- “I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi. The dark side of the Force surrounds the Chancellor.”
- ―Mace Windu
Mace Windu is a character in the Star Wars universe, most famously portrayed by actor Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel films. However, Mace has been voiced by other actors in video games and other animated projects. Mace has appeared at all Star Wars Weekends as a meetable character, alongside Kit Fisto and Shaak Ti. He also appeared in Hyperspace Hoopla.
Windu is a Jedi Master and member of the High Council during the final years of the Galactic Republic, who wields a unique purple-bladed lightsaber. Despite the Clone Wars causing him to question his most firmly held beliefs, he is a staunch follower of the Jedi path and was distrustful of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker because he felt that he had dangerous potential. Towards the end of the Clone Wars, he learns from Anakin that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and attempts to arrest him, only to be killed by the Sith Lord with the help of Anakin himself, who then becomes Darth Vader. During the final battle in The Rise of Skywalker, Windu appears as a disembodied voice, along with other past Jedi, empowering Rey to face the rejuvenated Darth Sidious.
Background[]
Personality[]
Even for a Jedi, Mace has a unique personality: he is serious, noted for his grim demeanor and very cautious, to the point of occasional reluctance, a careful chooser of his friends, being slow to trust or being mistrustful. Despite this, he is highly compassionate and extremely brave, willing to risk life and limb many times to protect the people of the Republic, as well as his fellow Jedi and even the clone troopers under his command. He also has a certain value for life, opposing the constant attempts to kill the mighty Zillo Beast, which he correctly presumed to be the last of its species. Mace firmly believed in the role of the Jedi as the Republic's servants rather than its masters, and displayed a fierce dedication to the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic alike. A staunch traditionalist, Mace was long regarded as the great champion of the Jedi Order. Luke Skywalker stated that Windu was a paragon of Jedi virtue.
As a Jedi, Mace is intelligent, wise and perceptive. He is very overconfident in his own abilities, being prideful and known to be outspoken, occasionally sarcastic and largely obstinate. But he does not realize that his mistrust towards Anakin is slowly turning him against the Jedi Order. At the times he keeps his arrogance under control for the most part, he is humble towards others, such as his fellow Jedi Master Yoda, and is also seen treating most civilians and his fellow Jedi with respect.
However, he also often can be somewhat cold and dismissive towards others, especially the rebellious Jedi and corrupt politicians, all of whom he holds in low regard. This is seen as he distrusts and treats with little respect his fellow Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano, because of their rebellious nature. He disregards the fact that they are all exceptionally powerful Force-users, skilled lightsaber duelists, strong individuals and loyal members of the Jedi Order.
During Ahsoka Tano's trial, Mace shows his mistrustful nature when he states that the Jedi Council has to figure out who is trying to deceive them, and includes Ahsoka among the suspects. Then, representing all the members of the council, Mace informs Ahsoka that they decided to strip her of the Jedi status and turn her over to the Republic military, but after her innocence was proven and the real traitor apprehended, Mace joined his colleagues in offering to reinstate Ahsoka into the Jedi Order. Along with the other members of the council, he tries to make amends with her. Despite this, instead of apologizing and admitting he was wrong, he claims that Ahsoka's traumatic experience had been nothing more than a test given to her by the Force.
Ultimately, Mace's true motivation for all he does is in order to maintain the peace, normally acting as a diplomat. Furthermore, despite seeing the Jedi as the Republic's servants, he was disturbed by the relationship between the Jedi Order and the Senate. His distrusting traits lead him to correctly suspect Sheev Palpatine. Upon being informed by Anakin that Palpatine is in fact the Sith Master Darth Sidious, Mace immediately attempts to arrest him to prevent the destruction of the Jedi Order. However, right after he decides that the chancellor's hold over the system is to much to be dealt with through normal means of justice. Thus, determined to eliminate the threat to the Jedi Order, Mace decides to execute Sidious, even with Anakin stating that killing someone unarmed is against the Jedi Code. But this proved to be his downfall, as Anakin is spurred into action, cutting off Mace's lightsaber wielding hand.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- The Force: Mace has an extremely strong connection to the Force.
- Telekinesis: Mace can telekinetically move objects or other individuals without physically touching them, and he utilizes it for offensive or defensive purposes. His stronger connection, greater skill, and talent made him more effective with this power such as allowing him to easily catching and levitating troopers to safety after they had fallen from a cliff, a feat which was difficult for most other Force-users to achieve.
- Force Push: Mace can telekinetically send his opponents flying through the air, causing serious injury or temporarily incapacitating/knocking them unconscious, depending on how much power is unleashed.
- Force Pull: Mace can telekinetically pull his opponents or objects towards him.
- Force Repel: Mace can unleash a wave of pure Force-energy that knocks back anything within the power's blast radius or pushes multiple opponents simultaneously.
- Force Crush: Mace can telekinetically crush objects or droids.
- Mind Trick: Mace can control the minds of other sentient beings, except for individuals with indomitable wills. However, he can combine this power with other other Force-users to bypass this said indomitable will. His skill with telepathically influencing other individuals was enough to allow him to sedate and render them unconscious, as he did to the bounty hunter, and assassin Rako Hardeen with a mere hand gesture and verbal command.
- Force Vision: Mace can see visions of the past, present, and future. However, like all Force-users, his visions are not always clear or sometimes they happen without warning.
- Force Sense: Mace can sense another sentient being's emotions, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events, impending danger, and the presence of other light or dark side Force-users. However, Mace was unable to sense that Palpatine was a Force-user, particularly a dark side Force-user, even though he had been in close proximity to him on several occasions, due to Palpatine's power to hide his signature in the Force.
- Force Jump: Mace can jump or leap at great distances.
- Force Dash: Mace can move at amazing speeds.
- Shatterpoint: Mace can detect shatterpoints.
- Advanced Strength: Mace utilizes his Force powers to amplify his physical strength, making him physically stronger then most other sentient beings.
- Telekinesis: Mace can telekinetically move objects or other individuals without physically touching them, and he utilizes it for offensive or defensive purposes. His stronger connection, greater skill, and talent made him more effective with this power such as allowing him to easily catching and levitating troopers to safety after they had fallen from a cliff, a feat which was difficult for most other Force-users to achieve.
Abilities[]
- Master Lightsaber Duelist: Mace is an extremely skilled lightsaber duelist. Mace was able to defeat Palpatine in lightsaber combat, a feat which even Yoda could not achieve.
- Form V: Mace is extremely skilled in Shien/Djem So.
- Form VII: Mace is a master of Juyo/Vaapad. In fact, he is the only known Jedi to have truly mastered the style, as Juyo/Vaapad was generally favored by dark side Force-users, due to its aggression and unpredictability.
- High-Level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leader: Mace is highly intelligent and wise. As a Jedi General and the former leader of the Jedi Order, Mace is a highly skilled tactician and a very capable leader.
Weapons and Equipment[]
Lightsabers[]
Mace's valued weapon and possession are his purple-bladed lightsaber. He has had two lightsabers. Mace's second lightsaber was comprised of Phrik and black alloy, making it completely indestructible, even to other lightsabers.
- First Lightsaber: Mace had built his first purple-bladed lightsaber on Hurikane which he used throughout his Jedi career. It would remain in Mace's possession until he became the Master of the Order.
- Second Lightsaber: Mace had built a new purple-bladed lightsaber sometime before the First Battle of Geonosis, using the same crystal from his first lightsaber. He used it throughout his Jedi career and the entirety of the Clone Wars, and it would remain in Mace's possession until his death. Although it is unknown what happened to it after Mace's death, as it was last seen falling out of a window from Darth Sidious' office after Mace's duel with the Dark Lord of the Sith.
Film Appearances[]
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace[]
Mace was the leader of the Jedi Order, and head of the Jedi Council when Qui-Gon Jinn came back from Tatooine with news of a Sith. He also asked the Council if they would train a nine year old boy named Anakin Skywalker, who he sensed was unusually strong with the Force and found he had more midichlorians than Yoda. He had concluded that Anakin was the 'Chosen One' destined to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith. Mace was sceptical of Qui-Gon's claims, but agreed to test Anakin. The Council was impressed by Anakin's abilities, but refused to train him, believing he was too old and dangerously full of fear and anger.
Mace later attended Qui-Gon's funeral, along with Yoda. Qui-Gon had been killed by the Sith Darth Maul on Naboo during the battle after Obi-Wan was separated from the duel due to the laser shields that lead to the chamber where the duel took place. While there Yoda said to him there are always a master and an apprentice with a Sith, Mace agreed but wondered which one Maul was.
Star Wars: Attack of the Clones[]
Ten years after Qui-Gon's death, a Separatist movement was being led by ex-Jedi Count Dooku, Qui-Gon's former mentor and Yoda's former apprentice. Also Senator Padmé Amidala was the victim of many assassination attempts. They had assigned Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker to protect her. After another attempt, the Council sent Obi-Wan to track the dart that killed Padmé's assassin and sent Anakin to Naboo to protect her. Later on, Obi-Wan reported that on the planet Kamino he found a bounty hunter named Jango Fett who he thought was the killer and the Council told him to arrest him. When Anakin kills the entire tusken raiders who killed her mother, Yoda felts this and informs it to Mace. Later on they received a message from Obi-Wan who was on Geonosis who said that Dooku was working with Fett and Viceroy Nute Gunray is behind of the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala, although he was captured before he could finish. The message also went to Anakin who they denied rights to going to rescue Obi-Wan, although he disobeyed this to stay where he is currently. Windu led a strike team of Jedi to rescue him while Yoda went to get the Clone Army Obi-Wan told him about.
Mace kills Jango.
When Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padmé were about to be executed, Mace came to the top balcony and put his lightstaber around Jango's throat while telling Dooku that "this party's over", but was shot off the balcony by Super Battle Droids and Jango's retaliation. Many Jedi came from the stands and they began to fight. During the battle, Fett came down and Mace decapitated him, leaving his son, Boba, an orphan. All Jedi were surrounded, with several casualties, and were given the option of surrender, but Mace spoke for the others and refused. Yoda and the Clone Army came and saved them and Mace went to fight the Battle of Geonosis in the same ship as Yoda, Mater Ki-Adi Mundi, and Jedi Knight Kit Fisto. The Clones became an army for the Republic and the Clone Wars started, in which Mace was made a general.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith[]
- “This party's over.”
- ―Mace Windu
Three years after the start of the Clone Wars, Mace Windu was no longer the leader of the Jedi Order, and head of the Jedi Council, he had been replaced by Yoda.
During the Clone Wars, the Council became increasingly suspicious of Chancellor Palpatine and his growing power in the Senate. The fearsome cyborg, General Grievous, had taken him captive and brought him aboard his ship above Coruscant. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former Padawan Anakin Skywalker were sent by Mace to rescue him and they came back with him, claiming Anakin killed Dooku (who now went by Darth Tyranus). Palpatine pointed out that Grievous was the leader of the droid army; Mace promised the Council would make it their highest priority to find Grievous. Mace and the other Council members denied Anakin's request to become a Jedi Master and asked him if he could spy on Palpatine, who had chosen Anakin as his representative on the Council. Yoda left to Kashyyyk to assist the Wookiees that were under attack there, whilst Obi-Wan went to Utapau to kill Grievous now that he has been located there.
Windu before his death
Mace was later informed by Anakin that Palpatine was really the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious. Mace left with Kit Fisto, Saesse Tin, and Agen Kolar to arrest Sidious in his office (originally, he was only going to bring Agen Kolar before learning of this). When they got there, Sidious killed Tin and Kolar almost instantly. Kit was also slain very quickly and it was just Mace who was left. After a vicious duel, Mace shattered the window and disarmed Sidious. He had Sidious on the ground when he began to shoot Force lightning at him, but he managed to deflect it back with his lightsaber, disfiguring Sidious and unmasking his true hideous appearance. Anakin, who was secretly married to Padmè who was pregnant and believed only Sidious could save her if she died in birth, came in and begged Mace to spare Sidious. Mace refused, telling him that Sidious was the real traitor of the Galactic Republic and keeping him alive would be far too dangerous. As he was about to kill Sidious, Anakin intervened and cut off Mace's lightsaber arm. As he screamed in shock and pain, Mace realized that he had not realized what Sidious' greatest weapon was. Sidious cackled and proceeded to blast him with Force lightning and Force-pushed Mace out of the broken window, sending him falling to his death.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker[]
Mace's voice is heard when he and the other Jedi from the past communicate with Rey to help her in defeating the revived Darth Sidious once and for all.
Printed Media[]
Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic—Mace Windu[]
In 2017, Marvel released Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic—Mace Windu, a 5-issue series centered around Mace Windu during the early days of the Clone Wars. He leads a small team of Jedi on a mission to the planet Hissrich, to find out what the Separatists are doing there. During the mission, Windu's faith in the Jedi path is tested by his interactions with two new characters: AD-W4, a mercenary droid with a thirst for murdering Jedi; and Prosset Dibs, a literally blind Jedi Master who becomes disillusioned with the Jedi Order and turns on Windu. Ultimately, Windu ends up besting both adversaries in single combat, respectively, and his faith in the Jedi way is strengthened by the experience.
Video Games[]
Star Wars: Force Arena[]
Mace Windu is the assist character for Yoda, available as a Unique card.
Relationships[]
Friends and Allies[]
Yoda[]
Like all Jedi, Mace deeply respects Yoda and regards him as the oldest and wisest Jedi of his time. He always obeys the ancient Jedi Master, but as a senior member of the Jedi Council, he is one of the few who dared to question him, though he rarely does so.
Yoda also holds Mace in high esteem and trained him when he was a young boy.
Obi-Wan Kenobi[]
Mace battling beside Obi-Wan.
Mace has a healthy respect with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan holds Mace in high esteem for his mastery of Form VII and Mace greatly admires Obi-Wan for his mastery of Form III. However, despite their mutual respect for each other, Obi-Wan often disagrees with Mace's questionable decisions. This is because Obi-Wan is a moderate who follows the Jedi Code while Mace is holds firmly to the teachings of the Jedi.
Qui-Gon Jinn[]
Although Mace and Qui-Gon are both Jedi Masters, they are often at odds due to their differing ways. Mace is a traditionalist who is staunchly committed to the Jedi Code and always yields to the will of the Council. Qui-Gon, on the other hand, is a maverick who is perfectly willing to disobey the Jedi Council and bend the rules of the Code if he feels it is the right choice. Because of Qui-Gon's maverick nature, Mace has a low opinion of him, though he does tolerate Qui-Gon. Despite this, he is shown to be skeptical about Qui-Gon's theory that the Sith had returned and his insistence that young Anakin Skywalker is the prophesied Chosen One. In both cases, Qui-Gon is ultimately proved to be right.
Ahsoka Tano[]
Like most Jedi, Ahsoka holds Mace in high esteem for his legendary wisdom and fighting skills, but her admiration is not reciprocated, as he holds her in low esteem because of her young age and rebellious nature.
The bond between Mace and Ahsoka was destroyed when she was accused of treason. Like most of the Jedi, Mace refused to believe in her innocence and coldly expelled her from the Jedi Order without a fair trial. After Ahsoka was proven innocent, Mace joined the Jedi Council in offering to reinstate her into the Order, while trying to make amends with her like the others. However, instead of taking responsibility for his actions, he claimed that Ahsoka's traumatic experience had been nothing more than a test given to her by the Force. Ahsoka was deeply sad and refused the offer to return to the Jedi Order as a Jedi Knight, because the council never believed in her innocence, feeling she could no longer trust any member of the council.
During the Siege of Mandalore, Ahsoka learned via a hologram from Obi-Wan Kenobi that Mace, along with the other members of the Jedi High Council, had ordered Anakin Skywalker to spy on Sheev Palpatine after the Senate allowed to remain in office after his term as Supreme Chancellor has been expired. She was completely disgusted by the council's actions, and Ahsoka's already-negative opinion towards them became much lower than before. When she demanded to know more, Mace refused to elaborate and mockingly called her "citizen", as she had just told him and Yoda that she felt that her part in the Siege of Mandalore was as a normal citizen rather than as a Jedi.
Ahsoka and Mace parted ways on bad terms, and it was the last time that she saw the human Jedi Master alive before he was killed by Palpatine and Anakin that same day. While Ahsoka and Mace did not parted ways amicably, she was still saddened when she sensed his death, as they were ultimately on the same side, regarding them protecting the Republic from the Sith, despite them having completely different views.
Anakin Skywalker[]
Mace first met Anakin Skywalker when Qui-Gon Jinn brought him before the Jedi High Council for testing. As a firm believer in the Jedi Code, Mace thus believed that Anakin (who was nearly ten years of age) was far too old to be trained as a Jedi. Unlike Yoda, he regarded Anakin's status as "the Chosen One" with a degree of skepticism. However, similar to Yoda, he viewed the young boy as potentially dangerous due to his internal conflict. But given Qui-Gon's last wish and Anakin's heroic actions during the Battle of Naboo, Mace reluctantly agreed to allow Anakin to be trained by Obi-Wan, though he continued to doubt Anakin's suitability for the life of a Jedi.
Over the years, Mace and Anakin came to respect each other fairly well due to their many similarities: both were born in the Outer Rim, have secret emotional attachments, and are hardliners who mastered particularly aggressive lightsaber styles (Anakin mastered Form V, while Mace mastered Form VII). However, they did not necessarily become friends and are often at odds due to their differing ways. Mace is staunchly committed to the Jedi Order's ancient traditions while Anakin is more than willing to push against the retraining rules of the order.
Anakin and Mace's respect for each other was severely shaken after Ahsoka was accused of treason. Anakin saw right away that Ahsoka had been framed, but the Jedi Council, including Mace, suspected her and were not convinced by her defending herself, claiming she was innocent. Mace urged that Anakin be left out of the matter because of the emotional bond between him and Ahsoka, but he was overruled by Yoda and Obi-Wan. When Wilhuff Tarkin demanded that Ahsoka be expelled from the Jedi Order and turned over to the Republic military for her so-called treason, Mace agreed to submit her for a trial. After a short council meeting, the members of the council had Ahsoka expelled from the Jedi Order. Anakin saw right away the meeting was just a formality to disguise how the council was casting Ahsoka out for the sake of self-interest and was disgusted by their shamelessness. After Ahsoka left the Jedi Order for good, Anakin lost completely the trust and respect for the council, including Mace.
As the Clone War dragged on, Mace became increasingly mistrustful of Anakin, believing him to be unstable, unpredictable and unreliable. Anakin's dislike for him was intensified after Mace coldly denied him the rank of Jedi Master when Anakin was placed on the Jedi Council, something Anakin perceived as an insult. Mace also ordered him (via Obi-Wan) to spy on Palpatine, whom Anakin considered a friend and mentor, further fueling Anakin's anger.
When Anakin informed him of Palpatine's true Sith identity, Mace accepted the truth. But he refused to allow Anakin to accompany him in confronting Sidious, believing it would be too much of a risk, as he sensed Anakin's fear and confusion clouding his judment. Despite this, Mace states that if what Anakin had told him was confirmed to be true, Anakin would have finally gained his trust.
After Mace subdued Sidious, he resolved to execute the Dark Lord of the Sith, believing he was too dangerous to be left alive due to his near-dictatorial power in the Senate. Anakin pleaded with Mace to spare Sidious, pointing out that killing an unarmed opponent was not the Jedi way, but Mace disregarded all his pleas and prepared to strike.
However, in concentrating all of his attention on Sidious, Mace underestimated Anakin, who stopped Mace by cutting off his lightsaber wielding hand, allowing Sidious to kill him. Despite his dislike for Mace, Anakin was horrified by what he had done and felt remorse over his part in Mace's demise, but knew there was no turning back and reluctantly pledged himself to the Sith Order.
However, many years later, in Anakin's final moments, he finally came to acknowledge Sidious as his true enemy similar to how Mace once did.
Enemies[]
Sheev Palpatine/Darth Sidious[]
Master Mace battles against Darth Sidious.
At first, Mace respected and admired Palpatine for his clean slate. When Dooku revealed the existence of Darth Sidious and that the Dark Lord of the Sith had hundreds of Senators under his control, Mace, unlike Yoda, took it seriously and vowed to keep a closer eye on the Galactic Senate. As Palpatine amassed near-dictatorial powers, Mace began to realize he was not what he seemed. When the CIS invaded Coruscant, Mace realized that it was an inside job and that Dooku was telling the truth.
Mace later had Anakin spy on Palpatine, and Anakin later revealed that Palpatine and Darth Sidious were in fact the same person. Shocked and startled by this terrible revelation, Mace immediately confronted the Dark Lord and just barely managed to defeat him with a combination of his mastery of Vaapad and his shatterpoint ability. Deciding that he was too dangerous to be kept alive, Mace prepared to execute the Dark Lord of the Sith, only to have his sword arm severed by an emotionally and desperate Anakin, allowing Sidious to kill him.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Samuel L. Jackson, Mace's actor, expressed interest in reprising his role of Mace in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but as a Force spirit. However, he didn't appear in the film, but he did voice Mace in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. In 2022 Jackson voiced his desire to return (alive) in The Mandalorian, even going so far as to contact Bryce Dallas Howard about the possibility of including him.
- The reason why his lightsaber is purple is because Jackson asked George Lucas something that would make him find himself easily in the big arena fight scene in Attack of the Clones.[1]
References[]
External links[]
Mace Windu on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki
Mace Windu on StarWars.com (backup link on Archive.org)
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