Yoda/Legends

Master Yoda (896 BBY - 4 ABY) was one of the most reknowned Jedi in the galaxy, and one of the few Old Republic Jedi to survive into the Galactic Civil War.

Biography
Yoda, standing only 0.66 meters tall, was one of the senior members of the Jedi Council in the last days of the Galactic Republic and arguably the wisest and most powerful Jedi Master in the galaxy. In his nine centuries, he had trained several notable Jedi, including Count Dooku, Ki-Adi Mundi, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke Skywalker. This contributed to his reputation as an especially wise and powerful Jedi.

During the Time of the Republic (896 BBY to 32 BBY)
Yoda was one of the Jedi Masters who led the mobile academy aboard the starship Chu’unthor, which was constructed ca. 500 BBY. He chose to leave the ship's data tapes in the care of one of the natives when the ship crashed on Dathomir in around 400 BBY.

During the Rise of the Empire (32 BBY to 19 BBY)
In 32 BBY, Qui-Gon Jinn brought a young Anakin Skywalker to the Jedi Council, requesting to train him once Obi-Wan Kenobi had completed the trials necessary to become a Jedi Knight. Yoda, as the teacher of many of those on the Council, and as one of its most venerable and respected members, played a key role in that body's initial decision to deny the request. Yoda believed that the boy was clearly affected by his years as a slave and that he still clung too tightly to the memory of his mother to be trained safely. His future was clouded.

After Qui-Gon Jinn's death at the hands of Darth Maul, however, the Council rescinded its previous decision. Though, the reasons for this are unclear. Yoda may have trusted Obi-Wan Kenobi more than his notoriously unorthodox teacher. For whatever reason, Yoda led the Council in enabling Kenobi to train the young Skywalker.

In 22 BBY, Yoda was a key Republic general at the Battle of Geonosis, when the clone trooper Army of the Republic was first deployed. He led the group which rescued the surrounded Jedi in the execution arena. During this battle, Yoda dueled Count Dooku, saving Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. The seemingly frail Jedi Master demonstrated his legendary skill in lightsaber combat, employing whirling and acrobatic Form IV techniques to push back the Sith Lord.

In 19 BBY, Chancellor Palpatine appointed Anakin to the Jedi Council as his own representative. Again, the Council was hesitant about Skywalker's temperament but, in turn, acquiesced to the request. Yoda once more played a significant role in the young Jedi's ascension in the order, as they denied Anakin the rank of Jedi Master.

The Wookiees Chewbacca and Tarfful helped Yoda escape the implementation of Order 66, after he swiftly killed two clone troopers with the skill only a Jedi Master could possess. At the climax of the Clone Wars, the great warrior Yoda then battled Darth Sidious but was unable to defeat him and the Senate building was wrecked by the Sith Lord.

He was also instrumental in deciding the fate of the Skywalker children, recommending that Luke and Leia be hidden from Darth Vader and his Emperor in unsuspecting and remote locations. Other than the ancient Jedi Master, only the Organas, the Lars, and Kenobi would know of their placement. He would also tell Obi-Wan another secret &mdash; the power of immortality, a skill he learned from his old friend, Master Qui-Gon Jinn.

After the Purge (19 BBY to 4 ABY)
During the Great Jedi Purge, Yoda escaped to Dagobah and hid on the swamp planet during the Galactic Civil War.

When Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker, arrived, Yoda &mdash; after some expressed reluctance &mdash; agreed to train him in the ways of The Force. Prior to finishing his instruction, however, Luke chose to leave Dagobah in order to confront Darth Vader at Cloud City and save his friends. Luke promised to come back in order to complete his training.

Luke returned to find the elderly Yoda in poor health, obviously unable to continue his teaching. Yoda told Luke that his last test would be to face Darth Vader. Yoda then died at the age of 900 and became one with the Force.

Personality and traits
To his students, the elfin luminary Yoda could appear as either very strict or like a grandfatherly figure, testing them to mental and physical extremes one moment and showing warmth the next. Students often strongly disagreed with him at first, but gradually came to understand his attitudes. Amongst his colleagues on the Jedi Council, he was known to have a penchant for mischief and practical jokes. To all of them, the humble Yoda epitomized the ideals of the Jedi Order; a grandmaster of that august body, he was widely known as a sage instructor.

Yoda spoke an unusual version of Basic. He tended to place verbs (especially auxiliary verbs) after the object and subject. (This is an Object-Subject-Verb format.) An example of Yoda's speech pattern: When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not.

Yoda walked with the aid of a cane later in life, although he was capable of throwing it aside and moving nimbly while using the Force.

Behind the Scenes
Yoda is voiced by Frank Oz. In the Original trilogy, he was realized as a Muppet (controlled by Oz). Rendered with computer animation in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Yoda appeared in ways not previously possible, including his participation in elaborate fight scenes.

Yoda's popularity is such that the comedy musician, "Weird Al" Yankovic, parodied the song "Lola" by the Kinks with a version called "Yoda" included on the album Dare to Be Stupid (1985). More recently, the Great Luke Ski parodied the song "YMCA" by the Village People with a version called "Y.O.D.A." included on the albums Fanboys &#8216;n Da Hood (1996) and Carpe Dementia (1999).

Yoda also made a cameo in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, voiced by Eric Jacobson.

The name Yoda is derived from "Yoddha", the Sanskrit word for "warrior." The name may also be connected to the Hebrew "Yodea" - meaning "He knows" or "One who knows." Additionally some believe the name might also be a reference to the teachings of Yoga an ancient eastern mind,body and spiritual practice that influenced many vital energy based martial art forms in the far east such as Tai Chi and almost certainly inspired many of the concepts and abilities demonstrated by both light and dark side force users in Star Wars.