Star Wars is as legendary as it's creation was unlikely, the Sci-Fi masterpiece written by George Lucas was fraught with hardships. A lack of funding and no studio wanting to produce the movie couldn't stop the train however and now more than forty years later the franchise hasn't only withstood the test of time, it's thrived.

With an amazing story spanning several generations in both, it's world of fiction and the world beyond it the movies have inspired people of all ages. Most of the great stories we have to this day were created by people who after seeing a Star Wars movie decided what they wanted to do with their lives. This success could be attributed in part to the amazing and well-written characters that each generation has grown up with. Everyone remembers how cool Darth Vader was and what strong powers he had.

With such a long run the franchise has spawned numerous memorable characters that have fantastic powers. Whether it's Yoda's high flying circus antics, Darth Maul's wicked two-sided lightsaber or Kylo Ren's vicious aggressive force powers, everyone has a favorite Jedi or Sith.

Below we've collected a few of the strongest Jedi and Sith, whether it's their mastery of The Force or their lightsaber skills that put them on this list you can trust that these are the guys you want on your side in a fight.

This article will remain The Last Jedi Spoiler Free.

20 Jedi: Of Course, On The List He Would Be

Size isn't everything, and if you'll excuse the pun, Yoda is probably the biggest example of this. Respected by every other Jedi Master and holding perhaps the most influential seat on the Jedi Council. This is because Yoda is the most experienced Jedi, having served the Order for over eight hundred years.

During that time he honed his mastery of the force as well as trained to invent a unique lightsaber style that complemented his diminutive size. Yoda has managed to fight and defeat countless Sith, however by the time Palpatine was revealed as Darth Sidious it was near the end of Yoda's long life and the Jedi Master found himself outmatched. That didn't stop him from pathing the way to future victory and unlocking the secrets of immortality, however.

19 Sith: Ruler Of All

Darth Sidious also known as Senator, Chancellor and then Emporer Palpatine is a terror and one of the few people actually stronger than Yoda. His calculating mind planned out an attack on the Jedi that took decades to actually pull off and must have been originally planned by him in his childhood.

It all came to fruition, however, and before the final climactic battle in which the fate of the Galaxy was sealed when he fought Yoda, he proved he wasn't just a tactician by taking on almost the entirety the Jedi Council single-handedly. He then allowed himself to appear like he was losing against Mace Windu in order to force Anakin's turn to the Dark Side, gaining a powerful ally that would help secure his dominance and Yoda's defeat.

18 Jedi: The Force Is Strong With This One

Luke is probably the most iconic of the Jedi as we get to watch his entire path, from random farmhand who can't wiggle a rock to Jedi Master that has the entire universe searching for him. When he started out Luke's greatest accomplishment was being able to lift some rocks, now he's able to do all sorts of crazy things.

His skill with a lightsaber is also incredibly impressive, especially when you realize he's never been properly trained. What amounted to his training was Obi-Wan blindfolding him and then throwing stuff at him essentially before his mentor became one with the force.

Hailed as the new Chosen One (since his dad didn't really balance the Force) Luke's potential is immense and he could save the galaxy as long as he uses his strength for good.

17 Sith: Venting

Something that Luke has never had to deal with are straight up assassins bent on wiping him off the map. Ventress, before she swapped to Team Jedi, was one of the Sith's strongest stealth operatives with a body count that likely rivaled Darth Sidious's himself.

When Ventress came after someone she didn't play around, her style was brutal, efficient and quite painful for the victim. She nearly caused a speed up of Palpatine's plan when she came after Anakin and the young Jedi Knight nearly fell to the dark side then and there.

Her name had been spoken in feared whispers by the Republic during the Clone Wars and there's no doubt if she had ever come after Luke who would be the victor in that fight.

16 Jedi: Gone But Not Forgotten

Qui-Gon Jin's only real fault was being forced to deliver that much-hated canon speech about how the Force works. Midi-Chlorians, pah we don't need to know how the Force works, it was cool when it was just weird space religion magic. Once you put science to it the Force actually becomes far less interesting.

Qui-Gon was a beast, incredibly skilled in the Force and with a lightsaber. Although he met his demise during a duel with Darth Maul, he became the first of the Jedi Order to discover how to retain and manifest his consciousness after death, later teaching it to both Yoda and Obi-Wan. Without this warrior monk events would have played out extremely different and who knows what would have happened.

15 Sith: Re-Programmed

People sure switch sides often in Starwars, hopping back and forth over the thin line between light and dark more often then EA ruins a franchise with horrible money grubbing techniques. Quinlon Vos was no exception to this trend and when the Jedi Council decided to act extremely out of character and call a mission dedicated to eliminating Count Dooku for good, he began his steady decline.

Working with Ventress probably didn't help, but when he was captured was when his corruption was completed by Dooku's manipulations.

He soon came to be the most feared enemy to the Jedi Order under the alias Admiral Engima, using knowledge of their inner workings to throw chaos into the republics plans. Eventually, he rejoined the Jedi Order as a spy and continued his campaign against the light.

14 Jedi: Shaak Troops

Shaak Ti was a background character in most of the Starwars shows, aside from an Arc in Rebels in which she featured front an centre. Landing a seat on the Jedi Council is no mean feat though and during the battle of Geonosis, she was part of the strike team that rescued Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme. You can see her destroying Droids with ease during the fight in the background.

Her cool head leads the eventual discovery that the clones had behaviour chips implanted inside of them and while Palpatine managed to sow enough confusion that the truth of these chips wasn't discovered, it wound up saving Ahsoka and Captain Rex. While not a main character Shaak Ti has prover herself to be strong enough for a spot on this list through her background actions.

13 Sith: We Have Questions

The Grand Inquisitor is only a title, but it's all we have to go on as this Sith's real name was never revealed. Their purpose, however, is well known and has been felt across the galaxy, to hunt Jedi. The leader of Inquisitor's this Pau'an made it his mission to eradicate every single surviving Jedi of the purge, and he quite nearly succeeded.

One of the major enemies in Rebels, The Inquisitor has whooped the main characters repeatedly eventually becoming young Bridger's representation of fear itself. He went on to eventually capture and torment one of the final surviving Jedi in a charged interrogation using mind games to get the information he wanted.

Shaak Ti may be cool headed but she'd be no match for the Inquisitors line of questioning.

12 Jedi: Kindness Was His Downfall

The Darth Vader Marvel comics are amazing. Seriously, if you haven't read them, go read them, it has a Jedi who uses a sniper rifle in it. Kirak Infil'a is one of the high points of the series and also one of my favorite Jedi.

This Jedi Knight was used by the Order as it's main combatant and was herald as the best warrior they had. Eventually, he took an ancient vow called the Barash vow which forbade him from interacting with the Order as a form of penitence. During the Clone Wars, he instead meditated and grew closer to the Force and when Vader came hunting him he cut off the Sith's leg and hurled him off a cliff, vowing he'd find out who his master was.

His demise came about as a result of Vader needing to destroy an entire village in order to get Infil'a to use both his hands in an attempt to save it, causing him to lower his guard.

11 Sith: I Thought Not, It's Not A Story The Jedi Would Tell You

Darth Plagieus has only been mentioned by name a few times over the course of the franchise. We know he's dead by the point that the Phantom Menace starts thanks to his apprentice but he's probably the only one who could have defeated Infil'a at the Jedi Knights peak.

Darth Plageius was essentially the Sith's opposite of Infil'a, instead of a fighter it's thought that Plageius was a scholar and his mastery of the Dark Side of the force was so complete that he could deny Death its claims. He wound up being unable to use this ability for his own benefit however and was slain by his foolish apprentice when his guard was down.

Man if I had someone capable of making sure I never died that's not really a resource I'd want to squander.

10 Jedi: The Baddest Jedi In The Galaxy

Samuel L Jackson has described Mace Windu as "The baddest Jedi in the Galaxy, second to Yoda," and he has a pretty good track record to prove it. While all the other Jedi were slain while trying to arrest Darth Sidious, Mace Windu managed to hold his own for an admirable long amount of time and nearly even won. Anakin, of course, ruined that with his teen angst.

During the Clone Wars, he was probably the most active Council Member engaged in the thick of battle almost as often as Obi-Wan and Anakin. He's even the cause of General Grievous's breathing issues as in a confrontation he used the Force to crush the cyborg's chest plate, damaging his lungs in the process.

9 Sith: He Had The High Ground

The baddest Jedi in the Galaxy though doesn't hold a candle to the baddest Sith. Darth Maul had one of the coolest lightsabers we've ever seen and managed to take on two Jedi for an extended period of time. He used tactics to lure them apart and managed to slay Qui-Gon Jinn in a smooth move that left Obi-Wan in tears.

He also had Obi-Wan dead to rights, holding the high ground above an unarmed opponent. Obi-Wan cheated somehow though and managed to get the drop on him.

That didn't kill him, however, Darth Maul survived and eventually caught up to Obi-Wan thirty years later in order to take his revenge. While Mace Windu might be strong he just doesn't have the tactics and single-mindedness Darth Maul showed us.

8 Jedi: Mister Fister

Kit Fisto was the cool kid in the Jedi Order, always having a playful smile and known for his great sense of humor. While he was a background character in the movies, he's a major player and probably one of the most powerful Jedi. He's dueled with many powerful Sith enemies including a one on one duel with Grievous whom holds the record for most confirmed defeated Jedi.

During the fight, Fisto manages to cut off one of Grievous' hands and reclaims a friends lightsaber, proving that he's the better swordsman before managing to escape.

Darth Sidious managed to fell two of the four Jedi Masters sent to arrest him with single strikes but to his credit Fisto managed to hold his own for a few seconds longer.

7 Sith: Oh Brother

While Kit Fisto is the Jedi's cool kid (with a neat name) Savage Opress is the Sith's edgiest edgelord. Honestly, the character sounds like an elementary student's bad fanfiction, he's the cooler brother to Darth Maul that everyone likes more and his name is Savage Opress.

Who thought of this guy? In any event, Opress eventually became Darth Maul's master as they pursued vengeance against Obi-Wan and the writers had Opress easily defeat some high name Jedi just to prove how tough he was.

We're pretty sure that if Kit Fisto had still been alive at the time he would have been used to show how cool and tough Opress was, even though Kit was the far more interesting character.

6 Jedi: He Has The Coolest Mask

Another Jedi that wasn't really shown in the movies but like Kit Fisto was integral in the war effort was Plo Koon. Koon was the Jedi who originally discovered Ahsoka and was considered to be the Council's wisest member (aside from Yoda). He was also known as a crack pilot with skills rivaling Anakins.

While his mask definitely makes him look evil, Koon is one of the council's staunchest defenders of the Light. During the plot involving Quinlon, he pointed out a few times that Mace Windu and Obi-Wan were starting to sound surprisingly similar to Count Dooku.

Without Koon it's likely the Jedi Order would have been eradicated far sooner in the war, and his loss struck a final blow to the already decimated Jedi.

5 Sith: Best Sith Name

Count Dooku, also known as Darth Tyrannus has the coolest name of all the Sith. It's a name that fully explains who he is and what he does. I'm Darth Tyrannus and I'm a tyrant.

He's also an incredibly strong fighter with amazing mastery of the force, managing to force back Mace Windu, defeat Obi-Wan, maim Anakin and escape from Yoda.

Koon might be a powerful Jedi but he excels at piloting whereas Darth Tyrannus's strength is on the ground in pitched duels. His machinations to betray and overthrow his master nearly succeeded, but he couldn't seem to find an apprentice that would stick with him and so eventually failed.

He was also trained by Yoda and was the Jedi Masters apprentice originally.

4 Jedi: The Child Walks A Different Path

I'm not gonna lie, I don't really like Ahsoka. I don't think she's an interesting character and I found her kind of annoying as Anakin's apprentice.

There's no denying her skill, however, having been trained by one of the strongest Jedi definitely had an impact on her. She's been through trials and tribulations and during her time as a Jedi managed to save the Order from disaster after disaster.

In the end, however, she lost faith in the Order when they bowed down to the Senate's demands and expelled her before handing her over to them instead of giving her a proper Jedi trial when she was framed. While she was invited back she ended up leaving which would end up partially causing their downfall.

3 Sith: You Do Not Know The Power

Ahsoka is no match for her former master, however, and in Rebels, she is finally put to rest by him. Darth Vader was cool in the movies but it's in his comic where he really shines, the Anakin we saw in the Prequels and his rise to become Vader was... less than stellar, however, there's an arc where Vader sees a vision if he returned to the Light and it really puts Anakin's struggle into perspective.

I could gush over the Darth Vader comic all day but we'll keep it short and to the point. Vader takes on some insanely strong enemies and comes out on top repeatedly not only because he's strong but because of how endlessly hard it is to kill him.

I mean the guy started his career halfway into a river of lava.

2 Jedi: The Hermit

Our final Jedi on this list has to be Obi-Wan, the Jedi who just wanted to do his best. He followed his masters passing wish for him to train Anakin and believed he failed, fleeing to live as a hermit on a desert planet while watching over his former best friends son.

Eventually, he'd go on to learn the secrets of immortality as Yoda and Qui-Gon had and when the time came and Obi-Wan realized he needed to give in and trust the force he made the ultimate self-sacrifice in order to path the way to the only outcome that mattered.

He eventually got to see his apprentice redeem himself and continues to watch over the galaxy within the Force to this day.

1 Sith: His Namesake

As I said this article won't go into any TLJ spoilers, meaning that we're only going to talk about what Kylo Ren showed in TFA.

He namely showed that he's the strongest Sith we've seen to date. A lot of people are going to try and disagree with this but they're wrong, yes he's temperamental and has anger issues but he's also pretty much unstoppable.

After taking a shot from Chewbacca's bowcaster, which we've seen is essentially the star wars equivalent of a .50 caliber rifle he uses his anger and pain to fuel himself. During his fight against Fin and Rey, he even constantly hits himself in what should be a mortal wound repeatedly to keep himself awake.

We haven't seen any Sith fight like that, normally they get hit once and run away.