Wanring! Potential spoilers for Tales of the Jedi ahead.Tales of the Jedi becomes the latest Star Wars project to flesh out Qui-Gon Jinn, with the animated show proving that Star Wars knows he is the best Jedi. Lucas created Qui-Gon as the master of Obi-Wan Kenobi and he was introduced in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace with Liam Neeson playing him. Qui-Gon was recently brought back in Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+ and has once again appeared in Star Wars' animated universe in Tales of the Jedi.
Tales of the Jedi is a collection of six shorts, with three of those depicting Count Dooku's fall to the dark side, which explains Qui-Gon's appearance as he was Dooku's Padawan. At one point throughout the shorts focusing on Dooku, he states that Qui-Gon Jinn is a wiser Jedi than he is. This proves that the writers behind Star Wars, more specifically Dave Filoni in the case of Tales of the Jedi, are aware of Qui-Gon's value as a Jedi. However, Qui-Gon being one of the best Jedi in the franchise has much more evidence than Dooku's line, with the rest of the show and franchise as a whole portraying Qui-Gon's skill in combat, knowledge of the Force, and constant awareness of the perfect ideals of a Jedi Knight.
Qui-Gon Jinn Understood The Force Better Than Most Jedi
Many of the Jedi, especially during the waning days of the Republic, became dogmatic in their beliefs about the Force. Many lost sight of what the Force was, and simply viewed it through the lens of light and dark. Qui-Gon reveals throughout his Star Wars appearances that he understands the Force on a much deeper level than this. In the scene in The Phantom Menace when Qui-Gon is explaining midi-chlorians to young Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon mentions that they live within all living beings and that without them no one would have any knowledge of the Force. Qui-Gon acknowledges that the Force belongs to every living creature, as opposed to being separated by light and dark, and understands that it is a universal power not controlled solely by the Jedi.
Qui-Gon is shown to have a much deeper knowledge of the cosmic Force than every other Jedi. Qui-Gon Jinn was the first to become a Force ghost, even teaching Jedi Grand Master Yoda how to do the same in the last arc of the incomplete Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 6. In this arc, Qui-Gon demonstrates a knowledge of the Force that is rarely shown in Star Wars, explaining to Yoda the difference between the living Force and the cosmic Force. On top of this, Qui-Gon's Force ghost also appeared on Mortis, and it was he who explained to Obi-Wan the nature of Mortis being a conduit through which all the Force in the universe flows. All of this proves that Qui-Gon had a wider knowledge of the Force than arguably every single Jedi, with Star Wars reaffirming this through Dooku's comments on Qui-Gon's wisdom in Tales of the Jedi.
Qui-Gon Jinn Represented The Ideals The Jedi Forgot About
One other way in which Qui-Gon Jinn remains one of the very best of the Jedi is through his ideals. Qui-Gon was introduced during the final days of the Republic, meaning his Jedi training was taking place when the Qui-Gon training Anakin Skywalker, despite the Council warning him against it and his Padawan Obi-Wan. Anakin eventually brings balance to the Force, proving that Qui-Gon sticking to his ideals when the other Jedi lived in fear of the dark side (something they are not supposed to do) led to balance in the galaxy in the long run.
Qui-Gon Jinn Was Also A Skilled Jedi Warrior
While Qui-Gon's wisdom and knowledge of the Force are all excellent reasons why he is one of Star Wars' best Jedi, he is also a very capable warrior. As shown in Tales of the Jedi, Qui-Gon was once Dooku's apprentice. In the wider Star Wars universe, Dooku is often considered one of the best duelists, as exemplified by his stalemate with Yoda in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Dooku's skill with a lightsaber is near unmatchable, and he was the one to train Qui-Gon in everything he knew. Naturally, Qui-Gon must also be one of the strongest warriors of the Jedi Order.
This is evident by the fact that it was Qui-Gon who was sent to negotiate with Nute Gunray at the onset of The Phantom Menace. While unbeknownst to the Jedi at that time, Gunray and his army were funded by Sidious directly, with Sidious wanting to kill Qui-Gon due to the latter's renown. Qui-Gon then continued to show his prowess as a warrior at the end of The Phantom Menace during his battle with Darth Maul. Despite eventually being killed by Maul, Qui-Gon battled him to almost a stalemate before this. Also, at multiple points throughout the fight, Qui-Gon was required to face Maul one-on-one until Obi-Wan could provide aid before eventually killing Maul by cutting him in half. With Maul's skill also being highly praised, Qui-Gon more than proved his valor in battle.
All of these elements are only confounded by Tales of the Jedi, which focuses on the majority of these aspects in some way. The second episode, for example, features Qui-Gon and Dooku attempting to ease a hostage situation. During this short, Dooku and Qui-Gon realize that the Republic Senate has been neglecting its people, and look to set things right by confronting the Senator of the planet. This sequence showcases both Qui-Gon's crystal clear ideals, going against the Senate and arguably the Council in order to fight for the justice of the people of the galaxy. A fight scene is then shown as well, with Qui-Gon employing his lightsaber skills to defend the people in need. All of this is then backed up by Dooku stating just how wise Qui-Gon is, proving that Tales of the Jedi is fully aware of Qui-Gon Jinn's status as one of the very best the Jedi Order has to offer.