Anakin Skywalker vs. Darth Vader: Who Would Win in a Fight?

We all know that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are the same people because Vader is who Anakin became when he fell to the dark side and became a Sith Lord. However, if we were to separate the two from one another and then pit them against each other in a fight, that would be an epic showdown between two of the strongest Force users in Star Wars. So, who between Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader would win in a fight?

At his full potential, Anakin Skywalker would have been able to defeat Darth Vader. That’s because Vader’s potential with the Force was cut down when he lost all his limbs. As such, while Vader is physically stronger and more refined, Anakin is faster, more mobile, and has a higher ceiling.

Let’s not forget that Anakin Skywalker should have been the strongest Jedi to ever live if he didn’t fall to the dark side and lost his limbs. In that regard, he is a big “what if” story in Star Wars because he could have been something extremely special. As such, peak Anakin would have been much stronger than Darth Vader.

Strength

One of the things that we know about Anakin is that he is actually pretty strong for someone who isn’t as large as some of the other Jedi. A good part of his strength comes from his refined skills as a lightsaber combatant, but we also know that his robotic hand allowed him to perform feats of strength that the other Jedi were not capable of. Nevertheless, he was far from being the strongest Jedi regarding his physical prowess, as he relied more on his mobility and grace.

Darth Vader’s limbs are robotic, which gives him an edge over many different characters in terms of how strong he is. He can perform incredible strength feats with his robotic limbs, which is why his presence alone is already menacing. A lightsaber strike from Vader should be heavier than strikes from the other Force users, and this is why he can overwhelm other Jedi without having to rely on speed and mobility.

Anakin Skywalker may have a robotic hand, but he is simply an ordinary man. On the other hand, Darth Vader’s strength is nearly on par with the strength of a droid because he is already more machine than man.

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Speed

Anakin Skywalker has always been known for being a very graceful and quick Jedi that could fight with the speed and precision of a seasoned master. He is capable of blitzing his opponents with his speed and mobility. In fact, in many different duels, his speed is shown to be superior to most other Jedi because he was still at the prime of his life before the fall of the Jedi Order. On top of that, Anakin was always known to be a risk taker and a speed junkie that loves going fast and hard.

Because his limbs are now robotic and he has suffered irreparable damage to his body after losing his first duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader doesn’t have the same speed and mobility he once had when he was still Anakin. He tends to move methodically and steadily and is more calculating regarding his movements. As such, we can say that Vader is slow, but his moves are economical as he can still match the speed of younger and faster characters.

Even though Vader isn’t as slow as some people think he is, Anakin is still faster and more mobile than him. Skywalker should be able to use his speed to his advantage in a fight with the slower and more methodical Vader.

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Saber Skills

Anakin Skywalker was a gifted duelist during his time with the Jedi Order and was arguably the best ever to use Form V. In fact, he mastered both styles of Form V and used them effectively in the many duels he engaged in. Anakin was also a very acrobatic and mobile combatant who effectively used his lightsaber skills on offense. However, he was just as effective as a defensive specialist that focused on counterattacks and quick ripostes to his advantage.

Even after he became Darth Vader, Skywalker still used Form V more than any other lightsaber form. That’s because he had to hunt down and kill a lot of Jedi during his time as Vader, and that means that he needed to use a form that excelled at lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat. He was even able to easily defeat Reva Sevander with Form V because he was able to quickly find counters to her offense. However, Vader is noticeably slower and less acrobatic when using Form V.

While both Anakin and Vader use Form V, Skywalker was more mobile and acrobatic in the use of this form. On the other hand, Vader was very methodical in his approach when it came to lightsaber fights but lacked the speed and mobility that Anakin had.

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Force Powers

Anakin Skywalker was exceptionally skilled with the Force and was said to have the highest Midi-chlorian count in recorded history. This means that he was always stronger with the Force compared to other Jedi and Force users, which allowed him to excel in using different Force powers that the Jedi often use. However, Anakin was much more of a lightsaber combatant as he didn’t always rely on the use of Force.

Darth Vader’s Force powers are incredibly refined as he often relied on his Force abilities because he no longer had the same kind of mobility and speed that he once had before his injuries. In that regard, we’ve seen Vader tearing down entire buildings using the Force, as that was what he did during the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order when he was crushing the room and destroying entire structures while chasing Cal Kestis. Vader can even block lightsaber attacks by relying on the Force alone.

Anakin’s use of the Force was quite minimal when he was a Jedi. However, when he became Vader, his control over the Force was incredibly exceptional as he could crush entire objects with thought and throw Obi-Wan Kenobi around like a ragdoll.

Skywalker 2, Vader 2

Potential

Anakin Skywalker’s potential was said to be the greatest out of all of the Jedi in history due to his insanely high Midi-chlorian count. This allowed Qui-Gon Jinn to conclude that Anakin could be the prophesized Chosen One as his potential with the Force was higher than anyone else. Meanwhile, during the events of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious tells Yoda that Anakin is becoming even more powerful than ever and will eventually surpass both of them. As such, we can’t deny that Anakin’s potential was through the roof, as he could have been a godlike Jedi.

George Lucas confirmed that Darth Vader lost much of his power and potential when Anakin Skywalker lost his limbs in the battle against Obi-Wan on Mustafar. That’s because the Midi-chlorians reside within the different parts of a biological organism’s body, and losing his limbs cut down Vader’s Midi-chlorian count. Of course, there’s also the fact that he became a machine that needed to stay in a Bacta tank from time to time and was vulnerable to lightning-based attacks.

As fearsome as Darth Vader was, he reached his peak early because he no longer had any room to become stronger due to the loss of limbs and the damage his body suffered. This is why Anakin is a huge “what if” story, as he could have been so much stronger if he didn’t suffer those injuries.

Skywalker 3, Vader 2

Anakin Skywalker vs. Darth Vader: Who wins?

While we all see Darth Vader as the fearsome enforcer responsible for striking fear into the hearts of the surviving Jedi and the Rebels, we can’t deny that Anakin should have been stronger than his hubris didn’t get the best of him in his fight with Obi-Wan. But while Anakin doesn’t have the refined powers of Darth Vader, he is still a lot more mobile and would have been able to surpass any of the Jedi and Sith in due time because of his incredible potential with the Force.

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