Mace Windu

Mace Windu

Jedi Master

Very few Jedi could have pulled off serving as Master Yoda's right hand, but Mace Windu did so with ease. Equally as compelling in diplomatic meetings as he was on the battlefield, Mace Windu seemed perfectly suited for the time period that he was born in.

Born on the Korun homeplanet of Haruun Kal, Mace entered training at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant at a very young age. Mace would later return to his homeworld during a mission for the Republic, but that would not come about until the Clone Wars erupted across the galaxy.

Although he was known for his no-nonsense personality and straightforward thought, Mace held a deep understanding of morality and fought to uphold the light side of the Force. After ascending to the rank of Jedi Master and Council member fairly quickly, Master Yoda trusted Windu enough to make him second-in-command of the Jedi Order, during the most troubling time period the Jedi had faced in their long history.

Mace witnessed several key events while serving as a member of the Council, including the Battle of Naboo and the rise of the Trade Federation. Initially hesitant to allow the young Anakin Skywalker to be trained in the Order, Mace changed his mind about Anakin's training after the death of Qui-Gon Jinn at the hands of a Sith acolyte, Darth Maul. Mace was unable to discover who Maul's Master was, although he sensed that a Sith Lord lurked somewhere close to the Jedi Order.

Trouble only grew stronger with the fall of Count Dooku to the dark side and an increasing amount of planets deciding to join the Separatist movement. Although Obi-Wan Kenobi was successful in preventing Ansion from seceding, he was soon after captured by Count Dooku on Geonosis and imprisoned. Mace was tasked with the mission of rescuing Kenobi on Geonosis, also preparing to take on Dooku's droid army in the process. In order to do so, he assigned 200 other Jedi to act as reinforcements, a plan that ultimately resulted in the loss of many. Although Mace was able to defeat the bounty hunter Jango Fett (from who's DNA the Republic's secret army had been cloned on Kamino), he and a handful of other Jedi were cornered by Dooku's droid forces and nearly gunned down.

Master Yoda suddenly arrived with the army of clones fresh from Kamino, flying through in time to save Mace and the others. Mace joined Yoda aboard a clone gunship, directing them to take on the droid army on the dusty plains of Geonosis. The Republic forces, coupled with the strength of the Jedi, were successful in defeating the Separatist presence on the planet and driving away Count Dooku. Master Yoda and Mace were deeply troubled by the events, however, knowing that a galactic-scale war would soon be following.

Mace Windu, nevertheless, seized on the opportunity to become a general during the war. Armed with his unique purple-colored lightsaber and his even more unique connection to the Force, he was a valuable asset to the Republic during his time.

During a mission on his home world Haruun Kal, Mace discovered that his former Padawan, Depa Billaba, had defected to the dark side during the war on the planet. Depa Billaba eventually succumbed to her injuries during a duel against Mace, falling into a coma and thus preventing him from having to kill her himself. Although she had committed terrible acts of war on the planet, Mace was still heavily affected by her defection to the dark side and the subsequent duel against her deeply troubled him.

All of the fighting may have clouded his focus, making it difficult to ascertain who the Sith threat was. In the final days of the Clone Wars, it was Anakin Skywalker who revealed the Sith's identity. Chancellor Palpatine, having orchestrated the weakening of the Jedi over the span of the Clone Wars, was the true enemy. Mace instructed Anakin Skywalker to stay inside the Jedi Temple while he and a team of other Masters took on the responsibility of arresting the Chancellor.

Mace's team of Jedi quickly fell to Palpatine's blade, however; soon only Windu remained, as he and the Sith Lord battled inside his office. Just as Mace had disarmed Darth Sidious and prepared to end him, Anakin arrived at that moment, preventing Mace from striking him down. Mace argued with Skywalker over what to do with the Sith Lord, believing it was in the best interest of the Jedi Order to kill him without a trial in the Senate. Anakin, however, could not allow Mace to do so, as he had become somewhat loyal to the Chancellor.

Skywalker attacked Mace, cutting off one of his hands, and Sidious seized the opportunity to blast the Jedi Master with a bolt of lightning through the Force. Mace was thrown out of the office window, ending his story and beginning a dark chain of events that would not turn out well for the Jedi Order.