Darth Vader was one of the most powerful Force-users in the galaxy's history, and it is only right that his apprentices were immensely strong too. Ahsoka Tano and Galen Marek, a.k.a Starkiller, developed their lightsaber skills and Force-wielding talents under Anakin's tutelage at different stages of Skywalker's career and their feats on the battlefield indeed proved that they had a master of uncommon skill.
They are both great warriors in their own right and, more importantly - worthy students that ultimately opposed Vader and his evil. Here are five reasons why Ahsoka Tano is Anakin's best apprentice and five why Starkiller is.
10 Ahsoka: Stronger Personal Relationship with Anakin
Starkiller might have known Vader ever since he was a small child, but Ahsoka's relationship with her Master was one of almost indestructible friendship. Even after Anakin has undergone his dark transformation into Vader, his bond with his Torguta friend was strong enough for him to call her by her name. The little light in the darkness of Anakin's heart that kept evil from completely overwhelming him also survived because of Ahsoka's contribution. She was one of the best things that Vader lost because of his turn to the dark side, and that is a unique type of power that ultimately must have helped Anakin make the right decision and turn against his evil Master.
9 Starkiller: A Better Lightsaber Duellist
One of the more striking similarities between Ahsoka and Starkiller is that they are both exceedingly fond of wielding two lightsabers into battle and frequently applying the reverse grip. Even though Tano proved herself many times over as a terrific close combat fighter against powerful opponents such as Vader, Darth Maul, Asajj Ventress, and others, she has absolutely no hope to match Garen's skill. He was equal to training programs that perfectly imitate Sidious, Obi-Wan, and Yoda's combat abilities during his training.
Art by Nykko Lazar
8 Ahsoka: Torguta Awareness
Ahsoka is a member of the Torguta species, which appears to have strong Force sensitivity tendencies since another mighty Jedi Knight - Shaak Ti also belongs to it. Tano's people have an innate ability due to their montrals, which allows her to detect movement and the closeness of objects in her proximity.
This heightened sense will undeniably prove a terrific advantage in a hypothetical confrontation with Starkiller, who is exceptionally adept at telekinesis and prefers to attack by throwing objects just like his master.
Art by Charles Tan
7 Starkiller: A More Powerful Force-User
As far as overpowered Star Wars characters go, Starkiller might be on top of the list. Ahsoka is a talented Force-user, but her natural talent and eventual skills can't match Marek's. Galen was able to bring down a Star Destroyer through his unbelievable potency with the mystical power. Vader and Sidious themselves openly considered him to be at least their equal in the Force. Even though in the latter stages of his career, Galen opposed the Empire, he was extremely proficient in the use of Force Lightning.
6 Ahsoka: More Resilient to Betrayals and Traps
Individuals have betrayed both Ahsoka and Garen that they believed to be friends and allies. While Starkiller almost died because of the trap that was set up for him, Ahsoka didn't. Not only did the young renegade Jedi survive the greatest Jedi purge of all time - Order 66, but she also managed to successfully save her dear friend Rex from being physically manipulated into carrying out the vile orders. It remains unclear whether her natural Tortuga threat-detecting senses have something to do with it, but one thing is certain - Ahsoka can't be easily tricked.
5 Starkiller: Capable of Defeating Vader
In a way, a student is never ready until he is capable of besting his master, and Anakin and Starkiller were both forced to battle Vader. However, only one of them had to do it multiple times, eventually succeeding to come on top, and that was Galen Marek.
An epic confrontation between a master and an apprentice, the opponents' duel on the first Death Star tested both Force-user's full range of abilities. All Ahsoak could achieve in her fight was to damage Vader's mask, and even if she were capable of winning, she would never run the risk of taking her former master's life.
Art by admdraws
4 Ahsoka: A Better Pilot and Technician
Starkiller might have been Vader's apprentice, but Ahsoka was Anakin's, meaning that she had fewer privileges and had to acquire more skills, which she would naturally refine with every day of the war. Starkiller frequently had pilots transport him to the location of his next mission, and Tano didn't. Ultimately, it is fair to say that Ahsoka was a better technician and a more skilled flyer than Garen Malek. In the fifth season of Star Wars: Clone Wars, in the seventeenth episode "Sabotage" Ahsoka proved just how good she was in the air when she saved her Master's life who was unconscious in his falling Jedi fighter.
3 Starkiller: More Resilient Against the Dark Side
Galen Marek was forced to embrace the Dark Side of the Force when Darth Vader trained him to become his ultimate tool of destruction. His gradual and assured conversion to the light despite all the pain he had to go through remains one of the most remarkable psychological feats a Force-user has ever pulled off, so his resistance to the dark side is better than that of the Torguta Jedi.
Ahsoka Tano has also resisted the Dark Side, refusing both Darth Maul and Darth Vader. That being said, she has collaborated with certain dark side-users, and she had an incident when darkness did take hold of her in season 3, episode 16 "Altar of Mortis" of the Clone Wars TV show.
2 Ahsoka: Survived the War Versus the Sith
Every Jedi who survived the rise of the Empire and the destruction of the Order realized just how important it is to stay alive and continue the battle. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda fully understood that, and so did Ahsoka, who didn't merely support the Rebels during the galaxy's darkest times but also survived all the tests that the dark side put in front of her and lived on to fight another day. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) implies that Tano lost her life at some point, but the manner of her passing is still unknown. Galen Marek's death marks the symbolic birth of the movement that opposed the Empire, but it also meant the end of his contribution to the Rebel cause.
1 Starkiller: The Creator of the Rebellion
Only fans familiar with the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video games will know that Galen Marek's household symbol is the symbol of the Rebel Alliance. Marek's story is the tale of the first sparks of hope for the galaxy's future being born. His struggles, skills, the tests he passed, the pain he suffered at the hands of Sidious and Vader, and finally, his death is what created the faction, which later helped Luke, Obi-Wan, and Yoda to destroy the Empire. While Ahsoka did have an important role in the Rebellion battle versus the Sith, Marek's part is undeniably more significant and essential.