CT Old Obi-Wan vs Darth Vader... Who would have won?

So we all know that Obi-Wan in ANH let Vader kill him so he can become a force ghost and help Luke in the future. But I've been wondering, what if it was an actual fight to the death. Old Obi-Wan from ANH vs Darth Vader. Who would actually win? And why.

 

Vader would have won. It was clear that Obi-Wan was not gaining any ground in the fight and was being pushed back by Vader. I think one of the key reasons Obi-Wan sacrificed himself was because he knew he could not beat Vader.

 

Because he was too old and out of practice?

 

Mostly the latter. Vader had remained actively in battle on the front lines, and even hunting down Jedi survivors, while Obi-Wan's activity in terms of combat was minimal

 

Arthritis

 

But yeah Vader would've won
Not only had he stayed active but he was also younger, I mean if it matters at all bc you know... the suit

 

Yeah I know. I just decided to be realistic haha

 

Vader, I think. I'm inclined to believe his words about now being the master, settling in to his use of the dark side.

 

Vader. He participated in active combat for 20 years. Obi-Wan spent that time sitting in a hut on Tatooine.

 

Probably Vader, but I don't know. I'm not sure how much stock I'd put into Vader's boasts and taunts. In ROTS, Obi-Wan had given ground to Vader pretty much the entire fight, but still won due to an opening Vader carelessly presented.

In ANH, the fights just all around have much lower energy. I wouldn't say either combatant was really struggling.

But:

1. I'd imagine that Vader has a better grasp of his ability by ANH and isn't so reckless.

2. If Obi-Wan could defeat Vader, why not do so? Kill one of the Sith and spare Luke the burden of ever knowing.

 

Vader because he was not baking in the sun for 19 years and remained in active shape.

 

Vader was not holding back, he hates Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan on the other hand wasn't trying to kill Vader (silly in retrospect if you think of how he lost faith in Anakin)

If Obi-Wan tried, he'd win. Before the time gap, Obi-Wan was stronger, now they're both older, but Vader is also crippled by his suite. Heck even Luke after 10 minutes of training in a new hope got a hit on Vader in ESB. Clearly Vader is at his weakest in terms of lightsaber skills here, his connection to the force is weaker then ever. Obi-Wan wins this.

 

Vader. He was just the strongest bloke in the universe. Obi was an old man living in a hut, in a desert and forgotten planet. Bleh.

 

Obi-Wan won the fight. By this I mean he achieved what he needed to and managed to rob Vader of the satisfaction of actually killing him.

His aim was to keep Vader distracted from Luke whose strength in the force would have been apparent should Vader stop focusing on his hatred for Kenobi. Obi-Wan exploited that rage filled smokescreen to keep Luke safe. Vader himself stated that escape was not Kenobi's plan and he was right. It can be argued that he didn't actually die as his consciousness remained completely intact, with his body changing its state rather than being damaged. Obi-Wan knew that he could just step from one plane of being to another, which is why he has disappeared before Vader's blade even touched him.In a sense, he 'leveled up'.

He knew that he needed to get Luke to Yoda because of his sense of failure over Anakin. As he was in corporeal form, he wasn't powerful enough to train Luke to a level where they would be a match for both Vader and the Emperor. By making it look like he was killed in front of Luke, it showed how dangerous the Dark Side was, and what a monster Vader had become. At the same time he severely baffled Vader who was so surprised at his disappearance that he hesitated to go after the Rebels that were running through the hanger in plain sight whilst he kicked the remains of Obi-Wan's clothes about.

 

^ yes Obi-Wan won in the sense he achieved exactly what he intended to in fighting but IF it had been a fight to the death Vader would have struck down Obi-Wan eventually for my money.

 

Darth Sidious and Yoda beg to differ.

Obi-Wan let himself lose because, like him sitting on his but for 19 years he did it because the force guided him to I suppose. His destiny was to train luke to survive vader to live long enough to save Anakin and then the force can be back into balance. In a fight Obi-Wan would have won.

 

I know, but to be pedantic, with Obi-Wan's knowledge of becoming one with the force and Vader's adherence to the darkside, the only one of them who could ever truly die was Vader. Hence the line 'You cannot win Darth...', which was true. Kenobi's weapon against Vader was not his lightsaber, but Luke who awakened Anakin within Vader, killing him... from a certain point of view. Even the original line that was cut down in the final edit stated "You cannot win Darth. If my blade should find its mark you will cease to exist, but if you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Obi-Wan and Darth Vader fought twice (from what we know), the first time which was in their prime, Vader was left charred and mutilated on the edge of death, and the second time was fought to such a stalemate that Vader could not break through Obi-Wan's defences until Kenobi had the audience he needed to pull his little trick. Therefore I would say that Kenobi was in control the whole time. If he had actually been trying to win I think he would have had a fair chance. We saw how handy Qui-Gon was at 60, and no doubt we will see a 60 year old Luke pulling some fancy moves soon enough. To my mind, Kenobi was playing the long game because even if he had killed Vader, he knew Palpatine would always have another Sith Lord in waiting and Vader was the one whose weakness they knew. Better the Devil you know, and all that.

In essence, I don't think that what we saw in ANH was a true representation of Kenobi's martial skills at that time in his life.

 

Honestly, Obi-Wan can not kill Vader. It would break the prophecy. Like, he probably had the skill, but since Vader/Anakin was the one to bring the force to a balance, he couldn't kill him. If you're wondering, Vader/Anakin WAS the chosen one, but from a certain point of view. He did stop the Emperor, so if he would have died, no one would be able to kill Sidious.

 

And yet I feel that if you look at the films through the lens that the universe has made Anakin immortal until he destroys the Sith, that the story suffers immensely.

So, Yoda had to arrive and save Anakin and Obi-Wan from Dooku. That wasn't a choice he made, but something he HAD to do, because be needed to fulfill his destiny?

Palpatine wants Luke to kill Vader and take his place. But Luke can't make that decision, because fate would have him trip over his own feet and die, if he tried to kill an unarmed Vader?

That strips the films of the impact of character choice.

I get that several characters refer to destiny (mostly villains), but Lucas has never treated the characters as having fixed fates.

 

The prophecy is never presented as absolute fact. Many Jedi are less than sure and Anakin being the one in question is not at all clear. By ROTS the prophecy is in doubt. It is forgotten when the OT rolls around. You are only reminded of it when Vader finally kills Sidious.