Star Wars: 10 Times Obi-Wan Kenobi Broke His Own Rules
9. Cutting Off Ponda Baba's Arm
The first Star Wars film, A New Hope, introduced many cinemagoers in 1977 to a story from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Among the large roster of heroes and villains who would become iconic, Alec Guinness' elderly and wise Obi-Wan Kenobi would be one of them and had many highlights throughout the film that demonstrated his hidden powers that some may not have initially expected.
Looking for a pilot in The Los Eisley cantina, two criminal aliens named Cornelius Evasan and Ponda Baba target the young Luke Skywalker and threaten him before Kenobi uses his lightsaber to cut one of Ponda's arms clean off, forcing them to retreat from the old man's glowing sword and intimidating glare. It may set the old former Jedi up as a ruthless warrior under his gentle demeanour, but as the franchise expanded on its lore, it also changed the perspective on this scene too.
As the prequels and television shows that revolved around Star Wars explored the ancient Jedi's code, it is revealed that they are not allowed to torture or use their abilities against the defenceless. These two aliens who harassed Luke may have been thugs and a guilty party, however, they had no weapons or any use of Force and questionably, saw Kenobi break one of the Jedi's rules just to teach them a lesson they won't forget anytime soon.