There are few Star Wars characters who could defeat the legendary Jedi Grandmaster Yoda. In his The Empire Strikes Back debut, Yoda was quickly established to be one of the wisest of the old guard Jedi, having lived, fought, and trained Jedi Knights for centuries. The Star Wars prequel trilogy portrayed Yoda during the final years of the old Jedi Order, and with the outbreak of the Clone Wars came the first live-action scenes of the venerable Jedi Master using his lightsaber and Force powers in combat. Unsurprisingly, Yoda is one of the most formidable Jedi in the franchise.
Yoda has one of the strongest connections to the Force in the Jedi Order’s history, using Force abilities like telekinesis on massive scales with little effort much of the time and easily absorbing deadly dark side powers like Force lightning. Some of Yoda’s most impressive feats are shown during the Battle of Coruscant in the 2003 Star Wars: Clone Wars microseries. Yoda is equally formidable in lightsaber combat, favoring a green-bladed lightsaber shoto and a unique variant of Form IV (Ataru), which utilizes Force-enhanced acrobatics. Only the most skilled and powerful Star Wars characters have a chance at defeating Yoda.
10 Plo Koon (Canon)
A Powerful Padawan
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The wise and compassionate Kel Dor Jedi Master Plo Koon is renowned for his leadership and fighting prowess in multiple wars. Plo Koon, like many other prequel-era Jedi, is a veteran of smaller conflicts like the Stark Hyperspace War and the Yinchorri Uprising, as well as the Clone Wars. Plo Koon is demonstrably one of the Jedi Order’s finest warriors and pilots in both the original Legends continuity and the modern canon, but the newer timeline suggests that he is one of the few beings who could defeat Yoda.
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The 2008 video game Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels ties into both the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie and the first season of the TV series of the same name. In Lightsaber Duels, Anakin Skywalker notes that Plo Koon is said to be the only Jedi who defeated Yoda in a duel, something that Plo Koon does not comment on. Despite this claim being unconfirmed, Plo Koon might be among the few skilled enough to defeat the Grandmaster in a practice duel, reinforcing his status as one of the most powerful members of the Jedi Order.
9 Darth Caedus
A Fallen Jedi
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From a young age, Jacen Solo was a remarkable Force-user and lightsaber duelist, becoming a renowned member of Luke Skywalker’s New Jedi Order. After the Yuuzhan Vong War, however, Solo learned a variety of unique and rare Force techniques from various Force-using traditions across the galaxy, though he also fell to the dark side and joined the Sith. As the Sith Lord Darth Caedus, Jacen and his Sith master, Lumiya, orchestrated the Second Galactic Civil War and wreaked havoc on the galaxy.
Caedus was also a master of extremely powerful Force abilities, such as flow-walking, which allowed him to travel through time itself.
Darth Caedus was an astoundingly deadly Force-user and lightsaber duelist. Although Caedus could not beat Luke Skywalker or Mara Jade (relying on trickery to kill the latter), he easily defeated the legendary Kyle Katarn in a lightsaber duel. Caedus was also a master of extremely powerful Force abilities, such as flow-walking, which allowed him to travel through time itself. With this in mind, Darth Caedus may be among the few beings powerful enough to defeat Yoda.
8 Jaina Solo
A Solo Star
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Jacen Solo’s twin sister, Jaina Solo, was also one of the New Jedi Order’s most formidable Jedi Knights. Jaina Solo even received the coveted – and slightly esoteric – title of Sword of the Jedi, warning enemies and reassuring allies of her legendary fighting abilities. After Jacen Solo fell to the dark side and became the Sith Lord Darth Caedus, Jaina Solo was tasked with defeating her fallen brother, which she did reluctantly yet successfully.
A case can be made that Jaina Solo is not as powerful as Darth Caedus, however. She received a boost in Force power from Luke Skywalker in one of their duels and Caedus was significantly injured in their final battle. Either way, Jaina is one of the most powerful Jedi of her era and, moreover, her skills go beyond those of even a Knight of the New Jedi Order. Jaina Solo received training as a Mandalorian warrior from Boba Fett himself, adding to her already formidable skillset and arguably making her skilled enough to perhaps defeat Yoda.
7 Mace Windu
A Force Master
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Throughout his lifetime, Jedi Master Mace Windu was seen as the greatest warrior of the old guard Jedi Order. Windu held the title of Master of the Order, presiding over the Jedi High Council and, in some ways, being an equal to Yoda himself. Mace Windu’s reputation was well-earned, with Windu easily being one of the Jedi Order’s strongest Force-users and a lightsaber combatant so skilled and balanced that he created a Jedi-exclusive variant of Form VII known as Vaapad. Among Mace Windu’s most impressive feats are shown during the Battle of Dantooine in the Clone Wars microseries.
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Windu was also one of the few practitioners of a Force power called Shatterpoint. Shatterpoints allowed Force-users to perceive the weak points in physical objects, an opponent’s defenses, and even an abstract situation, making it an extremely powerful ability. Mace Windu possibly defeated Palpatine in single combat (though one might argue that Palpatine allowed himself to be defeated), while the Sith Lord proved too powerful for Yoda to defeat. With his Shatterpoint ability as a secret weapon, combined with his legendary dueling skills, Mace Windu could believably defeat Yoda in a duel.
6 Darth Vader
A Sith Lord Turned Ghost
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Anakin Skywalker was the prophesied Chosen One whose potential connection to the Force surpassed even Yoda’s if his midi-chlorian count is any indication. Tragically, Anakin never ended up reaching his full potential as a Jedi, but arguably did as a Sith Lord. As Darth Vader (and following his extensive cybernetic reconstruction), Anakin was one of the deadliest beings in the galaxy, and while there were warriors who outclassed him in skill (Palpatine and arguably Obi-Wan Kenobi), he was nevertheless truly a force to be reckoned with.
Darth Vader took time to adjust to his new cybernetic body, but he was exceptionally deadly once he became accustomed to it. Darth Vader slew numerous Jedi throughout the reign of the Empire with a combination of deadly dark side powers and his mastery of lightsaber combat Form V. Had Darth Vader battled Yoda, he could have been one of the few capable of defeating the Grandmaster.
5 The Ones of Mortis
Ancient Force Entities
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The mysterious Force-wielding beings of the realm known as Mortis were introduced in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars as essentially Force deities. The Ones consist of the Daughter, the Son, and the Father, who seemingly represent the “light side” of the Force, the dark side of the Force, and the “balance” between the two, though this notably conflicts with the way the Force and balance are depicted in the original and prequel trilogies. Each of the Ones is portrayed as being so powerful that they far outclass the Jedi and Sith.
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Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano are no match for the Ones in a direct confrontation. Anakin only managed to subdue the Son and Daughter thanks to Force augmentation, and he killed the Son with a sneak attack, using the Dagger of Mortis – the only weapon that can harm the Ones. Since the Ones can easily defeat any Jedi or Sith, Yoda would lose to any of them in a duel.
4 Lumiya
A Sith Sorceress
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Lumiya became the new Dark Lady of the Sith after the deaths of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, establishing the next iteration of the Sith Order after Anakin fulfilled the Chosen One prophecy and destroyed Darth Bane’s dynasty. Having been trained by Darth Vader himself as a true Sith, Lumiya was exceptionally skilled as a duelist and dark side practitioner. In her first duel with Luke Skywalker – who had recently defeated Darth Vader – the fledgling Sith Lady defeated him.
Lumiya’s signature weapon is a lightwhip – a rare and unpredictable weapon that many duelists are unprepared to contend with. This alone gives her a unique advantage over Yoda, who would be put on the defensive – countering his aggressive and acrobatic Ataru. Lumiya has more advantages than her signature weapon, however, and her dueling skills and dark side abilities make her nearly the equal of Luke Skywalker at the peak of his power. If Lumiya can challenge Luke Skywalker during his time as the Jedi Grandmaster, she can defeat Yoda.
3 Abeloth
A Celestial Entity
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The mysterious and horrific entity known as Abeloth is one of the most powerful beings in the Star Wars Legends continuity. Abeloth is comparable to the Ones of Mortis in the modern canon’s The Clone Wars, putting her power well beyond that of a mortal Jedi or Sith. Essentially a dark side deity, Abeloth is seemingly unkillable, and even the greatest of the Jedi and Sith would be hard-pressed to defeat her.
Using the full extent of his powers, Luke Skywalker managed to defeat Abeloth’s host bodies, but he felt that her defeat was only temporary. Although Jedi Master Yoda is one of the Jedi Order’s most powerful members, he would struggle with Abeloth as much if not more than Luke, making her easily among the few capable of defeating him. Abeloth is simply too powerful of a being for even Jedi like Luke and Yoda.
2 Palpatine
The Dark Side’s Master
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Each new generation of Sith in Darth Bane’s Sith Order became more powerful than the last. The final master in Bane’s sinister lineage was Palpatine – aka Darth Sidious – who is easily the deadliest Sith Lord in the galaxy. Palpatine’s dark side powers are unsurpassed by any other Sith Lord and his lightsaber dueling skills allow him to best any Jedi.
While Yoda fought bravely, he simply did not have the skill of Force power necessary to deafeat the fledgling Emperor, and he retreated.
Palpatine’s potential to defeat Yoda was put to the test in their duel on Coruscant in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. While Yoda fought bravely, he simply did not have the skill or Force power necessary to defeat the fledgling Emperor, and he retreated. If neither combatant could retreat, Yoda would, sadly, perish fighting Palpatine.
1 Luke Skywalker (Legends)
A Legendary Jedi
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In the original Legends continuity, Luke Skywalker learned from the mistakes of the previous generations of Jedi and established the New Jedi Order. Luke himself continued to grow – by learning from both his failures and successes – eventually becoming the most powerful, skilled, and balanced Jedi the galaxy had ever seen, all while remaining humble and grounded. At the peak of his power, Luke Skywalker performed numerous incredible feats with his Force abilities and lightsaber combat skills.
Although Luke was hardly the ideal Jedi student of Yoda during his training on Dagobah, he would go on to surpass his legendary master. In a duel, Luke Skywalker’s mastery of Form V (Djem So) and superlative Jedi abilities would allow him to best Yoda, though Yoda would by no means be an easy opponent for Luke, even at the height of his strength. If there is any Jedi in the Star Wars franchise who could defeat Yoda, it is the original Legends iteration of Luke Skywalker.
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Upcoming Star Wars Movies |
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The Mandalorian & Grogu |
May 22, 2026 |
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.