Ki-Adi-Mundi

Ki-Adi-Mundi

Jedi Master

One of the most intelligent Jedi Masters of his time, Ki-Adi-Mundi was a valuable asset to the Jedi Order in its most desperate days. The tall, Cerean Jedi was eloquent with both his words and his blue lightsaber, which he used against the droid forces of the Separatists during the Clone Wars.

Ki-Adi-Mundi was a Padawan of Master Yoda's before being granted the rank of Jedi Knight. He was one of the very few Jedi in history to be granted a seat on the Jedi Council prior to obtaining the rank of Jedi Master, due to his contributions in protecting both the Republic and his homeworld of Cerea. Ki-Adi was also granted a very rare exception among the Jedi: due to the low birth rate on his planet at the time, he was allowed to marry and produce children, although he struggled to remain emotionally detached from them.

Shortly following the events of the Battle of Naboo and the defeat of the Trade Federation, Ki-Adi was promoted to Jedi Master and became a more prominent member of the Jedi Council. Being that he was needed more often on Coruscant to attend to Council matters, he stopped returning to his family on Cerea.

With the rise of the Separatist movement in the following years and the departure of Count Dooku from the Jedi Order, Ki-Adi-Mundi grew increasingly concerned with the state of the Republic, but did not initially believe Count Dooku was capable of murdering other people for his own gain. However, after Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured and scheduled to be executed under Dooku's orders on Geonosis, Ki-Adi-Mundi realized the threat the Jedi were facing and agreed to accompany Mace Windu as part of a strike team to take on the Separatists' droid army.

The rescue attempt on Geonosis proved disastrous for Mundi and the other Jedi, however; almost all of the 200 Jedi who landed were killed in the arena, with only Ki-Adi-Mundi, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a handful of other Jedi warriors surviving. Just as Count Dooku ordered for their end, Master Yoda appeared in a clone gunship above the arena, as blasterfire poured down on the droid army. Ki-Adi seized the moment to defend against the attack and jumped aboard a clone gunship, quickly aligning with the clone troopers.

Ki-Adi was one of the Jedi generals in the subsequent battle on the plains of Geonosis, as the clone soldiers assisted the remaining Jedi in defeating the droids. Count Dooku was ultimately forced to escape after a lightsaber duel against Master Yoda, where Anakin Skywalker was badly injured. Despite the Republic's victory on the planet, the heavy loss of Jedi allies - as well as the beginning of a galactic war - weighed heavily on Ki-Adi-Mundi's spirits.

During the Clone Wars, Ki-Adi served as one of the Republic army's top Jedi generals, leading clone forces during several key battles. Although he much preferred peace, Ki-Adi was a natural leader and very skilled with a lightsaber, making him the ideal general. However, fighting for the Republic possibly made him too distracted to realize what was really happening. By the time Ki-Adi realized the state of disarray that the Jedi Order was in, Chancellor Palpatine had already accomplished everything he needed to.

Sent on a mission to the planet Mygeeto, Ki-Adi was leading a battalion of clone troopers when Palpatine initiated Order 66. The clones were suddenly compliant in turning on their Jedi commanders, proving their true loyalty to the Chancellor. As Ki-Adi led them toward the oncoming group of droid forces, he was surprised when the clone troopers raised their guns against him. Although he was successful in deflecting the first round of blasterfire from the troops, Ki-Adi was not invincible; he quickly fell to the ground after being hit in the chest. Ki-Adi would be only one of the many Jedi victims of Palpatine's betrayal.