Star Wars is a strange combination of science fiction and fantasy. As such, it allows for cool space battles and epic action sequences, but also for characters who are even more powerful than entire armies. The galaxy is full of all kinds of beings— light and dark— who are capable of truly amazing feats.

Before Disney wiped away the Expanded Universe in the same manner Grand Moff Tarkin did Alderaan, there were characters who could rearrange disorganized atoms into living, breathing prophecies, others who could bring mountains down on their enemies, and those who could manipulate the event horizons of black holes.

Updated October 9th, 2022 by Jordan Iacobucci

The Star Wars universe only continues to grow, with new titles set within the franchise like Andor and Tales of the Jedi further fleshing out the iconic characters and settings of a galaxy far, far away. Even with so many characters to choose from, certain Sith, Jedi, and other Force-sensitive entities make sure to establish themselves as the most powerful beings in the Star Wars galaxy.

Darth Bane

Darth Bane is a Sith responsible for the creation of the Rule of Two in an attempt to keep infighting from tearing the Dark Lords apart. This allowed the Sith to grow their power levels significantly, rivaling that of even the Jedi. However, it isn’t just his studiousness that makes him such a dangerous enemy; it’s his utter viciousness and Force manipulation abilities.

Bane was so powerful he was thought to be the Sith'ari— the bad guy version of the Chosen One, only bigger. The term means “God.” Had the prophecy come true, he would have killed all the Sith and resurrected them as invincible zombies. Unfortunately, Bane got complacent; he was betrayed by his apprentice and killed. Victory had defeated him.

Darth Plagueis

Darth Plagueis created many of the Sith laws and strategies that allowed them to rebuild after being defeated by the Jedi. His devotion to the Dark Side opened up new ways of utilizing the Force. Plagueis was able to affect the midi-chlorians to create life from nothingness, healed the sick, and was close to unlocking Force-derived immortality.

Plagueis achieved feats of the Force that were seemingly impossible, establishing himself as one of the most powerful Sith Lords to ever live. His legend continued to be passed down to future users of the Dark Side for generations to come, granting the Sith Lord immortality of a different kind.

Marka Ragnos

Marka Ragnos led the Sith during their Golden Age— when their numbers, influence, and victories were at their greatest. He managed to live for another thousand years after his death by keeping “the essence of his body alive.” Ragnos later appeared as a Force ghost and possessed Tavion Axmis so he could fight Jaden Korr.

The Sith wouldn’t even listen to the typical rules regarding using lightsabers. He preferred using a Sith Sword and handcrafted Scepter that siphoned power from the Force itself, making it impossibly powerful. The item, like Marka Ragnos himself, became a myth after his death.

Satele Shan

Satele Shan was a Jedi who was active during the age of the Old Republic. As one of the most powerful Jedi of her time, Shan made a massive impact in the ancient war between the Jedi and the Sith, in which she fought valiantly to uphold the tenets of the Jedi Order.

Shan is known for single-handedly turning the tide in the Battle of Alderaan. In her battles with Sith Lords, she manipulated the Force to make them weaker and gain the advantage, and moved massive objects that even most Masters couldn’t manage. However, she was best known for her abilities with her lightsaber, making her impossibly dangerous at both distant and close range.

Galen Marek

Galen Marek, also known as “Starkiller,” was Darth Vader’s secret apprentice and the protagonist of the Force Unleashed video game series. The powerful Force-wielder dabbled in both the Light and Dark Sides of the Force, making him a formidable threat against his enemies, of which he had many.

Despite accomplishing many impressive feats during his short life, Starkiller’s greatest moment came during an assignment on Raxus Prime. As a Star Destroyer was crashing to the surface of the planet, Marek used the Force to alter the ship’s course and brought it down into a safe crash without destroying the ship, saving himself and his allies, simultaneously showing off his extreme Force abilities.

Kyp Durron

Kyp Durron was a member of Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order after the fall of the Empire. Roguish and unwilling to play by the rules, Kyp was capable of obliterating his enemies with maximum prejudice. Unfortunately, the Jedi Master often struggled with discerning his friends from enemies.

In his observations, Luke Skywalker admitted that Kyp had the potential to be even more powerful than he. The Jedi's sheer hatred for the Empire led him to destroy an entire Imperial fleet single-handedly, though his rashness would result in the death of his own brother.

Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious

Darth Sidious is best known for his leadership of the sprawling, tyrannical Empire and for taking control of the Senate after eliminating the Jedi Order. He successfully worked under the noses of the Jedi for decades, fooling the likes of Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker before revealing his true nature at his leisure.

At his most powerful, Sidious was able to not only create life from nothing, but was able to create a prophecy-fulfilling Chosen One by manipulating the midi-chlorians to create Anakin Skywalker, who was himself one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy. Palpatine even took a page out of his master's handbook by cheating death, returning decades after his apparent demise during the events of The Rise of Skywalker.

Revan

Existing primarily in the Legends of Star Wars canon, Revan is a former Jedi who fell to the Dark Side, becoming one of the most powerful Force users of all time--and one character whom Star Wars fans desperately want to see appear again in the franchise.

While not considered a Gray Jedi by any means, Revan was able to wield both Light and Dark Force abilities simultaneously, using both sides’ powers at a mastery level. Known for his charm as well as his brutality, Revan started his own movement, the Revanchists, to stop the Mandalorian invasion. He did so by using their own superweapon on them, decimating their fleet, killing an untold number of people, and nearly wiping out the entire species.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, was one of the most powerful Force-wielders to ever exist. Appropriately titled "The Chosen One," Vader aided in the fall of the Jedi Order, essentially bringing balance to the Force. He spent most of his days hunting down the remaining Jedi, putting his maximum power on display on numerous occasions.

Aside from iconic scenes that depict Vader at the height of his power, specifically in films like Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One, there exists one moment wherein Darth Sidious brings up all of Vader’s failures and reveals deep-buried truths to enrage Vader so greatly that he wipes out an entire civilization by himself. In truth, had Vader not been crippled by Obi-Wan Kenobi, he might have become the most powerful being of all time.

Darth Vitiate

Vitiate killed his father at the age of 10 and earned the title of Sith Lord by the age of 13. He would end up becoming the Sith Emperor of his era. Capable of controlling the minds of thousands of people at once—including other Sith Lords-- Vitiate became responsible for many dark deeds during his lifetime, including several perpetrated by his associate, Revan.

Vitiate used his Dark Side powers to absorb the life force of everything on the planet, allowing him to increase his longevity. When his body could take no more, he would transfer his consciousness from body to body. He was so reviled by those around him that Revan once attempted to resurrect him just so he could kill Vitiate himself.

Yoda

Yoda is widely considered to be the second most powerful Jedi to ever live, being able to handle himself in duels against Emperor Palpatine and Count Dooku, as well as lifting entire ships with his mind.

In his prime, Yoda was capable of causing avalanches, could sense the thoughts of droids, and could control entire armies with telekinesis. Despite his great power, Yoda was unable to sense the Sith Lord right under his nose, but only that a terrible darkness was growing.

Abeloth

Originally known as “Servant” and then “Mother,” Abeloth is a strange character. Not technically a Jedi or a Sith, Abeloth isn't even considered to be a humanoid. After immersing herself in the Font of Power and the Pool of Knowledge, she became an immortal and amorphous negative entity who can take the form of people she has absorbed or killed.

While some characters used their knowledge of the Force to extend their lives by a millennium or two, Abeloth lived for well over a hundred thousand years before being defeated - but never killed. It was Luke Skywalker who obtained the Dagger of Mortis, a powerful weapon that would be able to kill her and her kind.

Luke Skywalker

With barely any training, Luke Skywalker blew up the Death Star and defeated both Darth Vader and the Emperor. In the Expanded Universe, he was also one of the few Jedi who unabashedly broke the rules by marrying and starting a family.

Luke succeeded in fighting off the Yuuzhan Vong invasion despite the fact they are unreceptive and imperceptible to the Force. Luke also became capable of producing Force Lightning from his fingers, but there is one feat that stands on its own, as he seized control of a black hole and forced it to collapse in on itself.

The Force Priestesses

The Priestesses are difficult entities to fully understand. They have had very little time for development, as they debuted not long before the Expanded Universe was wiped out. The Five have made appearances since in the new canon, but they still haven’t been depicted often, deepening their inherently mysterious existence.

The Force Priestesses are beings who exist between life (the Living Force) and death (the Cosmic Force). They manifest themselves into different representations of emotions: Serenity, Anger, Confusion, Joy, and Sadness. They have the ability to teach Force users how to become Force ghosts after death and may be the living extension of the Force itself. If that’s the case, they aren’t just powerful so much as they are elemental and implicit.

The Bedlam Spirits

Like the mysterious Force Priestesses, it is unknown how much, if at all, the Bedlam Spirits have to do with the Force. They’re nonhumanoid entities that are capable of creating and destroying at will, restoring the dead to life or draining the life from living things. They exist in all times and places at once and can change matter and time at will. While Luke Skywalker had precognition, he couldn’t experience and alter time in the way that they could.

Though incredibly intelligent, the Spirits are still curious, but also inherently dangerous. Like the Priestesses, they have no known weaknesses and are apparently both omnipotent and invincible. They are truly a force that characters within the Star Wars universe couldn't even begin to fully comprehend.

Father

Like Abeloth, the Father is a member of the group known as "The Ones"— an ethereal collection of god-entities, consisting of the Mother Aband their children. All are infinitely powerful, but for the plot device dagger.

Father is the most powerful of these entities, and by far the oldest. At her oldest, Mother was 100,000— Father is over one million years old. No one has a greater knowledge of the Force than Father. He can shape-shift, hold lightsabers by their blade without injury, and can teleport across the galaxy in seconds.

Father descended from the Celestials, an ancient civilization who may have created or long since evolved into the Force. Both Jedi and Sith have often suggested that it is the Celestials who truly guide the Force, determining what the proper balance is.

NEXT: The 20 Most Powerful Sith