Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 20:07, 14 April 2006

{{SW Character| image= <a href=http://www.djurvall.burken.nu/Harrys_0330/index1.php> bgcolor=#308014| fgcolor=#000| name= Master Dagobyte | position= Jedi Master, Council Member| sDabobytehe Force to sense the Sith Lord's presence, finally concluding that Sidious is someone within Palpatine's inner circle.

Anakin, meanwhile, seeks Yoda's council about his intense, prophetic visions that someone close to him (Padmè, by now his wife and pregnant, although he does not share this information) will die. Yoda, unaware of the intensity of Anakin's love for Padmé, tells him to "learn to let go of everything you fear to lose." Unsatisfied, Anakin instead turns to Palpatine, who reveals himself as none other than Darth Sidious, and manipulates the young Jedi into becoming his Sith apprentice — Darth Vader — with the promise that, with powers only the dark side can give, he can save his wife.

When Palpatine, now self-appointed Emperor of the Galactic Empire, implements Order 66, Yoda is on Kashyyyk, overseeing the battle between the Separatist forces and a combined command of clone troopers and Wookiees. He feels the deaths of each of the Jedi as they are cut down by the very troops they led. This gives him ample warning, and he swiftly kills the clone troopers sent to dispatch him, escapes with the help of Wookiee leaders Tarfful and Chewbacca, and returns to Coruscant, where he and Obi-Wan fight their way into the Jedi Temple to stop a trap for any Jedi who also survived Order 66. Upon discovering a holographic recording revealing Anakin as the assassin, Yoda sends Kenobi to kill his former Padawan. Kenobi tells Yoda he cannot fight Anakin, and would rather fight Darth Sidious instead of Anakin. Yoda insists, saying, "To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough you are not."

File:048 - Mooning.jpg Subsequently, Yoda battles Palpatine in a titanic struggle that wrecks the Senate building. The fight seems evenly matched between the two patriarchs of both sides of the Force, neither able to overcome the other. In an attempt to end the contest, Palpatine takes the higher ground, and uses the Force to hurl heavy Senate pods at Yoda, who in turn dodges them, and sends one back at Palpatine. This forces Palpatine to jump to a lower level. As Palpatine lands, Yoda reappears suddenly with a Force Jump, brandishing his lightsaber. Palpatine counters with a barrage of Force Lightning, taking Yoda off guard, and disarming him. Without his lightsaber, Yoda resorts to using his palms to absorb the dark energy, managing to even reflect some of its power back at a surprised Palpatine. The fight ends in a stalemate, with an explosion caused by the clash of energies hurling Palpatine and Yoda apart. Both Masters are able to grasp the edge of nearby Senate pods, with Palpatine barely managing to hold on. Yoda, unable to maintain his grasp, falls to the floor of the Senate chamber. Weakened, he realizes that he cannot defeat Palpatine. Yoda then goes into exile to hide from the Empire and to wait for another opportunity to destroy the Sith.

Anakin, meanwhile, loses his limbs and nearly burns to death while battling Obi-Wan; these injuries cost him much of his Force-potential, and the cybernetic enhancements Palpatine administers to save his life render him (seemingly) less than human. His transformation into a fearsome cyborg serves as a grim fulfillment to Yoda's words to Obi-Wan upon learning of Anakin's fall from grace: "The boy you trained, gone he is, consumed by Darth Vader."

At the end, it is revealed that Yoda has been in contact with Qui-Gon's spirit. Although this is given little attention in the film, in the novelization it is revealed that Yoda actually becomes Padawan to the deceased Jedi Master's Force ghost, learning the secret of immortality from him and passing it onto Obi-Wan.

He is also instrumental in deciding the fate of the Skywalker children after Padmé dies in childbirth, 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 Obi-Wan know of their placement (it is unlikely that the Lars were fully aware of Leia's existence, however.) Originally, Obi-Wan wants to have both Yoda and himself take one child each to separate spots and train the children in the ways of the Force, but Yoda realizes that there are other ways to learn discipline than just Jedi training, and that Luke and Leia will need to be trained differently if they are going to defeat the Empire. In addition, the twins' anonymity would be more difficult to protect if the Sith were to discover the remaining Jedi Knights before Luke and/or Leia were ready. Yoda then retreats to Dagobah.

A New Hope

Yoda does not appear, nor is he mentioned in A New Hope.

The Empire Strikes Back

22 years after Yoda's exile, in 3 ABY (The Empire Strikes Back), Luke Skywalker arrives at Dagobah to seek Yoda's guidance after being told by the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who died during a duel with Darth Vader in A New Hope. After initial reluctance, Yoda agrees to teach him in the ways of the Force. Prior to finishing his training, however, Luke chooses to leave Dagobah in order to confront Darth Vader and save his friends from the Empire's grasp at Bespin. Luke promises to return to complete his training.

Return of the Jedi

When Luke returns to Dagobah in 4 ABY (Return of the Jedi), Yoda, sick and greatly weakened by old age, informs Luke that he has completed his training but will not be a Jedi until he "confronts" his father, Darth Vader. Yoda then dies at the age of 900 and becomes "one with the Force." Yoda's death is unique within the Star Wars films as he is the only character to die peacefully from natural causes. Every single film death before and after occurs violently and unnaturally.

Yoda's teachings eventually save Luke from giving in to his anger and falling to the dark side; he remembers to control his feelings just as he is seconds away from killing Vader and becoming the Emperor's new apprentice. When the Emperor tries to kill Luke with Force lightning, Vader redeems himself, and once again becomes Anakin Skywalker, by killing his master to save his son. Anakin dies in his son's arms as the Empire crumbles around them. Later that night, Luke sees his father's spirit looking at him with pride and gratitude, in the company of Obi-Wan Kenobi and their once and future master, Yoda.

Powers and abilities

Yoda, having mastered all seven forms of lightsaber combat, is considered one of the best duelists in the Jedi Order of his day; Jedi Master Mace Windu seems to be the only Jedi who can equal Yoda in that regard. His mastery in Form IV Ataru lightsaber combat enables him to overcome the limitations of his height and reach. He is an exceptional swordsman, displaying amazing speed and dexterity, leaping through the air and twirling as he batters at an opponent's defenses. Yoda is a great contributor to the highest level of Jedi strategy, and is also a worldly diplomat comparable to Windu. Master Yoda can dissipate and deflect Force Lightning, [[telekinesis|telekineticDagobyte DAGOBYTE DAGOBYTE DAGOBYTE DAGOBYTE

To his students, the elfin Yoda can appear as either very strict or like a grandfather, testing them to mental and physical extremes one moment and showing warmth the next. (In the beginning of their training, students may not see eye-to-eye with him, but eventually come to see the significance of his teachings.) Among his colleagues on the Jedi Council, he is known to have a penchant for mischief and practical jokes. To all of them, the humble Yoda, who offers enlightened leadership, epitomizes the ideals of the Jedi Order; the grandmaster of that august body is widely known as a sage instructor.

Yoda speaks "Galactic Basic" in a distinctive manner by placing verbs (and more frequently, auxiliary verbs) before the object and subject. In linguistic typology this is the "Object Subject Verb" format. A typical example of Yoda's speech pattern is from Return of the Jedi: "When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not." This speech pattern has been the source of much parody.

For Italian fans of the Star Wars series, especially children, Yoda is often referred as "The Sardinian One" or "The One Who Speaks Sardinian". This is due to the fact that once translated into Italian, Yoda's manner of speaking is very close to the Sardinian accent that in Italy is considered humorous, even slightly ridiculous.

When not actively using the Force, the elderlyDagobyte

When we first meet Yoda, he cooks up a stew of roots and leaves to share with Luke Skywalker. Though he lives in a world teeming with animal life, his choice of food has led some to believe that he adheres to a vegetarian or vegan diet. Some have suggested that this is due to the strong empathy he feels with all living beings through the Force. Yoda is never shown eating what is easily recognizable as a meat product; however, we only see Yoda for a relatively short period of time in the Star Wars films, and in that time, see him eat only twice. Yoda is seen eating in the Clone Wars novel Yoda: Dark Rendezvous. His food is never named but it is mentioned as a stew, but it is also said there was "stewed tendon" in it.

The basis for Yoda's character may be derived as a duality between two, since passed, Japanese martial masters. Basis for this assumption points to the late Sokaku Takeda and Gozo Shioda. Takeda is credited with introducing the once privately practiced martial-art of the Takeda samurai family to the world. This art, Daito-ryu, is accepted as the primary ancestral art to Aikido. The master swordsman Takeda, standing just under 4'11", earned the nickname Aizu no Kotengu (the little goblin). Similarly, Gozo, martial-master of Yoshinkan Aikido, stood just under 4'11". Like Yoda, they were very short; this did not hinder their extraordinary martial ability, however. Their arts both centered on Aiki and the ever present ki (the Force) in their techniques. Moreover, like Yoda, they were master teachers and they devoted their lives to preserving the ways of their martial-arts for the good of mankind.

Animating Yoda

Yoda's appearance was originally designed by British makeup artist Stuart Freeborn, who based Yoda's face partly on his own and partly on Albert Einstein's, as his eyes are supposedly inspired by the latter. Yoda is voiced by Frank Oz. In the original Star Wars trilogy, he is realized as a puppet (controlled by Oz).

In The Phantom Menace, he was redesigned to look younger. He was computer-generated for two distant shots, but remained mostly a puppet.

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. In Revenge of the Sith his face appears in several big close-ups, demanding highly-detailed CGI work. Despite the use of advanced technology, his performance was deliberately designed to match the puppet version, with some "mistakes" made such as the occasional ear-jiggling.

According to many Lucasfilm reports, Yoda has been redone in CGI for a later release of Phantom Menace. This edition will most likely be part of a prequel trilogy pack.

Parody

The comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song "Lola" by the Kinks with a remake titled "Yoda", included on the album Dare to Be Stupid (1985). Todd Downing parodies Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" with the song "Livin' La Vida Yoda." More recently, "The Great Luke Ski" parodied the song "YMCA" by the Village People with a version titled "Y.O.D.A." included on the albums Fanboys ‘n Da Hood (1996) and Carpe Dementia (1999).

Dave Chappelle did a parody on Chappelle's Show that accused the Jedi Masters of sexually assaulting their traineees, (a parody of the Catholic sex abuse cases) featuring Yoda as a prime offender. The footage showed Yoda denying the allegations, and then being shown in a videotape using cocaine and making indecent sexual proposals to a young Jedi student.

In the Mel Brooks movie Spaceballs, the character Yogurt, who is played by Mel Brooks himself, is an obvious spoof on Yoda, but is also considered to be a spoof on Obi-Wan Kenobi. Yogurt teaches Lone Star the ways of the "Schwartz" (parody of the Force; "Schwartz" is a common Ashkenazi Jewish surname).

Trivia

• Yoda is the only character to die peacefully from natural causes in the whole Star Wars story. Every single film death before and after occurs violently and unnaturally.
• George Lucas has intentionally kept the name of Yoda's race a secret.
• Is a practitioner of Ataru, an acrobatic lightsaber combat form, which presents some weakness that lead Qui-Gon Jinn to his own demise. After his death, most adepts of that form moved to another style, such as the defensive Soresu. Hence Yoda was probably the last great practitioner of Ataru.

References

• The Jedi Apprentice series by Dave Wolverton and Jude Watson
• Episode I: The Phantom Menace, 1st edition paperback, 1999. Terry Brooks, George Lucas, ISBN 0-345-43411-0
• Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Novelization, 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1
• The Annotated Screenplays, softcover, 1997. George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau, ISBN 0-345-40981-7
• The Courtship of Princess Leia, 1995. Dave Wolverton, ISBN 0-553-56937-6
• Mission from Mount Yoda, 1993. Paul Davids, Hollace Davids, ISBN 0-553-15890-2
• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, 2nd edition, 1994. Bill Slavicsek, ISBN 0-345-38625-6
• The Essential guide to Characters (Star Wars), 1st edition, 1995. Andy Mangels, ISBN 0-245-39535-2
• The New Essential Guide to Characters, 1st edition, 2002. Daniel Wallace, Michael Sutfin, ISBN 0-345-44900-2
• Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1998. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-789-43481-4
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 2005. James Luceno, ISBN 0-756-61128-8
• Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Revised Core Rulebook, hardcover, 2002. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, J.D. Wiker, ISBN 0-786-92876-X
• Star Wars Roleplaying Game: Power of the Jedi Sourcebook, hardcover, 2002. Michael Mikaelian, Jeff Grubb, Owen K.C. Stephens, James Maliszewski, ISBN 0-786-92781-X

External links

• Yoda in the StarWars.com Databank
• Yoda on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki

• Star Wars Old Republic characters
• Puppets
• CGI characters
• Fictional generals
• Jedi masters