In the Star Wars universe, there are several ranks that indicate how far an individual has grown as a Jedi and how connected they are to the Force.
A Padawan is the second rank after Youngling, though it isn’t as high up in the ranks as a Jedi Knight or a Jedi Master.
When a youngling becomes more mature and is ready to take on a more intense level of training, they become a Padawan.
Padawans are then paired up with either a Jedi Master or a Jedi Knight, who becomes their teacher and continues their training.
Whilst most Padawan characters in the Star Wars universe are not officially as they were around after the Great Jedi Purge, beforehand, Padawans could be identified by a braid that they would wear in their hair to signify their rank.
Despite the rank of both Jedi Master and Jedi Knight signifying a great deal of power and connection to the Force, it is not often the most appropriate way to measure an individual’s strength and Force sensitivity.
Many Padawans have a strong natural ability and martial skill that can indicate just how strong of a Jedi they will become.
There are so many characters who reached the official rank of Padawan in the Star Wars universe before they got even more powerful as well as those who could be considered a Padawan though, not on an official level due to any surviving Jedi going into hiding after the purge.
With this in mind, we are going to be looking at ten of the most powerful Padawan characters- in no particular order- from across the Star Wars world, from the films to the video games and beyond.
Luke Skywalker
Let’s kick off this list with one of the most anticipated choices on this list; the infamous
Luke did not have the chance to be accepted into the Jedi Order, nor did he officially become a Padawan before his rise to Jedi Master.
However, Luke’s natural ability when it came to connecting to the Force gave him an instant advantage in his training.
Luke had only brief training with Obi-Wan Kenobi. His skills came to the fore after his lengthy training with Master Yoda.
The main obstacle in Luke’s training was his own self-doubt, but once he was able to master this, he would go on to become one of the most powerful Jedi of all time.
Anakin Skywalker
The tragic tale of Luke and Leia’s father Anakin Skywalker comes about due to his incredible prowess when wielding the Force.
Even as a child, he displayed talents akin to that of a talented Jedi.
Anakin’s physiology was also suggestive of an individual who had the capacity to become a powerful Jedi, as he had a midi-chlorian count beyond that of even Master Yoda.
Despite this, Anakin’s fear and anger held him back, and he turned to the Dark Side.
He would go on to become one of the most powerful Force wielders in the galaxy, but as the Sith Lord
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Well known Star Wars character Obi-Wan Kenobi had a great deal of potential when it came to his Padawan status thanks to his skills combined with his natural curiosity and pragmatic attitude.
Obi-Wan had a great deal of training under Qui-Gon Jinn, and we see his journey to maturity from Padawan to Jedi Knight throughout the prequel films.
When he was still a Padawan, he fought and killed the highly accomplished Sith apprentice Darth Maul before taking on Anakin Skywalker as his own Padawan apprentice.
Qui-Gon Jinn
Obi Wan Kenobi’s mentor Qui-Gon Jinn was a student and follower of the Living Force, a teaching that encourages being mindful of all living things, relying on the will of the Force as well as your instincts and living within the moment.
Jinn was a faithful and wise teacher to Obi-Wan, but he also worked under somewhat unorthodox beliefs and was considered a rebellious thinker within the Jedi order.
As well as this rebellious nature, Jinn was also a skilled duelist with his lightsaber, being one of the few Jedi- along with Sora Bulq, Dooku and Yoda– who could best Mace Windu in sparring.
He also had a deep connection to the Force, likely strengthened by his independence and his belief in the Living Force.
Some of his strongest skills included Jedi Mind Tricks, which he passed onto his apprentice, Obi-Wan.
Ashoka Tano
Ashoka was the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker and was first introduced into the Star Wars franchise in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
She would go on to feature prominently in the subsequent animated television show as well as the Star Wars Rebels show.
She made her live action debut in the second season of The Mandalorian and also had a voice cameo in the 2019 film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Ashoka was an adolescent when she began training with Anakin and whilst she was known to be powerful, she was also a reckless Padawan.
Anakin helped her harness her power and she evolved greatly, becoming one of the strongest Jedi under his tutelage during The Clone Wars.
From leading her own company of clone troopers to aiding Anakin with political issues, Ashoka’s skills were undeniable, and she would only continue to grow.
However, Ashoka would become disillusioned with the Jedi Order, and she chose to leave whilst still a Padawan.
She no longer needed supervision, though, as she was already a capable and powerful Jedi in her own right.
Yoda
Yoda might be known as one of the most powerful Jedi Masters in the Star Wars universe, but even the strongest Jedi have to start somewhere!
When Yoda was placed into the Jedi Temple by his teacher, he was found to have the highest midi-chlorian count of any other member of the Order (a position only surpassed by Anakin).
He continued to train and reach the highest rank of Jedi Master at age 100, with many, many Padawan apprentices.
Despite little being known about his time as a Padawan, it is safe to say that a being as powerful as Yoda would have likely been one of the strongest and most promising Padawans of his time.
Kanan Jarrus
Whilst it was difficult to choose between Ezra and Kanan from the Star Wars Rebels animated television show, we had to go with Kanan who is considered by many fans to be one of the greatest Jedi in the Star Wars canon.
This is a highly impressive feat, seeing as Rebels was a show that ran from 2014 to 2018, long after Jedi such as
Kanan is everything that a good Padawan should be.
He acts as a mentor to protagonist and fellow Jedi Ezra Bridger whilst maintaining excellent morals and a dedication to doing good whilst not being too tightly bound to the Jedi Code.
He would go on to defeat the Grand Inquisitor too, cementing his place as one of the strongest Jedi in the Imperial era (whilst also training Ezra, who would also go on to be one of the strongest Jedi’s of this time).
Jaden Korr
First appearing in the video game Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Jaden is an orphan whose sensitivity caught the attention of Admiral Thrawn, a leader in the Imperial military.
Jaden’s skills were clear after he constructed a fully-fledged purple-bladed lightsaber when he was still an untrained child.
This and his other impressive abilities led his uncle to contact the authorities, thus attracting Thrawn’s attention.
Jaden would become enrolled in Luke Skywalkers Jedi training academy- the Jedi Praxeium- where he would study and develop his skills as a Padawan.
At the end of the game, the player can decide whether to choose the Dark Side or the Light.
Despite being a lesser known Star Wars character, Jaden’s impressive skills whilst still untrained earn him a spot on this list.
Dooku
Born into aristocracy, Count Dooku was abandoned at the Jedi Temple and taken in by Yoda, who would train him under his wing.
His gifted nature was apparent, with one of his most impressive achievements being defeating Master Syfo Dias in combat when he had one arm tied behind his back as well as being blindfolded.
However, Dooku’s eventual disillusionment in the Jedi Order and his idealism led him to stray from the path of the Light and venture to the Dark Side.
Ben Solo
Whilst it is difficult to chosen between Ben and Rey from the modern Star Wars trilogy, we had to pick Ben due to his incredibly potent legacy of Jedi within his family.
Being the grandson of Anakin, the nephew of Luke and the son of Leia- also a powerfully Force sensitive individual in her own right- Ben Solo literally had the Force flowing through his veins.
Ben trained under his uncle Luke, who- after sensing an incredibly strong dark power within Ben-, almost killed him to stop him from turning against the side of the Light.
Unfortunately, this all but cemented Ben’s transformation into the feared, high ranking general of the First Order.
He might have turned to the Dark Side, but Ben’s power as a Padawan was so great that it frightened even his uncle, and so his position on this list cannot be denied.
Final Thoughts
So there you have ten of the most powerful Padawans that you will find across the Star Wars universe!
There are so many powerful Padawan characters that we didn’t have a chance to mention properly here- such as Ezra Bridger, Rey and Cal Kestis, but the ones that we have chosen represent a broad spectrum of Padawans from across different Star Wars media.
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
