Even the strongest of Jedis aren’t exempt from the tragedy of daddy issues. Just look at Luke Skywalker. Can you imagine having Darth Vader as a father? Yikes. Fortuitously enough for the farmer-turned-legendary-Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi turned out to be the knight in shining armor he didn’t know he needed.
But – as all things Star Wars often do – this take has created a fissure among fans because not everyone sees Obi-Wan as a father figure for Luke and Leia, at least not a worthy one.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Deserves Recognition For His Fatherhood
Obi-Wan may not be the greatest and most formidable Jedi in the galactic saga, but he’s certainly done enough for Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa to be acknowledged as a father figure, despite the two not being his biological children.
Sure, the noble Jedi Master wasn’t flawless (who is?) and wasn’t an active parental force in Luke’s childhood, but the latter may not have made it through had it not been for Obi-Wan. And Luke certainly wouldn’t have been able to earn the Jedi moniker without his mentor.
Even in Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series, the titular character – portrayed by Ewan McGregor – consoles a distraught Leia (Vivien Lyra Blair) as a father would. “I wish I could say I was,” Obi-Wan said when the poor child asked him if he was her father.
And let’s not forget how an adult Leia literally named her son Ben Solo – after Obi-Wan Kenobi, who is also popularly known as Ben Kenobi.
Obi-Wan was literally the best uncle ever ✨ pic.twitter.com/YgIzNjgYox
— Darth Thunder ⚡ (@XDarthThunderX) June 20, 2024
He is the father that stepped up. He’s the only father figure Leia and Luke ever knew. They both based their sabers off of his and Leia literally named her son after him. Obi-Wan was the father they deserved. https://t.co/DMlviKPCnB
— 𝓔𝓶 💫 (@emkenobi) June 21, 2024
Owen Lars & Bail Organa Are on The Other Side of the Coin
In the same post on X which hailed Ben Kenobi for his dutiful and wholesome role in Luke and Leia’s lives as “the father they deserved,” many loyal Star Wars fans expressed their disdain towards the character. They instead argued how Uncle Owen and Senator Bail Organa have been much better surrogate parents than Ben Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker combined.
Luke is Owen Lars’ nephew (Owen becomes Anakin’s stepbrother in the prequel films), and yet, he and his wife, Beru, raise and treat him as their own child. Then there’s Leia, who ends up being adopted into the Royal Family of Alderaan and grows up to be an Alderaanian princess under the wing of Bail and Breha Organa.
Leia literally had Bail Organa what are you even saying. Luke had uncle Owen. They both had father figures their entire lives.
— PaulieGfromNYC (@nyc_paulie) June 21, 2024
These guys did not do 19 years of the work to be forgotten for Obi-Wan’s weekend with the two… pic.twitter.com/JSIhtEVKPv
— Aimless (@aimless_words) June 21, 2024
Obi wan a father figure? He barely saw them their entire lives lol
— Stephen 🎮 (@Sonnie_Slim) June 22, 2024
does bail organa mean nothing to you?? does owen lars mean nothing to you?? if a week of actual interaction counts as being a father in your eyes then i feel bad for you.
— ⭕ GENERAL ERROR @ maul sympathiser (@onelastsmooch) June 21, 2024
Perhaps it is unfair then, for Obi-Wan to don the ‘Best Dad’ crown when Uncle Owen and the Father of the Rebellion exist in the same universe. Even so, Ben Kenobi did protect Luke and Leia as and when he could and that does amount to something. But it looks like fans will have to agree to disagree on this one.
