 with white blades, a fitting symbol of her status as neither Jedi nor Sith. The color comes from an Imperial Inquisitor’s Kyber crystals that she purified of the Dark Side. Her new blades are also curved, recalling Samurai swords. Bring all of these together, and you have a visually stunning lightsaber style for an equally captivating character.

Darth Maul
Nowadays, lightsaber variants are quite commonplace. However, that was not the case back when 1999’s “The Phantom Menace” came out. Mind you, Saberstaffs had appeared earlier in Legends material. But older Star Wars fans will remember how we all lost our minds when Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber was revealed! And you know what? It still looks dope today. It was the ingenuity of Maul’s saber that allowed him to defeat a Jedi Master as seasoned as Qui-Gon Jinn. We’ve since seen new spins on the design - such as the Jedi Temple Guard’s Lightsaber Pikes, and the Inquisitors’ Double-bladed spinning lightsaber.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Curved-Hilt Lightsaber, Count Dooku
An Elegant Weapon That Complements Dooku’s Dueling Style

Cane Saber, Tera Sinube
Useful as More Than Just a Weapon!

Hinged Double-Bladed Lightsaber, Rey
A Stealthy Switchblade Seen in a Vision

Tarre Vizsla
The history of this lightsaber harks back to 1050 BBY, or Before the Battle of Yavin. It was forged by the Mandalorian Tarre Vizsla, the first of his kind to join the Jedi Order. As a result, the Darksaber holds incredible significance for the Mandalorian people. Its Beskar construction makes the weapon resilient, while its shorter, edged blade brings it closer to a traditional sword. It also has a unique sound, higher-pitched than other lightsabers. Since it was forged, the black blade has had a number of fearsome wielders, including Pre Vizsla, Maul, Sabine Wren, Bo-Katan Kryze, Moff Gideon, and Din Djarin. It remains one of a kind!

What’s your all-time favorite lightsaber? Let us know in the comments!