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Mace Windu

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"Windu" redirects here. For the cycle of 8 lunar years, see Javanese calendar.
Mace Windu
Star Wars character
Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu.
First appearanceStar Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Last appearanceStar Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Created byGeorge Lucas
Portrayed bySamuel L. Jackson
Voiced byKevin Michael Richardson (Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles, Star Wars: Obi-Wan and Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter)
Terrence C. Carson (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2002 video game), Star Wars: Clone Wars, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (video game), Star Wars: Battlefront II, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV series), Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes, Kinect Star Wars and Disney Infinity 3.0)
Samuel L. Jackson (Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film))
Adrian Holmes (Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles and Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales)
In-universe information
SpeciesHuman
Genderunknown
OccupationJedi Master, Jedi Council Member, High Jedi General, Master of the High Council
AffiliationGalactic Republic
HomeworldHaruun Kal

Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, portrayed by actor Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel films and voiced by voice-actor Terrence C. Carson in other projects. He appears as Master of the High Council and one of the last members of the order's upper echelons before the Galactic Republic's fall, he is the Council's primary liaison but the Clone Wars caused him to question his most firmly held beliefs.[1]

Character conception and overview

Several early incarnations of the character have been developed in the original Star Wars drafts as the narrator,[2] Princess Leia's brother and Luke Skywalker's friend.[3] Through the process of redrafting and copyediting, his character was removed from the original trilogy (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) but was reintroduced in 1994 when series creator George Lucas began writing the prequel trilogy.

According to an interview on the Late Show with David Letterman on May 13, 2005, the character's purple lightsaber was a personal request from Jackson to Lucas as a quid pro quo for appearing in the films, as well as a way of making the character unique and easily distinguishable.[4]

Appearances

Film

Introduced in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Windu appears as the Master of the Jedi High Council.[1] Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn offers to train Anakin Skywalker, saying that the boy is the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy, but Windu and the other Council members decline Qui-Gon's offer to train him. After the Trade Federation is defeated, and Darth Maul is apparently slain in a duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Windu realizes that the Sith have returned, and he and the Council reluctantly allow Obi-Wan to train Anakin in Qui-Gon's stead.[5]

In Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones Windu realizes that the assassination attempt on Padme Amidala on Coruscant was authorized by Count Dooku. Having learned of Obi-Wan's whereabouts on Geonosis, Windu arrives to save Obi-Wan, Padme and Anakin from their death sentence in the stadium and kills the bounty hunter Jango Fett. With his fellow Jedi and the clone army for the Galactic Republic attacking the planet, Dooku flees.[6]

In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Windu and the other members of the Jedi Council are concerned that Palpatine may not relinquish his emergency powers when the Clone Wars end. Their suspicions only grow when the Senate grants Palpatine a vote on the Jedi Council by appointing Anakin a personal representative. While they grant him a seat, the Council declines Anakin the rank of Jedi Master, and orders him to monitor Palpatine. After Obi-Wan kills General Grievous, Anakin informs Windu of Palpatine's true identity as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Acting swiftly on this revelation, Windu and three other Jedi Masters attempt to arrest him, but Palpatine mercilessly kills Windu's companions and fights the Jedi Master. Windu subdues Palpatine by knocking away his lightsaber and deflecting the Sith Lord's Force lightning back into his face just as Anakin arrives. Over Anakin's objections not to kill Palpatine, Windu assures him that Palpatine has control of both the Senate and the courts and that he must be killed. However, Anakin intervenes on Palpatine's behalf, severing Windu's lightsaber arm and leaving him helpless. Palpatine then uses his Force lightning to kill Windu.[7][8]

In his fourth film appearance in the film Star Wars: The Clone Wars Mace Windu has a supporting role.

Television

The Clone Wars

2003 series

Mace Windu is a supporting character in Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series, which is set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The character's likeness in the series is based on that in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. In the first chapters, he defends the grasslands planet Dantooine against a large hovering "fortress", and over the course, he loses his lightsaber, forcing him to instead use a lethal form of unarmed combat powered by the Force. In final chapters, he and fellow Jedi Master Yoda help defend the planet Coruscant from an attack by General Grievous. In the midst of the battle, he realizes that the attack is a ruse to distract the Jedi from Grievous's true objective: to "kidnap" Palpatine. Despite being too late to save the Supreme Chancellor, the Jedi Master uses the Force to crush Grievous's chest, inflicting upon the cyborg general a wheezing, asthmatic cough, setting the stage for Revenge of the Sith.

2008 series

In Star Wars: The Clone Wars (set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), Mace Windu has a supporting role.

Expanded universe

Windu appears extensively in the Star Wars expanded universe of novels and comic books.

Windu is the central character of Matthew Stover's novel Shatterpoint, in which he is called to his home planet of Haruun Kal to defeat his former apprentice Depa Billaba who has turned to the dark side of the Force. The novel establishes that Windu has the unique talent of seeing "shatterpoints", or faultlines in the Force that could affect the destinies of certain individuals and indeed the galaxy itself. Mace's "shatterpoint" ability also enables him to see people's weaknesses, allowing him to exploit their flaws and defeat them. It also explains that Windu is the creator and sole master of a style of lightsaber combat called Vaapad (Form VII), in which the user skirts dangerously close to the dark side — without giving into it — by actually enjoying the fight and the thrill of victory. All others who attempted to master the form either gave in to the dark side or were unable to properly master the technique. Stover also referenced these abilities in his Revenge of the Sith novelization. It was said that without his unique style only Yoda and Dooku could match him. However, with the use of Vaapad he was the greatest swordsman of his time, able to defeat Darth Sidious in lightsaber combat which even Yoda could not achieve. He was also able to overwhelm Dooku in lightsaber combat during the battle of Boz Pity which took place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

Besides Shatterpoint, Windu has appeared in other Expanded Universe novels, such as Cloak of Deception, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, Rogue Planet, Outbound Flight, The Cestus Deception, Jedi Trial, Yoda: Dark Rendezvous and Labyrinth of Evil. It has been announced that Pierce Brosnan will be playing Mace Windu for the newest movie.

Star Wars Transformers

A Mace Windu action figure was added to the Star Wars Transformers toy line in 2006. It was a remold of the toy first used for Obi-Wan Kenobi. He becomes an Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor starfighter with Astromech droid R4-M6.

Reception

IGN reported Mace Windu as the 27th top Star Wars character, stating that he is an important component of the series.[9]

Further reading

  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Novelization - Novelization, 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1
  • Shatterpoint (novel), 1st edition, 2003. Matthew Woodring Stover, ISBN 0-345-45573-8
  • The New Essential Guide to Characters, 1st edition, 2002. Daniel Wallace, Michael Sutfin, ISBN 0-345-44900-2
  • Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1999. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-4701-0
  • Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 2002. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-8588-5
  • Revised Core Rulebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game), 1st edition, 2002. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, J.D. Wiker, Steve Sansweet, ISBN 0-7869-2876-X
  • Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Power of the Jedi Sourcebook, hardcover, 2002. Michael Mikaelian, Jeff Grubb, Owen K.C. Stephens, James Maliszewski, ISBN 0-7869-2781-X
  • Star Wars Galaxy Guide 7: Mos Eisley, softcover, 1993. Martin Wixted, ISBN 0-87431-187-X

References

  1. ^ a b The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.
  2. ^ James Whitlark, Ph.D. "Stage Eight in The Star Wars and Harry Potter Series?". whitlarks.com. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
  3. ^ The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film
  4. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000168/bio
  5. ^ Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 1999), disc 1.
  6. ^ Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 2002), disc 1.
  7. ^ "Mace Windu". StarWars.com. LucasFilm. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
  8. ^ Star Wars Episode III: Attack of the Clones (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 2005), disc 1.
  9. ^ http://www.ign.com/star-wars-characters/27.html

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