- "It's moving by itself!"
"No…not by itself! Kill him!" - ―Quia and Guattako
Mace Windu's lightsaber was a Jedi lightsaber constructed by Jedi Master Mace Windu following his appointment as a senior member of the Jedi High Council. One of the most distinctive lightsabers in the Jedi Order due to its purple plasma blade, Windu would carry this weapon into battle on multiple occasions during the Clone Wars in which he served as a Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic. The lightsaber was ultimately lost when it fell out a window during a confrontation between Windu and the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who then killed the Jedi Order's champion through the use of Force lightning.
Description[]
- "It is the Force that binds them together…through you. That makes you the weapon."
"I…I did it!" - ―Huyang and Mace Windu
As one of the most notable members of the Jedi Order, Jedi Master Mace Windu carried a Jedi lightsaber distinguished by its unique purple plasma blade. Its distinctive color served as warning to adversaries that the Jedi Order's greatest champion was ready to fight.[2]
Despite serving as his final lightsaber,[4] Windu constructed it in his youth.[7] After many years of experience, he used the highest standards to make a superior weapon. In addition to a specially designed handgrip, the lightsaber's electrum finish indicated Windu's status as a senior member of the Jedi High Council.[1]
History[]
Construction and early use[]
- "I'm never going to be able to build my lightsaber."
"Patience, young Mace. The secret is that the pieces never needed to be 'built.'" - ―Mace Windu and Huyang
As a Jedi Initiate Mace Windu struggled to construct his lightsaber; feeling unable to fit the components of his weapon together, Windu despaired until the architect droid Huyang reminded him that it was the Force that bound the pieces together through Windu, essentially making the Jedi the weapon instead of the lightsaber he wielded. With the droid's help, Windu completed the task of his lightsaber's construction, finishing the purple-bladed weapon that he would carry for many years.[7] Windu used his lightsaber against pirates when he rescued Depa Billaba[8] and Sar Labooda, sisters who he then brought into the Jedi Order.[9]
Windu's lightsaber was dismantled during a mission on Oosalon, where he was taken as a prisoner by Guattako's army. The pieces of his lightsaber were kept in a box which Kyossk displayed to Guattako when Windu was taken to the warlord. Though Guattako did not consider the Jedi Master a threat without his lightsaber, Windu sent a call to his fellow Jedi through the Force and revealed it had been his intention to get captured in order to find the insurgents' camp. He reassembled his lightsaber by using his telekinetic powers and proceeded to fight Guattako's followers, cutting off Kyossk's arm in the process. He engaged Guattako in single combat until one of the warlord's captives, a youngling, killed him with a blaster shot to the back in a bid for freedom. Windu used his saber to cut his bonds, and reunited with his fellow Jedi.[7]
Clone Wars[]
- "In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you're under arrest, Chancellor."
- ―Mace Windu, to Darth Sidious
On the eve of the First Battle of Geonosis[3] in 22 BBY,[11] Windu led a Jedi assault team to the Separatist world of Geonosis in an effort to rescue the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, resulting in a confrontation between the Jedi and a force of battle droids.[3] During the battle, Windu was confronted by Jango Fett, a bounty hunter employed by the Separatist leader Count Dooku.[12] The expert swordsman[13] calmly deflected Fett's blaster shots and killed the mercenary by severing his armored head with one slash of his lightsaber.[12] Afterward, Windu carried his lightsaber into the main battle where he led the newly formed clone army of the Galactic Republic against the Separatist Droid Army.[3]
Like his fellow Jedi,[14] Windu supported the war effort as a Jedi General of the Grand Army of the Republic. During the Clone Wars, General Windu wielded his lightsaber on multiple occasions,[15] leading his clone troopers in battles, such as the Battle of Ryloth[16] and the Battle of Malastare.[17] At one point during the wars, Windu used his lightsaber to fight off the Sith assassin and Jedi hunter Ochi of Bestoon, after disarming him of his beskar deadblade, when the assassin hunted Depa Billaba on Malathon IX.[18]
After three years of war, the Jedi discovered that the Republic's leader, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, was in fact Darth Sidious—the Dark Lord of the Sith who conspired to destroy the Jedi in order to take over the galaxy.[10] Knowing that the Jedi Order's fate hung in the balance, Windu attempted to arrest the chancellor before his plot came to fruition.[15] Although the Sith Lord succeeded in killing three of Windu's colleagues in an ensuing lightsaber duel,[10] the Jedi Master ultimately prevailed[15] and disarmed Sidious of his weapon.[10]
Refusing to accept defeat, Sidious attacked Windu with a blast of Force lightning, forcing the Jedi Master to block the lightning with his lightsaber. As a result, the lightning was redirected to its source, leaving Sidious' face disfigured in the process.[10] Before he could strike down the Sith Lord, the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker used his own weapon to sever Windu's hand in order to save Sidious' life, leaving the hand, alongside the lightsaber it carried, to fall into the streets of Coruscant.[15] With Windu injured by his former ally[19] and bereft of his lightsaber, Sidious renewed his attack by unleashing torrent of Force lightning,[10] resulting in the death of the Jedi Order's great champion.[15]
Behind the scenes[]
- "We had this big arena fight scene with all these Jedi, and I was like, 'I want to be able to find myself in this scene.' I said to George, 'You think I can get a purple lightsaber? I'm like the second baddest Jedi in the universe.'"
- ―Samuel L. Jackson on Windu's lightsaber
Mace Windu's lightsaber first appeared in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, the second installment of the Prequel trilogy.[3] The lightsaber's blade color was chosen by the actor portraying Windu, Samuel L. Jackson, who wanted a purple lightsaber because he was "the second baddest Jedi in the universe" and so he could find himself in the Battle of Geonosis scene.[20]
In Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, Windu is depicted with a different lightsaber, with the character actually having several different designs during the events of that film judging by the lightsabers seen across reference photographs. While reference material often states that Windu made the lightsaber[21] first featured in Attack of the Clones[3] later in his life, the story "The Weapon" depicted Windu creating the lightsaber during his days as a youngling. Indeed, the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi episode "Choices" depicted the Attack of the Clones-style lightsaber in Windu's possession before the events of The Phantom Menace. When asked if these appearances negated earlier reference material that said he constructed it as a senior council member, Pablo Hidalgo responded that there is not a definitive answer. He reasoned that there could be more than one lightsaber with the Attack of the Clones-style design, with Windu possibly remaking the design multiple times over his life. Hidalgo also noted that, given the Attack of the Clones design was used in Tales of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace design would likely be ignored moving forward.[21]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- Disney Infinity 3.0
- LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures — "Duel of Destiny" (Appears in hologram)
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Exit from Endor" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Crisis on Coruscant" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars — "From Trenches to Wrenches: The Roger Story" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars — "Lo, I am Manufactured" (In flashback(s))
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DLC)
- Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
- Fortnite X Star Wars
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- LEGO STAR WARS: Celebrate the Season — "Happy Celebration 45th Anniversary A New Hope"
Sources[]
Non-canon sources[]
- LEGO Star Wars: Choose Your Side: Doodle Activity Book (Picture only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mace Windu's Lightsaber in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Star Wars Lightsabers: A Guide to Weapons of the Force
- ↑ Kyber Crystal (Lightsaber Crystal) in the Databank (backup link) — The kyber crystal Databank entry states that there is a kyber crystal "at the heart of every Jedi lighstaber."
- ↑ Star Wars: The Mini Book of Lightsabers
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "The Weapon" — Age of Republic Special 1
- ↑ The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem
- ↑ Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Jango Fett Biography Gallery in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ Boba Fett in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu 1
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Mace Windu Biography Gallery in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Liberty on Ryloth"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Zillo Beast"
- ↑ Shadow of the Sith
- ↑ Anakin Skywalker in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Pablo Hidalgo (@infinata.bsky.social) on Bluesky (February 18, 2024): "The Ep I lightsabers (he had several if you find the right reference photos) are likely to be ignored given that Tales of the Jedi opted to give him his Ep II design pre-Ep I. Could be he has more than one and/or he's remade the design more than once. But there's nothing definitive. (In response to: "@infinata.bsky.social Heya! Ref books often say Mace Windu constructed his saber after being a sr member on the Council. But Story material often depicts his padawan saber as visually the same. Curious if the sourcebook claims have been done away with. Hoping Glass Abyss clears the air up though. Kinda worth mentioning he had a different saber in TPM (Which I'm lead to believe is why the claims he made the saber as a senior member came about)")" (backup link)