Obi Wan Kenobi the most powerful Jedi?

[DragonBelow]

That wasn’t the point. The point was that the manuever Anakin was about to try was foolish against an opponent at a higher elevation whose reflexes are plenty fast enough to negate whatever advantage of speed you have as a magical space knight. Anakin felt that with the “greater” power of the Dark Side he could jump high and fast enough to negate the terrain advantage, but he was being a rash idiot.

Kenobi’s clear head, as it often does throughout the franchise, allows him to see exactly what the right path is, and he knows he’s gonna wreck Anakin’s whole shizz if he tries it.

Not because the high ground always wins, but because it gives him the very clear and significant advantage in that specific situation. He doesn’t say, “Give up, I have the high ground.” He says, “Don’t try it.” Referring you the maneuver.

You're reading a lot into a very short line. That's what I call rationalization.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

You're reading a lot into a very short line. That's what I call rationalization.

Not really. The line makes sense in the context of the scene. Context takes more than a quick statement to explain. It is what it is.

 

[Umbran]

I lack a useful metric to clearly define "power".

In stories there is a sort of "negative space", where elements and backstories are implied, but never explicated. Exactly how powerful was Yoda? We don't really know. His full ability is hinted at, but not shown, so it is very difficult to judge. Same for others in the order. So, it is difficult to compare.

 

[Dioltach]

And don't forget, no matter how powerful Obi Wan was in life, when Darth Vader struck him down he became more powerful than he could possibly imagine. (And I'm assuming that Vader had quite an imagination when it came to power.)

 

[Morrus]

He's certainly one of the most accomplished Jedi (that we know of). I don't know that that translates to "power" though.

 

[Morrus]

btw, that I hated that line by Obi-Wan, if all you need to do to defeat another Jedi is get to higher ground... well damn!

A Jedi's Kryptonite -- a mild incline!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

And don't forget, no matter how powerful Obi Wan was in life, when Darth Vader struck him down he became more powerful than he could possibly imagine. (And I'm assuming that Vader had quite an imagination when it came to power.)

Maybe Anakin didn't? After all, he was more of a pessimist, with him seeing Padmé die and all that stuff.

 

[Umbran]

And don't forget, no matter how powerful Obi Wan was in life, when Darth Vader struck him down he became more powerful than he could possibly imagine. (And I'm assuming that Vader had quite an imagination when it came to power.)

Yes, but Vader only cared about power over the mere mortals around him. Obi Wan could have been talking about something that Vader would not have recognized as power at the time.

 

[Mercurius]

I wouldn't say he's the most powerful if by power we mean force capacity, but I do think he has the best judgment, the best applied wisdom and tactics to combat situations (Yoda aside). It is like if in D&D, Int and Wis had some bearing on melee combat. Obi-wan wouldn't be as purely "powerful" as represented by the traditional physical stats, Str/Dex, as some of those other Jedis, but his Int/Wis would make it so he could leverage situations to find a way.

In a way he's more jiujitsu or aikido than, say, Anakin, who was more karate or tae kwon do. In a battle of brute force he wouldn't have beaten Anakin, but he was able to leverage the context of combat, as well as Anakin's weaknesses (hubris, mainly), to defeat him.

I'm a tennis fan, and perhaps an apt comparison is Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer. If you line up all the things they can do with a tennis racquet, Federer has the greater panoply of skills. But Rafa has historically had the edge in the match-up, because he knows how to neutralize Roger's skills.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Pound for pound, I'd say Yoda has more power.