1) Yoda: No shock here. The little green guy may look frail and innocent but he can pounce with tenacious speed at any sign of a threat. His cunning intellect is second to none. Not even the conniving Lord Palpatine could outsmart the unknown creature (possibly Whills) from an unknown world. His stalemate duel with Emperor Palpatine in Revenge of Sith is something I feel personally was controlled by Yoda. Nothing the Emperor threw at Yoda seemed daunting and the fact that Yoda took the offensive in challenging Palpatine will always sway me towards the little green guy in who is the more powerful being. To gauge Yoda’s wealth of knowledge, one only has to look at his pupils that include Obi-Wan Kenobi, Count Dooku, Luke Skywalker, and Jedi Council member Mace Windu. Yoda is also involved with Qui-Gon Jinn in developing ‘Force Ghost,’ the ability of immortality. Props for his outstanding acrobatic display in chasing Count Dooku into retreat in Attack of the Clones.
2) Obi-Wan Kenobi: Hear me out before you disregard my credibility in forming this poll. The reason I place Obi-Wan at such a high ranking and ahead of the mighty Emperor is Kenobi’s impressive resume. Not only did he slice the duel lightsabre owning Darth Maul in half, he also defeated General Grievous (could wield up to 4 Lightsabers), and turned Anakin Skywalker into a gimp. Obi-Wan never was outright defeated (he willingly allowed Darth Vader to strike him down in A New Hope) by a Sith. Sure, Yoda stated he was incapable of challenging Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith but Kenobi became even stronger as the Star Wars series continued. Personally, I feel he was capable of standing toe to toe with Palpatine. Again, his suicide was intended to aid Luke in his Jedi development and not a defeat at the hands of Vader. I find the struggle with Count Dooku along with Anakin in Attack of the Clones to be more due to youth than lack of capability.
3) Emperor Palpatine: this master of psychology has taken advantage of many a mind to gain his seat within the galaxy. Darth Sidious has mastered the use of ‘Force Lightning’ to go along with his awesome lightsaber and force capabilities. Still, the guy is old and nowhere near as athletic as many of the other Jedis/Siths on this list. He’s an Anakin Skywalker whiney plea for a trial from Mace Windu making him oblivious to the Sith cause. I feel the Emperor’s ability to seduce fellow Siths like Count Dooku and Anakin/Vader to do his dirty work is the main reason for a lot of his Galactic success, not his brute strength.
4) Mace Windu: this member of the Jedi Council was tutored by the great Yoda and had was one of the few council members to have reservations about teaching a young Anakin Skywalker the ways of the Force. The purple lightsaber wielding Jedi was an Anakin distraction away from defeating the great Palpatine. Also took out some praying mantis looking creatures in Attack of the Clones and that always counts for something.
5) General Grievous: if somebody has over 10 Jedi kills (according to the animated Clone Wars episodes), he deserves to be highly ranked in the power poll. Grievous’ breathing problem was caused by Windu crushing his body armor over his lungs during the successful kidnapping of Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith. Therefore, I had to place Windu in front of this towering cyborg. Grievous’ ability to use four lightsabers in combat places him at a stronger position than Darth Maul and the resumes of the remaining poll members.
6) Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker: Defeats of Count Dooku and the murder of Emperor Palpatine warrant mentioning for this legend of the Star Wars Universe. His confusing second battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi will always be a stalemate in my opinion. Also took a brutal maiming from Kenobi in the end of Episode III. Vader would also end up being defeated by Luke Skywalker in Jedi but not entirely defeated for he maintained enough energy to dispatch the Emperor. It should be stated that Skywalker did lose his arm in combat with Dooku but eventually defeated the Count in Episode III.
7) Luke Skywalker: My boyhood idol will not be going any lower on this poll. This legend restored order to the galaxy and deserves credit for not making the same mistakes as his father. Showed some exceptional piloting skills in destroying the first Death Star. Took out his main nemesis (Vader) in Jedi but couldn’t challenge the Emperor’s Force Lightning.
8) Count Dooku: The wealthiest man in the Galaxy was also quite a Jedi with the ability to use Force Lightning. Initially subdued Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker during Attack of the Clones. Fleeing the mighty Yoda doesn’t help one’s style points though. Eventually death at the hands of the #6 ranked Jedi/Sith doesn’t help his status either.
9) Darth Maul: His lack of ability to use Force Lightning hurts this mesmerizing character from The Phantom Menace (really the only reason to watch Episode One). The sinister looking Darth Maul matched his unique looking features with an amazing staff like lightsaber. Killed the #10 ranked Qui-Gon Jinn in an epic duel at the end of Episode One.
10) Qui-Gon Jinn: Kind of important to the whole saga. Without his discovery and push to train Anakin Skywalker to be a Jedi, we have no Star Wars. It was either him or the guy with the long forehead Ki-Adi-Mundi.
7 comments:
wrong. wrong. wrong.
1) emperor palpatine- he orchestrated the takeover of an entire galaxy. the ultimate mastermind, learned everything there was to know about the dark side and kicked ass with it. your claim that "He’s an Anakin Skywalker whiney plea for a trial from Mace Windu making him oblivious to the Sith cause" completely misunderstands who the emperor was. allowing himself to take some abuse was the last step in turning anakin into darth vader. the emperor had clearly planned out his manipulation of anakin, and getting him to dispose of windu's arm/lightsaber was one of the last steps.
also, he disposes of 3 jedi as if they were dirty baby diapers before he fights windu.
and in his battle with yoda, he threw the senate seats at will. yoda had to take his sweet time in throwing one back at the emperor. he also allowed his lightsaber to be flicked away by the force lightning. at least yoda was able to repel the force lightning attack with his hands, but in so doing, he fell to the floor and had to escape. he admits failure when organa (jimmy smits) picks him up.
2) darth vader- the only one who could kill the emperor, thereby assuring himself of the #2 spot. yoda couldn't do it, obi-wan couldn't do it, luke sure as hell couldn't do it, although he was the cause of vader throwing the emperor into the depths of the new death star.
the rest is somewhat trivial.
3) yoda
4) obi-wan
5) luke- we're dealing with incomplete information, as we only see how good he became in return of the jedi. taking vader's hand and knowing that going further would have made him the emperor's new apprentice moves him up the charts.
in conclusion, i find your lack of faith disturbing.
How could the Emperor have known Anakin would be showing up to his office at the right moment to save his life from Mace Windu? Did he have his pager # or something? Is the tossing of saucers not a constant offensive to flee Yoda? Watching Sith, I always feel Yoda knew to defeat the Galactic Empire required retreat and a regrouping of arms for one final battle that culminated in the great Luke Skywalker's arrival. I can't help but feel Yoda's lightsaber skills are superior to Palpatine also. And your right, Yoda did defeat Palpatine's force lightning.
As for Obi-Wan, once again he is a victim of being undervalued and underrated. Whenever a challenge confronted him, did he not succeed? I think Obi-Wan is special to the cause and should get his dues. The man could get the job done. He completely maimed Vader/Anakin at the end of Sith and left him for dead.
1) Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine: Manipulative enough to turn the Republic into an Empire, initiated the Clone Wars, dominated Yoda in the match for Universal supremecy. Sure, he wasn't much w/ a light sabre but he was such a master of the dark side that it embodied his every thought. And we know that Evil defeats Good because Good is dumb.
2) Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader: As a Jedi knight, Anakin was like a minor league pitching prospect: filled with potential but didn't know how to use his skills. But TNSAAPP (there is no such thing as a pitching prospect) so it was largely unfulfilled. After turning to the Dark Side he met Dave Duncan, er Emperor Palpatine. As my friend Matt said, he was the only one who could kill the Emperor therefore catapulting him to #2 (even though he snuck up from behind and died in the process). Sure he had flaws but a few lost limbs and a river of lava couldn't finish him off.
3) Yoda: I don't need to say much as it's already been discussed. Yoda was overmatched by the Emperor which he later admitted to Obi Wan.
4) Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku: Totally destroyed Obi Wan every time they met! How can Obi Wan b ranked higher when Dooku force choked him? Not possible. Also cut off Anakin's arm the first time they met. Was ultimately destroyed by Anakin's burst of rage (the dark side). So the only two people to defeat him are ranked #2 and #3.
5) Obi Wan Kenobi: Gotta love heart. He was only "good' with a light saber but where he really excelled was in using his environment to his advantage. Was one of only 3 to become "One with the force"
6) Luke Skywalker: Managed to destroy the Empire with minimal help from other Jedi. Turned Anakin good again. This was with little training. Probably has the 2nd highest potential on the list (behind Anakin).
7) Mace Windu: Ungodly saber skills whose match with the Emperor remains in question. Also PO'd the Count when he dispatched the bounty hunter Jango Fett. Where he fails is in his lack of utilizing other aspects of the force.
8) Darth Maul
9) Qui-Gon Jinn: need more information. Did become "One with the Force"
10) Some other random dude on the council.
since when was darth vador interested in sports?
Most powerful Jedi/Sith during Episode I-VI
Anakin/Vader – The man who was destined to bring balance to the force. He had the highest count of midichlorians ever, (Luke may have had a higher count but was never tested) making him the most powerful force user. Yoda feared him, he hunted down countless Jedi after the Cloan Wars, and he killed the Emperor even after he had been beaten by Luke. The major arguments against this guy are that he was controlled by the Emperior, and he was beaten in battle by Obi-Wan and Luke. While this is true, no one ever kills him and he keeps coming back for more. He is also powerful enough to turn away from the Dark Side. Ultimately, when he returns to good, he easily takes out the Emperor because even the force can’t compete with destiny.
Luke – (This is going to upset some people but let’s see…) Showed greater potential than any other Jedi considering how late he began his training. He had Vader beaten but couldn’t bear killing his own father when he sensed good in him so he ended up helping bring Vader back from the Dark Side. Luke also was to be Vader’s replacement if the Emperor’s plan had worked to turn him to the Dark Side so this shows he had greater potential than even Vader. Luke never fights the Emperor but he does use the Emperors greatest weapon (Vader) against him. While the Emperor injures Luke with force lightning, Luke at this point has already refused to fight and his plan works. Luke also supposedly goes on to restore the Jedi Order and takes Master Yoda’s spot as the new leader of the Jedi.
Emperior Palpatine – He had perhaps the best scheme in the history of the galaxy when he took control of the Empire by playing everyone. He destroyed several Jedi easily and made Yoda run and hide. Perhaps his greatest strength was his ability to make everyone his puppet including Vader. Although he controlled Vader, it was his destiny as with all Sith to be destroyed by their apprentices. While I understand why some people think of him as the most powerful Jedi/Sith because of his accomplishments, he spends to much of his time plotting while others do his dirty work. He is probably the most intelligent person on the list but his tight grasp on the empire is his downfall. Even Vader had plans all along to take this guy out. While many are impressed that the Emperor takes control of the galaxy, Luke and Anakin take the power back and give it to the people. This is a greater feat than the Emperor can claim.
Yoda – While Yoda is not ranked as high as the Emperor, we never truly get to see him in his prime. When Episode I occurs, Yoda is already 865 years old and is the most respected and powerful of the Jedi Order. I think Yoda probably could have easily taken the Emperor in his prime but this rank is strictly from what occurs in the films.
I could continue this list but I think the top four are the most important.
I agree with this Kevin character, I believe Luke is top 3 as well.
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