10 Minor Character Deaths That Changed Star Wars FOREVER
2. Mithel Accidentally Saves Vader And Sets Luke On Path To Becoming A Jedi
In the wake of the Rebel Alliance successfully getting away with those Death Star plans and Princess Leia Organa eventually being rescued by Luke Skywalker and the gang, the Rebels mounted a successful attack on the Empire's secret weapon.
Just as Luke, flying an X-Wing, was getting close enough to blow that superweapon to smithereens, though, his secret father Darth Vader, following behind in a TIE Advanced, successfully locked onto his baby boy. But right before he can shoot down his offspring, Han Solo thankfully arrives to save the day.
However, he wasn't technically responsible for knocking Vader away from his son.
Instead, it was actually the pilot in the TIE Fighter next to the Sith Lord's who panicked and accidentally nudged his superior out of the way shortly after another TIE had been blasted by the Millennium Falcon. And that evasive manoeuvre would lead to his own demise, too.
In doing this, the pilot, actually known as Mithel "Mauler", did manage to save Vader from the incoming Falcon... but also unintentionally saved Luke from being murdered, which obviously meant that he could then go on to blow up the Death Star and eventually become a Jedi legend.
In other words, one moment of madness completely changed the galaxy.