Often achieving the rank of Jedi Knight or even Jedi Master isn’t an appropriate measure of ability or connection to the Force. In many cases, someone’s natural affinity for drawing on the energy of their surroundings, as well as their martial skill, is apparent even as a Padawan learner, and it can be an indicator of the powerful Jedi they will become.
So who’s the most powerful Jedi? The legendary status of the galaxy’s guardians of peace and justice could have been predicted by their aptitude as an apprentice, when they displayed abilities that far surpassed their peers, like Count Dooku. But even those Padawans who didn’t have formal training by the Jedi Order until they were older (like Anakin Skywalker) already showed remarkable promise. And sometimes, in the case of students like Rey, natural talent had to be combined with the tutelage available to become the strongest Jedi.
Updated on January 4th, 2022 by Kayleena Pierce-Bohen: As Phase I of Star Wars’ High Republic comes to a close and prepares for a Phase 2 set 150 years in the past, Padawans have taken center focus in the age of plentiful Jedi. Fans have been able to see who was the most powerful Jedi long before Obi-Wan Kenobi felt a disturbance in the Force.
Recent trailers for Star Wars Eclipse, a beautiful game also set during the High Republic era, have drawn fans’ attention to new Jedi characters, although their identity remains to be seen. The highly-anticipated Season 3 of The Mandalorian is rumored to feature Grogu undergoing training under Luke Skywalker, indicating with the strongest Jedi ranked, his name will be among them.
Like his eventual mentor Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger was forced to survive on his own in the Imperial age, a Force-sensitive orphan due to his parents’ public criticism of Emperor Palpatine’s regime. After finding him on Lothal, Jarrus recognized his connection to the Force and trained him in the Jedi path. Though Jarrus was only a Padawan himself, Bridger benefited from his mentor’s official training in the Jedi Temple.
Bridger was a quicky study and became a powerful fighter against prominent dark side combatants like Darth Vader and the Inquisitors, and later became a revolutionary hero in the early days of the Rebel Alliance, with a particularly strong talent for communicating with creatures.
The former Padawan under Jedi Master Jaro Tapal, Cal Kestis was one of the only Jedi to survive Order 66, his master having fallen trying to prevent his execution when their battalion of clone troopers turned against the pair. Kestis had to survive in a hostile galaxy alone until crossing paths with Jedi Cere Junda, herself a Jedi in hiding, who persuaded him to dedicate himself to finding a holocron necessary to kickstart a new generation of Padawans.
Kestis may have cut himself off from the Force to survive in Jedi: Fallen Order, but once he opened himself up to its energy again, he was able to survive battles with Inquisitors, and even Darth Vader himself, no easy feats. Finding the holocron and ensuring no children would be abducted to grow the ranks of the Sith was what finally made him a fully-fledged Jedi.
Like Cal Kestis, Caleb Dume was a young Padawan driven into hiding when Order 66 caused the death of Jedi Master Depa Billaba, who sacrificed herself so that he might survive. Also, like Kestis, he turned against the Jedi path to conceal his true identity, assuming the name Kanan Jarrus and becoming first a smuggler, then a part of Spectres, a rebel cell against the Galactic Empire.
Jarrus was still a Padawan himself when he took on 14-year old Ezra Bridger as an apprentice, but he was capable of defeating the Grand Inquisitor, proving he belonged among the strongest Jedi in the Imperial era (and to some, was the greatest Jedi in canon). He was finally knighted in Season 2 of Star Wars Rebels during a Force vision of Temple Guards on Lothal.
Like her twin brother Luke Skywalker, the Force was strong in Leia Organa’s family. She would have had all of his powers (and perhaps more) had she decided to complete her Jedi training instead of using her political acumen to save the galaxy in a different way, first from the Galactic Empire and later from the First Order that rose from its ashes.
Like Luke, Leia had the power of telepathy, and when the siblings sparred after the Battle of Endor, she showcased extreme skill with a lightsaber. But the fear of her son’s pull to the dark side forced her hand; Luke would need to spend time training Ben Solo, and she would focus on helping to shape the New Republic. She did, however, connect with the Force in times of extreme necessity such as surviving in the vacuum of space or helping complete Rey Skywalker’s training.
As a young man, Obi-Wan Kenobi showed promise as a Padawan thanks to his balance of pragmatism with curiosity, learning to be mindful of the Living Force without being at the expense of the moment. Along with his master Qui-Gon Jinn, he was able to successfully evacuate Queen Amidala from her home planet of Naboo and provide her protection until she reached the Senate.
When they returned he found himself battling Sith apprentice Darth Maul, an accomplished swordsman who would claim Jinn’s life, forcing Kenobi to take the Jedi Trials ahead of schedule. While he ultimately killed Maul, which proved no easy task, he went from being a Padawan to having one of his own in a matter of moments.
A student of the Living Force, Qui-Gon Jinn showed a great aptitude in his early years for connecting with the Force in a symbiotic way. From the very beginning, Jinn was honest about his fear of failure, and by being cognizant of his perceived weaknesses, he was able to overcome them, even if they put him at odds with the Jedi Council.
Jinn paid attention to the moment and didn’t put much faith in a future that wasn’t certain, save for his unwavering belief in the Prophecy of The One who would bring balance to the Force. He died before he could discover if it was true, but his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi fulfilled his wishes and trained Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One.
Rey became the unorthodox apprentice of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker after she tracked him to the remote planet of Ahch-To, convincing him to train her even after he’d sworn to never take another apprentice after his nephew turned to the Dark Side. The scavenger had an unusual connection to the Force, and he helped temper her raw talents.
She had already inadvertently mastered the Jedi mind trick, and been able to hold her own against a powerful warrior like Kylo Ren. With Skywalker’s direction, she could levitate boulders and communicate telepathically across the galaxy within a matter of days, and after her training was later completed by Leia Organa, she was ready to face the Final Order and her destiny.
At 50 years old, Grogu was still an infant by the standards of his species when he was taken in by Din Djarin, a Mandalorian tasked with retrieving him for experimentation by the last bastions of the Empire. Under the Mandalorian’s care, his innate Force abilities appeared in curious ways, some helpful and some harmful.
For one so young, Grogu was already able to levitate large creatures, as well as skillfully perform the dark side ability of Force choking. With a wave of his small-clawed hand, he caused the death of several stormtroopers. Though his powers were initially erratic, after being trained by Luke Skywalker, they could make him one of the strongest Jedi in the galaxy.
The apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano received unusual training from one of the most powerful Jedi in the order, as well as one of the most reckless. Despite his reputation, she thrived under Skywalker’s tutelage, helping him settle political disputes, defeat Separatist droid armies, and lead companies of clone troopers during the Clone Wars.
Before the Clone Wars were over, she would face General Kenobi’s old nemesis Darth Maul, nearly beating the Sith in battle until circumstances surrounding the Siege of Mandalore forced her hand. After the Jedi Council falsely accused her of a bomb threat against the Jedi Temple she grew disillusioned with the Jedi Order, and though she would eventually leave it behind entirely, she was one of its most promising disciples.
With both Skywalker and Solo blood in his veins, Ben Solo was always destined for greatness. As if growing up the son of Alliance heroes and the nephew of a famous Jedi Master wasn’t enough, his family heritage also granted him an uncommon affinity with the Force.
When he trained with Luke Skywalker, his master sensed an unparalleled dark power that could be a draw to insidious entities like Supreme Leader Snoke. In a moment of weakness, Skywalker nearly killed his nephew to prevent his turn to the dark side, but the damage had already been done; he all but guaranteed that Ben Solo would eventually become Kylo Ren.
Though he never had the chance to officially be accepted into the Jedi Order, Luke Skywalker already had an advantage; he was part of a legacy of gifted Force users. With his heritage, Luke’s natural ability to connect to the Force was already prominent, and with only modest training under Obi-Wan Kenobi, he was able to channel it with purpose.
After training with Master Yoda, he focused his ability to levitate objects, communicate telepathically, and see into the future. He was able to hold his own in a duel with Darth Vader, stand up to the Emperor, and eventually his commitment to the light side -and faith in his father- would save the galaxy. Once Luke mastered his self-doubt, he became one of the strongest Jedi ever.
Though he was born an aristocrat on Serenno, Count Dooku was abandoned by his family to live at the Jedi Temple, eventually taken in by Master Yoda and trained to become a Jedi. He threw himself into his training, showing dexterity and determination far beyond his peers, eventually able to beat Jedi Master Syfo-Dias in combat blindfolded with one arm behind his back.
Even as a young man, he was disillusioned by the bureaucracy of the Jedi Order, and became known for being a political idealist. When he eventually trained his own Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn, he taught him to question the Jedi path. After he discovered the origins of his birthright, he left the Jedi Order, determining that he could enact more change in the galaxy through his assets than as a part of a monastic lifestyle.
While many aspects of Yoda’s life were a mystery, his devotion to the Jedi Order was obvious, and he remained a constant presence in it for nearly a thousand years. Since the time he was a youngling, he witnessed the glory days of the Republic as well as its fall, the Sith return, and the first Galactic Empire.
Yoda was trained by N’Kata Del Gormo, a Hysalrian he encountered after crash landing on his planet. The Jedi Master was the first being to inform him he was Force-sensitive, and eventually encouraged him to continue his training at the Jedi Temple, where official assessments placed Yoda as having the highest midi-chlorian count of any in the Order. He became a Jedi Master at 100 years of age and trained dozens of Padawans (including Count Dooku), making him one of the most powerful Jedi ever.
Much of what fans knew of Revan came from Legends, but his induction via Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary meant he finally joined the Star Wars canon in 2019. Revan began his journey with the Force as a gifted Padawan, whose skill with combat and strategy resulted in him eventually becoming one of the strongest Jedi and Supreme Commander for the Galactic Republic during the Mandalorian War (almost 4,000 years prior to the Battle of Yavin).
Much like when Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side, Revan’s fall spelled doom for the Jedi as he took his then-Padawan and set about creating his own empire against the very entity he once swore an oath to.
Anakin Skywalker was able to wield the Force with an incredible amount of prowess for one so young. Even as a boy on Tatooine, he was the only human alive who could race pods due to his unusually fast reflexes, eventually earning his freedom from slavery and a place at the Jedi Temple.
With a midi-chlorian count beyond Master Yoda’s, Anakin Skywalker surpassed his peers -and even his master- in terms of natural ability, making him the most powerful Jedi to ever live. He could easily take on legions of battle droids, survive the gladiatorial arena on Geonosis, and take on Count Dooku in battle. His attachment and anger prevented him from being granted the rank of master before he succumbed to the dark side, but as a Sith, he almost single-handedly wiped out the entire Jedi Order.