Yoda

Background

Yoda is a Will, a super force sensitive creature by nature. It is known that he was born some 900 years before the fall of the Empire, and presumable spent the first hundred attaining the rank of Jedi Master. The following eight centuries were devoted to the training of Jedi, which he was apparently very good at. This included many prominent Jedi such as Count Dooku, Mace Windu, and Luke Skywalker. Virtually all Force adepts in the known galaxy were trained by Yoda at one point or another. Yoda considered the mind of a child a truly wondrous thing and reveled in the shaping of new Jedi.

Jedi Master Yoda commanded grand respect from his fellow Jedi as well as those in the Galactic Senate, despite his diminutive size. Possibly the most force adept being who ever lived (pound for pound, anyway), Yoda was the head of the Jedi council in the time of the Galactic Republic. A fair leader, a cunning warrior and a brilliant tactician, Yoda led many a battle during the Clone Wars, besting droids, soldiers and other assorted creatures many times his own size. He was ultimately defeated by Emperor Palpatine and went into exile for his failure, adjourning to the swamp world of Dagobah. Prior to his departure, he arranged the future of both Luke and Leia, sending Luke to live with his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on Tatooine, while Leia was destined to become a princess of Alderaan.

"When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not, hmm?"

Yoda waited on Dagobah for over two decades until Luke, sent there by the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, crash landed in a swamp near his hut. Initially reluctant to do so, for fear that Luke would follow in his father's footsteps, Yoda began to train the boy in the ways of The Force. Luke proved an impatient student, rushing off to employ his incomplete training to attempt the rescue of his friends. The Jedi Master became ill prior to Luke's return and settled himself to wait for death. He imparted to Luke, prior to his passing, that Vader was indeed Luke's father and that he had a sibling somewhere in the galaxy.

Yoda managed to join with the force, allowing his spirit to reappear as Obi-Wan's did. He materialized to watch Luke and the Rebel Alliance celebrate their victory over the Empire. He was joined by the spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

Trivia

• Stuart Freeborn, who sculpted the original Yoda puppet, based his character partially on his own face, with a dash of Albert Einsteinian wrinkles to make Yoda appear smarter.
• George Lucas attempted to secure a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Frank Oz's work in The Empire Strikes Back, but the Academy coldly replied that "puppeteers aren't actors," which Lucas found "outrageous."
• Yoda appears as a puppet in Episodes I, V & VI, but is an entirely digital character for Episodes II & III. Episode I is currently being edited to include the digital Yoda in a new DVD release.