Obi-Wan Kenobi is arguably the greatest Jedi who ever lived. Here are his best moments in Star Wars.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the greatest Jedi who ever lived. He was never once tempted to turn to the Dark Side, though he had plenty of opportunities and even reasons to do so. He is a key part of the entire Skywalker Saga, having trained both Anakin and Luke.
He is extremely brave, excellent with a lightsaber, and is one of the wittier characters in all of Star Wars. Obi-Wan has been around since day one, and as the saga has expanded, we have learned plenty of interesting tidbits about this character and learn what a tragic life he has lived.
Many of these moments come from the films themselves, while some are from The Clone Wars cartoon that really expanded upon Obi-Wan and gave us an idea of what a powerful leader and wise general he was. With the Obi-Wan tv show coming in the near future, there are sure to be a few more great moments to come from that. For now, we will focus on the fifteen best Obi-Wan moments we have seen in Star Wars so far.
15. Obi-Wan vs. The Acklay – Attack of the Clones
In the climax of Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Anakin are taken prisoner by Dooku and the Geonosians and sentenced to death in an arena type of setting. Their death is to be chained to three tall stone columns and then be the dinner for an Acklay, Nexu, and a Reek.
Padme squares off against the mouse-like Nexu, Anakin draws the Reek, and Obi-Wan gets the giant scorpion-lizard hybrid the Acklay. This is a menacing creature with lobster-esque pinchers it uses to stab and crush its prey. Obi-Wan is able to free himself of his chains and begins to fight the beast with his hands still cuffed. He ends up getting a spear from a poor Genosian arena keeper and fends the beast off with that. Obi-Wan relies on his Jedi reflexes to anticipate and dodge the beast’s attacks until he’s finally able to get a lightsaber and begin hacking away at the Acklay’s limbs.
This scene shows what a badass warrior Obi-Wan Kenobi truly is and that he doesn’t need to wield a Jedi’s weapon to be effective in battle.
14. Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia vs. Savage Oppress and Darth Maul
Darth Maul teams up with his brother about midway through The Clone Wars series and exacts his revenge on his nemesis Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maul and Oppress confront Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia on the planet Florrum and immediately attack the Jedi.
Obi-Wan holds his own against the metal legged Maul, but Adi Gallia falls to Oppress after getting gorged in the torso by his horns and then stabbed through the back by his lightsaber. Obi-Wan screams out upon seeing her death and then goes to business. He is able to stand toe to toe against both brothers. He eventually retreats with Hondo and his pirates in an underground shelter. The brothers seek him out and again they fight, this time in very close quarters. Obi-Wan is able to take out Oppresses’ leg with a well-placed kick and then slices off his arm. This enrages Maul and he force pushes Obi-Wan so hard the ceiling collapses separating the three.
This is an awesome battle that shows how brave and skilled Obi-Wan is with a lightsaber. He doesn’t hesitate to take on both of these dangerous dark warriors and is able to fend them both off. He also shows how important Adi Gallia is to him as he’s able to use the Force to get her lightsaber and return it to the Jedi Council.
13. Reaching Out to Luke on Hoth
In the opening minutes of The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker gets himself into a dire situation. He is out investigating a meteor strike and after getting off his Tauntaun is soon attacked by the dreaded Wampa.
The snow beast drags him into his cave and freezes him feet first from the ceiling. Luke ends up using the Force to get his lightsaber and cut his feet free, then slices off the beast’s arm as he stumbles his way out of the cave.
Luke is bumbling and stumbling through the snow and finally collapses. He appears to accept his frozen death when he sees the illuminated form of Obi-Wan Kenobi. It is at this moment Obi-Wan instructs Luke to seek out Yoda on the planet Dagobah to complete his Jedi training. As Obi-Wan fades away, Han appears and saves Luke’s life by stuffing him inside the warm carcass of a recently dead Tauntaun. It is almost as if Obi-Wan’s presence led Han to Luke, thus saving his life. This scene let us all know that while Obi-Wan Kenobi was dead, he’ll still be a major part of this story moving forward.
12. Want to Buy Some Death Sticks
In Attack of the Clones, we see a less serious side of Obi-Wan. When he and Anakin are assigned to protect Padmé Amidala from an assassination attempt, they soon find themselves chasing the would-be assassin through the streets of Coruscant. They eventually track her into a bar where Obi-Wan instructs Anakin to look for her while he has a drink.
While Obi-Wan is enjoying his drink, he is approached by a ratty-looking humanoid who asks him if he would like to buy some death sticks. Instead of just shooting this rapscallion down, Obi-Wan does one better. He uses the Force on this sticks dealer and instructs him to rethink his life. The shady character agrees, and according to some extended material, he actually goes on to live a much cleaner and happier life.
This shows that despite being a Jedi Obi-Wan isn’t all business. He isn’t above having a drink at a local establishment or using his abilities to change the life of a shady character like Elan Sleazebaggano.
11. Fighting Asajj Ventress
During the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi ended up fighting many non-sith Dark Side dwellers and Asajj Ventress was one of those. She was kind of a semi-apprentice to Count Dooku and learned most of her skills from him. Ventress wielded a double pair of curved-handled lightsabers and was a fierce combatant.
She was utilized by Dooku in the plot to kidnap Jabba’s son and turn the Hutts against the Republic. Obi-Wan confronted her and an exciting lightsaber duel ensued. During this duel, Obi-Wan is clearly toying with the young dark force user. He almost flirts with her and calls her darling, as they cross sabers. He seems to be sort of training her as the fight continues and is never once concerned he may come out on the wrong side of this battle.
Obi-Wan was never as arrogant as Anakin was in the prequels, but this is about as close as we see to him being overconfident. That being said, this battle was not only a great duel but showed a more light-hearted side of Obi-Wan as he realized his skill in the Force was much stronger than that of Ventress.
10. Training Luke
When Obi-Wan and Luke secure passage to Alderaan aboard the Millenium Falcon, they get a moment to sit. Obi-Wan uses this moment to begin Luke’s Jedi training. He uses the remote and has Luke deflect the blasts with his lightsaber. When Luke begins to struggle and takes a few blasts to the buttocks, Obi-Wan instructs him to lower the blast shield so he can’t see.
Luke eventually does and is shocked to find out that he can sense the blasts without seeing them. This scene is one of the first examples we get in Star Wars of how the Force works. We also get to see Obi-Wan in that teacher/mentor role and how he calmly deals with his new apprentice and his frustration with dealing with the remote.
9. Death of Satine Kryze
During The Clone Wars show, we learned that Obi-Wan Kenobi had a love interest. As a young padawan, he was assigned to the planet Mandalore where he met the Dutchess Satine Kryze. The two hit it off and fell in love. The Clone Wars reunites the two and they are able to resist the temptation to leave their lives behind and be together and stick true to their duties and chosen paths in life.
Later in the series, Maul is able to win the Darksaber and become the rightful heir to Mandalore. He takes the Dutchess prisoner and is able to also capture Obi-Wan. He brings Obi-Wan before him and uses the Force to hold Satine in mid-air forcing her to choke herself. He tempts Obi-Wan and goads him to use his anger to lash out and save her but Obi-Wan holds true. He then angers Maul by saying he didn’t choose the path that led him to the Darkside and was instead forced into it by the Nightsisters. This angers Maul and he ignites the Darksaber and uses the Force to pull Satine into its blade, killing her.
With her dying breath, Satine expresses her love for Obi-Wan and we can see how much losing her hurts him. This is an extremely emotional scene and one of the darkest on this list. While it is very morbid, it does show how strong Obi-Wan’s commitment to the Jedi Order was, and that not even the death of his true love, could cause him to break and follow the path of the Dark Side.
8. At the Cantina
In A New Hope after Obi-Wan Kenobi meets Luke and the Imperials slaughter his aunt and uncle, the two go to the Mos Eisley Cantina to find a ride to Alderaan. When we first meet Obi-Wan, we think he’s this lonely desert hermit. But seeing him in this setting with some ruthless characters, we learn he’s not a guy to be messed with.
When two rascals are harassing Luke at the bar, Obi-Wan quickly comes to his aid. Luke gets thrown down, and then one of the two hoodlums pulls a blaster on Obi-Wan. The old Jedi quickly ignites his lightsaber and slices off the thug’s arm. This scene is classic for many reasons. We know that Obi-Wan isn’t someone to be trifled with and is not a helpless old hermit. We also get to see what a lightsaber can do and realize it is a very powerful and deadly weapon.
7. Vs. Darth Vader
Obi-Wan Kenobi knew that by going on this adventure with young Luke Skywalker that he would one day be confronted by his former padawan Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. He may not have realized it was going to happen so soon, but once they were sucked into the Death Star’s tractor beam he had to realize that time was upon him.
While the rematch between Vader and Kenobi isn’t the most exciting lightsaber duel in Star Wars, in fact, it is probably the lamest, it is one of the more meaningful. Obi-Wan knows that he can’t beat Darth Vader one on one, and he doesn’t need to. He clashes sabers with his former apprentice long enough for Luke to run over and watch the battle. He tells Vader that if he strikes him down he’ll become more powerful than he can ever imagine. Once Luke is watching, Obi-Wan gives himself up and lets Vader slice through him with his red blade. Obi-Wan disappears and all that is left on the ground is a pile of stinky old robes and a lightsaber.
Obi-Wan sacrifices himself because he knows that he will be more useful to Luke speaking to him from beyond and will be able to be a sort of spirit guide to him on his journey to saving the galaxy from his father and the Emperor.
6. Fighting Jango Fett
Obi-Wan’s battle with Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones was an awesome and unique fight. Before this fight, we had only seen Jedi battle Sith, or take on battle droids. This was the first time we saw a Jedi battle a non-Force user who was much more skilled than a droid or clone trooper.
Jango is actually able to hold his own against the Jedi using his vast array of weapons. He throws everything he has at Obi-Wan, including his big backpack rocket. During the fight which takes place in the rain, Obi-Wan loses his lightsaber and we see a lot of actual physical combat from the Jedi Master. He punches and kicks Jango, and is even able to keep his wit about him as he says “Oh, not good.” When he kicks Jango Fett over the edge of the landing pad while they are both still connected by Jango’s cable. This is one of the best scenes from Attack of the Clones, and we realize that Obi-Wan is a great warrior even if he isn’t carrying around his laser sword.
5. Meeting Luke
Luke Skywalker is tricked by R2-D2 into taking off his restraining bolt, and that little maneuver sets Luke off on his path in life. In the morning he sets out to chase down his missing droid and is attacked by Tusken Raiders. He is saved by a lonely hermit in a brown robe who scares the Sandpeole away with a scream.
When Luke awakes, he asks the hermit if he knows of an Obi-Wan Kenobi, and then Sir Alec Guinness delivers that perfect line, “Of course I know him. He’s me.” He then takes Luke to his little hut and tells him about the Jedi and gives Luke his father’s lightsaber. Obi-Wan talks a bit about the Clone Wars, Darth Vader, and the Empire and plants enough of a seed in Luke to make him want to follow him on his crusade.
These are iconic moments in Star Wars and are executed perfectly with the music and the way Alec Guinness chews up his dialogue. We are introduced to Obi-Wan Kenobi, and while he may be old, we soon learn he has a very interesting history and is a powerful user of the Force.
4. Vs. Darth Maul Round 1
Obi-Wan Kenobi has had a tough life and one of the first tribulations he has to go through is watching the death of his master Qui-Gon Jinn at the hands of Darth Maul. The two are taking on Maul together but get separated through some inconvenient blast shields. These are timed shields and Obi-Wan can’t get through them until they turn off. He is forced to watch as his master is stabbed through the chest with Maul’s lightsaber.
Instead of backing down or cowering with fear, Obi-Wan charges the Sith lord. He isn’t exactly acting through anger, just sheer determination. He matches the Sith warrior blow for blow but eventually is kicked down a shaft and ends up hanging on for dear life. Obi-Wan defies the laws of having the high ground and uses the Force to jump out of the shaft, grab Qui-Gonn’s lightsaber and cut Maul in half. The Dark Lord falls down the shaft, and we assume that’s the last we will see of him. Turns out this was just the first round in many battles between the newly minted Jedi Knight and this warrior of the dark.
3. Vs. Darth Maul (final)
Darth Maul is a major thorn in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life. He kills his master, some of his friends, and his true love right in front of him. The fact that Kenobi is still alive has eaten at the former Sith Lord, and as he ages, he makes finding Obi-Wan and killing him his life’s mission.
In Star Wars Rebels, Maul finally tracks Obi-Wan down to his hiding place on Tatooine. He confronts Obi-Wan as he’s out enjoying a nice nighttime fire. Maul taunts his arch-rival but soon realizes that Obi-Wan is protecting something. The two engage in a brief lightsaber duel where Obi-Wan calmly disposes of the overaggressive Maul. He then holds his former enemy in his arms while he says his dying words and takes his final breath.
This is a moving and poignant scene. It shows how much Obi-Wan has matured in his isolation on Tatooine and how powerful he has become. It also is a great demonstration of how following the light side can lead to more power than the rough and raw nature of the dark.
2. Vs. Grievous
Revenge of the Sith lands the top two Obi-Wan moments on this list. Coming in at number 2 is Obi-Wan Kenobi’s battle with the droid General Grievous. Obi-Wan is sent to Utapau to hunt down Grievous and finally locates him on an upper level. Obi-Wan is watching him from above and despite being vastly outnumbered by battle droids and Grievous’ bodyguards, he decides to jump down from the rafters, take all these baddies on by himself, and create one of the greatest memes on the internet today.
When Obi-Wan lands with a thud he says, “Hello there.” Grievous responds with “General Kenobi.” The two eventually fight and, despite Grievous having six lightsaber-equipped arms, he’s no match for the Jedi Master. Grievous eventually escapes, only to have Obi-Wan track him down. The two eventually engage in more of a fistfight before Obi-Wan is able to use a blaster of all things and kill Grievous in a very uncivilized manner. This scene is great as it shows how brave and confident Obi-Wan is, and it also contains some of the last light-hearted moments we see in the darkest chapter of the saga.
1. Fighting Anakin on Mustafar
Obi-Wan Kenobi’s battle against his former student on the lava planet of Mustafar is the top Obi-Wan moment on this list. It is a gut-wrenching battle, full of emotional moments and some of the best lightsaber dueling we’ve seen on screen. Just from a fight standpoint, this battle is epic. Obi-Wan and Anakin are equally strong with their skills with a lightsaber. They match blow for blow as they battle across some extremely dangerous territory. They also display their extreme athletic ability as they leap and swing from shaky platform to shaky platform, yet never fall into that treacherous lava.
Not only is this battle cool visually, but it also packs an emotional punch. Obi-Wan goes into this battle with great trepidation. He doesn’t want to have to kill his former student, but after seeing how far he has fallen he realizes he is left with no choice. When the battle reaches its climax, Obi-Wan tries to warn Anakin not to attack him since he has the high ground. Anakin in his Dark Side fueled rage, disobeys his master one last time and it results in his legs getting chopped off by his former master.
Obi-Wan then lets his guard down and screams at Anakin that he loves him and that he was his brother. Anakin reciprocates that sentiment by stating that he hates Obi-Wan and then is engulfed in flame. Obi-Wan didn’t have the heart to walk over and finish off his former apprentice instead leaving him for dead, which shows that his words weren’t just words and that his love for Anakin wouldn’t allow him to deal the final blow
What’s your favorite Obi-Wan Kenobi moment? Let us know in the comments!