The Star Wars franchise is easily one of the most recognized pieces of cinema and art that there is. While the seemingly cartoony VFX of the early films might put one off to think that the films are of the goofy kind, the central conflict of the films has always been about the conflict of the good and the evil in pursuit of power.
The portrayals of the two sides which are fighting for domination and emancipation of the world is very much in line with Lucas’ own vision of the US and the world at the time that he chose to portray on film in the garb of gibberish speaking aliens and funny looking protagonists such as Chewbacca.
As such, being so much devoted to the exercise and the struggle for power, the films and the Star Wars universe are littered with characters who have the strength to attain this power or engage in this tussle for power. Of course, when we are talking of strength, we are not simply talking about physical strength, but also about the strength of the mind.
With the films, TV shows, comics and novel serializations that dot the rubric of the larger lore of the universe, it is very difficult to pick a few characters who are the strongest characters.
However, after a careful review of the films and their lore, here is what we think is a list of the five strongest characters from Star Wars.
Spoiler Warning. The rest of the article, in trying to review some of the most popular characters from the Star Wars lore, is heavily filled with spoilers about the film and its adaptations in other media. Proceed ahead at your own discretion.
Who Is the Strongest Star Wars Character?
5. Rey
The central character of the sequel trilogy is Rey. Later known as Rey Skywalker as she adopts the Skywalker last name in honor of her mentor
Despite her family lineage, her powers do not come from the blood of the Sith but rather from her own belief in herself along with the love and support that she is supported with by the members of the Resistance.
In the first two films, she is on her journey of self-discovery and is not quite at the peak of her powers. However, in the final film of the sequel trilogy The Rise of Skywalker, she came into her own and demonstrates her true power.
Born with the blood of the Sith and trained with the love of the Jedis, in the final battle against Palpatine, she calls on the powers from both sides of the Force and harnesses it to defeat the Emperor. In doing so, she manages to make herself a vessel for all the Jedis who ever lived, resulting in her evolution into an extremely powerful being.
4. Luke Skywalker
The original good guy from the original trilogy has to be on our list. Similar to the protagonist of the sequel trilogy, when Luke was introduced in the original trilogy in the ‘70s, he was but a fledgling prospect that was being trained on to take the dark forces but come the culmination of the trilogy, he became one of the most powerful Jedis.
If Rey represented a journey of self-discovery and the amalgamation of the good and the bad and its balance within, Luke represented the human potential in all its pureness.
His journey was not a rosy life of success but rather fraught with difficulties and failures but the way his humaneness shone through in this quest made him powerful.
Overthrowing the Empire as such makes him not only eligible but highly deserving of the title of the most powerful Jedi until the next generation came in four decades after his first appearance. Therefore, he’s certainly one of the strongest characters of the universe.
3. Yoda
Arguably the most famous character in the sci-fi world, Yoda is the ultimate master and certainly one of the characters who could have given Luke a challenge for the most powerful Jedi to ever exist.
Although the character had often been used as comic relief with his weird speech patterns, the wise wisdom that Yoda offers is a testament to the knowledge and experience that Yoda has on the discourse of power and strength.
If for Rey it is her support system that is at the root of her powers and for Luke it is his humanity, for Yoda it is pure knowledge and training that he has accumulated through years of hard work that enabled him to stand his own quite well on a number of times against the next person on this list.
2. Emperor Palpatine
Emperor Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, is one of the most powerful characters in the Star Wars universe. While an able fighter and user of brute power that could challenge Yoda at his peak, Palpatine’s power much like those before on this list relied on something far more insidious than brute strength.
As Emperor Palpatine, he commanded almost an unchallenged hold over the political power in the Galaxy and the structures and institutions that he could control through this exercise of political power were at the core of his unchallenged strength as the Dark Sith which could manifest the Dark Force itself.
1. Darth Vader
There will not be a scarier and mightier villain in the entirety of sci-fi than
Much like Rey who represented an amalgamation of the two sides of the Force and the two sides of the conquest for power, the character of
The perfect power that Darth Vader represented is that of the balance of the Force. In harmony with oneself and the rest of the galaxy.
Final Words
These are what we think are the strongest characters in Star Wars in terms of judging their power in what they represent beyond brute strength. You, of course, are free to differ. Do let us know who you think is the strongest character in Star Wars.
Brad Burnie is the founder of Starships.com. He loves all video game genres. In his spare time, he loves reading, watching movies, and gaming
