Can Rey Beat Darth Vader?

For good reason, Darth Vader was voted as television’s greatest villain. 

In battle, he was ruthless, cold-hearted, and willing to annihilate anyone in his way if it meant he could be one step closer to his goal. 

On a deeper level, Lord Vader is a complex, intelligent individual whose emotional turmoil often mimics that of our own, proving that he is, in fact, human. 

Of course, with a character who arouses as much intrigue as Vader does, it’s no wonder fans like seeing how he would fare against other characters. 

Today, we will be comparing the Sith Lord to a newcomer in the Star Wars family, Rey. So without further ado, let’s see how Rey measures up against Lord Vader.

Rey

To preface, Darth Sidious (Emperor Sheev Palpatine) had a clone made from his genetic code. That clone, known as Dathan, together with his wife Miramir, had a daughter known as Rey. 

Born in 15 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin), Rey inherited the Force-sensitivity of her grandfather, Darth Sidious. Because of this, her parents wanted to hide her. Thus, they led a simple life where they worked as junk traders. 

When Rey’s parents passed away, she was forced to fend for herself, and she did so beautifully. All the while in isolation, Rey became a talented mechanic, an impressive pilot, and a skilled combatant. 

Rey’s solitude was broken in 34 ABY when war broke out across the galaxy. Of course, Rey was a brave soul and made it her duty to support the Resistance in this war. 

It was during this time that she learned of her otherwise dormant Force powers and sought out the tutelage of Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker. 

Together, the pair trained, and Rey was taught all the tricks and trades of the Force. This is despite Luke’s adamancy that he wanted to end the Jedi Legacy.

When Luke Skywalker valiantly sacrificed himself to save the Resistance, Rey assumed the position of the last Jedi and came under the mentorship of General Leia Organa (formerly known as Princess Leia). 

A few years after the war, in 35 ABY, Darth Sidious made his return to Exegol, where he intended to revive the Sith Order. 

To prevent this, Rey ventured to the dark world, where Kylo Ren (Ben Solo) disclosed her lineage as the Emperor’s granddaughter. 

With that, Rey decided to confront her grandfather in person, where he almost convinced her to join the dark side. This moment of uncertainty in Rey allowed Sidious to transfer his spirit to her and possess her body. 

Fighting with all the power within her and that of the Jedi ancestors, Rey died, consequently killing Emperor Palpatine once and for all. 

Luckily, Kylo Ren relinquished his dark side affiliation and returned to the light as Ben Solo. Desperate to save his friend, Solo used Force Heal to bring her back to life. The technique worked, but not without consequence. 

Using Force Heal required so much energy that it drained Solo’s life force, causing him to vanish into the Force, and with him, the end of the Skywalker bloodline. 

Yet, Rey wanted to honor her hero while distancing herself from Sidious. Therefore, she assumed the name “Skywalker.”

Strengths

Rey’s biggest strength is her immensely powerful connection to the Force. Once she discovered her Force-sensitivity, Rey began learning techniques in record time. 

She learns how to use the Jedi Mind Trick and other arguably difficult force powers exceptionally fast. Even faster than Luke Skywalker, who had to be trained before he could use some of these techniques. 

While some fans disliked this fact about her, what this proved was that Rey would be a powerful Force user once trained. 

Rey’s natural propensity for the Force is in no small part thanks to her relationship with Emperor Palpatine, who was one of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy. 

Furthermore, Rey’s ability to learn various Force powers so quickly proved just how intelligent she was. Additionally, Rey was well trained in lightsaber combat and could wield the weapon far better than those before her. 

That intelligence and combative skill, coupled with the decades of Force knowledge that she was able to retain, meant that Rey had quickly become one of the strongest warriors in the galaxy.

Weaknesses

On the surface, Rey has been portrayed as being flawless, but as we know, this is never true for any character. 

While Rey may not appear to have any weaknesses, Screenrant pointed out some character faults that could have easily led to poor decision-making. 

One of these flaws is her impatience. Rey wants everything to be done instantly. 

Her urgency in wanting to return to Jakku (her homeworld), the need for Luke to train her, and many other instances show that she could not wait for things to naturally unfold. 

Now, impatience is a running theme within the Star Wars franchise, but Rey’s may have been accelerated. This is especially true when we take into consideration just how quickly she learned the Force.

Arguably Rey’s most pressing weakness is her connection to Darth Sidious. Although it served her greatly by giving her a strong connection to the Force, it also meant there was the potential for considerable darkness within her. 

What’s more, the bond between family is often strong, and Rey is technically part of the Palpatine family. This is possibly why she almost fell to the dark side when she confronted her grandfather. 

Darth Vader

Darth Vader began his life as Anakin Skywalker. 

He was born on the sand-clad planet of Tatooine to his mother, Shmi Skywalker. The pair lived in poverty as slaves, and the young Anakin longed for more. 

Fortunately, he had something that served as his way out. That is his spectacularly high midi-chlorian count (20,000 per cell). This led to Anakin being taken into the Jedi Order as a Padawan, where he continued to thrive. 

Anakin was determined to become the most powerful Jedi there was and quickly climbed the hierarchical ladder of the Order. Known as the original “Chosen One” (before his son Luke), Anakin was both loved and hated by many in the galaxy. 

Still, despite being dedicated to the Jedi, Anakin did not agree with some of the rules in the Jedi Code and openly broke them. In particular, Anakin held onto emotional attachments even though the Jedi believed them to be a one-way ticket to the dark side. 

This led to mistrust brewing in the hearts of Anakin’s superiors, which barred him from getting the promotion he felt he deserved. 

From this moment, Anakin began to pull away from the light side and fell right into the arms of Emperor Palpatine.

The Emperor knew that Anakin would be his golden ticket to taking over the galaxy. 

As such, he did whatever it took to get the Jedi to join him in the darkness. Sadly, Palpatine did not have to work too hard to get Anakin.

Anakin’s downward spiral intensified when he held his mother in his arms as she took her last breath. Desperate to prevent the love of his life (Padmé Amidala) from suffering the same fate, Anakin was easily manipulated by the Emperor. 

Palpatine manipulated Anakin into believing that the dark side was the only way to get the power he needed to save his wife. 

What’s more, the Emperor cunningly crafted scenarios that painted the Jedi (and by extension, the Galactic Republic) as the enemy in Anakin’s eyes. 

Unfortunately, Padmé died despite Anakin joining the Galactic Empire. At that point, the former Jedi had lost everyone he once cared about and betrayed those who had once taken care of him. 

All that was left for the heartbroken, emotionally distraught, rage-filled Anakin to do was fully embrace his new life as the infamous Darth Vader. 

Strengths 

Ever since his days as Anakin Skywalker, Lord Vader has been exceptionally strong. 

He was nearly untouchable while in hand-to-hand, or lightsaber combat. Moreover, his connection to the Force was so strong that he could use certain techniques without much effort. 

Of course, these strengths only intensified when Anakin joined the Empire. 

Because it is against the rules to end a life (unless absolutely necessary), there are restrictions on what Force Techniques can be used as a Jedi. In the Sith Order, however, a Force user can do whatever they want.

Lord Vader is a prime example of this switch, as he possessed a Force power that was so deadly it should be considered illegal. This technique is known as Force Kill

Force Kill allowed a Sith to obliterate their victim’s organs. Darth Tyranus used it on a black market dealer’s heart, and Darth Bane used Force Kill to annihilate his own father. 

In terms of Lord Vader, he often used Force Kill to crush his opponent’s heart or freeze their lungs. In an instant, they are dead.

Yet another strength of the Dark Lord is his resilience. 

During his early years on the dark side, the Sith Lord became more machine than man, thanks to the injuries he sustained on Mustafar. 

He was so badly wounded that he needed to constantly remain in the life support suit and mask that were created for him. Even so, Lord Vader did not let that slow him down. 

He maneuvered so gracefully in his life-saving armor that it is easy for someone who doesn’t know the story to think he’s just wearing it by choice. Moreover, Vader went on to slaughter hundreds despite having to wear a clunky (and uncomfortable) suit.

Weaknesses

The Dark Lord’s suit was both a blessing and a curse. As briefly mentioned above, the suit was incredibly uncomfortable. There were needles constantly sticking into the Sith Lord, and it required constant maintenance. 

This was done purposefully to ensure the Dark Lord’s dependence on the Empire. 

In addition to that, the discomfort constantly interrupted Vader’s sleep, which made him irritable. This irritability translated into more rage and hatred, which made him an even better Sith Lord.

On top of that, Darth Vader’s suit ran on electricity, which prevented him from using Force Lightning. Because this technique required a large amount of electrical energy, if the Sith Lord used it, he could have short-circuited his suit. 

This could have ended with Vader being severely injured or dead. Therefore, Lord Vader opted out of using this technique. 

On a more personal level, Darth Vader was an emotional person. So much so that his emotions dictated his actions. After losing his mother, he was overcome with panic about losing anyone else. 

Thus, he became extremely naive and did not stop to think about Palpatine’s offer before accepting it. When his wife passed away, Darth Vader was distraught, especially after Palpatine convinced him that he had ended Padmé’s life. 

For that reason, the Dark Lord’s mind became plagued with unbelievable guilt, hatred, rage, self-loathing, and mind-numbing depression. 

While these were all perfect ingredients for the making of a great Sith Lord, they were destroying Darth Vader from within.

Darth Vader vs. Rey

Although Rey has been portrayed as a powerhouse in the franchise, many fans agree that there is no possible way she could defeat Lord Vader. 

Darth Vader had years of both light and dark side training in lightsaber combat, whereas Rey’s techniques are more genetic (albeit impressive for how quickly she learned them). With this in mind, the Dark Lord would easily destroy Rey in combat without much effort.

Moreover, the battle may not even come to close combat because Darth Vader could simply use the Force to end the fight before it even begins. 

We know Rey is an exceptional Force user, but still, she is no match for the Sith Lord. Darth Vader has years of experience on her and an arsenal of dark side Force Powers at his disposal.

Lord Vader could simply Force Choke Rey or use his terrifyingly deadly Force Kill to end Rey’s life within an instance. 

Conclusion

Rey Skywalker has a good heart despite being a descendent of one of the evilest individuals in the galaxy, Darth Sidious. Regardless, having Sidious’ genes boded well for Rey as it allowed her to be an extraordinary Force user. 

Rey was so good that she was portrayed as learning techniques without much training (or any for that matter). 

Regardless of how powerful she is, Rey is no match for the Lord of Darkness, Darth Vader. 

While she is undoubtedly talented, Lord Vader is still far more experienced. With that experience comes far more strength than Rey can fathom. Thus, Darth Vader could effortlessly end the fight without even needing to get close to her. 

Nevertheless, a fight between powerhouses like Darth Vader and Rey would be one that should not be missed. Even if it’s for the sole purpose of seeing the Sith Lord add another victory to his repertoire.