Who is the best fictional swordsman of all time?

[V4Viewtiful]

This is a really hard question because there's so many out there and for any reasons, do you go by skill, accomplishments, philosophy strength, sword?
I mean you could go for Kenshin, Guts Zorro (one piece and espanic), Samurai Jack, Jubei, Link, Ike, Ichigo, King Aurther and on and on and on.

 

[Breakdown]

Ned Stark. He beat Ser Arthur Dayne. He maybe had some help though.

He himself said he would have died if not for Howland Reed. The fight was 6 vs. 3 in favour of Ned. Only Ned and Howland survived. Ned may be one of the most honourable and beloved characters, but he is certainly nowhere near the best swordsman. It's hard to say who the best from that series would be. To give you an idea though, Ser Barristan himself (probably one of the best) says that there is no such thing as a knight without peer. There are many greats in ASOIAF, but I wouldn't count Ned among them even though he's one of my favourite characters.

You'd have to be pretty skillful to be one of the only two survivors of that fight though, and Ned wasn't the sort of guy who'd hang around at the back and let his men do all the fighting.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Ned Stark. He beat Ser Arthur Dayne. He maybe had some help though.

He himself said he would have died if not for Howland Reed. The fight was 6 vs. 3 in favour of Ned. Only Ned and Howland survived. Ned may be one of the most honourable and beloved characters, but he is certainly nowhere near the best swordsman. It's hard to say who the best from that series would be. To give you an idea though, Ser Barristan himself (probably one of the best) says that there is no such thing as a knight without peer. There are many greats in ASOIAF, but I wouldn't count Ned among them even though he's one of my favourite characters.

You'd have to be pretty skillful to be one of the only two survivors of that fight though, and Ned wasn't the sort of guy who'd hang around at the back and let his men do all the fighting.

Oh absolutely. I'm not saying that Ned isn't skilled, I just don't think he's among the greats of the series: The Cleganes, Jaime, Barristan, Arthur, Brienne, Robert Baratheon, Khal Drogo, Knight of Flowers, The Viper, some of the more talented Wildlings, Victarion, probably a bunch of others. Granted not all of those people are swordsmen, but you get my point. Ned was great for other reasons while still being an accomplished fighter.

Edit: then again, he did seem to be doing fairly well in his short bout against Jaime. Maybe he's better than he lets on. Still, I don't think Jaime intended to kill him in that fight. If he did, he probably would have.

 

[T8B95]

Ned Stark. He beat Ser Arthur Dayne. He maybe had some help though.

He himself said he would have died if not for Howland Reed. The fight was 6 vs. 3 in favour of Ned. Only Ned and Howland survived. Ned may be one of the most honourable and beloved characters, but he is certainly nowhere near the best swordsman. It's hard to say who the best from that series would be. To give you an idea though, Ser Barristan himself (probably one of the best) says that there is no such thing as a knight without peer. There are many greats in ASOIAF, but I wouldn't count Ned among them even though he's one of my favourite characters.

You'd have to be pretty skillful to be one of the only two survivors of that fight though, and Ned wasn't the sort of guy who'd hang around at the back and let his men do all the fighting.

Yeah, it's pretty much stated straight-up that Ned's not even in the running for best swordsmen in A Song Of Ice and Fire. His brother Brandon was supposedly much better, and in their younger days both Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen could beat both of them. With that in mind, my personal pick for best fighter in ASOIF is Sandor Clegane. Jaime Lannister himself says that at his peak he would have considered the Hound a match for him, and Sandor is one of two people who manage to go toe-to-toe with his brother and have it be an even fight.

 

[Breakdown]

Is Jamie Lannister that good though? He think's he's great, but the other characters don't seem that impressed with him. He spent most of his life as a glorified guard. And Sandor Clegane struggled to beat 2 of his brother's soldiers.

On reflection, I'd probably say Barristan Selmy was the best swordsman in terms of sheer skill, with Robert Baratheon (in his prime) as the best overall warrior.

 

[Fox12]

This doesn't seem a bad choice:

Galahad. I actually had to look him up when he beat evil Lancelot in "The Librarians". Actually, in the original Arthurian tales, Lancelot was kind of a tool. Galahad was cool. He is thought to be a gift to humanity as the greatest knight, but his real claim to fame seems not to be his skill with a sword but his purity, leading him to find the holy grail.

You could do this whole thread with a different question that would be very, very hard to answer: who is the greatest swordsman of Game of Thrones, taking into account their best years may NOT coincide with their nearest competition.

Not sure how I'd answer. Jamie Lannister, with his hand gets a big vote. But he sees in the Knight of Flowers, himself in his youth.

King arthur?

Arthur was supposed to be very, very good but due to the power of Excalibur. There have been many versions of the tales and typically, Lancelot was better. After some searching after seeing that episode of "the Librarians", arguably, the legend has it that Lancelot's son Galahad was even better. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galahad

Was Galahad better then Lancelot? I didn't know that. He's certainly more likable, no one cares for Lancelot. At best he's portrayed as a tragic hero who redeems himself, and at his worst he's basically a raging douche bag that steals his best friends wife.

As for Game of Thrones, yeah, I don't know. The problem with Game of Thrones is that Martin never focuses on action, instead worrying about characterization and politics. This isn't bad, in fact it's one of the things I like about him. In a vs thread, though, it's somewhat of a mute point, since we never see what these people can do. Everyone makes a big deal out of Jaime, for instance, but for the most part we're just told how great he is, we never get to really see him do anything impressive. Now we never will. I've heard people say he could take Aragorn, for instance, but we haven't seen anything that would even suggest that. In universe, I'd say Khal Drogo. I'm pretty sure he could take Jaime at his best. Alternatively, Barristan could possibly win in his prime, but, again, we never get to really see that.

 

[Azure-Supernova]

Another vote for Guts I think. It's juts the raw power behind him.

Is Jamie Lannister that good though? He think's he's great, but the other characters don't seem that impressed with him. He spent most of his life as a glorified guard. And Sandor Clegane struggled to beat 2 of his brother's soldiers.

On reflection, I'd probably say Barristan Selmy was the best swordsman in terms of sheer skill, with Robert Baratheon (in his prime) as the best overall warrior.

Yeah, Jaime is a pretty impressive fighter. When Brienne has him clapped in irons and they have their little bout, he still manages to do pretty well against Brienne and this is after being locked up and starved by the Starks, as well as being a little out of practice. Jaime is Barristan in his prime.

 

[gorfias]

Was Galahad better then Lancelot? I didn't know that. He's certainly more likable, no one cares for Lancelot. At best he's portrayed as a tragic hero who redeems himself, and at his worst he's basically a raging douche bag that steals his best friends wife.

I loved the movie "Excalibur" that treats him as torn. In the original, he was sort of a vehicle for male fantasies, schtupping the boss's lady. Appears it was OK to schtupp the queen, just be discreet: Arthur is supposed to be older than either Lancelot or Guenevere. In the movie, Lancelot can barely bring himself to beat up Liam Neeson. In the book? Both lovers happily kill the accuser (who is telling the truth!)

But if real power comes from purity of spirit, Lancelot is a tool. Galahad a gift to the world, the best Knight who finds the grail and is given the gift of choosing his own time to die and ascend to Heaven (In the story, pretty immediately, but might explain why he is old and alive in The Librarians: didn't make the same choice in that continuity).

As for Game of Thrones, yeah, I don't know. The problem with Game of Thrones is that Martin never focuses on action, instead worrying about characterization and politics. This isn't bad, in fact it's one of the things I like about him. In a vs thread, though, it's somewhat of a mute point, since we never see what these people can do. Everyone makes a big deal out of Jaime, for instance, but for the most part we're just told how great he is, we never get to really see him do anything impressive. Now we never will. I've heard people say he could take Aragorn, for instance, but we haven't seen anything that would even suggest that. In universe, I'd say Khal Drogo. I'm pretty sure he could take Jaime at his best. Alternatively, Barristan could possibly win in his prime, but, again, we never get to really see that.

At their prime? Robert Baratheon is supposed to have been a monstrous warrior. Barristan is an interesting character. Rather than naturally powerful, through will he acquired the skills to become the most respected Knight in Westeros. Khal Drogo? That's a good one! Almost like there could be great face-offs. I'd certainly like to have seen him fight Daario Naharis. Barristan vs. Syrio Forel etc.

 

[meowchef]

It's got to be Luke Skywalker doesn't it?

 

[Belaam]

Drizzt Du'Urden, Samurai Jack, or Lan Mandragoran

Drizzt is non-human, but per D&D stats, not inhumanly fast or strong.

Jack is pretty straightforward, though he does have the magic sword. However, there's clearly either some magic going on or wildly incompetent foes given the inability of anyone to just shoot him.

I went with Lan over Rand because by the time Rand can beat him, the flame and the void are trying Rand into magic awareness via the power and he's picking up memories of past lives. Using multiple lifetimes of training seems like cheating. Lan is just straight up talent, training and will.

So, I guess Lan overall.

 

[RevRaptor]

I'll pick Manji from blade of the immortal, pre gaining immortally.
Before he became immortal he was an unstoppable outlaw, I'd even say before getting cursed with immortally he was a much better swordsman as he got kinda careless when he couldn't die.

 

[ryukage_sama]

Hmmm . . . can the sword be wielded by a giant robot?

 

[Flames66]

I reckon this chap is best:

Spoiler: Duncan MacLeod

Spoiler: of the clan MacLeod

Spoiler: Best swordsman in history

So-and-so MacLeod of the clan MacLeod. There can be only one. And it's Connor. Erm... Duncan. Yes. Duncan.

Nice to meet a fellow Highlander fan. It's a shame there can be only one. *draws sword*

 

[Blitsie]

Well there's Sakata Gintoki

Spoiler: Sakata Gintoki

Overall one extremely lazy, deadbeat samurai who has about as much motivation for productivity as he has money (note: he's dead broke, always.). On a first impression basis, one would think he's not capable of much at all, since he has a tendency to flee from fights and spends 80% of his time lazing on his couch reading manga, but damned is he far from that. Once known as the White Demon back in his war days, he is amazingly skilled with a sword and can oft do more damage with his wooden one (which he always carries) than most can with a real sword.

Most notable fight was against an alien man which is noted across the universe as one of the strongest (if not the strongest) men alive. While he brandished a second proper sword, Gintoki still decided it was a smart idea to attack this guy with a freaking wooden sword and managed to beat the ever living crap out of him with it, Gintoki, a normal human, whacked the shit out of the strongest freaking alien known across the universe, with a damned wooden sword. Granted Gin got wrecked properly though but damn, it was quite the spectacle.

Also he's pretty damn good with a lot of weapons overall

Spoiler: Video Proof

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

As far as non-magic fiction characters go, I'd give my vote to Strider Hiryu. The guys' already at, or beyond, peak human performance and conditioning, not to mention all of his non-magical gadgetry, his minions AND his plasma sword. The guy is pretty much a ninja-esque Batman...and we all know what Batman can be like.

However, I'd still like to think that, if magic were allowed, it'd be a toss up between Dante, Vergil and Alucard of Castlevania fame, for me at least. I dunno if it's just me, but when you cross demon and human genes, and those genes come from legendary fathers...something insanely awesome usually happens.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Given that I'm halfway through reading Game of Thrones I'm inclined to say Syrio Forel. Thoros of Myr does have a flaming fucking sword though, so he might win purely out of rule of cool, although Syrio is pretty damn cool all by himself.

Boy, girl, You are a sword, that is all

Just wait. Syrio is a punk compared to a lot of the Thrones characters.

 

[Phil the Nervous]

Havelock Vetinari. He's a completely normal 40-50 year old patrician who runs the most dangerous and violent city in the world and never loses a fight. Plus he's awesome.

 

[WinterSoul]

Maybe Duncan MacLeod?))))) from movie and from the series.

 

[Breakdown]

Achilles in the Illiad, before he gets the River Styx forcefield buff in later versions of the Trojan War.