Best starpilot in the galaxy? Cunning warrior?

[JMK]

These are words Obi Wan used to describe Anakin to Luke. Either he was trying to make Luke proud of his old man so that he could grow up just like him, or he was telling the truth.

Assuming he was telling the truth, do you think those compliments are justified? Yes, we've seen him win a podrace which is a form of piloting. He did SURVIVE the battle of Naboo, not fight in it. He beat up on those lousy Geonosian warriors and battle droids without a problem. But he did get his rear handed to him by Dooku (or in this case, his right arm). Of course, we did miss 10 years of Anakin's life, and the time that will elapse between AotC and Episode 3. But so far, IMO, I haven't seen Anakin do anything really out of the ordinary to get such high praise from Obi Wan. Infact, at this stage, I'd say Obi Wan was the better warrior/pilot for taking down Maul, just as many droids AND flying through and asteroid field with the slickest bounty hunter in the universe trying to blow him away. I do hope we get to see Anakin do something truly worthy of those high remarks before he turns to Darth Vader or I may be inclined to write an EU novel. ;)

[Jedieb]

Maybe we'll get to see some more fancy piloting from Anakin in EP3. We have seen quite a bit already; podracing & the naboo fighter in TPM and the speeder chase in AOTC. But I think it would be great to see him behind the controls of a Jedi Starfighter and wrecking havoc on a Seperatist squadron.

[ReaperFett]

I havent seen him be a good friend to Obi really yet either.

[darth_mcbain]

Yeah, he is still kind of a punk kid... Obviously very talented, but I don't know if it quite merits the descriptiopn that Obi-Wan gives Luke. Two things I can think of are (1) the effect of elapsed time has somehow magnified Anakin's accomplishments, and (2) maybe Obi-Wan is just trying to build up Anakin in Luke's mind as JMK suggested...

But supposedly Anakin rescued Obi-Wan from a nest of Gundarks, maybe Anakin showed some cunning in that battle... :huh

[JMK]

I was thinking about adding that too. But Anakin did go to Geonosis to rescue him. Would anything but a friend do that? Yes, it was Padme's decision to go get him, but Anakin did not put up a fight whatsoever. Regardless, Obi Wan didn't know whose choice it was to go rescue him, so in his mind, Anakin was being a friend and trying to save him. This is only one instance for sure, but it does indicate some form of loyalty/friendship.

[Doc Milo]

On Best Starfighter:

I don't think we can dismiss that ten years between TPM and AotC. Obi-Wan has been with Anakin, has known Anakin, a lot longer than we have. Anakin could have proven himself as the best starfighter in the galaxy to Obi-Wan within that ten year timeframe. We don't necessarily have to see it to believe it. His piloting skills are referred to a lot, and his cockiness that we see in the Coruscant chase, and the way Obi-Wan and him interact in that scene tells a lot about previous adventures where Obi-Wan has seen Anakin's piloting skills.

On "cunning warrior" :

It might be a little difficult to make the same claim with this as with above, since we don't know if in that ten years Anakin and Obi-Wan were in enough situations to show Anakin's "cunning warrior" traits. Of course, we do still have Episode III left -- and we have seen his exploits in the battle arena. Sure, he didn't fare well against Dooku. But he did fare well in the arena battle.

On "a good friend" :

I think enough evidence exists in AotC to hint at their relationship as one of "father and son" but also one of friendship. In fact, in such relationships where the father and son are also friends, oftentimes the attitude that Anakin has pops up. And oftentimes the attitude that Obi-Wan has pops up. It comes from their being a softening of the line of authority. Anakin gets snotty when Obi-Wan expresses his authority, and Obi-Wan gets frustrated when Anakin doesn't heed his advice, or listen to him, or ignores his authority.

Plus, we can see the warmth each of them feels for the other in a few different scenes throughout AotC. I think enough is in this film to justify hint at a relationship where they would consider each other good friends.