Would Yoda going bantha-shite bad on Dooku (and later Palpatine) count?
Or Samson the dapper dwarf who manages the carnies on Carnivale count when he unexpectedly wastes the bartender as revenge for the cooch dancer in the Babylon episode
Yoda I’m not sure about. After all, we all knew, deep in our hearts, that Yoda was the greatest of Jedi; we were WAITING to see it demonstrated, not surprised that it happened. And even if we say you’re only truly a bad-ass after you show it, and thus the first time automatically counts, then the battle with Palpatine (however cool) doesn’t do it.
(Which is not to say that Yoda’s casual telekinetic don’t-fuck-with-me-today-I’m-pissed-as-it-is knocking out of Palpatine’s two guards wasn’t the height of coolness.)
I wonder if we should count Palpatine’s insanely casual defeat of, what was it, FOUR Jedi at once in this list? I’d always thought he was more of a behind-the-scene guy than a toughie–but he definitely had major tough cred at that moment.