Order 66 was one of the biggest events in Star Wars history. At Palpatine’s command, clone troopers turned on their generals and cut them down in a hail of blaster fire. Nearly 10,000 Jedi died in an instant, but there were still Order 66 survivors; some due to skill, some by luck, while others were Padawans whose masters sacrificed themselves so they could get away. Palpatine considered the Jedi the true threat to his reign, and he’d already planned the Imperial Inquisitors – a group of Force-sensitives (mainly former Jedi) who he turned to the dark side.
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The Inquisitors reported in directly to Darth Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith considered wiping out the Jedi to be his personal mission, perhaps in part because he was still fighting against the goodness buried deep in his heart. Most Jedi fell to the Inquisitors, many died due to circumstance, but a select few earned Darth Vader’s own enmity. Here are all the Jedi we know Darth Vader himself killed after Order 66.
8. Obi-Wan Kenobi
Let’s start with the last Jedi ever killed by Darth Vader; Obi-Wan Kenobi himself. The relationship between Vader and Obi-Wan had become ever more complex over the years, as Star Wars canon stripped the layers away to reveal the truth. With Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, it’s not really Jedi versus Sith; it’s two people who’ve hurt one another deeply, locked in combat over the decades. Obi-Wan almost became an obsession for Vader after Mustafar, and the Dark Lord of the Sith delighted in the chance to mock his former master in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Imagine if he’d just had a little more restraint, and simply killed his former master before Obi-Wan found his center in the Force again. The history of the entire galaxy might have been so very different. When they eventually fought again, on the Death Star itself, Vader didn’t waste the chance. But he was too late, because Obi-Wan had learned how to become a Force Ghost, making him utterly unkillable from that point on.
7. Cere Junda
We now come to one of the most interesting Darth Vader duels in Star Wars canon. Cere Junda had more experience fighting Darth Vader than most, simply because she managed to escape from Fortress Inquisitorius. Her knowledge of Vader meant she seems to have specifically trained to deal with his lightsaber form. But even that wasn’t enough; Vader was still able to force her back beneath a relentless flurry of blows. Cere’s sole advantage was her knowledge of the environment, which she turned against the Sith Lord.
Cere Junda has go to down as one of the most impressive fighters Vader ever fought. She weakened him enough to come within a hair’s breadth of killing him, but Vader triumphed in the end. He walked about contemptuously, leaving her to die on Jedha. The Jedi archives she had collected burned to dust; as far as Vader was concerned, it was all evidence that Cere simply did not matter.
6. Kirak Infil’a
Now let’s move to one of the most important Jedi ever killed by Darth Vader: Kirak Infil’a. An unusual figure among the Jedi, Kirak specialized in combat – and yet, surprisingly, he appears to have played no role during the Clone Wars. This is because he swore a Barash Vow, retreating from the galaxy to meditate after some sort of personal tragedy. He was still meditating when Order 66 happened, and he experienced the death of the Jedi as a horrific disturbance in the Force. His vow unfulfilled, Kirak remained in solitude.
Kirak’s Barash Vow made him the perfect target for Darth Vader. A Sith Lord is required to prove themselves by killing a Jedi in combat, claiming the kyber crystal from their lightsaber and “bleeding” it red (as seen in The Acolyte). The newly-christened Darth Vader chose Kirak Infil’a as his very first target after Mustafar, engaging him in a devastating duel. Vader emerged victorious in the end, claiming that fateful kyber crystal for himself.
5. Jocasta Nu
You may be surprised to hear that Jedi archivist Jocasta Nu merited Darth Vader’s attention, too. She may not have been one of the most powerful Jedi, but Jocasta’s knowledge made her a true threat to the Sith; in fact, she managed to spirit away enough records to establish a Jedi Archive later discovered by Luke Skywalker himself. But she was forced to return to Coruscant to recover a list of Force-sensitives she knew the Emperor coveted. It all led to a confrontation with Darth Vader in the Jedi Temple itself.
Jocasta Nu put up quite a fight, using an ancient lightsaber rifle to launch ranged attacks on the Sith Lord. She then used Vader’s past against him, outing him as Anakin Skywalker to his own clone troopers and therefore forcing him to kill them. She died at Vader’s hand, but not before she’d persuaded him to deny the Emperor his prize. Darth Vader himself destroyed the records, concerned Palpatine was looking for his potential replacement.
4. Ferren Barr
Ferren Barr was a powerful Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66, but who fell to the dark side. Foreseeing Mon Calamari’s importance to the future rebellion and resistance, he headed to the waterworld and establshed a power base there. Ferren Barr sought to recreate the Jedi Order, but in a twisted and broken version, one dedicated to revenge against the Empire. Naturally, he drew Darth Vader’s attention.
The fallen Jedi was right about Mon Calamari, but wrong to believe he would be significant. Only one of his students is known to have survived, a woman named Verla. She managed to escape both Darth Vader and the Inquisitors for years, ultimately meeting Luke Skywalker as he hunted for Jedi secrets. Ferren Barr himself may not have mattered much in terms of galactic history, but his student gave him a true legacy when she provided important information that helped Luke against the Sith and the Empire.
3. Tensu Run
Ferren Barr wasn’t the only one who tried to reform the Jedi Order. Tensu Run was a heroic Jedi who trained under another Order 66 survivor, Elan Rast, and he became a major thorn in the Emperor’s hide. He became something of a legend after visiting the planet Regis Kor, freeing at least a hundred Imperial prisoners, and teamed up with fellow Order 66 survivors Pan Delesec and Jed Uhron to establish a new, secret temple for the Jedi. Sadly, all this had gained the attention of Darth Vader and the Empire’s Inquisitors.
Tensu soon found himself caught in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the Inquisitors, who systematically pulled his operation apart. In the end, though, Darth Vader grew impatient with the Inquisitors’ progress. He took over the hunt at the last second, effortlessly beheading Tensu Run and commanding the Inquisitors to fetch him his head. He may have been a legend, but he was no match against the Chosen One.
2. Eeth Koth
Few members of the Jedi Council survived Order 66. But, to be fair, Eeth Koth was an unusual figure among the Council; he actually gave up his position partway through the Clone Wars, and some sources hint he may have actually left the Jedi Order altogether. That would certainly explain why he didn’t die in Order 66, but it would be fascinating to learn how a Jedi Council member’s departure affected Jedi morale. Eeth Koth became an influential figure in the Church of the Ganthic Enlightenment, a Force cult, and he actually married.
Years later, Darth Vader was assigned to kill Eeth Koth. During the Dark Times, Vader and his Inquisitors weren’t just tasked with finding any last Jedi and killing them; they were also under standing orders to seek out Force-sensitive children. Eeth Koth died at Darth Vader’s hands, and the Empire claimed his child. We never really learned what happened to the baby.
1. Eeko Dio-Daki
Finally, we come to the latest addition in this list: Master Eeko Dio-Daki, introduced in Maul – Shadow Lord. Unusually, Master Daki and his apprentice Devon Izara both survived Order 66, and they wound up stranded on the planet Janix when Maul’s actions there led to a lockdown. Dio-Daki found himself caught between Maul and the Empire, forging a temporary alliance with the former Sith against Darth Vader himself. But, though Master Daki likely didn’t realize it, Devon was Maul’s true prize.
Maul deliberately betrayed Eeko Dio-Daki during their fight against Vader, resulting in his death. The result was everything Maul could have wanted; an opportunity to appeal to Devon’s emotions, particularly her anger. Darth Vader may have succeeded in killing the Jedi Master, but he unwittingly unleashed something far more dangerous on the galaxy – Maul’s new apprentice. Only time will tell whether the Dark Lord of the Sith has a rematch with Maul and Devon, and whether Devon in particular survives.
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