Yoda

Related Topics:
Yoda :: Yoda_Stories

Jedi Master Yoda (896 BBY ^* –4 ABY), voiced by Frank Oz, is one of the most iconic characters in the Star Wars universe. He appears in all of the franchise's installments except for Episode IV A New Hope. Like many names in Star Wars, the name "Yoda" is supposed to have been etymologically derived from some ancient language - in this case possibly from the Sanskrit yoddha ("warrior") and/or the Hebrew yodea ("one who knows"). Yoda's character is believed by some to have been inspired by the title character in the 1975 Russian-Japanese film Dersu Uzala directed by Akira Kurosawa.

History

Early years

Standing merely 66 cm tall, Yoda is one of the senior members of the Jedi Council and arguably the wisest and most powerful Jedi of his time, even toward his demise, though the toll of his great age is noticeable. Over his lifetime, Yoda trains several notable Jedi, including Count Dooku, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi (partially, before Qui-Gon Jinn took over with Obi-Wan's training), Ki-Adi-Mundi and eventually Luke Skywalker. Before the Great Jedi Purge, he had trained almost every Jedi in the Galaxy since he instructed all younglings in the Jedi Temple before they were assigned to a master (c. 800 BBY to 19 BBY).

George Lucas has intentionally kept the name of Yoda's race a secret. (Yoda, Yaddle, and Vandar Tokare are sometimes erroneously referred to as Whills, despite Lucas' insistence that they are not.) In fact, very little is reported of Yoda's life before the events of The Phantom Menace. It is speculated from the Expanded Universe that he achieved the status of Jedi Knight at the age of 50 and the rank of Jedi Master at 100. Following his training, Yoda is said to have spent 100 years in self-imposed solitude, attempting to attain a higher level of understanding of the Force. He was one of the Jedi Masters who ran the mobile academy aboard the starship Chu'unthor circa 200 BBY, leaving the ship's data tapes in the care of one of the natives when the vessel crashed on Dathomir.

The Phantom Menace

In 32 BBY ( The Phantom Menace), Qui-Gon brings the young Anakin Skywalker to the Jedi Council, claiming that the boy is the Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force, and requests to train him once Obi-Wan has completed the trials necessary to become a Jedi Knight (Jedi can only have one Padawan at a time). Yoda, as the teacher of many of those on the Council, and its most venerable and respected member, plays a key role in that body's initial decision to deny the request. Yoda believes that the boy is clearly affected by his years as a slave, and that he still clings too tightly to the memory of his mother to be trained safely. His future, Yoda thinks, is clouded.

After Qui-Gon's death at the hands of Darth Maul, however, the Council rescinds its previous decision, presumably concluding that the threat of the Sith's resurgence at the same time a potential 'Chosen One' appears before them is a coincidence too meaningful to ignore, and, despite Yoda's explicit protest to the contrary, Anakin is taken as a Jedi Padawan to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Attack of the Clones

In 22 BBY ( Attack of the Clones), Yoda is a key Republic general at the Battle of Geonosis, when the clone trooper Army of the Republic is first deployed. He leads the group which rescues Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padmé Amidala from execution at the hands of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, aka the Separatists. At the climax of the battle, Yoda duels with Separatist leader and Sith Lord Count Dooku, who was once Yoda's Jedi apprentice. This confrontation ends with Dooku narrowly escaping by threatening Yoda's injured comrades Anakin and Obi-Wan. Although seemingly frail, the ancient Yoda demonstrates a legendary mastery of lightsaber combat (Form IV lightsaber combat, aka "Ataru," known for using the Force to achieve extreme acrobatics - see the seven forms of lightsaber combat).

According to the book Dark Rendezvous (which is set in 19.5 BBY, approximately 3 years after the Battle of Geonosis), Yoda battles Dooku a second time. This time, however, Yoda attempts to lure Dooku back to the light side by mysteriously insisting Dooku tell him about the dark side. Yoda claims if he and Dooku were to join forces, the war would be at an end. Dooku tells Yoda that although the Jedi are good, he feels they are just the tools of a corrupt republic. The eventual battle ended when Yoda was distracted by a flying missile, giving Dooku enough time to escape.

Revenge of the Sith

For all his mastery of the Force, however, Yoda does not foresee Anakin's fall to the dark side of the Force.

In 19 BBY ( Revenge of the Sith), Chancellor Palpatine, who by now has near-absolute power in the Galactic Senate, appoints Anakin to the Jedi Council as his own representative. Again, the Council is hesitant about Anakin's temperament but acquiesces to the request. Yoda and Mace Windu continue to be powerful forces in the young Jedi's ascension in the order, as they deny him the rank of Jedi Master. They know that to give him the rank of Master will also give him a vote in all Council matters, and would be the same as giving Palpatine a vote in the Council — something they were not willing to allow.

It is at about this time that Yoda leads the Council in pursuing the mysterious Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Yoda uses his incredible sensitivity and power with the Force to sense the Sith Lord's presence, finally concluding that Sidious is someone within Palpatine's inner circle.

Anakin, meanwhile, seeks Yoda's counsel 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."

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, Palpatine grabbing a safety bar and Yoda clinging to the side of a pod. The Jedi Master slips and falls many stories below. Sensing the arriving Clone Troopers, Yoda retreats and 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 on to Obi-Wan.

Yoda 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 Episode IV A New Hope, as his character had presumably not yet been created at the time of the film's production.

The Empire Strikes Back

Twenty-two years after Yoda's exile, in 3 ABY ( The Empire Strikes Back), Luke Skywalker arrives on 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 ( Episode VI 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." He leaves Luke with the knowledge "there is another Skywalker." 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 Masters Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi seem 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 Kenobi. Master Yoda can dissipate and deflect Force Lightning, telekinetically lift enormous objects, including an X-wing starfighter, and use Force Push to an untold degree. Yoda is even able to use Battle Meditation to win battles by lifting the morale of thousands of companions while simultaneously dampening the spirits of thousands of his opponents. He can purge dark side manifestations through the use of Force Light, foresee events with great clarity and feel the deaths of individual people and can identify them. These skills, in particular, show a far more profound knowledge of the Force than most Jedi Masters or Sith Lords of his time possess.

Personality and traits

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) after 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 elderly Yoda walks with a cane. In the Expanded Universe, it is revealed that one of his canes is a gift from the Wookiees, and that his gimer stick cane contains nutrients that can sustain him were he to chew on it.

Another item unique to Master Yoda is a blissl, an instrument similar to a panflute, which he wears around his neck while on Dagobah.

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.

It is often speculated that the basis for Yoda's character may be derived from Japanese martial arts masters of Aikido/Aikijitsu such as Sokaku Takeda or Morihei Ueshiba or Gozo Shioda. Aside from Yoda's speech which somewhat mirror Japanese syntax, aiki arts are centered on the concept of ki (the Force) in their techniques. Takeda was a master of the Ohoha Itto-ryu sword style while Ueshiba (known as O sensei in the martial arts world) was a master of the Yagyu Shinkage ryu sword style as well as Daito ryu Aikijitsu. It should also be noted that Ueshiba founded, formulated, and promulgated Aikido. Aikido does not rely on brute strength and coincidently, many aikido masters are short, Takeda, standing just under 4'11", which earned him the nickname Ko-tengu, little tengu which refer to mythtical humanoid demigod in Japan. This comparison with Japanese budo masters is not inappropriate given George Lucas' fascination with Japanese samurai movies, the now famous jidaigeki.

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 Episode I 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. A clip of the new CG Yoda from The Phantom Menace can be seen in the featurette The Chosen One, included in the DVD release of Revenge of the Sith.

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 trainees, (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. Yogurt teaches Lone Starr the ways of the "Schwartz" (parody of the Force; "Schwartz" is a common Ashkenazi Jewish surname).

In the Steve Oedekerk filmette Thumb Wars, the character "The Puppet" is a parody of Yoda, teaching "Loke Groundrunner" (Luke Skywalker) the ways of "the Thumb."

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.
Yoda 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.
Out of all the characters in the prequel trilogy, Yoda was the last benevolent (in that he remained benevolent for all time) one to die.

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

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