By: Ciaran Duggan
The
most anticipated annual Star Wars character tournament has reached
its climax. Thirty two belligerents entered the tournament at it’s
inauguration on March 11
2014, yet only one has managed to claim victory. Obi Wan Kenobi has
been proudly emerged as the victor of This is
Madness 2014.
The
road to victory had been tough for the Jedi Master. It seemed Obi Wan
was both arrogant and almost crazy, when he first declared “I am
more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” Owen Lars, uncle to
Luke Skywalker, certainly didn’t agree with Obi Wan’s statement,
when he struck back at the Jedi Master, labelling him as “just a
crazy old hermit”, nevertheless Obi Wan prevailed against all
challengers, starting with Luke Skywalker.
Obi
Wan’s inaugural duel was against Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker. Luke
Skywalker was dealt a heavy blow by his former tutor and the battle
concluded with a significant victory of 65% of the public vote in
favour of Obi Wan Kenobi. If only Luke had kept his mind on where he
was now, instead of looking into his fantasised future of himself
standing on the glorified, This is Madness
winner’s podium. Master Yoda would not have been impressed.
His
second battle against Master Yoda was unquestionably the toughest of
Obi Wan’s campaign. Yoda was undoubtedly the bookies favourite, as
last year’s victor in this tournament. To distinguish between the
two Jedi Masters was extremely difficult and the public vote was
split down the middle, but whilst Obi Wan claims “there is no such
thing as luck”, he may well have received some, as he managed to
win through the slightest of margins, gaining 51% of the vote. Obi
Wan having defeated, arguably, the most powerful and eldest of the
Jedi Order, Kenobi was evolving into a vivid favourite of the
tournament.
Obi Wan
then managed to surpass the likes of R2-D2 (73% - 27%) and even the
scruffy nerf herder that is Han Solo (63% - 37%). Han Solo was
bitterly disappointed to miss out on the final of the tournament and
it was clear that his break up with Princess Leia Organa was having a
huge impact on his work, his head was not in the right place.
Post-match interviews after the battle were extremely heated. All
questions relating to the divorce were shunned immediately, along
with questions asking whether Han shot Greedo first.
The
climatic duel between Obi Wan Kenobi and his former apprentice, Darth
Vader, lived up to expectations and deserved the epithet of the Duel
of the Fates. The duel was epic in all
proportions. Obi Wan gained the upper hand at the start, but when
Vader force choked Obi Wan it looked as though defeat for Master
Kenobi was certain. Obi Wan managed to regain composure and swiftly
struck a devastating blow to Vader’s mechanical suit. Obi Wan
proved that Vader still had much to learn, as Master Kenobi received
59% of the public vote; an outstanding achievement in such a
difficult and arduous campaign.
In
conclusion, This is Madness 2014
has been a thrilling and engaging tournament for the Star Wars fans
and in my mind Obi Wan is the deserved winner. Master Kenobi faced a
number of major icons in the Star Wars universe, namely Luke
Skywalker, Yoda, R2-D2, Han Solo and Darth Vader. Obi Wan can stake
the claim that (in 2014) he is more powerful than we can possibly
imagine, but will he remain so in 2015? The future maybe uncertain,
but there is doubting that the force is certainly strong with Master
Kenobi this year.
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