Two of the many aspects of the Star Wars franchise that made the franchise what it is today and will continue to evolve and remain immensely important iconic across all pieces of Star Wars content are lightsabers and characters. For over forty years, lightsaber battles have been constant highlights, and in terms of characters, few are more prominent and iconic as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Whether it be in the films or the two animated shows, Obi-Wan is a part of a slew of lightsaber duels. While there are a couple which are not totally incredible, most of which are great to watch, and a couple are the best the franchise has to offer.
Vs. Dooku (Attack Of The Clones)
Attack Of The Clones often gets cited as the worst (or least best depending on how you look at it) Star Wars film, but its undoubted highlights all come in the final third with the Battle of Geonosis.
When Anakin and Obi-Wan battle Dooku though, it is relatively not amazing, with Obi-Wan getting incapacitated for a lot of the time after handily getting dealt with by Dooku. Dooku Vs. Yoda was this battle's superior.
Vs. Dooku (Revenge Of The Sith)
Fast forward three years, and Anakin and Obi-Wan would duel Dooku in live-action once again, and for Obi-Wan, the results were the same.
As a whole, the duel was better than the one previously, but in terms of an Obi-Wan contest, he quickly becomes a non-factor once again, and his side of things is on the lower end of his battles.
Vs. Asajj (With Anakin)
Moving onto the animated side of things, James Arnold Taylor's version of the Jedi Master has some incredible battles.
Asajj Ventress is a part of a few of these, including this battle that comes before Dooku attempts to kill Ventress. The duel is pretty great to watch and highlights Asajj's skills well, getting cut short by Dooku's plan.
Vs. Asajj Ventress
Sticking with Obi-Wan in animation, specifically the movie that came before the show, there are not many highlights in it, but this duel is one.
It is not the greatest duel ever, but it certainly is fun, and the banter between Asajj and Obi-Wan is always a joy to watch. A definite positive in the movie.
Vs. Grievous (The Clone Wars)
It is a hard task attempting to differentiate between this and the previous two duels, all being great, fun animated battles.
This duel with Grievous though wins out, with both combatants showing their ability, with some great shots and the opposing styles of the pair making for a great battle.
Vs. Dooku (The Clone Wars)
Coming in season six of the beloved Clone Wars, this duel with Dooku is undoubtedly the best the three have overall.
It has stakes, importance, and great visuals, highlighting the skill of Dooku while not having him totally dominate the two Jedi yet still having him get the upper hand. It is just a solid duel overall.
Vs. Darth Vader
The first-ever lightsaber duel fans got the opportunity to witness was the rematch between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, and it is a battle that has not held up well.
It is essential and iconic, as well as having some great dialogue, with Obi-Wan's sacrifice saving Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, and the droids, as well as sending him on the path of a life beyond the physical realm. It is a better moment than it is a duel.
Vs. Maul & Savage (With Adi Galia)
The very best rivalry in Star Wars has to be Obi-Wan Kenobi and Maul. There are arguments for others like Luke and Vader, but honestly, none are as consistently tremendous and longstanding as Kenobi and Maul, with magic happening every time they are together.
This duel came soon after Maul's return and started by showing the power of the pair even more, as they kill Adi Galia and dominate Kenobi. In the end, Kenobi outsmarts and defeats them, and overall it is just a great fight.
Vs. Grievous (Revenge Of The Sith)
Moving back to live-action, there is an emotional core missing from Obi-Wan's duel with Grievous, with the outcome fairly obvious and any deep-running emotion coming directly after the fight is over.
Nevertheless, it is an iconic duel with a slew of great lines and is just a fun, entertaining watch, with some fantastic action, and some typical John Williams prequel music.
Vs. Maul & Savage (With Asajj Ventress)
Switching back to the Obi-Wan/Maul rivalry, Maul's return episode is utterly fantastic, and the first duel that comes out of it is this one which sees Obi-Wan aided by the unlikely ally of Asajj.
The action and look of this fight are incredible, but on top of that, the banter between Asajj and Obi-Wan si great, and there are so many great lines, especially from Maul. It immediately helped established how brilliant Maul's return was and would continue to be.
Vs. Maul (Rebels)
When Maul and Obi-Wan meet for the final time in Rebels, it is one of the best sequences in Star Wars and is storytelling at its very best.
The duel itself is but a couple of swipes of a lightsaber, but it is not the movement of the blade that matters; it is the story told, the journey that led to this point, and the culmination of a near twenty-five-year rivalry between the two. Obi-Wan is a protector, Maul is a threat, Obi-Wan is a genius, Maul is worn down, Obi-Wan lures him in, and Maul finally lets go of his hate.
Vs. Maul (With Qui-Gon)
Flashback to the first meeting between the pair, and there you have one of the few lightsaber battles constantly argued as the very best in the franchise.
From a storytelling perspective, the Rebels duel is superior, but the divide between the quality of action is much wider than that of the story quality divide. There is no more to be said about the Duel of the Fates that has not gotten talked about ad nauseam. It's flawless.
Vs. Anakin/Vader
Duel of the Fates is more of an outsider choice as the very best duel there is, with the two more common choices being Luke's duel with Vader, and the Battle of the Heroes, Obi-Wan's greatest duel.
He has, obviously, a more significant role in this duel, but even ignoring that, the emotion and storytelling in this duel after witnessing the story (not necessarily the execution) of the prequels as well a The Clone Wars makes this unbelievably choreographed and action-packed duel one-hundred times better.