What if Anakin Fought Luke Skywalker Prime - FULL Analysis 

Who wins?

All Luke needs to bring to the fight is some sand from Tatooine. He’ll win easily. Know your enemy’s weakness.

I think you’re failing to realize that Luke didn’t have the “Jedi Mullet” ability and therefore has somewhere between 10-30 less cool points than Anakin. This alone would be more than enough to give Ani the dub

As a teacher and coach myself, I think it’s safe to say that the fall of Anakin was strictly due to the Jedi Order’s fear of him. Luke was much older when he started training but the Jedi order wasn’t there to hold him back; which allowed him to grow and flourish without restraints when the jedi order feared Anakin and he was much younger than Luke was. If they would have allowed Anakin to reach his limits and pushed him to his limits of skill and knowledge as a sith would have, Anakin would have been fine. Anakin knew he was capable of much more than what the Jedi Order were allowing him. But they handicapped him, instead of allowing the student to grow and advance with his skill; allowing Palpatine to capitalize on those frustrations he had.

This is why we need more Luke in new canon, show him building a new order and learning from the mistakes of the past, show him performing amazing feats in the force and being the Luke that he should be

Anakin: "This is the end for you my son" Luke: "I kissed your daughter" Anakin: "YOU KISSED THE WHO NOW??"

“I’ve become more powerful than any Jedi has ever dreamed of!”

In my head, Anakin did reach his prime during 3. At least physically. The way I see it, he pulled off this crazy mission to save the chancellor from the enemy flagship, defeated Count Dooku, one of the greatest duelists in the galaxy, and p saved both Obi-Wan and Palpatine. If it wasn't for Anakins emotions, he probably WOULD have won against Obi-Wan on Mustafar.

The problem with this analysis is that we haven't seen how good Luke has actually gotten with his lightsaber combat by the time he appears Mando. We haven't seen him in a proper duel since ROTJ. And the fight choreography was much better in the prequels than it was in the OT as well. It might not really be as one sided toward Anakin as it seems based off of that. The lightsaber action was just not as good due largely to the technological limitations of the 70s and early 80s. Maybe Luke was better than he seemed even back then and they just didn't have the means to show us.

Anakin about to abuse his son again: "This is where the fun begins"

This video in a nutshell: Anakin: Hey son! Care to join me in a sparring match? Luke: Yeah sure, father!

Anakin, force wise, was terrifying. He could literally force choke people by thinking about them.

Luke took what little Saber training he had plus his loss to Vader in ESB and developed a technique designed only to overcome Vader. Pretty sharp for a kid. He learns on the fly, that is something most people only develop over time and experience. Couple that with the styles he learned that was lost over time, and Luke never was a fraud of the dark side. I swear Luke could bathe in the dark side and still come put clean. I believe that it because Luke never denied his emotions, he accepted them and learned to use them without subcoming. Like righteous anger.

I’m pretty sure if Luke said “I have the high ground” Anakin would probably just get really sad and walk away.

Anakin: **Unpatient, Arrogant, and has overconvidence** Luke: **KALM**

I think what the Star Wars universe desperately needs is a "What if...?" series. This will answer a lot of questions and confirm a lot of fan theories. I think your channel has the potential to reach a lot of higher people at Lucasfilm, given your history with your Vader episodes.

I know this is an old video but for the ones watching it right know, Anakin´s force power was evenly matched with Obi Wan`s because he was still conflicted about turning into the dark side, Imagine choking the love of your life, massacring your comrades at the Jedi temple and fighting your brother/mentor, he obviously was conflicted at the time

Anakin: yells until he reaches maximum power. Luke: *KAIO-KEN!!* Anakin: "Kaio-what!?" Punch to the gut doubles him over.

WOW, you just made me like Luke even more, the explanations of him keeping his cool and describing him as a “more powerful Obi-Wan” awesome video!

I think you hit the nail on the head at the end saying Luke was a more powerful version of Obi-Wan. I'm sure after Ep6 he went to the Jedi Temple and just learned everything he could, but always considered Obi-Wan as the blueprint of what a Jedi is and so everything he learned was added as "would Obi-Wan do this and how"

Absolutely well said and put together. Thank you, and may the force be with you.

The Jedi sabotaged Anakin and Luke for that reason alone he’s more powerful hands down. They were afraid of him. Anakin has RAW potential but was not as quick a learner as Luke naturally was. And that’s because of the mental blocks the Jedi put in place to slow him down...

Anakin at this point has much more battle experiance, but Luke has more control of his powers, Anakins are more like spikes...it is a very diffucilt vetdict, excellent video

That was an amazingly fair and balanced assessment. Looking forward to part 2 😁👍

Luke would have to be EXPONENTIALLY more powerful in the force just to even keep up with Anakin’s lifetime of formal training in saber combat. Luke never even held a saber until he was basically an adult.

Another advantage to Luke's credit, he has experienced the DEATH of loved ones and in the lesson taught to him on Cloud City - His hubris was sated. This removed the dam blocking his full use of the Force. Thus making him the last Grandmaster.

Legends Luke makes a point that he uses the emotion of love to fuel his powers. That is a HUGE no no for the Jedi. The Jedi were far too dogmatic. Emotion doesn’t lead to the Dark Side. Love and compassion are powerful and positive emotions, so I don’t see how it’s bad to use them. Legends Luke PROVES this.

I fully believe that in that scene in Mando Luke's heart rate never elevated. That is how calm I believe he was. I don't even recall him being out of breath when they opened the doors and walked in.

I love that you really attempted to give this as fair a look as possible. I think your analysis was great tbh. It'll be interesting to have you revisit this topic in the future as more information potentially comes out.

Anakins wartime experience, skill with a lightsaber and raw Force ability give him the edge against Luke, in my opinion.

My problem is Luke’s only fought a couple of times while Anakin is hardened, so I say Anakin hands down.

I think Anakin’s actual experience fighting so many different force users over the years gives him an invaluable advantage.

Beautiful analysis my frienddd

“You’re over confidence is your weakness.” Truer words have never been spoken by Luke to describe this kind of fight.

I think Anakin's lightsaber combat capability is a little bit underestimated here. No amount of theory and reading will ever be the same as real practice. Anakin witnessed Yoda, Windu and other incredibly powerful individuals fighting with his own eyes. He also fought against Dooku, one of the best duelists in the galaxy several times throught the films and Clone Wars. Yes, there is a lot to be said about Luke's mental superiority to Anakin. But I personally think when the combat prowess difference is that big, all others go outta window. Technique becomes obsolete against overwhelming power, and I believe Anakin is simply far too powerful and skilled compared to Luke for his mental state to make any difference. Kind of like a calm, cool and collected 10 year old boy going up against a 25 year old man throwing a temper tantrum.

Spot on Analysis!!! I couldn't agree more!!

Thanks so much for the video

If Anakin had reached his potential, Anakin by literally miles.

One small point: in multiple interviews, George himself said that Luke's potential is the same as his father's. Meaning that in G-canon, Anakin's Force potential is not "farther than Luke's;" Luke's Force potential is equal to Anakin's. George also said in a Rolling Stone interview that Anakin never reached his true Force potential, but Luke could. Apparently, it is also stated in the director's commentary for Empire that Luke is more powerful in the Force than Anakin, but I can't be arsed to watch through it rn to find the exact quote just for a RU-vid comment :p

Anakin’s stamina in the movies and shows:amazing Anakin’s stamina in bf2:oh I’m so old I’m so old!!

Spot on brother. Absolutely brilliant deductions. I'd have had to say the same.

The element you didn't factor in was Luke's Hope. He would not be fighting to kill Anakin. He would be fighting to SAVE Anakin and there, he has the advantage over Obi-wan. He is Anakin's SON, somehow confronting him. He would be able touch a part of Anakin that Obi never could. Yes, they were like brothers, but Luke is a part of him, and more importantly, a part of Padme. Luke would have the appeal that Obi-wan could never muster. Obi-wan made Anakin jealous, but Luke would have made him proud. Even after decades of wallowing in the Dark Side, Luke manages to touch him, and bring him back. If he tried just after he had turned? I think he could have made him see that human immortality is thru our children, not defeating death. He would have brought him back thru his capacity for love and hope. Things that Anakin had given up on.

I have to agree. It’s a hard debate, but Like benefits from being Anakin’s son and inheriting so much of his strength, yet more calm and in line with Kenobi.

Awesome vid SWT! Been following since 2017! Anakin is my favorite character and I relate to him the most. Love watching the vids, keep ip the awesome work man! Much respect to you and the work that you do

fantastic analysis and comparison of the 2

Luke , he's more precise more calm and collected whereas Anakin was reckless

When Anakin fought Obi wan he had legitimate hatred and resentment towards Obi wan, assuming they are dropped in a neutral place from their respective points in time. Would Anakin get angry enough at Luke to make him blinded by rage?

Absolutely loved this way of thinking...

I just realized that palpatine tried doing the same thing with Luke that he did to Dooku and Anakin. Killing Dooku was the last thing Anakin did before become Darth Vader. He wanted to do the same with Luke by making him kill his father. He also had Vader like Dooku not actually fighting Luke or Anakin so that they would die making it the first step towards the Darkside. Anakin had a lot of steps but this truly was the first step seeing if he would just kill someone unarmed.

I think we’re looking at it in the wrong way, boys. We can’t say “if Luke used the dark side” or “Anakin doesn’t have the composure that Luke does” as both of these concepts go against everything that makes these characters strong. Luke is strong because he *DOESN’T* use the dark side. The dark side by nature utilizes emotion, this is the antithesis of Luke’s calm and collected demeanor that makes him stronger. Anakin doesn’t *need* composure because his most dominating displays of power have all been when he uses the dark side during moments of intense emotion. Taking these things away completely nullifies everything that makes them strong in the first place. Now, I agree with your stances on who wins what. Anakin wins combat hands down and Luke wins force hands down. Where it gets iffy is the actual fight itself. It all comes down to circumstance. Even in the OT, the only time Luke beats Vader is when Vader was handicapping himself ( after *already being handicapped in ROTS* ) and *even then* he needed to tap into the dark side. This goes to show how strong Ani was in his prime. If we look at the Clone Wars, Ani isn’t really ever seen as this “master strategist”, but look at how often he comes up with these crazy plans and strategies that somehow work every time. Luke helped in wars, sure. But Anakin served on the front lines of one of the biggest wars the galaxy has ever seen and did more than probably any other Jedi in the order during that era. I think Ani would have the edge in most circumstances. If Luke could hold him off and keep his cool long enough to read Ani and come up with a plan, he could definitely win. It’s how Obi-Wan won (how he Obi-WON lol). But I’d say Ani takes the W 7-8/10 times. He’s more experienced, stronger, more agile, a highly emotional dark side user, and pretty damn good at unorthodox strategy; just an all around more capable combatant. If Luke loses his composure and taps into the dark side, he loses. If Luke allows Anakin to push too hard or start to steamroll, he loses. Luke needs to find the perfect balance between defense and offense. Push him hard enough where he doesn’t have the time to think or plan, push him towards his emotions so he literally *can’t* think, but Luke also needs to be capable of defending against Ani’s stronger attacks until he can come up with a plan of his own. Edit: I’ve been thinking more and more on this fight, so I decided I’d like to add a few more things: Ani and Obi were both masters of their respective styles: Obi, defense, and Ani, offense. This made for an interesting dynamic for their fight. If the offensive fighter is more skilled, they will break through the defensive fighter’s defenses. If the defensive fighter is more skilled, they will be able to hold off the offensive fighter until he makes an error. We see this exact situation play out. Obi-Wan was playing with fire by fighting Anakin. By waiting him out and letting the fight drag longer, he increased the odds of Anakin making a mistake...but also increased his strength, making the odds of Ani breaking through his defense skyrocket. But Obi-Wan maintained composure as he was the best defensive combatant the galaxy had ever seen. It also helps that Obi never wavers. He refuses to give into his emotions and that makes him stronger and more strategic. Luke, as discussed in the video, is a hodgepodge of fighting styles. Sure, he mainly uses form 5 like Ani, but he’s not a master of it, more of a jack of all trades and that’s the one he mainly specializes in. Anakin masters it. This means Ani will have an infinitely stronger offense than Luke. And Luke only dabbling in other forms, won’t have the defensive expertise that Obi-Wan did. This makes him stalling out Ani a MUCH more suicidal option than it was for Obi. Not to mention, Luke’s greatest weapon is his calm...but Luke is also more prone to giving into his emotions than Obi. I think there’s A LOT of factors we need to take into consideration here.

I think I have to give to to Anakin, his experiences in the clone wars as a general fighting in massive battlefields or discrete missions or dueling Dooku/Ventress/Savage gives him an edge imo

Luke's calmness automatically wins. He's just too calm dude. His calmness causes panic in his foes.

I was thinking the whole time “Luke would probably be a more powerful Obi Wan.” And then you said it! 🤣 Awesome idea; would love to see a legends Luke vs Undefeated Vader video in this style.

I love how the part where he talks about force crush being questionsble, he show a picture of Mace Windu, who used force crush on Greivous in the classic Clone Wars series

I swear I remember George saying that Luke reached his full potential whereas Anakin did not, for me Luke wins because I think that’s what George would have intended. Luke was the redeemer, the one who succeeded where his father failed, so it is only natural the son would surpass his father, especially considering Anakin’s many character flaws.

Just a wonderful explanation and I agree with every word said

I honestly believe their strength is the same and it all comes to brains (use the force THINK) on who comes on top in a battle. Brilliant video btw!

The age difference is key, location is key, I was always sort of meh on Luke until mando and this boosted even more. I’d love to see full potential ani vs legends luke. I feel as though that battle would yield a different result but deal much more in speculation because sadly we never saw FP ani. Excited to see your take as always.

Here's a fanfic idea this reminds me of: I always liked the idea of Anakin and Vader actually doing a duel within Anakin's heart during Revenge of the Sith. The idea of Anakin suffering from MPD and Vader being a front that consumed him from his traumas and darker emotions has always appealed to me, so the idea that Anakin actually duels Vader and loses to him for dominance in his mind struck me as an interesting thought. I can see the same happening in Return of the Jedi as Anakin regains control and finally destroys Vader. I imagine it would be a lot like the Rey visions scene in The Force Awakens; Anakin and Vader dueling across Anakin's memories, and then in Return of the Jedi, across Vader's memories. It's a fanfic I'd love to write some time, or even direct to life with CGI.

Anakin is also my favorite character, and I would always say that he would beat Luke. His battle experience is such a huge advantage. Anakin just isn't physically skilled but he is also a tactician. But when you mentioned Luke was trained by the force ghosts. I started thinking which ghosts, and of course it would be Yoda and Obi-Wan but also Anakin himself. Anakin would make sure Luke was superior than he ever was. This, along with Luke having Padame's cooler temperament, leads me to believe that Luke would defeat Anakin.

Awesome video! Loved the flash clip of Anakin standing Infront of the council bring denied Master. What?!?!

Anakin would win, thats my prediction before watching.

Either way, you are right on this one. “Prime” Anakin was SAVAGE. He was a battle-hardened veteran of the Clone Wars. The Force notwithstanding, Luke was never depicted as being a superior duelist. His training was marginal. We still don’t know how or where ‘Mando-era” Luke upped his game. But either Anakin or Vader, in their “Prime”, would beat Luke with a combination of saber work and dark side powers.

Great commentary brother. Luke was my choice as soon as u asked the question. But I do love Anaken the most.

Great analysis!! I agree, Luke wins! You do a great job with your RU-vid’s.. keep up the great work and MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

I like how you timed saying Luke "expanded his horizons" just when the image onscreen was of him eating Yoda's terrible cooking.

Before watching i will say this, no suit vader wouldve thrown em around like a toy in my opinion but in this scenario, i think Luke takes the edge considering how underutilized anakins powers were. Edit: coming from a vader fanboy and a fan of anakin.

Very well explained, I agree

I think this is a very good analysis

10 years of being actually in combat duels means a whole lot more than you give credit

Crushing the Dark Troopers would like 1 step below crushing beskar, that's how tough those guys are, and Luke squished them like bugs.

Very well done. Let's see full power Anakin vs Legends Luke.

And I think Luke being more knowledgeable in the force would sense that Anakin becomes stronger as the fight goes on and he would counter it

I think since Luke was trained by Obi-wan himself, he would have been taught a few tricks. Obi-wan probably showed the move that defeated Maul to Luke. Also Kenobi would have also taught Luke about the high ground. Basically everything that led to Anakins demise would have been passed down to Luke. I totally think Mando Luke can take revenge of the sith Anakin.

You keep harping back to his loss to Obi Wan as a weakness, but it is Canonically stated that Anakin was not as powerful as he should be during that fight due to his conflicted mindset . He could not tap into the darkside against Obi Wan as well because he did not actually hate Obi Wan, he still deep down cared for him until Obi Wan cut him down. In this scenario you are presenting there would be no personal connection between Luke and Anakin. Anakin's greatest weakness is when something gets personal in his mind.. Dooku in Episode 2 and Obi Wan in Episode 3 being those examples. Anakin fought Obi wan without Sith eyes.. I have no doubt he would get the Sith Eyes and thus channel more ferocious darkside power against a Luke he has zero connection to.

12:14 I love this idea and I really hope we see something like this come to fruition

Really loved this analysis also my fav two characters and I hate to give this battle to Luke strictly because of how much I wish anakin would’ve reached his full potential….but he didn’t and I couldn’t have done the analysis any better my self 100% spot on my friend

Excellent in-depth analysis! Even factoring in their heights and how much of their hand/arm was cybernetic! I agree with the overall conclusion: Anakin is basically this raging storm in the Force, and it would be up to Luke to remain centered in the eye of that storm.

I feel like there is a huge difference between "using the force for good" and "using the good side of the force". This is actually a really keen point and interesting topic. Would love to see an analysis on this.

This was very in depth, very unbiased. I was leaning towards Luke and you made the case very very well. Good job SWT 👍

great video as always! with just watching a video of the stupendous wave about grand master luke, with what he has been able to do, luke would've won, i love anakin and the character development, but luke would've won (luke with all the skills from legends). Either way, do an all options movie please, full force anakin (not keeping mind to what happened in the stories) vs legends luke please. keep up the good job dude, love your videos!!!!

Two counter arguments about anakins size and experience from war: 1. "Size matters not" and 2. "Wars make not one great"

Theory: Luke would win a fight against Anakin Anakin: What?! This is outrageous, it's unfair!

If there's one thing I've learned from Star wars it's that never get stuck in a hallway with Skywalker

While Luke is defo more powerful in the force, Anakin has been formally trained for 13 years, facing constant war for 3 of them, training with and fighting against some of the most powerful duelists out there. Luke had 20 minutes of training with Obi and a weekend of fucking around with Yoda. Ani takes the dub for me

I think it would just be that Luke would play a “back to the future” role and convert Anakin before he fully goes into the dark side. He’d be like, “Anakin, I am your son”.

My money is on Luke. Even though Anakin might have had more training, he never had the maturity or calm that Jedi Luke had. That's my personal opinion.

Yes sir, make the full-on

To be fair, most of Luke’s battle experience came from hands-on fights too, namely Darth Vader. It’s why his fighting style mirrors Anakin’s so much; in a way, Luke learned how to duel primarily from his father! And we learn in comics that Luke fought some pretty gnarly opponents during his time as well, including the Grand Inquisitor!

I’m always struggling between who I like more Anakin or Luke. Like it tears me apart man ahaha 🤣

It's a tough call..Anakin has more experience being taught by a generation steeped in Jedi knowledge. But Anakin had issues, and was the product of a broken system that was about to fall apart due to its inherent flaws. Those flaws within Anakin allowed a less powerful Jedi defeat Anakin in mortal combat. Even before Anakin turned to the darkside fully, in his earlier years he showed his willingness to deceive the Jedi and marring Padme against the rules required of a Jedi. He murdered an entire village in his rage at his mother's death after her capture and torture. He ignored his mother's fate and status for 10 years before making an effort, but it was too late.. Anakin had problems and the Jedi had problems. The system was broken, Anakins fall to the darkside and fall of the Jedi were symptoms of a greater problem. Disinterest and dismissal to listen to and heed the Will of the Force. Qui Gon Jinn, was the last true Jedi, in a broken system with broken teachings. Luke Skywalkers greatest gift was his struggle with the teaching of Yoda on Dagobah. He failed over and over because he trusted his own judgment. Listening to Yoda is not the same thing as listening to the Force. Luke learned more from his failures than most would have learned from obedience to Yodas teachings. Half trained Luke choose to ignore the council of Kenobi and Yoda, to act on the visions he received in the Force. When Luke refused to stay he was told he would face Vader alone without their support. Vader was in complete control and dominated Luke, and while weakened and defenceless Vader revealed Obiwons lies and manipulation with Vaders connection to Luke. Luke chose to fall to his death rather than give in to Vader, which surprised Vader, then Luke survived, which surprised Luke and with his friends help he escaped. Luke continued to train on his own for a year while planning with friends to find and liberate Han Solo. In that time Luke grew in power, knowledge, and wisdom that his second fight Vader was very different than the first. Vader beaten and helpless, Luke chooses a second time to deny giving himself to the darkside and become the Emperor pupil. Anakin allowed his desires and lusts to twist him into something other than what he was meant to be. Luke was his own man, he loved his friends and made them family as he had none. He choose to listen to the will of the Force. He choose Love or Hate, or Fear...Just as Vader was saved by choosing Love over Hatred or Fear. So you tell me, who do you think is the stronger?

That was fun to listen to.

Bro Anakin before he was barbequed was one of the strongest Jedi Knight, some might say combat-wise he's almost an equal to Windu and Yoda. He has faced opponents with light saber such as Dooku, Ventress and Obi-Wan. Luke on the other hand only started to learn the way of the Force in his teens and his light saber combat experience is against a sphere droid. If Luke faced a non-BBQ Vader in ROTJ, he would die without a doubt

I absolutely love these battle videos and keep them coming! This is a lightsaber duel that I would like to see. It all comes down to who ended up with the 'high ground" and if the battle took place in a desert. Sand is Anakin's kryptonite because "It's coarse, rough, irritating and it gets everywhere."

Also, imagine the conflict in Anakin's mind when fighting his son who is more powerful than him in the force. He thinks he's the most powerful being in the galaxy only to meet his equal of the same blood. Even normally in life sons surpassing their dads causes conflicting feelings of pride and shame. Anakin didn't raise Luke, so there would be no pride. That would be a huge blow to his arrogance.

Remember anakin retrained his fighting abilities to fit his heavy painful suit he had to wear so being able to adapt is a very powerful tool to be able-bodied to do in combat

Yet like Yoda said, the dark side is not stronger or more powerful. It's just a quicker path to power but without discipline

Luke pulled a star destroyer down on Jakku, did he not? He projected himself across the galaxy and physically interacted and fought. PRETTY FUCKIN POWERFUL.

I think that there is something that you may have neglected. I would also look at how Anakin trained Asoka. He trained her in a specific style but adapted it specifically for her and to remove the form's weaknesses. I think that you might be neglecting the fact that anakin has a keen analytical mind when it comes to combat.

You killed me with Anakin saying What.