Darth Vader has fought many Jedi throughout the expansive Star Wars canon. With the surprise success of Star Wars in 1977, Darth Vader quickly became an iconic pop culture figure and one of the best villains in cinematic history. Vader's story appeared to come to a close in 1983, but fans of the galaxy far, far away witnessed his origin in the 2000s with the release of the prequels, which were further fleshed out with animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars focusing on a formative time in Anakin Skywalker's life.
Lucasfilm might have paused making Star Wars movies for nearly a decade after the prequels, but the universe continued to expand. Disney relaunched the Star Wars canon in 2012, and the rollout of new movies, shows, novels, comics, and more have managed to keep Vader in the forefront. His only big-screen appearance came during Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which included the memorable finale where he sliced through some unfortunate Rebels. But, Darth Vader also has been seen since through multiple appearances on Star Wars: Rebels, plus the array of comics and books that are focused on him.
Vader's rise to power might have come at a time when the Jedi had been decimated by the Order 66 purge, but that doesn't mean that he didn't encounter some of his former allies during his journey. Most Star Wars fans are familiar with the duels featured in the movies, but that is just a fraction of the Jedi that Vader battled. Thanks to other canon materials, Darth Vader's life is filled with fights against Jedi, both new and familiar. Here's every Jedi that Vader has fought - and who won.
Darth Vader fought his son Luke Skywalker multiple times in Star Wars canon. Audiences first saw them duel in The Empire Strikes Back when the film was released in 1980. The highly anticipated lightsaber battle happened throughout Cloud City in Bespin. The fight is iconic for its imagery, but is best known for the reveal at the end that Vader is Luke's father. The twist came after Vader bested Luke in combat with relative ease and sliced off his hand.
Vader fought Luke again in Return of the Jedi three years later. The two avoided another battle up until the finale of the film, as the father and son wound up fighting again aboard the second Death Star. Luke was goaded into the fight by Emperor Palpatine in an effort to turn him to the dark side, and Vader piled on by threatening to turn Leia to the dark side instead. Luke's anger boiled over, and he overpowered Vader. Luke cut off Vader's hand and was in a position to kill him before coming to his senses. Vader might have survived the fight, but Luke was the victor in their final on-screen battle.
What many might not know is that Luke and Vader's first lightsaber fight took place off-screen. The 2015 comic Star Wars #2 showed Vader's first time fighting Luke on Cymoon 1. The lightsaber duel didn't last long due to Luke's lack of training with the Jedi weapon and the Force, so Vader effortlessly snatched his old lightsaber from his son. Luke managed to escape before Vader could kill him, but Vader was quickly the winner of the fight itself.
The first lightsaber battle audiences ever saw Darth Vader have came towards the end of A New Hope when he battled Obi-Wan Kenobi. Although the fight itself is not too elaborate and quite short, the former friends battling in the first Death Star is a pivotal moment in the franchise. Kenobi and Anakin's last duel left Anakin burning alive on Mustafar, resulting in him needing the Darth Vader suit to survive. Nearly twenty years later, Kenobi and Vader clashed again, but this time it Vader who was the victor. Kenobi gave up his life and allowed Vader to kill him.
Darth Vader battled another person from his past in Star Wars: Rebels, as the series saw him fight his former apprentice Ahsoka Tano. The lightsaber fight took place during season 2 of the show as they dueled in the Sith temple on Malachor. The emotional reunion between them was elevated when Ahsoka learned that Anakin was Darth Vader. The epic clash saw Vader come close to killing Ahsoka, and Rebels even left her fate up in the air at the time. It was later revealed that Ezra Bridger used the World Between Worlds to save Ahsoka from a deadly blow. Without any interference by future Ezra, it would appear that Vader would've been victorious once again, but the best way to describe the ending of Ahsoka and Vader's fight is as a draw.
Darth Vader also fought Kanan Jarrus during the events of Star Wars: Rebels. Kanan, whose real name is Caleb Dume, was just a Jedi padawan during the fall of the Jedi and barely survived the execution of Order 66. Several years later, Kanan came face to face with Vader on Lothal. Kanan had the help of apprentice Ezra Bridger in this battle, and the two attempted to kill Vader at one point. But Vader was toying with them, and allowed the Jedi and the other rebels to escape as part of his plan to defeat them.
Darth Vader also battled Ezra Bridger on Lothal during Star Wars: Rebels. The Sith Lord came close to killing Ezra after using the Force to turn the Padawan's lightsaber towards his neck. Since Vader wanted Ezra and Kanan to survive this battle, his plan was victorious. Vader reencountered Ezra during season 2 of Star Wars: Rebels on Malachor. This time, Vader didn't hold back and quickly overpowered Ezra. The battle concluded when Vader destroyed Ezra's lightsaber, and Vader turned his attention towards Ahsoka after she arrived.
On the video game front, Darth Vader has also briefly battled Cal Kestis, a former Jedi Padawan. Cal is the main character in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and encounters Darth Vader at the very end of the game. Cal had just defeated Second Sister, Trilla Suduri, in combat inside Fortress Inquisitorious on Nur, but then Vader stepped out of the shadows. After he killed Suduri, Vader hunts down Cal to do the same. Cal holds his own in the fight after a surprise attack by Vader overpowers him, as his robot BD-1 attempts to short circuit Vader's suit and gives Cal an opening to stab Vader in the abdomen. Cal ultimately escapes from Vader's clutches by flooding the area with water, forcing Vader to use the Force to hold it back.
Another Jedi who engages in battle with Darth Vader in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is Cere Junda. Cere is a mentor to Cal who used to be a Jedi Knight before she cut herself off from the Force after having dark side temptations. By the end of Fallen Order, Cere attempts to fight Vader in Fortress Inquisitorious before he gets to Cal, but Vader throws her aside with ease. She then returns moments before Cal's possible doom and strikes back at Vader. She is once again tempted by the dark side to crush Vader, but she doesn't go through with it and escapes with Cal.
The comics have also shown Darth Vader battling more Jedi, such as Kirak Infil'a. Vader encountered Kirak when he was sent on a mission by Palpatine to find a new kyber crystal so he could create a new lightsaber. Kirak had previously taken a vow to refrain from any Jedi Order matters and survived Order 66 in part because of this solitude. When Vader located Kirak on the river moon of Al'doleem, Kirak was waiting for him when he arrived. The two immediately began fighting and Kirak ascended to a mountain that tested Vader repeatedly as he followed.
Vader's suit and robotic limbs were severely damaged as he climbed the mountain, but he still managed to stun Kirak and steal a training lightsaber. Still, Vader lost his first fight with Kirak as the Jedi Force pushed Vader off the mountaintop. Vader regained consciousness shortly after that, repaired his broken limbs, and tracked Kirak to Am'balaar City. Vader and Kirak fought again atop the Am'balaar dam. Kirak became concerned for the safety of civilians, and Vader used that to his advantage to distract the powerful Jedi. As Kirak pleaded for Vader to spare their lives, the dam burst and flooded Am'balaar City, with Vader killing Kirak with a Force choke at the same time.
Darth Vader encountered another Jedi, known as Ferren Barr, during a mission to Mon Cala. Vader was sent to Mon Cala by the Emperor to show the power of the Empire and investigate a mysterious adviser to King Lee-Char. Vader immediately suspected the adviser could be a former Jedi, and he was right. Ferren Barr and Vader dueled as Tarkin ordered a bombardment on Mon Cala. Barr revealed that he orchestrated the events that led Mon Cala into war in the hope of being at the forefront of the rebellion. Vader's fight with Barr ended with him killing the former Jedi.
Darth Vader also fought a Jedi from Anakin Skywalker's past, as he was tasked to find Eeth Koth, whom Anakin previously worked with during the Clone Wars. Vader found Koth several years later when he became a priest of the Church of the Ganthic Enlightenment and had started a family. Koth attempted to prevent a fight between him and Vader by offering him a way to find other Order 66 survivors. But, Vader and Koth still dueled while Inquisitors hunted down Koth's family. The battle ended with Vader slaying Koth.
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