Ah, "Star Wars." George Lucas' fantastical sci-fi adventure saga set long ago in a galaxy far, far away has entertained audiences and inspired a generation of nerds (myself included) since 1977. What started as a thrilling tale of good versus evil somehow morphed into a sprawling epic about a powerful family, the Skywalkers, and their dealings with the Force. When Darth Vader uttered the immortal line, "I am your father," to his son, Luke Skywalker, Lucas effectively reconfigured his space epic into an intimate tale about fathers and sons, an idea that expanded to include a whole heap of Skywalkers -- even though Lucas didn't consider Luke the main character of the saga.

To that end, we're taking a look at the entire Skywalker family tree to explain how certain characters paved the way for more notable descendants down the line. Considering the confusing nature of the "Star Wars" series that...