Mace Windu

Template:SW Character Template:Redirect5 Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He was portrayed by actor Samuel L. Jackson throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Character overview

Windu is a Jedi Master of legendary status and one of the last members of the Jedi Council before the Jedi Knights were all but exterminated. A diplomat by nature, Windu is the Council's primary liaison to the Chancellor, although the Clone Wars cause him to question his firmest held beliefs and engage more in combat. He is a senior member of the Jedi Council, second only to Jedi Master Yoda in authority. His wisdom and power are legendary, as is the weight of his words.

As the creator of the full seventh form of lightsaber combat, Vaapad, he is one of the most powerful swordsmen in the galaxy.

Appearances in the Star Wars films

Windu first appears in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. He is present when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn brings Anakin Skywalker before the Jedi Council, claiming that the young slave is the "Chosen One" whom Jedi prophecy foretells will bring balance to the Force. Windu shares the Council's concerns that the boy exhibits a great deal of fear and anger, and agrees with the body's decision to deny Qui-Gon permission to train him as a Jedi. (That decision, of course, is rescinded at the end of the film).

In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Windu tries to help the Council defeat the growing threat presented by the Separatists, led by renegade Jedi Master Count Dooku. He also watches with growing concern as the now-adult Anakin Skywalker begins to rebel against Obi-Wan Kenobi's tutelage. In the film's climactic scene, he leads a cadre of Jedi and clone troopers in a battle against Dooku's army, the opening salvo of the Clone Wars.

Windu makes his final film appearance in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. By this point, he has fought in the Clone Wars for three years, during which has come to distrust the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine. When Palpatine appoints Anakin as his personal representative on the Jedi Council, Windu fears that the move is designed to give the Chancellor a vote in Jedi affairs, and casts a key vote in denying Anakin the full rank of Jedi Master.

Shortly afterward, Anakin tells him he has learned that Palpatine is in fact a Sith Lord. Windu, accompanied by Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Saesee Tiin, goes to the Chancellor's office to arrest him, who quickly kills both of Windu's compatriots and engages him in a lighstsaber duel. Windu eventually gains the upper hand, but is interrupted by the arrival of Anakin. Palpatine uses the distraction to attack Windu with Force lightning, but Windu blocks the barrage with his lightsaber and deflects it back onto its source, scarring Palpatine's face. As Windu prepares to strike the death blow, however, Anakin intervenes and cuts off the Jedi Master's forearm. Palpatine then hits him with another torrent of Force lightning, throwing him out of the office's window.

Appearances in the Expanded Universe

Mace Windu appears extensively in the Star Wars Expanded Universe of novels and comic books. He is a major supporting character in the animated micro-series Star Wars: Clone Wars, which appeared on Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2005. In the series, he is portrayed as an important Jedi general in the Clone Wars, leading the Galactic Republic's clone armies against the Separatists and advising Palpatine on the war's progress. In the series' final episode, he and Yoda help defend the planet Coruscant from an attack by Dooku's second-in-command, General Grievous. In the midst of the battle, he realizes that the attack is a ruse to distract the Jedi from Grievous' true objective: to kidnap Palpatine. He is too late to save the Chancellor, but manages to use the Force to crush Grievous' chest, inflicting upon the cyborg general the wheezing, asthmatic cough heard in Revenge of the Sith.

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. The novel establishes that Windu has the unique talent of seeing "shatterpoints", or faultlines in the Force that could effect the destines of certain individuals, and indeed the galaxy itself. Stover also referenced this ability in his novelization of Revenge of the Sith.

Lightsaber combat style

Shatterpoint establishes that Windu is responsible for creating Vaapad (so nick-named by young Padawan learners), the full seventh form of lightsaber combat. Vaapad created a superconducting loop that reflected the enemy's attack while allowing for speed and power on an unprecendented scale. Named after a predatory animal on one of the moons of Sarapin, which used multiple tentacles for a blindingly fast attack, it led through the penumbra of the dark side in its requirement for the user to actualy enjoy the thrill of the fight.

Trivia

• According to an interview on The Late Show with David Letterman on May 13 2005 (as well as other interviews dating back to the promotion of Episode I) Windu'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. Jackson, a huge Star Wars fan, especially wanted his own color so that his character could be easily spotted and recognizable in the final battle scene of Attack of the Clones amidst all of the other Jedi.
• Windu's lightsaber has "BMF" engraved on the handle.[1] "BMF" stands for "Bad MotherFucker", a reference to Jackson's role in Pulp Fiction.
• When George Lucas offered him the role, Jackson stipulated that he wanted to have a rather spectacular death, rather than be killed off "like some punk."[2][3]
• According to the Star Wars Galaxy Guide #7: Mos Eisley (published by West End Games, 1993), Windu is also the name of the Squib who works at Jawa Traders, a second hand droid shop located in the town of Mos Eisley on Tatooine around the era of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Known for occasionally striking convoluted bargains in lieu of credits, he is something of a headache to the Jawa proprietress, Aguilae. The name was reportedly borrowed by the author of the Guide from an early draft of the original Star Wars script by Lucas.

• James Whitlark, Ph.D., has suggested that the name "Windu" appears to come from the word "Window"; An early draft of the original Star Wars script had Mace Windu serving as narrator, and thus the "window" through which the action was viewed. [4].

• In the prequel films, Mace Windu is never referred to by his full name except in the closing credits. In The Phantom Menace his name is not mentioned at all by any character, and in Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith he is referred to as "Master Windu."

• Rapper Mr. Eon refers to Mace in a collaboration track entitled "B-Boy Document" on Rawkus Records' Soundbombing II. He raps: "I'm Jedi Master, Mace Windu, what you been through?"

References

• 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, 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
• Star Wars Novel: Shatterpoint

External links

• Star Wars: Databank: Mace Windu
• Mace Windu on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki