- "Hmm…wesa need some thinking time to respond to disa news."
"Thinking? Nosa thinking! Mesa thinking Padmé would help us…has helped us. Big time! Wesa gotsta help her now!"
"Yousa right. Thinking time's a done. Wesa need to be leaving now." - ―Lyonie is convinced by Jar Jar Binks to dispatch the Gungan Grand Army to Dac
Lyonie was an Otolla Gungan who served as a Representative13 and then the Boss of Otoh Gunga during the Clone Wars and the successor to Rugor Nass, who retired during the war.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Dispatching the Gungan Army[]
During the unrest on Dac, Jedi Master Yoda contacted Boss Lyonie to request the Gungan Grand Army as reinforcements for the ongoing battle on Dac. Although Lyonie was initially hesitant, Representative Jar Jar Binks convinced him that helping Senator Padmé Amidala—who had been trapped on Dac by the Confederacy of Independent Systems alongside the beleaguered Galactic Republic troops—was of the utmost importance and urgency. Lyonie agreed and dispatched Jar Jar Binks to lead the Gungan army to Dac.
Rebelling Against the Naboo[]
After the battle of Mon Calamari one of Lyonie's assistants, Rish Loo gave him a necklace, promising him that it would make him a good leader. However, unknown to Lyonie, Loo was conspiring with Separatist leader Count Dooku. Dooku wanted to create a rift between the Gungans and the Naboo. The necklace was actually a type of Sith amulet known as an amulet of influence, and as a result, Lyonie fell under its spell, and Loo's influence. He began berating the Naboo for their insolence and declared war on them, and making plans to march on the capital of Naboo, Theed. This act worried many including Jar Jar Binks and Roos Tarpals as well as the Naboo, forcing them to call on Senator Padmé Amidala and her Jedi bodyguard, Anakin Skywalker to investigate. They were present during Lyonie's briefing on the Naboo and surmised that Lyonie was under a spell by the way he was swaying around and speaking. Skywalker spotted the necklace around Lyonie and shattered it, breaking Loo's spell and knocking Lyonie out of the trance. Skywalker asked about the necklace and Lyonie confirmed that Loo gave it to him. The Gungan, along with the Jedi and Senator moved towards Loo's office. Lyonie decided to confront him alone, leaving Skywalker and Amidala outside. He stormed into Loo's office and accused the traitorous Gungan of controlling him like a puppet. At first, Loo tried to deny it but seeing Lyonie was onto to him, made a second attempt to hypnotize him using the necklace Loo had. Skywalker, sensing something was wrong ran up to the office accompanied by Amidala and confronted Loo. Loo called on droid commandos given to him by Dooku suspended on the ceiling and ordered them to fire on the Jedi and Senator. During the scuffle, Loo attempted to run away but Lyonie grabbed him and they began to scuffle. However, Loo swung out a knife and stabbed Lyonie with it, wounding the Boss. Loo then escaped under the cover of his droids.
Lyonie was then treated for his wounds but he was unconscious and seeing that he didn't have time to call off the attack, it seemed immpossible to stop, since Rish Loo had taken control of the Gungans and tried to martyr the supposedly dead Lyonie. However, Amidala and Skywalker noticed a remarkable resemblance between Binks and Lyonie. They decided that Binks, posing as Lyonie could stop the attack. Although Binks was hesitant at first, he decided to go through with the duo's plan. Jar Jar was eventually able to call off the attack and turn the Gungans against Loo after exposing his treachory. Although the invasion was called off, it did it come at a heavy cost: Roos Tarpals was killed while defending Naboo from General Grievous. Lyonie woke up in time to see Amidala arguing with Dooku for Skywalker's release who was captured while pursuing Loo. Dooku offered to release Skywalker in exchange for General Grievous who was captured by the Gungans. Lyonie knew this could turn the tide of the war but he, along with Jar Jar believed that Skywalker's life was of greater value so it was agreed upon that an exchange would be made. The same night, after the exchange, Lyonie expressed his gratitude towards Jar Jar for his role in solving the conflict.
Behind the scenes[]
In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, Boss Lyonie was voiced by Ahmed Best, who also voiced Jar Jar Binks for the series.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (First appearance) (Retcon)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Gungan Attack" (First appearance before retcon)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Shadow Warrior"
Sources[]
- "Gungan Attack" - The Clone Wars Episode Guide on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link) (First mentioned before retcon)
- "Shadow Warrior" - The Clone Wars Episode Guide on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures — "Shop" (Set: Boss Lyonie)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic 6.27
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars Magazine 9
- Questions Answered: Nass, Orphne and Willow on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Expanded Visual Dictionary
- "Ask Lobot" — Star Wars Insider 132
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
- Boss Lyonie in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Otoh Gunga in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Rish Loo in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Meet the Gungans: A History of Naboo's Bombad Aliens on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)