The Top 10 Star Wars Lightsaber Battles

Happy Star Wars Day! Hope you enjoy this article.

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Lightsaber duels. Without them, Star Wars most certainly wouldn’t be Star Wars. Throughout all the movies, spinoffs, and TV shows, we’ve seen quite a few. But, naturally, some are better than others. There’s also the fact that while animated duels can pull off more elaborate stunts and their characters can move faster and do more things, they often cannot convey the emotion and feeling of reality that live-action duels can. Anyways, here are my picks for the top 10 lightsaber duels in all of Star Wars. Everything’s fair game, except I’ve chosen to leave out video games. These picks are purely my opinion, so feel free to disagree and discuss!

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#10. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Maul (Star Wars: Rebels)

Maul: “Look what has become of you. A rat in the desert.”

Obi-Wan: “Look what I have risen above.”

It’s the finale to the Kenobi-Maul rivalry that fans didn’t even realize they needed. This one is great not so much because of the actual fighting as it is because of the emotion. The blades literally clash only three times before Obi-Wan slashes Maul across the body, as Maul tries to pull the same head-butt move he used on Qui-Gon Jinn (and this time fails). The words spoken and motions made by both characters do all the fighting. Maul furiously taunts and threatens Kenobi while the latter remains calm and collected. But Maul soon discovers Obi-Wan’s weakness, as he says, “Perhaps you are protecting something? No, protecting someone.” Realizing Luke is no longer entirely a secret, Obi-Wan’s face lights up with a blue color as he ignites his own lightsaber. At first, Obi-Wan is in his signature form of Soresu (Form III), but changes to the defensive Ataru (Form IV) stance, the same form his master used. This also symbolizes how he has changed over time, and learned to calm himself. Another great symbolism comes when Maul dies in Obi-Wan’s arms, asking about the “Chosen One.” Qui-Gon died in Obi-Wan’s arms as well...talking about the Chosen One.

Anyways, rant over. This was a great scene. The reason I have it lower on my list is that personally I’m more of a sucker for the actual fighting with blades. But this fight was unique, and did a lot of things right.

#9. Count Dooku vs. The Nightsisters (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Asajj Ventress: “Be on guard at all times. He is no fool. He is a Sith lord.”

Frankly, the Clone Wars series doesn’t get enough credit for the amazing duels it had. One of the things I really like about this duel is that it shows just how powerful Dooku really is, though he gets hated on a bit too much. He could not only hold his own, but brutally defeat three opponents whom he couldn’t even see! And they weren’t just any opponents: they were the best warriors of the Nightsister clan, one of whom was Asajj Ventress, who as we all know was incredibly well trained in Sith arts. They snuck up as mere shadows upon him in the middle of the night, and blinded him with a poison dart. Nevertheless, minutes later they were all thrown out a high window to the ground below, where they were forced to flee. It’s not a well-known duel, but it has some great action and in my opinion, really advances Count Dooku’s story arc.

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#8. Asajj Ventress and Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Savage Opress and Maul (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Ventress: *hands Kenobi lightsaber* “I want that back.”

Obi-Wan: “That’s fine. Red’s not my color. Ready?”

Ventress: “Like you even need to ask.”

This is about the best season finale we could have asked for. It had just the right mix of drama, humor, and overall excellent action. By season 4, the animation in this show had become next-level, and that was no different here. Seeing Ventress and Obi-Wan team up is something probably no one expected, and they continued to “flirt” with each other even when they were on the same side. This was simply a very exciting duel, and showed us just how powerful the Dathomir brothers were, considering they just about defeated a Jedi Master and a highly skilled assassin, both of whom barely escaped with their lives. In addition, it’s one of the few times that Obi-Wan, who is usually a strict follower of the Jedi code, taps into the Dark Side and uses his anger to fight, after Maul taunts him about the murder of his master, Qui-Gon.

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#7. Yoda vs. Darth Sidious (Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith)

Sidious: “At last, the Jedi are no more.”

Yoda: “Not if anything to say about it, I have.”

Yoda was arguably the most powerful Light Side force user, while Sidious was arguably the most powerful Dark Side force user. This duel, which took place during/after Order 66, was a battle between the opposite ends of the Force, in which the power of both was completely unleashed. The novelization of Revenge of the Sith describes the duel as one whose impact could be “felt” even from far away. And it’s obvious just from watching it that there was massive power at play, and that both parties involved were nothing to be trifled with. That, and knowing just what is at stake in the context makes this such an important battle, and a very well executed one. And who doesn’t like seeing a Jedi Master a meter tall fight someone over twice his size? Who’s laughing his head off? With Duel of the Fates in the background?

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#6. Darth Maul vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace)

Obi-Wan: “What was it?”

Qui-Gon Jinn: “I’m not sure. But it was well trained in the Jedi arts.”

Most people all across the Star Wars fan base would agree that this duel is one of the best in live-action. In terms of action, probably the best. The makers of the film really delivered here, and set the prequels off to a great start with duels. And the soundtrack is arguably one of the best, if not the best, in all of Star Wars. Honestly, not too much needs to be said about this one. It’s just epic.

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#5. Darth Sidious vs. Maul and Savage Opress (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Sidious: “There can only be two, a master and an apprentice. And you...are no longer my apprentice.”

This is a pretty well-known duel in the Clone Wars series. It’s the only time in the series that we see Palpatine/Sidious actually fight, and he’s incredibly powerful. He didn’t even need to fight the Dathomir brothers; when he did it was just because he was toying with them. It was clear that he was having absolutely no trouble against them. Eventually he easily killed Savage, and when he decided it was time, beat Maul by blasting him with force lightning. This battle was incredibly well-made, and showed just how powerful Sidious really was (in case anyone doubted it?). It has one on the edge of their seat the whole time. I just wish we could have seen Sidious fight more. But he could literally beat anyone, so maybe it wouldn’t be realistic. xD

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#4. Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader (Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi)

Vader: “So, you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the Dark Side, then perhaps she will.”

Not gonna lie, the action and stunts in this duel aren’t even that impressive, compared to those in other ones. The main reason this one is so great is because of how emotionally powerful it is. It’s purely story driven. It’s more of a psychological battle than a physical one. Luke is dangling between the Light and Dark sides, and you can see his rage combat his self-control during the scene. The most powerful moment is when he knocks Vader to the ground and slices off one of his mechanical hands, and then looks at his own mechanical hand and realizes what he’s really doing. He then throws away his lightsaber and makes his final choice, refusing to turn as Sidious wanted. In my humble opinion, it’s the REAL ending to the Star Wars saga. And it’s about the best one possible.

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#3. Maul vs. Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Ahsoka: “You’re lucky Anakin didn’t show up. The way you’re fighting, you wouldn’t have lasted long.”

Maul: “You have Kenobi’s arrogance.”

Ahsoka: “You’ll find I have many qualities for you to dislike.”

Dave Filoni and the rest of the Clone Wars team went above and beyond for Season 7, making the entire thing great, but this duel was certainly a highlight. Ray Park doing the motion capture for Maul automatically makes that amazing, and the animation and lighting for the whole thing was completely top-notch. No one ever thought we’d see Ahsoka doing this again, let alone fight Maul. And she was better than ever. This fight showed just how much she’d progressed, from a snippy young padawan to a would-be Jedi, if only she had been able to. With regard to overall action, this is probably the best animated duel ever.

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#2. Ahsoka Tano vs. Darth Vader (Star Wars: Rebels)

Ahsoka: “I was beginning to believe I knew who you were behind that mask, but it’s impossible. My master could never be as vile as you.”

Vader: “Anakin Skywalker was weak. I destroyed him.”

Ahsoka: “Then I will avenge his death.”

Vader: “Revenge is not the Jedi way.”

Ahsoka: “I’m no Jedi.”

In general, I’m not a huge fan of the Rebels series; more on that in a minute. However, I hold this scene in pretty high esteem. It’s another kind of duel that is story driven, and in which the clashing of lightsabers is only a small part. Anakin and Ahsoka had been best friends for so long, and now they had turned against each other. Anakin blamed it on her because she left him, and Ahsoka blamed it on him because he fell to the Dark Side. The emotion comes to a climax when Ahsoka slashes Vader’s mask and as he calls her name, she realizes Vader is really her former master, and she turns and recognizes his face. She has compassion and refuses to leave him again, but he becomes even more furious, and any chance of softening of his heart is gone. Anyways, you have to be made of stone to not be moved by this scene. Even though the emotion and backstory are what really make this duel, the action is pretty good too. At this point Ahsoka is a match for even Vader, which makes it excellent on that point as well.

Also, real quick, here’s my two cents about Rebels: It was entertaining, but it had no depth. Here’s the thing; The Clone Wars did not exactly try to be a kids show or an adults show, but it was consistent. There was nothing that people of all ages couldn’t appreciate or enjoy. Rebels, on the other hand, tried to be a kids show while adding elements for adults as well. But you quickly find out that it doesn’t work, as in one episode you have a droid singing in space, while a few episodes later, a weapon is being used that literally cooks people inside their armor and reduces them to ashes. In addition, there were no deep characters. Ezra Bridger, for example, was supposed to play the role Ahsoka did in The Clone Wars, but they couldn’t be more different. Ahsoka started out as reckless and proud, but matured to a true Jedi throughout the show. Ezra simply bounced back and forth between being awful and being mature. At one point he’ll be complaining about a difficult task, and the next he’ll be fighting with immense power. Even Rey from the sequel trilogy, despite being (in my opinion) a Mary-Sue, was at least a consistent character. Ezra had little to no real character growth. Then there’s Zeb, the cliche big, brawny character, who should have been replaced by Rex from the beginning, and Sabine Wren, who’s way too powerful, capable, and famous for being, like, 16 years old? Hera is actually probably my favorite character from this show, not because she’s particularly special, but because she’s one of the few characters who’s consistent and realistic. I also don’t even need to get into how the animation was a major step down from The Clone Wars. Anyways, Rebels was good and fun at times, but it has issues that shouldn’t be overlooked. Sorry, rant over.

Except, one last thing: You can’t use a double-bladed spinning lightsaber to fly. It’s just not a thing. It doesn’t work. “Force Helicopter” is ridiculous.

Ack, I keep getting sidetracked. On to #1.

#1. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith)

Obi-Wan: “It’s over, Anakin! I have the high ground.”

Just describing why I love this scene wouldn’t do it justice. It’s the perfect balance of action, emotion, and everything else. It captures in the best way possible the feelings of Obi-Wan, who has lost his own student to the Dark Side, and Anakin, who has strayed so far away from what he dreamed of becoming. Animated duels just can’t convey this kind of thing. And fighting on a tower that is breaking down and falling into flowing lava is both epic and savage. I literally can’t think of anything wrong with this fight scene. If you think of something, let me know. I feel like there’s so much I could say about it, but some thoughts just can’t be put into words. Maybe go watch it again today. It’s just really, really cool.

I hope you enjoyed reading this! As always, feel free to discuss all this, and let me know if there’s anything I missed and should have included. I really hope there’s still more great duels to come in Star Wars, whether through more animated shows or another trilogy! Until next time, may the Force be with you.