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Darth Vader is seen by Star Wars fans as one of the strongest Sith Lords ever to roam the galaxy. And they’re right, for the most part. Throughout the histories of Star Wars Legend and Canon, there have been a few individuals to exist who are stronger than Darth Vader. There’s also been many who have claimed to be more powerful than Vader, who in reality, aren’t.
Once the prize Jedi Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader was born out of hate, jealousy, rage, selfishness, and ego. For years, Palpatine groomed and moulded Anakin Skywalker towards becoming one of the strongest Sith Lords to rule over the galaxy. Despite his tremendous powers, though, Vader was not the strongest Sith to ever live. This doesn’t make him weak by any means. Instead, it goes to show how truly vast the Star Wars Universe really is.
Updated May 15, 2022, by Gabrielle Huston: Star Wars fans all over the world have finished enjoying the latest season of the Mandalorian, we figured it was about time to update this list of characters who could have taken him down.
18 Galen Marek
In Star Wars Legends and Canon, Galen Marek (Starkiller) is the only Jedi (other than Obi-Wan Kenobi) to put a beat down on Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker. Galen was secretly trained as a Sith Lord apprentice to Vader, but returned to the light side and the Jedi.
Galen Marek is the only one who came close to destroying the Sith Lord, thanks to his vast knowledge of Vader’s fighting tactics through the many hours they trained together. In the end, Marek sacrificed his own life at the hand of Sidious so the original Rebellion leaders could escape imprisonment.
17 Obi-Wan Kenobi
Darth Vader defeated Obi-Wan in A New Hope, but it’s because Kenobi let him. Old Ben was much more in-tune with the force and knew what path he needed to take for their second battle.
Despite his loss (which was really a win), Obi-Wan Kenobi defeated Anakin as Vader, before he became mostly machine in Revenge of the Sith. Kenobi also defeated General Grievous and Darth Maul (twice) in single combat. Do not underestimate the power of Obi-Wan Kenobi.
16 The Son
The Son is the physical embodiment of the Dark Side of the Force. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka encountered him in the Clone Wars TV Show. He, his sister (the Light Side) and his father (the balance) were trapped in a realm known as Mortis.
The Son wanted to escape Mortis, and his abilities had grown because, as the Dark Side's manifestation, the Son's power was fed by the ongoing war. He'd become much more powerful than even the three Jedi combined. The only way to stop him was for the Father to sacrifice himself, thus severing the Son's connection to the Force.
As epic as Darth Vader is, it's hard to argue that he's stronger than a literal manifestation of the Force.
15 Darth Plagueis
The mysterious Darth Plagueis almost always never gets enough credit for being one of the strongest Sith in Star Wars history. Not only did he survive multiple attempts on his life, he also brutally destroyed his Sith Master. Without Plagueis, there is no Sidious — and without Sidious, there is no Darth Vader.
The only way Darth Sidious knew he was guaranteed a victory over Plagueis was if he took him out in his sleep. Talk about an unfair fight. Palpatine achieved his strength and power as Darth Sidious because of Darth Plagueis’ lessons and teachings. Plus, Plagueis was able to do what Vader never accomplished: bringing the dead back to life.
14 Darth Sidious
Darth Vader beat the Emperor in the end, using one of his own tactics which he witnessed for the first time decades before, with Mace Windu. Darth Sidious was always stronger than Vader, which is why he ruled over him for almost 20 years and turned him into the Sith Lord he was.
Yet, Vader (Anakin) was always tactically gifted. Once he determined Luke could defeat him by giving in to the dark side, he reverted to the old bait and switch maneuver Palpatine used on Windu to defeat Sidious once and for all.
13 Darth Bane
Taking strength from the teachings of Darth Revan, Darth Bane wiped out the Brotherhood of Darkness about a thousand years before the events of The Phantom Menace. The initiator of the Rule of Two, Darth Bane would go down in history as one of the strongest Sith Lord leaders.
As per his own rules, Bane was destroyed by his apprentice once he became too weak to rule any longer. It would be his teachings which would eventually influence Darth Plagueis and later Darth Sidious and Darth Vader.
12 Marka Ragnos
Defeating his competition and taking over as ruler of the Sith, Ragnos ruled for over a hundred years without a single defeat in Legends. He is the only Sith Lord in Star Wars history to pass away of natural causes.
Like Darth Sidious, Marka Ragnos was a superb manipulator and tactician. He pitted his enemies against one another, leaving only a handful to be defeated by his own hand. After his passing, he was buried in the Valley of the Dark Lords on Korriban where his force ghost lived on, trapped within the tomb.
11 Tulak Hord
Known as the Master of the Gathering Darkness in Legends, Tulak Hord reigned during the early years of the Sith Empire. Remembered as the Lord of Hate and Master of the Gathering Darkness, Tulak Hord inspired the design of Darth Vaders all-black appearance.
According to Kreia in Legends, Tulak Hord “was the greatest lightsaber duelist of the Sith Lords.” His power during his time in the dark arts of the force was unmatched, and his rule feared by all.
10 Ajunta Pall
Leader of the Dark Jedi, Ajunta Pall conquered Sith civilization and is known in Legends as being the very first Dark Lord of the Sith. No one came close to his skills in using the Dark Side of the force or in lightsaber combat.
His battle against the Jedi was known as the Hundred-Year Darkness. Pall would lose his war against the Jedi but rule and grow his empire for decades in the Outer Realms before passing on. Nearly a thousand years later, Revan would encounter Ajunta Pall’s spirit and bring him back to the light side of the force.
9 The Daughter
The second out of the three Mortis Gods on this list, the Daughter is the physical manifestation of the Light Side of the Force. While we know her brother's powers were strengthened by the ongoing war, it isn't clear if it weakened the Daughter. If so, it wasn't significant, as she was able to hold her own against the Son.
Her death was a sacrificeto save her father when her brother attacked him with the Dagger of Mortis. If the Son was stronger than the Daughter, it was only because of events playing out around the galaxy; it's clear the two are meant to balance each other out, and something was seriously out of place when Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan encountered them.
And, as we said, it's hard to argue that Anakin is stronger than the Force itself in human form.
8 Darth Andeddu
Thought to have been the first Sith to use the title of Sith Lord in Legends, Darth Andeddu mastered the ability of essence transfer. He could move his consciousness from one vessel (body) to another, making him virtually indestructible.
Unlike other Sith Lords, Darth Andeddu ruled for centuries, always staying one beat ahead of his opponents. Eventually, he was put down, but his spirit survived and would cause havoc until a hundred years after the Battle of Yavin, before finally being taken out.
7 Revan
Revan is a Sith lord from the days of the Old Republic.
He was decanonized when Disney bought the franchise and reworked the canon, then he was recanonized by being mentioned in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary. The video game he first appeared in, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, is in the process of being remade. When released, that will firmly establish his canonization.
Relying on what we know about him from the decanonized material, Revan was a brutal Sith lord, then retrained as a Jedi due to a bout of amnesia. Eventually, his mind would be split, half Dark, half Light. He was able to make his spirit whole again and help to defeat the Sith Emperor of the time, but his legacy as a Sith went on to inspire many generations of Dark-Side users after him. Indeed, Lord Bane used Revan's holocron to develop the "Rule of Two."
Fun fact: Revan was actually supposed to appear in the episodes featuring the Mortis Gods, as an advisor to the Son, but was cut at the last minute at George Lucas' request.
6 The Father
An embodiment of the Force and the third Mortis God, the Father kept his children Son (Dark Side) and Daughter (Light Side) in balance with the galaxy. For thousands of years, he maintained this balance until his health finally started to wane.
Desperate to find a successor, he brought Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars animated series to the realm of Mortis. His hopes were in Anakin being the chosen one. Things didn’t go as planned, and The Father was forced to sacrifice himself to maintain a temporary balance in the galaxy.
5 Exar Kuhn
A former Jedi who fell to the Dark Side, Exar Kuhn gained his lust for power through the spirit of Freedon Nadd (A Sith Lord in Legends). Inventor of the double-bladed lightsaber, Kuhn is famously known for killing Supreme Chancellor Sidrona.
When Kuhn was later cornered on Yavin 4, he attempted to set his spirit free prior to his body passing. Unable to finish the ritual, his spirit remained trapped on Yavin 4 for several thousand years. He was influential in turning several of Luke’s apprentices to the Dark Side before having his spirit banished off the planet.
4 Sith Lord Vitiate
In deceiving the Sith survivors of the Hyperspace War in Legends, Sith Lord Vitiate took them all out in one shot and became immortal. He would rule as Emperor of the Sith for several hundred years, taking on the title of most powerful Sith Lord to ever exist in Star Wars Legends history.
Lord Vitiate was so powerful, it’s recorded he consumed the force energies of all living beings from several planets during his reign as Emperor. Even after losing his body, Lord Vitiate continued to plague the galaxy in spirit and through the minds of those who sought to defeat him as Valkorion.
3 Jaina Solo Fel
Jaina Solo Fel was Vader's granddaughter in Legends, the daughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. She was an extraordinary force-user who trained in Luke's Jedi Academy for much of her early life. Eventually, she was given the title: The Sword of the Jedi.
She was tempted by the dark side and even learned some of their force tricks, but ultimately returned to the light. Unfortunately hertwin brother, Jacen, was not so strong of will. He became Darth Caedus, and Jaina was forced to defeat him herself.
2 Abeloth
Beloved Queen of the Stars and the Bringer of Chaos in Legends, Abeloth was once mortal who became The Mother; she was the counterpart to the Father, who we mentioned previously. Unlike the Father, Son, and Daughter, Abeloth continued to age while she kept the peace over her waring immortal family.
Afraid of losing her life due to her own mortality, Abeloth drank from the Font of Power. Upon doing so, she ceased to be the Mother and turned into a twisted evil being known as Abeloth. She would eventually be taken out by Luke Skywalker and Darth Krayt.
1 Luke Skywalker
Say what you will about Luke’s whining, the power he wielded in Return of the Jedi was no match for Darth Vader. Having faced his father once before, Luke was familiar with his tactics and used the force to gain an upper-hand. In Star Wars Canon, only Luke Skywalker can be acknowledged as the one who truly defeated Darth Vader.
The funny part, however, is Darth Vader let him win... but only after determining he was going to lose. Luke Skywalker is the only one who could have made those events take place, which is why he’s rightfully considered a legend throughout the galaxy. As he aged, and learned, Luke's power only grew.