Why Starkiller Was Able to DEFEAT Darth Vader - Star Wars Explained 

I don’t understand why people complain about Starkiller being OP. Do people complain about Revan being OP? Or Nihilus? Or Naga Sadow? Or Kyle Katarn? Or hell, Legends Luke? Starkiller is just one of those beings born with immense strength in the Force. Add in that he’s been trained since childhood by Vader, another immensely powerful Force-sensitive, and of course you get a guy who can crush AT STs like wads of paper

I think the key here is POTENTIAL. Starkiller came closer to his potential than Vader ever did.

Vader's suit: Weak to Lightning Starkiller: Unlimited Power...

I want a Starkiller show where he doesn't hold back

It is well known that Starkiller's only weakness is canon.

As for Galen's potential, at the beginning of the game when you play Vader, he is looking for a Master Jedi on that planet. When he meets Galen, he realizes that this child was who he felt and that's why he took him instead of killing him.

Why wasn't Starkiller's proficiency in force lightning addressed in this as shown in both games he's able to create concentrated chain lightning on par with that of Palpatine's and by Palpatine's own design Vader's suit is extremely vulnerable to force lightning this certainly attributes to at least one of Galen's victories as in the force unleashed two you have to discharge force lightning into Vader via a QTE

I did the research: Anakin had 27000 midichloroans, and Starkiller had 22000. So Starkiller only had 5000 midichlorians less than max potential Anakin, and because he didn’t lose any limbs, was more powerful than Vader. Oh also he has the 5th highest midichlorians behind Anakin, Luke and Leía, and Darth Vitiate. So yea yes powerful

I kind of like the explanation of why it’s called force unleashed now, he always went 100% the game now makes perfect sense !

Also Vader’s suit limits his mobility making it hard for him to keep up with an angry young and angile opponent such as starkiller or Luke

I know we all love pulling a Star Destroyer out of the freaking sky, but let’s take a moment to appreciate Force pushing Vader through multiple durasteel walls. And lifting an entire platoon(?) of stormtroopers into the air. And turning said troopers and the surrounding forest to ash via Force repulse. I know he’s OP, but that’s what I love

Imagine if Anakin never got Injury or Deform and reached his true potential as the Ultimate Force User and he secretly Trained Starkiller to be his Sith Apprentice. They both dethrone Darth Sidious and become Co-Emperors of the Empire. Sidious finds Darth Maul and Resurrects his Brother, resulting in the 3 of them combating Vader and Starkiller in a 2 on 3 battle for the Empire!

A scene where Darth Vader orders all the inquisitors to travel a planet then a Hologram plays of Starkiller waiting on the planet and Vader orders to leave no survivors.

One thing that bugs me when people describe Starkiller is that he’s too OP and shouldn’t be more powerful than characters like Vader and Sidious but here’s something they tend to forget. Starkiller was trained to be an assassin, Vader put him through hellish training to keep him in top form and to allow the force to serve him not the other way around. I don’t think he’s OP, more like he’s powerful in the force because of the training he endured under Vader. He wasn’t given any kind of mercy, it was either prevail or die for him

Starkiller is like me favourite guyyy

Because he is a video game character

I disagree I think the emperor let him win, he was just testing his abilities. Vaders suit is also very vulnerable to force lightning.

Actually the Star destroyer wasn't coming down anyway, you can see that when you stop trying to pull it down and it levels itself back out meaning Not only was he able to move the mass of the ship but override the ships repulsors that are capable of holding the ship in atmosphere.

It actually WAS possible to literally multiply your midichlorian count as Darth Plagueis was able to do this within his own body - but it took him many years to develop that force ability. Had Vader been able to learn this technique in secret - he would have been HORRIFYINGLY powerful and could have killed either Sidious or Starkiller because neither of those possess more rage and pain within them than Vader. You should do a "what if" Plagueis had trained Vader. Or better yet, had discovered Anakin before Qui-Gon.

The Midi-Chlorian factor is a super interesting consideration!

in another video on a similar subject, they mentioned that many jedi and sith train in specific ways and seek deeper understanding of the force. which can be powerful in it's own right. it opens so many doors. but the reason why Starrkiller/Galen Marek excelled is that he was never taught or trained in specific abilities. He fought instinctively and coupling that with the fact that he made himself a vessel for the force, he was nigh unmatched in power. the only thing that mattered in his growth was swift and brutal destruction.

Marek was like a Powder Keg of Dark Force Utilization! Take this with no inhibitions, emotion, and jedi training, the dude was unstoppable! 💥

I wish they can make Starkiller/Galen Marek Cannon and reveal that Darth Vader/Anakin took another apprentice. Ashoka and Starkiller were Anakin's actual Padawon/Apprentice, one in the light and one dark. Make them meet on Ashoka.

NAHHHH...the Novelization...which was the Official version of The Force Unleashed...simply says that Both Vader and Galen Marek had ALWAYS held back in their Duels. And in the FINAL duel Galek simply RAMPED up his SPEED and Out maneuvers Vader! He WASN'T enraged...because Rahm Kota and his lover had begun teaching him Compassion! In FACT....He told Vader that he "PITIED" him for being a Broken Beast and would put him out of his misery to spare him...that only made Vader ANGRIER...And he STILL lost....BADLY!

because he's a bad ass. He needs to come back to canon already!

My man Starkiller pulled a Star Destroyer out of the sky. After that, beating an asthmatic cyborg with mommy issues seems like padawan's play

Midichlorian count is nice, but heart, skill, and experience outrank everything. Obi wan was destined to be in the med corps or agricorp because his force powers were less impressive than his peers. No jedi wanted him as a padawan, until Jinn saw him in action. So a force user in the medcorp essentially beat thr Chosen One and Darth Maul TWICE!

Bro Starkiller is Strong! Like he used his Rage and the strenght in the Dark side of the force 100% all the time, and that’s how he Could win over Vader, but if Vader used the Dark side of the Force 100% all the time, Vader would win over Starkiller and maby to get a Overthrow on Darth Sidius!

Galen Merrick was a very special case because when he was born it was during a time when the Jedi and light side were so dwindled down, and few if any surviving jedi repopulated so when Galen was born the lightside assisted in his birth. Expanding his force potential to levels beyond Palpatine. And with Vader training him in the dark side it allowed him to acquire his force potential quicker than just being a jedi. And Galen never fell 100% to the dark side. He was a weapon. Who had a master. But once he broke his chains and fell in love he saw no difference in light and dark. Both were just tools. And he ultimately remained pure through it all. Sacrificing his own life for the birth of the Rebellion. Which is where the Rebellion got his insignia is from Starkiller.

Well it's partly that Vader trained him a bit TOO well since in the EU Galen killed him almost TWICE if we count THIS as should be Cannon. Since we NEVER found out his ultimate fate some old version of him may STILL be out there somewhere an the story line goes he actually DOES start to hold back on his own quite a bit in the later cut scenes. If he NEVER held back how would you'd get the option to spare ANYONE after any fight? Had he had NO control Galen wouldn't have hesitated and executed Vader at the end of Unleashed one. He was, seems, just trained to be VERY tough and VERY,very well trained in both agression and fighting to the point only the highest enemies can TRULY threaten him. Like Luke, Yoda, Vader, or even Palpatine himself. Or he'd NEVER been able to hold his own. One the reasons he's my personal favorite.

Need that SW Force Unleash 3 to drop on PS5 now

Simple answer, they wrote it that way...in my opinion Vader shouldn't lose to anyone in a lightsaber duel. In TFU2 i would say Vader let starkiller capture him since they were taking him to the secret base, Vader was about to unleash on the rebellion!

god i would love to see Sam Witwer play Starkiller in live action

We should get a great standalone Vader show that eventually ends with him acquiring Starkiller to train. Then have a Starkiller show follow up afterwards. We can get enough of a young ruthless Vader until he meets Starkiller for a proper on screen debut🔥🔥

Thanks for spending most the video rereading your Starkiller video while also including Obi Wan spoilers. Such a great video.

Quite satisfied with this answer. I’ve always been a big fan of Starkiller. My favorite aspect being that his love for Juno helps him stay at least partially good. Great contrast to Vader’s love experience

If vader didn’t get hurt on mustafar he would have been powerful enough that once he overthrew palpatine the Death Star would even be pointless since he could possibly destroy entire planets with the force.

I thought Starkiller's strength, in part, came from being cloned? Like, there is an inherent risk of instability from cloning a force sensitive

Head cannon moment. Since Starkiller isn't part of the lore anymore, I always imagined that he was the chosen one in his timeline.

I think that Galen's midichlorian count is around Palpatine's yknow around the 20,000 mark

Its definitely true that in the second game he purposefully let's him leave after he escapes and let's him beat him. Some people don't know that Vader is very good at strategies and plan making.

It would be awesome if he was the one in the tank Jedi: Survivor!

There's also the fact that Starkiller is very profficient at Force Lightning which directly hard counters Vader because of his suit.

Obi Wan, Luke, Starkiller, and Palatine have defeated Vader.

My idea is that Galen just never held back. All jedi and even most sith try to put some kind of limit on the force, but Galen doesn't do that. He lets the darkness flow through him without limiting it and he always uses it's destructive powers at full force

starkiller probably has the biggest potential to be the strongest force user, if trained right and given the proper time, he could easily rise above prime vader and palpatine. But i don't think that anyone could ever surpass valkorion

I think it’s for three reasons: 1. Star killer has a higher count than Vader (lower than anakin). 2. He never holds back 3. His special force ability is lightning, this is something Vader is particularly weak to

I remember when I bought the first game. Ah the good ol’ days 🐸😎

He won because it was his game

"Size doesn't matter it's all in your mind" ~The stupendous wave,6.June.2022

Honestly I think Luke bested him because he didn't want to hurt or kill Luke. He's held back so many times. Luke beat him in that he made him feel the good again. Like was powerful af but like you said in return of the jedi he wasn't even close to his potential yet. It was compassion that opened up like being able to best him

4:20 if u play the entire level u will realize that starkiller pulled down the entire star destroyer not just redirect it

star killer would be a good person to convert to canon

I just had a REAL dark thought.. since SK hurting himself and pain is a Canon way to boost one's power in the dark side, self-mutilation must be a quick insta-hack for power... And if that's the case I'm far beyond Vader levels 😂

4:33 "size does not matter' Wise man he truly is.

I always felt just being a student of the force as opposed to having a high midichlorian count was enuff to make anyone just as powerful as the emperor or Yoda.

StarKiller father was a jedi and perhaps his mother was a jedi too.

they need to make a movie about star killer ... he was a badass

Now would be the time to introduce Starkiller! But I know it’s not likely to happen

If I'm not mistaken Avert's modichlorian count in the canon stands at 20,000 per cell. I saw it in a Star Wars Rebels guide and various quotes where it is said that vader freed the needs of the flesh and increased its connection with the force if I'm not mistaken it is found in the 2015 novel The Dark Lord of the SiTH.

Ok, with Galen. What would his midi count be then? Also would Starkiller’s clone have the same midi count or would it be more or less? With Vader. If they cloned Anakin’s body before the accident. Using the limbs from the Anakin clone for Vader. Would Vader’s midi count go back to normal?!? Any chance you can do a video a list of the Jedi/Sith ( legends E.U.). Great video. 👍

I thought both his parents were Jedi which is the main reason Jedi dont procreate.

Starkiller is my favorite SW character

Fun fact - Starkiller is basically the prime dark side version of Luke skywalker

There are feats Galen can't normally reach because when push becomes shove Galen can't fully control his power. And during the time he pulled down the star destroyer and defeated Vader and nearly the emperor because he was going under immense adrenaline and anger. On Raxus prime Galen had just gotten done fighting Proxy who was simulating Maul and a small army. So he had major adrenaline so he really couldn't think of what he was doing he just had to go for it. And when he was the death star he had come to reality learning that all those years of being taught by Vader were just empty means to an end and having to fight a whole army. Galen was filled with adrenaline and anger fueling his sheer power to go against a shadow of a man who lost everything and had nothing to lose, and the emperor didn't really know his full capabilitiesies other than he was more powerful than Vader at that time

Like a scalpel. It is not inherently evil unless wielded with malicious intent.

He really is overhyped how powerful he is. His force abilities are so focused on combat that the rest are laughably weak. When it came to facing Vader his natural talents in combat and Vader's inherent weakness to force abilities like force lightning made taking him down easier than most with his numerous advantages. For palpatine he wasn't even close, he died in the force explosion that palpatine came out unscaved entirely. Palpatine wanted to replace Vader so he baited him to try and strike him down, himself too to brining him to the dark side but he is safe the whole time knowing he can stop any attempts against him.

The S wave this was a stupendous explanation

Why is it so hard for people to understand? Starkiller just came closer to his potential than Vader. Darth Vader created and trained a literal God-like being that surpassed him in the Force. That Palpatine was forced to put down. I like to think the first game, the light side was his true ending, where he died on the Death Star, second game didn't happen. A good threat for Darth Vader and Palpatine at the time. (But that was Legends, so, in the end, it doesn't matter anyway.) Darth Vader, in canon is still among the strongest besides Palpatine.

That little bit about Palpatine not being of any special lineage is kinda why I never understood all the Rey hate (at least before RoS). Why did everyone find it weird that someone could just be born with insane potential in the force without having being related to someone else who already had insane potential.

“A Jedi sufficiently strong in the Force can be trained to produce a facsimile, but not true Sith lightning, which, unabated, has the power not only to incapacitate or kill, but to physically transform the victim. Force lightning requires strength of a sort only a Sith can command because we accept consequence and reject compassion. To do so requires a thirst for power that is not easily satisfied. The Force tries to resist the callings of ravenous spirits; therefore it must be broken and made a beast of burden. It must be made to answer to one’s will.” - Darth Plagueis

I am incredibly satisfied with this conclusion

Pretty sure you or another star wars philosopher spoke about several characters that matched Galen mareks feats and potential. It was like a " top 10" most powerful force users or something .

The boy would be unstoppable 💯💯

Never looked at like that before. The rage of both Luke and Starkiller taking away the fear and intimidation factor Vader used.

I do not feel your explanation was satisfying to the star wars methos. The dark side of the force overt use comes at a cost. It drains the body of vitality and prematurely ages and consumes increasing metabolism. Whether adept or sith, the dark side can not sustain over the course of prolonged assault. In battle, short quickened fights are it's bread and butter. Starkiller's use of the dark side should have caused enough cellular decay to decrease his agility to a point where Vader handicaps weren't so pronounced. Second, Anakin is a highly skilled combatant with a lightsaber. As a fall back, Vader would never teach Starkiller anything technique he himself could not overcome. Just as Palpatine created Vader's suit to be dependent on specialized force embedded spice and vulnerable to force lightning. Also, Vader wasn't 80% of Palpatine's power, he was diminished to 80% of his own potential power. However Anakin's powers were off the scale so even 80 is immensely powerful. Lastly, Luke's battle with Jedi above Yavin wasn't rage that led, but awareness of something greater than himself... love. In order to defeat Vader he'd never to recognize him as who he is or Leia without training would be Palpatines. In order to save his sister, he needed to let go of Anakin. But in recognizing Palpatines manipulation, realized the only one who could destroy the Emperor was Anakin not Vader. so Luke did the opposite of what Vader did to him after taking his hand. Luke in a manner offered Anakin a choice, join me and let's save our galaxy... father and son, or I'll die by your hand and your replaced by Leia. In this, Luke was on par with Palpatine, which enraged the sith lord as Jedi in moment did what no other has.... seen clearly through his manipulation, so he lashed out with force lightning. Anakin's love ... for his family allowed for his overcoming his conditioning and thereby killing the emperor. Maybe Luke in a moment had the features of Padme whom he longed for. Either way.... rage wasn't Luke's weapon... Love is the fullest expression of the light side of the force. And faith, is a component of love.

So overrated, one he didn’t even pull the star destroyer down he redirected it, two he’s only this op in the games, he was made that way for gameplay purposes he’s told be around obi wan level in the books

Starkiller was considered to be a wound in the force itself

The real answer. It’s a game and the developers wanted you to feel powerful. Beating Vader is an amazing way to do that.

So when someone cuts their hair, fingernails or goes to the toilet they lose midichlorians? I still wish they hadn’t been introduced. Such a silly concept

Ultimately that is what Vader wanted him as an apprentice for to see how powerful his dark side training would take starkiller he pushed him to his limits in Vader's twisted mind he wants to see how much he could match his potential before he lost his limbs

Honestly you never talk about Inquisitor Jerec from Dark Forces 2. His force destruction ability gives starkiller a run for his money.

I think this all makes perfect sense. Galen only ever used the Force to fight at 100%, making him a pure juggernaut in terms of power. I'd go so far as to say that this was the Force user equivalent of a pure powerhouse like say Superman or the Hulk holding nothing back against a super powerful opponent. Also, the whole Vader has a power cap because he's mostly a mixture of cybernetics and burnt skin is ironclad. You can't exactly make use of something that flows through every LIVING thing like the Force if you have lost a majority of your living tissue. God, could you imagine if droids or cyborgs could use the Force? Grievous would have slaughtered everyone. Having said all that, a thought occurred to me while watching this video. You know how in some stories with heavy sci-fi elements, they sometimes show characters who have been severely wounded, usually burned, being repaired and restored by nano bots that can mimic human tissue and stuff. What if Vader got his hands on stuff like that? Let's say for the sake of argument these nano bots not only restore his burnt flesh and damaged organs, but also restore his severed limbs. Would he have been able to access his full potential in the Force, or at least some fraction of it? Or would the synthetic skin and everything else be just as unreceptive to the Force as Vader's cybernetics?

So there isn't really a Lore support for this theory, but I personally like to think vaders weakness was an overreliance on the psychological impact of his sheer presence in the force. In some of the novels between the PT and the OT, he is described as this terror-inducing presence. In my mind, he is caught off guard when this fails. But a fully trained Vader, who could use force lightning and the force sorcery he was obviously gifted in but never trained in would be the most OP force ever....

I have to agree with people out there that say that they would love to see a starkiller show because I would find it interesting because the first one of Star wars on this was good second one I didn't really mind I just didn't really like but I've read of Star wars year's and I've always loved starkiller as a character regardless

Starkiller has some lineage worth mentioning he was born of 2 jedi survivors after order 66, and maybe because he was born of 2 jedi knights that he had strong connections to the force from both sides of his family and their potential combined

I would like to see star killer in a movie or series.

Oh my freaking gosh I was literally talking to my father about starkiller yesterday and he didn’t believe starkiller was stronger then Vader

Yes it does u really are knowledgeable

Just wanna add in that 100% of his non mission time is spent training and improving, hence why Lord Vader had Starkiller be flown by a pilot instead of letting him fly himself

I commented on this topic when you did a similar video a few years ago and my opinion hasn't changed. The easy answer is Galen Marek never beat Vader because he never existed. Because thankfully TFU is no longer Canon. The long answer is that he had lots of plot armor because EA needed a way for you, as the player to finish/beat the game. It was eye candy and lots of plot armor. Nothing more.

Not only does this make me wanna replay Force Unleashed with my girlfriend but also reminds me how much I loved these games, especially the PS2 version where he doesn’t use his backhand style and you can change the skin and play Luke vs Vader in the throne room at the end, as close to playing the real thing as you can get I role play like Dark Jedi Luke as Vaders apprentice at the beginning but then redeems himself and fights both Vader and the emperor (who uses his lightsaber in the ps2 version too) after being trained by Vader making him more than capable of fighting both in a final climactic duel for the galaxy 🌌 Best headcanon 💯

Dooku cut of his right hand, Obi wan cut of his legs but when and how did he loose his left hand?

I think its also in part becaise he was never taught precision. Comparison between a sniper and a heavy machine gun comes to mind (idk why its the first thing but sure). A typical force user is the sniper. Powerful, deadly, and precise. Starkiller is the HMG. Powerful, yes, but more for the sheer amount of lead it puts downrange rather than its accuracy. He throws around immense power, but lacks finesse. So when someone blocks it, he doesn't bother with probing weaknesses and finding alternate methods of attack, he piles everything he has behind the next blow and the next one until the opponent breaks under the sheer weight of it. Basically a brute force method. But I didn't even know there was comics so I could be totally off here.

What’s the highest midiclorian count ever recorded in Star Wars history?

Because his Schwartz was bigger than Vader’s …..Case Closed!

Nice presentation. Thx.. ❤

Your theory makes sense about pure rage and using the full power of the force when Darth Vader lost his limbs and was badly burnt more than 40% of his body was now robotic and even with that being said he was at 80% to the emperor if he was never hurt I assume he would’ve been able to beat the emperor with very little effort outside of the emperors cunning Ness and his Sith alchemy that would’ve been the only possibility of the emperor coming out on top

“The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be. OP”

If done properly I reckon this as a series could rival that of the clone wars series I really think there's so much more they can bring to the force unleashed