10 Movie Battles The Heroes Only Won By Fluke

5. Star Wars Episode VI: The Return Of The Jedi - Luke vs. Darth Vader And The Emperor

To some this may seem like an erroneous entry. In The Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker - after finally giving into his anger - does manage to overpower his father Darth Vader without the assistance of a "fluke." However, Vader is only part of the equation in this battle, and while Luke does manage to defeat him, this still leaves Emperor Palpatine to contend with. As established in the prequel series, The Emperor (also known as Darth Sidious) is a enormously powerful Sith lord, something that Skywalker learns after defiantly refusing to join him. Palpatine unleashes the full power of his Force lightning at the Jedi after being rebuffed, which drives him to the floor and leaves him withering in agony. It is only by begging his father for help that Luke is spared. The fluke in this situation is of course Vader choosing to redeem himself and come to his son's aid. It's an unexpected, elementally moving scene because while Vader had previously vacillated to a small degree between the light and the dark side of The Force, for a majority of the series he had been an ice cold enforcer of The Emperor's will. This touching moment is an enormous victory for the Skywalker legacy, which, as established in the prequels, was prophesied to destroy the Sith once and for all. By deciding to redeem at the last moment, Vader gave his son a victory that couldn't have been achieved any other way, and achieved one for himself.