Obi-Wan Kenobi

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Star Wars character
Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
Position	Jedi Master, Jedi Council Member, General of the Republic
Homeworld	Unknown
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	1.75 m [1]
Affiliation	Jedi Order, Galactic Republic, Rebel Alliance
Portrayed by	Ewan McGregor (Episodes I-III) Sir Alec Guinness (Episodes IV-VI)

Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi (57 – 0 BBY) is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of the most prominent characters in the Star Wars saga; along with Anakin Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to have appearances (in some form or another) in each of the six Star Wars films. He is portrayed in Episodes I-III by Ewan McGregor, and in Episodes IV-VI by Sir Alec Guinness. He is voiced by Bernard Behrens in the NPR radio adaptation of Star Wars, and by James Arnold Taylor in the Clone Wars micro series and in the video game Revenge of the Sith.

Kenobi first appears in A New Hope, seemingly a reclusive hermit. He is revealed as a Jedi Knight, who then tutors Luke Skywalker in the Jedi arts. In episodes I-III he appears as a young Jedi, progressing from apprentice to master and tutoring the young Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father. Additional fiction in the Expanded Universe fills in more details of his life.

Contents 1 Personality 2 Appearances 2.1 The Phantom Menace 2.2 Attack of the Clones 2.3 The Clone Wars 2.4 Revenge of the Sith 2.5 A New Hope 2.6 The Empire Strikes Back 2.7 Return of the Jedi 2.8 Expanded Universe 2.8.1 Early life 2.8.2 Other Living appearances 2.8.3 Postmortem appearances 3 Powers and abilities 4 Inspirations 5 Outside of Star Wars 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Personality

In his youth (circa The Phantom Menace), the loyal and dedicated Obi-Wan Kenobi possessed a dry sense of humor and sarcastic wit, and a natural defiance. As a Jedi Knight, Kenobi seemed wise beyond his years, if a touch cynical, with a declared distrust of politicians. His humble and soft-spoken demeanor belied his warrior prowess. A skilled pilot (who, ironically, didn't like to fly), Kenobi could make peace with words, giving him the nickname "The Negotiator" during the Clone Wars.

In the original trilogy, he appeared as a kindly and eccentric old hermit of the Jundland Wastes, and wizard to those not familiar with the ways of the Jedi. During the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Kenobi matures from a 'by the book', headstrong and almost cold Jedi apprentice (or Padawan) in The Phantom Menace into a more sociable, but more cautious mentor in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] The Phantom Menace

At the beginning of The Phantom Menace, Kenobi is a 25-year old Padawan to Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). He accompanies Qui-Gon to Naboo, a planet ruled by Queen Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). After making an unscheduled landing on Tatooine, his master stumbles upon Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a young slave who shows tremendous potential with the Force. Believing the boy to be the prophesied "Chosen One" who would bring balance to the Force by destroying the Sith, Master Jinn wants the boy to be trained as a Jedi. Kenobi is also amazed in Anakin's unprecedented midi-chlorian count and strong Force potential, but initially thinks he should not be trained, believing the boy is already too old and had acquired too many emotional attachments to become a Jedi. Qui-Gon responds by saying that he will take on Anakin as a Padawan and informs the Jedi Council that Kenobi, his current Padawan, is ready to be a full Jedi Knight. However, the Council agrees with Kenobi, and forbids training for Anakin, in whom they see a great deal of fear and anger.

During the Battle of Naboo, Queen Amidala and her entourage of guards split up from her Jedi bodyguards when the Sith Lord Darth Maul (Ray Park) arrives to eliminate the Queen. Wielding a double-bladed lightsaber, Maul simultaneously battles them both. Kenobi, separated from the battle via holo-shields, watches in horror as his master is impaled by Maul's saber. Enraged, Kenobi attacks the Sith Lord, fiercely and rapidly engaging Maul in a duel, cutting Maul's lightsaber in half. Maul Force-pushes Kenobi into a reactor chasm and kicks his lightsaber into the depths below. Kenobi is saved by an extending pole that he barely grabs hold of. Utilizing his skills with the Force, Kenobi hurls himself into the air and simultaneously brings his master's saber into his hand, startling Maul and giving him just enough time to slice the Sith apprentice in half. The dying Jinn tells Kenobi to train Anakin Skywalker to be a Jedi, and Kenobi promises that he will.

For his heroics in defeating a Sith (making him the first Jedi in a thousand years to do so), Master Yoda personally bestows the rank of Jedi Knight upon Kenobi, who then says that he would take it upon himself to train Anakin whether the Council allowed him to or not. Yoda reluctantly agrees, but warns Kenobi to be careful with the troubled boy. ^[2]

[edit] Attack of the Clones

Ten years later, in Attack of the Clones, Kenobi has become an experienced Jedi Knight. He and Anakin (now played by Hayden Christensen) are tasked with protecting Padmé, now a Senator, after an attempt is made on her life. Kenobi tracks the mysterious assassin Zam Wesell to Kamino, and learns about a massive clone army that the Kaminoans are building for the Galactic Republic. He then meets with the bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison), the template for the clones, and figures out that he is the one responsible for the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala.

Attack of the Clones reveals that Kenobi's relationship with Anakin is, by now, strained; Over the years, Anakin has become a headstrong and arrogant young man, and is beginning to chafe under his Master's leadership. More dangerously, he has begun to ignore Kenobi's teachings in favor of the advice of Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who feeds the young man's fragile ego and subtly undermines his faith in the old Jedi ways. Anakin and Padmé have also fallen in love, an emotional attachment forbidden to Jedi Knights by the Jedi Code.

Kenobi attempts to apprehend Fett, but he escapes to Geonosis with his son/unaltered clone Boba (Daniel Logan). Kenobi follows them by placing a homing beacon on Fett's ship, Slave I.

On Geonosis, Kenobi learns of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, also known as the Separatists, a conspiracy of star systems that wants to secede from the Republic, led by rogue Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), who was once Qui-Gon Jinn's master. Kenobi is captured shortly after sending a message to Anakin, who arrived with Padmé on Geonosis to rescue him afterwards. While in captivity, Dooku reveals that the Senate is under the control of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious. Anakin and Padmé are also captured, and all three are sentenced to death by the Geonosians. The executions are prevented by the timely arrival of Jedi and clone reinforcements, led by Jedi Masters Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda (Frank Oz). Kenobi and Anakin confront Dooku and engage him in a lightsaber duel. Dooku strikes Anakin with Force lightning as he charges at him in anger, then turns the deadly barrage onto Kenobi, who easily blocks the attack with his lightsaber. Dooku manages to outmanuever Kenobi, slicing him on both his left arm and leg. Dooku is about to deliver a killing blow when Anakin recovers from the lightning and blocks Dooku's attack. Count Dooku and Anakin fight a short duel, and Dooku cuts off Anakin's right arm (which was later replaced by a robotic prosthetic). Yoda arrives and fights Dooku as well, but the Sith Lord diverts Yoda's attention by using his powers to dislodge a piece of machinery to come down on the still incapacitated Anakin and Kenobi. Yoda uses his powers to prevent them from being crushed, allowing Dooku to escape.^[3]

[edit] The Clone Wars

Throughout the three years of the Clone Wars, Kenobi becomes one the galaxy's most storied generals (having been granted the rank of General early in the war), nicknamed "The Negotiator" for his diplomatic skill and resolve to fight only when all other options have been exhausted. Just before the Clone Wars he was granted the rank of Jedi Master, and given a seat on the Council.

The Battle of Geonosis is the first battle in the Clone Wars that Kenobi would be involved in. The battle began with 212 Jedi against over 1 million Battle Droids. Over 100 Jedi fell in the battle and Obi-Wan was one of the few who were skilled enough to stay alive. It was due to Kenobi’s mastery of the lightsaber form Soresu, which focuses on defense from blaster fire, that he survived. With the arrival of 192,000 clone troopers 1,600 LAAT/i gunships, 400 LAAT/c cargo gunships, 2,160 AT-TE walkers, 100 SPHA-T artillery units and 12 Acclamator-class assault ships, the battle fell into the Republic's favor.

Kenobi then commands Republic forces in the Battle of Kamino, in which the CIS tried to take out the Republic's cloning facilities. Kenobi, Anakin and Shaak Ti fight alongside the newly activated Advanced Reconnaissance Commando (ARC) troopers and drive back the Separatists.

The Clone Wars micro series begins with the Battle of Muunilinst. In this battle, Kenobi and Anakin's clone forces fight against the Intergalactic Banking Clan, a Separatist ally. While Anakin wants to launch an all-out military attack, Kenobi has a more strategic plan: to distract the Separatists with clone forces while he sends ARC troopers to enter at the rear of the battle to infiltrate the command center. It is in this conflict that Chancellor Palpatine promotes Anakin to the rank of Commander over Kenobi's objections, exploiting the growing rift between Master and apprentice.

The battle goes well until the bounty hunter Durge leads an army of IG lancer droids toward the heart of the Republic's forces. Durge’s attack turns the battle in the Separatists' favour after his armirs destroy many of the SPHA-T vehicles of the supporting line. Kenobi rallies together an army on Lancer Swoop Bikes to meet Durge and his army. After a short but Gruesome Lancer Swoop Bike battle that left only Obi-Wan and Durge living, Kenobi and Durge face off in a duel. Durge attacked Kenobi with every weapon he had, but Kenobi easily deflected the attacks. It has been said that Durge would have had a better chance of winning if he battled 200 clone troopers, but against Kenobi he had no chance. Piercing Durge with his lightsaber, cutting off his arm and slicing him in half, Kenobi wins the duel. The battle ends with San Hill’s surrender.

The Battle of Jabiim is ultimately a victory, but the Jedi suffer terrible losses. In the month the battle lasted, 18 Jedi Knights (with Kenobi believed to be among them) and some 9,000 clone troopers are killed by Jabiimite rebels. The Jedi and their clone troopers are forced to retreat leaving the Separatists in control. Kenobi, meanwhile, is kidnapped along with an ARC trooper by Asajj Ventress, one of Dooku's Sith apprentices. She engages Kenobi in a lightsaber duel, in which the injured Jedi Master is at a disadvantage. He escapes when an ARC trooper blows up Ventress' fueling station.

Kenobi meets Ventress many times during the war. Their last encounter is on Boz Pity, when Kenobi and Anakin infiltrate a bacta facility in which Dooku has placed her to recover from battle wounds. Dooku releases her to attack the two Jedi, creating an opportunity to escape. As she runs towards the ship, Dooku orders an IG-100 MagnaGuard to kill her as she approaches. Blinded with rage and fatally wounded, Ventress tries to kill Kenobi as he tries to help her. Anakin attacks from behind and and mortally wounds the distracted Sith. The "dying" Ventress tells Kenobi the location of the Separatists' next attack. She then lets go of her anger and places herself in a Sith trance. Thinking her dead, Kenobi places her on a ship to Coruscant.

While on the planet Nelvaan, on a reconnaissance mission, the Battle of Coruscant begins and the Chancellor is kidnapped by General Grievous (Matthew Wood). Kenobi and Anakin are then contacted by Mace Windu to return to Coruscant. On the way to Coruscant Obi-Wan planned an operation to rescue the Chancellor, the plan included sending his clone troopers to clear the way to General Grievous’s flag ship “The Invisible Hand” while him and Anakin slip past the defences and infiltrate the ship with their advanced Jedi starfighters. The rest of the Clone Wars continues in the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

[edit] Revenge of the Sith

At the beginning of Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi and Anakin board Grievous' flagship, the Invisible Hand, and fight their way to the Chancellor. There, they find Dooku, who engages them both in a duel. During the duel, Kenobi is rendered unconscious, leaving Anakin to face Dooku alone. Anakin defeats Dooku and, at Palpatine's urging, executes the defenseless Count, in violation of the Jedi Code.

When Palpatine appoints Anakin to the Jedi Council as his representative, Kenobi (with the rest of the Council) disapproves, considering Anakin too young and headstrong, and reasoning that his membership gives the Chancellor a vote in Jedi affairs. Anakin protests when the Jedi Council denies him the rank of Master and orders him to spy on Palpatine, but Kenobi talks him into accepting it, warning Anakin of his "dangerous" friendship with the Chancellor.

Kenobi is called away to Utapau to confront General Grievous. This leaves Palpatine, who is secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, free to continue corrupting Anakin, who eventually embraces the dark side and takes the Sith title and name Darth Vader.

Kenobi engages Grievous in combat and, after an exhausting battle, shoots and kills him with a blaster. Moments later, however, Kenobi's own clone forces turn on him, a result of Order 66 issued by Palpatine causing clone troopers to turn on their Jedi generals. Kenobi escapes by stealing Grievous' star fighter and rendezvousing with Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) and Yoda aboard Organa's ship, the Tantive IV.

Along with Yoda and Organa, Kenobi returns to Coruscant, where he and Yoda discover that every Jedi in the Jedi Temple has been murdered, even the children. They kill the clones remaining at the Temple, and discover that the clones were led there by Anakin. Kenobi reprogrammes a beacon which had been instructing all remaining Jedi to return to Coruscant (where they surely would be slain), making it instruct them to scatter across the galaxy and remain in hiding.

Subsequently, Kenobi and Yoda split up to confront the two Sith Lords, Vader and Sidious. Kenobi wished to fight Sidious, hating the thought of having to kill his long-time friend and pupil. Yoda, however, insists that Kenobi is not strong enough to fight Sidious, and that he will have to accept that Anakin had been "consumed by Darth Vader."

Before going to fight his former Padawan, however, Kenobi goes to visit Padmé, who by now is Anakin's secret wife and is pregnant with his child. He mournfully tells her what Anakin has done, and reveals that he knows about their marriage. A horrified Padmé refuses to accept what Kenobi tells her, but is brave enough to go out and confront Anakin herself. Kenobi stows away in her ship.

Kenobi finds Vader at the volcanic moon of Mustafar, and attempts to reason with his former student to pull him away from the dark side. When he emerges from Padmé's ship, however, Vader immediately suspects that Padmé has betrayed him, and uses the dark side to choke her into unconsciousness. Vader reveals himself to be mad with power and corrupted (seemingly) beyond redemption, leaving Kenobi no choice but to engage him in a long and epic duel, which spans through the Mustafar mining complex, the lava rivers, and finally the black sand. Kenobi tries to persuade Vader to relent, but Vader ignores his warnings and leaps forward to deliver the killing blow. Kenobi sees an opening and severs Vader's legs and remaining arm with one stroke. Kenobi refuses to inflict the killing blow to his former apprentice, partner, and friend, but leaves Vader burning on the volcanic slopes, and takes Anakin's lightsaber with him. Vader sustains near-fatal third-degree burns and severe lung and throat damage. He survives long enough to be rescued by Palpatine, and is later saved via extensive medical prosthetics and an artificial respirator, transforming him into the fearsome cyborg we know as Darth Vader from the first trilogy.

Kenobi assists in hiding Anakin's children after Padmé dies in childbirth. Luke is put on Tatooine with Owen Lars, so that Kenobi can look after him in secret, while his twin Leia was put on Alderaan with Senator Organa. Yoda tells Obi-Wan that he had more training for him: the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn would teach him how to retain his identity through the Force and commune with the living after death. (Even though this scene was filmed, it was not shown on the DVD or the cinemas.)^[4]

[edit] A New Hope

Ninteen years after the events of Episode III, Kenobi makes his first appearance in the movies in Episode IV: A New Hope. Going by the name Ben, (in order to remain in hiding from the Empire) he's first seen rescuing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) from Tusken Raiders while Luke is in the Jundland Wastes of Tatooine looking for R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). Kenobi eventually hears R2-D2's message from Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) asking for his help in delivering the schematics of the Death Star to Alderaan. Kenobi takes young Luke under his wing in order to teach him the ways of the Force with the intention of fully training the boy later, on Alderaan. When Luke asks Kenobi about his father, Kenobi disguises the truth from him, saying, "a young Jedi named Darth Vader... betrayed and murdered your father." In Kenobi's way of thinking, this was not entirely untrue: Anakin Skywalker died the moment he betrayed the Jedi, completely becoming Darth Vader.

Kenobi and Luke buy passage to Alderaan on the Millennium Falcon, a junk ship owned by smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) with Chewbacca, a Wookiee . Before they can reach their destination, however, Alderaan is destroyed by the Death Star on the orders of Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing). The Millennium Falcon is captured by the Death Star's tractor beam. By a quirk of fate, Princess Leia is on board, and her rescue is gallantly executed by Han and Luke. Kenobi, meanwhile, sets off to disable the tractor beam so that the Falcon can escape. Kenobi is aware of Vader's presence, and knows he isn't coming back. He deactivates the tractor beam, and is confronted by Vader, who engages him in a lightsaber duel. Kenobi martyrs himself by Vader in order to create a distraction so Luke can escape, and possibly to inspire him.

[edit] The Empire Strikes Back

In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back just before Luke is knocked out on the plains of Hoth, Kenobi appears and tells Luke to go to the Dagobah system for further training with Yoda. After Luke has been trained as a Jedi, Kenobi appears in Dagobah to try and dissuade him from going to Cloud City, where Vader holds Han and Leia hostage, as he feels his young apprentice is not yet ready to face Vader one-on-one. After Luke insists on facing Vader, Kenobi says sadly that he couldn't help him.

Luke is nearly killed in a lightsaber duel with Vader, who reveals to him that he was his father and tries to enlist him into the dark side of the Force. Luke escapes, but is haunted by the truth Kenobi withheld from him.

[edit] Return of the Jedi

In Return of the Jedi, Luke learns from a dying Yoda that Vader is indeed his father. After Yoda's death, Kenobi appears on Dagobah to explain to a heartbroken, troubled Luke why he did not tell him the truth about his father, and to confess that Leia was his sister. Kenobi admits that his own pride had been partly to blame for Anakin Skywalker's fall from grace: "I thought I could instruct him just as well as Yoda. I was wrong." He then tries to explain to Luke that killing Vader is the only way to destroy the Empire and save the galaxy, even if it meant committing patricide.

Luke tries to persuade Vader to denounce the dark side, but Vader and Palpatine nearly succeed in converting him by appealing to his anger and fear for his friends' lives. At the last minute, when an out-of-control Luke is about to kill Vader, Kenobi's teachings return to him and he refuses, proudly proclaiming himself a Jedi. Palpatine then viciously attacks him with Force lightning.

As Luke cries out to his father to help him, Vader returned to his old, pre-corrupted self, giving him the strength to destroy Palpatine and return to the light side of the Force as he dies in his son's arms.

Kenobi appears alongside the souls of fellow Jedi Yoda and a redeemed Anakin Skywalker on the forest moon of Endor, watching over Luke and his comrades as they celebrate the destruction of the second Death Star and, with it, the Empire.

In Lucas initial outline for Return of the Jedi, Kenobi returned from his existence in the Force to become a living human being again. [1]

[edit] Expanded Universe

[edit] Early life

Details of Kenobi's life before the prequel trilogy are mostly found in Jude Watson's Jedi Apprentice series, a series of novels aimed at younger readers. The books span from approximately 44 BBY to 32 BBY; Kenobi is 12 years old at the beginning of this series. During this time, he meets many Jedi who would later be important friends, including Bant Eerin, Siri Tachi, and Quinlan Vos.

According to the novels, Kenobi was born in 57 BBY and trained as a youngling in the Jedi Temple under Yoda. Without a Jedi teacher, however, Kenobi would have been appointed to work in agricultural labor, where he might never have reached his full potential. Eventually he was accepted by Master Qui-Gon Jinn as a padawan learner.

Neither the movies nor other media give any details of his birth family. According to the series Jedi Apprentice and the novelization of Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan does remember a brother named Owen, but there is nothing to either suggest or repudiate his relation to Owen Lars. It is indicated in the novelization of Revenge of the Sith that he speaks with a Coruscanti accent, although, as he was trained at the Jedi Temple on that planet, that may not be a clue as to his homeworld.

[edit] Other Living appearances

• Secrets of the Jedi - records the relationship between 18-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi and fellow Padawan Siri Tachi on a mission to protect a young witness from bounty hunters. The two Jedi are sent on a similar mission twenty years later, near the end of the Clone Wars.
• Cloak of Deception - takes place before The Phantom Menace, when Kenobi is still Qui-Gon Jinn's Padawan apprentice.
• He appeared as a playable character in the game Star Wars: Obi-Wan at the same age, 25, as he was in The Phantom Menace. He is also a playable hero in Star Wars: Battlefront II, makes an appearance in one of the missions of the Gungan Campaign in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and is one of the main characters in the Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith video game (2005).
• The Jedi Quest series of young reader novels takes place between the events of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones and explores the relationship between Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
• Rogue Planet - He appears in this novel after the events of The Phantom Menace as a Jedi Knight sent along with a 12-year-old Anakin to discover the location of missing Jedi Vergere.
• Outbound Flight - Following the events of Rogue Planet and before those of The Approaching Storm, Kenobi, along with his apprentice, are sent to keep an eye on power-hungry Jedi Master Jorus C'Baoth, who is obsessed with his "Outbound Flight Project".
• The Approaching Storm - Just before the events of Attack of the Clones, Kenobi travels to Ansion with Anakin, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, and her Padawan, Barriss Offee, in order to solve a dispute that, if handled improperly, could bring hundreds of worlds into the Separatist fold.
• Jedi Trial - Kenobi makes an appearance in the prologue, in which Anakin gets unnecessarily excited about going on a mission with his Master. Obi-Wan says that the Jedi Council only gave him a mission, not both him and Anakin.
• The Cestus Deception - Kenobi is a major character in this novel, set during the Clone Wars. He is sent with Kit Fisto and a small force of Clones to Cestus to prevent the manufacture of Jedi Killer Droids for the Separatists.
• Yoda: Dark Rendezvous - Kenobi makes an appearance in this Clone Wars-era novel, which is centered on Yoda.
• Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader - Kenobi appears at the end of the book, set immediately after the events of Revenge of the Sith. He is stunned to see on the Holonet that Emperor Palpatine has a new right-hand man, a Sith Lord named Darth Vader — whom, of course, he knows to be Anakin. He is then visited by the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn, who tells him that Darth Vader is indeed Anakin, but that he shouldn't worry about Luke's safety, as Vader would never set foot on Tatooine in fear of bringing back painful memories.
• Last of the Jedi. Following two years of solitude on Tatooine after the events of Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi heard that a former Jedi apprentice, Ferus Olin, was still alive. He had to make a painful choice on whether to find him and leave Luke or stay behind. Jinn contacted him and told him he would watch over Luke and that Ferus was the key to the future of the Jedi. He headed to the planet Bellasa to find him. He ran into a boy named Trever Flume and asked many people on Ferus' whereabouts. He came in contact with the Eleven, a group Ferus and his friend and business partner Roan Lands founded. Kenobi crash landed in Bellasa's polar region and found Ferus, who chose to return to Ussa because the Empire was plotting to kill many civilians if he didn't hand himself over on request of Inquisitor Malorum. Kenobi pointed out that Malorum was not a Sith, but the dark side was part of him. The two ran into Boba Fett, but escaped, with Trever tagging along. Kenobi then found that his friend Garen was still alive in the caves of Ilum. He then returned to Tatooine and kept in close contact with Ferus, who was searching for remaining Jedi on the HoloNet.
• A rebel hero character in the RTS Star Wars: Empire at War

[edit] Postmortem appearances

• Kenobi appeared briefly in the 1978 made-for-TV movie, The Star Wars Holiday Special. He was shown in flashbacks that Chewbacca was having during the Life Day ceremonies, of his former adventures that involved Kenobi from the film, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
• In The Truce at Bakura, a novel that is set immediately after the Battle of Endor, Kenobi speaks again to Luke Skywalker warning him of the threat posed by the invading Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium.
• Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker again appeared to Luke in spirit form a few months later to warn him of the dangers presented by the Dark Lord Flint, apprentice of Lady Lumiya, heir to the Sith legacy. Because of their warning, Luke was able to redeem Flint, leaving the reigning Sith Master without an apprentice. This is the last known time Luke saw his father and Yoda, though Anakin Skywalker spoke to Luke's nephew, Jacen Solo, decades later in the New Jedi Order novels Balance Point and The Unifying Force.
• Kenobi appeared to Luke again in 5 ABY to alert him to the presence of the Jedi Prince Ken, Palpatine's grandson, who soon became a pawn in a coup orchestrated by a group of false Prophets of the Dark Side set up by Imperial Intelligence.
• In Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire, which takes place in 9 ABY, Kenobi, still a spirit, visited Luke for the last time in a dream. Kenobi told Luke that he must move on from his spirit form to another realm. As Kenobi explained it, from the time of his death until the time of the novel, his spirit had been in an intermediate stage between life and the afterlife. This was Kenobi's final appearance in the timeline of the Star Wars universe. His final words are: "Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new."
• In Kenobi's Blade, a young reader novel featuring Anakin Solo, Anakin Skywalker's grandson, it is revealed that Vader hid his former master's lightsaber in a retreat on Vjun. Unsurprisingly, Solo and company recover the lightsaber from Vader's palace.
• In Edge of Victory: Rebirth, Luke's son is born and is given the name Ben, after the name Luke had always known the older man by.
• Luke Skywalker, who never knew his father growing up, viewed Kenobi as the father he never had. (Ironically, Luke's real father, Anakin, felt the same way about Kenobi before he was corrupted.) According to the book Star Wars: The Essential Guide To Characters, Kenobi returned the parental feelings to both Anakin and Luke. It is revealed in the book that one of the last things Obi-Wan ever said to Luke was "I loved you like a son."

[edit] Powers and abilities

During his exile, Kenobi's skills with a lightsaber declined. Whereas in reality the choreography of the swordplay in Episodes I-III was much advanced over the older films, fans have retconned the explanation that Kenobi had to keep his connection to the Force to a minimum while guarding Luke as a child, lest he attract the Emperor's attention. Thus, his ability to draw on the Force for strength and speed was "rusty" when it came time to battle Vader in Episode IV. Also, his harsh, ascetic lifestyle for 20 years led to a physical decline. He seemingly re-focused some of his energies into understanding better the formalist sword play of Dooku's Form II.

Obi-Wan is a master of lightsaber combat and the art of mind tricks and Force persuasion. He also learned from the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn the ability to become a Force ghost, essentially obtaining a form of immortality that is reached only by the greatest or most powerful of Jedi Masters (as hinted by the final sentence of the Jedi Code), something he later used to guide and counsel Luke.

[edit] Inspirations

The role is loosely inspired by General Makabe Rokuruta, a character from The Hidden Fortress played by Toshiro Mifune, whom Lucas also considered casting as Kenobi.

[edit] Outside of Star Wars

• On the BBC's radio and television show Dead Ringers, Kenobi was portrayed by Jon Culshaw, getting himself into all sorts of trouble and dueling against Vader with lightsabers or baguettes. He often employed Jedi mind tricks on other celebrities like Kirsty Wark in different skits. In one scene he is revealed to be Tony Blair's chief spin doctor during the Hutton inquiry. In another scene, Kenobi is at a car dealership, trying to buy an automobile/fast ship that would take him to Aldershot, but Vader appears and the two duel against each other with baguettes, much to the enjoyment of the car salesmen ("Darth Vader: Your bakery products are weak, old man", "Obi Wan: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, you will lose your No-Claims Bonus.")[2]
• Kenobi became the "narrator" of the "Weird Al" Yankovic Parody of "American Pie", "The Saga Begins," that retells The Phantom Menace's story.
• He has appeared in several Family Guy episodes. In one episode, Peter says that he constructed a Tusken Raiders chorus and they run away, prompting Obi-Wan to enter and tell him (as in "A New Hope") "The Sand People are easily scared, but they will be back. And in greater numbers." Yet another episode shows Luke Skywalker about to perform laser eye surgery, when his master appears and urges him to Use the Force. After he accidentally impales his patient, Luke angrily turns and asks "Are you happy now?!", to which Obi-Wan replies "I've never been happy". Main character Peter also informs his wife that "if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine".
• In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the film starts at a Shanghai club named Obi Wan.

• In Grabowiec, a village in Poland near Toruń, one of the streets was named after Obi-Wan Kenobi in April 2005.
• In the MMORPG World of Warcraft, there is a raptor named Obi just off the path leading from Un'Goro crater into Silithus. He is level one, making him Obi (1).

[edit] See also

• Qui-Gon Jinn
• Anakin Skywalker
• Jedi
• The Force

[edit] References

1. ^ pg 91, the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" entry, infobox; Star wars: the essential guide to characters, Andy Mangels, 1st edition published November 1995, ISBN 0-345-39535-2
2. ^ Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Novelization, 1st edition paperback, 1999. Terry Brooks, George Lucas, ISBN 0-345-43411-0
3. ^ Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Novelization, 2003. R. A. Salvatore, ISBN 0-345-42882-X
4. ^ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Novelization - Novelization, 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1

• The New Essential Guide to Characters, 1st edition, 2002. Daniel Wallace, Michael Sutfin, ISBN 0-345-44900-2
• Star Wars Episode I Who's Who: A Pocket Guide to Characters of the Phantom Menace, hardcover, 1999. Ryder Windham, ISBN 0-7624-0519-8
• Star Wars: Power of Myth, 1st edition paperback, 2000. DK Publishing, ISBN 0-7894-5591-9
• Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1998. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-3481-4
• Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 1999. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-4701-0
• Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 2002. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-7894-8588-5
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary, hardcover, 2005. James Luceno, ISBN 0-7566-1128-8
• Revised Core Rulebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game), 1st edition, 2002. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, J.D. Wiker, Steve Sansweet, ISBN 0-7869-2876-X
• Star Wars Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, 1st edition, 2000. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, ISBN 0-7869-1793-8

[edit] External links

• Official site Obi-Wan Kenobi databank entry
• Kenobi, Obi-Wan - lightsaber duels
• Obi-Wan Kenobi on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki