Sometimes a story is more nuanced regarding good and evil, but Star Wars is not one of those stories, which is part of its appeal. It’s easy to see who the heroes and villains are in one of the entertainment world’s most popular and endearing franchises, with the benevolent Jedi and Republic on one side and the malevolent Sith or the Empire on the other.
The Jedi Masters appear in various forms throughout the history of the Star Wars galaxy, taking roles as peacemakers, neutral negotiators, and warriors when the situation makes it a necessity. There will always be some discussion and disagreement regarding who the most powerful Jedi is, but here are some of the leading candidates.
Updated March 23, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: The television wing of Star Wars is exploring even more obscure characters, including who and what hardcore fans already know and love about the Jedi Masters. Various ongoing shows on Disney+ include Ahsoka, The Bad Batch, and the latest new series, The Acolyte. The question of who is the most powerful Jedi depends on what an individual considers to be true power, whether that means the wisest, the most compassionate, or the strongest Jedi ever.
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17 Qui-Gon Jinn
Sought To Bring Balance to The Force
The prequels really should have been about Qui-Gon alone, given his experience and skills by the time the story gets started. Even when he’s just a disembodied voice, he still makes an impression. He might not be the most popular among his peers, but his courage and diverse abilities make him one of the strongest Jedi ever.
Qui-Gon Jinn was one of the most powerful Jedi Masters, but he was often subversive, and his ideas and methods were controversial among the Jedi elite. However, his knowledge has stood the test of time, with more recent stories revealing that he learned how to become a Force spirit and passed the knowledge on to Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
16 Count Dooku
A Former Master And Teacher
Yoda taught this former Jedi Master, and the Count would later go on to be Master Qui-Gon Jinn’s teacher. This should give fans an idea of how powerful the Duke was, and why even experienced Jedi were in danger should they face him in battle.
Dooku lost his faith in the Order after the Battle of Naboo. For a while, he maintained a level of neutrality as the Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but secretly he had embraced the dark side and had become a Sith, Lord Tyranus. His weakness was forgetting that the way of the Dark Side was treachery. When his master discovered a younger, more powerful Jedi to coerce to the Dark Side, he was cast aside.
15 Kelleran Beq
The Legend Of The Sabered Hand
While many Jedi remain aloof and distant, Kelleren Beq was a beloved teacher and an exception to the unemotional visage typical of the masters of the Force. He served under the Jedi Order for most of his career and guided countless students through their first Jedi trials. His abilities with the Force were impressive, but he’s best known for his skills with a lightsaber, which earned him the nickname The Sabered Hand.
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Kelleren Beq currently appears as a character on the children’s game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge with his droid assistant AD-3. In the lore, this Jedi Master has a second droid companion, an astromech droid LX-R5 that helps him aboard his starship, the Athylia.
14 Mace Windu
A Warrior And A Diplomat
He wasn’t just a revered and respected member of the Jedi High Council during the last days of the Galactic Republic. Mace Windu was also the Jedi General of the Grand Army of the Republic and became renowned for his military prowess along with his Force powers. He wasn’t just one of the most powerful Jedi but also one of its strongest leaders.
This Jedi Master was largely successful in his roles of both warrior and diplomat, but he was distracted by the turmoil outside the Senate and didn’t confront Sheev Palpatine in time to head off his increasing power. Even though he was more powerful in combat than Palpatine, Anakin Skywalker intervened and ensured Darth Sidious would live on.
13 Satele Shan
The Hero Who Rediscovered Tython
An important historical figure in Jedi lore, Satele Shan served as the Jedi Order’s Grand Master during the war between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. She was one of the Jedi studying on Korriban when the Empire retook the planet and was able to escape and warn the Republic.
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Satele Shan led various forces into battle successfully as a Jedi Knight, and by the time she earned the rank of Jedi Master, she was renowned as a hero of the Republic. She’s also credited with rediscovering the Jedi homeworld of Tython. Her son, Theron, was raised and trained in secret by the Jedi Order. When he came of age, he also became a powerful Jedi.
12 Nomi Sunrider
Widow, Survivalist, Grand Master
Nomi’s story as a Jedi begins as the wife of one. Her husband, Andur, was in Jedi training when he was killed by a gang connected to Bogga the Hutt. This strengthened Nomi’s resolve to become a Jedi Knight herself, and she trained under Jedi Master Thon and was an effective warrior and valuable ally in several battles.
It was not until after the Great Sith War that Nomi Sunrider became the Grand Master of the Jedi Order. It was under her leadership that the Order and its knowledge were preserved and passed down to future generations. Her legacy as a Jedi Master is one of knowledge and wisdom along with battle prowess and survival.
11 Ki-Adi-Mundi
Power Begins With Leadership
Ki-Adi-Mundi was one of the leading voices on the Jedi Council in the final decades of the Republic, and his wisdom was second only to Master Yoda’s. He not only participated in crucial internal decisions about training and politics but also served as Jedi General of the Grand Army of the Republic.
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It’s an impressive list of credentials that made Ki-Adi-Mundi one of the most powerful Jedi in galactic history, not just in the power of the Force but also the legacy he helped create that survived the reign of the Empire. He was one of the military leaders who was killed by his own troops when Palpatine issued Order 66.
10 Rey Skywalker
Rebuilding The Jedi Order
Rey is part of a new generation of Jedi Masters that can use their intuitive skills as well as combat abilities. She already had some decent survivalist and defense skills from a rough childhood on Jakku, and as the trilogy progresses, she evolves into a strong fighter with a profound connection to the Force.
Her training included instruction from Jedi Masters Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker, and her fallen adversaries include Kylo Ren and the resurrected version of Emporer Palpatine, her grandfather.
Some fans didn’t like the revelation of her lineage, preferring the idea of a Force-sensitive person who doesn’t need to come from a famous bloodline. However, the twist of a Palpatine rebuilding the Jedi Order is what Qui-Gon Jinn would refer to as “balance.”
9 Adi Gallia
An Enduring Legacy
Master Adi Gallia served with Anakin and Obi-wan as a leader of the Republic forces. She wasn’t only a Jedi Master, but also a member of the Jedi Council. She was Tholothian, originally from the planet of Thoth, and has been in various Star Wars properties including novels, games, and comics. Her most notable appearances were in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and the Star Wars: Clone Wars television series.
After many heroic exploits during the Clone Wars, some of which involved Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Adi Gallia fell in a battle on Planet Florrum. She was spared the fate of the other Jedi Masters, who were either betrayed by their clone armies or hunted down by Emporer Palpatine. One of the Jedi voices that spoke to Rey during the Battle of Exegol was Adi Gallia.
8 Yoda
As Strong In Wisdom As He Is With The Force
Some lore surrounding the early life and training of Master Yoda has been revealed in either books, comics, or references to him in related Star Wars media. When he first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, however, he was thought to be the only one of his race and the last Jedi Master to survive Order 66. This would have made him the strongest Jedi Master in the galaxy by default.
Yoda served as a respected member of the Jedi Council as a Master for hundreds of years and was present at several important moments in Jedi history. He survived Order 66 by hiding as just another swamp creature on the planet of Dagobah until another force-sensitive student sought him out years later.
7 Saesee Tiin
A Talented Pilot And Tactical Leader
Saesee Tiin was a Jedi Master and his official title was with the Jedi Council, but his talents with a lightsaber and as a fighter pilot often put him on the front line. His home world was the moon of Iktotch, and as one of the Iktotchi people, his height and horns made him an imposing figure among the Jedi.
As one of the Generals during the Clone Wars, Saesee Tiin saw plenty of action in space piloting a starfighter as he led troops on the ground. He was killed while trying to arrest Senator Palpatine, and at least was spared the horrors of Order 66.
6 Plo Koon
A Skilled Pilot And Battle Veteran
This Jedi Master deserves more screen time and maybe even his own series. Plo Kloon was a deadly fighter pilot along with being a master of the Force. He has appeared on the big screen as one of the Jedi Council in the first two prequels and has extensive roles in several comics, books, and the 2008 version of Clone Wars.
In addition to planning and leading many successful missions and surviving some of the most notorious battles in the history of the galaxy, Plo Koon instructed Bultar Swan as a Padawan learner and discovered Ahsoka Tano. His story ends with the massacre of Order 66 when he was shot down by his troops at the Battle of Cato Neimoidia.
5 Luke Skywalker
The Ancient Knights Return
Luke Skywalker was just a kid living in the desert, dreaming of flying off into the horizon when a funny little R2 unit dropped on his doorstep. He would evolve into one of the greatest Jedi Masters in Force history and is famous for destroying the Death Star and defeating Darth Sidious, Darth Vader, and the Galactic Empire, among other exploits.
Luke Skywalker was trained by Master Yoda on Dagobah, after some preliminary instruction from, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and did not become a Jedi until he defeated the Emperor. His adventures after the fall of the Empire included founding the New Jedi Order, which he eventually led as the Grand Master, and defeating a powerful dark entity called the Abeloth.
4 Luminara Unduli
Powerful Even In Death
A native of the planet Mirial, Master Luminara Unduli only trained her fellow Mirialans in the ways of the Force because of a special agreement her people had with the Jedi Order. This is one of the reasons that the legends of her exploits also include her apprentice Padawan Barriss Offee.
As a team, they were almost unbeatable on any Clone Wars battlefield, but it all fell apart when Barriss betrayed the Order and bombed the Jedi Temple. Luminara Unduli was captured after the Battle of Kashyyyk and executed according to Order 66. She was such a powerful Jedi Master, and her connection to the Force was so powerful, that the Empire used her remains to lure and trap other Jedi.
3 Shaak Ti
Clever Planning And Quick Thinking
Master Shaak Ti had a career very similar to that of Mace Windu. She also served as a successful general for the Republic during the same tumultuous period, surviving a fight with General Grievous and taking charge of the Jedi Temple during the final days of the Clone Wars. She had a reputation as a clever tactician with a unique ability for quick thinking, unique abilities that made her one of the galaxy’s most powerful Jedi.
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After the rise of the Galactic Empire, she fled Coruscant with a Padawan learner, Maris Brood. They found refuge on the planet of Felucia, where Shaak Ti trained Maris and other force-sensitive locals. Eventually, Darth Vader tracked her down and sent his apprentice, Starkiller, to end her life.
2 Jocasta Nu
The Librarian of The Force
The power of a Jedi Master isn’t just in their skills as a warrior. As Yoda says, war does not make one great. Jocasta Nu had a reputation for skill with a lightsaber, but her real strength came from her role as the caretaker of knowledge.
Chief Librarian of the Jedi Archives was Jocasta’s official title. While she helped protect and preserve the archives, she was also part of the Jedi High Council. She was instrumental in saving most of the information that was later found by Luke Skywalker and used to rebuild the Jedi Order.
Although Jocasta survived Order 66, she was later caught and killed by Darth Vader when trying to retrieve a Holocron from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. She was able to convince the former Jedi to destroy the Holocron rather than give it to his master, which also says something about her powers of persuasion.
1 Mara Jade
The Hand of The Emperor
Most fans know her as the wife of Luke Skywalker, but Mara Jade had a whole history with the Force before she met her Jedi Knight. As a child, she was a servant of Emperor Palpatine, and when he recognized she was Force-sensitive, he trained her and made her an assassin.
When Darth Sidious died, she was given one last command: to kill a Jedi Knight called Luke Skywalker. She worked as a smuggler for a while, living covertly, and was forced to work with Skywalker at one point or risk blowing her cover.
After a few more adventures in which the two enemies became friends, they got married, and Mara Jade Skywalker devoted herself to doing the work of the new Jedi Order. During this time, she officially became a Master and one of the most powerful Jedi ever.
