There are a lot of different leaders on the side of the antagonists during the time of the Empire in Star Wars, but we do know that two of them stand out in terms of how feared they are throughout the galaxy. The first is Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was probably at the top regarding his command over the Imperial Armada. Of course, we have Darth Vader, who was the representative of Emperor Palpatine. But in a fight between Thrawn and Vader, who would win?
Vader should be able to easily defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn in a one-on-one fight. While we know that Thrawn is superior to Vader in terms of his military knowledge, skills, and tactics, he doesn’t have the strength, fighting abilities, and Force powers that Darth Vader possesses.
Grand Admiral Thrawn is currently the biggest threat to the New Republic because he has the military authority and the incredible intelligence that allows him to formulate plans and strategies that could overwhelm his opponents. However, in a fight, he couldn’t even do anything against Ezra Bridger in the final episode of Star Wars: Rebels, and that’s why Darth Vader should easily handle him.
Strength
Grand Admiral Thrawn is a member of the Chiss race, which can be found in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, and is one of the few Chiss in the entire Star Wars galaxy. The Chiss are similar to humans except for their skin color and better reflexes and senses. However, they don’t seem to have any real strength advantages over human beings, even if they do have better reflexes and senses. As such, Thrawn is likely just as strong as any other trained soldier in Star Wars.
Darth Vader is not only a well-trained Force user but is also a part machine. He has limbs made of mechanical parts, which means he is far stronger than any regular human being. We know that certain types of droids are far stronger than regular humans in Star Wars, which means that Vader’s mechanical limbs allow him to be droid-like in terms of strength.
Even though Thrawn might have faster reflexes than Darth Vader, all the other physical advantages go to the Dark Lord of the Sith because Vader is basically a living droid.
Powers And Abilities
Because he isn’t sensitive to the Force, Grand Admiral Thrawn doesn’t have any special supernatural powers and abilities that Force users have. However, he does have the advantage over some of the other human characters in Star Wars because his senses are better. Thrawn’s eyes allow him to see things found in the infrared spectrum and hear things better than regular humans.
We know that Darth Vader was a trained Jedi when he was Anakin Skywalker and was said to have the highest Midi-chlorian count and potential out of all of the Jedi in existence. Even though he may have become weaker regarding his potential, there’s still no doubt that Vader’s peak was greater than any other Jedi, as his command over the Force was almost unmatched. Except for Force Lightning, Vader can use almost any kind of Force ability and can see and feel things that some Jedi or Sith aren’t capable of sensing.
The fact that Vader already has the Force on his side gives him the advantage here. Thrawn may be formidable, but he has no chance against anyone who can use the Force.
Fighting Skills
Due to his military background when he was still with the Chiss Ascendency, Thrawn was trained in many different combat styles and is skilled in blasters and unarmed combat. We can also presume that he continued to train when he became a part of the Empire, and we could see him displaying a few combat skills while pursuing the Rebels. As such, it can be presumed that Thrawn is just as capable as most other military commanders regarding his fighting capabilities.
Darth Vader was always one of the most skilled lightsaber combatants in the Star Wars storyline, even after losing his mobility and speed after replacing his limbs. He is a master of Form V lightsaber combat and is extremely skilled at fighting other lightsaber users. Vader can overwhelm an entire battlefield alone, as he can easily deflect blaster bolts without even breaking a sweat.
Again, this should be a no-brainer because Darth Vader was trained to be a Jedi and a Sith Lord, and that means that he has fighting skills that far exceed what the other Star Wars characters (including Thrawn) can do.
Intelligence
Grand Admiral Thrawn reached his status as one of the top people in the entire Imperial military because he is arguably the most intelligent military commander in Star Wars. No one else could outthink Thrawn regarding strategies and tactics, as he has the uncanny ability to predict his opponent’s moves using logic and intuition. And what made him extremely dangerous during the time of Star Wars: Rebels was that he could see connections that no other military commander could see.
