Palpatine
-Force lightening would probably block avada kedarva
-Lightsaber would snap wand in half
-Doesn’t need a wand to kill someone-he could just have Vader make a fist
Voldemort
-Would probably survive being thrown down the reactor core, as long as his horucrux still intact.
-With polyjuice potion, he could infiltrate the Imperial army and destroy from within
Hmmm, looking at it, I’m thinking Darth Sidious, no contest. Although maybe He Who Must Not Be Named vs. Vader?
(I’m such a geek)
I have a problem with the Potterverse being so dependent on wands, so I’ll put my money on a Force-weilder who can snatch their puny sticks out of their hands leaving a Pottermage essentially powerless.
A Jedi or Sith could, I suspect, tell that someone is disguised, even with polyjuice. Heck, all you need to infiltrate the Imperials is a supply of vacuum formed white or black plastic.
It bothers me that I’ve read all the Potter books, but it is kind of fun to imagine Ingold Inglorion or Belgarath running loose in Hogworts.
But how different is a wizard’s need for a wand from a Jedi’s need for a lightsaber?
Given that Voldemort was (IIRC) the most powerful Occlumens ever, I have to believe that he could readily infiltrate Palpatine’s inner circle and open up a can of Avada Kedavra on his ass with no problem. Don’t forget that Palpatine didn’t seem to know what Vader was about to do when Vader [del]defenestrated[/del] decatwalked him.
I think the Wizard world focuses on wands, but AB does magic (pretty potent stuff) without a wand, and so does Voldemort. I lay even money, even though I am no fan of Star Wars and have no idea who this Emperor dude is. (sorry)
Jedi and Sith don’t need lightsabers, they are just the weapon of choice. Potters can’t levitate without waving their magic wand in a certain pattern whilst saying the magic words. Voldie, in preparing for his final battle, sought a better wand, every Potter battle seems to include someone losing their wand and being rendered powerless until they get it back.
A Jedi’s power is not contained in a wand or lightsaber - Palpatine didn’t need a saber to shoot lightening, Vader didn’t need his saber to choke random folks, Yoda didn’t need a saber to lift an X-Wing from the swamp. Even the crybaby Skywalker’s could smack a wizard upside the head with a rock before he could finish chanting the mystical words.
I admit that I’m not a Potter expert, or even a fan (what a shock, eh?), this is just my opinion based on a single reading of the series.
Fair enough, and I spoke a bit too broadly, granted, but how would a Jedi put down Palpatine without a weapon? I have it in my mind that force lightning and force chokes and whatnot are a bit verboten on the Jedi side of the table. I know Kermit the Jedi did a nice I’m-rubber-and-you’re-glue act with Darth Dracula’s lightning, but I’m still a little fuzzy on what exactly a Jedi specifically would do to actually put a bad guy down, sans lightsaber.
It’s also worth mentioning that highly skilled wizards in the Potterverse can both do some magic without wands (no, I’m not saying Avada Kedavra necessarily, but still) and, more to the point, could cast a great many powerful spells without speaking them. It’s a major plot point of Half-Blood Prince.
Are the books significantly different from the movies? In the very first HP movie Harry sent his cousin into the python habitat. He was involuntarily using magic before he even knew was a wizard or ever used a wand. Wands seem to give wizards additional focus and control maybe for certain things and I agree they rely on them overly much, but they can do magic even without them.
What the wizards need is to spend a few years at the Jedi academy learning how to ditch the wands.
The canonical explanation from JKR is that while wizards can do accidental magic in times of great stress, to control one’s magic requires the use of a wand.
It’s only February. I’m sure we’ll see something geekier soon.
I suppose I better chime in with an opinion…
As much as I’d love to be contrary I’m going with the Lord of the Sith. While Potter-verse wizards do have an advantage that their powers are nebulous and appear to run mainly on authorial fiat I can’t think of anything that a Sith with a light saber shouldn’t be able to just knock away (it’s all slow moving flashy beams, exactly what we see Jedi’s bouncing back constantly). Presumably destroying Voldemort’s current physical body should be sufficient to stall him indefinitely so I’d call chopping him in half a win even if he comes back from it ten years later.
Albus Dumbledore can make himself invisible. Surely Voldemort can do the same. That might tip the odds in favour of Voldemort: Palpatine can’t block what he can’t see coming.
Palpatine
-Storm troopers who can’t hit the side of a barn with their guns
Voldemort
-Death Eaters who can kill pretty much anyone other than Harry (Cedric Diggory, Sirius, Dumbledore, Mad-Eye Moody, Lupin, Tonks, Fred…)
As Palpatine is not Harry Potter, I’d say he’d be in deep trouble.
Are we talking Palpatine circa episode 3 or Palpatine circa episode 6?
Because the latter didn’t really seem to be able to do much aside from toss lightning bolts, that I can’t imagine would bother Voldy too much.
I do agree, though, that anybody competent with a lightsaber shouldn’t have any more trouble batting away Potterverse spells than they do blaster bolts. Given that the Force makes one slightly clairevoyant, Palpatine wouldn’t have any trouble anticipating and knocking away Voldy’s spells until he gets close enough to chop his head off.
Given the ease with which Sith can defend themselves with their lightsabers, Palpatine and Vader could probably take on several Death Eaters at once. Once they figure out how dependant the wizards are on their wands, the fight is over.
It could be interesting to see if if the Imperius curse or Jedi mind tricks are more powerful. My guess would be that at a distance one or both would try that out on someone near the other.
EP waves his hand, “You want to shoot Voldemort.”
Voldemort waves his wand, “Imperio! No, you want to shot Palpatine.”
I’d put my money on Palpatine — if he knows Voldemort is coming. It doesn’t take much to break a wand, after all, and once you get to that point, it’s going to go all the Jedi’s way.
Trouble is, Voldemort is going to have a hell of an uphill climb if he wants to sneak up on a man who can see the future. Voldemort never seemed to plan much beyond
but the Emperor showed slightly more forethought, planning layer after layer of deception that even other Jedi couldn’t unravel.
If Voldemort gets the drop on Palpatine, it’s all over. I don’t see that happening.
P.S. And the wizards in Potterworld always seem to be surprised at the basic Disarming spell. Any Jedi could replicate that easily: yoink! No more wand.
“You see these blast points? Much too accurate for Sand People. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise.”
– Obi-Wan Kenobi
And then, of course, the stormtroopers spend the next two and a half films missing everything in sight. Makes you wonder just how bad a shot a sand person would have to be. :eek:
You know, now that I think about it, this has to be a no-score draw.
The Chosen One will destroy them — nobody else. The “Chosen One” of Lucasworld is Vader, who destroys Palpatine; it is prophesied. The “Chosen One” of Potterworld is Harry; his defeat of Voldemort was similarly foretold.
For any meeting between the two, at any point in their lives, Palpatine and Vader are covered by two separate prophecies. Neither one of them can win.
