Mace Windu/Legends

"A very, very wise Jedi once said to me, we don't have to win. All we have to do is fight."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mace Windu

Mace Windu was a Korun Jedi Master/Jedi Guardian and one of the last members of the Jedi High Council before the Great Jedi Purge. Windu was often regarded as second only to Grand Master Yoda on the Council, though eight centuries his junior. His wisdom and power were legendary, as were the weight of his words. Mace Windu was widely considered one of the best swordsmen in the Order due to his creation of Vaapad, the modern seventh form of lightsaber combat.

Mace Windu served the Jedi Order his entire life. He also trained numerous Jedi, including Echuu Shen-Jon and Depa Billaba. It was Master Windu who led 212 Jedi into combat at the Battle of Geonosis and defeated the deadly bounty hunter Jango Fett. He served the Republic throughout the Clone Wars, often on the frontlines of fierce fighting. During a duel with Darth Sidious, Mace Windu was betrayed by Anakin Skywalker and subsequently killed by Sidious. His death marked the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge.

Early life


Mace Windu was originally from the planet Haruun Kal, where he was born into the Ghôsh Windu. Following the death of his parents, he was turned over to the Jedi Order when he was six standard months old. Like all in the Order, Mace was taught by Master Yoda and Master Saa when he was a learner, and eventually went on to become a Padawan to another Jedi.

At a very early age, Mace learned of his unusual ability to see shatterpoints in the Force and how they would affect all of his future actions as well as the vulnerabilities of his opponents. With these unique abilities, he had glimpses of parts of his future, such as the lightsaber he would eventually build.

By age fourteen, the Jedi Council was concerned with Mace, for even though he was at the top of his class, he still could not construct the lightsaber that came to him in visions multiple times. He informed the Council that he wanted a true challenge in order to find the best pieces for his lightsaber. After considering this, the Council sent Mace on his own to the world of Hurikane. While on this mission, Mace was at first chased away by the natives that resided there, but after he saved one of them from falling down a chasm, they rewarded him with a special crystal. He used this crystal to construct the lightsaber he had seen in his visions and it produced its distinctive purple blade. He would alternate between this weapon and Eeth Koth's blue blade, as the two had exchanged their sabers during the sacred Concordance of Fealty.

Over the next decade and a half, Mace went on many notable missions that included his first visit to his homeworld, Haruun Kal (during which he learned his native Korun language), and one where he tracked down and defeated his parents' killer Uda-Khalid.

Jedi Master
"I created Vaapad to answer my weakness: it channels my own darkness into a weapon of the light."

- Mace Windu to Obi-Wan Kenobi



Prodigiously talented in the Force, Mace passed the trials early and was appointed to the Jedi Council at the age of 28 after his exploits during the Arkanian Revolution where he fought the cyborg Gorm the Dissolver.

During his later career, Windu trained many to be Jedi, including Echuu Shen-Jon (who ultimately survived the Great Jedi Purge), and fellow Council member Depa Billaba. As a senior member of the Council, his lightsaber hilt would be uniquely decorated with electrum, a precious metal.

Mace created his own style of lightsaber combat which became known as Vaapad, the seventh form of combat which developed the incomplete Juyo Form. Mace Windu was the only Jedi to master Vaapad. Because of the essence of the dark side in Vaapad, Sora Bulq and Depa Billaba were not able to master it, and were in turn consumed by the dark side. With his eclectic fighting style, it is said that only his one time friend, Dooku, and Grand Master Yoda could outspar him. A factor that played into Windu's fighting style was his admission that his biggest character flaw was that he enjoyed fighting, and given the nature of the dark side, this was a very dangerous trait for a Jedi to possess. Windu, like Plo Koon, was known to practice powers close to the dark side, even using Force crush and Force grip at times. In fact, Mace intentionally created Vaapad to help channel his inner darkness into something more positive.

As well as his incredible combat abilities, Windu also possessed a rare gift. He had a unique form of force perception which allowed him to see the shatterpoint in situations, beings and circumstances. These shatterpoints revealed points upon which other things were reliant on. Shatterpoints could form links between beings, creatures, planets or other vessels, and if destroyed or utilized, these shatterpoints could hold the key to averting disaster, sealing fate, winning battles and fulfilling the very will of the Force itself.

In addition to being a great warrior and unusually Force-sensitive, Windu possessed extensive knowledge of Jedi history and philosophy, and was known for his diplomatic abilities. Windu was the Council's primary liaison to the Chancellor, although the Clone Wars caused him to question his firmest beliefs. In the years before the Clone Wars, Windu would spearhead many diplomatic and peace-keeping missions, including ones to Yinchorr and Malastare.

Windu was a stern advocate against Anakin Skywalker's induction into the Jedi Order; however later came to see that Skywalker was the Chosen One. Despite this revelation, it did not solidify his trust in the haughty, petulant Anakin.

Battle of Geonosis
"This party's over."

- Mace Windu to Dooku.



In 22 BBY, it became apparent that a full-fledged military conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems would occur. Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured by the Confederacy on Geonosis and prepared to be executed. Having learnt of this, Mace Windu, without waiting for the Clone Army to be put at the Republic's disposal, led a Jedi strike force to Geonosis. Mace, along with Luminara Unduli, destroyed Geonosian gun emplacements blocking the way to the arena in his TX-130s fighter tank. When Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padmé Amidala were brought to the Geonosis arena, Windu and his Jedi revealed themselves to Count Dooku, the leader of the Confederacy, who was personally overseeing the planned execution. A heated but short battle followed, during which Mace Windu beheaded bounty hunter Jango Fett, the progenitor of the clone troopers, an act that was predicted millennia ago by Darth Traya in the times of the Old Sith Wars. Eventually, the Jedi were outnumbered by Separatist battle droids, but Master Yoda and the clone troopers rescued the Jedi. After that, Windu and the other surviving Jedi joined the battle as military commanders. Mace again took the controls of his tank and was moving to intercept Count Dooku when three of Dooku's Dark Acolytes confronted him in their own vehicles. Mace was able to defeat all three of them, but the delay prevented him from reaching Dooku.

Jedi High General


During the Clone Wars, Mace commanded Systems Army Alpha as a High General on many fronts, and won a widely publicized victory at the Battle of Dantooine. He was rumored to have single-handedly defeated an army of B-2 battle droids and a massive seismic tank, without his lightsaber for much of the battle.

Six months after the Battle of Geonosis, Mace returned to his homeworld of Haruun Kal to track down his missing former Padawan, Depa Billaba. He was attacked twice in the capital city of Pelek Baw, but met up with a team sent by Depa to bring him to her. While trekking through the jungle toward Billaba, he managed to defeat three Sienar Turbostorm gunships, destroying two and crippling the third, in a masterful display of the versatility and lethality of Vaapad. Mace, along with his companions Chalk, Lesh, Besh, and Nick Rostu, were frequently in danger from the numerous hazards of the jungle and militia attacks. Throughout his stay on Haruun Kal, Mace was often attacked, beaten, and injured by a variety of opponents. After meeting up with Depa, Mace resolved to bring her back to the Jedi Temple. He also had to deal with the powerful lor pelek Kar Vastor. After the militia launched an all-out attack on the Korunnai that Depa had been leading, he then devised a plan to capture the world for the Republic and battled Kar Vastor, spiritually facing the dark side. Mace would also duel his former Padawan after she succumbed to pelekotan, and won without actually defeating her. Though Windu survived this trial and his strategy was successful, the memories of his return to Haruun Kal would continue to haunt him.

Mace Windu, in Force-assisted dreams on Haruun Kal, accurately predicted the fall of the Jedi and the destruction of the Temple, in addition to the Yuuzhan Vong terraforming of Coruscant.

Mace Windu along with Jedi Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin and Agen Kolar stopped the Crimson Nova chapter from carrying out any more Jedi bounties.

On one occasion while Mace waited in Palpatine's office, Boba Fett, hoping to avenge his father's death, burst through the window with a jetpack. He fought Fett and was about to kill him when the Chancellor stepped in and put an end to it.



Near the end of the Clone Wars, when General Grievous kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine and attempted to transfer him to Grevious' ship, the Invisible Hand, Mace Windu went to rescue Palpatine, attacked the General, and used Force Crush on the plates covering Grevious's organ sac. This crushing of Grievous's organs (lungs in particular) mostly accounted to the coughing fits the droid general faced throughout the rest of his life (though Grevious had had coughing problems in the past). The Force Crush is one of the darkest Force maneuvers known to the Sith or Jedi, and Mace Windu's ability to use it without turning to the Dark Side is unnatural.

Revelation


Toward the end of the Clone Wars, Master Windu came to question Chancellor Palpatine's motives. The war was ending, yet Palpatine was taking more and more emergency control, even the Senate itself was becoming little more than an advisory board. As Windu prepared for a meeting with the Senate chair to bring him news of the elimination of General Grievous, a distraught Anakin Skywalker arrived and confirmed the Jedi Council's greatest fear: the elected leader of the Galactic Republic was in fact the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Master Windu ordered Anakin to wait in the Jedi Council Chamber for his return and boarded a gunship along with the Nautolan Jedi Master Kit Fisto, the Iktotchi Jedi Master Saesee Tiin and the Zabrak Jedi Master Agen Kolar. They departed to confront the Chancellor.

The final battle
"In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest, Chancellor."

- Mace Windu declared the arrest of Palpatine

"The oppression of the Sith will never return. Your plot to gain control of the Republic has failed. You have LOST."

- Mace Windu to Darth Sidious



Windu marched into the Chancellor's office and coldly announced that he was under arrest. Mace Windu reported the end of the Clone Wars and demanded the Chancellor step down and face a trial in the Senate. Palpatine announced that he was the Senate. Windu retorted with strong words&mdash;"Not yet". Now the elected ruler of the Galactic Republic revealed his true colors; the Chancellor ignited his crimson lightsaber, flew through the air, and stabbed Agen Kolar. Before he could react, Saesee Tiin was also struck down. Masters Windu and Fisto managed to defend against the initial assaults, but even Fisto's mastery of Shii-Cho was overwhelmed by the intensity of Palpatine's swordplay. The Nautolan died when he was cut across his waist. This left Windu to fight Palpatine alone. His mastery of Vaapad served him well in countering Palpatine's dark side mastery.

"&hellip;each whirl of blade and whipcrack of lightning was a strike in defense of democracy, of justice and peace, of the rights of ordinary beings to live their own lives in their own ways. He was fighting for the Republic that he loved."

- Mace Windu, as he fought Palpatine





When the fight moved to the window, Windu shattered it with one strike of his lightsaber. He and Palpatine fought at the edge of the ledge, when Palpatine's lightsaber was knocked away by an accurate kick by Master Windu.

Windu seemed to have won the lightsaber duel. But the fight was not over. A grueling battle ensued, and Anakin Skywalker appeared just as Windu cornered Palpatine and again stated that he was under arrest. With a flash of his unique insight Windu sensed Palpatine's shatterpoint: Anakin Skywalker. As the Jedi realized the depth of the Sith Lord's trust in Anakin, Palpatine unleashed his full power. The Sith used Force lightning against Windu, driving him back. Grunting with exertion, Windu redirected the lightning back with his lightsaber, melting away the Chancellor's features in a display of the "superconducting loop" of Vaapad. Horrified, Skywalker watched the Jedi Master seemingly cause agonizing pain to the "helpless" Palpatine.



During this stand-off, Palpatine and Windu each tried to convince Anakin that the other was a traitor to the Republic. Palpatine claimed he could no longer maintain his attack against Windu, exclaiming that he had "become too weak". Anakin knew, or thought he knew, that if Palpatine died, any chance of saving Padmé from certain death would be lost. Anakin told Windu that the Sith Lord "must stand trial" and that killing him was "not the Jedi way", but Windu determined that Palpatine was too dangerous to be kept alive because he had control of the Galactic Senate and the Courts. Perhaps he saw a shatterpoint in Palpatine, a hinge of fate that would alter history. Palpatine pleaded for Anakin's help, and Windu moved to strike the Dark Lord.



With Windu's attention focused entirely on Palpatine, he failed to foresee Anakin's intervention. Anakin ignited his own lightsaber and severed the Jedi Master's lightsaber hand, leaving him defenseless against the full power of Palpatine's Force lightning, no longer masked under a veil of weakness. Shocked, Mace realized he had been too busy focusing on Palpatine. He had failed to sense Anakin's shatterpoint. As the Chancellor shouted, "Power! Unlimited power!", he once again unleashed his rage, sending raw dark side energy through Windu's body and hurtling him out the window into the cityscape far below.

With this action, Anakin had secured his place as the new Sith apprentice and Sidious had defeated one of the few Jedi that could be a threat to him.

The Great Jedi Purge had begun.

Aftermath
In 18 BBY, a Duros sold a broken lightsaber to Senator Sano Sauro claiming it once belonged to Mace Windu. The Duros said he had found it on a street in the lower levels of Coruscant. Sano would later display the lightsaber in his office.

Behind the scenes


Mace Windu was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in all three movies of the prequel trilogy. He was voiced in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Clone Wars animated series and in the Revenge of the Sith videogame by Terrence Carson.

Samuel L. Jackson is bald in real life, though when starring in movies favors odd wigs. He did not assume a wig while acting in Star Wars I-III, adding even more to the originality of his character. Windu is the only (or one of the only) bald Jedi, the only Jedi in the films to carry a purple lightsaber, the only (or one of the only) dark-skinned Jedi, and a Jedi with a darkly creative signature fighting style, Vaapad. These facts have made Mace Windu one of the most popular and famous characters from the Star Wars prequels.

George Lucas permitted Windu's signature amethyst-bladed lightsaber at the request of Jackson, making Windu the only character in any Star Wars film to have a lightsaber that is not red, green, or blue. In addition, the prop department replaced the activation plate stud with a plate reading "BMF" in reference to Jackson's character in Pulp Fiction, Jules, who has the phrase on his wallet.

Before production of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith began, George Lucas was approached by Samuel L. Jackson who, knowing that Mace Windu was to die in the movie, informed George that he would not work on the movie if Mace Windu died "like some punk".



The name "Mace Windu" actually dates back to the earliest incarnation of Star Wars, a 13-page treatment written by George Lucas in 1973. A similar name, Mace Towani, appeared in the made-for-television Ewok movies. An alien mentioned in Star Wars Adventure Journal 11 (c. 1994) and Galaxy Guide 7: Mos Eisley (1993) also went by the name of Mace Windu, an abbreviation of his full name Macemillian-winduarté. The name Mace Windu was re-introduced as canon for Episode I. There was no retcon for Mace Towani, but a HoloNet article mentioning Mace Windu's participation in the Battle of Skor II explains Macemillian-winduarté's name.

In Star Wars Tales #13, Mace Windu is seen in a flashback being taken from his parents by another Jedi. While not a canon event, it does show Mace's parents and himself as a baby.