All Of The Major Villains, Ranked By Power
Star Wars is known for having some of the most impressive villains in history. Many of them were powerful in terms of rank, influence, and strength.
Some of the very best Star Wars characters over the years have been the phenomenal antagonists of the saga. More often than not, Star Wars villains deliver in spades and are shown to be some of the best and strongest characters in the frame of whatever movie or TV show they are in.
While power is not everything for a villain, it is wildly important. The major Star Wars villains all of some form of power, whether that be political, through their intelligence, by being just insanely skilled in the Force and with a lightsaber, or combining all these things and more.
Updated on March 17th, 2022, by Rhys McGinley: One of the consistently best and most badass aspects of the rich Star Wars franchise is its villains, who so often bring an air of awesomeness to whichever piece of content they appear in. From Sith Lords to crime bosses to bounty hunters, there are various types of Star Wars villains, all with something to offer and all with a level of power. Their power can come through strength or the Force, it can show itself through resourcefulness and intelligence, or it can come via their position in the Galaxy. No matter where it comes from, all Star Wars villains wield it somehow.
20 Crosshair
Crosshair acts as the central antagonist of The Bad Batch alongside Tarkin and Rampart and is a villain who fans still do not have clear answers on, not knowing if he is telling the truth about the removal of his chip or not.
Either way, of all the main villains in Star Wars, he is undoubtedly the least powerful. He is a pawn of the Empire, an elite trooper with incredible skill and ability, but a pawn nonetheless. He is in no position of real power and may still be controlled by a chip that makes him a villain in the first place. The villain has yet to blow his shot at redemption completely, so it will be interesting to see where his character goes in season 2.
19 General Armitage Hux
General Armitage Hux of the First Order had a very inconsistent time in the sequel trilogy, although he did have some great moments, as well as a few moments of hilarity. There is no doubting he has a level of power, though.
Trusted by Supreme Leader Snoke, Hux is shown to be pretty much joint second in command of the First Order alongside Kylo. In one of the sequel trilogy's more stormy relationships, his power is seriously minimized when Kylo Ren becomes Supreme Leader, and he becomes a spy for the Resistance, but he is still a General, albeit with a lackluster amount of intelligence and no visible combat skills.
18 Director Orson Krennic
From one officer to another, Director Orson Krennic is the main antagonist of Rogue One and is a pretty great character in a movie that has garnered criticism for its lack of character development.
It is hard to distinguish between Krennic and Hux's power levels. The small factor that comes between the two is intelligence. Krennic was a part of the Republic for a time and oversaw the development of the Death Star. While Hux oversaw Starkiller Base, he was shown to be a bit on the dumb side throughout the trilogy.
17 Moff Gideon
At the point in the timeline where fans are introduced to Moff Gideon, there is no doubt he is in the least-powerful position of all major on-screen Star Wars villains, despite his best efforts to bring back the power he had years prior.
While he commands his own forces and is doing his best to restore whatever parts of the Empire's influence he can, the Empire is in the past during The Mandalorian. Gideon has a powerful mind, is well versed in combat, and is able enough to accomplish his short-term goals to build up to something bigger, but Din and company proved he is far easier to deal with than some other villains.
16 Dryden Vos
As the face of Crimson Dawn, Dryden Vos is one of the most powerful criminals in the Galaxy, ruled over by Maul, but with an army, unlimited resources, and many mercenaries at his disposal.
On top of having all of that, Vos is shown to be cunning and intelligent throughout Solo. Throw in the fact that he does have combat experience - being skilled in Teräs Käsi, a combat style designed to fight Jedi, and taught by Maul himself - and you have an incredibly powerful character, even if he is a pawn.
15 Jango Fett
Jango Fett is a difficult individual to rank in terms of power. He is the tertiary antagonist of Attack Of The Clones and a revered and feared bounty hunter in the Galaxy, but fans do not see a tonne of him.
It would be very easy to say that due to their resources, both Gideon and Vos are more powerful than Jango. However, given Jango's resources and skills, as well as his freedom and connections to the likes of Dooku and the Kaminoans, Jango has a different type of power that makes him, as an individual, more fearsome.
14 The Grand Inquisitor (The Inquisitorius)
The rest of the Inquisitorius, such as the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother, could arguably fall below Moff Gideon (although it would be very close). The Grand Inquisitor, though, is a different case.
The Grand Inquisitor is directly below Vader and reported to the Dark Lord of the Sith while commanding the rest of the Inquisitorius. On top of holding this power, the Pau'an has a great understanding of the Jedi, their lore, and their fighting style, as well as being a prolific warrior and hunter himself, making him a powerful enemy to those he hunts.
13 General Grievous
Differentiating between the power held by the Grand Inquisitor and General Grievous is difficult. One is in tune with the Force, while the other commands an entire droid army. One was the leader of a handful of hunters, while the other was a feared master strategist.
Ultimately Grievous's importance puts him ahead. While the Grand Inquisitor was undoubtedly the most important of the Inquisitorius, they survived without him; Grievous had a crucial role to play in Palpatine's plans, and as well as being the commander of the droid army, he was immensely skilled in lightsaber combat, wiping out many a Jedi of all ranks when they were in their prime.
12 Cad Bane
The Bad Batch saw the return of arguably the best bounty hunter not named Din Djarin in Star Wars in the form of Cad Bane. A ruthless, fantastic character from The Clone Wars fans have wanted to pop up again for years.
Cad Bane is as smart as criminals come in Star Wars, and in terms of fighting ability, he has it in spades, both in hand-to-hand and with weaponry. He appears to care about nothing but the money and the job at hand and completes it whatever means necessary, rarely failing, surviving battles with Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka throughout the Clone Wars.
11 Boba Fett
While The Book Of Boba Fett places Boba Fett as the protagonist, an anti-hero who no longer works alongside the likes of the Empire, he was first known to fans as a villain in the original trilogy and The Clone Wars.
Boba Fett's power throughout all that time ultimately comes from a combination of his ability and his reputation. He led groups of bounty hunters, he had close connections with Vader and the Empire, and he was trusted with tasks more than anyone by the likes of Jabba the Hutt. Ruthless, intimidating, and wholly badass, Fett may not have been a fleshed-out character in the original trilogy, but he proved himself a powerful presence and a hugely popular Star Wars villain.
10 Asajj Ventress
Asajj Ventress certainly does not have the rank of General Grievous, acting as Sith Assassin under Count Dooku. Still, many other factors make her a more powerful figure than the Kaleesh cyborg.
Not only did she have her Force sensitivity, but she was more highly regarded by Dooku and was more consistent in her success, whereas Grievous was constantly failing. In Legends, Grievous did defeat Ventress in combat early in her training. In canon, however, the two had a duel which was fairly even until droids got involved. Ventress's variety of skills outside of power with a lightsaber puts her over Grievous, although the argument is there that Grievous's position puts him ahead of the Dathomirian outcast.
9 Jabba The Hutt
Jabba Desilijic Tiure may not be beating anyone in a one-on-one battle, but as perhaps the most significant crime lord in the Galaxy throughout his life, Jabba the Hutt is undoubtedly one of Star Wars' most powerful villains.
Jabba held huge sway in the Galaxy, particularly in the Outer Rims, with him having big influences during both the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War. His unlimited resources, the fear he induced in people, and the cronies he had to carry out his dirty work all built up to make him one of Star Wars' slimiest and best villains.
8 Count Dooku
Both Grievous and Ventress are under the command of Count Dooku, the Master who not only trained them but let them know of their failings when necessary and proved himself to be way out of their league.
Dooku was not only second to Sidious in the importance of the Separatists, but he was one of the greatest lightsaber combatants in the Galaxy and had an extremely sharp mind, and is one of the most underrated villains/characters in the saga. He was both a political leader and a ruthless Sith Lord. However, he was also being manipulated and was cast aside when the opportunity arose, not getting a chance to be Empire-level powerful.
7 Grand Admiral Thrawn
A popular villain who was alive during the time of the Galactic Republic and eventually became a vital part of the Empire, though, was Chiss legend Grand Admiral Thrawn, also known as Mitth'raw'nuruodo.
It is easy to assume all of Thrawn's power comes from his rank of Grand Admiral, which is, of course, important, but there is far more to him. His unmatched military mind makes him one of the most dangerous people in the Galaxy. Thrawn is not only respected and feared by everyone but he is trusted by the Emperor himself, a rarity, especially considering alien species were few and far between in the Empire. He also had a relationship with Darth Vader, was talented in hand-to-hand combat, and was incredibly cultured, all of which he used to his advantage.
6 Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin
While Grand Moff Tarkin may not have the hand-to-hand combat ability of Thrawn, and maybe not even the tactical and strategic genius, he wields far greater power within the Empire.
The Emperor had his eyes on Tarkin while the Clone Wars were still ongoing, and Tarkin quickly became one of his most trusted underlings. Tarkin was the first-ever Grand Moff and took over the Death Star project, able to jump from Thrawn's TIE Defender to Project Stardust when he saw which was going to win out. There is no doubting his cunningness and genius either. With him having such a close allyship with the Emperor and Vader, no other Imperial Officer could really touch Tarkin.
5 Maul
Thrawn and Tarkin are calm, level-headed, composed allies of the Emperor who rarely loses his cool and respects all of his opponents. Pretty much, he is the exact opposite of the amazing yet incredibly hate-filled and revenge-driven villain Maul.
The obvious power in Maul comes from his skills with a lightsaber and Force sensitivity, but The Clone Wars and Rebels extend this massively. Maul manages to build up a criminal empire from the ground up; he survives capture by Sidious, survives certain death on numerous occasions, and holds his own in battle with many an enemy.
4 Kylo Ren
Kylo Ren basically takes the power that Maul has and scales it up big time. While Kylo is more torn, rash, and immature than others, he still holds insane raw Force ability and is well versed in lightsaber combat.
There is doubt about Kylo's abilities, especially since he got manipulated by Sidious. But that does not take away from the fact that he was Supreme Leader of the First Order; he was ruthless, he was skilled, intelligent, and a student of the Force, as well as the lore of the Jedi and the dark side. The sequels may not have displayed his power to the fullest of its potential, but it is still there.
3 Marchion Ro
Marchion Ro is not known to the whole Star Wars fandom rather, he is someone who can only truly be appreciated as one of Star Was' scariest villains but fans of the High Republic.
That is how fans must view his power, in the scope of the High Republic. He cannot be compared to the likes of Sidious or even other villains at the time of the Skywalker saga, but there were lots of powerful villains at that time. At the time of the High Republic, he is the threat, he is not only the Eye of the Nihil, but he is also the eye of the storm which threatens the Galaxy and the Jedi.
2 Darth Vader
Speaking of raw potential, any list ranking such a thing would have Vader at the top of the list, with Anakin Skywalker having more Force power potential than anyone the Galaxy has ever or likely will ever.
Vader may not have lived up to the full potential of Anakin, but he was still one of the most powerful people ever to incite fear in the Galaxy as well as arguably Star Wars' best overall villain. His power with a lightsaber was intimidating; his knowledge and understanding of the Force were extensive, he was second only to Sidious in the Empire and commanded many a fleet and groups, including the Inquisitorius. He proved himself on a slew of occasions getting out of situations that would have meant death for anyone else, and there can be no doubting the most iconic villain in cinematic history's power.
1 Darth Sidious
Alas, there can also be no denying that Darth Sidious, a.k.a the Emperor a.k.a Sheev Palpatine proved himself time and time again to be the most powerful villain in all of the Star Wars canon.
First and foremost, he was a master of all lightsaber forms of combat, and his comprehension of the Force and the Sith lore was unmatched. Second of all, he not only orchestrated and manipulated a war that tore apart the Galaxy, destroyed the Jedi, and put him in the highest position of political power, but he ruled over the Empire as its leader for two decades, making the Galaxy believe the Jedi were evil, and ruling the Galaxy with an iron fist. Even death could not keep Sidious at bay.
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