SS - Mace Windu (Meatpants) vs. Obi-Wan Kenobi (KingofBlades)

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NotAA3 wrote:Nice, TAEP (even though no one ever gets tagged).

Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Light

Mustafar Duel

Star Wars: The Official Figurine Collection #52 wrote:In this battle, Master and Padawan fight fiercely, with astonishing, almost evenly matched skills, knowing very well that the outcome of their combat would forever mark the fate of the galaxy.

Star Wars: The Official Figurine Collection #11 wrote:At the end of the Clone Wars, Anakin, manipulated by the Sith, turned away from the Jedi and gave in to the dark side of the Force. In a final blow for the heroic Jedi Master, Obi-Wan had to fight Anakin - his own Padawan - in a bitter lightsaber duel neither could win.

• Kenobi’s experience
  
• Kenobi’s skill
  
• Familiarity
  
• Form matchup
  

Revenge of the Sith--Jr Novelization wrote:His lightsaber came up in an instinctive parry. They had sparred together so often that they knew each other’s favorite moves. Obi-Wan hardly had to think to counter Anakin’s attack.

As the Clone Wars rage on, Anakin Skywalker becomes seduced by the dark side and betrays his fellow Jedi and all that he once held dear. Obi-Wan Kenobi must now battle his former Padawan, who has become the Jedi’s most formidable threat.

Zenobi

Revenge of the Sith--Adult Novelization wrote:As he is prodded onto the bridge along with Anakin and Chancellor Palpatine, he has no need to look around to see the banks of control consoles tended by terrified Neimoidians. He doesn't have to turn his head to count the droidekas and super battle droids, or to gauge the positions of the brutal droid body- guards. He doesn't bother to raise his eyes to meet the cold yellow stare fixed on him through a skull-mask of armorplast. He doesn't even need to reach into the Force. He has already let the Force reach into him. The Force flows over him and around him as though he has stepped into a crystal-pure waterfall lost in the green coils of a forgotten rain forest; when he opens himself to that sparkling stream it flows into him and through him and out again without the slightest interference from his conscious will. The part of him that calls itself Obi-Wan Kenobi is no more than a ripple, an eddy in the pool into which he endlessly pours. There are other parts of him here, as well; there is nothing here that is not a part of him, from the scuff mark on R2-D2's dome to the tattered hem of Palpatine's robe, from the spidering crack in one transparisteel panel of the curving view wall above to the great starships that still battle beyond it. Because this is all part of the Force.
...
He is all sixteen of the super battle droids, gleaming in laser- reflective chrome, arms loaded with heavy blasters. He is those blasters and he is their targets. He is all eight destroyer droids waiting with electronic patience within their energy shields, and both bodyguards, and every single one of the shivering Neimoidians. He is their clothes, their boots, even each drop of reptile-scented moisture that rolls off them from the misting sprays they use to keep their internal temperatures down. He is the binders that cuff his hands, and he is the electrostaff in the hands of the bodyguard at his back. He is both of the lightsabers that the other droid bodyguard marches forward to offer to General Grievous. And he is the general himself. He is the general's duranium ribs. He is the beating of Grievous's alien heart, and is the silent pulse of oxygen pumped through his alien veins. He is the weight of four lightsabers at the general's belt, and is the greedy anticipation the captured weapons sparked behind the general's eyes. He is even the plan for his own execution simmering within the general's brain. He is all these things, but most importantly, he is still Obi- Wan Kenobi.

Revenge of the Sith--Adult Novelization wrote:In the Force, part of him was Grievous's intent to slaughter, and the surge from intent to action translated to Obi-Wan's response without thought. He had no need for a plan, no use for tactics. He had the Force.

Revenge of the Sith--Adult NovelizationBut he had no time for nostalgia. He could practically hear Qui- Gon reminding him to focus on the now, and give himself over to the living Force. So he did.
...
A wave-front of cool passed over him with the shade's embrace. He walked without haste, without urgency. The Force layered connections upon connections, and brought them all to life within him: the chill deck plates beneath his boots, and the stone beneath those, and far below that the smooth lightless currents of the world-ocean. He became the turbulent swirl of wind whistling through the towering vaulted hall; he became the sunlight outside and the shadow within. His human heart in its cage of bone echoed the beat of an alien one in a casket of armorplast, and his mind whirred with the electronic signal cascades that passed for thought in Jedi-killer droids. And when the Force layered into his consciousness the awareness of the structure of the great hall itself, he became aware, without surprise and without distress, that the entire ex- panse of vaulted ceiling above his head was actually a storage hive. Filled with combat droids.
...
Instead of waiting for an answer he spun, heaving Obi-Wan right off the deck with effortless strength, whipping up him over his head to slam him to the deck with killing power; Obi-Wan could only let go of the staff and allow the Force to angle his fall into a stumbling roll. Grievous sprang after him, swinging the electrostaff and slamming it across Obi-Wan's flank before the Jedi Master could recover his balance. The impact sent Obi-Wan tumbling sideways and the electroburst discharge set his robe on fire. Grievous stayed right with him, attacking before Obi-Wan could even realize exactly what was happening, attacking faster than thought— But Obi-Wan didn't need to think. The Force was with him, and he knew.

• Kenobi’s Experience
  
• Kenobi’s skill
  
• Form familiarity   
  
• Form Matchup
  

Mace Bindu

Revenge of the Sith--Adult NovelizationVaapad, the seventh form of lightsaber combat, takes its name from a notoriously dangerous predator native to the moons of Sarapin: a vaapad attacks its prey with whipping strikes of its blindingly fast tentacles. Most have at least seven. It is not uncommon for them to have as many as twelve; the largest ever killed had twenty-three. With a vaapad, one never knew how many tentacles it had until it was dead: they move too fast to count. Almost too fast to see. So did Mace's blade. Vaapad is as aggressive and powerful as its namesake, but its power comes at great risk: immersion in Vaapad opens the gates that restrain one's inner darkness. To use Vaapad, a Jedi must allow himself to enjoy the fight; he must give himself over to the thrill of battle. The rush of winning. Vaapad is a path that leads through the penumbra of the dark side. Mace Windu created this style, and he was its only living master. This was Vaapad's ultimate test.
...
Mace was deep in it now: submerged in Vaapad, swallowed by it, he no longer truly existed as an independent being. Vaapad is a channel for darkness, and that darkness flowed both ways. He accepted the furious speed of the Sith Lord, drew the shadow's rage and power into his inmost center— And let it fountain out again. He reflected the fury upon its source as a lightsaber redirects a blaster bolt.
...
Vaapad made him an open channel, half of a superconducting loop completed by the shadow; they became a standing wave of battle that expanded into every cubic centimeter of the Chancellor's office. There was no scrap of carpet nor shred of chair that might not at any second disintegrate in flares of red or purple; lampstands became brief shields, sliced into segments that whirled through the air; couches became terrain to be climbed for advantage or overleapt in retreat. But there was still only the cycle of power, the endless loop, no wound taken on either side, not even the possibility of fatigue.
...
Because Vaapad is more than a fighting style. It is a state of mind: a channel for darkness. Power passed into him and out again without touching him. And the circuit completed itself: the lightning reflected back to its source

Conclusion

I. COUNT DOOKU

A. THE HERO OF UMBARA

Star Wars: Adventures Game wrote:Stalemate! Count Dooku is battled to a standstill, but before the Sith Lord can be apprehended, Asajj Ventress intervenes! With the Dark Jedi covering her Master's retreat, your only option is to battle the dangerous assassin!

B. DARK RENDEZVOUS

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous wrote:Of all of these species, an observer watching Jedi Master Maks Leem lift the hem of her robe and go hurrying through the Jedi Temple, late in the evening some thirty months after the Battle of Geonosis, might argue that it was the three-eyed, goat-headed Gran whose faces were most particularly suited to expressing worry.

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous wrote:On the way back to Coruscant, Master Yoda had spoken of healing and recovery, but for Maks Leem the last thirty months had been hard, hard. For her, it was easier to face memories of the battle than to cope with the terrible emptiness in the Temple.

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous wrote:As Yoda released Whirry from his mind's hold, and let her spill gently onto the flagstones far below, the tip of Dooku's lightsaber scored a burning line across his shoulder. The Count's blade was quick as a viper striking. Among the other Jedi, perhaps only Mace Windu would have been his equal on neutral ground: but here on Vjun, steeped in the dark side, his bladework was malice made visible-wickedness cut in red light.

REVENGE OF THE SITH

II. MACE WINDU

A. BASELINE MACE

Official Episode III Souvenir Movie Guide wrote:As a senior member of the Jedi Order, the power he wielded rivaled that of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.*

Star Wars: Episode III Commemorative Collection wrote:Nearly equal in power and respect to the great Jedi Master Yoda, Mace Windu was a longtime member of the Jedi Council, and one of its staunchest supporters.

Star Wars: Unleashed - Mace Windu statue wrote:Although small in size, Master Yoda is among the most powerful creatures in the galaxy, wielding his Force-fueled lightsaber in the cause of cosmic good. Back: Almost as powerful and a legend in his own right is Jedi Master Mace Windu, a fierce warrior often seen on the Jedi Council at Coruscant.

B. VAAPAD

Revenge of the Sith Novelisation wrote:This is the moment that defines Mace Windu.

Not his countless victories in battle, nor the numberless battles his diplomacy has avoided. Not his penetrating intellect, or his talents with the Force, or his unmatched skills with the lightsaber. Not his dedication to the Jedi Order, or his devotion to the Republic that he serves.

C. GEORGE LUCAS WORKS ON A SYSTEM OF LEVELS

1. POWER

2. “HE’S GONE PAST OBI”

Nick Gillard, ROTS DVD commentary wrote:Anakin becomes a level 9. George knows the levels, myself and George talked about levels and how it was. But it's more, it's not like a black belt, it's more like a Richter scale. So the difference between eight, Obi's an eight, so the difference between an eight and a nine is enormous.

The Making of Revenge of the Sith wrote:As they approach the end of the climatic battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin, Gillard explains how he’s rated the various Star Wars swordsmen: In Attack of the Clones, I had to give them levels,” he says. “Sidious is a level nine [out of ten]. On this film, Obi is eight - he’s moved up - Anakin is a nine; Mace is a nine, Yoda is a nine. They’re up with Sidious.

SW.com Homing Beacon #126 wrote:"The fighting has evolved in these last three movies considerably," says Gillard. "George Lucas works on a system of levels. So, on The Phantom Menace Obi-Wan would have been like a level six or seven. Now that we're on Episode III he's actually a level eight. When you move up the levels, it affects the style of fighting."

[...]

For the curious, Gillard does not reveal any Jedi who has achieved level ten. The highest is nine, occupied by a small number of capable sword masters, including Yoda and Darth Sidious. At so high a ranking, it comes down to individual fighting styles as well as the circumstances of the surroundings that make a difference.

SW.com wrote:In the Jedi levels of lightsaber fighting, Obi-Wan is an eight, while Anakin, Yoda and Darth Sidious are nines.

Nick Gillard, Dueling Jedi press article wrote:Obi-Wan is at a level 8, which is where Anakin starts. But Anakin jumps to level 9 – and the difference between 8 and 9 is enormous.

It’s All For Real: The Stunts of Episode III Featurette Part 2 wrote:Hayden in this film has moved up to level 9, he’s gone past Obi.

2015 Interview wrote:When I started, I figured that a youngling is a level one. And somebody like Kit Fisto - seven. I did take it to eight and nine, but not many people know that. Eight and nine is cheat. So Obi-Wan is eight. Yoda is nine. Mace is eight bordering on nine. Anakin is nine.

3. EYE OF THE STORM

Utapau Kenobi’s ability to voluntarily enter this state means its an ability he has available to him for this debate.

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice - The Defenders of the Dead wrote:With Qui-Gon, he had learned that it was not his job to control it, but to join it. Now he could rely on it to guide him, give him strength and vision. He was beginning to understand how deeply it pulsed, how steady a presence it was. As a Jedi, he had constant access to it. It was the greatest gift he could imagine being given.

ROTS Novelisation wrote:But he had no time for nostalgia. He could practically hear Qui-Gon reminding him to focus on the now, and give himself over to the living Force. So he did.

ROTS Novelisation wrote:Mace Windu had almost smiled. "I created Vaapad to answer my weakness: it channels my own darkness into a weapon of the light. Master Yoda's Ataro is also an answer to weakness: the limitations of reach and mobility imposed by his stature and his age. But for you? What weakness does Soresu answer?"

III. CONCLUSION