Lit A/V The Force Awakens and the EU [TAGGED spoilers.]

The thing is all three have different areas where they're awesome.

Palpy is the master manipulator and chessmaster (trope, not game) for controlling a galaxy.
Vader is the unquestionable lord of terror, intimidation and unstoppable in head-to-head combat by anyone other than Luke.
Thrawn is the most brilliant military tactician on the battlefield.
Mara (to throw her in) is the best spy of the bunch.


None of them could overthrow Palpy, he'd prevent it long before they even tried. Thrawn or Mara would die in seconds if facing Vader. Anyone except perhaps Palpatine with battle meditation would lose in fleet combat vs. Thrawn. And Vader and Palpy are a bit to direct to be much use for spying.

There's no reason they each can't be the 'best' in their own area. No one person can do everything.

 

Film characters seem to always require primacy. Han is the best smuggler in the galaxy, Boba Fett is the best bounty hunter, Palpatine was the best Sith ever, Wedge is the best pilot, etc.

 

But Cad Bane was "best bounty hunter" before Boba was, so hey.

 

Which is somewhat illogical.

Han wasn't obviously that good of a smuggler - he had to dump cargo at some point, if he was that good he wouldn't be caught.

Fett - the debate about him is well known.

Palpatine was a great manipulator, but I personally feel that a lot of Sith were way more powerful.

Just because the movies are the core of the franchise doesn't mean that every other character must automatically be inferior.

 

When did Han become the best smuggler in the galaxy?

 

And Wuher was the best bartender who ever bartended!

 

I bet Luke would have taken the title of best moisture farmer from his uncle if he didn't get caught up in that Jedi nonsense.

Oh and Luke is definitely the best Jedi ever.

 

I didn't realize being a Jedi was a contest.

 

I got that impression is SOS.

 

There's yer problem.

 

You must be new here. EVERYTHING on the internet is a contest.

 

We all know that the living Jedi dream is the greatest of all the Jedi.

 

That's because the movies often depend on the their characters being the best. For example, if Wedge isn't the best pilot, why didn't a better pilot defend Hoth and attack the Death Stars? If Palpatine wasn't the best Sith ever, why is he such a big deal?

 

He was the guy who inherited all those generations of corruption that the Sith had been working into the Republic- so, a thousand years later, the time was ripe.

 

Best pilot I thought Anakin was meant to be the best pilot in the galaxy

 

Devil's Advocate; changing gears slightly, Sauron wasn't the worst of the Big Bads in Lord of the Rings. That would be Morgoth. Yet the "pinnacle" story is centered around Sauron as the Big Bad.

 

Because they were the best available in that situation.

Wedge may not have been the best non-force-sensitive pilot in the galaxy. But he was the best who served the Rebellion.

Han may not have been the best smuggler in the galaxy, but he was the one who happened to be in Chalum's cantina when Luke and Obi-Wan showed up.

Etc.

 

And he may not have always been the best- with better pilots being shot down by Vader at Yavin, and Wedge being lucky enough to survive and build up his skills to the point of being one of the best in the present era.

 

Wouldn't it be cool if Palps was actually kind of a loser when it came to Sith, but since he was "born" with a perfect plan and everything in place, he's like one of those billionaire teenagers or royal offspring that only live to embarrass their elders.

 

The RoTS novel tended to play up Palpatine somewhat- emphasising his defeat of Yoda, saying his political manipulations were so subtle as to "dwarf the power of the dark side itself" and so forth.

 

Palps has affluenza.

 

That would suck. Also, it's impossible. The pre-Palpatine Sith just waited while Palpatine actually did stuff.

 

Yeah. He kind of ruined a thousand years of preparation with that, didn't he. Also, three of his three apprentices turned out to be not-so-well-taught.

 

The thing that irks me the most about Thrawn is how we're told how much more forgiving he is toward his inferiors. "Thrawn only kills his subordinates when they fail to display creative thinking, unlike that nasty Vader, who strangles people willy nilly!"

But really, who did Vader execute in the OT who Thrawn wouldn't also have executed for being absolute morons? Ozzel? Needa? Thrawn would have smoked both their butts.