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

Two of the greatest Jedi in the storyline of Star Wars were Anakin Skywalker and his son, Luke Skywalker. These Jedi are two of the most important characters in the entire ‘Star Wars’ narrative because they helped push the plot forward with the different decisions they made in their respective lives. Of course, they also happen to be two of the strongest Jedi we’ve seen in the Skywalker Saga. So, in a fight between Anakin and Luke, who would win?

Anakin Skywalker is likely going to win in a fight against Luke Skywalker. That’s because Anakin was always one of the best lightsaber duelists of his time and had the potential to be the greatest Jedi of all. On top of that, he fought in an actual war with incredibly powerful enemies, such as Sith Lords.

The thing about the entire Star Wars storyline is that it is hard to compare characters that lived in different eras. We know that Anakin spent his prime years fighting in the Clone Wars, whereas Luke spent his prime years fighting for the Rebellion. But these wars were entirely different from one another, and the fact that the enemies were stronger and tougher during the Clone Wars gives Anakin the edge over his son. Now, let’s talk more about a hypothetical battle between these two.

Lightsaber skills

When he was still with the Jedi Order, Anakin Skywalker was a very skilled lightsaber duelist that only a few people could match in a fight. He was so skilled that he could go up against powerful opponents, such as General Grievous and Count Dooku. Then, in the Duel on Mustafar, Anakin basically pushed Obi-Wan Kenobi’s back up against the wall until the Jedi Master could gain the high ground. As a master of Form V: Djem So, Anakin performed a lot of quick, flashy, and powerful moves that were more than enough to overwhelm all of his opponents whenever he went for quick flurries.

Luke Skywalker was trained in the ways of the lightsaber by Jedi Master Yoda, one of the best duelists of all time. In that regard, he had the necessary training needed to fight Darth Vader on par. Luke was also a master of Form V: Djem So, which became the standard lightsaber combat form used by the Skywalker family. And by using this form, he was able to overwhelm Darth Vader, albeit he was enraged and fueled by his anger at that time.

While it might be true that Luke defeated Vader, let’s not forget that Anakin and Vader are somewhat different in terms of their fighting styles and habits, even though they are still the same person. And from what we’ve seen from Anakin, he seems more graceful and mobile than Luke.

Anakin 1, Luke 0

Force Powers

Anakin was born with the highest potential in the Force, so he was believed to be the Chosen One. Being the Chosen One allowed him to have a stronger connection with the Force than anyone else in the history of the Jedi Order. The only problem was that it wasn’t until the latter part of the Clone Wars that he decided to hone his Force powers, as he mostly focused on lightsaber combat training when he was still a Jedi. Nevertheless, his raw potential was always there, even though he was never able to live up to his potential.

Luke was also born with incredible potential in the Force and was the only person close enough to Anakin’s potential. Of course, Luke didn’t show a lot of impressive Force powers during the original trilogy. But in the events of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ and ‘Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi,’ he showcased Force abilities that he obviously worked on after the fall of the Empire. The most notable Force power he showed was the ability to create a Force projection that he used to actually outduel Kylo Ren, even though this projection wasn’t even as strong as the real Luke.

The fact that Anakin lagged behind in his Force training and could only become a powerful Force user when he became Darth Vader gives Luke the edge here. And that’s because Luke used a Force power that we haven’t seen in Star Wars history.

Anakin 1, Luke 1

Experience

During his time with the Jedi Order, Anakin Skywalker spent years fighting on the frontlines of the Clone Wars. This war lasted for around three years, but he faced numerous opponents and engaged in countless battles, as seen in the ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ series. Of course, he faced a lot of powerful opponents during the Clone Wars, as these included the likes of Grievous, Dooku, Ventress, and several other capable opponents that could give the Jedi a run for their money.

Even though we know that Luke Skywalker participated in the Rebellion and was one of the Rebel heroes that destroyed the Empire, we also know that there weren’t a lot of ground battles fought at that time. Most ground battles involved Stormtroopers, which are nowhere near the level of the enemies that the Jedi faced during the Clone Wars. Luke didn’t have to face a lot of Force-sensitive people during the events of the Rebellion. And after that, he spent years training other Jedi before hiding on a remote planet.

The fact that Anakin fought countless battles during the Clone Wars says a lot about how experienced he was before he turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader. On the other hand, Luke only fought in one war in the canon storyline of Star Wars, and that war was nowhere near as fierce as the Clone Wars.

Anakin 2, Luke 1

Feats

Anakin Skywalker’s feats during the Clone Wars were worthy of his status as a hero, and that’s because he fought in many battles and defeated strong foes during that time. He was strong enough to take on and overpower strong enemies, such as the likes of Asajj Ventress, General Grievous, and Barriss Offee. But his most impressive feat was defeating one of the greatest duelists of his era, Count Dooku, who was strong enough to overpower Obi-Wan Kenobi on more than one occasion.

Luke Skywalker’s feats were also impressive in their own right, even though he didn’t have to fight a lot of Force users during his time. His most impressive feat was defeating Darth Vader in a duel, albeit he used his anger to overpower his father. Then, in ‘The Mandalorian,’ he easily carved through several Dark Troopers that were too strong for Din Djarin and his allies to defeat. And in ‘The Last Jedi,’ Luke’s Force projection was already more than enough to give Kylo Ren trouble.

Anakin’s feats were impressive because he defeated powerful Force users during his time. But let’s not forget that Luke defeated Anakin’s fallen version and was overpowering Kylo Ren in a fight. That means that we can’t really choose who has the better feats.

Anakin 2, Luke 1

Self-Control

Anakin Skywalker was supposed to be stronger than anyone else in the history of the Jedi. But the only problem was that he didn’t have the self-control necessary to resist the temptation of the dark side of the Force. He always had an undisciplined mind, making it easy for Palpatine to tempt him. Of course, Anakin showcased his lack of self-control a lot of times, including charging into Dooku all on his own and doing some risky things during the Clone Wars just to get a quick victory over the Separatists.

Luke Skywalker was said to be impatient and undisciplined during the scene wherein he first met Yoda in Dagobah. That was why Yoda refused to train him at first, as he thought that Luke would end up like Anakin in the sense that he would also fall to the dark side. We also saw Luke getting tempted by the dark side when he used his rage to defeat Darth Vader. However, when Emperor Palpatine tendered an offer that no other Jedi would have ever been able to refuse, he overcame his own darkness.

The fact that Luke could do the one thing that Anakin could not do, which was to resist the temptation of the dark side, makes him a more disciplined Jedi than his father.

Anakin 2, Luke 2

Anakin Skywalker vs. Luke Skywalker: Who is more powerful?

Overall, a fight between Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker should be closer than some people might think. Anakin has the edge in terms of his experience and lightsaber skills. On the other hand, Luke has shown greater control over the Force and has always been the more disciplined of the two Skywalkers. So, while there’s a good chance that Anakin would win in a fair lightsaber battle, we can’t count Luke out because we know he was just as strong or even stronger than his father. That’s why this fight is too close to call, even though we might be leaning a bit toward Anakin.

Who do you think would win in this fight? Let us know in the comments below!