Star Wars: 10 Things You Never Knew About Mace Windu

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Find out what Samuel L Jackson demanded for his role.

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00:00In the minds of most casual Star Wars fans, Mace Windu is probably best known for one thing.

00:06Samuel L. Jackson played him.

00:07But there's a lot more to Mace Windu than a Hollywood A-lister and his purple lightsaber, I'll have you know.

00:13And here's a list to prove it!

00:15I'm Gareth from WhatCultureStarWars and here are 10 things you never knew about Mace Windu.

00:2110. He Almost Killed a Fellow Jedi

00:23Simply put, nothing upset Windu more than a fellow Jedi betraying their ideals.

00:29Don't you just hate it when that happens?

00:31This was because, more than almost any other member of the Order, Windu was devoted to maintaining the way and ideals of the Jedi.

00:38So it's not a surprise that Windu felt incredibly challenged when he learned that one of his fellow Jedi had betrayed the Order.

00:45This was way before Anakin Skywalker sent Windu sailing out of a Senate office window like an electrified hacky sack mind.

00:52Early in the Clone Wars, Windu was sent to investigate a planet called Hissrich.

00:56Part of Windu's team was a young Jedi called Praset Dibs.

00:59Dibs, of course, was concerned about the role the Jedi played in the Clone Wars,

01:03as he believed that the war had contaminated Jedi doctrine and so he confronted Windu with his concerns.

01:10Windu was having none of it though, and the two eventually found themselves in the midst of a duel.

01:15Windu ended the fight by force-pushing Dibs to the ground.

01:18Then, for a brief moment, Windu contemplated murdering Dibs there and then.

01:22Such was his anger for those he considered to be traitors.

01:26But Windu's better nature won out, and the Master instead arrested Dibs so he could stand trial.

01:329. He has Samuel L. Jackson to thank for his unique lightsaber

01:36One of Mace Windu's most recognisable features is his purple lightsaber, isn't it?

01:41In-universe, the lightsaber's unique colour is thanks to an amethyst kyber crystal at its core.

01:46In reality though, the purple lightsaber was a request of Samuel L. Jackson.

01:50His reasoning? He wanted to easily spot himself on screen, as you do.

01:55So thanks to Jackson, along with the character having a clearly defined personality,

01:59or at least being borderline compelling, he also came equipped with the coolest lightsaber in the galaxy.

02:058. Windu was considered the Jedi's greatest champion

02:08During the dark times of the Clone Wars, Windu was considered by the Jedi to be their greatest champion.

02:15He worked hard to preserve the Jedi's ancient traditions during the time of war.

02:19He was also elected to lead the Jedi Council during said conflict.

02:23His role as champion was less about his ability as a warrior and more about his devotion to the Jedi way.

02:29But he was also a pretty badass warrior, which always helps.

02:32Alongside Yoda, he was one of the most feared and most respected Jedi in all the galaxy,

02:36before, you know, said pushing.

02:397. In his youth, he was deeply offended by heretics and conmen

02:43Early in his life as a Jedi, Mace Windu had some, let's say, anger issues.

02:49Nothing got his blood boiling quite like a heretic, though.

02:52And as chance would have it, he would come into contact with one of these conmen on a mission on the planet, Mathis.

02:58On this mission, a young Padawan Windu encountered a man named Druze.

03:02Druze had taken up residence in an abandoned Jedi temple.

03:05Whilst here, he had duped citizens of the planet into believing he was in fact a Jedi.

03:09And Druze challenged a small fortune to perform fake miracles.

03:13Having such strong faith in both the Force and Jedi teachings, Mace found Druze very much offensive.

03:19So when Windu finally confronted Druze, he had some choice words for the Force prophet.

03:24You would twist such a beautiful thing as faith into something so vile?

03:27Ring out what measly credit and adoration you could from these poor people?

03:32All while besmirching the esteem of the Jedi Order?

03:34I will make sure you never hurt another soul again.

03:37This I vow as a true Jedi.

03:39A very articulate lad.

03:42Number 6.

03:42He ordered the attempted assassination of Count Dooku

03:45Windu was highly committed to ending the war with the Separatists.

03:49So much so that he argued for the assassination of former Jedi Master Count Dooku.

03:53This is a pretty drastic move when you think about it.

03:56Sure, with hindsight, we know that Dooku was a Dark Lord of the Sith under the manipulation of Darth Sidious.

04:01But during much of the Clone Wars, the Jedi were not entirely privy to this knowledge.

04:05As far as Windu was concerned, Dooku was no more than a political enemy.

04:10But after witnessing the devastation of war, Windu convinced the Jedi Council to send an assassin to kill Dooku.

04:16Yoda didn't exactly agree with this course of action.

04:18But with the support of Anakin Skywalker, the plan went forward.

04:22It ultimately failed of course, but Dooku was later killed by Anakin.

04:25Who consequently was responsible for the death of Mace Windu too.

04:28As it goes, Anakin had some anger issues as well, didn't he?

04:31What's crazy about this plan is that Dooku was once palled with Windu.

04:35Windu was willing to kill Dooku for the slim chance of ending a galactic war.

04:405. Yoda Taught Him To Fear Attachment At A Younger Age By Taking His Rattle

04:45Yoda and Mace were two of the most stoic Jedi of their time.

04:49And they both felt that emotional attachment was a path to the dark side.

04:53But there was a time when, rather than colleagues, Yoda was more of a babysitter for Mace.

04:57Like all younglings, Mace was trained by Yoda as a boy and his training actually started in the crib.

05:03In one of the many Star Wars novels, Windu describes his early struggles with attachment.

05:08And Master Yoda was simply having none of it.

05:10Mace relates his earliest memory of Yoda to this moment of him taking his toy rattle.

05:15Mace of course cried and reached out with the force.

05:17But Yoda held it in place and eventually the toy broke.

05:21Mace claims this was Yoda's way of teaching him a valuable lesson.

05:24But we should all consider the possibility that Yoda was just being a bit of a dick.

05:294. Windu Used A Dangerous Lightsaber Form That Channelled The Dark Side

05:33Part of the reason Windu was able to fare so well with Palpatine is because he already sort of used the dark side.

05:39Okay, obviously Windu is not an out-and-out Sith Lord.

05:42He did, however, use the dark side of the force to his advantage while in combat.

05:47This was through his use of the Form 7 lightsaber combat, known as VARPAD, also called the Ferocity Form.

05:53Form 7 was known to be a very aggressive form of lightsaber attack.

05:57Unlike other lightsaber techniques, Form 7 encouraged an unchecked use of emotions.

06:02And if you know anything about the Jedi, you know they really hate those down emotions for some strange reason.

06:08Very few Jedi use Form 7 until Windu himself refined the technique in what he dubbed VARPAD.

06:13It was thought to be a bit dangerous to use, to be honest.

06:15And even Windu was hesitant to allow other Jedi to study the form.

06:19However, his use of VARPAD is probably what allowed him to best Palpatine in their lightsaber duel.

06:24And speaking of which...

06:253. He Could Have Killed Palpatine

06:27With Windu's prowess as a warrior in mind, he was definitely going to kill Palpatine.

06:32There is some controversy about whether Palpatine feigned defeat to manipulate Anakin.

06:37But let's just take a quick look at said skirmish for a moment.

06:40When Windu confronts the Sith Lord, Palpatine dispatches Windu's three Jedi Master companions in short order.

06:45And many have argued that Palpatine does this to focus all his energy on his only true threat, Mr. Mace Windu.

06:52Windu and Palpatine engage in a prolonged bout until the Jedi eventually gets the upper hand.

06:56Whether you believe this was by Palpatine's nefarious design, or Windu truly bested the Sith,

07:01the truth most likely is Windu had Palpatine right where he wanted him.

07:05So if it hadn't been for little old Anakin, Palpatine would have been Mace Windu's further taken.

07:10And the galaxy would have likely been a whole lot safer, to be honest.

07:122. His home planet appeared to be a gaseous nightmare scape

07:17Mace Windu hailed from a mid-rimmed planet called Harun-Khal.

07:21Those words roughly translate to above the clouds in Galactic Basic.

07:25The reason Harun-Khal is called above the clouds is that from orbit you might think this is an ocean world like Mon Cala or Kamino.

07:32The ocean isn't water though, it's an extremely toxic cocktail of noxious gases.

07:37These gases emerge from thousands of active volcanoes on the planet's surface.

07:41A charming habitat if ever you'd seen one.

07:44Harun-Khal's habitable zones are serene mountaintops, and plateaus high enough to rise above the volcanic atmosphere.

07:50This mirrors the personality of Windu himself, who was calm and collected on the surface.

07:54However, he often channeled his submerged dark emotions to become a formidable Jedi warrior.

07:59How poetic.

08:001. He was trained by Sislin Myr

08:04It might be a bit hard to believe, but Mace Windu was once a Padawan.

08:08Just like all young Jedi. I know, what are the odds?

08:11He also had a master, as it goes. A woman named Sislin Myr.

08:14In fact, it was Myr who travelled with Windu to the planet Mathas to confront the false prophet Druze.

08:19Outside of this mission, not much is known about Sislin Myr, as this is her only appearance in canon.

08:24In Star Wars Legends, of course, Windu was trained by the Jedi Master Thrasar.

08:29Owing to her species' extended lifespans, Thrasar lived through some of the galaxy's most intense conflicts.

08:35Thrasar was also a general during the Clone Wars.

08:37She survived the Jedi Purge and the Galactic Civil War, and went on to help found the new Jedi Order.

08:42So, all in all, what did we learn?

08:44Mace Windu was a devoted Jedi, a controlled and powerful warrior, and overall, a pretty cool dude.

08:49Before Anakin decided to help Sidious fire him out of a window.

08:52And that's our list.

08:54Know of any other things people never knew about Mace Windu?

08:56Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below,

08:59and do not forget to like, share, and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.

09:03Also, if you like this kind of thing, then head on over to whatculture.com

09:06and find some more incredible articles just like the one this video you're watching right now is based on.

09:11I have been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars.

09:13Thank you as always for clicking on this video today, and I'm sure I'll see you very, very soon.

09:18Bye-bye!

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