10 Strongest Star Wars Characters

You will find varying opinions over which Star Wars characters are the strongest. When compiling this list, we looked at the accomplishments from each character in the saga, their skills with a lightsaber, and their Force-wielding capabilities.

The characters listed below also played remarkable roles in trying to preserve or resurrect the Republic, or to bring about and maintain the Galactic Empire. In this list of the 10 strongest Star Wars characters, you will find a mixture of those who embraced the light and/or the dark side.

1 – Yoda

One of the oldest and wisest Jedi Masters, Yoda possessed more Force-wielding capability than anyone in the saga. He trained Jedi for eight centuries, and even during his final years, he managed to use the Force to lift Luke’s starship in The Empire Strikes Back.

Also in his older years, Yoda remained a skilled lightsaber duelist, mastering Form IV, also known as Ataru. The form allowed Yoda to complete an astonishing array of acrobatics by wielding the Force, allowing him to keep pace when dueling powerful Sith Lords.

Yoda was also one of a handful of Jedi to return as a Force ghost with a connection so strong, he could manipulate the physical world. We see this occur in The Last Jedi when he destroyed a library containing the Sacred Jedi Texts with a bolt of lightning.

2 – Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

The one said to bring balance to the Force, Anakin Skywalker’s midichlorian count caught Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn’s attention. Anakin was born without a father; Qui-Gon briefly served as Anakin’s father figure, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Shortly after Qui-Gon sought to take it upon himself to train Anakin, Darth Maul killed the Jedi Master. Training Anakin fell to Obi-Wan Kenobi. And through the years, Anakin grew into the powerful Jedi he was prophesied to become, but he also developed a sense of arrogance.

Skywalker felt Obi-Wan and the Jedi were holding him back. As a result, he began to lose faith in the Jedi.

Chancellor Palpatine saw a golden opportunity when Anakin had visions of Padme dying in childbirth. Palpatine claimed embracing the dark side of the Force would save Padme, which turned out to be a lie.

Anakin became a Sith Lord, adopting the moniker Darth Vader. Following Padme’s death, Vader helped wreak havoc across the galaxy as one of the most feared Sith Lords in galactic history.

As Anakin, he was a skilled duelist. As Darth Vader, he lost only to Obi-Wan Kenobi on two occasions before striking his old master down in 0 BBY. He met his match in his own son, Luke, whose influence brought Vader back to the light side.

As a result, the redeemed Anakin Skywalker betrayed Palpatine, fulfilling the Prophecy of the Chosen One.

3 – Mace Windu

Mace Windu was arguably the greatest Jedi Master in lightsaber combat, creating and mastering Form VII, also known as Vaapad. The aggressive, anger-driven Vaapad fighting style put Windu at risk of turning to the dark side, though he never succumbed to that temptation.

Instead, he learned to offset the aggression and anger the fighting style required, keeping him focused on the light. Windu’s style led to several landmark wins during the Clone Wars.

However, Windu’s fighting style wasn’t the only thing that made him one of the strongest Jedi. He was a Master of the Jedi Order and second only to Grand Master Yoda on the Jedi Council.

One of the Clone Wars’ best strategists, Windu put a plan in place to arrest Chancellor Palpatine after Anakin revealed the latter as the Sith Lord controlling both sides of the Clone Wars.

Windu dueled Palpatine and gained the upper hand. If it wasn’t for Anakin’s subsequent turn to the dark side, Windu would have won the Clone Wars for the Republic.

4 – Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious

For 1,000 years, the Sith hid in the shadows, allowing no more than two in their Order at any given time. Sheev Palpatine, who grew up believing himself to be superior to everyone else, became the Sith Lord that finally, after a millennium, overthrew the Jedi and the Republic.

A conniving man, Palpatine entered politics, initially working alongside his master, Darth Plagueis. However, Palptatine killed the Sith Lord some time before 32 BBY and sought his own apprentice while putting on a front that he was nothing more than a senator from Naboo.

This allowed the seemingly benign Palpatine to lurk in the shadows in his plot to destroy the Jedi. And when he became Chancellor, his plan rolled into place when his apprentice, Dooku, led the Separatists and he led the Republic in what became the Clone Wars.

The brains behind the Clone Army, Palpatine had what he needed to purge the Jedi, which occurred in 19 BBY. Following the purge, better known as Order 66, Palpatine declared himself Emperor and ruled the galaxy alongside his new apprentice, Darth Vader, from 19 BBY until 4 ABY.

Vader seemingly killed Palpatine, but the Sith Lord cheated death using a combo of Sith magic and science. This allowed him to once again seek to take over the galaxy by using proxies in Snoke and Kylo Ren.

5 – Obi-Wan Kenobi

Kenobi never seemed to be the strongest Jedi, struggling against Sith Lords like Darth Maul and Count Dooku on multiple occasions. However, he defeated Darth Vader twice and only lost a third duel to Vader when he let his former apprentice strike him down.

Following his death in 0 BBY, Kenobi became one of very few Jedi to return as a Force ghost, showing just how powerful he was. But his immense power was also on display in 19 BBY, when he and only a handful of Jedi survived Order 66.

Kenobi also managed to survive during an era when Vader’s Inquisitors hunted down and killed many Jedi who survived the initial purge.

6 – Luke Skywalker

Luke was a Force-sensitive who never knew what he was until he stumbled upon Kenobi, who gave the boy his father’s old lightsaber. Skywalker was so powerful that he barely underwent any Jedi training given the deaths of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.

Even with little training, Luke wielded the Force with ease, displayed during the Battle of Yavin when he used it to direct a torpedo into a narrow space to destroy the first Death Star.

Despite the odds stacked against him, Luke still matched Darth Vader blow for blow on two occasions. He was also responsible for leading Vader back to the light side, surviving a bout of Force lightning from Emperor Palpatine in the process.

And while Luke had his shortcomings following the Jedi’s return, he still managed to stop his nephew, Kylo Ren, just long enough during the final moments of The Last Jedi. This last great heroic act ensured Rey and the Resistance escaped the new Supreme Leader’s wrath.

7 – Kylo Ren/Ben Solo

Kylo Ren played a pivotal role in The Sequel Trilogy. The grandson of Darth Vader, Ren embraced the dark side and quickly rose through the First Order’s ranks.

Just as Anakin did in Revenge of the Sith, Ren also destroyed a Jedi Academy/Temple, which nearly completed his fall to the dark side. He eventually rose to become the Supreme Leader of the First Order after assassinating its then-incumbent, Snoke.

With so many parallels to his grandfather, it is easy to see why Ren made this list. But there is no bigger reason than his inner-strength, which allowed him to turn back to the light side and help Rey end Emperor Palpatine for good.

8 – Ahsoka Tano

Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan during the Clone Wars, Ahsoka’s strength came from the will to prove herself. And her first test came at the Battle of Ryloth, where, despite losing her squadron, she rebounded and played a pivotal role in winning the battle.

What made Ahsoka so powerful was her talent to buy herself time, whether it involved venturing into the Coruscant underworld after being wrongfully accused of bombing the Jedi Temple, surviving Order 66, matching Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, or taking on the Inquistors.

She also won over respect from her clone troopers and found a viable tag team partner in Captain Rex. Ahsoka played prominent roles not only in The Clone Wars, but also in Star Wars Rebels.

9 – Darth Plagueis

Perhaps the most underrated character on this list, Darth Plagueis served as Palpatine’s master. A gifted Sith Lord and scientist, Plagueis craved immortality and discovered how to control midi-chlorian counts, something he constantly experimented with.

While Palpatine killed Plagueis, the future Emperor never would have discovered how to cheat death if it wasn’t for his master. Plagueis was the one who realized that for one to cheat death, they had to transfer their consciousness.

While Plagueis never got the opportunity to try this experiment on himself, he was, according to Palpatine, able to prevent death in others. “It’s ironic,” Palpatine said. “He could save others from death, but not himself.”

10 – Rey

The Sequel Trilogy’s protagonist, Rey’s life had some parallels to Luke Skywalker’s. She was Force-sensitive, but she grew up hidden from Palpatine, much like Luke. Rey also became a gifted pilot, and also like Luke, she learned the ways of the Jedi with limited teaching.

Rey discovered, to her dismay, that she was Palpatine’s granddaughter. However, upon confronting him at the Battle of Exegol, she successfully resisted his tactics to pull her to the dark side and ultimately defeated him.

Like many Jedi on this list, Rey was exceptionally strong in the Force, able to move large objects with ease. And even without extensive training in lightsaber combat, Rey was also a skilled duelist.

Todd Wahlstrom

Todd Wahlstrom is a creative and analytical freelance writer and life-long Star Wars fan. He has covered such topics as Darth Vader, the Jedi, Boba Fett, and AT-AT Walkers. Todd has published a non-fiction book, holds a Ph.D. in history, and enjoys hiking, running, and reading about science.