Star Wars: All Of The Major Villains, Ranked By Intelligence
For over four decades, one of the many Star Wars elements that have been fairly consistent in its brilliance is the slew of villains that have become beloved, iconic, and unbelievably badass throughout the franchise. Within the Skywalker saga and three canon TV shows, most villains have become phenomenal, fleshed-out characters who add so much to the content they are in.
One trait many of these villains share is intelligence. Being a villain in Star Wars is not just about using the Force or a lightsaber, but also brains. There are many crucial baddies in the franchise, and pretty much all of the major ones have something to offer in the intelligence department.
10 General Grievous
General Grievous is not necessarily unintelligent, but rarely are fans let in on how smart he is, which, unfortunately, in relation to the likes of his fellow Separatist leaders, is not very.
While intellectual enough to learn lightsaber combat, be the leader of millions of battle droids, and to outmaneuver the Galactic Republic (with help) on multiple occasions throughout his time in canon, Grievous simply does not have the same level of knowledge and wisdom as his fellow villains of the Skywalker saga, nor The Clone Wars.
9 The Grand Inquisitor (The Inquisitorius)
One of the more underrated villains of the Star Wars canon is the Grand Inquisitor, the central antagonist of Rebels' first season and former Jedi Temple Guard turned leader under Vader of the Inquisitorius.
The Grand Inquisitor studied the Jedi archives to better understand his enemies, his prey. He also shows himself to be fairly intellectual purely through his words, and, of course, his allowing himself to die to avoid Vader's wrath. Ultimately, fans do not know enough about him, nor do they see enough of his intelligence on display to put him above other villains.
8 Asajj Ventress
Asajj Ventress is undoubtedly the best female villain fans have gotten on-screen in Star Wars thus far. Not only is she phenomenal during her time in The Clone Wars, but her overall arc gets a satisfying, if not emotional, end in Dark Disciple.
The majority of Ventress's intelligence is shown through her unbelievably cunning nature. She is constantly outsmarting Jedi like Anakin and Obi-Wan on the fly, and while she is not a leader or a student of history, there are definite smarts there. This is only further exemplified by her resourcefulness following her ousting by Dooku, surviving as a bounty hunter (a career which requires its own level of intelligence which Asajj shows in The Clone Wars) and, later, an ally of the Jedi.
7 Moff Gideon
It is likely that once fans get to see more of Gideon in canon, he will show himself to be smarter than some of the other villains, but for now, he falls just shy of the top half, getting put above Ventress for his experience over anything else.
Gideon is not only an adept tactician, a psychologically well-versed combatant, and a leader, but he is also undertaking science experiments related to the Force and blood of its users and shows himself to be well versed in other cultures like Mandalorians. Ultimately Gideon falls this low purely because he has not appeared much in canon, therefore not showing his intelligence off to the extent of other baddies.
6 Kylo Ren
One aspect of Kylo Ren's character that is perhaps underrated is his brains. Far more than just an angsty, torn dark sider with a lot of raw potential, Kylo has many smarts that could put him in a better position on this list had they been more at the forefront.
With parents who are immensely smart in two polar opposite ways, an uncle who is one of the greatest Jedi to ever live, and a grandfather who is perhaps the greatest Sith of all time, Kylo was bound to pick up a few things. Not all of his intelligence came from others or his training as Ben Solo was immensely inquisitive and eager. Even as Kylo, he chose to study both the Jedi and arcane dark side lore to understand the Force better. Ben Solo was fascinated by ancient Jedi weapons and was a prolific writer studying calligraphy, a lost art in the Galaxy at that time, all of which accumulated to make Kylo incredibly smart.
5 Count Dooku
Like Gideon, Kylo probably only falls below the Sith Lord Darth Tyrannus due to how viewers have not seen great amounts of his unbelievable smarts on display, especially given his rash, immature tendencies.
What they do see is a lot of wildly intellectual and elegant Count Dooku content. The man is a Count with a penchant for the finer things, like wine, art, and blade-to-blade combat. He was a well-respected Jedi turned Sith apprentice with a great understanding of both sides of the Force and, being a fantastic political mind, able to manipulate millions as leader of the Separatists under his Sith Master.
4 Maul
Maul is pretty much consumed by vengeance, hate, and anger, specifically for Obi-Wan and, to a lesser extent Darth Sidious. However, this immeasurable rage does not take away from the various manner of smarts he displays over the years.
As Darth Maul, he was a skilled assassin, able to be stealthy and cunning, and as just Maul, he was a master manipulator. He was skilled in political and military strategy, building his own crime empire and manipulating Mandalore to his will. He even managed to escape from Sidious's grasp as well as capture both Count Dooku and General Grievous in one move at one point.
3 Darth Vader
While Kylo Ren's intelligence is underrated due to his rash, torn nature, Vader's intelligence is perhaps overlooked due to the sheer badassery and power of the character; not many will realize he is an astute individual.
In reality, Count Dooku, Kylo, Maul, and Vader could likely all be arranged in any order, with Vader topping the three due to what we know of him compared to the others. Vader was incredibly skilled with mechanics and engineering, was a master of combat, adapting his style after his transformation, and was incredibly knowledgable and understanding of the Force. On top of all this, Vader/Anakin was very tactically adept, leading many a battle for the Republic and Empire and being arguably a master strategist. Vader also spoke multiple languages, including the native Sith tongue and Huttese, and was a student of the Force, studying it to incredible lengths.
2 Grand Admiral Thrawn
Unlike every other character on this list who has other traits overshadowing the power of their mind, it is the most famous trait of the beloved Grand Admiral Thrawn (official name Mitth'raw'nuruodo) who is nothing short of genius. Perhaps the greatest tactical mind of the Galactic Empire, Thrawn's genius spread beyond military strategy. Thrawn spoke at least three languages and had a vast collection of art that he used for knowledge and understanding as well as for their beauty.
On top of that, he never underestimated anyone. He studied the culture, history, and tendencies of all of his enemies, understanding them as best as he can and therefore knowing how to beat them. Thrawn was not privy to the subtleties of politics and often upset politicians with his brilliant military decisions, but he was well aware of his lack of understanding while also realizing that he could become far more adept in it, only further exemplifying his intellectual brilliance.
1 Darth Sidious
However, no matter how tactically brilliant Thrawn is, there really could be only one individual to top a list of intelligence in villains, that being the ultimate baddie, Darth Sidious himself, the Emperor Sheev Palpatine.
Sidious's understanding and knowledge of the Force were challenged only by the likes of Yoda, and his comprehension of Sith lore was uncanny. Sidious was the greatest manipulator of all time, doing so to many a people, including numerous apprentices and the entire Jedi Order whose destruction was orchestrated by the evil mastermind. The fall of the Galactic Republic and Rise of the Galactic Empire alone shows Sidious's unmatched brains, never mind his survival post-death and his mastery of every lightsaber form.
from ScreenRant - Feed
Join Our Email Newsletter Now!
Join over 1,897 people who get free and fresh content delivered automatically each time we publish.
