Skywalker Questions

Hey, got some questions on Anakin and Luke, since I really can't remember where the canon references are.

1. I can't remember what Lucas said about this, but does Luke have the exact same force potential as Anakin? Half ? Somewhere inbetween ? I always imagined it as half.

2. Luke is known to have a sort of "intuition" skill that allowed him to go up against the likes of Darth Vader with very little formal training by mirroring his opponent's lightsaber technique. Was this unique to Luke or did Anakin have this ability as well ? [maybe he didn't use it because he already have training]

3. Is Dark Side RoTS Anakin stronger than Sidious? I'm pretty sure if he went up against Yoda, Vader would win.

1. Yes, Luke does. X2 of Palps

2.Seems to be unique to Luke but the growth of Force Users is so inconsistent it amounts to little.

3. In terms of raw power he's on par. In an actual fight he would likely lose due to their superior mastery IMO

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Originally posted by samappo
1. I can't remember what Lucas said about this, but does Luke have the exact same force potential as Anakin? Half ? Somewhere inbetween ? I always imagined it as half.

You got it. And when he finds out Luke is his son, his first impulse is to figure out a way of getting him to join him to kill the Emperor. That's what Siths do! He tries it with anybody he thinks might be more powerful, which is what the Emperor was looking for in the first place: somebody who would be more powerful than he was and could help him rule the universe. But Obi-Wan screwed that up by cutting off his arms and legs and burning him up. From then on, he wasn't as strong as the Emperor – he was like Darth Maul or Count Dooku. He wasn't what he was supposed to become. But the son could become that.

Anakin, as Skywalker, as a human being, was going to be extremely powerful, but he ended up losing his arms and a leg and became partly a robot. So a lot of his ability to use the Force, a lot of his powers, are curbed at this point, because, as a living form, there’s not that much of him left. So his ability to be twice as good as the Emperor disappeared, and now he’s maybe 20 percent less than the Emperor. So that isn’t what the Emperor had in mind. He wanted this really super guy, but that got derailed by Obi-Wan. So he finds that, with Luke, he can get a more primo version if he can turn Luke to the Dark Side. You’ll see, as this goes on, Luke is faced with the same issues and practically the same scenes that Anakin is faced with. Anakin says yes and Luke says no.

The above two statements are what George has published about the matter. If you notice, he never says Luke is as powerful as Anakin. Rather, he states that Luke could be "this really super guy" or "somebody who would be more powerful than he was." The distinction may seem negligible, but it is ultimately important considering Anakin was conceived by the Force itself. Luke's more of a demi-god, if you want to see it that way. Both are amazingly powerful - far more so than any other apprentice Sidious could ever hope to get - but there is a distinction in power between them. And then if we want to get into the EU, Luke never comes close to Anakin's full power (his general peak-self is at least a dozen times less powerful), plus it seems Luke isn't getting near that level in the sequel trilogy either.

2. Luke is known to have a sort of "intuition" skill that allowed him to go up against the likes of Darth Vader with very little formal training by mirroring his opponent's lightsaber technique. Was this unique to Luke or did Anakin have this ability as well ? [maybe he didn't use it because he already have training]

I'd say it's there with Anakin, but not as noticeable since he's also getting formal Jedi instruction. Episode II does note that Anakin doesn't care much for practicing swordplay - yet is able to go toe-to-toe with Dooku, who's perhaps been practicing lightsaber dueling for longer than anyone in the mythos besides Yoda, for a duration. Anakin's crazy potential was more manifest in his unprecedented boosts in power during the late Clone Wars and the events of Revenge of the Sith.

3. Is Dark Side RoTS Anakin stronger than Sidious? I'm pretty sure if he went up against Yoda, Vader would win.

At the very least, I'd say he's on par. There's absolutely an argument that can be made that he's better, too.

Look this Anakin wank was fun to downgrade Sidious and Yoda, but let's be serious now. He loses to both.

How would it downgrade them, lmao? It would just elevate Anakin, and by proxy, RotJ Sheev. So I'm on board with it.

On topic:

1. No, he doesn't have Anakin's potential, and Anakin's potential is way higher than twice of Sidious.

2. Anakin should have it as well.

3. They're on the same level in power. Who is definitively stronger is debatable. I'd wager Anakin loses regardless given Sidious' mastery and versatility.

The above two statements are what George has published about the matter. If you notice, he never says Luke is as powerful as Anakin. Rather, he states that Luke could be "this really super guy" or "somebody who would be more powerful than he was."

Eh, no. He literally says this:

He wasn't what he was supposed to become. But the son could become that.

Explicitly saying that Luke could become what Anakin was supposed to become. In other words, Luke's potential=Anakin's potential, or at the very least, comparable. Also, you are misinterpreting what Lucas himself said. The "super powerful" and "extremely powerful" are not in reference to Luke, but to Anakin. The only thing of relevance he has said about Luke, is that he could become what Anakin was supposed to become. The purpose of the paragraph, from Lucas's viewpoint is to deliver that message.

I agree that EU has tamed him down a bit when facing off against Abeloth, That doesn't mean that his potential itself, is lesser than that of Anakin. Quite aside from the fact that the S&D vs Abeloth "battle" is a cycle that ranges across eons whenever Abeloth becomes strong enough to escape( presumably when chaos runs wild across the galaxy), Luke himself obviously hasn't actualized his potential, even by FOTJ.

Originally posted by godemperortrump
Look this Anakin wank was fun to downgrade Sidious and Yoda, but let's be serious now. He loses to both.

He's not that far off of Sidious and Yoda. Firstly, he has at least double the force potential/raw power as Sidious [which is ****ing huge considering Sidious], AND he is a 9 in lightsaber dueling. The only other two in this category in the movies are Sidious and Yoda. Nick Gillard:

"Level nine, the highest level of lightsaber fighting, is occupied by a small number of capable sword masters, including Yoda and Darth Sidious. At so high a ranking, it comes down to individual fighting styles as well as the circumstances of the surroundings that make a difference." "

Nick Gillard's opinion is irrelevant to me.

Ah, I see. Your personal view > Gillard/Lucas fact. Fair enough I guess... but don't forget to add "imo" when you say such stuff, because it's what you want it to be, not what's actually factual within the canon.

I find it funny four people have read the same quote and thus far 2 have posted one interpretation of it and then the other two have posted the actual opposite.

Originally posted by samappo

1. I can't remember what Lucas said about this, but does Luke have the exact same force potential as Anakin? Half ? Somewhere inbetween ? I always imagined it as half.

He never explicitly says that Luke has the same potential as Anakin. What he does say is that Luke has the potential to be the kind of super-Sith that Palpatine had wanted Anakin to be, and that Vader never could be.

Either way, half is too low of an estimate; that's about where Palpatine himself sits, as per Lucas

2. Luke is known to have a sort of "intuition" skill that allowed him to go up against the likes of Darth Vader with very little formal training by mirroring his opponent's lightsaber technique. Was this unique to Luke or did Anakin have this ability as well?

It wasn't so much a special skill as it was Luke being a natural who picked things up quickly. If you're asking if Anakin also had that sort of innate talent, then the answer would be yes.

3. Is Dark Side RoTS Anakin stronger than Sidious? I'm pretty sure if he went up against Yoda, Vader would win.

Is he stronger? Probably. Does that mean he'd win against the older, more experienced masters? Maybe.

👆

Originally posted by NewGuy01
Either way, half is too low of an estimate; that's about where Palpatine himself sits, as per Lucas

No, Lucas never said Anakin's potential is twice of Sidious', or that Palpatine's is half of Anakin's. He said that Vader can no longer be twice of Sidious, meaning that Anakin could have been but in no way does that restrict Anakin to merely 200 % of Palpatine. After the Mortis arc, it's fair to conclude his potential is a fair bit higher than that, with him ragdolling the Ones, you know. Unless you for some reason believe Sheev is on the level of the Son or the Daughter.