Mace Windu

Template:SW Character Jedi Master Mace Windu (72 BBY–19 BBY) is a Jedi Master in the fictional Star Wars universe and one of the last members of the Jedi Council before the Great Jedi Purge. A respected Jedi on par with the venerable Master Yoda, Mace Windu was a senior member of the Jedi Council. His wisdom and power are legendary, as is the weight of his words.

In addition to his reputation for wisdom, Windu is considered to be one of the finest swordsmen to ever grace the Jedi Order. He is the creator of Vaapad, a dueling technique within the seventh style of lightsaber combat. Only Mace Windu, his former student Depa Billaba, and legendary lightsaber instructor Sora Bulq have ever mastered it, though Depa and Sora fell to the Dark Side through the technique. With his eclectic fighting style, it is said that only two individuals ever outsparred Master Windu: Yoda and Dooku. Mace possesses extensive knowledge of Jedi history and philosophy, and he is a diplomat by nature.

History

The story goes that Mace Windu was once ambushed by fourteen Gank killers, who surrounded him with weapons drawn. Not even a Jedi Master could deflect that many blaster bolts at once, but Windu slowly turned to make eye contact with each Gank, placed one hand on the lightsaber hanging at his hip, and spoke only three words: 'It's your decision.' One by one, the Ganks lay their weapons on the ground.

—Unconfirmed story

Mace Windu is originally from the planet Haruun Kal as revealed in Matthew Stover's novel Shatterpoint. After the death of his parents when he is a mere six months old, he is turned over to the Jedi Order. He is appointed to the Jedi Council before reaching the age of thirty (around twenty-eight years old to be precise), a remarkably young age for such a feat. Windu trains many other Jedi during his career, including Echuu Shen-Jon (who ultimately survives the Purge), and fellow council member Depa Billaba.

In the events leading up to the Battle of Geonosis, Mace Windu quickly kills the bounty hunter Jango Fett. He leads a small force of Jedi to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Padmé Amidala from a Geonosian style execution administered by Count Dooku.

With the Clone Wars in full swing, Master Windu returns to his homeworld to track down his missing former Padawan, Depa Billaba. There, he experiences firsthand the horrors of war, and is pitted against the deadly Kar Vastor and the dark side itself. Although Windu survives, the memories of his return to Haruun Kal will haunt him for a long time. As a Jedi general in charge of clone forces of the Grand Army of the Republic, he also fights against and defeats many separatist incursions, including a powerful seismic tank on Dantooine.

In the third season of Star Wars: Clone Wars, wherein events mostly take place just prior to Revenge of the Sith, Master Windu briefly fights General Grievous when the general and his forces overpower the Jedi and capture Chancellor Palpatine. Grievous is injured by Mace Windu using a Force grip attack on his chest, crushing the metal around his organs and causing Grievous to gain his coughs heard throughout Revenge of the Sith.

At the advent of the Battle of Coruscant, Mace Windu has other troubles to worry about in addition to the impending attack on the capital world of the Republic. The Jedi have been investigating the mysterious and elusive Sith Lord Darth Sidious. This investigation leads Master Windu to believe that the Sith Lord is in fact a member of Chancellor Palpatine's inner council. When Anakin Skywalker reveals that Palpatine and Sidious are one and the same person, Master Windu decides to take action and arrest the Chancellor. Along with Masters Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar, Mace confronts Palpatine, and is attacked by the Sith Master. Palpatine easily and swiftly slays Agen Kolar and Saesee Tiin. He kills Master Fisto shortly after. However, Sidious finds that Windu makes for a far tougher opponent. Master Windu's long study of lightsaber combat and his mastery of Form VII combat and Vaapad serve him well in fighting Sidious. After he kicks Sidious' lightsaber from his hands, the Sith Lord uses Force lightning to counter, whereupon Windu deflects it back onto Sidious, burning and scarring the Emperor's face and weakening him into submission. Windu has Sidious at his mercy and is weighing upon whether or not he should stand trial or be summarily executed. However, a conflicted Anakin Skywalker falls to the temptations of the dark side, intervenes and severs the Jedi Master's saber hand. Fed by this ressurgance of the dark side, the Emperor calls upon what he refers to as the "unlimited power" of the dark side, using Force Lightning to defenestrate Windu. Skywalker's participation in the defenestration of Windu confirms Skywalker's place as Darth Vader at Palpatine's side.

The circumstances surrounding Windu's death have lead to widespread speculation by fans that Mace Windu survived. Chances of that are slim to none, unfortunately.

Mace Windu is portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in all three of the prequel films. According to an interview on the The Late Show with David Letterman on May 13 2005, the purple color of his lightsaber was explained as a personal request from Jackson to George Lucas. Jackson wanted his own color so that his character would be easily distinguishable in the final battle scene of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (the Battle of Geonosis). As a result, Mace Windu is the only major character in any of the Star Wars films to have a lightsaber that is not red, green, or blue. It could be argued that there is deeper meaning to the color of his saber. One could be the difference in saber style as Vapaad borders the light side (blue) and dark side (red). Another could be his skill level and mastery of lightsaber combat. Aside from color, his lightsaber is also unique in another way — only a senior member of the Jedi Council could have such an intricately designed lightsaber hilt as Master Windu.

Memorable Quotes

• "You refer to the prophecy about the One who'll bring balance to The Force, do you believe is this... boy?" (Mace to Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace)
• "This party's over." (Mace to Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones)
• "I don't think so." (As a reply to Count Dooku's "You are impossibly outnumbered." in Attack of the Clones)
• "We're keepers of the peace, not soldiers." (Mace to Palpatine in Attack of the Clones)
• "You're on this Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master." (Mace to Anakin referring to his appointment to the Jedi Council by the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith)
• "In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest, Chancellor." (Mace to Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith)
• "Not yet!" (As a reply to Palpatine's "I am the Senate!" in Revenge of the Sith)
• "You ARE under arrest, my lord." (Mace to Palpatine, after disarming the Chancellor in Revenge of the Sith)
• "The oppression of the Sith will never return. You... have lost!" (Mace to Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith)
• "He is too dangerous to be left alive!" (Mace to Anakin referring to Palpatine, in Revenge of the Sith)
• "Whether or not he is the Chosen One is still to be determined." (Mace to Jedi Council about Anakin in Star Wars: Clone Wars: Micro-series)ca:Mace Windu

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