The General Star Wars Thread

The novelization of ROTJ made it clear that defeating Dooku in a fair fight meant Anakin was one of the most powerful Jedi in the order, and even made Windu nervous. But Power Levels are not really a thing, any given 1v1 fight could end in the statistically better fighter losing because they overlooked one thing. Cin Drallig may have fared better were his focus not compromised by Anakin's betrayal and the Temple being razed. Obi-Wan's victory was said to be the result of extreme focus and mental preparation before going in, and Anakin being rejected by Padme meant he had the slightest crack in his armor.

The underlying moral of Star Wars has always been that choosing the light takes effort and vigilance, while the dark side will always betray you.

I think the main factor for why Obi-Wan beats Anakin is because he knows Anakin like nobody else does.

Their duel is for the most part very evenly matched because the two have trained with each other for so long that became very attuned to the other's fighting style etc.

But it also means Obi-Wan's aware of Anakin's shortcomings and ultimately beats him by exploiting the latter's impulsiveness (which had gotten worse because of the influence of the Dark Side).

Regarding Anakin beating other skilled lightsaber wielders... it's worth remembering that he was a genuinely skilled warrior, to the point that he was actually modifying fighting styles and recording instructions on those techniques for Ahsoka (which she at one point Rebels shows to Ezra as well). In another universe and a galaxy at peace he could probably become a capable instructor himself.

We kinda get some glimpses of what Anakin could have become in Ahsoka and it only adds to the tragedy of what he did become.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on May 8th 2024 at 10:28:59 AM

"In another universe and a galaxy at peace he could probably become a capable instructor himself."

I will said he would become one of the biggest lightsword master ever with people constantly annoying quote him.

Granted I imagine a universe were anankin was never found...he probably would end being a pod racer

That would be a brilliant AU. Has there been any major official alternate universe media in Star Wars recently (or at all)?

Edited by king15 on May 8th 2024 at 9:35:50 AM

Well there is that Lego Star Wars short we are getting.

There was the Infinities comics, though that was more just the Original Trilogy, and also a long time ago.

Edited by theLibrarian on May 8th 2024 at 3:05:56 AM

A big theme of the prequels and Anakin's fall in general is that it was a build up of factors (him being too old, Qui Gon dying, both the expectations put on him and the various limits put on him by the Jedi, his love for Padme, his growing disillusionment with the Republic and the Jedi, his narcissism, his manipulation by Palpatine), so I think it's a missed opportunity to not write about what would have happened if anyone of those changed. What if Qui Gon had lived? What if Anakin had never met Qui Gon and remained in Tatooine (could he have been taken directly by Palpatine or Dooku at some point?)? What if Padme agreed to rule the galaxy together? Linked to that last one, what if Anakin had overthrown Palpatine (with variations based on whether Padme is with him or not)? There's lots of interesting places they could go with his storyline.

AU idea: In TPM, Obi-Wan promises to train Anakin. When talking with Yoda, he says that if he has to do so without the Temple’s help/resources/etc, he will.

In this AU, he does so. Discuss.

Option A) They get blindsided by Palpatine without any support and everything goes to shit much faster.

Option B) They manage to stay ahead of Sidious’ machinations, keeping up arch nemesis adventures against their shadowy enemy without ever knowing who he is, and rejoin the Jedi just wheb they’re most needed in the Clone Wars, preventing Order 66.

I seem to recall the Revenge of the Sith videogame had an alternate ending where if Anakin won against Obi-Wan, he'd then effortlessly beat Sidious on Mustafar right after and become the new head of the Sith. Palpatine really dodged a bullet.

Edited by PhiSat on May 8th 2024 at 3:49:08 AM

Awhile back I read a fanfic that because of the Outer Rim's militant movements not getting derailed there's massive tension with the Hutts and anti-slavery actions by the Outer Rim resulting in Anakin not being on Tatooine and getting picked up by Jon Antilles who sensing Anakin's immense power asks his former master An'ya Kuro / the Dark Woman to help train him.

Never actually got back to seeing how that played out sadly by the time of the last update.

I think it's kind of funny in a dark way that for all of Grievous being a hater of the Jedi, he missed out being alive for Order 66 by mere hours, if not minutes. I do wonder what he would've done had he managed to kill Kenobi first. As far as we know Sheev didn't intend Kenobi to finish him off, just that it would distract him long enough that he wouldn't get in the way of his plan

Grievous is a loose end, anyway. He'd probably get what remains of him shot to hell by the Clone Troopers.

Yeah, there's no way he'd be allowed to live; the most brilliant Separatist military leader, able to likely countermand shutdown signals for the army.

If I recall correctly, Anakin just stabs him unexpectedly when he shows up to congratulate him on his victory - which, looking at Snoke's death in TLJ, really becomes Hilarious in Hindsight when you think about it.

Not just that, but he was also pretty much built up to be a Complete Monster the Republic could be terrified of - there's a reason "the war can't end until Grievous has been hunted down" became official policy.

Grievous simply doesn't have any use to Sidious after the Clone Wars because his reputation makes him unusable as an Imperial asset.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on May 8th 2024 at 3:18:14 PM

Yeah, I remember seeing a clip of that cutscene.

I can imagine grevious escaping and try to doge palpatine as he become the new imperial leader, probably figuring out he palpatine and sidious were the same being

Yep. Anakin was already powerful as a Jedi. Turning to the Dark Side didn't really make him any stronger. It just meant he was more willing to use his power to do shit like Force Choke his pregnant wife or chop up children.

Funny video.

Amazing how death is so inconsequential in this franchise. Maybe we should stop calling them lightsabers and call them life savers. The only way to get killed in this franchise is to become a mentor. They get to die…. Or do they?

Edited by Patar136 on May 8th 2024 at 7:47:38 AM

<Points to all the children Anakin cut down with his lightsaber>

So the other way to get killed for real by a lightsaber is to be a kid.

Edited by M84 on May 8th 2024 at 10:56:05 PM

Unless your name is Reva. Then getting stabbed is like getting a Zenkai boost.

Can happen more than once.

Edited by Patar136 on May 8th 2024 at 8:23:31 AM

The point is that death, whether by lightsaber or other means, is hardly inconsequential in Star Wars.

But ironically enough, lightsabers could be called lifesavers since the main use Jedi have for them is to block attacks directed at them.

Kind of makes you wonder if the light shields briefly mentioned in Legends continuity were something the Jedi Order should have used in canon.

Edited by M84 on May 8th 2024 at 11:47:22 PM

Don't forget the Inquisitor. He walked off a lightsaber wound.

Gee it's almost like a weapon that immediately cauterizes its own wounds isn't immediately lethal unless you get stabbed in a vital area.

Even in Legends people were injured by lightsabers and survived. Don't start this stupid bullshit again.

I mean, getting stabbed by a laser sword is still gonna hurt like a bitch.

But the fact that it cauterizes instantly does make Obi-wan's claim of being an elegant weapon for a more civilized age more logical

Yeah, you can lop off limbs, but hey. Prosthetics are pretty good in this universe.