Anakin vs. Luke: Who Is the Strongest Skywalker?

The two most well-known Skywalkers in the history of Star Wars are Anakin and Luke, the father-and-son duo. We know for a fact that the Force is strong in the Skywalker bloodline because all of the Skywalkers have exceptional abilities in the Force. But we also know that Anakin and Luke are arguably the strongest out of all of the Skywalkers. But who between Anakin and Luke is the strongest Skywalker?

Anakin is the stronger Skywalker when compared to Luke because he had the greater potential and was more battle-tested than his son. Even though Luke became what Anakin should have been, he didn’t have his father’s massive potential and his extremely powerful connection to the Force.

In many ways, Anakin is a “what if” story because he could’ve been the greatest Force user of all time had he not gotten injured in his battle against Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, during his prime, his feats and experience were undeniable as he was able to accomplish things that Luke couldn’t. With that said, let’s look at who between Anakin and Luke is the strongest Skywalker.

Lightsaber Combat

Anakin was one of the best lightsaber duelists of his time and was, at his peak, probably just behind the likes of Yoda and Mace Windu, who were both the most powerful Jedi of the Republic. He was able to showcase his mastery over both styles of Form V, especially in his duels against powerful swordsmen like Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress. And even though Anakin lost his first fight with Obi-Wan, he could have won it had it not been for his hubris.

Luke was a master combatant during his time and was also an expert of Form V but with hints of Form VI in his style. He never fully mastered Form V like Anakin, but he was still able to defeat Darth Vader in their final battle. Luke also showcased his mastery over his lightsaber in the fight against Kylo Ren, who himself was using combinations of Form V and Form VII in his combat style. And Luke’s lightsaber combat also allowed him to dominate Dark Troopers, which are arguably the strongest non-Jedi or non-Mandalorian soldiers in Star Wars.

As much as Luke has mastered the art of lightsaber combat, Anakin is still the better duelist because he was able to display his mastery over the lightsaber in a lot of different instances against opponents that are considered immensely powerful.

Anakin 1, Luke 0

Force Powers

With the highest midi-chlorian count ever recorded in the history of Star Wars, Anakin Skywalker’s connection with the Force was unrivaled because the Force speaks through the midi-chlorians. The higher the midi-chlorian count of a person is, the stronger their connection with the Force is. Because of that, Anakin was able to showcase his strength over the Force in a lot of different ways, but he was more reliant on his Force powers when he became Darth Vader because he could no longer move as well as he could due to his robotic body. Nevertheless, it is said that his Force powers could have been twice as strong as Darth Sidious had he not gotten injured.

Luke has an extremely powerful connection with the Force due to the fact that he is a Skywalker, which is a bloodline that has a higher midi-chlorian count than most bloodlines. In that regard, it didn’t take him too long to learn how to master the ways of the Force, as he was a natural in it. In fact, Luke was so powerful with the Force that he was able to create a projection of himself on another planet despite being light-years away from it, as he did so in his battle with Kylo Ren in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.

Had he not gotten injured, Anakin could have been the strongest Force user of all time had he not gotten injured. He was still very powerful as Vader, but Luke was perhaps just as powerful in the Force during his peak. That’s why this round is a tie.

Anakin 1, Luke 0

Feats

Anakin Skywalker was considered a hero of the Clone Wars for a very good reason because he was arguably the most accomplished Jedi during that era. Whenever the Jedi wanted someone to take on a tough mission, they asked Anakin or Obi-Wan to do it because they were equipped with the skills and experience to handle all sorts of situations. In that regard, Anakin fought and defeated opponents like Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress during the Clone Wars. And during the time of the Jedi purge, he also defeated numerous Jedi.

Luke Skywalker became a Jedi during the peak of the Rebellion, and that means that he faced a lot of different opponents during that time as well. However, there were no other Force users during the time of the Rebellion, and most of Luke’s opponents were Storm Troopers. His greatest feat was defeating Darth Vader, but he lacked any real opponents after the fall of the Empire. He might have fought Kylo Ren on par, but he didn’t have any other real feats against extremely powerful opponents.

Anakin simply had the better feats compared to what Luke was able to accomplish. He defeated powerful Jedi and Sith alike and was able to fight all sorts of different fighters, such as bounty hunters, during the Clone Wars. In that regard, Luke cannot match Anakin’s feats.

Anakin 2, Luke 0

Experience

Anakin’s experiences both as a Jedi and as a Sith Lord are unrivaled because he really did go through a lot during his time. When he was a Jedi, he lived through the Clone Wars and was one of the most overused Jedi generals of that time. Then, when he became Darth Vader, he and his inquisitors hunted down and killed a lot of Jedi and Force-sensitive people. His experience was unrivaled during his time, and that only added to his strength.

Luke experienced plenty of battles throughout the Rebellion but mostly lived in peace after defeating the Empire. His post-war experiences were mostly related to his life as a Jedi Master trying to rebuild the Jedi Order, but he didn’t face a lot of opponents and enemies during that era because he was too focused on creating a new generation of Jedi. That’s why his experience still paled in comparison to the other Jedi Masters of the past.

Going through an entire lifetime of conflict allowed Anakin to compile a life’s worth of experience on the battlefield. His experiences both as Anakin and Darth Vader trump Luke’s experience.

Anakin 3, Luke 0

Wisdom

Anakin was never the wisest man because he was mostly headstrong and reckless. His lack of wisdom proved to be his biggest weakness because he always relied more on his emotions. That is how Obi-Wan was able to defeat him not once but twice in their four encounters. And it was also his lack of wisdom that allowed Darth Sidious to seduce him to the dark side and eventually turn him into Darth Vader.

Luke started off just as headstrong and emotional as his father but eventually became a wise Jedi that was able to reject the dark side when it was repeatedly offered to him on a silver platter both by Darth Vader and Darth Sidious. While he did blame his lack of wisdom for Kylo Ren’s fall to the dark side, he still was one of the wisest Jedi that was probably just behind the likes of Yoda and Obi-Wan. Still, Luke needed some tidbits of wisdom from Yoda himself during the events of The Last Jedi, as he realized that he still had room to grow.

The reason why Luke was able to become what Anakin should have been was the fact that he was wiser than his father. As powerful as Anakin may have been, he lacked Luke’s wisdom, which ultimately prevented him from falling to the dark side.

Anakin 3, Luke 1