With Force Friday already in the rear-view, there’s no better way to celebrate all your Star Wars merchandise than by re-binge watching Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The animated series follows the Republic’s clone army as they fight against Count Dooku’s Separatist forces. While it features many well-known Star Wars characters, such as Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, we also get a much larger glimpse into the Jedi Order.
In order to celebrate some of those lesser known Jedi Masters, we’ve created this non-exclusive list of 12 Awesome Jedi Masters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Keep in mind that, although we all love Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, we’ve purposefully left them off this list to focus on those Masters with less immediate name recognition.
Kit Fisto
One of the funniest Jedi Masters, Kit Fisto was enthusiastic about going into battle, and he was known for his killer smile in the arena. Fisto was considered one of the best duelists in the Jedi Order, with particular skill in Form I combat – which was particularly effective against multiple opponents.
Since General Grievous wielded four lightsabers, Fisto’s fighting style was well-suited against him. Fisto more than holds his own against Grievous, even cutting off his legs and later one of his hands, and their duels are among the best looking fights in the series.
Plo Koon
Master Plo Koon is wise like Yoda, but much more direct and level-headed, making him a great mentor and parental figure for young Jedi. While his distinctive face mask gives off a villainous impression, he had a particularly close bond to Ahsoka Tano and often served as a role model for her.
But he’s more than just a wise leader – Sith Lord Darth Maul believed Koon was one of the greatest Jedi warriors of his time. Although he was well-skilled in hand-to-hand combat, he also was able to use the Force to alter the environment, creating whirlwinds, freezing water, and raising temperatures.
Saesee Tiin
Master Saesee Tiin served as one of the twelve Jedi Masters on the Jedi High Council. Not a particularly talkative or friendly Jedi, Tiin was sometimes seen as a bit of a recluse with a deep loathing for traitors to the Order. But what Tiin lacked in social skills, he made up for with his lightsaber ability and being one of the best Starfighter pilots.
Natural telepathic abilities aided his skill at sensing a route through hyperspace without relying on a navigation computer. His abilities proved instrumental in the Battle of Lola Sayu when he, along with Adi Gallia and Kit Fisto, served as escorts for Plo Koon’s gunship.
Luminara Unduli
A no-nonsense adviser on the Jedi High Council, Master Luminara Unduli was a skilled teacher, with the ability to make her companions feel comfortable. Like most Masters, Unduli was incredibly skilled with a lightsaber, but she also used the Force to aid her in incredible acrobatic maneuvers. She easily twisted away during battles, leaped huge heights, and ran with great agility.
Unduli fought very close with her skilled Padawan Barriss Offee, and the two worked near flawlessly in tandem. But she proved during the Second Battle of Geonosis that she was prepared to let her Padawan go when the time came.
Eeth Koth
Master Eeth Koth was a committed member of the Order, with extreme dueling skills. He proved his lightsaber prowess in a battle near Arda when he defeated all of the commando droids before turning his lightsaber on General Grievous, almost defeating him before the MagnaGuard attacked. During the duel, Koth even wielded his lightsaber one-handed due to an injury.
Koth had the ability to endure extreme physical pain – an ability common to the Iridonian Zabrak species. He was even able to endure torture at the hands of General Grievous, secretly communicating his location to the Jedi Council with sign language.
Adi Gallia
A focused and quiet member of the Jedi Council, Master Adi Gallia proved her worth as both a negotiator and fighter. While her screen time on the show was limited, Gallia made the most of it with her semi-sarcastic personality and eagerness to bring the battle to her enemies.
Not one to shy away from danger, she volunteered to rescue Eeth Koth after he was captured by General Grievous and proved instrumental, working with Anakin Skywalker to destroy the commando droids surrounding Koth. Incredibly skilled in combat, she was a master swordsman and pilot, and she had the opportunity to duel General Grievous twice, though the second time ended in her capture.
Pong Krell
Master Pong Krell is one of the most combative and ferocious Jedi, and he is credited with many victories during the clone wars. A masterful tactician, Krell expected absolute obedience from his subordinates, and he often expressed displeasure and disappointment with the clone troopers during battle.
The Jedi General had a reputation for success in battle, but he also had a reputation for high casualty rates of clone troopers under his command. While he ultimately doesn’t live up to the Jedi way, you can’t deny it was awesome to watch him wield two double-bladed lightsabers.
Ki-Adi-Mundi
A member of the Council, Master Ki-Adi-Mundi served the Republic as a general leading clone troops during the Clone Wars. Mundi had a binary brain, like all Cereans, which made him extremely logical and well-suited to battle tactics. He’d poor over intelligence for hours, attempting to find his enemies weakness.
His most impressive victory was the Second Battle of Geonosis, where he led one front of a three-pronged attack. After his gunship was shot down, he led his troops on foot through a cave eventually meeting up with Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi’s forces. After an injury prevents Mundi from continuing in the attack, it’s revealed that he killed more enemies than either Skywalker or Ashoka Tano during the battle.
Ima-Gun Di
While he didn’t appear in the series long, Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di’s efforts at Ryloth certainly made an impression. Like many other Jedi Masters during the Clone Wars, Di became a Jedi General in charge of clone troops. In an impossible situation, he proved himself a capable tactician after his troops were cut off from reinforcements.
In an effort to help the Twi’leks escape with their families, Di developed a plan that forced the clone troopers and himself to make a final stand against the droids. While the Republic forces on the ground were eliminated, the maneuver allowed the Twi’leks to escape and receive aid from the Republic.
Aayla Secura
Master Aayla Secura was a wise leader during the Clone Wars and very skilled in combat, both with a lightsaber and unarmed. Secura proved instrumental in saving Anakin Skywalker after he was caught in an explosion and their ship crashed when she led a group to find help.
She was also able to Force cloak, a difficult technique that allowed her to become virtually invisible to the naked eye. She had a close bond with Master Quinlan Vos and Master Kit Fisto, but ultimately was able to let go of her attachments with other Jedi for the good of the Order – a skill she would later help Ahsoka Tano with.
Tera Sinube
Unlike many Jedi Masters on this list, Master Tera Sinube didn’t serve in the Republic forces during the Clone Wars. Instead, he worked as an investigator for the Jedi Order, using his knowledge of the criminal underworld to assist other Jedi. He used the Force to assist him in reading and sensing the emotions of those around him, making him very skilled in interrogation and deductive reasoning.
A supremely slow-moving and patient Jedi, Sinube feared that Ashoka Tano’s quick action when her lightsaber was stolen would cause her to fail in her quest. He agreed to go on his first assignment in years and accompanied her, teaching her the value of planning and patience in the process.
Quinlan Vos
Jedi Master Quinlan Vos was one of the more laid-back of the Jedi masters. Although he sometimes flirted with the dark side of the Force, it’s a testament to his character that he was able to overcome the dark side during the Clone Wars. While acting as a double agent for Count Dooku, he mastered Vaapad – a form of lightsaber combat that was restricted because members of the Order believed it led practitioners to the dark side.
He was incredibly talented with the Force, able to use Force cloak, Force chock, and Force lightning. His Padawan, Aayla Secura, went on to become a respected Jedi Master herself, and the two maintained a close bond throughout the Clone Wars.
-
These are only some of the Jedi Masters that populate the universe of Star Wars: Clone Wars. Did we miss any of your favorite characters? Let us know in the comments!