10 Star Wars Character That Make Darth Vader Look Weak

Darth Vader is often cited as the pinnacle of power in Star Wars, but these 10 characters from both canon and Legends make him look weak in comparison. Some of the best characters in Star Wars have earned their fan approval by being the strongest and most powerful people in the galaxy far, far away. There's no denying that some of Darth Vader's lasting popularity comes from his overwhelming power and the cool moments in which he showcases his devastating strength.

Across both canon and Star Wars Legends, formerly known as the Expanded Universe, the franchise has introduced several characters who can at least rival Darth Vader in power, if not outright surpass him. From living embodiments of the Force itself to wildly powerful Jedi and Sith with never-before-seen abilities, Star Wars is constantly upping the stakes and the scale of battles and power.

In light of that overall increase in power since the original trilogy of Star Wars movies, there are many ways a character can be more powerful than Darth Vader. Whether they've defeated him in a lightsaber duel, command militaries, wield massively powerful Force abilities, or even exist on a separate plane of reality, these 10 characters make Darth Vader look weak in comparison.

10

Galen Marek/Starkiller

Few people from Star Wars Legends were as powerful as Galen Marek, aka Starkiller, from The Force Unleashed. Over the course of two games, Marek went from Darth Vader's apprentice and a pawn of Darth Sidious to single-handedly saving the galaxy and embracing the light side of the Force. Throughout that transformation, Marek managed to best both Vader and Palpatine, easily establishing himself as more powerful than them.

The sheer number of feats Galen Marek performed in The Force Unleashed alone would have made him more impressive than Vader. At various points, Marek was able to pull an entire star destroyer out of orbit using the Force, he bested some of the most notable Jedi and Sith of all time in lightsaber combat, he was capable of using Force lightning, and he could even create a Force explosion strong enough to destroy the Death Star. Galen Marek was one of the greatest Force wielders in Star Wars history, and he puts Vader's mastery of the Force to shame.

9

Darth Nihilus

Of all the Dark Lords of the Sith in Star Wars Legends, Darth Nihilus was arguably the strongest. A main antagonist and part of the Sith Triumvirate of Knights of the Old Republic II, Darth Nihilus has been described as a living wound in the Force, aka the Lord of Hunger. Nihilus would kill and absorb the Force energy from countless Jedi during his time, and he was so powerful he escaped death and imbued his mask and armor with his very soul.

Nihilus, by himself, is the stuff of legend. His insatiable hunger and ability to drain Force energy made him a threat to the very notion of life itself. He was a master lightsaber duelist, incredibly skilled with the Force, and more. With the full might of the Sith and the other members of the Triumvirate, Nihilus became a threat to the galaxy as a whole. During his reign, Nihilus destroyed countless Jedi, drained countless planets, and ravaged everything in his path in a way Darth Vader could only dream of.

8

Abeloth

While the Jedi and Sith get most of Star Wars' attention, the franchise was also capable of creating characters that were closer to eldritch horrors than people. Abeloth is proof of that. Abeloth is a Force entity from the Expanded Universe that wielded literally unimaginable power. She was immortal, she could control even the strongest of minds, she had unprecedented mastery of every established Force power, and much more. Basically, if there's a power in Star Wars, Abeloth was likely the greatest being that could use it.

Abeloth is living proof that there are parts of the Star Wars galaxy that are so dark and evil that they can't even be understood by mortals. She's a god in every sense of the word, a force of Nature, a physical manifestation of the Force itself. Comparing anyone, including Vader, to her is like comparing ants to the sun. The only person who even rivaled her was Luke Skywalker at his absolute strongest in the EU.

7

The Mortis Gods

Perhaps the strongest group of characters in Star Wars canon as a whole are the Mortis gods. Any one of the three gods, the Sister, Brother, and Father, would be more than capable of destroying Darth Vader on their own, but given the similarities in their status and abilities, they've been lumped together. It's also not entirely clear if the Mortis gods actually exist or are more similar to religious myth, at least until Ahsoka season 2 explores the question further.

While Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka were on Mortis, the gods exercised almost complete control over them. They could manipulate living creatures, essentially possess them, stop lightsabers with their bare hands, predict and alter the future, wipe memories, and more. The only fitting descriptor in terms of power is 'godlike.' If they are real, and if Darth Vader ever encountered them, defeating him would be as simple as killing a fly.

6

Marchion Ro

Marchion Ro, the Eye of the Nihil and the main antagonist of the High Republic phases I and III, is hands-down the single most powerful person in Star Wars canon or Legends who couldn't use the Force. The list of Marchion's weapons and abilities is almost as long as the list of atrocities he committed with them. Marchion and his Nihil had Path engines that could move ships through hyperspace in impossible ways to grant major strategic advantages, he commanded the Great Leveler, a Nameless that could cut off a Jedi's connection to the Force, he carried a stolen lightsaber, and much more.

Marchion Ro had a huge arsenal of tools at his disposal, but his most impressive feat was the ability to use them all to their fullest potential. Marchion was a brilliant strategist, utterly cruel and brutal, and one of the greatest political power players the galaxy has ever seen. He orchestrated massive catastrophes, manipulated anyone and everyone he came in contact with, and more. At the height of his power, Marchion ruled over huge swaths of the galaxy as the Occlusion Zone and threatened the Jedi and the Republic at their absolute best. If he had been born at any other moment in galactic history, Marchion Ro would have dominated the entire galaxy.

5

The Bendu

Like several other Star Wars characters on this list, the Bendu is more of a manifestation of the Force itself than a person. The Bendu first appeared in Star Wars Rebels, where he gave advice and guidance to Kanan Jarrus about the loss of his sight and his padawan, Ezra Bridger. The Bendu, however, is an agent of balance in the Force, and thus only wanted to be left alone, not contribute to the Jedi's fight against the Empire.

The Bendu's most impressive show of strength was in becoming a massive lightning storm during the Battle of Atollon. As a storm, the Bendu was capable of manifesting his voice and eyes in the clouds, creating massive lightning strikes that could completely destroy AT-ATs, predicting the future, and becoming one with the Force. While he was incapacitated by Thrawn's troops, the Bendu can single-handedly threaten an entire planet and a legion of Imperial troops, making him far more deadly than Darth Vader.

4

Kirak Infil'a

There are only a handful of Star Wars characters who have ever beaten Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, and none of them have beat him as handily as Kirak Infil'a did in the Darth Vader (2017) comics. Infil'a was a Jedi who survived Order 66 due to his years-long Barash vow, self-imposed isolation and meditation. While Infil'a did weaken Vader with a series of traps, he also far surpassed him in skill.

At different points in their duel, Kirak Infil'a was able to break free from Vader's Force choke, destroy his cybernetic limbs, and more than contend with him with a lightsaber. He was such a skilled lightsaber duelist that he outright taunted Vader as they fought, calling him weak and declaring that he would kill Palpatine next before pushing Vader off a cliff. The only reason Infil'a lost was because he underestimated Vader's cruelty, as the Sith Lord used the lives of innocents to force Infil'a to submit. In a fair fight, Kirak Infil'a would have won.

3

Obi-Wan Kenobi

There's a short list of Star Wars characters who have ever dueled Darth Vader and lived, an even shorter list who have beaten him, and a single man who has defeated him twice in open combat: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan famously dueled Anakin on Mustafar in Revenge of the Sith and left him with three severed limbs and brutally charred flesh. He then encountered his former Padawan again in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and bested him again. Only his love for Anakin stayed Obi-Wan's hand and caused him to spare Vader twice.

In terms of raw power and abilities, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a fairly average Jedi. He doesn't have any incredible Force feats, he was defeated in lightsaber duels with Count Dooku numerous times, and there were even other Jedi who were stronger than him. Obi-Wan, however, could play the long game flawlessly. He was unparalleled at the basics of defensive lightsaber combat, which helped him turn Vader's furious fighting style against him, and he also protected Luke Skywalker long enough to save the entire galaxy.

2

Darth Sidious

Though Darth Vader would eventually turn against his master and destroy him, he was never able to surpass Darth Sidious. Even among the massive history of Sith Lords, Sidious was legendary. He was the culmination of 1,000 years of the Sith Rule of Two, he nearly destroyed the entire Jedi Order, he toppled the Republic and established himself Emperor, and more. Sidious embodied every sense of the phrase "unlimited power," from his connection to the dark side of the Force to the political and military tools at his disposal.

Even setting aside the full might of the Empire, which alone would make Sidious the most powerful person in Star Wars, he was incredible. Sidious could use Force lightning, was able to dominate several Jedi masters at once in lightsaber combat, orchestrated an entire civil war, and did all of it without revealing himself to the Jedi. He even conquered death through cloning and very nearly brought about the age of the Sith Eternal in The Rise of Skywalker. Next to Sidious, Vader seemed like a simple robot.

1

Luke Skywalker

At the end of the day, Star Wars is a parable about the amazing power of mercy and compassion, and no one embodies that lesson as much as Luke Skywalker. Luke is capable of a great many feats of power. In canon, he defeated Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi, he was capable of projecting an image of himself across the galaxy using the Force, and more. In Legends, his power was even greater, and Luke was responsible for some of the most incredible Force feats in the entire franchise. In terms of traditional power, no one even compares to Luke in Star Wars.

The real power of Luke, however, was in his mercy. Luke won the day, defeated Vader, Palpatine, and the Empire because he cast his lightsaber away. He was the strongest Jedi the galaxy had ever seen, but he also had a power few Star Wars characters did: the ability to look past Vader and see Anakin. Luke toppled an Empire and saved the galaxy by throwing away his weapon. Echoing Obi-Wan's words, Luke became more powerful than Darth Vader could possibly imagine.

In that way, Luke Skywalker embodied the power of the light side of the Force as a whole. All the strength and power the dark side of the Force promised paled in comparison to the compassion and mercy the light side was capable of. The power Luke wielded is hard to quantify or compare to Vader because it's in a league of its own. It's like comparing the power of a water gun to the tides of the ocean. Luke is proof that the greatest power in Star Wars is the light.

TV Show(s)

The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions

Cast

Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal

Movie(s)

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order