Lightsabers are some of the most iconic items in Star Wars. Everyone recognizes the hum of a lightsaber being deployed, and the movies have been liberal in their usage. The popular franchise began nearly half a century ago and has had hundreds of lightsaber battles over the years.
Some have reached the pinnacle of popularity among the fandom and were made into memes and references that are instantly recognizable, while others have fallen into obscurity. The same goes for the duelers themselves. The Jedi Knights of the Stars Wars universe boast some of the finest swordsmen in the galaxy, so out of the best of the best, who is at the top?
10) Mace Windu Was Skilled, But Underused
Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) was underappreciated — even if he did get the cool purple lightsaber. While there's plenty to suggest in other 'Star Wars' media that he's talented and capable, audiences only got fleeting glimpses of his skills in the prequel movies.
For example, one of the best displays of talent came during the Battle of Geonesis. Mace Windu blocked a flurry of blaster bolts with the blade of his saber, then continued to block them from every side even as he fell through the air. Later in that battle, he blocked Jango Fett's volley and succeeded in beheading him, cementing Windu as talented but underutilized by the writers.
9) Count Dooku Was One Of The Jedi Order's Best
Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) was said to be one of the best swordsmen. He was one of the most powerful Force users in the Jedi ranks, using it to subdue Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and flee his failing fight with Yoda, but aside from cutting off Anakin's hand, fans didn't get to witness much of his lightsaber prowess.
Count Dooku faced a problem similar to Mace Windu's, where he was said to be powerful, but it was rarely shown — a problem throughout the prequel. All due respect to Dooku, but since he lost to Yoda, he would have to be placed below him.
8) Yoda...Enough Said
Yoda (voiced and puppeteerd by Frank Oz) didn’t become a Jedi Master and part of the Jedi Council for no reason. His duel with Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones was thoroughly his. We also saw plenty of his fighting skills using the Force when he was training Luke.
However, fans don’t quite see enough of his lightsaber skills to place him conclusively near the top of any list. He's certainly powerful with the Force and seems to value that over whipping out a weapon every time danger arises, so it's difficult to be too disappointed.
7) Palpatine May Actually Be A Great Lightsaber Duelist
Somehow, Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has...made it on this list? Palpatine probably isn't an obvious choice for many when talking about lightsaber users, but he has plenty of scenes showcasing his formidable skills.
In addition to being a master manipulator and a powerful Sith Lord, Darth Sidious faced off against Yoda himself and effectively guarded himself against the Jedi Master's acrobatic leaps and swipes. Like Yoda, though, he ultimately resorted to using the Force to get an advantage over his opponent.
6) Qui-Gon Jinn's Battle With Darth Maul Proved How Great He Truly Was
What better test of your skills than dueling Darth Maul (portyared by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz) — twice? The Phantom Menace had some questionable writing, but the lightsaber battle at the end is an action-packed scene that pulls wandering minds instantly back to the screen.
Even though Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) ended up losing that fight, he gave Maul a run for his money before finally being caught off guard. After all, with a double-ended lightsaber, Maul had the advantage. Either way, you have to be great to fend off such a unique lightsaber for as long as Jinn did.
5) Kylo Ren/Ben Solo Was Powerful, If Not Graceful
Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) trained for years under Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) before turning to the dark side. His style of fighting might not have been elegant like those of Jedi Knights, but he was clearly powerful and could sometimes get by on relying on brute strength against less talented fighters. This is shown in The Force Awakens when he fights Finn.
By the time of The Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren has grown enough to stay calm and show off some of his more technical fighting skills. Once he does, he shows that he's capable of being an extremely powerful lightsaber duelist...even if he loses that round, too.
4) Rey Became One Of The Most Memorable Lightsaber Users
Rey (Daisy Ridley) started as relatively weakly skilled in the technical aspects of lightsaber usage but contained a great amount of natural talent. The iconic forest fight with Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens showed her picking up Luke's lightsaber to duel for the first time, and though Ren's years of experience at first force her back, she managed to gain the upper hand.
Later on, once she had trained more, she showed more grace and ease when using a lightsaber, as seen when she fought alongside Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi. She also relied on her connection to the Force to supplement her fighting, like most Jedi, which took on a whole new meaning after the controversial twist that she was Palpatine's granddaughter.
3) Obi-Wan Kenobi Died, But Not Before Showing Off His Talent
Fans' first sight of Obi-Wan Kenobi (portrayed by Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor) fighting with a lightsaber was in A New Hope, which ended with his dignified demise. However, even in that brief scene, he showed that he was still powerful, even if he wasn't quite as skilled as his former apprentice. In The Phantom Menace, he helps his master in the iconic duel against Darth Maul...at least until he got knocked off the platform and had to stay out.
Even if he wasn't quite as skilled as an apprentice as he later became, we saw plenty of what would lead to him becoming General Kenobi of the Republic. If nothing else, he was brave and in-tune with the Force.
2) Luke Skywalker Is Anakin's Son And Wins His Battle Against Vader
As the son of Anakin Skywalker, Luke proves that the dueling genes have been passed on. Even though he was overconfident and desperate, and consequently lost to Vader (portrayed by David Prowse and voiced James Earl Jones) at Bespin, Luke used this as a learning opportunity. In Return of the Jedi, he fights against his father and wins, while remaining true to the light side of the Force.
In both fights, it was love for his family that drove Luke's desperation, but once he gained control of his emotions, he was able to speak the iconic line, "I am a Jedi, like my father before me."
1) Anakin Skywalker Proved Throughout His Years Just How Good at Dueling He Was
Anakin is one of the best, if not the best, lightsaber duelist across the 9 movies. Even aside from his connection to the Force, he showed immense skill, ingenuity, and power when engaged in lightsaber duels, such as his fight against Count Dooku. Even as Darth Vader, he showed strength and talent when fighting his son, Luke.
Anakin wasn’t the one chosen to bring balance to the Force for nothing, and we see plenty to prove his title of Jedi General throughout the movies alone (and that’s not counting Star Wars: The Clone Wars).