Star Wars: All Of The Major Villains, Sortable Based on Power
Some of the most amazing villains in history are found in Star Wars. Many of them possessed great strength, rank, and impact. Renowned for its antagonists, many of which rank among the most fascinating characters in movie and TV history, Star Wars is George Lucas built a cosmos where the shadow of terrible villains like Darth Vader and Palpatine loomed huge when he started the Star Wars series. Star Wars has only kept adding to its repertory of legendary foes since then.
Sort Villains from Star Wars Based on Power
Examining how villains rank in power is always interesting. Of fact, there are several forms of power; some entities have military or governmental authority while others have raw physical ability. Given Star Wars, many of the most potent enemies are strong in the dark side of the Force. Considering all these elements, here is our definitive list of twenty main Star Wars antagonists excluding others whose stories are still unfinished.
20. Main Armitage Hux
Domhnall Gleeson (also Ben Prendergast) played General Armitage Hux, who was trained by Supreme Leader Snoke and seems to be joint second-in-command of the First Order with Kylo Ren, thereby possessing a great lot of military capability. But he's more of a joke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which exposed he's far less knowledgeable and capable than Snoke would have desired. Actually turning traitor, Hux lost favour following Kylo Ren's elevation.
19. Officer Orson Krennic
Played by Ben Mendelsohn, Orson Krennic was an Empire high-ranking official who effectively supervised the Death Star building. Krennic had good instincts; as James Luceno's book Catalyst shows, he was the one who saw Galen Erso's work could release the potential of kyber crystals. Though he tended to overreach, Krennic was merciless and aspirational, ready to risk everything to rise within the Empire.
18. Cadbane
Designed by Corey Burton, Cad Bane was a Duros bounty hunter living from the tail-end of the Old Republic Era through to the aftermath of the Empire's collapse. After Jango Fett passed away, Bane was thought to be the most dreaded bounty hunter. During the Clone Wars, his reputation rose, and Palpatine employed him to do out missions against Jedi including kidnapping Force-sensitive younglings. One event resulted in Cad Bane's death, Cad Bane harbored a somewhat grudge toward Boba Fett.
17. Asajj Venerress
Niika Futterman's voice captured Asajj Ventress, a strong Nightsister warrior hired as Separatist agent. Count Dooku obviously gave her some thought as a possible apprentice. Though she may be dangerous, Ventress was vanquished time and again and never truly gained the focused dark side training that would make her a serious menace. Ventress was a competent menace in warfare but lacked resources of her own; she lacked the political and military clout to place higher on this list.
Jango Fett, 16.
Temuera Morrison's Mandalorian warrior and bounty hunter, Jango Fett was a main enemy of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Though he lacks political might, he is a strong combatant regarded as the top bounty hunter in the galaxy. Furthermore rarer for a bounty hunter, he seems more than ready to negotiate middlemen. Jango Fett rates highly for individuals without the Force since he was most likely among the most dangerous non-Jedi prior to the Clone Wars.
15. Boba Fett 15.
Played by Jeremy Bulloch and Temuera Morrison, Boba Fett followed his "father," becoming among the most dangerous bounty hunters in the galaxy; however it's dubious he ever fully excelled his father, since he lacked the same skillful combatants to test himself against. Boba is rated as more powerful than Jango since, unusually among bounty hunters, he became a leader and was even trusted by Darth Vader himself. Boba Fett's present situation is much more dubious since he appears to have evolved in The Book of Boba Fett into a quasi-hero.
XIV. Moff Gideon
Played by Giancarlo Esposito, Moff Gideon was one of the most significant enemies in The Mandalorian era, a member of the Imperial Shadow Council - enabling covertly coordinated Imperial efforts across a galaxy now under the New Republic. Ruthless and cunning, he had personally carried out terrible acts of extermination during the Empire's Operation: Cinder and had effectively turned Mandalorian beskar and cloning technologies to his own use. One shouldn't minimize Moff Gideon as a villain.
13. Dryden Vos 13.
Played by Paul Bettany, Dryden Vos was the masterful and merciless tactician within the Crimson Dawn criminal gang, among the most influential crime lords in the whole galaxy. He was a strong player during the Dark Times of the Empire since he possessed the means to challenge the likes of the Hutts at the height of his dominance. He instructed by Darth Maul personally and was especially adept in Teräs Käsi, a martial technique meant for fighting Jedi.
12. The Grand Inquisitor—The Inquisitorius
Played by Rupert Friend and voiced by Jason Isaacs and Clancy Brown, The Grand Inquisitor was the force to be reckoned with—the head of the Imperial Inquistors. He lost trust in the order once a Temple Guard in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, finally veering toward the dark side. Reporting directly to either Palpatine or Darth Vader, the Grand Inquisitor is a deft and cunning evil. Having first choice of the evil side secrets the Emperor let the Inquisitor study, he understood several skills his contemporaries were ignorant of. The remainder of the Inquinctors would readily fall below his power level.
Eleven Kylo Ren
Played by Adam Driver, Kylo Ren would be far higher on this list if not for the fact he was never really faithful to the dark side. Actually, Kylo Ren was caught by the dark, controlled by Palpatine and Supreme Leader Snoke; he never really sank into the dark. Though he did momentarily rule the First Order, Kylo Ren's division in his heart meant he never really embraced his potential as a villain.
10. Overall Grievous
Played by Matthew Wood and voiced by John DiMaggio and Richard McGonagle, General Grievous was seen by the Republic as the Separatist Army's leader but in truth he was only a pawn. Grievous's collection of lightsabers, each taken from the corpse of a Jedi he has killed, shows otherwise: he is not without power. Only to be finally beaten by Obi-Wan Kenobi - and then only just - General Grievous went toe-to--toe with some of the best Jedi of the prequel age.
9. Jabba the Hutt
Larry Ward and Kevin Michael Richardson voice Jabba Desilijic Tiure, a formidable criminal lord for millennia even though he was not defeating anyone in a one-on-one fight. This means he held huge sway in the Star Wars galaxy from the High Republic Era through to the Galactic Civil War, when he was killed by Leia Organa; she earned the title "Huttslayer" for his death. Jabba had almost limitless means, and his name alone made one afraid.
Marchion Ro
Most of the Star Wars villains on this list operated at a time when the Jedi and the Republic were weak. Marchion Ro, however, must be appreciated as one foe who succeeded in humbling the Jedi at their strongest - during the High Republic Era. Though he lacked physical strength, Marchion Ro was a brilliant tactician who knew how to subvert his foes. He was able to close off an entire sector of the galaxy, establishing his own personal fiefdom. Many of Marchion Ro's strategies seem to have inspired the Sith, therefore highlighting his true value.
7. Maul 7.
Played by Sam Witwer and Ray Park, Darth Maul was Palpatine's first (known) apprentice, trained as a Sith assassin who would target lone Jedi and generate a climate of fear. One of his first missions went wrong, and he was almost killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Maul returned years later, and succeeded in establishing himself as a rival for Palpatine himself during the Clone Wars - even if he was quickly neutralized. During the Dark Times, Maul took charge of the criminal underworld. Although outclassed by Palpatine and Dooku, Maul was a terrifying foe indeed.
6. The Stranger
Played by Manny Jacinto, The Stranger (who sometimes goes by the alias Qimir) is a ferocious Sith Lord who lived during the High Republic Era, a true force to be reckoned with. Capable of hiding his evil from the Jedi, the Stranger emerges from the shadows when needed, using unusual lightsaber-resistant cortosis and trick lightsabers to destroy his opponents. The Stranger is ranked high on this list because of personal Force power, but he lacks the wider support network that makes others higher-ranking.
5. Count Dooku
Played by Christopher Lee and voiced by Corey Burton, Count Dooku was the leader of the Separatists during the Clone Wars, a Sith apprentice who was skilled in all the Force powers his master had taught him. He was cunning enough to conceal his dark side nature from the Jedi for a decade after becoming a Sith - a decade in which he remained welcome to the Temple, quietly working to undermine the Council. Dooku was a tremendous tactician, demonstrated both in large-scale combat strategies and his use of the lightsaber form known as Makashi, one perfect for such a Machiavellian mind.
4. Grand Admiral Thrawn
Voiced by Lars Mikkelsen, Grand Admiral Thrawn may not possess the Force, but he is easily one of the most dangerous Star Wars villains of all. His military mind makes him one of the most dangerous people in the Star Wars galaxy, with Palpatine himself believing Thrawn was one of two military leaders who could have defeated the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. Thrawn's true power will soon be revealed in The Mandalorian era.
3. Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin
Played by Wayne Pygram and Guy Henry, Tarkin was one of the greatest minds in the Empire, a skilled hand-to-hand combatant whose upbringing on Eriadu had given him a brutal perspective on life. His Tarkin Doctrine - of ruling by fear - was central to the Imperial philosophy. Tarkin was ruthlessly pragmatic when it came to politics, and excelled in maneuvering himself into positions of power. He wound up running the Death Star, in spite of Krennic's interference, but this led to his death when the Death Star was destroyed. Like Thrawn, Tarkin would have changed the entire Galactic Civil War had he been there to lead the Empire.
2. Darth Vader
Born the Chosen One with a record high midi-chlorian count, Darth Vader is undeniably one of the most unforgettable villains in cinematic history. Second only to the Emperor, Darth Vader's Force feats are the stuff of legend, and he's proved himself in combat many times. One of the best was in the comic book event "Vader Down," in which the Rebels successfully shot Vader down on an Outer Rim planet, and attempted to kill him. Vader cut through rebels like a hot knife through butter.
1. Darth Sidious
As powerful as Darth Vader may be, nobody can match Emperor Palpatine - the ultimate mastermind, ruthless and malevolent, who ultimately became an avatar of the dark side itself. Palpatine was the man whose manipulations led to the downfall of the Jedi Order. He betrayed every ally without a qualm, seeing others as tools and then discarding them without a second thought. He even managed to conquer death itself, proving himself the ultimate Star Wars villain.
