George Lucas' Star Wars prequel trilogy made Luke Skywalker's Jedi powers look ridiculously weak. The son of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker inherited all his father's powers. In The Empire Strikes Back, Vader revealed he was the one person Palpatine was afraid of, because Luke had the power to destroy him. While it is true this was accomplished in a way the Emperor had not foreseen, the comment indicates just how powerful Luke really is.
In theory, the prequel trilogy set up Luke to be even more impressive. The prequels revealed Anakin Skywalker was the Chosen One, a being born of the Force, whose power outstripped that of Master Yoda himself – and Lucas indicated Luke had the same kind of potential. Luke Skywalker is arguably more powerful than Darth Vader himself, given the Dark Lord of the Sith was badly wounded after his fateful battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi. But on closer examination, the Star Wars prequels made Luke look rather weak.
The Star Wars Prequels Made Luke Skywalker Feel Less Impressive 
In theory, Luke Skywalker is Star Wars' strongest Jedi. Luke was meant to be Star Wars’ greatest hero, the one responsible for the fall of the Empire and Anakin Skywalker’s redemption. Luke was the first character to defeat Darth Vader in combat on-screen, after all. However, when Luke Skywalker’s action scenes from the original trilogy are compared to the prequel trilogy’s Jedi scenes, they do not feel that impressive. Obviously, it all comes down to the moviemaking techniques available at the time. Lucas got to portray the Jedi as superhero-like warriors in the prequels, thus breaking Star Wars’ power levels.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace wastes no time showing how much impressive the prequel Jedi are than Luke Skywalker or even Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original trilogy. With a bigger budget and more advanced moviemaking techniques, Lucas got to show the Jedi at their prime, at least compared to the age of the Empire. However, in-universe, prime Luke Skywalker should be stronger than the average background Jedi character from the prequels. Star Wars’ non-linear release strategy led to a few retcons and canon inconsistencies. This includes how powerful Luke really was compared to the prequel-era Jedi.
Star Wars’ Power Levels Keep Getting Confusing 
The Star Wars prequels went for a more fantastical approach to the Star Wars galaxy compared to the original trilogy’s relatively grounded space-opera approach. As a result, the Star Wars prequels’ lightsaber fights and action scenes in general were much more inventive and visually interesting than anything in the original Star Wars movies. The prequels’ aesthetics were brought into the Star Wars animated series, especially Star Wars: The Clone Wars. This animated medium allowed Star Wars to get even more fantastical, resulting in instant-classic scenes such as Darth Maul vs. Palpatine or Ahsoka’s arrival in Mandalore in season 7. Once again, those moments felt more impressive than anything Luke ever did.
