Who Would Win If Darth Revan Fought Darth Vader?

In September of 2001, Dark Horse Comics release Star Wars Tales #9, which included a story called "Resurrection," in which Darth Vader fights a (resurrected) Darth Maul and beats him in the end after a long and enduring battle.

Even at the time of publication, that story was considered non-cannon. Back in 2001, Maul was still believed to have died on Naboo after being cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Only after The Clone Wars and later Rebels we learned that Maul survived the clone wars and that a duel between him and Vader would have actually been possible.

But we are not here today to talk about a fight between the first and the last Sith apprentices of Darth Sidious, but about a duel that would actually be impossible as the two combatants are separated by around 4,000 years:

This is Darth Vader vs. Darth Revan

The two men actually have a lot in common: both are regarded as one of the best and gifted Jedi of their respective time periods. Intelligent and charismatic, impatient and impulsive, and both are outraged by the Jedi Order’s inability or unwillingness to do whatever it took to destroy a seemingly unstoppable enemy and end a war. And both act accordingly, often against the explicit will of the Order, carrying on no matter the moral consequences. Both men are good mechanics and construct their own droids, and both give in to their greed for power, fall to the dark side, and later return to the light.

But only one of them hates sand!

So, who would win this fight?

At first glance, the answer seems easy: Darth Vader! Why? Because Darth Vader always wins, right? He kills dozens of Jedi, slays countless of his (and the Empire's) foes, and in the end even bests and killed his own master. His presence alone strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies. Who could win against the Dark Lord of the Sith?

We are about to find out: The duel will be fought in 5 rounds. After each round, one or two of the combatants gets a point. Whoever has more points in the end is victorious.

Round 1: Piloting Skills

In his time, Revan is a skilled swoop bike racer who wins the Arkanis sector and Manaan swoop championships and is a solid space pilot. Vader, on the other hand, has won a podrace only at the age of nine, is one of the best pilots in the final years of the Republic, and can still outmaneuver and destroy enemy fighters in his TIE Advanced with ease, after his fall to the dark side. In a dogfight, Vader would probably crush Revan like a bug.

Score after Round 1: Vader 1, Revan: 0

Round 2: Endurance

After Vader’s defeat on Mustafar, Obi-Wan leaves him for dead with his limbs cut off and his body burnt to crisp. When he is resurrected, he has to live with metallic arms and legs and a respirator that keep him alive. Only over the course of several years, he learns how to survive without his armor for at least a short period of time. But still, during most of the two decades he spends in the black suit, he is haunted by the ghosts of his past, first by the memories of his wife Padme, whom he could not save, later by the revelation that his padawan wasn’t dead and in the end by his son, whom he could either kill or make his own successor.

But what are two decades against the 300 years that Revan spends in constant stasis, kept prisoner of the Sith Emperor Vitiate, being tortured but being kept alive and at the same time waging a constant telekinetic war against the Emperor at the cost of being literally torn apart into a dark and a light side? So this point clearly goes to Revan.

Score after round 2: Vader: 1, Revan: 1

Round 3: Tactical Abilities

As we have seen in the Clone Wars, Anakin is a Jedi who always thinks outside the box, using often unorthodox strategies and maneuvers to beat the separatists. After the rise of the Empire, Vader becomes a fierce leader who does not hide behind tactical displays, but fights on the front lines, relying on the military might of the Empire and his own brute force.

Revan, on the other hand, is a master tactician, who not only beats the Mandalorians practically singlehandedly, nearly brings down the Jedi, and later fights the Sith Empire after his return to the light side.

As impressive as Vader’s battle tactics might be, if he and Revan make a stand with comparable armies, Revan is likely to be victorious. So, this point goes to Revan as well.

Score after round 3: Vader: 1, Revan: 2

Round 4: Force Powers:

After Revan’s fall the dark side, he studies ancient Sith teachings, and after his redemption, he can draw on the powers of the dark and the light sides of the Force. He can both use and withstand telekinesis, shoot Force lightning, and even bring himself back from the dead using dark side powers.
Vader, on the other hand, is able to Force choke others over a great distance, move and crush large objects and beings with his mind, see things before they happen, and sense danger through the Force. But he is also somehow limited by his mechanics limbs, unable to use Force lightning as Revan can while at the same time being vulnerable to it, due to his mechanical armor. So again, this round goes to Revan.

Score after round 4: Vader: 1 Revan: 3

Round 5: Lightsaber Skills

Vader’s duel with Obi-Wan on Mustafar is probably the best lightsaber battle of the whole saga. Add to this his slaughter of the rebel soldiers at the end of Rogue One and you know what kind of skills Vader has with his red blade. Revan, on the other hand, has killed countless enemies both during his Jedi and his Sith time with his lightsaber. Revan’s fighting style is probably more refined, while Vader relies on his physical presence, his strength, and his brute power. If these two have a lightsaber battle without the use of additional Force attacks, just relying on their skills with the blade and their precognition, the battle would go on and on forever, only ending if either Revan’s endurance or Vader’s augmented body give in. So, this round ends without a winner; both receive one point.

Final score after 5 rounds: Vader: 2, Revan: 4

So, there you have it: All in all, Revan would beat Vader if you consider their different skills and talents. But of course, this judgement is purely hypothetical. As long as George Lucas’ mantra still holds that Sith are not able to preserve a presence in the Force after their death, Vader or Revan would have to time travel to meet each other.

Or both could be playable characters in a non-canonical video game.