If you've been watching the newest Star Wars TV series The Acolyte, the emergence of a lightwhip probably startled you last week. A lightsaber is a weapon that uses light in laser form, but the lightwhip actually bends that light like a whip. Disregard the fact that this doesn't follow the laws of physics, because lightsabers don't, either. The visuals are awesome, and that's what really matters. A lightwhip has a greater reach than a lightsaber, and is so rare it takes an opponent by surprise, but it also has drawbacks in that it can be dangerous to the user and is damaged more easily. But where did this idea come from?
Believe it or not, the lightwhip has been around for almost 40 years! It first appeared in Marvel's Star Wars comic book series in 1985. Those comics were later deemed part of the Expanded Universe and not quite canon for the Disney Star Wars stories. However, they still provide fodder for "new" ideas in a galaxy far, far away. Find out the history of the lightwhip and what happened when it first appeared back in 1985 at io9.
(Image credit: Lucasfilm)