Lit Best Lightsaber duel of all time (so far)?

I know that Vader vs. Maul happened, but I wonder what it would be like if it were Anakin before he turned vs. Darth Maul. I'm also still interested in seeing more of what Qui-Gon could do as a duelist.

 

Hmm film wise, I love the ESB duel and the TPM trio duel a lot. They're very different in their own way but both stand out as being really good for me. Having said that I thin Luke and Vaders fight on the DSII wins out for me because we really get some insight into Luke's character there. His initial fighting show's he isn't going for the kill and then Vader lures him into using that anger only for him to go all out, chop off that hand and then really realize that he's becoming his father by giving into his anger.

Novel wise my two favourites are both from LotF despite it not being one of my favourite series. I loved it when Mara went after Jacen because she wasn't attacking him in the ways that he expected and we finally got to see someone put him in his place. Ok so he wins in the end but he has to resort to a drastic measure to do it and it's purely luck that saves him. I think what I like most about this duel is the sheer viciousness that Mara displays. I know it's hardly befitting of a Jedi to fight the way she did, but it was perfect to me for who her character is. She isn't your standard all good Jedi, she's a former assassin who has lived in the shadow of the darkside and been trained to kick ass in a variety of ways. Mix in that she's a mother desperate to do what it takes to protect her child and her actions in the fight are perfectly explained.

The other one from LotF that I enjoyed was the duel between Luke and Jacen. Similar to the duel with Mara it's vicious, brutal and as much a brawl as a duel and it really explores the abilities these two have learnt. Indeed I'd say that one of the few things I really liked about LotF was the exploration of Luke and Jacen's powers which were born from very different paths being pitted against each other. Add in that Jacen has become an extremely annoying character at this point and it becomes an almost saving grace when you get to see Luke put Jacen in his place several times.

 

Yes! You get to see Luke go into beast mode. It makes me sad that Luke could have easily ended the whole thing right then and there, but I guess it's wise to keep Luke from the dark side. It's also sad that Luke couldn't detect the evil that was within Jacen, but then again, Palpatine was able to hide his evilness from the entire Jedi council. Didn't Saba detect the evil in Jacen before Luke did?

 

I think by the time of Mara's funeral Luke was probably the only member of the council that hadn't quite accepted the darkness in Jacen.

 

Denial can be an ugly thing. Especially when it gets your wife killed.

 

Regarding the movies, certainly the best is Luke vs Vader in RotJ. The Phantom Menace three-way battle is next on my list, and then Yoda vs Sidious.

As for non-movies, Anakin vs Ventress in Clone Wars was incredible, and better than a number of the movie duels.

 

talk about necromancy

 

I saw him, Gandalf. From out of the darkness, the Necromancer has come!

 

qft

 

thanks obama

 

Embarrassing Boba Fett stories have actually decreased since his reelection so

 

If we're talking movies, ESB battle, it's so darn pretty and cathartic. Talkin' EU, Luke vs. Reborn Clone Emperor, it's darn messy and cathartic.

 

Plus it mirrored RotJ, with Luke in Vader's role of crossing swords with family member before turning against the Emperor, and touched on Lucas' original plan for Episode IX, with Luke fighting the Emperor.

 

I love the way Cam Kennedy draws lightsabers - as fizzy blast of energy. Not as film-accurate as some more modern artists, but cool nonetheless.

 

Aryn Leneer vs. Darth Malgus has been a favorite of mine. And Jaden Korr vs. the Kam Solusar clone. Kemp writes lightsaber duels really well, IMO.

 

Best duels not in the movies...

Ventress vs Anakin, in the 2003 Clone Wars.

Luke vs the Reborn Emperor in Dark Empire.

Exar Kun vs Siosk-Baas, his former master.

Revan vs Malak, the first time. Even though it's all in the game, it's awesome.

 

Anakin vs Asajj... that duel was utterly amazing in every way. Watching the entire thing together on youtube is always a treat.

 

Sidious vs Maul and Savage is good.

 

It is. Even better though is the Savage Opress/Ventress/Dooku battle though; it's thrilling as allegiances change mid fight, and you go from Dooku being outnumbered to Dooku and Ventress double-teaming Savage. Whereas with Sidious vs Maul & Savage, Sidious is just having fun with them, he could wipe them out anytime.

 

I agree. The Ventress/Dooku/Savage duel is pretty tense, and there's some genuine surprises with Savage blasting out and such. The Sidious duel, while visually pleasing, is really just mop up. I was also one of the few who was sad to see Savage go.

 

Hmmm. Tough one, but at the same time, I was surprisingly quick to decide.

Like many others, the Empire Strikes Back duel wins the day, for many of the same reasons as have been brought up. I actually find the other duels of the OT pretty disappointing. I don't care what people say about the ANH duel, anyone who has held a sword, whether it be longsword or rapier, knows that no one fights like that. I've seen people with zweihánder move faster and with more style and grace. Return of the Jedi is in its own way worse, if only for the choreography. It starts out alright... but then... Several times Vader reacts to blows that outright go past him, goes from confident to acting exhausted in a moment (despite the length of the TESB duel only a year before), and then again, falls onto the rail and puts his hand out for Luke to cut off of seemingly his own volition. It's terrible. Thankfully, I love the OT for other reasons than the lightsaber duels, and TESB makes up for it, and I rationalize that Vader was taking a fall, because he wanted his son to kill him and replace him, as he had to know this was how Palpatine did things.

In the PT, it has to be Obi-Wan versus Vader. The duel in TPM is awesome, and has some emotion, but in the end it's actually a little forgettable aside from the ten second fast and furious before Obi-Wan gets knocked in the pit. On Mustafar however, its not even the emotions of the fighters, the location or any of that. It's actually slowing down the fight and noticing the incredible moves that the fighters pull off, especially Anakin. Things like Obi-Wan striking at Anakin's back... and him easily blocking it behind his back and carelessly, as if swatting a bug. Anakin throttling Obi-Wan as he tries to kill him with his own lightsaber. Blocking Obi-Wan's two handed killing blow, when he is laid down, one handed. How Obi-wan is constantly the one backing off from Anakin, because of how overpowering he is. Moments where Obi-Wan seems to take a guarded breath, thinking he has a moment, and then Anakin does something like jump what has to be over a hundred feet from a platform falling over the edge of a lavafall back into the duel. I'm not even sure Sidious could have beaten Anakin in a pure lightsaber duel at this point. But it's not just them showing off Anakin's skill and power, its also just how good at surviving Obi-Wan is, and how far he has come since TPM. Sure, he knows Anakin and his fighting style and that's partially why he does so well, but his performance still show that (with no special blood or destiny beyond being the 'the mentor') he is one of the brightest of his era. I just love the duel because it actually approaches the EU duels in terms of silly Jedi ability, whereas its generally somewhat grounded. Book aside, Sidious and Mace is actually quite a slow and dull duel.

Even the silly lightsaber spinning can't ruin it, despite hoping it gets edited out in a future release.

 

Oh, also, not a lightsaber duel, but...

Spoiler

 

Given that they're actually used to block blaster bolts at some points, I'd say they're pretty close in capability.

 

Remember when Hayden (I think) was promising the Episode III duel would be the longest fight scene of all-time or something?

 

I actually prefer the Yoda/Sidious duel, especially when they end up in the Senate; very strong symbolism, politics stripped away and good fighting evil with the universe at stake.

It's weird to think that Yoda never actually wins a duel in the movies.