(
57 –
0 BBY ) is a
Fictional Character in the ''
Star Wars ''
Universe . He was a
Jedi Master of legendary status, who played a very large role in the
Fate of the
Galaxy .
Born in 57 BBY, Kenobi became the apprentice of
Qui-Gon Jinn at the age of thirteen. Initially rebellious and headstrong, he grew into a powerful, wise Jedi Master, who went on to lead both
Anakin and
Luke Skywalker in the ways of
The Force .
Kenobi is one of the most prominent characters in the ''Star Wars''
Saga , along with Anakin Skywalker,
R2-D2 , and
C-3PO ; as they are the only major characters to have appearances (in some form or another) in each of the six ''Star Wars'' films. He was portrayed in Episodes I-III by
Ewan McGregor , and in Episodes IV-VI by
Sir Alec Guinness .
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Kenobi was trained as a '' series.
Little is known of his birth family. According to the series ''Jedi Apprentice'' and the '' that he speaks with a
Coruscant i accent, although, as he was trained at the Jedi Temple on that planet, that may not be a clue as to his homeworld.
During his early years, Obi-Wan fell in love with fellow Jedi
Siri Tachi . Obi-Wan and Siri mutually decided to suppress their love so they could continue the Jedi path, a decision explored in the Jude Watson book ''
Secrets Of The Jedi ''. Throughout their lives they remained close, and Obi-Wan openly admitted that no one knew him better than Siri. Siri was killed in the explosion of a ship that belonged to a bounty hunter named Magus on the planet Azure. Her death brought Obi-Wan to his knees, bringing him very close to the dark side when he nearly killed her murderer. Unlike when Qui-Gon Jinn died at the hands of Darth Maul, Obi-Wan was alight in such Force energy after Siri's death that for the first time, Anakin Skywalker feared for his Master. Shortly before Siri's death, she and Obi-Wan had reconciled, acknowledging that pushing their feelings down was too hard, and decided to be best friends and love each other again at the very least.
In his youth (circa ''''), the loyal and dedicated Obi-Wan Kenobi possessed a dry sense of humor and sarcastic
Wit . Yoda said that he sensed Jinn's defiance in him; nonetheless, he spoke very highly of him. Jinn himself praised Kenobi's considerable knowledge and potential. As a Jedi Knight, he was cynical, though wise beyond his years. His humble and soft-spoken demeanor belied his warrior prowess. A skilled pilot (who, ironically, didn't like to fly), Kenobi carefully measured his actions in any situation, giving him the nickname "The Negotiator" during the
Clone Wars .
In the original trilogy, he appeared as a kindly and eccentric old hermit of the Jundland Wastes, and
Wizard to those not familiar with the ways of the Jedi. It is interesting to note that Kenobi lost some of his youthful audacity that was seen in ''Episode I'' and assumed the role of a stricter, more cautious
Mentor in ''Episode II''.
Kenobi.]]
At the beginning of ''The Phantom Menace'', Kenobi accompanied Jinn to
Naboo , a planet ruled by
Queen Padmé Amidala . After making an unscheduled landing on
Tatooine , his master stumbled upon Anakin Skywalker, a young
Slave who showed tremendous potential with the Force. Believing the boy to be the
Prophecized "
Chosen One " who would bring balance to the Force by destroying the
Sith , Master Jinn wanted the boy to be trained as a Jedi. Kenobi was also amazed in Anakin's unprecedented
Midi-chlorian count and strong Force potential, but initially disagreed on the need to train him, believing the boy was already too old and had acquired too many emotional attachments to become a Jedi. The Jedi Council agreed with Kenobi, and forbade Qui-Gon from taking Anakin as an apprentice.
During the
Battle Of Naboo , Queen Amidala, and her entourage of guards split up with her Jedi body guards, Kenobi and Jinn, when the
Sith Lord Darth Maul arrived to eliminate the Queen. Wielding a double-bladed lightsaber, Maul simultaneously battled them both. Kenobi, separated from the battle via holo-shields, watched in horror as his master was impaled by Maul's double-bladed saber. Enraged, Kenobi attacked the Sith Lord, fiercely and rapidly engaging Maul in a lightsaber duel, even cutting Maul's lightsaber in half. But Kenobi's anger made him focus entirely on attacking and paid no attention to self-defense. Maul caught this weakness and
Force-pushed Kenobi into a reactor chasm. He was saved only by an extending pole that he barely grabbed hold of. Unfortunately for Kenobi, Maul also kicked his lightsaber into the far depths below. Maul moved forward and created sparks by scraping his lightsaber continuously on the edge of the chasm, trying to make Kenobi lose his grip. However, Kenobi noticed Jinn's lightsaber still next to his master's body. Utilizing his skills with the Force, Kenobi hurled himself into the air and simultaneously brought his master's saber into his hand, startling Maul and giving him just enough time to slice the Sith Lord in half. Maul's body fell lifelessly into the chasm. The dying Jinn told Kenobi to train Anakin Skywalker to be a Jedi. Before his Master died, Kenobi agreed to this request and took the boy back to Coruscant.
For his heroics in defeating a Sith Lord, Master Yoda personally bestowed the rank of Jedi Knight upon Kenobi, who then said that he would take it upon himself to train Anakin whether the Council allowed him to or not. Yoda reluctantly agreed, but warned Kenobi to be very careful with the troubled boy.
Kenobi]]
Ten years later, in ''
Attack Of The Clones '', Kenobi had become an experienced Jedi Knight. He and Anakin were tasked with protecting Padmé, now a Senator, after an attempt was made on her life. Kenobi tracked a mysterious assassin to
Kamino , and learned about a massive clone army that the
Kaminoans were building for the
Galactic Republic . Obi-Wan met with the bounty hunter for the clones and figured out that he was the one responsible for the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala.
The situation was further complicated by Kenobi's tumultuous relationship with his young Padawan: by now a headstrong and arrogant young man, Anakin was beginning to chafe under his leadership and, more dangerously, to ignore his teachings in favor of Supreme Chancellor
Palpatine 's flattery and subtle denunciations of the old Jedi ways. Anakin and Padmé had also fallen in love, an emotional attachment forbidden to Jedi Knights by the Jedi Code.
Kenobi attempted to apprehend bounty hunter
Jango Fett , the template for the
Clone Troopers , but Fett escaped to
Geonosis with his son/unaltered clone
Boba . Kenobi followed them by placing a homing beacon on Fett's ship, Slave I.
On Geonosis, Kenobi learned of the
Confederacy Of Independent Systems , also known as the Separatists, a
Conspiracy of
Star System s that wanted to
Secede from the Republic, led by rogue Jedi
Count Dooku , who was once Qui-Gon Jinn's master. Kenobi was captured shortly after sending a message to Anakin, who arrived with Padmé on Geonosis to rescue him afterwards. While in captivity, Dooku revealed that the senate was under the control of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious and implored Obi-Wan to join him to defeat the Sith. Anakin and Padmé were also captured, and all three were
Sentenced To Death by the
Geonosians . The executions were prevented by the timely arrival of Jedi and clone reinforcements, led by Jedi Masters
Mace Windu and Yoda. Kenobi and Anakin confronted Count Dooku and engaged him in a lightsaber duel. Dooku whiped Anakin away with force lightning as he charged at him in anger then defeated Obi-Wan in 19 seconds and burning his leg and arm, Dooku was about to deliever a killing blow when Anakin recovered from the lightning and blocked Dooku's attack. Count Dooku and Anakin fought, Obi-Wan passed Anakin a second saber, but it was no use, Dooku cut off Anakin's right arm in 14 seconds (which was later replaced by a
Robot ic
Prosthetic ). Yoda arrived and fought Dooku as well, but the Sith Lord, realizing that Yoda could not be defeated, diverted Yoda's attention by using his powers to dislodge a piece of machinery to crush the still incapacitated Anakin and Obi-Wan. Yoda used his powers to prevent them from being crushed, and during this time Dooku managed to escape.
Kenobi.]]
By this time, Kenobi was a storied general, a galaxy-renowned hero of the Republic, who had won many battles while in charge of Republic Clone forces and was now one of the greatest star pilots and swordsmen alive. Additionally, Kenobi had been given the rank of Jedi Master, as well as a seat on the Jedi Council. He was also known as a gifted lightsaber combat. In fact, in the novelization of ''Revenge of the Sith'', Mace Windu commented that Kenobi is not merely ''a'' master of Form III lightsaber combat, he is ''the'' master.
Shortly prior to the
Battle Of Coruscant , Kenobi and Anakin had been leading a regiment of clones in the
Outer Rim sieges, battling the
Separatist armies far away from the core worlds (an account of which may be found in
James Luceno 's ''
Labyrinth Of Evil '', the prequel novel to Matthew Woodring Stover's novelization of ''Revenge of the Sith''.) Because of this, they were far from Coruscant when
General Grievous swept in and
Kidnap ped Palpatine; however, the Council recalled them to rescue the Chancellor when battle erupted in orbit above Coruscant.
In an audacious move, the pair of Jedi boarded Grievous' flagship, the ''
Invisible Hand ,'' and fought their way to the Chancellor. Darth Sidious (Palpatine) planned for Dooku to let himself be defeated by Anakin then get arrested and turn Anakin to the dark side, but Sidious fooled Dooku and when he let himself be defeated by Anakin (taking off both his hands) instead of arresting him, Sidious coerced Anakin to kill him. Unfortunately, Grievous was able to escape.
Back on Coruscant, Palpatine appointed Anakin to the Jedi Council as his representative, a move that the Council, especially Kenobi, disapproved of; not only was Anakin too young and headstrong, Kenobi reasoned, but his membership essentially gave the Chancellor a vote in Jedi affairs. To counteract this, the Jedi Council denied Anakin the rank of Master and ordered him to spy on Palpatine, further alienating the young Jedi. When Kenobi was called away to
Utapau to confront General Grievous, Palpatine used his absence to finish corrupting his apprentice. Sensing Anakin's anger with the Council (as well as his fear for the life of Padmé, now his wife and
Pregnant ), Palpatine manipulated him into embracing the
Dark Side Of The Force and becoming his new Sith apprentice, . He then transformed the Republic into the
Galactic Empire , declared himself Emperor, and issued
Order 66 , directing clone troopers to kill their Jedi generals.
On Utapau, meanwhile, Kenobi engaged Grievous in combat and, after taking off two of the general's hands in a matter of seconds, gave Grievous a huge force shove then killed the general by shooting him in the pressurised bag containing Grievous's internal organs with Grievous's discarded blaster. Moments later, however, Kenobi's own clone forces turned on him. He escaped by stealing Grievous' starfighter and rendezvousing with
Bail Organa and Yoda aboard Organa's ship, the ''
Tantive IV ''.
Along with Yoda and Organa, Kenobi returned to Coruscant, where he and Yoda discovered, to their horror, that every Jedi in the
Jedi Temple had been murdered, even the children (who are called Younglings.) They killed the clones remaining at the Temple, clones led there by none other than Kenobi's former partner and apprentice, Anakin Skywalker. Kenobi reprogrammed a beacon which had been instructing all remaining Jedi to return to Coruscant (where they surely would be slain) to instruct them to scatter across the galaxy and remain in hiding.
Subsequently, Kenobi and Yoda split up to confront the two Sith Lords, Darth Vader and Palpatine. Kenobi hated the thought of having to fight his beloved pupil, but Yoda insisted, saying, "Powerful enough to defeat Sidious, you are not... Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is... consumed by Darth Vader."
Kenobi found Vader at the
Volcanic Moon of
Mustafar , and attempted to reason with his former student to pull him away from the dark side. That was not to be, however, as Vader revealed himself to be mad with power and corrupted (seemingly) beyond
Redemption , leaving Kenobi no choice but to engage him in a long and epic duel. As the two equally powerful Jedi battled they both did a Force push at the same time and went blasting back equal length. Vader tried to use this to his advantage, but when Kenobi dodged the attack, Vader's saber cut off the mining complex's shield that protected it from the lava. The lightsaber duel spanned through the Mustafar
Mining complex, the
Lava rivers, and finally the black sand, Kenobi tried desperately to persuade Vader to relent. Vader ignored his warnings and leapt forward to deliver the killing blow, leaving him open for Kenobi to sever his legs and remaining arm with one swift stroke. Kenobi refused to inflict the killing blow to his former apprentice, partner, and friend, and so left Vader burning on the volcanic slopes, carrying Anakin's lightsaber with him. While Vader sustained near-fatal
Third-degree Burns and severe
Lung damage, he survived and was later saved by Palpatine via extensive medical
Prosthetics and an artificial respirator, transforming him into a fearsome
Cyborg .
This fight not only failed to halt the rise of the Empire, it actually strengthened it. Kenobi and Yoda were forced into hiding and go their separate ways in remote and hostile planets. Kenobi fled to Tatooine, where he went by the name of , while Yoda disappeared to the
Swamp -filled
Dagobah . In accordance with a secret counsel with Senator Bail Organa and Yoda, Kenobi assisted in hiding Anakin's children after Padmé died in
Childbirth .
Luke was put on Tatooine with
Owen Lars , so that Kenobi could look after him in secret, while his twin
Leia was put on
Alderaan with Organa. During this time, Yoda told Obi-Wan that he had more training for him: the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn would teach him how to retain his identity through the Force and commune with the living after death.
Following two years of solitude on Tatooine after the events of Revenge of the Sith, Kenobi heard that a former Jedi apprentice, Ferus Olin, was still alive. He had to make a painful choice on whether to find him and leave Luke or stay behind. Jinn contacted him and told him he would watch over Luke and that Ferus was the key to the future of the Jedi. He headed to the planet Bellasa to find him. He ran into a boy named Trever Flume and asked many people on Ferus' whereabouts. He came in contact with the Eleven, a group Ferus and his friend and business partner Roan Lands founded. Kenobi crashed landed in Bellasa's polar region and found Ferus, who chose to return to Ussa because the Empire was plotting to kill many civilians if he didn't hand himself over on request of Inquisitor Malorum. Kenobi pointed out that Malorum was not a Sith, but the dark side was part of him. The two ran into Boba Fett, but managed to escape, with Trever tagging along. Kenobi then found that his friend Garen was still alive in the caves of Ilum. He then returned to Tatooine and kept in close contact with Ferus, who was searching for remaining Jedi on the HoloNet.
Unbeknownst to young Luke, a few years later Ben Kenobi returned to the Lars farm carrying Anakin's lightsaber, as he now felt Luke was old enough and should be allowed to have his father's lightsaber. Owen, refusing to allow it, confronted and berated Kenobi, telling him how he didn't want Luke to make the same mistakes Anakin did, stating how he felt Anakin should never have left his mother and gotten involved with the "foolish idealistic Jedi crusaders" in the first place. He vehemently told Kenobi to leave and to stay away, and deliberately hid the truth about Kenobi whenever Luke asked about him.
Kenobi continued to watch Luke from a distance, sometimes seeing Luke pilot his Skyhopper very skillfully.
Nineteen years after the events of ''Episode III'', Kenobi rescued Luke Skywalker from ''. Kenobi eventually heard R2-D2's message from Princess Leia Organa asking for his assistance in delivering the schematics of the
Death Star to Alderaan. Kenobi was willing to help, and took young Luke Skywalker under his wing in order to teach him the ways of the Force with the intention of fully training the boy later, on Alderaan. When Luke asked Kenobi about his father, Kenobi disguised the truth from him, saying, "A young Jedi named Darth Vader... betrayed and murdered your father." (In Kenobi's way of thinking, this was not entirely untrue: ''Anakin Skywalker'' died the moment he betrayed the Jedi, completely becoming ''Darth Vader''.)
Throughout ''Episode IV'', Kenobi is constantly referred to as "old man," and
Grand Moff Tarkin states that "surely, he must be dead by now," despite being only 57 years old. It may be that Tarkin thought he was killed in the
Great Jedi Purge or in the duel with Vader.
Kenobi and Luke bought passage to Alderaan on smuggler
Han Solo 's ship, the ''
Millennium Falcon ''. Before they could reach their destination, however, Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star under Tarkin's orders. The ''Millennium Falcon'' was captured by the Death Star's tractor beam. Fate would have it that Princess Leia Organa was onboard, and her rescue was gallantly executed by Han and Luke. Kenobi, meanwhile, fully aware of the importance of the stolen plans hidden inside R2-D2, set off to disable the tractor beam so that escape could be possible. Kenobi was probably aware of Vader's presence, and knew he wasn't coming back, as he told Luke that "Your
Destiny lies upon a different path from mine," and bravely went forward. He did manage to deactivate the tractor beam, but while finding his own route to his own escape he was confronted by Vader, and they engaged in a lightsaber duel. Upon seeing Luke about to be caught by
Stormtroopers , Kenobi deliberately left himself open to attack as a distraction. As Vader struck him down with his lightsaber, Kenobi's physical body vanished in a form of
Ascension , and instantly he became one with the Force in the hopes of teaching Luke secretly later on.
As it turns out, Kenobi did not vanish entirely. Rather, he became a
Supernatural figure (known as a
Force Ghost in the ''Star Wars'' universe) who advised Luke as a mentor whom the Sith could not touch. Most importantly, he told Luke to use the Force to destroy the Death Star.
In '''', Kenobi told Luke to go to the
Dagobah system for further training with Yoda. After Luke had been trained as a Jedi, Kenobi appeared in Dagobah to try and dissuade him from going to
Cloud City , where Vader was holding Han and Leia hostage, as he felt his young apprentice was not yet ready to face Vader one-on-one. After Luke insisted on facing Vader, Kenobi said sadly that he couldn't help him.
Luke was nearly killed in a lightsaber duel with Vader, who revealed to him that he was his father and tried to enlist him into the dark side of the Force. Luke escaped, but was haunted by the truth Kenobi withheld from him.
In ''Return of the Jedi'', Luke learned from a dying Yoda that Vader was indeed his father. After Yoda's death, Kenobi appeared on Dagobah to explain to a heartbroken, troubled Luke why he did not tell him the truth about his father, and to confess that Leia was his sister. Kenobi admitted that his own .
'']]
Luke tried to persuade Vader to denounce the dark side, but Vader and Palpatine nearly succeeded in converting him by appealing to his anger and fear for his friends' lives. At the last minute, when an out-of-control Luke was about to kill Vader, which would have turned him to the dark side and made him Palpatine's apprentice, Kenobi's teachings returned to him and he refused, proudly proclaiming himself a Jedi. Palpatine then viciously attacked him with
Force Lightning . As Luke cried out to his father to help him, Vader returned to his old, pre-corrupted self, giving him the strength to destroy Palpatine and return to the light side of the Force as he died in his son's arms.
Kenobi appeared alongside the
Soul s of fellow Jedi Yoda and a redeemed Anakin Skywalker on the
Forest Moon Of Endor , watching over Luke and his comrades as they celebrated the destruction of the second Death Star.
In an early draft of ''Return of the Jedi'', Kenobi returned from his existence in the Force to become a living human being again.
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- The '' Jedi Apprentice '' series of young reader Novel s by Jude Watson chronicles Kenobi's exploits with Qui-Gon Jinn. The books span from approximately 44 BBY to 32 BBY ; Kenobi is twelve years old at the beginning of this series. During this time, he met many Jedi who would later be important friends, including Bant Eerin and Quinlan Vos .
- He appeared as a playable character in the game ''Star Wars: Obi-Wan'' at the same age, 25, as he was in ''The Phantom Menace''. He is also a playable hero in and makes an appearance in one of the missions of the Gungan Campaign in Star Wars Gallactic Battlegrounds.
- Watson's '' Jedi Quest '' series of young reader novels takes place between the events of ''The Phantom Menace'' and ''Attack of the Clones'' and explores the relationship between Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
- Kenobi became a '' and several books and comics of the Expanded Universe. It was during this time that he earned himself the nickname "The Negotiator" for his skill at resolving conflicts without resorting to violence.
- ''Last of the Jedi''. Following two years of solitude on Tatooine after the events of ''Revenge of the Sith'', Kenobi heard that a former Jedi apprentice, Ferus Olin , was still alive. He had to make a painful choice on whether to find him and leave Luke or stay behind. Jinn contacted him and told him he would watch over Luke and that Ferus was the key to the future of the Jedi. He headed to the planet Bellasa to find him. He ran into a boy named Trever Flume and asked many people on Ferus' whereabouts. He came in contact with the ''Eleven'', a group Ferus and his friend and business partner Roan Lands founded. Kenobi crashed landed in Bellasa's polar region and found Ferus, who chose to return to Ussa because the Empire was plotting to kill many civilians if he didn't hand himself over on request of Inquisitor Malorum . Kenobi pointed out that Malorum was not a Sith, but the dark side was part of him. The two ran into Boba Fett, but managed to escape, with Trever tagging along. Kenobi then found that his friend Garen was still alive in the caves of Ilum . He then returned to Tatooine and kept in close contact with Ferus, who was searching for remaining Jedi on the HoloNet .
- Star Wars Cloak of Deception - takes place before The Phantom Menace, when Obi-Wan is still the apprentice of Qui-Gonn
- Star Wars Rogue Planet - He appears in this novel after the events of The Phantom Menace as a Jedi Knight sent along with a 12 year old Anakin to discover the location of missing Jedi Vergere.
- Star Wars Outbound Flight - Taking place after the events of Rogue Planet and before Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan along with his apprentice are sent to keep an eye on a power hungry Jedi Master obsessed with his "Outbound Flight Project"
- Star Wars The Approaching Storm - Taking place just before the events of Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan travels to Ansion with his apprentice, Anakin, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, and her Padawan, Bariss Offee, in order to solve a dispute that if handled inproperly could through an intricate network of alliances bring hundreds of world's into the separatist fold.
- Star Wars The Cestus Deception - Obi-Wan is a major character in this novel set during the Clone Wars. He is sent with Kit Fisto and a small force of Clones to Cestus to prevent the manufacture of Jedi Killer Droids for the Separatists.
- Yoda - Dark Rendezvous - Obi-Wan makes a brief appearance in this Clone Wars era novel centered on the Jedi Master Yoda.
- Star Wars: Jedi Trial (A Clone Wars novel) - Obi-Wan makes an appearance in the prologue, where Anakin gets unnecessarily excited about going on a mission with Obi-Wan. That turns out to be not true, in a communication by Obi-Wan to Anakin in the Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan says that the council only gave him a mission, not both him and Anakin.
- Kenobi appeared briefly in the ''.
- Kenobi spoke to Luke again in '' The Truce At Bakura '' immediately after the Battle Of Endor , warning him of the threat posed by the invading Ssi-Ruuvi Imperium.
- Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker again appeared to Luke in spirit form a few months later to warn him of the dangers presented by the Dark Lord Flint , apprentice of Lady Lumiya , heir to the Sith legacy. Because of their warning, Luke was able to redeem Flint, leaving the reigning Sith Master without an apprentice. This is the last known time Luke saw his father and Yoda, though Anakin Skywalker spoke to Luke's nephew, Jacen Solo , decades later in the '' New Jedi Order '' novels '' Balance Point '' and '' The Unifying Force ''.
- Kenobi appeared to Luke again in 5 ABY to alert him to the presence of the Jedi Prince Ken , Palpatine's grandson, who soon became a pawn in a Coup orchestrated by a group of false Prophets Of The Dark Side set up by Imperial Intelligence.
- In Timothy Zahn 's novel '' Heir To The Empire '', which takes place in 9 ABY , Kenobi, still a spirit, visited Luke for the last time in a dream. Kenobi told Luke that he must move on from his spirit form to another realm. As Kenobi explained it, from the time of his death until the time of the novel, his spirit had been in an intermediate stage between life and the Afterlife . This was Kenobi's final appearance in the timeline of the ''Star Wars'' universe. His final words are: "Not the last of the old Jedi, Luke. The first of the new."
- In '' Kenobi's Blade '', a young reader novel featuring Anakin Solo , Anakin Skywalker's grandson, it is revealed that Vader hid his former master's lightsaber in a retreat on Vjun . Unsurprisingly, Solo and company recover the lightsaber from Vader's palace.
- In '','' Luke's son is born and is given the name Ben , after the name Luke had always known the older man by.
On the
BBC 's radio and television show ''
Dead Ringers '', Kenobi was portrayed by
Jon Culshaw , getting himself into all sorts of trouble and dueling against Vader with lightsabers or
Baguette s. He often employed
Jedi Mind Trick s on other celebrities like
Kirsty Wark in different skits. In one scene he is revealed to be
Tony Blair 's chief
Spin Doctor during the
Hutton Inquiry . In another scene, Kenobi is at a car dealership, trying to buy an automobile/fast ship that would take him to Aldershot, but Vader appears and the two duel against each other with baguettes, much to the enjoyment of the car salesmen ("''Darth Vader: Your bakery products are weak, old man''", "''Obi Wan: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, you will lose your No-Claims Bonus.''")
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Kenobi became the "main character" of the
"Weird Al" Yankovic Spoof of "
American Pie ", "
The Saga Begins ," that retells ''The Phantom Menace'''s story.
Despite his preference for diplomacy, Master Kenobi was known as one of the greatest swordsmen and force users the order had ever seen, and the definitive master of , as taught by Qui-Gon Jinn. But the weakness of this form lay in its need for space. Ataru is a form that utilizes wide slashes and wild
Acrobatics to avoid injury. In ''The Phantom Menace'', Kenobi saw the greatest weakness of Ataru when Jinn was killed by Darth Maul. In confined space, his master's Ataru skill was no match for the
Dark Lord . Upon Jinn's death, Obi-Wan embarked on a new course and began training in Soresu. This was a response to Ataru's weakness as it places one at the eye of a hurricane in combat.
Obi-Wan tried to instill his apprentice Anakin Skywalker with a Soresu philosophy, which Anakin dutifully learned. However, Anakin's aggressive tendencies took him towards a Form V approach without first mastering Form III. By time of the events in ''Attack of the Clones'', Kenobi was a master of Soresu, but this served him little in his duel with Count Dooku. Soresu is traditionally meant to deflect blaster fire, not the precise lightsaber attacks that affords Dooku. But at its best, Soresu can deflect any attack, including lightsaber attacks. By the time of ''Revenge of the Sith'', Kenobi was a pure master of Soresu and displayed its efficiency in his victories over General Grievous and Darth Vader, as well during his second encounter with Dooku, where the Count had to use his superior strength in the Force to best him.
During his
Exile , Kenobi's skills with a lightsaber apparently declined. Whereas in reality the choreography of the swordplay in Episodes I-III was much advanced over the older films (additionally, McGregor is a more talented swordsman than the older Guinness), fans have
Retconned the explanation that Kenobi had to keep his connection to the Force to a minimum while guarding Luke as a child, lest he attract the Emperor's attention. Thus, his ability to draw on the Force for strength and speed was "rusty" when it came time to battle Vader in ''Episode IV''. Also, his harsh, ascetic lifestyle for 20 years led to a physical decline. He seemingly re-focused some of his energies into understanding better the formalist sword play of Dooku's Form II.
In addition to being a master of the lightsaber, Kenobi was very advanced in the art of mind tricks and Force persuasion. He also learned from the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn the ability to become a Force ghost, essentially obtaining a form of
Immortality that is reached only by the greatest or most powerful of Jedi Masters (as hinted by the final sentence of the
Jedi Code ), something he later used to guide and counsel Luke.)
From Episodes ''I'' to ''III'', Kenobi is played by ''. The role is loosely inspired by General Makabe Rokuruta, a character from ''
The Hidden Fortress '' played by
Toshiro Mifune , whom Lucas also considered casting as Kenobi.
- '''', 1st edition paperback, 1999. Terry Brooks , George Lucas , ISBN 0-345-43411-0
- '''', 2003. R. A. Salvatore , ISBN 0-345-42882-X
- '' - Novelization'', 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1
- ''The New Essential Guide to Characters'', 1st edition, 2002. Daniel Wallace, Michael Sutfin, ISBN 0-345-44900-2
- ''Star Wars Episode I Who's Who: A Pocket Guide to Characters of the Phantom Menace'', hardcover, 1999. Ryder Windham, ISBN 0-762-40519-8
- ''Star Wars: Power of Myth'', 1st edition paperback, 2000. DK Publishing, ISBN 0-789-45591-9
- ''Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary'', hardcover, 1998. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-789-43481-4
- ''Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Visual Dictionary'', hardcover, 1999. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-789-44701-0
- ''Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: The Visual Dictionary'', hardcover, 2002. David West Reynolds, ISBN 0-789-48588-5
- ''Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary'', hardcover, 2005. James Luceno, ISBN 0-756-61128-8
- ''Revised Core Rulebook (Star Wars Roleplaying Game)'', 1st edition, 2002. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, J.D. Wiker, Steve Sansweet, ISBN 0-786-92876-X
- ''Star Wars Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook'', 1st edition, 2000. Bill Slavicsek, Andy Collins, ISBN 0-786-91793-8
