Anakin was the prophesied Chosen One, destined to bring balance to the Force. It seemed that Qui-Gon’s suspicions were confirmed when he tested Anakin’s blood for microscopic life forms known as midi-chlorians, and the test revealed an unusually high M-count.

Midi-chlorians were a new addition to Star Wars lore, changing our understanding of the Force and what it means to be a Jedi forever. Recently published in the U.K. (the book will be released in the U.S. on June 17), Star Wars: The Acolyte Visual Guide by Pablo Hidalgo states, “these microbial symbionts inhabit the cells of all living beings and are a reliable marker for potential. Greater concentrations indicate greater sensitivity to the Force.” The keyword there, however, is “potential.” Did Anakin ever truly live up to his?

The M-Count Indicates A Jedi Candidate's Potential

As the Force binds the galaxy together, it makes sense that midi-chlorians are found in every living being. All creatures, people, and other life forms are connected by the Force, and the Force “speaks” through the midi-chlorians, allowing certain individuals with a higher M-count to tap into its power. The higher the M-count, the bigger their potential. That doesn’t mean they’re inherently more powerful than other Jedi, though. It simply means a Jedi candidate with a high M-count has a chance to become more powerful than their peers.

Potential can be wasted, after all. Some people never live up to it. As multiple Star Wars stories have shown, using the Force is like using a muscle – the more you train, the stronger you become. If you let your connection falter, you can become less powerful, too.

Anakin Had A Higher M-Count Than Yoda - Meaning He Had More Potential

Famously, Anakin’s midi-chlorian count was the highest ever recorded in Jedi history. As confirmed in Star Wars: Jedi Master #1, a canon magazine connected to the franchise, the average Force-sensitive being is believed to have an M-count of 5,000, which means that they have 5,000 midi-chlorians for each cell in their body. Anakin’s M-count was a staggering 20,000. As is mentioned in The Phantom Menace, Anakin’s M-count was higher even than Grand Master Yoda’s, though the film never specifies by how much.

Anakin’s higher midi-chlorian count didn't necessarily make him more powerful than Yoda, however. Again, it all comes back to potential. Yoda undoubtedly fulfilled his. He’d trained for centuries and mastered Jedi abilities and disciplines that Anakin never even explored, much less applied. In the Star Wars prequels, for example, Yoda was able to deflect Count Dooku’s and Emperor Palpatine’s Force lightning with his hands. That’s not a technique Anakin ever mastered.

As is mentioned in The Phantom Menace, Anakin’s M-count was higher even than Grand Master Yoda’s, though the film never specifies by how much.

Of course, one could argue that being able to use certain powers doesn’t make one Jedi inherently more powerful than another, either. While that’s true, to an extent, I find it hard to believe that Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith era Anakin, when he was at his strongest as a Jedi, would have been able to defeat Grand Master Yoda. He wasn’t even able to defeat Obi-Wan Kenobi when fueled by hatred and the dark side.

Anakin stopped being a Jedi the moment he cut off Mace Windu’s arm in defense of Palpatine, so was he ever truly the most powerful Jedi of all time? No. He could have been, one day, given the potential made possible by his M-count, if he hadn’t fallen to the dark side and lost his duel to Obi-Wan on Mustafar.

I Don't Think Anakin Ever Fulfilled His True Potential

Anakin never fulfilled his true potential as a Jedi. There’s no denying he lacked focus. Though Anakin had many great qualities as a Jedi, including his capacity for comion, he was also arrogant, impatient, and reckless. He was blinded by his love for Pé Amidala, overwhelmed by grief for his mother, and torn between his relationships with Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his duty to the Jedi Order. Anakin’s connection to the Force may have been stronger than average, but he was nowhere close to being the Jedi he could have one day become.

If he’d been able to overcome all those obstacles, if he’d chosen to remain a Jedi, Anakin may one day have fulfilled his true, astounding potential. Sadly, though, after his near-death experience on Mustafar, Anakin’s potential was diminished even further. According to George Lucas (via Vanity Fair), Anakin’s injuries altered his potential and his power.

“Anakin, as Skywalker, as a human being, was going to be extremely powerful,” he says. “But he ended up losing his arms and a leg and became partly a robot. So a lot of his ability to use the Force, a lot of his powers, are curbed at this point, because, as a living form, there’s not that much of him left. So his ability to be twice as good as the Emperor disappeared, and now he’s maybe 20 percent less than the Emperor.”

If a person’s midi-chlorian count grants that individual their level of potential Force-sensitivity, and midi-chlorians are found in a living being's cells, it makes sense, in a twisted way, that Anakin’s potential would be impacted. After Obi-Wan cut off his limbs, Anakin became more machine than man. That must have affected his connection to the Force. Darth Vader was still undeniably powerful, but as it turns out, Anakin Skywalker was his own worst enemy.