10 Terrible Star Wars Characters With One Incredible Scene
Apr 2, 2025
They may not be the most beloved Star Wars character, but they definitely had their moments.
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Sure, these wonderful scenes still didn't completely save these characters from being
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classed as some of the least admired in the galaxy, but the next time you throw shade at
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these goofy aliens, arrogant Jedi, or ridiculous soldiers, just remember that even the most awful
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Star Wars characters have their moments. Because I am Gareth, this is WhatCultureStarWars
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and here are 10 terrible Star Wars characters with one incredible scene
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10. The Party Is Over Mace Windu Unfortunately, Samuel L. Jackson's time as powerful but supremely arrogant Jedi Master Mace Windu
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is largely just spent sitting on a chair, ordering other Jedi about
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and being about as interesting as a glass of water, not even sparkling
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But there was one moment there when Jackson was finally given the chance to be the unquestionable badass he's always been
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While they did at least enjoy a rather dramatic death at the hands of Darth Sidious and Anakin Skywalker in Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith
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Mace Windu's arrival on Geonosis in Episode 2, Attack of the Clones, is his one properly incredible moment
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After Chancellor Palpatine had created his Grand Army of the Republic, the Jedi Master brilliantly arrived on the planet by sneaking up on Count Dooku and Jango Fett
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and pulling out his purple lightsaber before noting how this party was over
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The perfectly delivered follow-up of I don't think so, when told the Jedi were outnumbered
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along with his spectacular force jump as he evaded the bounty hunter's flamethrower attack
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Both acted as tremendous appetizers before that jaw-dropping visual of a wave of lightsabers colliding with the droid army
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and Windu's eventual decapitating of Jango 2. This is the Jackson fans paid to see in a Star Wars movie, not the one sat twiddling his thumbs on the Jedi Council
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I've got a quick question for you now, who is your favorite Jedi of all time
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It might be Mace Windu, and if that's the case, well, good for you. But if it's not, you let me know who is in the comments section below
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9. The belonging you seek is not behind you, Maz Kanata Lupita Nyong'o's pirate queen, Maz Kanata, felt like a figure who would go on to be a rather compelling side character after her debut in Episode 7, The Force Awakens
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In the end, though, it turned out that this 1,000-year-old alien peaked during her first few minutes of screen time in the galaxy far, far away, which was a bit disappointing
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Following on from a pretty engaging introduction which saw her reunite with old pals Han Solo and Chewbacca
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along with meeting new heroes Finn and Rey, Kanata pops up not long after Rey's fascinating forceback
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Here the wise being not only explains that the lightsaber which triggered this bizarre moment
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belonged to Luke and Anakin Skywalker at various points, but heartbreakingly tells Rey that the scavenger already knows the people she's waiting for on Jakku
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are never actually going to return. It's a seriously powerful exchange, and one that is only made more moving after Maz states how the belonging you seek is not behind you
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it is ahead, and begins nudging Rey closer towards the Force. Outside of that memorable interaction
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with a freaked out Rey though, the Force-sensitive Kanata's time in the sequels is largely spent
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doing very little of note, with the character soon going from intriguing new addition to
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forgettable background figure. What a shame. Number 8. Vader Arrives on Mustafar, Newt Gunray
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The Star Wars prequel trilogy certainly wasn't lacking in the offensive antagonist department
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but one of the most infamously bad villains to pop up in George Lucas flicks was the racial stereotype that was Newt Gunray Throughout the flicks the Nemoidian Trade Federation Viceroy could often be found cowering in front of Darth Sidious hologram rivetingly trying to convince Queen Amidala to sign a
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treaty, and just generally being a bit of a bland annoyance. But there was one quite satisfying moment the consistently dull Gunray ultimately found
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himself in the middle of. His own demise, lovely. As and how Darth Vader arrives on Mustafar to take care of the remaining Separatist leaders
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in Revenge of the Sith, the former Anakin Skywalker proceeds to brutally wipe out everyone
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in his path. It's in this quite harrowing moment when the new Sith Lord comes face to face with the
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sniveling Gunray. Despite trying to reason with the relentless Force user, his desperate words
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were sliced through by a devastating lightsaber backhand, as the whiny, deceitful villain was
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finally made to pay for his many crimes. 7. Starkiller Base Destroys the Republic
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General Hux Regularly unleashing some of the hammiest moments in Star Wars history
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and being anything but an intimidating member of the First Order, General Armitage Hux ultimately became one of the galaxy far, far away's biggest disappointments
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Whenever he wasn't being mercilessly bullied by Kylo Ren or Supreme Leader Snoke
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the villain often had folks cringing in their seats, thanks to the usually outstanding Donal Gleeson's strange pantomime performance
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But that still doesn't change the fact that Gleason's Hooks was very much at the center of one of the most eye-catching moments of the entire sequel trilogy
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that being the jaw-dropping destruction of the New Republic. After delivering a rather passionate speech about this being the LAST DAY OF THE REPUBLIC
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complete with eyes bulging and bright red face, Hooks released the full power of Starkiller Base
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as its superweapons shockingly ripped through the planets within the Hosnian system
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The world-breaking red laser cutting through space and exploding multiple planets at the same time
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with John Williams' affecting score only adding to the impactful moment, certainly sold the First Order as a force to be reckoned with
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Sure, the destruction of the Republic may have been even more heartbreaking had fans spent a little more time on those Hosnian system planets beforehand
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but it was still an utterly incredible display of power, and one of the few times when Hux genuinely seemed like a cold-hearted figure not to be messed with
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Number 6, Order 66, Ki-Adi-Mundi Before becoming one of the many Force users who were shockingly taken out by their former clone allies on the battlefield
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Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi hadn't really done much to endear himself to audiences, had he
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His most memorable contributions to the Skywalker saga flicks came in the form of such arrogant statements as
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impossible the Sith have been extinct for a millennium, and Count Dooku apparently just being a political idealist, not a murderer
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He definitely came across as a slightly less arrogant and heartless figure in the Clone Wars animated series
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but the only real moment that forced folks to give a damn about the unsympathetic Jedi Master in the films
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came during the aforementioned Order 66 massacre. As the clones began picking off various Force-sensitive generals all over the galaxy
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Ki-Adi-Mundi is the first to drop. The Jedi Council member was seen leading a collection of troops on the planet Maguito
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only for that backup to shockingly turn on him and officially kick off a galaxy-changing event
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Again, John Williams' emotional score makes Mundy's last stand more heartbreaking than it had any right to be
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and gave the generally unlikable Jedi a surprisingly upsetting end Cheers for checking out this video today and if you enjoying this slice of Star Wars fun then tap on the subscribe button down below Number 5 You Just a Child in a Mask Supreme Leader Snoke
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Before being shockingly split in two towards the end of Episode 8, The Last Jedi, and revealed
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as little more than a Palpatine puppet, fans had high hopes for Andy Serkis' unsettling
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Supreme Leader Snoke. The Planet of the Apes and Lord of the Rings motion capture king appeared to be onto a
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winner with his few brief, chilling appearances in Episode 7, The Force Awakens, and his first
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big moment in the next entry into the sequel trilogy further sold Snoke as a properly intimidating
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big bad. Kylo Ren found himself being summoned to Snoke's throne room on the Supremacy
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and it's here when his master began coldly dissecting his powerful Padawan, seemingly
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motivating the impulsive former Ben Solo into relentlessly hunting down Luke Skywalker
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His swatting away of Ren like an irritating fly via force lightning was already impressive enough
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but his scathing closing statement of you're just a child in a mask
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fully established Snoke as a manipulative soul who could completely tear someone apart from within too
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It's just a shame it was all downhill from here though. Snoke was soon easily dispatched by Ren after attempting to force the son of Han Solo to execute Rey
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with it then being frustratingly explained in Episode 9 The Rise of Skywalker
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that this once intimidating villain was just a silly strangcast being manipulated by a returning Darth Sidious from afar
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Number 4, The Jakku Opening, Captain Phasma While on the subject of the sequel trilogy's many wasted characters slash actors
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the marvellous Gwendoline Christie also finds herself in that frustrating category, after bringing to life a stormtrooper captain who was barely given a chance to properly shine
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Figuratively, that is. Despite a strong enough introduction, Captain Phasma was ultimately severely underutilized
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She may have looked like a chrome badass capable of whooping just about any Resistance member who stood before her
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but Phasma spent much of her time on screen being outsmarted by our heroes
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and eventually gets bested in her only real showdown in the sequels
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Before she became the disappointing villain who will forever be synonymous with the horrendous Chrome Dome nickname though
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Those first steps on Jakku back in Episode 7 The Force Awakens opening scene
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suggested another iconic side villain was about to be born. On the back of the First Order stormtroopers being initially shown as a terrifying military force
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that could actually hit the target, Kylo Ren ordered his shiny ally to have the troops murder the innocent villagers nearby
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It's a small moment, but it swiftly made Phasmus seem like the sort of bloodthirsty and disturbing captain
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who wouldn't think twice about taking many innocent lives. If only the character had been handled this well for the remainder of her time in the sequels, eh
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3. There's Always a Bigger Fish, Jar Jar Binks Even arguably the most derided and rejected character in Star Wars history
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bumbled his way through one awesome moment during the Skywalker saga. That's right, through no real fault of the hugely committed Ahmed Best
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Jar Jar Binks' silly antics, and the character being seen by many as a clear and rather offensive racial stereotype
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type, resulted in the Gungan being classed as one of the least enjoyable parts of the
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hit and miss prequels. However, there's still no denying that Jar Jar was actually very
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much present during one of Episode 1's finest sequences. When Qui Jinn and Obi Kenobi are guided through the Naboo waters by the slapstick figure the trio are soon met by a number of frightening underwater beasties Not long after being yanked back by a CGI guberfish a monumental and impressively crafted
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digital monster, a Sando Aqua monster to be more precise, stopped by to have that creature for
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dinner too. It was that unpredictable series of events that eventually gave birth to Jin's
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instantly iconic, there's always a bigger fish statement, as George Lucas fantastically established
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that these fictional oceans were just as deadly as the rest of this galaxy far far away
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Jar Jar may not have done all that much in the pulsating sequence admittedly
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but he was still there understandably losing his mind in the passenger seat
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while Naboo's insane wildlife looked to eat the trio alive. Number 2, The Battle of Naboo, B1 Series Battle Droids
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Sticking with Episode 1, The Phantom Menace for this next entry, you know those silly little mechanical annoyances found cracking jokes
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and generally being swept aside with ease for much of the prequels. Well, before the B1 series battle droids became one of the biggest jokes in the entire galaxy
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these droids looked like they meant business during the Battle of Naboo. Honestly, after first unleashing a few waves of Trade Federation fire from their tanks
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the tension George Lucas was able to build in the slow and slightly horrifying deployment
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of the thousands of cold droid soldiers is still palpable today. As the Gungan army anxiously awaited the incoming assault
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the many multi-troot transports began gradually unfolding, dropping wave after wave of creepy little Gungan killers
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The combination of John Williams' terrific Trade Federation march, and the visual of countless droids standing up like robotic zombies rising from the dead
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made for some seriously unsettling stuff. The droids certainly had the odd cool moment after this epic arrival
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giving the Jedi and clones a hell of a fight on Geonosis, for example. But as far as individual scenes go, the B-1 battle droids peaked on the fields of Naboo
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1. The finale, The Ewoks When it comes to the brave little teddy bears found taking down the Empire during Episode 6, Return of the Jedi
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it tends to be a case of loving or loathing said Endor natives
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Those who adore the Ewoks and all that they bring to the Star Wars franchise will point to everything from the comical scenes involving C-3PO being worshipped like a god by the small creatures
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to the heroic aliens using rope swings, rocks, and log traps to get the better of Imperial forces
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a move inspired by the Vietnam War, as unquestionable original trilogy highlights
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But Ewok haters would be just as quick to roll their eyes at the silly idea of these tiny attempts to sell more Star Wars merchandise
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conquering massive walkers and numerous blaster-wielding stormtroopers. However, there is at least one scene each side can agree is a wonderful addition to the Skywalker saga
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And that's the very last one of the entire OG trilogy, the non-yub-nub version, that is, I'm sorry
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With the Death Star 2 destroyed and the Emperor seemingly dead, Luke, Leia, Han and the rest of the gang celebrate alongside their Ewok pals
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dancing into the night as fireworks light up the sky. John Williams' victory celebration banger, the playing of many a defeated stormtrooper's helmet
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Rebel Pilot boogieing with Ewoks. It's just the right combination of silly and heartwarming needed at the end of such an epic trilogy
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Then, after our heroes embrace and Skywalker takes in a few legendary Force ghosts
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The entire thing concludes with a joyful closing ensemble shot for the ages
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They may divide the fanbase, but these Ewoks threw one hell of a victory party