The 9 Jedi Who Escaped Darth Vader’s Wrath: A Star Wars Survival Story

Darth Vader worked tirelessly for decades to destroy the Jedi, and only nine Jedi are confirmed to have escaped his wrath. Order 66 was, by any measure, a phenomenal success; almost 10,000 Jedi across the galaxy died in an instant, cut down by the clone troopers they had sworn to command.

Given the sheer number of Jedi, even a 99% success rate would have left 100 Order 66 survivors. In the aftermath, Palpatine commanded Darth Vader and the Imperial Inquisitors to hunt down the remaining Jedi, killing ot recruiting them. Although the Inquisitors handled most of these, Darth Vader personally intervened in a handful of cases.

Only the most powerful, most skillful, and incredibly lucky managed to survive Darth Vader’s wrath. In fact, in all Star Wars canon, we only know of a handful who pulled it off…

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi in red

Let’s start with the only Jedi to not only escape Darth Vader, but rather to triumph against him – twice. Obi-Wan faced the newly-christened Darth Vader on Mustafar, and he won after he gained the high ground, leaving Vader badly wounded and near death. They clashed again ten years later, when the Inquisitors flushed Obi-Wan out of hiding.

As seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ TV show, the Jedi Master’s relationship with the Force had diminished over the years. He was initially beaten down by Vader, only escaping with the help of others, but defeated the Sith Lord once again when his connection to the Force had been restored.

The two would face one another a final time, in the first Star Wars movie, when Vader finally got revenge on his old master. But it was a hollow victory, because Obi-Wan became a Force Ghost, more powerful than the Sith had ever imagined.

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker vs Darth Vader in Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back

Darth Vader technically first faced Luke Skywalker in the Yavin system, when he took potsH๏τs at his X-wing. The Sith Lord briefly crossed swords with Obi-Wan’s student on the industrial moon of Cymoon I, unaware of his idenтιтy. Luke managed to escape because of Han and Leia’s intervention, with Han trying to step on Vader with an AT-AT.

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker had a couple of brief dogfights, but only came face-to-face in The Empire Strikes Back. There, Vader revealed the truth that he was Luke’s father, and Luke barely survived the encounter. They would face each other one last time, in the Endor system… when events took a decidedly different turn.

Cere Junda

Cere Junda knights Cal Kestis Star Wars Fallen Order

Cere Junda knights Cal Kestis in Star Wars Fallen Order

Cere Junda tried to save a group of younglings from the Empire, but failed, and was captured; it took Darth Vader’s personal intervention to break her. Cere escaped from the Inquisitors using the dark side and fled, choosing to suppress her connection to the Force for fear she would fall.

Cere faced Darth Vader again when she led Cal Kestis on an infiltration of the Inquisitors’ base, and was saved when Cal flooded the corridors of the Fortress Inquisitorius. This only delayed the inevitable; she encountered Darth Vader once more when he discovered the Hidden Path on Jedha, and she died at his blade.

Cal Kestis

Star Wars Jedi Survivor's Cal Kestis and BD-1 looking up at the sky on a dark night

Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis escaped Order 66 thanks to his master, and became quite a thorn in the Empire’s hide. He dared to lead a mission to infiltrate the Fortress Inquisitorius, and almost paid for his insolence with his life. Cal only survived with Cere Junda’s help and a shrewd maneuver that flooded the corridors.

Cal’s full story has yet to be told; he became a key player in the Hidden Path, and presumably a primary target for Darth Vader and the Empire. It’s safe to ᴀssume he will pay the price for opposing the Sith.

Verla

Verla Skywalker Star Wars

Verla is easily the most unusual Jedi in this list, in that she was recruited shortly after the events of Order 66. She was one of several Force-sensitives discovered by Order 66 survivor Ferren Barr, but Darth Vader discovered them on Mon Cala roughly a year after the events of Revenge of the Sith.

Verla was the only survivor, and she lived in the shadows for decades, ultimately crossing paths with Luke Skywalker himself as he trained to become a Jedi.

Reva

Moses Ingram as Reva aka the Third Sister from Star Wars' Obi-Wan Kenobi

Moses Ingram as Reva aka the Third Sister from Star Wars’ Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

Reva was a youngling who survived Darth Vader’s strike on the Jedi Temple by playing ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. As seen in Obi-Wan Kenobi, she was foolish enough to join the Inquisitors because she wanted to take a sH๏τ at Darth Vader. The Sith Lord seemed amused, allowing Reva to play her games.

Surprisingly, Darth Vader seems to have decided to let Reva live after she took her sH๏τ; he gave her a critical lightsaber injury, but not a fatal one. It remains to be seen whether they ever had a rematch.

Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger

Kanan Jarrus wearing his mask with Jaig eyes in Star Wars Rebels

Kanan Jarrus wearing his mask with Jaig eyes in Star Wars Rebels

Jedi Master Kanan Jarrus was a Padawan during Order 66, and – like Cal Kestis – he escaped largely thanks to his master’s sacrifice. He didn’t face Vader until nearly two decades later, when he and his new Padawan, Ezra Bridger, traveled to the ancient Sith planet of Malachor. Vader had traveled there too, in pursuit of Darth Maul.

Kanan and Ezra went blade-to-blade against Darth Vader, but were seriously outmatched. They were saved because a more promising target for Darth Vader arrived; Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice, Ahsoka Tano.

Ahsoka Tano

Ahsoka fought fearlessly against her former master, having figured out that Darth Vader was really Anakin. In the end, though, she was no match for him; she landed some good blows, even damaging his mask, but he defeated her and would have killed her.

Ahsoka survived for a rather more cosmic reason than most; she was plucked out of time by the future Ezra Bridger, who had gained access to a mysterious realm known as the World Between Worlds. Had Ezra not intervened, she would have died, killed by Darth Vader, the man who mentored her.

Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader Split By a Lightning Bolt

Created By

George Lucas

Cast

Bob Anderson, Hayden Christensen, James Earl Jones, Matt Lanter, Matt Lucas, Jake Lloyd, David Prowse, Sebastian Shaw

First Appearance

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

Died

Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi

Alliance

Jedi, Sith

Race

Human


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