Top 100 swordmen

[Assassin89]

In #390 Elan states that Julio is one of the top 100 swordsmen of the century. Who do you think are the other 99?

Some examples:

Gilgamesh from Final Fantasy
Cecil from Final Fantasy IV
Horace Greenhilt

[OOTS_Supporter]

Miko
Shojo(Hidden)
Nale
Nale and Elan's father.

[Agrippa]

Cohen the Barbarian (Discworld)
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach (Girl Genius)
Roland/Orlando (Legends of Charlemagne)
Giacamo Cassanunda (Discworld)
Elric of Melinbone (Eternal Champion novels)
Farfhd (Farfhd and the Gray Mouser novels)

[chiasaur11]

Cohen the Barbarian (Discworld)
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach (Girl Genius)
Roland/Orlando (Legends of Charlemagne)
Giacamo Cassanunda (Discworld)
Elric of Melinbone (Eternal Champion novels)
Farfhd (Farfhd and the Gray Mouser novels)

The Grey Mouser's pretty good too.

And I'd put Cyrano de Bergerac as our world's candidate. Man fought 100 guys at once, and didn't die. That's gotta be worth something.

[dresdor]

Miyamoto Musashi for ours would be a better one. That and he actually was you know...real.

[Setra]

Hmm...

Cyan
Cloud (What? Don't look at me that way)
Stabby Pete
The eighth Dwarf
Sasaki Koujiro

More seriously, I'll second the Father of Elan and Nale, as well as Horace Greenhilt.

Edit: For our World I would suggest Götz von Berlichingen

[JonestheSpy]

Second Cyrano D'Bergerac - clearly the best swordsman if all non-fantasy literature.

But really, c'mon guys INIGO MONTOYA! I mean, really, #1 hands down.

Others:
Connor MacLeod
D'Artagnan
Itto Ogami (of tha amazing Lone Wolf and Cub manga), probably #2
Captain Blood (Julio's possible inspiration)
Zorro (another possible Dashing Swordsman)
Jing Ke (portrayed by Jet Li in Hero)
Benedict of Amber
Groo the Wanderer

[FujinAkari]

Kenshin Himura (what? If you guys have frickin CLOUD on the list...)

[evileeyore]

But really, c'mon guys INIGO MONTOYA! I mean, really, #1 hands down.

Except that he was beaten by the Man In Black, so he could ay best be Number 2. :smallwink:

[Tholok Razescar]

Miyamoto Musashi for ours would be a better one. That and he actually was you know...real.

I do totally agree.

[Stormwolf]

Wesley and Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride
Aramis, Porthos, Athos and D'Artagnan (the 3 +1 Musketeers)
Zorro

Ooops - nearly forgot Yoda

[Needle]

Captain Jack Sparrow, "at least you know me" 8D

[Preneurdetête]

Pierre Terrail de Bayard ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Terrail,_seigneur_de_Bayard

[Scarlet Knight]

Conan (crude in skill, but not many characters would want to face him)
Sir Lancelot
Alan Breck (Kidnapped)
Friar Tuck
and of course...Reepicheep !

[kerberos]

Miyamoto Musashi for ours would be a better one. That and he actually was you know...real.

Cyrano de Bergerac was real (according to Wikipedia) and a famed duelist. I'm pretty sure he didn't fight 100 people and survive though on account of Wikipedia not mentioning it and it being slightly impossible.

[Shatteredtower]

Miyamoto Musashi for ours would be a better one. That and he actually was you know...real.

Well, then I guess he might be fit to share the podium with Cyrano, who, incidentally, was also real. The duel with a hundred men was an exaggerated feat, as were many of his other accomplishments, but Musashi's record has been no less subject to the adage, "When the truth becomes legend, print the legend."

[Morchaint]

Originally Posted by nagora
Chatter is usually a sign that it's time to break out the Lego pirates and start firing marbles at each other's ships instead of role playing. Some nights, we're just not in the mood!

Lol

thats funny.


Arthur Pendragon.

Arutha Condoin. if you've read the Rift series by Raymond Feist.
Derek Sagan Star of the Guardians series by Margaret Weis
Prolly lots of ppl in LotR.

[Warren Dew]

Miyamoto Musashi for ours would be a better one. That and he actually was you know...real.

I hadn't realized he'd lived into this century.

[AceofDeath]

What About Achilles, sure he is not real. But He hade to be killed by a god. That's Freaking Awesome:smallbiggrin:

[icantdrawrocks]

What About Achilles, sure he is not real. But He hade to be killed by a god. That's Freaking Awesome:smallbiggrin:

Technically it was the wussiest guy that ever nonced his way into an epic war that killed him.

And Achilles was primarily a spearman, not a swordsman.

As for best swordsmen...Xena. Not technically a swordsman, but still.

Xena.

[Elfey]

Kenshin Himura (what? If you guys have frickin CLOUD on the list...)

Kenshin, however was based on the real and 18th century Kawakami Gensai. Likewise Cyrano was real, and awesome, but 17th century.

Saitō Hajime however, qualifies as he lived till 1915 and died of old age, unlike pretty much any other fighter in the civil wars of Japan.

[dps]

Nale


No way. Even in the first fight between Nale and Elan, in Durokan's Dungeon, before Elan took a level in Dashing Swordsman, Nale wasn't able to defeat him. See strips 61 & 64.

[King of Nowhere]

Pfff.
It was already stated elswhere.

O-chul is the best swordsman. he also got all positions from 2nd to 31th, as well as from 33th to 100th. He just let Julio slip in

[Assassin89]

Pfff.
It was already stated elswhere.

O-chul is the best swordsman. he also got all positions from 2nd to 31th, as well as from 33th to 100th. He just let Julio slip in

That statement is not true. O-chul cannot be better than Julio and at the same time be worse than him. O-chul's ranking would be between #40 and 100
*Stabs illogical statement 100 times*

New one:
Leo from Final Fantasy VI
Amidamaru from Shaman King
Mihawk from One Piece
Zoro from One Piece

[Puppeteer]

Jaime Lannister before the ...accident.
Gatsu from Berserk, if you consider a ridiculously oversized slab of metal a sword.

[Ramien]

That statement is not true. O-chul cannot be better than Julio and at the same time be worse than him. O-chul's ranking would be around # 40
*Stabs illogical statement 100 times*

New one:
Leo from Final Fantasy VI
Amidamaru from Shaman King
Mihawk from One Piece
Zoro from One Piece

O-Chul is not bound by logic. Actually, O-Chul is, in fact the greatest 100 swordsmen all on his own, and some editor just added Julio to the list because 'he's so DASHING!' Those lists are all about politics.

[Partof1]

Luke Skywalker. Go ahead and yell at me.

[Linkavitch]

Captain Picard.
Aragorn.
Anakin Skywalker. (@ Partof1: Come on. Before he had to put the suit on, he could have totally whooped Luke's butt.)
And has anyone mentioned Roy yet?

[Goofy]

Malcom Reynolds. Wait, no, he was actually pretty bad.

[Puppeteer]

But he had the mark of an alright man

[Finwe]

Prolly lots of ppl in LotR.


I'm going to go with Fingolfin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingolfin)

Given the choice between many excellent swordsmen, it's generally best to pick the one who whooped a god in single combat. (Technically, he lost, but only on account of his opponent being immortal).

[Setra]

Artemis Entreri
Drizz't (Please don't shoot me, people here seem to hate him)

Caramon Majere?

[Leta]

Eh... Peter Joppich?
Actually, from history possibly Richard F. Burton.

From fiction/fantasy, hands down Yoda is number one.

[Texas_Ben]

Anakin Skywalker. (@ Partof1: Come on. Before he had to put the suit on, he could have totally whooped Luke's butt.)


'cept he got all his appendages cut off by one obi wan kenobi, so from that we can surmise that he's not as good as him at least

[fangthane]

Wallie Smith, P.Eng.
Also, his oath-brother Nnanji.

[KindaChang]

Artemis Entreri
Drizz't (Please don't shoot me, people here seem to hate him)

Caramon Majere?

Sturm Brightblade could easily beat him in a straight up fight. Caramon was a brawler, not a sword fighter.

Rand al'Thor
Yoda

[neoseph7]

how is Cloud on this list and not Sephiroth?

And how is Captain Picard on this list? That just seems silly:smalltongue:

[CountD]

Will Turner

[AKA_Bait]

Richard F. Burton.


That dude was just all around amazing. Along with others, I'll go with Musashi for best real one.

As for on the OOtS list I'd also expect Horace and Elan/Nale Daddy to be there. I wouldn't be surprised to find O'Chul or Miko on the list either. They are/were pretty high level and this is not a world with lots of high level characters.

[Shanty Man]

Can enyone relly beat the raw herowisum of Cohen the Barbarian?
(apart from MABY Captin carrot (and proberbly not))!

[Copper8642]

Captain Barbossa.

[Setra]

Sturm Brightblade could easily beat him in a straight up fight. Caramon was a brawler, not a sword fighter.

Rand al'Thor
Yoda
Well I mostly didn't list Sturm for a specific reason that probably should not have since other people on the list are dead too...

Edit:
Link

[Bigfreekb]

I'm gonna say Blade has to be on there somewhere. Martial honour, skill, adaptability. Although saying that he never manages to kill the big bad with swordsmanship alone, however he still deserves to be on the list :smallbiggrin:

[Finwe]

Malcom Reynolds. Wait, no, he was actually pretty bad.

River Tam, on the other hand, was quite the beast.

[King of Nowhere]

Rand al'Thor
If you come to this, I think Lan was still much better than him.

[Klaz Eidron]

Heh, #1 must be JC Denton (Unless you take away the Dragon Tooth's Sword)

[Pie Guy]

Marth, the version from Super Smash Bros Brawl. The only time I've ever lost with him was when my friend used smashballs while being Fox.

[ZerglingOne]

Samurai Jack
Kenshin Himura
Cyrano de Bergerac
Conan
Jet Li in Hero (he has no name)
Edit: If we're talking Star Wars, Mace Windu FTW :smallbiggrin:

[Trizap]

Artemis Entreri
Drizz't (Please don't shoot me, people here seem to hate him)

Caramon Majere?

no no no, I think people here hate Drizzt clones very subtle,
don't worry its not Drizzt himself, its the Drizzt clones are what people hate.

[Cruiser1]

Garet Jax (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garet_Jax) from the Shannara series should make the top 10 easily. He apparently has no magic, Force, One Power, divine heritage or whatever supporting him, but rather just raw human skill, and an attitude to match someone who never loses a fight.

Beatrix Kiddo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrix_Kiddo), a.k.a. The Bride from Kill Bill belongs on the list. Who else could take on 88 Crazy people at once (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdjuS17DGlA) and win?

[Assassin89]

Marth, the version from Super Smash Bros Brawl. The only time I've ever lost with him was when my friend used smashballs while being Fox.

By that statement, Roy and Ike from the Fire Emblem Series should also be included in this list.

F.Y.I Marth is originally from Fire Emblem, not Super Smash Bros.

[tenguro]

Arthas from the Warcraft universe. Eragon from the Inheritance series, I know this isn't very specific, but Spartan warriors and Samurai, so for all you history buffs out there pick some out of those two groups. Isaac, Garret, Saturos, Felix, and whoever else wields a sword from the Golden Sun series. Kratos from God of War, and I have a lot more to name, but, not going to. Oh, and whoever said Reepicheep, you win the internet Sir!

[Lupy]

I'm going to go with Fingolfin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingolfin)

Given the choice between many excellent swordsmen, it's generally best to pick the one who whooped a god in single combat. (Technically, he lost, but only on account of his opponent being immortal).

Feanor could've owned Fingolfin in a straight up fight, but he had the attention span of a gnat that fell into an expresso.

I'm going with Garet Jax.

[Zevox]

Feanor could've owned Fingolfin in a straight up fight,
How so? Feanor fought all of once in his entire life, during the battle immediately preceding his death. Fingolfin saw a lot more combat than that, thereby accumulating a lot more experience with the blade. It was impressive that Feanor managed to put up a fight against Gothmog and the Balrogs, certainly, but hardly the same as the wounds Fingolfin gave Morgoth (particularly that last one - there aren't very many who can say they've given a god a limp).


but he had the attention span of a gnat that fell into an expresso.
What? He was just the opposite of that. He fixated far too much on his goal, forgetting his reason in the process, and that proved his undoing.

And while I'm posting, I'll just toss out Fighter from 8-Bit Theatre. He has used swordchucks, the stupidest innovation in swords ever, and not only not killed himself in the process, but fought genuinely effectively with them. That has to take some serious skill, even if it also requires utter stupidity to even consider trying to do it to begin with.

Zevox

[GooeyChewie]

Fighter, so long as sword-chucks count as swords (and chucks at the same time).

Other honorable mentions (some of whom have been mentioned) include:

The Man in Black (The Princess Bride)
Inigo Montoya (The Princess Bride)
Link (The Legend of Zelda)
T. G. Cid (Final Fantasy Tactics)

EDIT: D'oh! Ninja'd on the Fighter thing!

[TheBlackArcher]

Drizzt Do'urden

[SpacemanSpif]

Jaime Lannister before the ...accident.


You can't mention him, and not mention Arthur Dayne, Gerold Hightower, Barriston Selmy...

Aside from them, I'm not really clear on how to rate them. Brienne, Bronn, both Cleganes, Beric Dondarrian, Thoros of Myr, and Loras Tyrell all all portrayed as very effective, but it's very rare to see any direct combat for comparison, Loras and Brienne being one exception.

I would guess that John Snow will eventually rank up there, too- but not yet.

Edit: Forgot about Jorah Mormont, Qhorin Halfhand, Strong Belwas, Khal Drogo, Syrio Forel, and probably a dozen more.

[theMycon]

'cept he got all his appendages cut off by one obi wan kenobi, so from that we can surmise that he's not as good as him at least

And after he put on the suit, he struck him down (only to make some kid become more powerful than he could ever imagine).

[Maerok]

Martin from Red Wall series (been a long time)?

[JonestheSpy]

I decided not to include Westley/the Man in Black/Dread Pirate Roberts because he's just so ridiculously competent at everything he's practically a superhero. Inigo trained for decades, studied everywhere, learned from everyone - Westley just spent a couple of years hanging uot with pirates and suddenly he's better? It's sort of like having Superman win a swordfight - sure he can, but what's the point?

(Not that it wasn't an amazing fight in the book and movie , but I still think of Inigo as the [B]real swordsman of the story.)

A lot of the other choices in this thread don't cut it for me - some make no sense whatsoever (Picard? Friar Tuck?) I think people are confusing being a great warrior with specifically being a great swordsman. Conan, Lancelot, even Aragorn - there's really not much in their stories that extolls their skill with a sword over any other weapon. Heck, in Lord of the Rings far more is made of Gimli's skill with an axe than Aragorn's with a sword. Folks like Inigo, Fafhrd, the Gray Mouser, etc are specifically described in their stories as being the absolute best swordsmen around.

In DnD terms, Conan et al kick ass because they are really high level fighters more than their particular skill with a sword or any other weapon. Conan probably has a bunch of feats like Power Attack, Great Cleave, etc. Inigo, on the other hand, takes every feat he can relating to fighting with his one weapon of choice - Focus, Spcialization, Greater versions of the previous two, along with fencing-style feats like Improved Feint and Combat Expertise.

[Grail]

Madmartigan

[Finn Solomon]

Ser Jaime Lannister, Kingslayer from A Song of Ice and Fire. Well, at least before he got his hand hacked off.

[Bavarian itP]

I'm pretty sure Nale belongs on this list. I don't think we even know 100 Oots chars who use a sword, and of those we know, Nale was better than random hobgoblin mook (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0458.html). So Nale is at least 99. Exactly as impressive as any of Nale's other achievements :smalltongue:

[UnChosenOne]

Dante (DMC)
Gray Fox (MGS1)

[Kurald Galain]

Corwin
Bleys
Benedict
Eric

all from the World of Amber.

[John Campbell]

Practically all of the good guys in Brust's Phoenix Guards books, particularly Khaavren, Aerich, Tazendra, and Pel.


no no no, I think people here hate Drizzt clones very subtle,
don't worry its not Drizzt himself, its the Drizzt clones are what people hate.

No, it's Drizzt I hate, poorly-written wangst-ridden emo Mary Sue that he is. I bet he uses Twinkie and Icingcookie to cut himself because he's so outcast and misunderstood and his mommy doesn't love him and all the popular kids call him "drizzit".

And despite what R.A. Salvatore keeps telling us, what he shows us is that Drizzt's an incompetent buffoon who doesn't even understand the basic function of his weapons. 90% of the crap he's described as doing in fights would get him instantly killed, if not for the fact that all of his opponents are equally incompetent buffoons who don't happen to have the author on their side.

His D&D stats, as presented in the Forgotten Realms setting books, don't back up his rep, either. I utterly murdered him in a one-on-one fight with a PC five levels lower than him one time. (The one in my avatar, in fact.) And that PC's a primary spellcaster who didn't use his magic. Straight-up fight, no buffs, no spellcasting on my part (though he was free to use his abilities), just my axe vs. his swords and my weasel familiar vs. his figurine of no one loves me except this magic item.

I hate Drizzt clones, too, mind you. If you're going to blatantly rip off a character from fiction, at least rip off an interesting character from good fiction.

[Stormwolf]

Has anyone suggested General Maximus Decimus Meridius (aka Russell Crowe) from Gladiator yet. He had some pretty nifty moves (and he only died because Commodus was a cheating git).

[Atelm]

Master Yupa, from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Manga & Movie). He dual-wields a longsword and a shortsword, his skills with both are clearly demonstrated in both versions, and it is stated that he is the best swordsman in the whole Periphery.

[SoC175]

Johannes Liechtenauer
Sigmund Ringeck
Hans Talhoffer

[Dolsin]

A few more :

Skilgannon the Damned (Gemmell)
Decado the Ice Warrior (Gemmell)
Lord Morrolan (Brust)

I know Morrolan is much more than just a warrior, but it's been pointed out that he is truly one of the greatest swordsman of his era.


ooh... I forgot Whiskeyjack (Steven Erickson)

~D

[Fredthefighter]

I think that three of them are:
King Arthur
*Cough* Fredthefighter *Cough*
and Santa Clause, trust me, there is not a man in the world who has fought Santa Clause in a fair 1 on 1 Swordfight to the death.

[Assassin89]

and Santa Clause, trust me, there is not a man in the world who has fought Santa Clause in a fair 1 on 1 Swordfight to the death.

Invalid. No depictions of Santa Claus show him wielding a sword.

[Lord]

Raphael from soulcaliber.
Indiana Jones gets an honorable mention, but was sadly disquilified for using a bullwhip.
Chuck Norris would also get a honorable mention but he roundhouse kicked himself into first place.

[whitelaughter]

Väinämöinen
Gawain
Galahad
Cúchulainn
Roland
Kuan Yu
Yang Chien
Horatius Cocles

Reepicheep is the most valiant knight in the Narnian world, but probably the best swordsman is actual Prince/King Cor, who is said to become a better swordsman than his brother Corin Thunderfist. Other candidates would be High King Peter (who fights Miraz as an equal despite only being 14 years old), or Olvin who defeats the giant Pire (though he probably uses magic, given the giant is turned to stone when he loses. When I ran my Narnia campaign, I had the PCs trying to thwart Jadis' attempt to get Olvins' magic wand).

[Pie Guy]

By that statement, Roy and Ike from the Fire Emblem Series should also be included in this list.

F.Y.I Marth is originally from Fire Emblem, not Super Smash Bros.

Yes, I know Marth is from Fire Emblem. In Super Smash Bros, he can kick everyone's arse, while I am not aware of his fighting prowess in Fire Emblem

[Assassin89]

Chuck Norris would also get a honorable mention but he roundhouse kicked himself into first place.

Chuck Norris is invalid. Using a roundhouse kick disqualifies him from the list. This list uses real world logic, not Chuck Norris™ or O-chul™ brand logic

[Marlowe]

Conan's best skills are "making allies quickly", and "always winning initiative". Seriously, what weapons he has to hand are a minor detail (I should note, I've only ever read the original Robert E Howard stories and simply don't CARE what others have made with the franchise).

In contrast, Fafyrd and the Mouser are serious swordsmen, although they also do bow and sling respectively. Out of interest, the Mouser is consistently the most dangerous of the two in a straight fight, just as Fafyrd is the one who makes the best decisions (inversion. The Barbarian is smart and the over-civilized street rat is death on two legs, but inclined to be a little bit silly. Since Fafyrd and the Mouser predate most standard fantasy cliches it seems like Fritz Leiber was way ahead of his time.).

Even though he's never used a sword, I'd like to make an honourable mention for the grey man from William Gibson's "All Tomorrows Parties".

[Partof1]

@Spartacus89
I was thinking post-Empire/New Jedi Order era Luke. He could beat the crap out of abso-fargin-lutely everyone!

[Morchaint]

Richard Cypher/Rahl

sword of truth series by Terry Goodkind

even tho I like Cloud Ill still say

Sephiroth.

[Knaight]

El-Tawil, Yusuf Salah-ad Din's best warrior, beat the crap out of a whole bunch of european knights in duels despite them having a huge advantage in equipment familiarity, and was only finally killed after getting in a fight with James Ecton and a few other people. James Ecton also counts, as he was pretty badass. Both of these guys are from the third crusade, I'm not actually sure what happened to Ecton.

[Athaniar]

Anduin Lothar

Palpatine (come on, if he took out four Jedi masters that quick, he deserves to be real high on this list. And I choose to believe that he deliberately lost to Windu)

Alexandros Mograine

Illidan Stormrage

Mannoroth (and perhaps some other annihilans like Magtheridon, Brutallus, or Azgalor)

General Grievous

Varian Wrynn

Kahless

Worf

[OOTS_Supporter]

That guy from Hereos(I always forget his name)

[Athaniar]

That guy from Hereos(I always forget his name)

Adam Munroe?

[Assassin89]

That guy from Hereos(I always forget his name)

Hiro? Or that guy who was his childhood hero?

[Kato]

I don't think either Hiro nor Adam/Takezo are that good swordmen (at least in season two, haven't watched three yet)

Anyway, someone mentioned it already, but another vote for Clevinger's Fighter, master of the sword-chucks (tm). Whoever is able to handle them needs to get credit here.

To add some anime characters which haven't appeared by now: Roronoa Zoro and Mihawk from One Piece, Vicious of Cowboy Beepop, Goemon of Lupin III and if you accept giant mecha swords Graham Acre ^^

Also, to add on the Tolkien characters, Hurin and his son. The former... okay, he is said to wield an axe when slaying seventy or so trolls in combat on his own, but he's probably a good swordsman as well. His son Turin was at least able to kill the ***ing father of all dragons, even if it wasn't really an epic match but a tricky attack. But he fought a lot of others as well. (Not that it did any good for him, though)

[Forealms]

Arutha Condoin. if you've read the Rift series by Raymond Feist.

Seconded. I'd also like to add Talon (Or Talwin, though I just don't like the name) and Tomas/Ashen-Shugar. T/A-S isn't better than Talon in my opinion, as it's more Ashen-Shugar than Tomas who is the swordsman.

On that note, I would also throw in all of the Valheru that use a sword.

[silvadel]

The count of monte cristo

Whatever his name is who wielded wirikidor from the misenchanted sword.

Innuyasha

[Scion_of_Darkness]

Anakin Skywalker. (@ Partof1: Come on. Before he had to put the suit on, he could have totally whooped Luke's butt.)


Hell, even after putting on the suit Darth Vader was still arguably the galaxy's best duelist. He could easily have kicked Luke's ass. He held back because he wanted to convert his son to the Dark Side.

[Cruxador]

Ares/Mars
Athena
Any of the Aesir
Horus
Hachiman
Susano-o
Astaldo

And a few other gods.

[John Campbell]

Whatever his name is who wielded wirikidor from the misenchanted sword.
Valder. I don't think there's any indication that he's more than basically competent as a swordsman. He's just bound to a magic sword that's really good at fighting... when it works. There are several times in the book where he ends up in serious trouble because he's expended Wirikidor's magic and his own native abilities aren't up to the situation.

[Kurald Galain]

So, are we up to 100 yet?

[Dolsin]

Valder. I don't think there's any indication that he's more than basically competent as a swordsman. He's just bound to a magic sword that's really good at fighting... when it works. There are several times in the book where he ends up in serious trouble because he's expended Wirikidor's magic and his own native abilities aren't up to the situation.

I agree with you, by that token you would have to add in anyone that ever wielded Townsaver (Saberhagen's Twelve Swords).

Good call on those that listed Luke, he really is regarded as the greatest saberist in the galaxies.

~D

[Assassin89]

So, are we up to 100 yet?

I do not think so, because there are several repeats of characters, making it difficult to compile a list. Please for convenience reasons, do not repeat any name that have been previously posted.

[ShellBullet]

I second Gatts and I would like to add Griffith, both from berserk. (Caska and Serpico might be skilled enough to be positioned on lower half of the 100.)

What about Link from Zelda series? He pretty much kicks everyone’s butt with sword in games.

[Grail]

Forgot this one, don't know how.

Kyūzō from the Seven Samurai.

[Finn Solomon]

You can't mention him, and not mention Arthur Dayne, Gerold Hightower, Barriston Selmy...

Aside from them, I'm not really clear on how to rate them. Brienne, Bronn, both Cleganes, Beric Dondarrian, Thoros of Myr, and Loras Tyrell all all portrayed as very effective, but it's very rare to see any direct combat for comparison, Loras and Brienne being one exception.

I would guess that John Snow will eventually rank up there, too- but not yet.

Edit: Forgot about Jorah Mormont, Qhorin Halfhand, Strong Belwas, Khal Drogo, Syrio Forel, and probably a dozen more.

Didn't the Knight of Flowers use a morningstar? Gregor Clegane used an axe or something, and I'm pretty sure Strong Belwas and Khal Drogo didn't use swords either. Heavy weapons, anyway.

[paladinofshojo]

I would say in our world that Guru Gobind Singh and the main heroes of the founding Khalsa army are up there as expert swordsman seeing how they effectively survived and fought back against two genocides instigated by the Mughal Empire.(to give an example on how lethal these guys were, they're the descendants of GENGHIS KHAN, and had taken over the entire subcontinent of India). Heck, their fighting style, the Shaastar Vidya was made to take on multiple opponents at once.





In the Oootsverse, I think that Soon Kim and that rouge in his party are definitely in the top 10, seeing as Soon was able to take on Xykon AND redcloak at the same time and beat them until the monkey wrench of Azure City ruined everything :smallannoyed:

[rxmd]

Hiro Protagonist, the best swordfighter in the world by definition, and the one with the best name ;)

[Decahedral Tofu]

Surprised not to see any Mugen or Jin from Samurai Champloo. There's a good reason it's the only anime I watch: fantastic swordfights!

Although Mugen's actually a terrible swordsman compared to Jin; he's just such an amazing fighter that it doesn't matter. :P

[Cybren]

This is an absurdly long century

[Liwen]

Cyrano de Bergerac was real (according to Wikipedia) and a famed duelist. I'm pretty sure he didn't fight 100 people and survive though on account of Wikipedia not mentioning it and it being slightly impossible.

It is not impossible for one to win a 1 to 100 fight. Giving a fair training, tatical advantage such as high ground surprise, etc and the fact that those 100 could actually be untrained, one would have reasonable chances of surviving the fight.

Edit : Anyone mentionned Link yet?

[Assassin89]

Edit : Anyone mentioned Link yet?

Yes ShellBullet is one of those people that have mentioned Link from Legend of Zelda.

Apparently the most commonly shown people include Inigo Montoya and Dritzz

[silvadel]

Valder. I don't think there's any indication that he's more than basically competent as a swordsman. He's just bound to a magic sword that's really good at fighting... when it works. There are several times in the book where he ends up in serious trouble because he's expended Wirikidor's magic and his own native abilities aren't up to the situation.

Will put it this way -- I wouldnt want to be up against him with that thing... I dont care what I had for defense -- it wouldnt work.

[Kurald Galain]

It is not impossible for one to win a 1 to 100 fight.
Precisely. Corwin and Bleys pull that one off (while having the lower ground, to boot), and Eric and Benedict are known to be better than them.

[LoRdofCookIES]

Umm.. is Yoda supposed to be in our century? oO

Other than that,
Cloud Strife of FFVII, also Sephiroth
Zorro :P
Ziegfried (not sure about spelling)
William Wallace :D (stop staring me like that)
Kenshin Himura, the Batushai (Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki ftw)

[Cheesegear]

Nightcrawler, Swordsman, and Silver Samurai.

Also, no love for Colbey Calistinsson?

[whitelaughter]

Invalid. No depictions of Santa Claus show him wielding a sword.
Pardon? He gives Peter the sword Rhindon in LWW! And he must have an endless supply of them in that sack!

And to keep adding to the list:
Ashi-taka from "Princess Mononoke" Yes, a lot of his power was due to his demon possessed arm, but he was deadly enough to kill the demon before getting the curse. (And yes, I know there shouldn't be a hyphen in his name, the forum suppresses the 2nd through 5th letters of his name without it).

[skywind]

Hi all,
I'm new here, & I like GIANTITP so much that I register here.
Who am I kidding?.. I Like GIANTITP very much, but it's tis topic that makes me register lol..

Anyway, I have seen supporters of Drizzt & Entreri, but where's Zaknafein & Jarlaxle? They are great swordmen as well. (I'm also a proud supporter of Cloud, Sephiroth, Anakin before he needs to become a walking-tin lol)

[RobotsITP]

Thank you Whitelaughter for naming Kuan Yu (or Guan Yu)
How bout Zhao Yun (Zhao Zilong)
Dude held off Cao Cao's army with Black Pommel while rescuing Liu Bei's worthless son.
True that was because Cao Cao wanted to capture him for his own forces but Zhao Yun's swordsmanship was legendary.

[Kato]

So... I made the effort of collecting the ideas so far. It's quite a list and since I don't know about half of them I can't judge myself. If we want to create a seriouy listing we should vote on who earns to be in the list and who's not good enough/ a joke, shouldn't we? Anyway, I'll just throw them in.

1 Julio Scroundel
2 Gilgamesh (FF)
3 Cecil (FF)
4 Horace greenhilt
5 Miko
6 Shojo
7 Nale
8 Nale&Elan's father
9 Cohen the Barbarian (Discworld)
10 Baron Klaus Wulfenbach (Girl Genius)
11 Roland/Orlando (Legends of Charlemagne)
12 Giacamo Cassanunda (Discworld)
13 Elric of Melinbone (Eternal Champion novels)
14 Farfhd (Farfhd and the Gray Mouser novels)
15 Cyrano de Bergerac
16 Miyamoto Musashi
17 Cyan (FF)
18 Cloud (FF)
19 Stabby Pete
20 The eigth Dwarf
21 Sasaki Koujiro
22 Götz von Berlichingen
23 Connor McLeod
24 D'Artagnan
25 Itto Ogami
26 Captain Blood
27 Zorro
28 Jong Ke (Hero)
29 Benedict of Amber
30 Groo the Wanderer
31 Kenshin Himura
32 Inigo Montoya (Princess Bride)
33 Wesley (Princess Bride)
34 Aramis
35 Porthos
36 Arthos
37 Jack Sparrow
38 Pierre terrail de Bayard
39 Conan
40 Sir Lancelot
41 Alan Breck
42 Friar Tuck
43 Reepicheep
44 Arthur Pendragon
45 Arutha Condoin (Rift war)
46 Derek Sagan
(Achilles, Spearman)
47 Xena
48 Saito Hajime
49 General Leo (FF)
50 Amidamaru (Shaman King)
51 Mihawk (One Piece)
52 Zoro (One Piece)
53 Jaime Lannister
54 Gatsu (Berserk)
55 Luke Skywalker
56 Captain Picard
57 Aragorn
58 Anakin Skywalker
59 Fingolfin
60 Artemis Entreri
61 Drizz't
62 Peter Joppich
63 Richard F Burton
64 Yoda
65 Wallie Smith
66 Nnanji
67 Rand al'Thor
68 Will Turner
69 Captain Barbarossa
70 Link
71 Blade
72 JC Denton
73 Marth
74 Samurai Jack
75 Mace Windu
76 Obi Wan Kenobi
77 Garet Jax
78 Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)
79 Roy (Fire Emblem)
80 Ike (Fore Emblem)
81 Arthas (Warcraft)
82 Eragon
83 Kratos
84 Isaac (Golden Sun)
85 Garret (Golden Sun)
86 Saturos (Golden Sun)
87 Felix (Golden Sun)
88 Feanor
89 Fighter
90 Zevox
91 Man in Black (Princess Bride)
92 T.G.Cid (FFT)
93 Jorah Mormont
94 Qhorin Halfhand
95 Strong Belwas
96 Khal Drogo
97 Syrio Forel
98 Martin (Red Wall)
99 Madmartigan
100 Der Jaime Lannister (Song of Ice and Fire)
101 Dante (DMC)
102 Grey Fox (MGS1)
103 Raiden (MGS)
104 Corwin (World of Amber)
105 Bleys (World of Amber)
106 Benedict (World of Amber)
107 Eric (World of Amber)
108 Maximus Decimus Meridius (Gladiator)
109 Master Yupa (Nausicaa)
110 Johannes Liechtenauer
111 Sigmund Ringeck
112 Hans Talhoffer
113 Skilgannon the Damned (Gemmell)
114 Decado the Ice Warrior (Gemmell)
115 Lord Morrolan (Brust)
116 Whiskeyjack
117 King Arthur
118 Raphael (Soul Calibur)
119 Väinämöinen
120 Gawain
121 Galahad
122 Cúchulainn
123 Roland
124 Kuan Yu
125 Yang Chien
126 Horatius Cocles
127 Richard Cypher/Rahl
128 Sepiroth (FF)
129 El-Tawil
130 Auron (FF)
131 Anduin Lothar
132 Palpatine
133 Alexandros Mograine
134 Illidan Stormrage
135 Mannoroth
136 General grivous
137 Varian Wrynn
137 Kahless
138 Worf
139 Hiro (Heroes)
140 Takezo Kensei/Adam Monroe (Heroes)
141 Vicious (Cowboy Bepop)
142 Hurin (Silmarillion)
143 Turin (Silmarillion)
144 Ashen-Sugar(Tomas (Rift War)
145 Inuyasha
146 Sesshoumaru (Inuyasha)
147 Ares/Mars
148 Athena
149 Horus
150 Hachiman
151 Susano-o
152 Astaldo
153 Griffith (Berserk)
154 Kyuzo (Seven Samurai)
155 Soon Kim
156 Hiro Protagonist
157 Mugen (Samurai Champloo)
158 Jin (Samurai Champloo)
159 Siegfried
160 William Wallace
161 Nightcrawler
162 Swordsman
163 Silver Samurai
164 Zaknafein
165 Jarlaxle
166 Kuan Yu
167 Zhao Yun
168 Zuko (Avatar)
169 Loki/Dark Knight (Seiken Denetsu)
170 Goemon (Lupin III)

(last few to get the 170 full)

[Assassin89]

Stabby Pete, the eighth dwarf should not be on the list because I have no idea who those people are.

Athena and Ares/Mars are also not allowed because
1) They were undone by the Snarl
2) the gods are not allowed in the list

Miko and Nale would probably have been too young when the list was made in the Order of the Stick universe because the list was probably made when Julio was in his prime.

Friar tuck and captain Picard are disqualified for not being actual swordsmen

Westly and the Man in Black are the same person

[Milanius]

172. Yoshimitsu

[lisiecki]

well lets see, Mars is a a freaking embodiment of war, for one of the most militaristic cultures ever...
so i think that's the win button

[CrimsonAngel]

Let's not forget Twinkie the kid!

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e381/CrimsonAngelChris/g3311.png

[Stormwolf]

So... I made the effort of collecting the ideas so far. It's quite a list and since I don't know about half of them I can't judge myself.

<snip>
33 Wesley (Princess Bride)
..
91 Man in Black (Princess Bride)


Thanks for compiling the list - I don't know half of them but I do know that The Man in Black (from The Princess Bride) == Wesley. I don't think any beings with godly or demi-godly powers should be allowed on the list either, otherwise you might as well take the God of War from every pantheon and put them in the Top 10 (or 20).

Also the name of the Count of Monte Cristo was Edmond Dantès

[JustIgnoreMe]

Hiro Protagonist, the best swordfighter in the world by definition, and the one with the best name ;)

Oh yes, most definitely. Also the Grey King/Capa Raza from the Lies of Locke Lamora.

[Cracklord]

Here's my try, known swordsman in OoTS only.
1.) Soon Kim
2.) Horace Greenhilt
3.) Girard Draketooth?
4.) Kraagor (though he's not really a swordsman...)

10.) Nale and Elan's dad?

15.) Right Eye (He was about Redcloaks level. Although he did use an axe.)
16.) Seerini Toormuck (Very high level rogue)
17.) Lord Shojo (He lied about everything else, maybe his class and level too. It would be just like the crusty old bastard to have one last ace in the hole. That ninja he dealt with sujjests a surprising level of competency.)

33.) Julio Scoundrel

49.) Miko
50.) Bozzok
51.) Roy
52.) Belkar
53.) Hinjo (He is number two in the sapphire guard, and seems relatively competent)


60.) Thog (Buff enough for that to substitute as skill)
61.) That Bandit king (way past his prime and still able to give Roy a run for his money)
62.) O-Chul (He's tough, not skillful.)
63.) Elan?
64.) Crystal?

75.) Nale

97.) Kazumi (Ninja death squad exterminator)
98.) Diago D-
99.) The late Chief of police at Cliffport
100.) Kabuto

[SpacemanSpif]

Didn't the Knight of Flowers use a morningstar? Gregor Clegane used an axe or something, and I'm pretty sure Strong Belwas and Khal Drogo didn't use swords either. Heavy weapons, anyway.

Loras was probably most skilled in the joust, but I thought that in the melee for the last position on the rainbow guard, he used a sword and Brienne used a mace. I could be wrong.

Gregor Clegane wields a greatsword. One handed.

Belwas and Khal Drogo use arakhs, which are big curved blades. I think they're described as half sword, half scythe.

[Puppeteer]

I think Jaime Lannister was the best one of the lot, considering skill alone, being the youngest Kingsguard ever to be invited in the elite.
Gregor Clegane wasn't a great swordsman per se, his freakish size and strength overwhelmed the adversaries. Oberyn Martell proved that.
I think Sandor "The Hound" Clegane was even better than his giant brother.

Loras, as you said, was more apt in the joust, to a lesser extent with a sword/weapon, and he was bested by Brienne during the Great Bitterbridge Melee. Although they were both using different weapons than swords. The Knight of Flowers used an axe, while Brienne had a morning star.

About Khal Drogo and Belwas I wouldn't know, they both were formidable fighters, considering that the first one was never defeated in combat after many wars and pillages and the second one being, similar to Gregor, humongous in proportions.

[Ronan]

erm.....uh...T...Tr...Tr...Trunks...?

[Sotextli]

The Drawn Sword of Allah. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_ibn_Al-Waled)

[silvadel]

Meh none of mine -- not even Edmund Dantes from Count of Monte Cristo.

[Ramien]

erm.....uh...T...Tr...Tr...Trunks...?

You kidding? He couldn't even cut Goku's finger!

[Scarlet Knight]

Friar tuck and captain Picard are disqualified for not being actual swordsmen


I would like to defend the submission of Friar Tuck. It was based on the Errol Flynn version of Robin Hood where Much tricks Robin into picking a fight with the Friar, unbeknownst to Robin that "he is the deadliest swordsman in the region..."

Because Robin is primarily an archer, and he & Tuck fought to a standstill does not diminish their skills...

Now, I admit the Ivanhoe version of Friar Tuck is lame...

[Assassin89]

Allow me to explain the reason some of the character should be on the list

Gilgamesh from Final Fantasy: Is able to wield multiple swords without penalty.

Mihawk from One piece: Number One swordsman in the One Piece world

Zoro from One Piece: Potential number one swordsman, not to mention three sword style.

[Marzie]

If we're including Cyrano (who was a real guy) then might I suggest Christian d'Oriola (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_d%27Oriola)? The International Fencing Federation named him the top fencer of the 20th century.


The speed of his hand, his prodigious technique, his light but devastatingly quick footwork, his instantaneous reactions, his inventiveness and his ability to adapt perfectly from "academic" (non-electric) to electric foil—all this means that Christian d’Oriola remains a model for his successors past and present.

[Abd al-Azrad]

This is an absurdly long century

Couldn't have said it better myself. Folks, should we not at least pretend to stick to a given century, in a list of "Top Swordsmen of the Century"? It needn't be OUR century... but, heck, we've got a list including Robin Hood, Conan, VADER... the Operative from Serenity, who I am just suggesting now (yes, possibly just to further complicate matters).

This list seems to be "Fightin'est People-Who-Have-Touched-A-Sword, whose Names Have Been Printed or Referenced at Some Point in This Century."

[Assassin89]

If we compress the list so that it only includes characters that would fit in a D&D setting, that would remove all of the jedi

[Sequinox]

Lol

thats funny.


Arthur Pendragon.

Arutha Condoin. if you've read the Rift series by Raymond Feist.
Derek Sagan Star of the Guardians series by Margaret Weis
Prolly lots of ppl in LotR.

If we're going by Raymond E Feist's stuff, I thought you'd say Talon/Tal Hawkins? I remember him being a really good swordsman... And I remember Arutha being a good fighter, but not incredible... However, I haven't read it in a while, so I may be wrong.

And I'm of the opinion Horace would make a really high place, too... Assuming O-Chul lets him.

ADDED: The Arbiter. Anyone who gets hit with his sword dies. That has to count for something, right?
(Ignore the fact that his sword is an energy sword, and is a 1 hit kill weapon in a video game, not a novel or something)

[Finwe]

If we compress the list so that it only includes characters that would fit in a D&D setting, that would remove all of the jedi

Or, if we restrict the list who have existed within one century, according to their Universe's cannon, which is probably the best way to do it, most star wars characters can probably be stricken from the list anyways, because it all happened "a long time ago." :smalltongue:

[Eldrys]

Redgar I mean hes a fricckin example he has to be good, Tordek would be on the list if he ever used swords, cause dwarfs are a hundred times better than humans at fighting, but he uses axes (which are cooler than swords)

If you don't know what I'm talking about you should not be on this forum

[Athaniar]

Here's my try, known swordsman in OoTS only.
1.) Soon Kim
2.) Horace Greenhilt
3.) Girard Draketooth?
4.) Kraagor (though he's not really a swordsman...)

10.) Nale and Elan's dad?

15.) Right Eye (He was about Redcloaks level. Although he did use an axe.)
16.) Seerini Toormuck (Very high level rogue)
17.) Lord Shojo (He lied about everything else, maybe his class and level too. It would be just like the crusty old bastard to have one last ace in the hole. That ninja he dealt with sujjests a surprising level of competency.)

33.) Julio Scoundrel

49.) Miko
50.) Bozzok
51.) Roy
52.) Belkar
53.) Hinjo (He is number two in the sapphire guard, and seems relatively competent)


60.) Thog (Buff enough for that to substitute as skill)
61.) That Bandit king (way past his prime and still able to give Roy a run for his money)
62.) O-Chul (He's tough, not skillful.)
63.) Elan?
64.) Crystal?

75.) Nale

97.) Kazumi (Ninja death squad exterminator)
98.) Diago D-
99.) The late Chief of police at Cliffport
100.) Kabuto

People who have only (as far as we've seen) used axes cannot possibly qualify as swordsmen. I don't think daggers qualify, either.

[Ubiq]

Mihawk from One piece: Number One swordsman in the One Piece world


For people not familiar with the Odaverse, here's a example of what that means:

Dracule Mihawk once attacked a fleet of fifty ships and five thousand men, wiped out most of the fleet, and pursued the remaining galleon through the nesting grounds of giant sea monsters for an unknown period of time before finally catching up and trisecting it. He did this because the pirates in question woke him up from a nice nap.

He also deflects bullets simply by angling his sword.



Zoro from One Piece: Potential number one swordsman, not to mention three sword style.

Roronoa Zoro can slice through steel, cut a traincar completely in half lengthwise with one stroke, and trains with a bar of steel that has numerous 100-kilogram weights on one end.

[Chirios]

Khellus from the second apocalpyse trilogy.

[Leo_Forestclaw]

I'd like to put in a vote for Mouse from ReBoot.

[Assassin89]

I'd like to put in a vote for Mouse from ReBoot.

One problem... except for the computer used by the Bureaucratic Deva there are no computers in Order of the Stick and I doubt there are any games on that computer.

[Kin Silvion]

If it hasn't been already said before then Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. That man just doesn't know how and when to die. Seriously, it took a lot to kill that man, even though he isn't a fighter he still would probably make his enemies kill themselves from frustration before he died.

[Chrisorc]

#1 swordsman in OOTS is....

The God-emperor of Mankind in his prime( AKA before the chair).

[pearl jam]

I hadn't realized he'd lived into this century.

Cyrano DeBergerac certainly did not, so the part about it being the top 100 of this century is being bent, somewhat, though, exactly which century in realword time the OOTSverse falls into could be up to debate.

[pearl jam]

I didn't notice the thread had 5 pages already when I posted the previous reply, though, in my defense, most of the discussion relating to the century in which characters appear didn't occur until the last page or so.

[Assassin89]

For this particular thread, let us assume that Final Fantasy and the Princess Bride are valid due to being parodied within the strip. Anything relating to the eastern gods (Zeus, Athena, Ares, etc.) is invalid because they were unmade by the snarl. Pirates are also valid due to the mail call sections.

[ericgrau]

Dr. Swordopolis belongs on the list as a great swordman. I mean the rest aren't even swords. Unless we're actually talking about swordsmen here...

Or what about Sword Man?
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/megaman/images/2/26/Mm8swordman.jpg

[Assassin89]

Of course I meant swordsmen.

[Kranden]

How about Musashi he was one of the best swordsmen of all time

[Quorothorn]

well lets see, Mars is a a freaking embodiment of war, for one of the most militaristic cultures ever...
so i think that's the win button

Too bad that culture's weapon of choice was not the sword: it was the spear. Same goes for Ares (only more so).


If you come to this, I think Lan was still much better than him.

Well, according to a couple people in-universe, the best swordsman in WoT-land was...*grabs his copy of The Dragon Reborn* ah, Jearom. In modern times, I would agree the title still belongs to Lan, though Rand's catching up to him fast. A nicely fast progression in swordsmanship for al'Thor, though the unfortunate incident with his hand might retard that somewhat.


Anyway, here's my contribution...

Alanna of Trebond and Olau, Duke Gareth the Elder of Naxen (the King's Champions of their respective eras, and well deserving of the title).

Ingold Inglorion (outright stated, and repeatedly shown, as the best in his world).

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Count Dooku, Anakin Skywalker, Darth Sidious, Mace Windu. Bringing in the EU (decently written prequel-era books only), Mace says that Depa Billaba's bladework is (at least in some respects) superior to his own, so take that as you will; Roan Shryne stood toe-to-toe with suit-Vader until Vader decided to forget the saber-dancing crap and just throw things at Shryne until he fell down.

I gotta add my voice to the nominations for Fighter (sword-chucks, yo).

Mickey Mouse (he went all Yoda in Kingdom Hearts, so there we are).

[Scatman]

Link from The Legend of Zelda. Every single incarnation of him runs through dungeons killing beasts and god-like beings.

Ike from Fire Emblem. The guy uses a two-handed sword with just one hand.

[Behold_the_Void]

How about Musashi he was one of the best swordsmen of all time

Musashi's come up a lot, and while I recall him being good, wasn't a large part of that due to his general dishonorable conduct and rigging fights in his favor?

[Zaphrasz]

Link from The Legend of Zelda. Every single incarnation of him runs through dungeons killing beasts and god-like beings. That's mostly because he always has the correct gadget that he needs at the right time. He is sort of the Batman of Nintendo.

Ike from Fire Emblem. The guy uses a two-handed sword with just one hand.So, the guy who doesn't even know how to properly hold his sword gets on the list of top swordsmen?

How about Chakan from the old Sega Genesis game and comic book? The guy was so good that he challenged Death to a duel. And he won. With swords.

[Quorothorn]

Ike from Fire Emblem. The guy uses a two-handed sword with just one hand.

True, but Sora from KH can jump five feet straight up: some worlds just work under different rules, and from what I know (which is admittedly little) of FE, it fits into worlds where people using overly large weaponry without apparent difficulty is commonplace.

[Athaniar]

If it hasn't been already said before then Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. That man just doesn't know how and when to die. Seriously, it took a lot to kill that man, even though he isn't a fighter he still would probably make his enemies kill themselves from frustration before he died.

Emphasis mine. This thread is about skilled swordsmen. Did Grigori Rasputin ever use a sword? Not that I can remember. The prerequisite for being a swordsman is not that you are tough to kill or can frustrate enemies to death. It is that you use a sword. Let this serve as a reminder for the rest of you: swordsmen kill with swords, not axes, daggers, or frustration. While Rasputin did get a cool song written about him, a swordsman he was not. As far as I know, that is. He might actually have been a master samurai wielding double two-bladed katanas of fiery doom and thunder using ancient martial arts and eldritch magic, but if he was, I've certainly never head of it.

[Jansviper]

Because I am ridiculously surprised no one has delved into the L5Rverse yet, I'd like to Mirumoto (http://l5r.wikia.com/wiki/Mirumoto). Widely considered the best swordsman in Rokugan, a setting completely dedicated to swordsmen.

In more recent years, Bayushi Shoju (http://l5r.wikia.com/wiki/Bayushi_Shoju), who (despite being lame in his right arm) was the best swordsman of the age. The wiki really doesn't do him justice. -.-

As for the whole Star Wars bit... Anyone that says Anakin, Vader, or anyone else was better than good old Luke Skywalker hasn't been reading the EU. While ending the Vong War (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Luke_Skywalker#Ending_the_war) as a Grand Master, Luke essentially transcends the boundaries of normal Jedi and unifies with the Force to become nigh ****ing unstoppable. The fact that the Vong and their actions can't be sensed through the Force made this fight even harder, and he still managed to pull out a win (though just barely).

[John Campbell]

Musashi's come up a lot, and while I recall him being good, wasn't a large part of that due to his general dishonorable conduct and rigging fights in his favor?

Not quite my period or region, but as I recall, those accusations were based on him being more concerned about effectiveness than formal tradition, and him not showing proper respect to his opponent when he, e.g., killed him with a makeshift bokken he'd carved out of an oar instead of honoring him by fighting with an actual katana.

[Quorothorn]

As for the whole Star Wars bit... Anyone that says Anakin, Vader, or anyone else was better than good old Luke Skywalker hasn't been reading the EU. While ending the Vong War (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Luke_Skywalker#Ending_the_war) as a Grand Master, Luke essentially transcends the boundaries of normal Jedi and unifies with the Force to become nigh ****ing unstoppable. The fact that the Vong and their actions can't be sensed through the Force made this fight even harder, and he still managed to pull out a win (though just barely).

*WARNING: biased rant incoming!*

Maybe because the post-movie EU just isn't very good much of the time. And Luke's not the only one to pull the unify-with-the-Force gambit in the NJO series: Ganner Rhysode, Anakin Solo and Jacen Solo did it, too. Luke's true distinction is he didn't die or turn evil afterwords. Besides, Vader or Sidious could've taken the Vong.

You know what the EU's problem is, actually? It's not selective. Practically EVERYTHING is considered in-continuity, and they don't seem to really filter any concepts. Thus, the EU obeys Sturgeon's Law. Then you try to take three decades of works of vastly varying quality, created by dozens of different people (with very different viewpoints) in every existing media (which all do things differently), and try to claim that they can all be fit together in a coherent whole. It doesn't work.

[Kranden]

Musashi's come up a lot, and while I recall him being good, wasn't a large part of that due to his general dishonorable conduct and rigging fights in his favor?

its not how you fight, its who's not dead at the end of the day that counts.

[Neithan]

This thread is also missing The Bride (and probably the rest of the gang as well).

And of course Yojimbo, but I think that wasn't actually his name.
Anyone mentioned Zatoichi?

[DeathWalker]

I'd say Arutha Con Doin from the Rift series, and his son Nicolas, who is known to be at least as talented as his father. Also I'll add Bane from the David Gemmell's ''midnight Falcon'', and Rage, who was his teacher to be a gladiator...

[Jack_Banzai]

Groo the Wanderer.