- "Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."
- ―Yoda, to Luke Skywalker
Yoda was one of the most renowned and powerful Jedi Masters in galactic history. He was known for his legendary wisdom, mastery of the Force and skills in lightsaber combat. Yoda served as a member of the Jedi High Council in the last centuries of the Galactic Republic and as Grand Master oversaw the Jedi Order before, during, and after the devastating Clone Wars. Following the First Battle of Geonosis, Yoda held the title of Master of the Order in addition to that of Grand Master. In his centuries of service to the galaxy and the Force, Grand Master Yoda had a hand in the training of nearly all the Jedi in the Order, including such luminaries as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Oppo Rancisis, all of whom would come to serve on the Jedi Council along with him.
Standing about 66 cm tall, Yoda was a male member of a mysterious species, details of which he did not reveal. Yoda served as a member of the Jedi Order for centuries, eventually gaining a seat on the Jedi High Council, before reigning as the Grand Master of the Jedi. He had exceptional skills in lightsaber combat, having mastered all forms and stances of lightsaber combat, except the Vaapad subset of Form VII (he had mastered the original Form VII variant known as Juyo), but known for being particularly accomplished in Form IV, often employing the acrobatic techniques of the form. Many considered him a swordmaster and the greatest duelist in the Jedi Order, even surpassing Mace Windu and Count Dooku.
Though arguably the Order's greatest master of the Force and most skilled warrior, Yoda believed most firmly in the importance of instructing younger generations and never missed an opportunity to ensure his students learn from their experiences. At heart, the diminutive Jedi Master was a teacher; indeed, he instructed nearly all the Jedi in the order, to some extent, during his reign as Grand Master.
Though Yoda was, arguably, the most highly Force-attuned member of the Order, he was not flawless. It was partially due to his failure to recognize that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was actually responsible for the outbreak of the Clone Wars, and was in fact the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, which led to the Republic being overthrown and the Jedi Order being decimated. The Grand Master was among the few Jedi to survive Emperor Palpatine's Great Jedi Purge, after the beginning of which, he went into exile on the swamp planet of Dagobah.
Later, before dying and becoming one with the Force in 4 ABY, the exiled Jedi Master was responsible for the instruction of Luke Skywalker who would use Yoda's training as a basis for the creation of a New Jedi Order, after defeating the Sith. Following his death, Master Yoda retained his identity within the Force and was revered as among the most legendary Jedi Masters of all time by Skywalker's reconstituted Order.
- "A trial of being old is this: remembering which thing one has said into which young ears."
Very little is known about Yoda's early life. He was from a remote planet, but which one remains a mystery. According to one legend, Yoda originally did not know that he was Force-sensitive at all. His path towards the Jedi began when he left his home planet with a Human friend, who also did not know he was Force-sensitive, on an old, barely space-worthy ship en route to the Core Worlds to seek employment. However, long before they could reach their destination, the ship was struck by a large asteroid, causing it to become severely disabled beyond their abilities to repair. They spent several days drifting dead in space during which time both their life support systems and rations came close to being exhausted, and there was still no response to their distress signal. It seemed like they would soon meet their deaths until their sensors picked up a star system not too far away. They had just enough power to make it there, and did so before crash landing on a strange swampy planet covered with a dense fog.
They spent a few days there before being found by a strange being: Hysalrian Jedi Master N'Kata Del Gormo, who revealed to them both that they were very much Force-sensitive. The Jedi Master invited Yoda to become his apprentice, also known as a Padawan. Master Gormo took them to his home, where he trained them in the ways of the Force and, not long after their training was complete, a Galactic Republic starship picked up their distress signal and rescued the two friends, who were now Jedi themselves. Departing the world, Yoda went to Coruscant, where he continued his training at the Jedi Temple as a Jedi Initiate. As time passed, he proved to be a skilled Jedi. Eventually, Yoda passed The Gathering and was assisted by the architect droid Huyang in the construction of his first lightsaber.
- "Secret, shall I tell you? Grand Master of Jedi Order am I. Won this job in a raffle I did, think you? 'How did you know, how did you know, Master Yoda?' Master Yoda knows these things. His job it is."
When Yoda had completed his Padawan training, he became a Jedi Knight, meaning he could go on important missions. By the age of 96, he had become a Jedi Master. Later, he was elected to join the Jedi High Council. By 800 BBY, Yoda had begun the training of his first student, who would be one of the many Padawans Yoda would train over the long centuries of his life.
Later, Yoda became one of the Jedi Masters who led the mobile academy aboard the starship Chu'unthor, which was constructed circa 500 BBY. After crash-landing on the planet of Dathomir at around 230 BBY, Yoda and the other Jedi fought with the famed Witches of Dathomir. Coming to a stalemate, he agreed to leave the ship's data tapes. Although he left no means of reading the tapes, they were bestowed to Rell of the Singing Mountain Clan for safekeeping until such a time, Yoda foresaw, when a Jedi would come to save the planet from darkness and the information could safely be shared with the Witches. This did not happen until around 8 ABY, when Yoda's final student, Luke Skywalker, found his way to Dathomir, fulfilling his Master's prophecy.
Yoda once traveled to Kushibah in search of a new Padawan. There among the diminutive Kushiban, the Jedi Master discovered young Ikrit, who proved strong in the Force, and took him to be trained as a Jedi. As a Jedi Knight, Ikrit once lost control during a petty disagreement and almost murdered a friend with his lightsaber, with Yoda risking his own life to stop him. As a result, Ikrit forsook the use of lightsabers for years afterward.
By around 400 BBY, when Beldorion left the Jedi Order, Yoda could be considered one of the greatest Masters in Jedi history, comparable with Nomi Sunrider or Thon, both of whom had lived more than 3,500 years earlier.
By 200 BBY, Yoda, along with other Jedi Masters of that time, discovered that the shape of the Force had begun to flux, becoming murky and uncertain. Studying the perplexing mystery in silent meditation, the Jedi High Council, of which Yoda was now a senior member, was unanimous: the power of the dark side was growing. While the Council and the other Jedi believed this indicated the growing power of the Sith or other dark-siders, Yoda put forth the possibility that the darkening of the Force might suggest the imminent approach of the Chosen One, which prophecy said would bring balance to the Force. In opposition to this theory, several of the younger Jedi disputed Yoda's findings, and formed a breakaway sect—the Potentium. Their heresy was not welcomed by the Council, and Yoda led the campaign to expel them from the order in 130 BBY.
Around one hundred and fifty years before the Clone Wars, Yoda traveled to Ord Cestus and saved the native X'Ting from disaster. They honored Yoda by building a giant statue of him, at least 70 meters tall, inside the X'Ting Hall of Heroes. At some point between 133 BBY and 69 BBY, Master Yoda attempted to see the future of Byrch Dyshkava, a Padawan who had mysteriously gone missing after a mission. Yoda failed to provide the Order with any useful information.
In 102 BBY an infant by the name of Dooku, heir to the title of Count on the planet of Serenno, was discovered by the Jedi and willingly given to the Order by his parents. When Dooku reached the appropriate age, he was taken as a Padawan by Council member Thame Cerulian. However, even though he studied under Cerulian, Yoda took a particular interest in the young Dooku and was frequently his adviser and confidant. The Jedi Master, however, was equally quick to point out Dooku's flaws when necessary. Yoda assisted quite closely in Dooku's lightsaber training as a Padawan, and building from this foundation, Dooku became an accomplished duelist with the weapon. In Dooku's later years, only Yoda and senior Council member Mace Windu were considered equal to his skill with a lightsaber. Later, Yoda also served as the lightsaber instructor of Cin Drallig, who would become the Battlemaster of the Jedi Temple.
Yinchorri uprising (33 BBY)
In 33 BBY, the Jedi Council received a transmission sent four standard days earlier informing them of an attack on Mayvitch 7 instigated by the Yinchorri. After news of this reached Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, he asked Mace Windu to send Jedi to negotiate with the Yinchorri. However, the aggressive Yinchorri murdered the two Jedi sent to negotiate and sent their mutilated bodies to Valorum's Coruscant doorstep as a warning.
Following this, the Council created a Jedi strike team of twelve, including senior Councilor Mace Windu, to the Yinchorri system. Reports of the Jedi's engagement with Yinchorri forces that reached Yoda and the Council proved confusing and contradictory, while the diminutive Jedi Master sensed danger coming toward him in the Force. Yoda's danger sense proved accurate when the Yinchorri launched a raid on the Jedi Temple.
Raid on the Temple
The Yinchorri task force found that all the Jedi sleeping quarters were empty. The troops then entered a chamber where they were met by several armed Jedi, including Yoda. In the end, almost all the Yinchorri were killed, and two Jedi died: Jude Rozess and Tieren Nie-Tan.
Yoda interrogated the last remaining Yinchorri and asked him the location of the Yinchorri high command. The soldier responded to the Jedi Master by telling him that he did not know since he was only an ordinary soldier. Yoda then turned to converse with Soon Bayts, a Jedi Knight who brought word from Adi Gallia and Eeth Koth that the high command was not on Yitheeth and that they were heading to Yibikkoror to help Plo Koon and Micah Giiett.
These distractions gave the Yinchorri in the Temple enough time to grab his weapon and attempt to shoot the Jedi Master. Yoda, however, used the Force to throw him against a wall, presumably killing him. The Jedi then came to the conclusion that the Yinchorri were misguided rather than bloodthirsty and that the attack may have been the work of an unknown party, rather than the Yinchorri themselves.
Following the unsuccessful raid on the Jedi Temple, the Jedi strike team continued to engage the Yinchorri, while Yoda remained on Coruscant. Master Windu eventually reported to Yoda, informing him that the strike team had discovered the location of the Yinchorri's high command, thanks to Master Yaddle's knowledge of the Jedi holocrons. The Jedi led an attack on the world, while four navy attack groups authorized by the Senate arrived to help them, concluding the uprising.
Invasion of Naboo (32 BBY)
- "There's no doubt. The mysterious warrior was a Sith."
"Always two there are. No more, no less. A Master and an apprentice."
"But which one was destroyed, the Master, or the Apprentice?"
- ―Mace Windu and Yoda, about Darth Maul
In 32 BBY, the Galactic Senate passed legislation that called for the taxation of trade routes to outlying systems, in an attempt to weaken the ever-expanding Trade Federation, which had grown increasingly powerful—to the point that it had its own Senate delegation and easily "persuaded" Republic weapons inspectors to overlook the arming of the Federation's shipment vessels into lethal battleships.
As such, the Federation created an invasion force of battle droids, in addition to their growing fleet of warships, and in protest of the Senate's legislation, blockaded the small world of Naboo. Queen Amidala of Naboo implored the help of the Republic, and as such, Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum asked Yoda and the Council to send Jedi to negotiate with the Trade Federation, as ambassadors of the Republic.
The Council sent Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi, to negotiate with the leadership of the Trade Federation. However, upon the arrival of the Jedi, the Federation attempted to assassinate them and began invading Naboo; the Jedi were able to escape their would-be killers and rescue the Queen of Naboo, Amidala.
Upon returning to Coruscant, Qui-Gon Jinn brought a young Anakin Skywalker to the Jedi Council, requesting to train him once Obi-Wan Kenobi had completed the trials necessary to become a Jedi Knight, as Jedi could only have one apprentice at a time. Yoda, as the teacher of many of those on the Council, and its most venerable and respected member, played a key role in that body's initial decision to deny the request. Yoda believed that the boy was clearly affected by his years as a slave and that he still clung too tightly to the memory of his mother to be trained safely. The boy's future, Yoda thought, was clouded. Qui-Gon, however, continued to insist that Skywalker was the Chosen One, who would bring balance to the Force.
Return of the Sith
- Obi-Wan: "The Sith were before Master Yoda's time, were they not, Master?"
- Qui-Gon: "Nothing was before Yoda's time, Padawan."
- ―Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn[src]
In addition to this supposed Chosen One, Qui-Gon brought news of the return of the Sith; while he and the Queen's entourage had been preparing to depart the planet of Tatooine after having their damaged ship repaired, what appeared to be a Sith Lord confronted the Jedi Master in a lightsaber duel.
After finding the Senate unresponsive to her pleas for aid, Queen Amidala demanded a vote of no confidence in Supreme Chancellor Valorum's leadership, before returning to Naboo, where she successfully led a revolt against the occupation of the Trade Federation. During this battle, Qui-Gon's mysterious attacker reappeared, and successfully murdered him, though the attacker in turn was defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi. It became obvious to Yoda and others on the Council that the Sith had indeed returned; however, it was not clear whether the attacker Kenobi "killed" was the Sith Master or apprentice.
Following Amidala's call for a vote of no confidence in Valorum's leadership of the Senate, Naboo's own senator, Palpatine, was elected the new Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. In addition, the Council against Yoda's wishes, granted Obi-Wan, now a Jedi Knight, permission to train Anakin Skywalker as a Jedi. He vocally expressed his disapproval of the Council's decision, but reluctantly relented when he learned that Obi-Wan was willing to even go against the decision of the Council if it meant fulfilling Qui-Gon's final wish.
In circa 31 BBY, the Human Len Markus seized the Darkstaff, an ancient dark side artifact, from the Cularin system asteroid belt, causing the Cularin system to disappear from the galaxy for ten years. The event caused a surge of dark-side energy, which was so strong that it almost hospitalized Yoda. However, despite the physical absence of the system, Yoda could sense that the star system's inhabitants were still alive.
Mission to Mawan (25 BBY)
Seven years after the events at Naboo, Yoda went on a negotiation mission to Mawan with Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yaddle. Their goal was to settle a devastating civil war between three crime gangs. These gangs, led by Decca the Hutt, Feeana Tala, and Striker, caused the remainder of the population to take refuge underground. Unbeknownst to them, the chaotic planet was a trap set for the Jedi by Striker, whose true identity was Granta Omega, son of Xanatos. After kidnapping Anakin, he released a deadly chemical weapon that Yaddle intercepted, killing her when she absorbed it through the Force. However, through her sacrifice, she saved the city of Naatan. The weapon was intended by its vengeful maker to kill thousands if he was betrayed by any opposition, and as his insurance to escape offworld, but it failed because of what Yaddle had done. Anakin and Obi-Wan managed to bring peace to Mawan, but Anakin still felt responsible for the death of the Jedi High Council member. Yoda, despite the loss of Yaddle, still managed to convince Decca to evacuate with her illegal operations by "suggesting" that the Jedi Council might build a Temple on the planet, which was more than enough to make the criminal flee.
- "Master Yoda, do you think it will really come to war?"
"Hmmm. The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is."
- ―Palpatine and Yoda
Spurred by the failure of the Senate to even vote on the Financial Reform Act, many planets, systems and corporations began to withdraw from the Republic. In addition, and particularly troubling for the Jedi, especially Yoda, the disillusioned former Jedi Count Dooku, who had once studied under Yoda, was the leading voice among these Separatists.
Attempts on Senator Amidala
The growing threat prompted members of the Senate to call for a Military Creation Act, which would allow Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to create an army for the Republic. The leader of the opposition against this act was Senator Padmé Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo. When the time to vote on the act arrived, and Amidala arrived on Coruscant, an attempt was made upon her life, though she survived.
The Jedi Council, disturbed by this, had Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, placed in charge of the Senator's safety. Following a second attempt on the life of Amidala, Kenobi and Skywalker captured the bounty hunter responsible, only to have her killed by a second bounty hunter, through the use of a toxic dart, during her interrogation.
The Council had Kenobi trace the second bounty hunter, while Skywalker was to accompany Amidala to the safety of her homeworld. Yoda helped Kenobi solve the mystery behind the missing planet Kamino, where the Jedi Knight had traced the origins of the toxic dart; it was Yoda's belief that certain files had been deleted from the Jedi Archives for an unknown purpose. Even more disturbing, only a Jedi would have been capable of erasing the files.
- "Blind we are, if creation of this clone army, we could not see."
"I think it is time we informed the Senate that our ability to use the Force has diminished."
"Only the Dark Lords of the Sith know of our weakness. If informed, the Senate is, multiply, our adversaries will."
- ―Yoda and Mace Windu
Upon making his way to Kamino, Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered that a massive army of clones was being created, apparently on the orders of the late Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Kenobi reported this to Masters Mace Windu and Yoda, the senior members of the Council, who had had no knowledge of a clone army. Obi-Wan felt certain that the template of the clone army, a bounty hunter named Jango Fett, was the same bounty hunter who had been involved in the attempts on Senator Amidala's life.
While waiting for Kenobi's report, Yoda meditated. He heard the voice of the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn and sensed that something had happened to Anakin Skywalker. He conferred with Windu that the young Padawan was in "pain. Terrible pain."
Kenobi traced Fett to Geonosis, only to be captured during his report, which detailed his discovery that Count Dooku had formed an alliance of powerful corporations into a Confederacy of Independent Systems. This caused the Senate to grant the Chancellor emergency powers, with which he authorized the Grand Army of the Republic while Senator Amidala and Anakin Skywalker attempted to rescue Kenobi, only to be captured themselves. In response, Master Windu formed a strike team to extract the captured trio, while Yoda went to Kamino in an attempt to discover the truth of the clone army, and also to bring some of those troops to Geonosis.
Battle of Geonosis
- "The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun, the Clone War has."
- ―Master Yoda
Windu and the Jedi were confronted by a huge droid army under the command of Count Dooku, with only a handful surviving, when, with the rank of General, Yoda arrived with a contingent of the new clone army. Yoda commanded the forces of the Republic, before feeling a disturbance in the Force.
Master Yoda arrived in a hangar to confront Dooku, after he had grievously wounded Skywalker and Kenobi. After deflecting Dooku's Force powers, among which was Force lightning, Yoda realized that Dooku had turned to the dark side of the Force, becoming a Sith Lord. A lightsaber duel began between the two, and Yoda almost defeated Dooku, but the Sith Lord used the Force to drop a pillar over Obi-Wan and Anakin. While Yoda concentrated on stopping the massive construction from crushing the two Jedi, Dooku made his escape.
Though the Republic won the First Battle of Geonosis under the direction of Yoda, many Jedi were killed. More importantly, the thousand-year peace that had existed since the Seventh Battle of Ruusan had ended. Yoda sensed that the Clone Wars would be a long and tumultuous period for both the Republic and the Jedi Order, and indeed they were, shaking the galaxy to its very core. During the Clone Wars, Yoda, along with many other Jedi Masters, was forced to become a general fighting in various battles for the Republic on worlds across the galaxy.
- "Darker, the coming storm grows. I fear the dark cloud of the Sith shrouds us all."
Shortly after the beginning of the war, Yoda took the title of Master of the Order from Mace Windu. Early in the conflict, Yoda saw front-line action at the Battle of Axion, leading clone troopers into battle atop his kybuck steed. On that contested world, he saved the life of Commander Brolis, and in the process defeated a Hailfire droid in single combat. Around the time of the Battle of Muunilinst, Yoda came to the rescue of Jedi, Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee, with the help of Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo after the Crystal Caves on Ilum were destroyed by chameleon droids. Yoda sensed Unduli and Offee's peril through the Force, and during his rescue mission destroyed dozens of chameleon droids, before rescuing the pair. On Ilum, Yoda learned that Dooku's treachery ran deeper than he had believed, for the former Jedi Master had ordered the attack on the crystal temple.
Yoda had lost his former Padawan to the dark side before the war began, but during the conflict, Yoda lost another good friend. King Alaric of Thustra was planning to secede his homeworld to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, although he intended to rejoin the Republic when the corruption he had witnessed was gone. Yoda traveled to Thustra to speak with Alaric, but his old friend was resolute, and eventually, his world became embroiled in battle. Unwilling to face the state of his world, Alaric drew a blaster on Yoda, knowing his friend would be forced to defend himself. Left with no choice, Yoda deflected the bolt into the body of the King. Yoda lamented the fall of his friend, but more worrying was how even he had been forced to draw his blade in battle, and feared he would have to draw it again in many battles to come.
The Jedi Grand Master oversaw many missions from the Jedi Temple as well, sifting through several intelligence reports and working with the Council to determine which to act upon. He learned through Obi-Wan Kenobi that Dexter Jettster was a reliable informant, and soon learned to place his trust in Bail Organa as well after the senator revealed information of a hitherto unknown Sith planet designated Zigoola. Kenobi and Organa soon departed to bring an end to the planet, and Yoda and Mace Windu meditated and lent their support from afar, sensing the completion of their mission upon its closure and calling upon Padmé Amidala once more to go and retrieve them.
When the Republic was contacted by crime lord Jabba the Hutt, in regards to his missing son, Rotta, and offered the Republic use of Hutt hyperspace lanes, should the Republic rescue the missing Huttlet, it became apparent that the only Jedi the Order could spare for the mission were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. However, the two were embroiled in an ongoing conflict on Christophsis, and communications were impossible. As such, Yoda sent a youngling, Ahsoka Tano, to inform the pair of their new mission, and in addition, assigned her as Skywalker's Padawan. The trio eventually succeeded in rescuing Jabba's son, allowing the Republic to use unknown Hutt hyperspace lanes, an advantage the Confederacy did not have.
- Ventress: "If Yoda is indeed the Jedi warrior you believe he is, let him prove it. Allow me to send my best troops to capture him. If he escapes, join the Republic. But should my droids defeat Yoda, consider an alliance with the Separatists."
- Katuunko: "I did not request Yoda's presence here to test him in battle."
- Yoda: "Accept the challenge I do, Your Highness. Arrive by nightfall, I will."
- ―Asajj Ventress places the terms of the competition; Yoda accepts[src]
Shortly after, Yoda was selected to lead diplomatic relations with the Toydarian King Katuunko, as the Republic wished to build a base in his system to further combat the Confederacy in the Outer Rim Territories. However, the Confederacy intercepted communications between the king and the Republic with the newly built Skytop Station, and, hoping to derail the negotiations, Separatist leader Count Dooku sent his apprentice Asajj Ventress to the neutral moon of Rugosa, where the negotiations were scheduled to take place. When Master Yoda's warship arrived at Rugosa, it was immediately set upon by several Separatist cruisers; however, Yoda refused to be deterred, and escaped the frenzy via escape pod along with three clone troopers, and landed safely on the moon's surface.
Once on the moon, the Jedi Grand Master contacted Katuunko, and after becoming aware of Ventress's presence, agreed to a wager: should Yoda defeat Ventress' best troops, Toydaria would join the Republic; however, should Ventress's forces overwhelm Yoda, then the king would ally his system with the Confederacy. Katuunko insisted that the Dark Jedi ensure Yoda be given a fair fight, to which she agreed. After returning to her base, Ventress contacted Dooku and stated that her forces were being deployed. She did not intend for Yoda to get his fair fight and dispatched the recently promoted 224 with the task of leading the droid forces, and the battle droids prepared to ambush the Republic's diplomatic squad. Led by 224 in his Armored Assault Tank, the main column of Confederate forces advanced into the jungle. Yoda and his men made their way to the rendezvous position on a different path, as the Jedi Master was certain that their enemies were already heading toward them. The droids began to go through the coral of the jungle, but the dense foliage prevented the tanks from advancing.
Yoda and the clones split up, seeking to use their surroundings to their advantage. The clones engaged a squad of B1 battle droids from the south and managed to defeat them, but B2 super battle droids then came to attack the clones, and the three were forced to flee. Yoda, meanwhile, was able to defeat an entire squad of droids on his own without even using his lightsaber. CC-4477 was hit by a rocket fired by a B2-HA series super battle droid and was wounded in the leg. Yoda appeared and aided the clones, using the Force to turn around a battle droid and destroy the rest of the squad. Droidekas soon appeared, and the Republic forces fled. Yoda, clinging onto CC-4477's back, deflected the lasers at a nearby tall formation of land coral, causing the droids to be squashed and the four escaped to a cave to rest. The clones learned that they were low on ammunition, but the Jedi Master imparted his wisdom on the clone troopers to further inspire their efforts.
After hearing the sounds of the droids approaching in the distance, Yoda and the clones exited the cave. The Jedi and his men arrived on a ridge to observe the advancing droids below, which were passing through a narrow pathway. Yoda left the clones on the ridge and faced three tanks and a large number of droids alone. The Jedi Master destroyed all of them, along with 224, leaving Katuunko amused and Ventress angry. However, Ventress did not give up easily; the Dark Acolyte broke the terms of the competition and secretly sent several droidekas to deal with the Jedi Master. As Yoda destroyed the last Confederate tank, the droidekas arrived, and the Jedi Master began blocking their laser attacks. CC-4477 launched the last of the rockets at an overhanging rock above the canyon, causing an avalanche to crush the droids. Yoda then led the clones to the rendezvous point, remarking that it was not polite to be late.
Katuunko was greatly amused by the droids' defeat. Through a holotransmission, the king informed Dooku that one Jedi was not worth a hundred battle droids, but rather a thousand, and stated that he would be joining the Republic. The count urged him to reconsider, but the Toydarian king refused to deal with those who went back on their promises, as Ventress had broken the terms of the competition. Seeing that his plan had failed, Dooku ordered Ventress to kill the king, believing that negotiations might go smoother with his successor. Katuunko's guards tried to stop the Dark Acolyte, but Ventress merely Force-pushed them aside, knocking them unconscious. As Ventress attacked the king with her paired lightsabers, she was confronted by Yoda, having arrived in time to save the king.
Yoda used the Force to stop the Dark Acolyte's death blow from being struck. As Ventress' droid escorts were dispatched by the clones, Yoda disarmed Ventress herself, and after examining her lightsabers, the Jedi returned them to her, having proven they were useless against his telekinesis, while commenting that she still had much to learn. Ventress was outnumbered, and Yoda suggested that she surrender. In order to escape, Ventress detonated pre-planted explosives and caused the hillside adjacent to the Republic forces to collapse. Yoda was forced to telekinetically stop the rocks from crushing all of them, and as he did so, Ventress seized the opportunity and fled to her ship. Dooku, watching the events unfold through the holoprojector, commented before taking his leave that it was a pity that he had not been there himself.
With the Confederate threat over, Yoda was able to enter into negotiations with Katuunko. The king stated that discussions were unnecessary, however, as the Jedi had already proven his worth. Katuunko presented his ceremonial sword to Yoda and entrusted him with his planet's protection while pledging Toydaria's support to the Republic, declaring that it would be an honor to fight on their side.
After the appearance of a mysterious Separatist super weapon that had ambushed several Republic fleets and left no survivors, Yoda and the Council sent one among its number, Jedi Master Plo Koon, to track down the unknown threat. After Master Koon discovered the weapon, he contacted the Jedi general in the closest system to him, Anakin Skywalker. However, during the transmission, Koon's communication systems were jammed, and the Republic lost contact with his fleet. Masters Yoda, Windu and Kenobi, in conjunction with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, agreed that sending a task force to search for survivors of the latest attack would prove risky; however, Skywalker disobeyed their orders, and through his Padawan Ahsoka Tano's unique connection through the Force to Master Koon, rescued the stranded Jedi Master and his few remaining troops. With Master Koon alive to report on the nature of the Separatist weapon, the Republic learned that the Separatists had acquired giant ion cannons capable of disabling any fleet.
A plan devised and instigated by Skywalker proved able to destroy the Malevolence's primary weapon, and later, during a mission to rescue the captive Senator Amidala of Naboo, the giant warship was rigged to pilot itself into a nearby moon, destroying it, and freeing the Republic from the danger it represented.
A short time later, Senator Amidala captured important Separatist leader Nute Gunray on Rodia. As such, the Council sent Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Padawan Ahsoka Tano to escort the viceroy to Coruscant, where he would face trial for war crimes. While guarding the viceroy, Master Unduli was to interrogate him, in the hopes of learning important Separatist secrets.
However, Unduli's starship came under Separatist assault and was boarded by large numbers of droids. Though Unduli defeated the droids, she was unprepared for the far greater adversary that had infiltrated the ship: Asajj Ventress. Ventress dueled both Unduli and Tano, holding them off while her secret ally, the Senate Commando Faro Argyus, betrayed his fellows and rescued Gunray. After receiving word of this, Ventress escaped the Jedi, who were left to explain the catastrophe to Master Yoda.
Yoda was particularly disturbed by the betrayal of Argyus, as he felt it revealed that the Republic's enemies were everywhere. However, he supported Master Unduli's proposal that Master Kit Fisto move to recapture Gunray, his escape ship having been tracked, as the Nautolan's fleet was nearer the viceroy's last known position.
Fisto was largely led on a wild bantha chase, however. Rather than recapturing Gunray, the Nautolan was forced to duel General Grievous and to watch his former Padawan, Nahdar Vebb, die at the cyborg's hands. After he escaped, Fisto reported to the Council in the persons of Mace Windu and Yoda. Yoda lamented that Vebb's death was largely the result of his own hubris and feared that in the war there was a danger of the Jedi losing the very essence of who they were.
Dealing with pirates
Skywalker and Kenobi later launched a mission to capture the heart of the Confederacy, Count Dooku, though they were unsuccessful. However, where Skywalker and Kenobi failed, lowly pirates succeeded and contacted the Chancellor's office demanding a reward in return for the Sith Lord. Yoda confirmed that the lightsaber handled by the head of the pirate organization, Hondo Ohnaka, was indeed his former apprentice's.
Under the advice of Senator Amidala, the Council sent Kenobi and Skywalker to confirm Dooku's capture, which they ultimately did. However, Ohnaka had them captured in addition to Dooku, in the hopes of garnering a further reward from the Republic. Though Skywalker and Kenobi ultimately escaped with the help of the Republic dignitaries sent to deliver the reward, it came at the expense of the respected Senator Kharrus' life, while Dooku managed to escape capture.
Blue Shadow Virus
Later, the Naboo contacted the Council and asked Masters Windu and Yoda to send two Jedi, specifically Kenobi and Skywalker due to their relations with the native Gungans, to help uncover a Separatist bio-lab believed to have been established on world. While the Jedi did discover the lab and prepare its resident scientist Dr. Nuvo Vindi for trial, a deadly virus he had prepared, the Blue Shadow Virus, was released, infecting Senator Amidala and Ahsoka Tano. They were administered the rare antidote before the virus could claim them.
Later, when Master Windu led an assault on the planet Ryloth aimed at freeing the Twi'leki population from Separatist occupation, Yoda remained on Coruscant. However, the diminutive Jedi Master acted as advisor to Windu and was involved in tactical discussions regarding how to capture the capital city of Lessu. Yoda counseled Windu that it was important that the Separatist leader Wat Tambor, who was responsible for the occupation of Ryloth, be captured to answer for his many war crimes. Ultimately, Windu agreed with Master Yoda and was able to capture the Separatist Council member at the conclusion of the Battle of Ryloth.
Following the First Battle of Felucia, Master Yoda presided over a meeting of the Jedi Council which heard that Padawan Ahsoka Tano had refused to comply with orders given to her by her superior Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. In punishment for her actions, Ahsoka was appointed as a guard of the Jedi Archives in order to spend time away from the battlefield.
Later, while discussing the impact the defeat at Felucia would have on Republic war efforts in the region with Master Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Yoda was overcome by a disturbance in the Force which revealed to him that intruders planned to infiltrate the Jedi Temple. Kenobi and Skywalker incorrectly deduced that the culprits would attempt to steal the Jedi Order's transmission codes, and as such, focused their efforts on securing the codes. Yoda later sensed the arrival of the intruders and suggested to Kenobi and Skywalker that their enemies may head to the Jedi Temple communication center. The Grand Master then met there with Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura after having placed the Temple on high alert.
As Kenobi and Skywalker tracked the intruders through the Temple's ventilation system, Master Yoda deduced that it was likely that the intruders were receiving assistance from within the Temple considering their ability to avoid the two Jedi trailing them. As such, the diminutive Master contacted Ahsoka Tano and cautioned her that he sensed deception and that there was somebody in the Archives impersonating a Jedi. Fortunately, Tano was able to subdue the impostor, a Clawdite changeling named Cato Parasitti, who had been impersonating Master Jocasta Nu and feeding her employer Cad Bane information from the Jedi Archives.
Nonetheless, Bane's scheme worked, as he was able to keep the Jedi off his tail long enough to break into the Holocron Chamber and steal a Jedi holocron as ordered by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. However, Parasitti revealed to the Jedi that Bane's next target was Jedi Master Bolla Ropal. This allowed the Jedi to deduce that Bane was after the Kyber memory crystal in Ropal's keeping, which when combined with a holocron would reveal a list of all known Force-sensitive children in the galaxy.
While Skywalker and Tano were dispatched to protect Master Ropal, they were ultimately too late; Ropal was captured and died under torture, refusing to use the Force to help Bane unite the holocron and Kyber crystal. However, the Jedi believed that Bane himself was killed during the Battle of Devaron, though he later proved to have survived. Prior to faking his death, Bane was able to coerce Skywalker into uniting the holocron and memory crystal, and as such, the bounty hunter began collecting the Force-sensitive children on behalf of Sidious.
Later, Yoda led Windu, Kenobi and Skywalker in using the Force to pinpoint which children would be targeted by Bane. Yoda sensed that a child on Rodia was in danger, as well as one on Naboo. However, when Master Windu asserted that a child from Glee Anselm was being targeted by Bane, Yoda revealed that the infant had already been claimed by the bounty hunter and that the dark side hid his fate. Kenobi proved unable to prevent Bane from capturing the Rodian, but Skywalker and his Padawan captured Bane when he ventured to Naboo.
Masters Kenobi and Windu then used Bane to relocate the stolen holocron, though the bounty hunter escaped in the process. However, even without Bane, Skywalker and his Padawan discovered a secret facility on Mustafar where the captured children were hidden, and ultimately rescued them.
The Zillo Beast
When Supreme Chancellor Palpatine discovered the Zillo Beast on Malastare and ordered it brought to Coruscant for research, it promptly escaped and made a beeline for the Senate building, necessitating the interference of Yoda and the Jedi Order. Dismissing Mace Windu's suggestion to shoot the beast down with stun rays, Yoda and Aayla Secura clambered atop the beast's back, distracting it with their lightsabers to buy Republic forces time to rescue the shuttle in the creature's grasp with Palpatine, Anakin Skywalker, and Padmé Amidala inside. When all the shuttle's occupants were brought to safety, Yoda aided Secura and Skywalker in protecting the group from the toxin-bombs detonated to kill the beast.
- "A creature from the same species he is. From Dathomir."
- ―Yoda assures Obi-Wan Kenobi that Savage Opress is not Darth Maul.
Yoda and Mace Windu later showed Obi-Wan Kenobi footage of a recent massacre on Devaron, in which Jedi Master Halsey and his Padawan Knox were brutally murdered by an unknown assassin. The footage baffled Kenobi, for he believed he had killed the Sith Lord Darth Maul, but Yoda pointed out that it was a creature of the same species from Dathomir. Yoda tasked Kenobi with going to Dathomir to find this threat and defeat it.
The Jedi Council later received a mysterious transmission which was over two thousand years old. After the Council reviewed the ancient transmission, they dispatched Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano to uncover if it was a Separatist trap. As a precaution, they sent a heavily armed fleet to accompany them.
Rescue of Even Piell
Jedi Master and councilor Even Piell was taken prisoner by Separatist forces after he recovered the Nexus Route coordinates, which were crucial to the war effort. As a result, the Jedi Council set up a rescue attempt, with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in charge. Ahsoka Tano also went along, disobeying orders to stay.
But the rescue attempt failed, and the team split up and later rejoined after their ship was destroyed. Yoda, Mace Windu, Saesee Tiin and Plo Koon then set up a rescue mission for the team, with Koon, Tiin, Adi Gallia and Kit Fisto successfully extracting them; however, Piell lost his life.
With the coordinates in the hands of both Ahsoka Tano and Piell's Captain Wilhuff Tarkin, Yoda decided to meet with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, as Tano vowed to Piell to give it to the Council, while Tarkin vowed to give it to the Chancellor.
Ahsoka Tano vanished in a battle on the world of Felucia. After some time, a ship piloted by bounty hunters Sugi and Seripas came to the Jedi Temple with a band of Wookiees, and two Jedi younglings. Among them was Tano. Yoda and Mace Windu watched as Tano and Anakin Skywalker paid their mutual respects to each other in satisfaction.
- "To the Gungans we must look."
- ―Yoda finds reinforcements for their stranded allies.
Yoda and Mace Windu then made contact with Anakin Skywalker, Gial Ackbar and Senator Amidala, who were on Dac to cool down tensions between the Mon Calamari and the Separatist-aligned Quarren. When Kit Fisto and Ahsoka Tano went to aid their forces on the planet, they soon lost contact after the Republic was almost decimated by Separatist commander Riff Tamson.
As a result of this, the Jedi held a special session to discuss how to proceed. Saesee Tiin suggested that they find a nearby underwater race with an army to aid their allies, and Obi-Wan Kenobi pointed out Naboo. Yoda then contacted the Gungan boss, Lyonie, who dispatched Jar Jar Binks to lead the army to Mon Cala.
Aleen relief mission
When several earthquakes struck the Aleena world of Aleen, Commander Wolffe and his team were sent to the planet with relief supplies as well as Senator Amidala's droids, C-3PO and R2-D2. Yoda also appeared in the transmission sent to Wolffe.
Rise of the Zygerrian Empire
- Plo Koon: "What is it, Master?"
- Yoda: "Slavery, a great tool it is for the rise of the Sith."
- ―Yoda ponders on the rise of the slavers.[src]
Yoda then made contact with Governor Roshti of planet Kiros to warn him that he could not trust Dooku and the Separatist cause. Roshti said it was out of his hands, as the Separatists had already arrived. Yoda promised to send assistance, in the form of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano along with their forces.
Shortly after they won a battle there, the three appeared in holographic form alongside Admiral Wullf Yularen, who reported that he ran a scan but found none of the Togruta colonists—who were not even on the planet.
Criminal mastermind Moralo Eval hatched a scheme to abduct Supreme Chancellor Palpatine at the Festival of Light on Naboo with the aid of Dooku and a cadre of bounty hunters. The Jedi tried to make a deal with Eval for information, to no avail, so devised their own plan to thwart the attack. Obi-Wan Kenobi would fake his death via assassination and pose as the killer to infiltrate Dooku's team and send them information about the attack.
When the deed was done, Yoda attended the mock funeral for Kenobi and later visited with Mace Windu as Kenobi underwent his facial transformation. Yoda and Windu received various communications from Kenobi, and later, he told Anakin Skywalker the truth about Kenobi's "demise." With the aid of Kenobi, Dooku fled, the Chancellor was rescued, and Eval, Cad Bane, Twazzi and Embo were apprehended in Theed.
Return of Darth Maul
- Mace Windu: "Master Yoda, if this is indeed Darth Maul, then his capture is far too important for Obi-Wan to handle alone."
- Yoda: "Not alone will Kenobi be; an unexpected ally he may have. Trust the Force we must."
- ―Mace Windu and Yoda discuss Kenobi's ability to defeat Darth Maul.[src]
The Jedi later received a transmission that came from the Outer Rim world of Raydonia. To the horror of the Jedi, the person that sent the communication was the presumed dead Sith Lord Darth Maul, the one who murdered Qui-Gon Jinn eleven years before.
Maul said that if Kenobi did not face him, he would destroy the planet, after he killed a group of people in the communication. Kenobi said that he could defeat Maul as he once did, and left for Raydonia. Mace Windu expressed his doubts about Kenobi's skill, but Yoda said he may gain an unexpected ally in his quest.
Kenobi returned, and the Jedi learned that Maul had teamed with his brother Savage Opress, the one that massacred the forces at Devaron. Many teams were sent to capture the two Nightbrothers on many worlds from Pleem's Nexus, Yellowblade's Landing, Paklan and Moorjhone. Each Jedi met their end to the two Sith's blades, Bruu Jun-Fan, Ko Solok, Grohto, Judd and Salmara all lost their lives.
Kenobi and Adi Gallia soon tracked the two Sith from their last known location to Florrum—where Master Gallia was killed. Yoda, Windu, Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker met with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to inform him of Maul's return and his plans for the future, but the Chancellor dismissed it, believing that Kenobi took it too personally. Yoda reaffirmed this, but said that when they resurfaced, the Jedi would be swift.
Yoda attended a session of the Jedi Council when rebels Saw Gerrera and Lux Bonteri sent a transmission with a plea for assistance in the rebellion against the Separatist droid army led by the corrupt ruler King Sanjay Rash, who ousted the previous monarch.
The Council said that they would not intervene in their affairs as the planet made their intentions at the start of the war, but promised to send some of their own to train and advise them. Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex were sent.
The Gathering on Ilum
Yoda then traveled to Ilum, where he awaited Ahsoka Tano and a clan of initiates who were deemed ready to construct their own lightsabers in the ancient ritual known as the Gathering. When Tano arrived with the younglings in the temple there, Yoda showed his own lightsaber and explained to them what they needed to do.
When the younglings went inside to find their own crystal, Petro was the first to come out, but Yoda was quick to point out his flaw for certainty and said that he found a crystal, but brought water to them—that is, a water crystal. He directed Petro back inside. The other younglings, Gungi, Byph, Ganodi, Katooni and Zatt, each came out later. The students then went on to make their personal lightsabers.
Attack on the Jedi Temple
During the peak of the war, Barriss Offee with the help of Letta Turmond bombed the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Yoda then ordered Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano to return from Cato Neimoidia to help investigate, refusing to trust anyone who was in the temple during the bombing. Yoda's judgement was clouded, but he still guided the Jedi as the leader of the Council.
Turmond was captured by Skywalker and Tano. In prison, she requested Tano speak with her, saying Tano was the only one she could trust. When Turmond was strangled to death via the Force, and several clones were murdered by a lightsaber, Republic Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin accused Tano of being the mastermind responsible for the attack. When Tano escaped the prison, desperate to prove her innocence, Tarkin ordered her captured. This resulted in a manhunt led by Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex, during which Tano lost her shoto-style lightsaber and escaped.
After Tano eluded her master and fled to the Underworld, Yoda ordered Skywalker and Plo Koon to track her down and bring her to the temple. Tano was quickly captured by Asajj Ventress, now a bounty hunter after having been betrayed by Dooku, who agreed to help the young Padawan in exchange for a pardon for Ventress' crimes as a Sith. Tano contacted Barriss Offee at the Jedi temple. Offee led Tano into a trap by telling her she could find evidence to prove her innocence by going to a warehouse on Level 1315. There, Offee jumped Ventress, stealing her lightsabers and mask. She attacked Tano, knocking her out in front of crates of nano-droids and effectively framing her for the bombing.
Tano was eventually brought back to the temple, where Yoda reluctantly agreed to expel her from the Jedi Order and have her face a Republic military tribunal before the Senate. Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon, and several other members of the Jedi Council were in the Senate Chambers when Skywalker brought Barriss Offee before the Chancellor, where she confessed to being responsible for the bombings and for framing Tano. In light of this revelation, Yoda and the rest of the Council personally invited Tano to rejoin the Order, but she refused and left. Yoda would regret the Council's decision and began to question the doctrine of the war.
Prior to the war, Darth Sidious and his apprentice, Darth Tyranus, secretly created the Clone Army with the assistance of an unsuspecting Sifo-Dyas, who had seen visions of a conflict beforehand. When this was done, they had organic inhibitor chips implanted in their brains. which caused the clones to do anything Palpatine told them to, in this case execute the Jedi. With one simple command, the clones would enter a trance-like state and perform whatever orders they were given.
During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, Clone Trooper Tup murdered Jedi Master Tiplar when his inhibitor chip was activated prematurely. Sidious ordered Tyranus to apprehend Tup to prevent the Jedi from discovering the truth. Tup was eventually sent to Kamino after Anakin Skywalker, Captain Rex, and ARC trooper Fives were able to recover Tup from a Separatist Transport.
After escorting Tup to Kamino, Fives and Rex were greeted by Jedi Master Shaak Ti, alongside the main developer of the clones, Kaminoan scientist Nala Se. Rex returned to Ringo Vinda while Fives remained on Kamino to undergo examination in case Fives had a similar situation. Disputes over the tests led to a debate. While Shaak Ti advised a brain scan, Nala Se suggested terminating the clone and performing an autopsy to isolate the case. Shaak Ti contacted the Jedi Temple where Yoda, alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi, decided Tup should be brought to the temple to be examined through the Force.
What the Jedi were unaware of was that the Kaminoans knew of the inhibitor chips and were working with Count Dooku, who used his Sith name, Tyrannus, to prevent the Jedi from making the connection. Dooku ordered that Tup be terminated and that the chip be sent to him to be looked at.
Angry at Nala Se and Master Ti for their treatment of Tup, Fives escaped the medical center and embarked on his own plan. Fives faked leaving the planet, but stayed to try and save Tup and discover the truth. He and the medical droid AZI-3 were able to perform a brain scan on Tup, where they learned of the inhibitor chips. Fives had the droid take the chip out of his and Tup's brains. Unfortunately, the already-weakened Tup died soon after the operation, whispering his last words to Fives. Fives blamed Nala Se for what happened to Tup. Suspecting the Kaminoans of treachery, and with the support of Master Ti, Fives insisted on presenting his evidence and the removed chips directly to Palpatine. Fives was eventually brought to Coruscant, at the request of Shaak Ti, where he was brought before the Chancellor. As the ship landed, Nala Se drugged Fives, causing him to act strange.
When Fives attempted to assassinate Palpatine, Yoda and the rest of the Jedi Council ordered Anakin Skywalker to investigate. Fives was killed in the end, and Yoda was ultimately told that the doctors had found another cause, and that a vaccination had been prepared, in case of a future incident.
Uncovering the truth
- "Know now we do that guide the creation of the clones from the beginning, Dooku did. Hm, our enemy created an army for us."
"If this was known, public confidence in the war effort, the Jedi, and the Republic would vanish. There would be mass chaos."
"Cover up this discovery we must. No one, not even the Chancellor, may know. Valiant men the clones have proven to be. Saved my life and yours they have many times. Believe in them we must. Win the war swiftly we must, before our enemy's designs reach completion, whatever they may be."
- ―Yoda and Mace Windu
Sometime later, the Jedi received a distress signal from a moon near Oba Diah. Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe, sent to investigate, found the remains of a shuttle and the lightsaber of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, who was killed sometime around the Battle of Naboo while dealing with a conflict on Felucia. Upon reviewing the temple archives, Jocasta Nu and the Jedi found that the information had been sealed by order of the Supreme Chancellor. While sending Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to Felucia, Yoda went to speak with Chancellor Palpatine. The latter directed Yoda to Finis Valorum, who had been Supreme Chancellor when these events took place. Anakin and Obi-Wan attempted to communicate with the native tribe on Felucia, but were unable to understand them. They did learn, however, that a second Jedi had shown up with Sifo-Dyas.
Valorum told Yoda that he sent Sifo-Dyas to negotiate with the Pyke Syndicate to stop a booming drug trade underneath Coruscant. Valorum also revealed that he kept this secret, fearing his opponents in the bureaucracy. The talks were postponed after the Council sent Sifo-Dyas to intervene on Felucia. Valorum was unable to identify the second Jedi, but did say that his assistant, Silman, was with Sifo-Dyas when he was shot down.
Eventually, Yoda dispatched Anakin and Obi-Wan to Oba Diah, where they learned the Pykes were paid to shoot down the ship carrying Sifo-Dyas, but had kept Silman captive as leverage and that Dooku was in fact the individual known as Tyrannus, leading them to realize Dooku impersonated Syfo-Dias to help push forward the Clone Wars. Yoda, not knowing how to stop the plot, suggested the Jedi keep the discovery a secret, and that they should keep playing the Sith Lord's game.
While meditating during the end of the war, Yoda heard the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn, who demonstrated his presence by levitating Yoda. The encounter left Yoda distracted during the subsequent Council gathering, leaving them worried about whether the stresses of the war were finally taking its toll on him. While strolling through the Temple gardens, Yoda was greeted by Anakin. Yoda asked him about his encounter with Qui-Gon's spirit on Mortis, which Anakin had dismissed as a trick, noting the Jedi belief that one could not retain their identity after becoming one with the Force. Yoda responded that he now questioned this dogma.
Yoda confessed what happened to the Council, much to their disbelief. They agreed though to meditate with him, to verify his experience. Despite meditating together for an entire day, they were unable to hear anything. Ki-Adi Mundi expressed worry that Yoda had become susceptible to Sith manipulation, so Yoda underwent medical tests that revealed that he was still in good health. Jedi Doctor Rig Nema suggested Yoda undergo a deprivation ritual that would allow him to meditate more strongly and find the source of the voice.
Agreeing, Yoda was suspended in a liquid tank with an oxygen mask to bring him as close as possible to death without actually becoming one with the Force. While unconscious, Qui-Gon's voice requested Yoda go to Dagobah, and to tell no one about it. After, Obi-Wan broke open the tank due to his concern over Yoda's failing life signs.
Put on bedrest and under guard, Yoda convinced Anakin to help him escape by posing as simply accompanying each other for a walk. Guided to the Jedi Temple Hangar, Anakin lent Yoda his Astromech droid/Legends R2-D2 to accompany him to his personal interceptor. Yoda and R2-D2 flew to Dagobah, where Yoda asked the droid to stay with their ship while he found a clearing to meditate.
Qui-Gon's voice greeted him. Yoda asked why he could not see him. Qui-Gon explained he had not been fully trained enough to do so. The Living Force appeared to Yoda in the form of fireflies, guiding Yoda to a cave strong with the dark side, it showed the Jedi Master a vision of the future, where a hooded Sith Lord slaughtered the Jedi. Qui-Gon explained to a distraught Yoda that he would help him bring hope for the future, and directed him to the planet that spawned the midi-chlorians.
Arriving there, Yoda gave his lightsaber to R2-D2 for safekeeping, and descended into the world to meet the Force Priestesses, who agreed to teach him how to achieve life after death. First, Yoda confronted a manifestation of his own dark side, conquering his hubris. Next, he witnessed a vision of the Jedi massacred in the Temple, where an apparition of Katooni invited him to enter a peaceful courtyard to escape these painful events. Seeing Qui-Gon, Kenobi, Ahsoka and Dooku together, alive and full Jedi, Yoda recognized the vision's falsehood, overcoming its temptation and his attachment to those that have fallen.
Instructed to complete his tests on the Sith homeworld of Moraband, Yoda and R2-D2 flew to the valley where the ancient Sith Lords were buried. Recognizing the danger, Yoda instructed R2-D2 to return to the Jedi Temple and inform the Council of what happened, if he did not come back after three nights. Spectres of a serpent, undead Sith warriors and even Darth Bane himself confronted him, but Yoda brushed them off. As he entered a temple execution chamber, the Force Priestesses warned Yoda that whatever he encountered there would be beyond their control.
Unknown to Yoda, Darth Sidious and Dooku sensed his presence on Moraband, and met in an abandoned tower in the industrial sector of Coruscant. Using Dooku and Yoda's Force bond, Sidious planned to reach out to Yoda and crush his spirit. Appearing to Yoda in the form of Sifo-Dyas, Sidious had Yoda wake up in a Republic attack gunship with Anakin and members of the 501st Legion, en route to terminate the Sith on Coruscant. As they arrived, the clones, led by Captain Rex, rushed at Dooku only to be hit with Sith lightning. Anakin immediately attacked Dooku while Sidious fled. Walking sadly past the fallen clones, a dismayed Yoda witnessed Anakin decapitate Dooku. However, he left Anakin and pursued Sidious.
Emerging on a catwalk, Yoda and Sidious ignited their lightsabers and engaged in a fierce duel that took them further away from the industrial tower. Anakin eventually caught up with the pair, engaging Sidious in lightsaber combat alongside the Grand Master. Yoda was able to throw Sidious away from them with a Force push, but Anakin foolishly took the chance to attack Sidious while he was still on the ground. The Dark Lord rose to his feet and immediately proceeded to Force-choke Anakin before rendering him unconscious with Force lightning. Sidious then turned his lightning upon Yoda, who immediately began to deflect it with his bare hands by using tutaminis, advancing upon Sidious and closing the gap between them. Although both struggled with the effort of overcoming the other, Yoda was able to cause Sidious to begin to slowly reel backwards with the strength of his counterattack before the combination of their powers caused an explosion that blasted them apart. Sidious was sent toppling over the catwalk's banisters while Yoda was able to maintain his ground. Yoda immediately looked for a seemingly vanished Sidious only to witness the latter damaging the catwalk with his lightsaber from below. Yoda leapt after him, but Yoda's attention soon became divided between Force-lifting Anakin to save him from falling to his death and blocking Sidious' Sith lightning with his lightsaber. After Sidious taunted him by suggesting he sacrifice Anakin to concentrate on defeating him, Yoda put down his lightsaber to ensure Anakin's safety only to be hit with lightning. As the catwalk collapsed, Yoda maneuvered Anakin to safety and prevented Sidious escaping by severing the collapsing catwalk with his lightsaber, dragging Sidious down too. The incident proved Yoda's selflessness and demonstrated his resolve to Sidious, who concluded the illusion as he realized it would take more to defeat the Jedi Master.
Yoda awoke and was greeted by a Priestess, who explained he would continue his training with Qui-Gon's spirit. As she disappeared in a glow of light, Yoda had a vision of the future, including his own death. Yoda returned to the Jedi Temple, where Windu and Kenobi greeted him in the garden. Yoda claimed his journey had been uneventful, but felt it had demonstrated the Jedi had been wrong to wage the war on the Republic's behalf.
Near the end of the war, Yoda journeyed to the planet Vjun after receiving a communication from Count Dooku, stating his intention to defect. Although Yoda was well aware of Dooku's treachery, he could not help but hope the count's plea was sincere, and that his former student was, at last, trying to find his way home.
Taking Jedi Masters Maks Leem, Jai Maruk, and their Padawans Whie Malreaux and Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy, Yoda traveled secretly to Vjun. However, along the way, Asajj Ventress tracked and captured the foursome, and unleashed new assassin droids. Killing Leem and Maruk, Ventress tried to destroy the space station to kill Yoda. The little green creature, using the help of his media doppelgänger, destroyed Ventress' ship, allowing them to escape. Yoda rendezvoused with Dooku in Château Malreaux and confronted the Sith Lord over his choice to join the dark side. Dooku attempted to convert Yoda, but the Jedi Master easily pushed aside Dooku's hollow promises. Instead, Yoda tried to persuade Dooku to rejoin the Jedi Order, and it appeared his words had a profound effect on Dooku. The unexpected intervention of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker hardened Dooku's resolve, however, and Yoda was forced into a second duel with the count. Both Yoda and Dooku survived, but each left the confrontation with much on their minds.
When fierce fighting broke out on the planet Argul, Yoda traveled to the world with a number of other Jedi, to help evacuate refugees from Argul's cities. However, there were not enough transports for the Jedi to evacuate all of the Argullians, so Yoda left the planet, promising to return with more ships.
Yoda commandeered the Sullustan task force and returned to Argul with the fleet, using it to reinforce Republic forces on the planet. The task force quickly turned the tide of the battle in the favor of the Republic, and Yoda landed with the reinforcements, via a gunship. He then congratulated the surviving Jedi on the world, for their efforts during the battle.
Bpfasshi Dark Jedi crisis
Early in 19 BBY, Yoda led a Jedi task force to confront the Dark Jedi crisis on the planet Bpfassh. A group of Bpfasshi Dark Jedi were responsible for a rampage of terror and destruction throughout the Bpfassh system and, indeed, the entire Sluis sector. The task force was able to stop the insurrection and quell the uprising. Yoda then personally engaged the last of the Bpfasshi Dark Jedi, who survived the Jedi intervention and managed to escape, commandeering Jorj Car'das's smuggling ship, in a duel that lasted a day and a half, before finally defeating him—or so it seemed. Mortally wounded, the fallen Bpfasshi Jedi made it to the swamp planet Dagobah, where he died. At the site of the Dark Jedi's death, a dark-side nexus was formed, becoming the Dark Side Cave.
Rise of the Sith Lords
Battle of Coruscant
- "Strange is the enemy's strategy."
"A massive invasion but no attempt to take the temple or senate."
"Unless an elaborate distraction."
"To hide their primary objective."
- ―Yoda and Mace Windu
Despite these dark sojourns, Yoda largely remained on Coruscant and coordinated the war effort on behalf of the Jedi. He did, however, journey to Cato Neimoidia shortly before the Battle of Coruscant to investigate the discovery of Nute Gunray's mechno-chair.
During the Battle of Coruscant, Yoda again rode his kybuck into battle, to support the forces of Captain Fordo with a dazzling display of mounted lightsaber combat. He eventually sent the creature back to the Temple, and continued to fight, side by side with Mace Windu, on foot.
Despite their efforts, the Jedi were unable to prevent the capture of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine by General Grievous, though Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi later rescued him and killed Dooku in the process. With his hopes of converting his pupil back to the light dashed, Yoda set his focus on tracking down the last Sith Lord, though tensions between the Jedi High Council and the Office of the Supreme Chancellor were high.
In 19 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine appointed Anakin to the Jedi Council as his own representative. Again, the Council was hesitant about Skywalker's temperament but, in turn, acquiesced to the request. Yoda once more played a significant role in the young Jedi's ascension in the order, as they denied Anakin the rank of Jedi Master. During that discussion, the clones reported that the Wookiees were under attack, and Yoda, having once been the planet's watchman, decided to venture to Kashyyyk to assist them.
Invasion of Kashyyyk
- "I fear the dark cloud of the Sith shrouds us all."
While Yoda was on Kashyyyk, Palpatine, now revealed as Darth Sidious, ordered the clones to execute Order 66, which meant the extermination of all Jedi. Yoda sensed his Jedi brethren being killed all over the galaxy and, coming to the only logical conclusion for so many concurrent deaths of his fellow Jedi, he suddenly realized, in one horrible instant, that the clone troopers were responsible. Worst of all, before the attack began, he felt Anakin Skywalker's ascension into Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader. Despite being filled with grief, he was still able to defend himself, decapitating Commander Gree and his assistant with a single strike and stop the rest of his former troops from assassinating him. With help from the Wookiees Chewbacca and Tarfful, Yoda, like fellow Jedi Quinlan Vos, survived and was able to escape to meet with another surviving Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan.
- "In a dark place we find ourselves… and a little more knowledge might light our way."
Yoda and Kenobi then went to the conquered Jedi Temple so they could reconfigure the emanating signal that was drawing Jedi survivors back to Coruscant into a trap. They disabled the deadly beacon after cutting through several clone troopers, and saw the Temple littered with the bodies of fallen Jedi, including younglings, who had been slaughtered with a lightsaber.
As Kenobi finished recalibrating the coded signal, he felt he must know who was responsible for the attack. Yoda, knowing that the revelation of Anakin's turn to the dark side would cause Kenobi pain, cautioned him before his fellow Master activated the security recordings. As they watched, they learned of Palpatine's Sith identity and that the Republic was now a Galactic Empire. They agreed that the two Sith Lords needed to be destroyed. Yoda would remain on Coruscant to confront the newly crowned Emperor Palpatine in the Senate Building, while a deeply reluctant Kenobi would battle his former apprentice.
Duel in the Senate
- "I have waited a long time for this moment, my little green friend… at last, the Jedi are no more."
"Not if anything to say about it, I have! […] At an end your rule is, and not short enough it was."
- ―Darth Sidious and Yoda
As Sidious waited for word from his apprentice, Yoda entered the office. Quickly dispatching Sidious' guards by Force-pushing them into the wall, Yoda confronted the Sith Lord, who seemed surprised at his survival and attacked Yoda with Force lightning. Yoda quickly fought back with a Force push that sent the Sith Lord across the room and into his chair, where he fell onto the ground in a crumpled heap. As Sidious tried to flee, Yoda jumped in front of him and pulled out his lightsaber. Sidious then drew his own lightsaber, and the duel began.
The duel moved into the Senate, where the two Force users engaged in a saber duel in the Chancellor's podium. The two at first stalemated each other, but Yoda ultimately started to gain the upper hand, pressuring Sidious by using his small size to easily avoid the latter's strikes and to nimbly navigate through the podium, whereas Sidious was hampered by the podium's tight space. Eventually, Yoda dislodged the Dark Lord's lightsaber from his grip. After retreating to the surrounding Senate pods, Sidious changed tactics and began using the Force to hurl several Senate Hoverpods at him from above, forcing Yoda to concentrate on dodging the improvised projectiles instead of getting to Sidious's level. The Grand Master of the Jedi Order and the Dark Lord of the Sith were counterpoised.
As the duel progressed, during a match between the embodiments of the light and the dark, that Yoda realized the Jedi had lost the war before it even started. In the last millennium, the Sith had changed and adapted, becoming a new entity; while the Jedi Order, under his leadership, spent the same time merely training to re-fight the last war. Moreso, he sensed that while he was weakening, Sidious was only growing stronger. Hence, Yoda realized that the longer the duel continued, the greater the gap between his power and Sidious' would become. If he was to win at all, he had to end the duel, and quickly. As Sidious continued his telekinetic assault, Yoda caught one of the Senate podiums and flung it back at Sidious, who leapt out of its path to a lower Senate pod. Yoda took the opportunity to engage the distracted Dark Lord at close quarters once again, but Sidious fired a torrent of Force lightning at Yoda. The attack tore Yoda's lightsaber from his hand, and the diminutive Jedi was forced to use tutaminis to withstand the Dark Lord's lightning. As Sidious increased the power of his lightning and aimed his attack above Yoda's defense by elevating his body, Yoda began to falter. As Sidious intensified his attack further, the Jedi Master's vision pierced the veil of the dark side, and he was able to see a glimpse of the future. What he might have seen was unclear, but Yoda's vision certainly did reveal to him that, if the galaxy were ever to be free of the Sith, he had to remain alive.
Yoda's newfound hope gave him the strength to resist Sidious's might, and he quickly managed to coalesce the energy of Palpatine's lightning into a blue orb, slowly redirecting it back to an astounded Sidious, who was slowly being pushed back by the strength of Yoda's counterattack. But just as Yoda appeared to be on the brink of succeeding, the combination of both of their powers caused the orb to explode, and the blast blew them both apart, ending the battle. Both Masters were able to grasp the edge of nearby Senate pods, with Sidious barely managing to right himself and achieve the high ground. Yoda, however, was unable to maintain his grasp, and fell to the floor of the Senate Chamber. Realizing that any chance he had to defeat Sidious was gone with his stamina exhausted and his body battered, Yoda decided to flee and escaped through several service pipes, with his small size proving advantageous in this moment, and met up with Bail Organa, who hurried him away in his speeder as Yoda mused about his failure. The two left for the asteroid colony of Polis Massa.
- "Into exile I must go. Failed, I have."
- ―Yoda to Bail Prestor Organa
On Polis Massa, Yoda communed with the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn, who agreed to train Yoda in secret Whill techniques he had learned after his death. He also regrouped with Kenobi, who had defeated but not killed Vader. Kenobi brought with him a badly injured Amidala, who was treated in Polis Massa. Although Amidala bore twins, Luke and Leia, she died soon afterward. Yoda decided that the babies were strong in the Force. When returning to the Sundered Heart with Bail Organa and reuniting with Obi-Wan Kenobi, he decided that Luke and Leia—the Skywalker children—should be hidden from Darth Vader and the Emperor in secret locations. Other than the ancient Jedi Master, only the Organas, the Lars, and Kenobi would know of their placement. He also told Obi-Wan that an old friend, Master Qui-Gon Jinn, had found the way to retain one's identity after death, a skill he would teach both of them. Yoda would play a role he had not taken on in centuries: that of an apprentice.
During the Great Jedi Purge, Yoda stowed away aboard an automated Polis Massan–registered barge that was transporting grain to starving inhabitants of the ex-Separatist world of Sluis Van. The ship briefly dropped out of hyperspace near the planet Dagobah. Undetected and unrecorded, Yoda launched his escape pod and landed on the swamp planet. He would spend his entire exile hiding on Dagobah, from the onset of the Dark Times to the early period of the Galactic Civil War.
Yoda soon found and healed the badly wounded smuggler Jorj Car'das, who had been wounded by a survivor of the Bpfasshi Dark Jedi insurrection. After a revived Car'das left Dagobah, Yoda made his home near the Dark Side Cave, which, in addition to the massive number of lifeforms (which masked his presence in the Living Force), counteracted his presence in the light side. Yoda's imprint on the Force was hidden, as was his sanctuary from the Emperor's sinister agents. Moreover, Dagobah was one of the thirty-seven planets erased from the Jedi Archives, further ensuring his anonymity.
At some point, he encountered the Children, a group of cannibals whose parents had been part of a Republic survey team that became stranded on the planet decades earlier. For some reason, the Children became extremely afraid of him and called him the "Imp."
Shortly afterward, Qu Rahn, another Jedi who survived both Order 66 and its aftermath, went to Dagobah and was taught many skills by the old master. Before the Battle of Hoth, Tash and Zak Arranda also encountered Yoda. It was during these years that the diminutive being developed a taste for rootleaf stew.
When Starkiller, a clone of Darth Vader's deceased secret apprentice, traveled to Dagobah to meditate, he discovered the entrance to a cave. Before entering, Starkiller met Yoda, although he was oblivious to the diminutive creature's identity. Despite his vague comments, Yoda assured the clone that his path clearly brought him to the cave and venturing inside would yield some answers for him. After Starkiller exited the cave, Yoda told him that he had to follow his destiny, to which the clone said he would follow it to the ends of the galaxy.
By this time, Emperor Palpatine increased the bounty on Yoda by a further 30,000 credits. Due to multiple attempts at collecting the reward through fraud, the Empire had to modify the conditions so that no one else would be tempted to cheat the Empire. First, the reward was only good for a living subject. Second, a non-negotiable death penalty was attached to the bounty and would be enforced on anyone who tried to collect the reward by handing over a "false Yoda." The Empire also used the fate of bounty hunter Rurrk Ca'rivv to remind others that Imperial authorities were quite capable of telling the difference between a Jedi Master of advanced age and a dead Jawa stripped of his clothing and surgically altered, noting the smell as the first and most obvious sign of deception. Shortly thereafter, Yoda was listed one of eight of the Empire's most wanted criminals, alongside Alderaanian Princess Leia Organa, former Mon Calamari senator Meena Tills, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, of which they were often issued in recruitment videos for stormtroopers and the Imperial Army.
One day around 0 BBY, Jorj Car'das suddenly showed up once more on Dagobah, violently demanding that Yoda put his failing health right. Yoda simply took his blaster and the beckon call from his ship and flung them into the swamp, then berated Car'das for wasting the second chance he had been given. He also told Car'das that he couldn't help him any further, since he was busy preparing for the most important training he would ever lead. Car'das became so embarrassed by his own actions that he couldn't return to his group, so he fled to Exocron, where Yoda had indicated he might receive help from the Aing-Tii monks. At some point during his exile, Alliance historian Major Arhul Hextrophon discovered Yoda's whereabouts and traveled to Dagobah to find him. Yoda originally intended to wipe his mind but in the end decided against it, since it was not the Jedi way to cause pain and suffering—in this case, through the loss of memory. Hextrophon was instead made to swear not to reveal his existence. He erased the records which led him to Yoda in the first place, and apart from keeping logs in his private journal, it is believed he kept his word.
The next Skywalker
- "Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try."
- ―Yoda to Luke Skywalker
When Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker, arrived on Dagobah, Yoda met him but kept his identity to himself, acting like a primitive life form as a means to test Luke, although he did promise to lead Luke to Yoda. He also warned Luke before returning to his hut that Luke must avoid the water as there were many dangers in the swamps of Dagobah. Upon Luke's arrival at the hut, Luke expressed his irritation at his not encountering Yoda yet, causing Yoda to voice his doubts to Obi-Wan Kenobi's ghost about whether training Luke was a good idea. Yoda reluctantly agreed to train him in the ways of the Force, after Luke realized the creature was Yoda and pledged to train under him, as well as Obi-Wan's reminder to Yoda that Obi-Wan himself was also reckless and impatient when he was younger. He expressed caution, though, as he sensed in Luke traits similar to his father and judged him too old for training.
The experienced Jedi Master expedited Luke Skywalker's Jedi training to fit in the limited time they could afford. However, prior to finishing his instruction, Luke chose to leave Dagobah without completing his training in order to confront Darth Vader at Cloud City above Bespin and save his friends. Yoda and the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi attempted to convince him to stay, thinking Luke ready to face neither Vader nor the revelation to come. Skywalker promised to come back in order to complete his training. Obi-Wan was concerned about this decision, telling Yoda that Luke was their last hope. Yoda quickly reminded Kenobi that hope still remained in the person of "another," namely Leia Organa, Luke's sister.
Afterwards, Yoda reflected on the events that led to that point. Although he knew that the Jedi Council was all but gone, and that his own age meant he would soon die, he nonetheless was still a Jedi Master, and even during the Dark Times, he believed the struggle would continue, with droids and aliens such as R2-D2 and Chewbacca, respectively, fighting the Empire. He also noted that Leia Organa, one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance, resembled her mother, Padmé Amidala, and noted that an imprint on the parent was always strong. However, he grew concerned regarding Luke and Vader, noting that the imprint was not always a good path, and that Luke could become an agent of evil should he follow the same path as his father. But he also noted that Luke was both strong and good-hearted, which might mean that not only would he not turn to the dark side, but also that Anakin Skywalker might be redeemed. He then proclaimed his faith in the light side and the return of the Jedi Knights.
- "Twilight is upon me, and soon night must fall. That is the way of things, the way of the Force."
- ―Yoda, to Luke Skywalker, shortly before his death
When Luke returned a year later, Yoda had grown sick and weak, and knew his death was imminent. He informed Luke that his training was complete, but that his final test would be to face Darth Vader. He proceeded to confirm that Darth Vader was his true father, and scolded him for recklessly fighting Vader on Cloud City. He also told Luke that he should not underestimate Palpatine, and that he should pass on what he had learned, as the Force ran strong within Luke's family. With his final breaths, Yoda struggled to tell Luke his final words: "Luke. There is another Skywalker."
Yoda then died and dissipated as he became one with the Force. Palpatine eventually discovered Yoda's demise by probing Luke's mind when he was brought aboard the second Death Star, and proceeded to mock the deceased Jedi Master, while Vader reacted without any emotion at the news. At the celebration after the Battle of Endor, Luke would look upon the specters of Yoda, Obi-Wan, and his redeemed father.
Doubtlessly, Yoda was one of the most gifted Force users in the history of the Jedi Order. Aside from his mastery of the Force, his most noticeable attributes were leadership and a very long lifespan. With almost a millennium of life, Yoda was able to establish himself as the most venerated Jedi Master throughout the entire Order—a status that would remain solely his for centuries until the fall of the Republic. As the reigning Grand Master for many centuries, Yoda had essentially become the "face" of the Jedi. As Etain Tur-Mukan mused, "Yoda was the Jedi Order," making it impossible to criticize him without sounding blasphemous.
Ironically, in this regard, Yoda had more in common with his Sith counterpart, Palpatine (Darth Sidious), than he realized. As Chancellor Palpatine was regarded as the vital and infallible leader of the Galactic Republic, so too was Master Yoda the vital and infallible leader of the Jedi Order. Thus, neither Yoda or Palpatine could be criticized without their critics being automatically discredited and regarded with suspicion.
After his death at the age of 900, Yoda retained his individuality in the Force. As a so-called Force ghost, he would look down on Leia and the Solo twins when they were born. His teachings would become the basis for what Luke taught his New Jedi Order. Since Yoda's teachings to Luke were rushed, most teachings of the Jedi Order were lost until the New Jedi Order began to find ancient holocrons, or, in some cases, libraries like the one on Ossus.
Yoda later informed Luke of the history of The Ones and their encounter with Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, at some point during their pursuit of Abeloth.
Personality and traits
- "To be Jedi is to face the truth, and choose. Give off light, or darkness, Padawan. Be a candle, or the night, Padawan: but choose!"
- ―Yoda, to Whie Malreaux
To his students, the elfin luminary Yoda could appear as either very strict or like a grandfatherly figure, testing them to mental and physical extremes one moment and showing warmth the next. Students often strongly disagreed with him at first, but gradually came to understand his attitudes.
Among his colleagues on the Jedi High Council, he was known to have a penchant for mischief and practical jokes. To all of the young Jedi, he was the humble Yoda, who offered enlightened leadership and epitomized the ideals of the Jedi Order; a grand master of that august body, he was widely known as a sage instructor.
Although Yoda was a strict and firm leader, he deeply cared for the Jedi Order. He was willing to sacrifice a chance to win and neutralize Dooku by saving Anakin and Kenobi when Dooku unleashed an attack that would have killed them. Yoda also greatly grieved Anakin Skywalker's fall and Order 66 killing almost all Jedi, to the point of falling to his knees. He was also willing to acknowledge whenever he was proven wrong, as shown by how he humbly apologized to Jinn—when the latter proved his unique wisdom was beneficial, as he had acquired the ability to retain identity—for having doubted him and acknowledged that he was a great Jedi.
Despite a body of evidence to the contrary, which included famous names such as Ulic Qel-Droma, Oss Wilum, and Revan, Yoda was largely a traditionalist in his belief that a Jedi who was seduced by the dark side of the Force would be forever condemned to walk in darkness. During the Clone Wars, however, he originally believed that no Jedi was beyond redemption and forgiveness. Even after Count Dooku betrayed the Republic and the Jedi by committing numerous atrocities as the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, Yoda once tried to persuade his former student to let go of the dark side and return to the ways of the Jedi, and very nearly succeeded in redeeming Dooku. Even as Quinlan Vos slipped further into the dark side's embrace, Yoda had faith that the disturbed young Jedi Master would find his way back to the light side of the Force; unlike Dooku, Vos vindicated Yoda's belief in redemption.
However, Yoda's failure to redeem Dooku, as well as his inability to prevent the rise of the Galactic Empire, left the Grand Master more jaded than ever. In addition to the fall of the Republic, the Jedi Order was pushed to the brink of extinction by the fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, whose fall to the dark side turned him into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Having failed to protect all that he cared for, Yoda was disillusioned in many ways and sought to kill the two Sith Lords at first; the chance at redemption for those who embraced the dark side was no longer an option as far as Yoda was concerned.
Throughout his exile on Dagobah, the tyranny of the Empire and the Sith hunt for the Jedi during the Great Jedi Purge embittered Yoda to the point where he lost all faith in the idea of redemption. In his exile, Yoda held no interest in being involved with the rest of the galaxy, seeing himself as more of a watcher of the events which unfolded during the Empire's rule. Before his death, he warned Vader's son, Luke Skywalker, that "when a person falls to the dark side, their destiny would forever be dominated by darkness."
Yoda spoke an unusual version of Basic. He tended to place verbs (especially auxiliaries) after the object and subject (an object-subject-verb format). An example of Yoda's speech pattern: "When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not."( ) Most agreed that this pattern of speech was convoluted, and while it seems as though others of his species (e.g. Yaddle) had the same penchant for rearranging sentences, not all of them did (e.g. Vandar Tokare).
Yoda walked with the aid of a cane later in life, although he was capable of throwing it aside and moving nimbly while using the Force. One of his canes was a gift from the Wookiees. His rare gimer cane contained nutrients that could sustain him were he to chew on it. He also used a hoverchair for moving around the Temple quickly and more efficiently.
Another item unique to Master Yoda was a blissl, an instrument similar to a pan flute, which he wore around his neck while on Dagobah. During the Clone Wars, he would often make use of a kybuck given to him by a Woolwarricca princess from Kashyyyk as a gift. Yoda also had a unique crest that adorned his quarters.
Yoda's origins were secretive and he never revealed his homeworld to anyone.
Powers and abilities
- "Help you I can. Yes, mmm."
"I don't think so. I'm looking for a great warrior."
"Oh! Great warrior. Wars not make one great."
- ―Yoda and Luke Skywalker, meeting on Dagobah
Considered by many to be the greatest Jedi Master of the era, Yoda was one of the most skilled lightsaber duelists and users of the Force in the history of the galaxy. Yoda's powers awestruck even the Dark Jedi Beldorion, who grouped him among three elite Jedi Masters, along with Thon and Nomi Sunrider, who had lived several millennia earlier than him. Beldorion considered the trio to be truly great as they were prodigiously talented in the Force, specifically in the directing of pure light-side energies. Of all the Force users in the galaxy, only Darth Sidious, perhaps the most powerful Sith Lord of all time, rivaled Yoda's mastery of the Force and strength with a lightsaber.
In addition to his immense connection to the Force, Yoda was amazingly skilled in lightsaber combat, one of the greatest duelists in history, and was widely acknowledged as being perhaps the greatest Jedi duelist and Swordmaster of his time despite being trained as a Jedi Consular. He was known to be the only Jedi who could best Mace Windu and Count Dooku. Although he did not often participate in direct combat, Yoda's impeccable swordsmanship remained as sharp as ever. In his duel with Dooku, who had became Darth Tyranus and improved his skill even further, Yoda held the upper hand throughout the majority of the fight and would have defeated him had Tyranus not fled. Another testament to Yoda's immense dueling skill was that not only was he able to fight on equal footing with Darth Sidious, but he was also even able to defeat and disarm the Dark Lord, a feat that only Luke Skywalker and Mace Windu was ever able to replicate. Overall, Yoda's mastery of lightsaber combat marks him as perhaps the greatest duelist of his time.
Yoda received intensive training in the use of all the seven forms of lightsaber combat and had achieved full mastery and knowledge of them all and all of their stances and techniques. Known to be the best lightsaber instructor in the Temple, he presumably was good enough with each form to decide which one fitted his student the most and instruct them how to use their specialized form effectively. His most preferred style was Form IV, which he particularly specialized at, as it allowed him to compensate for his limited reach and stature. Known to be the Order's greatest master of Ataru, his technique was said to consist of the pure basics of Ataru taken to their highest possible levels. Despite his advanced age and short stature, Yoda was still an exceptionally formidable duelist, displaying amazing speed and dexterity, leaping through the air and twirling as he battered at an opponent's defenses. Much of his lightsaber combat style relied on jumps and acrobatics, augmented by his mastery of Force valor. Despite the fact that Yoda's primary combat specialization was Ataru, his skill in the form was such that he was capable of effectively overcoming it's weaknesses with ease and demonstrated an extreme level of skill with regard to deflecting blaster bolts and could easily handle many opponents at once, evidenced by his easy victory over many clone troopers when he returned to the Jedi Temple during Order 66. In addition, Yoda at times applied his mastery of the other forms into his dueling style. He was known for having proficiently applied elements of Shii-Cho bladework and his outstanding deflection ability implied a superb level of skill in either Shien or Soresu.
However, in his later years, Yoda lost a great deal of his mobility, demonstrating a pronounced limp and depending on a cane to aid him in his everyday movements. This loss of mobility was due to the fact that, in his old age, Yoda suffered from debilitating arthritis. When possible, Yoda preferred to use a hoverchair rather than walk at all. His mastery of Force valor allowed him to overcome these physical infirmities, but due to the extremely taxing nature of the ability, he was only able to utilize it for a short time before tiring.
Master Yoda carried a green-bladed shoto, which, unlike most other lightsabers, possessed an ignition button that also acted as a clip. Yoda was one of the few Force-users, Jedi and Sith alike, who kept his trademark homespun robe on during combat, possibly because it was small enough not to hinder his movements.
Yoda, as befitting a centuries-old Jedi Grand Master, was extraordinarily powerful and skilled in the Force, one of the most powerful Force users in history—rivaling Darth Sidious—and was the greatest and strongest master of the Force among the Jedi of his time, surpassing even the potentially more powerful Anakin Skywalker, due to having far more experience in using it. His power in the Force was described as being "as light as the stars." His midi-chlorian count was also known to be the second highest in the history of the Jedi, surpassed only by the Chosen One Anakin Skywalker. His strength and mastery of the Force was great enough that he could easily defend himself against and dominate other powerful masters of the Force, as shown when he casually repelled all of Dooku's Force assaults despite the increase in power and skill he acquired from turning to the dark side. Yoda was so powerful and skilled in Force combat that he could effortlessly overpower highly skilled and armed adversaries using nothing but the Force, as evidenced with Asaji Ventress. Indeed, Yoda was the only one to have ever managed to single-handedly go up against Darth Sidious in Force combat and matched the Dark Lord to a draw, although he proved incapable of defeating him as they were evenly matched. His power and skill in the Force remained tremendous even as he continued to age and lost his former great mobility. Even the Dark Lords of the Sith Darth Tyrannus and Darth Sidious acknowledged his Force power and mastery, with Darth Tyrannus holding his former master's strength in the Force in high enough regard that he believed that should Yoda fall to the dark side, he would be so powerful that not even Darth Sidious would be able to stand against him.
Master Yoda was extremely skilled in the use of mind-related powers. He could cast mind tricks that were easily strong enough to effectively manipulate strong-willed individuals, such as Captain Typho, and could easily delve deep into the minds of others to decipher their thoughts with great precision. Yoda's telepathic capabilities also allowed him to manipulate the memories of his targets.
Yoda was also extraordinarily skilled in telekinesis. He demonstrated on one occasion the ability to easily telekinetically lift and carry an X-wing, and during the Battle of Coruscant, he caused a pair of C-9979 landing craft to collide with each other on two occasions. In their duel on Geonosis, Yoda easily deflected every telekinetic assault from Darth Tyranus, who was a former Temple instructor of telekinesis. Yoda was able to catch Darth Sidious off guard with a Force-push that blasted Sidious away from him and later managed to stop a Senate Hoverpod that Sidious hurled at him from above, which he then proceeded to use the Force to throw back at him, an all the more impressive feat due to the fact that the pod was thrown upwards against gravity. He even could effortlessly toy with the very powerful Asajj Ventress, who was known to have defeated Kit Fisto and could hold her own against the likes of Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker, using only telekinesis: he was able to easily send her flying, stop her strike in midair, and even go as far as to casually disarm her of her lightsabers with a simple gesture. A master practitioner of the Force Push and Force Wave powers, Yoda used these abilities in conjunction with Mace Windu to blast away dozens of battle droids simultaneously during the Battle of Coruscant and also to raise an expansive force of Separatist battle droids into the air, ensuring that they would collide into the incoming airborne Separatist attack ships, which eliminated the two attack forces in one seamless stroke. Master Yoda was also adept at the saber throw, as demonstrated in his return to the Jedi Temple during the Great Jedi Purge.
Yoda also displayed considerable proficiency in the use of the defensive power of Tutaminis, using it during his duel with Darth Tyranus to effortlessly absorb and redirect the Sith Lord's Force lightning with no effort. Despite being nearly overwhelmed by its power, Yoda was ultimately able to absorb Sidious's lightning, eventually managing to coalesce the energy of the Dark Lord's Force lightning into a blue orb between the two of them, which slowly redirected the lightning back onto an astounded Sidious and caused him to slowly reel backwards with the strength of Yoda's counterattack before the combination of both of their Force powers blasted the two of them apart. However, despite his great power and skill as a warrior, Yoda was known to strongly dislike combat in general, and was even a bit disdainful of the idea that "greatness" could be achieved through martial prowess.
Master Yoda was able to foresee events with a great clarity, rivaling even that of Darth Sidious. In addition, Yoda had extremely strong Force senses, as he was able to quickly sense the deaths of almost all members of the Jedi Order and identify each one, while also sensing that Anakin Skywalker had turned to the dark side even all the way from Kashyyyk. Due to his training with Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda acquired the power to retain his identity after becoming one with the Force. He was also able to ponder matters of the dark and light sides of the Force with unparalleled clarity that surpassed all other Jedi of his time, even Mace Windu. He was the most skilled user of Force Empathy among the Jedi, exceeding even the renowned empathic abilities of Depa Billaba. He could sense intense feelings coming from others even from other planets, as he was able to sense the immense pain Anakin felt from the death of his mother while the latter was on Tatooine even though Yoda was on Coruscant and meditating. He also easily sensed the tension between Kenobi and Anakin when they pursued Dooku and was able to identify the cause as Padmé's fall from an LAAT gunship.
Yoda was also quite proficient in the valued Force technique Battle Meditation, having even been able to determine the outcome of battles by lifting the morale of thousands of companions while simultaneously dampening the spirits of thousands of his opponents. He was also capable of using it to inspire great amounts of hope while simultaneously eliminating feelings of doubt and despair from the spirit of others with a single touch, as he did to saturate Palleus Chuff with feelings of hope and potential mission success while also completely dispersing his feelings of doubt and despair. However, despite his advanced skill and power in the Force, he was only able to lift five of the seven Muntuur stones while in meditation once he passed his seven hundredth year.
Unlike most other Jedi of his era, Master Yoda knew how to create Jedi holocrons. The diminutive Jedi Master created at least one holocron, through which he discussed various aspects of the Jedi Code. This particular holocron was rescued by Jax Pavan during Vader's attack on the Jedi Temple.
Yoda was known for being the wisest and smartest Jedi of his time. He was an exceptional strategist, being a great contributor to the highest level of Jedi strategy, and was also an exceptional diplomat comparable with the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu. As such, many of the sage's missions during the Clone Wars were diplomatic in nature, and he prevented many battles from occurring, though some, as in the case of his missions to Vjun and Rugosa, ultimately descended into battle. Yoda later demonstrated his strategical aptitude by choosing Dagobah as his place of exile, using the strong dark-side presence around the cave representing the dark side to block the senses of Sidious and Vader. Despite at times offering help to others, he was able to avoid any confrontation with the Empire during his exile.
Yoda was a very capable leader, as Mace Windu passed on the mantle of the Master of the Order to him, and he also at times led many attacks during the Clone Wars to victory.
Although Yoda usually had his soldiers handle the piloting, when required to personally pilot a ship, he proved surprisingly capable, as evidenced when he was forced to travel alone to Dagobah: he single-handedly flew a starfighter without fail, avoiding any damage while piloting it. He could even enhance his piloting skills using the Force, allowing him to safely reach the planet where the Force Priestesses were when Artoo and the instruments on the ship malfunctioned while in a small, glowing, golden nebula.
Behind the scenes
Yoda was voiced by Muppeteer Frank Oz in the Star Wars films. In the original trilogy and The Phantom Menace, he was realized as a puppet (controlled by Oz). 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. In The Phantom Menace the actor Warwick Davis played Yoda for scenes where the character was required to walk. 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. However, Yoda's first appearance as a completely CG-rendered image was in The Phantom Menace, at the close of the film where he talks with Obi-Wan about his and Anakin's futures.
For the radio dramatizations of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, he was voiced by veteran character actor John Lithgow. Tom Kane provided Yoda's voice for both the Clone Wars animated series and The Clone Wars 3D series, as well as many video-game incarnations: Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing, Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Star Wars: Republic Commando and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Along with a few substitute voice actors in the original trilogy, but from the second one onwards, Yoda is dubbed in Japanese by the late Ichirō Nagai. By this proxy along with his and Darth Vader's appearance in Soulcalibur IV, Nagai also provided Yoda's voice in the Japanese version of the game.
The depiction of the number of Yoda's toes is inconsistent between different films, alternately numbering three, four and five toes. Leland Chee, keeper of the Holocron continuity database, has stated that Yoda canonically has four toes—three in the front and one in the back. For more, see the article on Yoda's species.
Yoda's popularity is such that the comedy musician "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song "Lola" with a version called "Yoda," included on the album Dare to Be Stupid (1985). More recently, the Great Luke Ski parodied the song "YMCA" by the Village People with a version called "Y.O.D.A." included on the albums Fanboys 'n Da Hood (1996) and Carpe Dementia (1999).
Producer/director Mel Brooks lampooned Yoda in his 1987 movie Spaceballs. Brooks portrayed a diminutive character named Yogurt, who specialized in manipulating a magical energy known as the Schwartz. Yoda also made a cameo in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, voiced by Eric Jacobson. Jacobson took over many of Frank Oz's Muppet roles.
Yoda also appears in a hip-hop Yoda music video that can be accessed via the Revenge of the Sith DVD when you go to the Options menu, highlight the THX logo, press 11, wait for the pause, press 3, wait for the pause, and finally press 8.
To get the animation team back in shape for their work on Episode III, Rob Coleman and his team replaced the footage of the Episode I Yoda puppet with their Episode III digital model as a test to see how far they could push his usual performance boundaries. This footage was released on the DVD, where it can be seen as part of "The Chosen One" featurette on Disc 2 of Revenge of the Sith. The footage has since appeared in the Blu-ray release of The Phantom Menace, replacing the puppet Yoda.
Original concept art showed Yoda as blue instead of the green that he ended up being, and he is depicted as blue in The Empire Strikes Back novelization and the Marvel Comics adaptation of the movie. Furthermore, in Star Wars 42 (published before the film of The Empire Strikes Back), Yoda seems to be a tiny creature who can comfortably sit on mushrooms.
In some foreign dubs of the films, Yoda's bizarre manner of speaking has not been translated.
In Before the Storm, Luke Skywalker tells Han Solo that when he first met Yoda, he was a hermit on Dagobah for a hundred years or more. The prequel trilogy's storyline, created several years later, shows that Yoda was on Dagobah for no more than 22 years when Luke first met him.
Heir to the Empire and Vision of the Future describes how Yoda followed a Dark Jedi from Bpfassh to Dagobah and killed him on the planet. After the Revenge of the Sith novelization (which hints that Yoda had never been on Dagobah before his exile) was published, it has been suggested the battle occurred shortly after the exile. In Star Wars Insider 98 Leland Chee wrote that the location of the battle is no longer considered part of continuity, but that it is possible that a mortally wounded Dark Jedi died on the planet after having fought Yoda elsewhere. However, this has not been confirmed.
Yoda received an updated character model to look more accurate to his Revenge of the Sith appearance for The Clone Wars: Season Five.
In the ride Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, Yoda was one of the characters helping the StarSpeeder 1000 pilot safely deliver a Rebel spy to the Rebel Alliance. However, as he was not known to have interacted with the Rebel Alliance during this time, it is unknown whether this is canon.
In November 2013, a deleted scene for Return of the Jedi was found on the laserdisc edition of the film. The scene, taking place on Yoda's deathbed and presumably occurring when Luke learns Vader was indeed his father, had him revealing that Obi-Wan Kenobi would have told Luke about his paternal relation to Vader had Yoda let him, making clear that Yoda was largely the reason Kenobi hid the truth from Luke.
- "Sick and weak I have become, Elderly and tir'd, And yet, I ask thee: When nine hundred years thou hast, Shalt thou look better?"
- ―Yoda to Luke Skywalker
Official non-canon Star Wars works generally still portrayed Yoda as a wise and skilled Jedi Master, but often played up his more humorous traits.
In Jeffrey Brown's Jedi Academy books, Yoda is a top instructor at the Jedi academy on Coruscant, but not the academy's principal. Approximately 700 years old, he provides students with important training on the deeper aspects of the Force, but sometimes says things that are humorous or downright strange. He almost always talks backwards and laughs a lot. Roan Novachez, a student recruited to the academy at a relatively late age, was surprised by Yoda's appearance and nature and initially suspected that Yoda was teaching instead of being a full-time Jedi Knight because he was going kind of senile. Later in the series, Yoda became the personal Jedi Master to the Zabrak Padawan Cyrus.
LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles features Yoda and focuses on events seen in the prequel era.
Clone Wars: Infinities: What if the Father never rescued Anakin from the dark side?
After Anakin fell under the influence of the Son from Mortis, they both returned to the regular plane of the universe. Both Yoda and Palpatine sensed their arrival upon Coruscant. Because of this both Yoda and Palpatine called a temporary truce to stop Anakin, but Anakin proved too powerful for either of them and defeated them with relative ease. He then became even more powerful in the process, and proceeded to create a Force hurricane in the Senate building.