General Obi Wan Kenobi


Obi-Wan Kenobi (played as a young man by Ewan McGregor, and as an old man by Sir Alec Guinness) was a renowned Jedi Knight. Taken from his family as an infant to begin his training Obi-Wan grew up in the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant, knowing little of his parents or his brother.

At the age of 25, while a Padawan learner apprenticed to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan became involved in the Battle of Naboo. The duo travelled secretly to the planet Naboo to negotiate a peaceful settlement to a blockade of the planet by the Trade Federation.

obi wan force fx lightsaber

The negotiations failed and during the Battle of Naboo Obi-Wan fought alongside his master against an evil Sith Lord; Darth Maul. Obi-Wan finally killed the Sith, but not before Qui-Gon Jinn had been mortally wounded by the Sith Lord's double-bladed lightsaber.

Qui-Gon's dying request to his Padawan was to train as a Jedi a young boy they had met on the planet Tatooine; Anakin Skywalker. Anakin was incredibly strong in the Force but the Jedi Council had already refused Qui-Gon permission to train him. Obi-Wan agreed, despite his own reservations, and the Council finally relented, granting Obi-Wan Kenobi the rank of Jedi Knight and allowing him to take Anakin as his Padawan learner.

Over the following decade Anakin's training progressed rapidly, but Obi-Wan grew increasingly concerned at the boy's arrogance. When Anakin was 20 he and Obi-Wan became involved in the investigation of an assassination attempt on the life of Senator Padmé Amidala. While Anakin escorted the Senator back to her homeworld of Naboo, Obi-Wan journeyed to the storm-wracked water planet of Kamino.

While on Kamino he discovered a vast army of clone warriors which had been commissioned a decade earlier for use by the Old Republic. Obi-Wan met the man who was the genetic template for the clones, a mercenary and bounty hunter called Jango Fett. Suspecting Fett's involvement in the assassination attempt Obi-Wan tried and failed to take him into custody, though he managed to track Fett's starship, Slave 1, to the ringed world of Geonosis by securing a homing device to the craft.
Obi-Wan Kenobi

On Geonosis Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured by a group of Separatists led by Count Dooku. He was sentenced to be executed alongside Anakin and Padmé, who had also travelled to Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan. The trio were saved by the arrival of an army of Jedi, and left a raging battle between Jedi and Separatists to pursue Dooku. After catching up with him both Obi-Wan and Anakin were both wounded fighting the Count, who made his escape despite the efforts of Jedi Master Yoda.

These events were to mark the beginning of the Clone Wars, which in turn led to the fall of the Old Republic and the rise of the Empire under Emperor Palpatine. It was during this time that Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith.

Fearing for Anakin's twin children, Luke and Leia, Obi-Wan hid them. He took Luke to Tatooine to live on the moisture farm of Owen and Beru Lars, while Leia was raised on the planet Alderaan by Viceroy Bail Organa. Obi-Wan himself also went into hiding, living as a hermit known as ‘Old Ben' on Tatooine, where he could watch over Luke from a distance.

After many years he was drawn back into the struggle against the Empire when two droids carrying secret plans to the Empire's new weapon, the Death Star, ended up leading Luke to Obi-Wan's home.

Obi-Wan explained some of the truth about Luke's father to him, choosing to tell him that Darth Vader had killed Anakin Skywalker. He gave Luke his father's lightsaber, and began his training as a Jedi.

The duo, accompanied by the droids Artoo Detoo and See Threepio, chartered the Millennium Falcon, a freighter operated by Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca, to take them and the secret plans to Alderaan. Arriving at the planet's co-ordinates they discovered that Alderaan had been destroyed by the Death Star, and were captured by the Empire.

On board the Death Star Obi-Wan used his Jedi skills to sneak through the vast battle station and disable the tractor beam that was preventing the Millennium Falcon from escaping.

He was returning to the ship, his mission complete, when he was discovered by Darth Vader. Jedi and Sith duelled with their lightsabers, Obi-Wan keeping Vader occupied long enough for his friends to escape. Once he knew they were safe Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber, allowing his opponent to strike him down. At that moment Obi-Wan Kenobi became one with the Force.

He was to appear to Luke Skywalker several more times after his death, guiding the youth as he helped the Rebellion defeat the Empire.

Darth Vader eventually turned away from the dark side to become Anakin Skywalker again, and Obi-Wan Kenobi's ghostly blue form appeared next to those of Anakin and Yoda on the forest moon of Endor, during the celebration following the death of the Emperor.



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