Star Wars: Ranking Every Major Death From Worst To Best
7. Obi-Wan/Ben Kenobi
The Death: Obi-Wan Kenobi chooses to die in A New Hope to allow Luke, Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Co time to get off the Death Star and away from the evil Darth Vader in a situation not too unlike that of Luke's in The Last Jedi.
Ranking Explained: Obi-Wan’s death suffers due to time. A New Hope was the first Star Wars film ever released, and Alec Guinness’ Jedi endeared himself to fans by helping Luke learn more about himself and playing a major role in blowing up the first Death Star, despite the odds being against them.
His fight with Darth Vader was, for its time, huge. Obi-Wan and the Sith Lord go at each other, but at a far slower pace than what would come in the many films that came out later. Consequently, the fight is lacking stardust and the way the two men slog away at each other so clunkily sets it back quite a way.
It is, however, a key moment in the saga. His death leaves Luke on his own and Skywalker benefits as a character, learning the ways of the force and, later, the truth about Obi-Wan’s own relationship with Vader. The battle is underwhelming, though, regardless of how important it was.