MARTIAL ARTS
An experienced Jedi master with the scares to prove it, Spymaster Tholme was a skilled warrior, despite his age. It has never been extrapolated, however, what his primary Form of Lightsaber combat is. On the one hand, he was extremely capable in unarmed combat, had a clear preference for physical strikes and acrobatics and his one time Apprentice, Quinlan Vos, was a known Master of Ataru, all implying that Tholme practiced Form four. On the other hand, his dueling style was described as fencing, his moves were quick, accurate and precise (implying Form two, Makashi), and Count Dooku himself complimented him on his skill with the blade, something he almost certainly would not have done if he primarily practiced Dooku's most detested Form. However, in the form of Master Ti, there is a president for the combination of both of these forms, and I am inclined to agree with Jensarai here and believe that this is what Tholme specializes in. When it comes to track records, Tholme is somewhat...under accomplished. Although he fared better than most, The Count still solidly outclassed the spymaster and both Vos and Sora Bulq himself forced him to resort to subterfuge and deception to survive, much less win. Tholme also studied combat and stealth under the Anzati assassins.
Widely known as "The Negotiator", Obi-wan Kenobi was most renowned for his wisdom and diplomatic skills. However, when push came to shove, Kenobi demonstrated himself to be one of the Jedi Order's greatest warriors. Originally a Master of Ataru like his Master before him, Kenobi later backed this up with practices in several other Forms, such as Shi Cho and even Sokan and Jerkai dual wielding. His most accomplished area, however, was with the third form of Lightsaber combat, Soresu, with greats such as Dooku and Mace Windu pegging him as the greatest master of the Form for his age, with a nigh impenetrable defense that stood up towards even the greatest Dark Siders of the day, although Kenobi remained skilled while on the offense as well. Master Kenobi was also quite tactically skilled, controlling most of his fights to his advantage through this understanding. From an early age Kenobi was an accomplished Sword-master, out-dueling Darth maul while still a Padawan, and even in his advancing age going head to head with the powerful Darth Vader. The greatest accomplishments in Kenobi's carrier was first perfectly defending himself from Grievous's several hundred blows a second offense (MANY times) Defeating Asajj Ventress on several occasions, Holding his own against a very ticked off Anakin Skywalker and finally going head to head with Dooku's brutally precise attacks and surviving.
Sora Bulq, more so than any of Dooku's other dark acolytes, is a perfect representation of the effects of the Dark Side, going from a respected and skilled hero to a ballistic rage monster. As A Jedi battle master, Sora Bulq was an extremely skilled duelist, being involved in countless firefights, helping to create the advanced Vappad variation of Form seven and surviving the brutal battle of Geonosis. However, although he was capable of stalemating the extremely powerful Master Windu, Count Dooku proved himself to be a much better duelist than Sora, disarming him of his Shoto short-sword before subduing him with Force lightning. As A Dark sider, Sora's skill degraded even further, with his fighting style denigrating even further, to the point it was almost the completely defense less Juyo rather than the much more advanced Vappad. His brutally advanced offense remained however, with Sora noticeably able to relatively easily out-duel Spymaster Tholme, although his sadistic impulses and Tholme's skills with deception kept him from killing him outright. Sora Bulq also proved to be a match for the extremely skilled Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, with Vos forced to rely on mental boosts from his Jedi comrades to defeat the powerful Dark Jedi. Although the cover of A Star Wars: Republic issue depicts Sora dueling the Jedi Master Oppo Rancissis, this never actually happened in the comic itself. Although Vappad's effectiveness against Dark siders as apposed to normal opposition is debatable, this point is moot as Sora no longer truly practices this combat discipline and none of hie enemies here are Dark Siders.
Looking around on Youtube and other Star Wars forums, I have discovered a growing sentiment that Anakin Skywalker was little more than a brutish warrior, at his best when empowered by rage and with little going for him but raw strength. However, although Anakin did have some severe limitations, they were almost all due to a over-focus on martial arts above all else. Generally typified as being a Master of Dejem So and Dejem So alone, Anakin actually had a quite diverse skill set, Learning Nimen as a lesson in control, having enough mastery of Ataru to instruct a Apprentice in it as her main Form, and even being incredibly skilled in the rare ability of Dual wielding. While just a Padawan, Anakin showed obvious indications of great martial skill, proving more of a challenge for Count Dooku then even his Master, and defeating the extremely powerful Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, which earned him the title of Jedi Knight. As a Jedi Knight (and later Sith Lord) Anakin proved himself to be an extremely skilled Master of the blade, defeating Cin Dralig, Barriss Offee, and many others. Anakin's performance against Kenobi in there final duel doesn't really count, as at that point the two were close enough they probably would have been able to duel each other with there eyes closed. The greatest argument against Anakin being little more than a thug with a blade comes in the form of dooku, who easily danced circles around both Savage Opress and Grievous (both of whom are much stronger than Anakin) but remained on equal footing with Anakin for the large part of the Clone Wars. Anakin is also not a better duelist when emotionally charged, as was clearly shown on Mustafar and against Ventress on Coruscant.
Out of these four, I would peg Anakin Skywalker as the strongest, most skilled contender here, especially if we base it off of there showings against Count Dooku, with Anakin being the only one who could truly be called his equal with the blade. Obi-wan Kenobi comes in a close second, able to stalemate the aforementioned Skywalker and having much more experience in the dueling arena. Tholme, despite initially fareing better against the Count than Sora Bulq did, takes up the rear, as Bulq went on to outclasses Tholme on several occasions. With both of the best duelists on the same team, Kenobi and Skywalker easily secure the first edge.
FORCE POWERS
Typifying the brutish warrior stereotype, Sora Bulq wasn't exactly a Master of the Force. Although he was skilled enough with Telekinesis to stagger Windu and could use it in suture with his blade-work, he never truly displayed an overwhelming amount of strength in this area. As far as other ability's go, Bulq demonstrated some skill with Force stealth, but no viable defense against Sith lightning. As far as we know, his telepathic and self augmentation skills were of average strength.
Although Anakin Skywalker was far from a simple minded brute given a Lightsaber, it is true he never realized his true Force potential, choosing to instead focus on his skills with a blade. Very adapt with telekinesis, Skywalker could match fully fledged masters with this skill, throw around heavy and large amounts of objects with ease and, when enraged, could break through opponents Force shields with consistent ease. Although his other powers were of the standard Jedi fare, Anakin did have some skill with precognition and Force Choke as well.
Although he was much more of a chess master than anything else, spymaster Tholme was still an extremely accomplished master of the Force. Although the power and magnitude behind his telekinetic powers was nothing special, the way he used them was with intelligence and great skill, making what he did have count. Tholme also had some knowledge and experience with the arcane, performing a healing trance on several occasions and being one of the most skilled individuals in the Force stealth technique.
An accomplished natural with the Force, Obi-wan Kenobi had earned a place on the Jedi High Council at the age of only 38. For comparison, it took Grandmaster Yoda 100 years just to become a Master, although that is an extreme example. Although his Force defense, especially against telekinesis, was infamously weak, Kenobi's own skill with the power was anything but, as he used both in and out of combat with ease and power. Kenobi was also experienced with Jedi mind tricks and many other common Force powers. His mastery of the Force was such that he lived on in the Force as a ghost after his death.
In terms of raw Force potential, Anakin far outstrips everyone else in this competition, as his full power, when truly brought to bare, proved a match for Yoda and Palpatine at the same time. However, this power was almost completely ignored, leaving both Tholme and Kenobi as his superior with the Force. Between those two, I would give the slight advantage to Kenobi, for higher levels of experience and power. Sora Bulq, unsurprisingly, brings up the rear with his comparatively sub-par supernatural ability's. When you add in Kenobi and Skywalker's ability to work together and combine there Force powers, and the advantage once again shifts towards Anakin and Obi-wan, giving them the second edge as well.
PHYSICAL SKILLS
Bearing the moniker "The Human Tank" (At least among the fan-base) Obi-wan Kenobi is well known for his great amount of physical endurance, constitution and tolerance for pain, surviving being rag-dolled with the Force (repeatably), various Lightsaber wounds, many MANY physical beatings, being tortured for months on end, nearly being poisoned to death, etc. bouncing back with comparatively little recovery time. Although his other physical attributes were pretty much completely standard, Kenobi's endurance should not be underestimated.
Although his exact age remains unknown, it is obvious that he is well passed his prime, sporting advanced gray hair, wrinkles and the other markings of seniority. Despite this, Tholme remained an active warrior (when he actually got involved in combat that is) and he had a strong preference for acrobatics and physical strikes. Due to his training under the Anzati, Tholme was also an extremely capable unarmed combatant. Due to injuries sustained against Count Dooku, Tholme also had a cybernetic replacement for a crippled leg.
As previously mentioned, Anakin Skywalker was well known throughout the Jedi Order for his great physical strength, although beings such as Savage Opress and Grievous easily outclassed him in this regard. However, Anakin also remained A extremely quick and acrobatic warrior, keeping pace with the fastest duelists of his time and being a strong proponent of Ataru style fighting. Due to the lose of his original limb, Anakin Skywalker also had a cybernetic right fist, giving him an obvious advantage in unarmed combat.
Sora Bulq was A Weequay male, of undetermined age. Although we could probably make a rough guess at his actually age, it would be rather pointless as Bulq is an alien, and thus ages differently than us Humans. Regardless of his actual age, Sora Bulq was a reasonably strong and reasonably fast warrior, able to keep pace with many other warriors well known for there speed. As A Weequay, Sora Bulq's skin and constitution were much greater than a normal sentient being, allowing him to take much more damage and resist a wide variety of weapons, but not Lightsabers.
Physically, Bulq is the most viable warrior here, his inherit physical advantages giving him an advantage over the others. Following close behind him is Anakin Skywalker, with his cybernetic right hand and younger, stronger physique giving him an advantage. Right behind Skywalker is Kenobi who, despite his slightly advanced age, has an incredible amount of endurance and just as much speed and unarmed viability. Bringing up the rear is Tholme, the oldest warrior here and the one most hampered by other physical aspects, specifically his robotic leg. However, I believe that Tholme remains physically viable enough that Bulq's superior physical strength can be brought to bear, tieing things up. No physical advantage will be given.
EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS
Unsurprisingly, any edge in equipment is minor at best. Tholme may be adapt with many bladed weapons due to his Anzati training, but most of the time the only weapon he carries is his standard green bladed Jedi lightsaber. In A similar vane, Kenobi and Skywalker only dual wield when given the chance which, due to only having there single blue bladed Lightsaber, they don't really have here. The only advantage anywhere here is Sora Bulq, with his red bladed Lightsaber and Shoto, giving the first edge to Tholme and Bulq.
THE VERDICT
The similarities between these two teams are self evident: A respected Master known for there wisdom as well as there combat prowess, and A Former hero of the Order fallen to the Dark and becoming one of it's greatest threats. However, upon further examination, many stark differences appear. Unlike Sora Bulq, who devolved into little more than a vessel of pure rage, Anakin Skywalker may have appeared to be nothing more but a straightforward warrior but was in fact one of the most martially accomplished Jedi of the age. Skywalker's Force powers put Bulq's to shame, and Bulq's superior physicality won't same him from a Lightsaber strike, which is likely to happen as, by all indications, Skywalker is the superior duelist as well. Spymster Tholme, on the other hand, doesn't even have that going for him: He is a Master of deception, NOT combat. His supernatural skills might keep him alive for a while, But Kenobi's greatly superior ability with the blade and much better physical condition means this battle will play out pretty much exactly as Tholme's battle with Quinlan Vos did, with the Spymasters best bet being faking his death and escaping, which is NOT a victory. If we switch combatants, Tholme and Bulq fare even worse: Anakin is almost specialized for refined masters such as Tholme (thanks to Dooku, of all people) and Bulq's blindly offensive attacks will play directly into Kenobi's hands. The final nail in the coffin is when there effectiveness as a team is considered: Tholme and Bulq were, at best, just fellow Jedi before Bulq's fall, and any chance of them working together effectively after that is very unlikely, to say the least. Kenobi and skywalker on the other hand were practically brothers by the end of the Clone Wars, there teamwork so unified that I, personally, believe them working together to be a very real threat up to and including Grandmaster Luke Skywalker. Thus, just about anyway you slice it, I declare Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker the winners.
An experienced Jedi master with the scares to prove it, Spymaster Tholme was a skilled warrior, despite his age. It has never been extrapolated, however, what his primary Form of Lightsaber combat is. On the one hand, he was extremely capable in unarmed combat, had a clear preference for physical strikes and acrobatics and his one time Apprentice, Quinlan Vos, was a known Master of Ataru, all implying that Tholme practiced Form four. On the other hand, his dueling style was described as fencing, his moves were quick, accurate and precise (implying Form two, Makashi), and Count Dooku himself complimented him on his skill with the blade, something he almost certainly would not have done if he primarily practiced Dooku's most detested Form. However, in the form of Master Ti, there is a president for the combination of both of these forms, and I am inclined to agree with Jensarai here and believe that this is what Tholme specializes in. When it comes to track records, Tholme is somewhat...under accomplished. Although he fared better than most, The Count still solidly outclassed the spymaster and both Vos and Sora Bulq himself forced him to resort to subterfuge and deception to survive, much less win. Tholme also studied combat and stealth under the Anzati assassins.
Widely known as "The Negotiator", Obi-wan Kenobi was most renowned for his wisdom and diplomatic skills. However, when push came to shove, Kenobi demonstrated himself to be one of the Jedi Order's greatest warriors. Originally a Master of Ataru like his Master before him, Kenobi later backed this up with practices in several other Forms, such as Shi Cho and even Sokan and Jerkai dual wielding. His most accomplished area, however, was with the third form of Lightsaber combat, Soresu, with greats such as Dooku and Mace Windu pegging him as the greatest master of the Form for his age, with a nigh impenetrable defense that stood up towards even the greatest Dark Siders of the day, although Kenobi remained skilled while on the offense as well. Master Kenobi was also quite tactically skilled, controlling most of his fights to his advantage through this understanding. From an early age Kenobi was an accomplished Sword-master, out-dueling Darth maul while still a Padawan, and even in his advancing age going head to head with the powerful Darth Vader. The greatest accomplishments in Kenobi's carrier was first perfectly defending himself from Grievous's several hundred blows a second offense (MANY times) Defeating Asajj Ventress on several occasions, Holding his own against a very ticked off Anakin Skywalker and finally going head to head with Dooku's brutally precise attacks and surviving.
Sora Bulq, more so than any of Dooku's other dark acolytes, is a perfect representation of the effects of the Dark Side, going from a respected and skilled hero to a ballistic rage monster. As A Jedi battle master, Sora Bulq was an extremely skilled duelist, being involved in countless firefights, helping to create the advanced Vappad variation of Form seven and surviving the brutal battle of Geonosis. However, although he was capable of stalemating the extremely powerful Master Windu, Count Dooku proved himself to be a much better duelist than Sora, disarming him of his Shoto short-sword before subduing him with Force lightning. As A Dark sider, Sora's skill degraded even further, with his fighting style denigrating even further, to the point it was almost the completely defense less Juyo rather than the much more advanced Vappad. His brutally advanced offense remained however, with Sora noticeably able to relatively easily out-duel Spymaster Tholme, although his sadistic impulses and Tholme's skills with deception kept him from killing him outright. Sora Bulq also proved to be a match for the extremely skilled Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, with Vos forced to rely on mental boosts from his Jedi comrades to defeat the powerful Dark Jedi. Although the cover of A Star Wars: Republic issue depicts Sora dueling the Jedi Master Oppo Rancissis, this never actually happened in the comic itself. Although Vappad's effectiveness against Dark siders as apposed to normal opposition is debatable, this point is moot as Sora no longer truly practices this combat discipline and none of hie enemies here are Dark Siders.
Looking around on Youtube and other Star Wars forums, I have discovered a growing sentiment that Anakin Skywalker was little more than a brutish warrior, at his best when empowered by rage and with little going for him but raw strength. However, although Anakin did have some severe limitations, they were almost all due to a over-focus on martial arts above all else. Generally typified as being a Master of Dejem So and Dejem So alone, Anakin actually had a quite diverse skill set, Learning Nimen as a lesson in control, having enough mastery of Ataru to instruct a Apprentice in it as her main Form, and even being incredibly skilled in the rare ability of Dual wielding. While just a Padawan, Anakin showed obvious indications of great martial skill, proving more of a challenge for Count Dooku then even his Master, and defeating the extremely powerful Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, which earned him the title of Jedi Knight. As a Jedi Knight (and later Sith Lord) Anakin proved himself to be an extremely skilled Master of the blade, defeating Cin Dralig, Barriss Offee, and many others. Anakin's performance against Kenobi in there final duel doesn't really count, as at that point the two were close enough they probably would have been able to duel each other with there eyes closed. The greatest argument against Anakin being little more than a thug with a blade comes in the form of dooku, who easily danced circles around both Savage Opress and Grievous (both of whom are much stronger than Anakin) but remained on equal footing with Anakin for the large part of the Clone Wars. Anakin is also not a better duelist when emotionally charged, as was clearly shown on Mustafar and against Ventress on Coruscant.
Out of these four, I would peg Anakin Skywalker as the strongest, most skilled contender here, especially if we base it off of there showings against Count Dooku, with Anakin being the only one who could truly be called his equal with the blade. Obi-wan Kenobi comes in a close second, able to stalemate the aforementioned Skywalker and having much more experience in the dueling arena. Tholme, despite initially fareing better against the Count than Sora Bulq did, takes up the rear, as Bulq went on to outclasses Tholme on several occasions. With both of the best duelists on the same team, Kenobi and Skywalker easily secure the first edge.
FORCE POWERS
Typifying the brutish warrior stereotype, Sora Bulq wasn't exactly a Master of the Force. Although he was skilled enough with Telekinesis to stagger Windu and could use it in suture with his blade-work, he never truly displayed an overwhelming amount of strength in this area. As far as other ability's go, Bulq demonstrated some skill with Force stealth, but no viable defense against Sith lightning. As far as we know, his telepathic and self augmentation skills were of average strength.
Although Anakin Skywalker was far from a simple minded brute given a Lightsaber, it is true he never realized his true Force potential, choosing to instead focus on his skills with a blade. Very adapt with telekinesis, Skywalker could match fully fledged masters with this skill, throw around heavy and large amounts of objects with ease and, when enraged, could break through opponents Force shields with consistent ease. Although his other powers were of the standard Jedi fare, Anakin did have some skill with precognition and Force Choke as well.
Although he was much more of a chess master than anything else, spymaster Tholme was still an extremely accomplished master of the Force. Although the power and magnitude behind his telekinetic powers was nothing special, the way he used them was with intelligence and great skill, making what he did have count. Tholme also had some knowledge and experience with the arcane, performing a healing trance on several occasions and being one of the most skilled individuals in the Force stealth technique.
An accomplished natural with the Force, Obi-wan Kenobi had earned a place on the Jedi High Council at the age of only 38. For comparison, it took Grandmaster Yoda 100 years just to become a Master, although that is an extreme example. Although his Force defense, especially against telekinesis, was infamously weak, Kenobi's own skill with the power was anything but, as he used both in and out of combat with ease and power. Kenobi was also experienced with Jedi mind tricks and many other common Force powers. His mastery of the Force was such that he lived on in the Force as a ghost after his death.
In terms of raw Force potential, Anakin far outstrips everyone else in this competition, as his full power, when truly brought to bare, proved a match for Yoda and Palpatine at the same time. However, this power was almost completely ignored, leaving both Tholme and Kenobi as his superior with the Force. Between those two, I would give the slight advantage to Kenobi, for higher levels of experience and power. Sora Bulq, unsurprisingly, brings up the rear with his comparatively sub-par supernatural ability's. When you add in Kenobi and Skywalker's ability to work together and combine there Force powers, and the advantage once again shifts towards Anakin and Obi-wan, giving them the second edge as well.
PHYSICAL SKILLS
Bearing the moniker "The Human Tank" (At least among the fan-base) Obi-wan Kenobi is well known for his great amount of physical endurance, constitution and tolerance for pain, surviving being rag-dolled with the Force (repeatably), various Lightsaber wounds, many MANY physical beatings, being tortured for months on end, nearly being poisoned to death, etc. bouncing back with comparatively little recovery time. Although his other physical attributes were pretty much completely standard, Kenobi's endurance should not be underestimated.
Although his exact age remains unknown, it is obvious that he is well passed his prime, sporting advanced gray hair, wrinkles and the other markings of seniority. Despite this, Tholme remained an active warrior (when he actually got involved in combat that is) and he had a strong preference for acrobatics and physical strikes. Due to his training under the Anzati, Tholme was also an extremely capable unarmed combatant. Due to injuries sustained against Count Dooku, Tholme also had a cybernetic replacement for a crippled leg.
As previously mentioned, Anakin Skywalker was well known throughout the Jedi Order for his great physical strength, although beings such as Savage Opress and Grievous easily outclassed him in this regard. However, Anakin also remained A extremely quick and acrobatic warrior, keeping pace with the fastest duelists of his time and being a strong proponent of Ataru style fighting. Due to the lose of his original limb, Anakin Skywalker also had a cybernetic right fist, giving him an obvious advantage in unarmed combat.
Sora Bulq was A Weequay male, of undetermined age. Although we could probably make a rough guess at his actually age, it would be rather pointless as Bulq is an alien, and thus ages differently than us Humans. Regardless of his actual age, Sora Bulq was a reasonably strong and reasonably fast warrior, able to keep pace with many other warriors well known for there speed. As A Weequay, Sora Bulq's skin and constitution were much greater than a normal sentient being, allowing him to take much more damage and resist a wide variety of weapons, but not Lightsabers.
Physically, Bulq is the most viable warrior here, his inherit physical advantages giving him an advantage over the others. Following close behind him is Anakin Skywalker, with his cybernetic right hand and younger, stronger physique giving him an advantage. Right behind Skywalker is Kenobi who, despite his slightly advanced age, has an incredible amount of endurance and just as much speed and unarmed viability. Bringing up the rear is Tholme, the oldest warrior here and the one most hampered by other physical aspects, specifically his robotic leg. However, I believe that Tholme remains physically viable enough that Bulq's superior physical strength can be brought to bear, tieing things up. No physical advantage will be given.
EQUIPMENT & WEAPONS
Unsurprisingly, any edge in equipment is minor at best. Tholme may be adapt with many bladed weapons due to his Anzati training, but most of the time the only weapon he carries is his standard green bladed Jedi lightsaber. In A similar vane, Kenobi and Skywalker only dual wield when given the chance which, due to only having there single blue bladed Lightsaber, they don't really have here. The only advantage anywhere here is Sora Bulq, with his red bladed Lightsaber and Shoto, giving the first edge to Tholme and Bulq.
THE VERDICT
The similarities between these two teams are self evident: A respected Master known for there wisdom as well as there combat prowess, and A Former hero of the Order fallen to the Dark and becoming one of it's greatest threats. However, upon further examination, many stark differences appear. Unlike Sora Bulq, who devolved into little more than a vessel of pure rage, Anakin Skywalker may have appeared to be nothing more but a straightforward warrior but was in fact one of the most martially accomplished Jedi of the age. Skywalker's Force powers put Bulq's to shame, and Bulq's superior physicality won't same him from a Lightsaber strike, which is likely to happen as, by all indications, Skywalker is the superior duelist as well. Spymster Tholme, on the other hand, doesn't even have that going for him: He is a Master of deception, NOT combat. His supernatural skills might keep him alive for a while, But Kenobi's greatly superior ability with the blade and much better physical condition means this battle will play out pretty much exactly as Tholme's battle with Quinlan Vos did, with the Spymasters best bet being faking his death and escaping, which is NOT a victory. If we switch combatants, Tholme and Bulq fare even worse: Anakin is almost specialized for refined masters such as Tholme (thanks to Dooku, of all people) and Bulq's blindly offensive attacks will play directly into Kenobi's hands. The final nail in the coffin is when there effectiveness as a team is considered: Tholme and Bulq were, at best, just fellow Jedi before Bulq's fall, and any chance of them working together effectively after that is very unlikely, to say the least. Kenobi and skywalker on the other hand were practically brothers by the end of the Clone Wars, there teamwork so unified that I, personally, believe them working together to be a very real threat up to and including Grandmaster Luke Skywalker. Thus, just about anyway you slice it, I declare Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker the winners.
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