Question: Why is Obi Wan Kenobi called Obi Wan when in fact his name is Ben Kenobi?
Darius Angel
6th Jan 2005
Star Wars (1977)
10th Sep 2007
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Question: How did Dooku meet Darth Sidious?
Answer: It is explained that the ever watchful Sidious/Palpatine had his eye on Dooku as a potential apprentice even before the events of The Phantom Menace. Indeed, Palpatine's own master Darth Plagueis was also familiar with Dooku and had actually met him twenty years prior to TPM (though he did not reveal himself as a Sith Lord). It is stated that Plagueis introduced Dooku to Palpatine during this time (again, with their public faces) and the latter two had a friendly relationship thereafter. Palpatine approached Dooku shortly after Qui-Gon Jinn's death, revealed himself as a Sith Lord and finally took Dooku as his apprentice (after many years of careful cultivation).
7th Jun 2004
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Question: How many ships were in each of the Rebel Alliance's five squadrons (Gold, Red, Green, Gray and Blue) at the Battle Of Endor?
Answer: The Alliance Navy has 12 fighters to each squadron therefore there were 60 fighters spread among the aforementioned squadrons and over 600 fighters present in the battle in other unnamed fighter groups.
16th Sep 2004
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
3rd Aug 2005
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
Question: According to what I've heard, when a Jedi dies and accepts it, their body disappears. (like Yoda and Obi-Wan) Darth Vader accepted that he was going to die, so why didn't he disappear? Is disappearing more complex than that, or did Darth Vader not really accept his death, and if not, why?
Answer: Vader's body, does disappear off-screen and only his armor is cremated. The ability to cause one's body to disappear after death appears to be a matter of choice by the deceased as evidenced in the Sequel Trilogy when Luke disappears after his battle with Kylo Ren, in which he projected himself. Ben Solo and Leia (spiritually within her son) bodies also disappear once Ben gives his remaining life energy to Rey when he force heals her.
Answer: Plus, this ability to disappear and become a 'Force Ghost' was something which required great skill. The prequel films imply that Qui-Gon Jinn was one of the most recent Jedi to relearn this ability (although his body didn't disappear, as he became a Force Ghost after his death and couldn't form a corporeal 'ghost'). Other sources also state that Vader's organic body DID disappear upon his death, and that Luke only burned his suit and mechanical parts for ritualistic purposes.
20th Jun 2009
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Question: During the Battle of Hoth, why is the AT-AT walker suddenly easy to blow up after it has crashed? I thought their "armor was too strong for blasters."
Chosen answer: The weak point of an AT-AT is its neck, which is the point the snowspeeder fires upon when the AT-AT explodes.
26th Oct 2004
Star Wars (1977)
Question: I understand that purists are up in arms over this scene, but why they are very upset on the Han Solo-Greedo scene?
Chosen answer: Originally, Han shot Greedo outright. The next releases of the films were altered, the first with Greedo firing roughly a second before Han does, and in the subsequent release, Greedo firing just slightly before Han does. Many fans felt that Han seemingly shooting in self-defence took away from his scoundrel character.
16th Nov 2004
Star Wars (1977)
Question: How was Obi-Wan going to become more powerful after he was dead?
Answer: It is heavily implied that one who becomes a Force-Ghost achieves an untold level of power upon entering the state. Given that they have become a pure entity of the Force, it seems to back up the statement. Obi-Wan also becomes free to assist Luke in any case.
In addition to this answer, I think Obi-wan also became powerful because he "let go." He did not feel a need to defeat Vader on this occasion - he was willing to surrender the fight and "move on" to a new state. Something that Vader might not currently understand.
Answer: I agree with Darius Angel's comment. I also think Vader expected a certain sense of satisfaction after defeating his former master. In reality, though, he was still "owned" by the Emperor and was living with the consequences of his choices. Defeating Obi-wan did not change much for him. Obi-wan, however, gained the benefits that Darius Angel mentioned.
13th Jun 2005
Star Wars (1977)
Question: I know this is probably one of the most asked questions ever in the Star Wars universe, but I can never get a straight answer. Why doesn't Chewbacca receive a medal at the end of A New Hope. I mean, he was there the entire time Luke and Han were (who did receive medals).
Answer: Star Wars wise, Chewbacca did receive a medal, but his was not presented publicly. Film wise, it was felt that adding Chewbacca to the scene was too cumbersome and detracted from the main characters.
23rd May 2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Chosen answer: It is explained that in a duel between Asajj Ventress and Anakin Skywalker, Ventress manages to strike Anakin across the face, she does this to prove that she could kill him at will (she claims she could have as easily beheaded him) Anakin defeats her however, forcing Ventress to flee.
24th May 2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Question: When some Jedi die, they disappear (Yoda, Obi-wan). When others die, they don't (Qui-gon, Vader). Why is that? I thought this phenomenon would be explained in this movie, but unless I missed something, no explanation was given.
Chosen answer: Powerful force users seem to have some degree of control over their bodies even after death. In the later series, Luke's wife Mara Jade Skywalker only allows her body to disappear when her killer, and nephew Jacen Solo arrives at her funeral as a clue. Thus it appears that a powerful force user can simply choose if they wish their body to disappear.
Answer: Towards the end of the movie Yoda tells Obi Wan that Qui Gon has learned the path to imortality and offers to teach this to Obi Wan. In the Clone Wars TV series we see the journey Yoda takes to learn this power. The power to become one with the force is a power you have to learn as opposed to being achievable to all Jedi. Both yoda and Obi Wan has the years between ROTS and ANH/ESB to fine tune and master this power. It is possible that Darth Vader, having seen Obi Wan become one with the force, spent the following years after A New Hope, studying and learning this skill by himself, hence how he was able to appear as a force ghost towards the end of Return of the Jedi, but not quite skilled enough to dissapear on cue.
24th May 2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Question: Is it possible, or even probable, that Palpatine was somehow responsible for Shmi Skywalker's pregnancy? When talking about Darth Plagius who could create life it's implied that Palpatine was the apprentice and knows the power too.
Chosen answer: Plagueis taught Palpatine everything he knew, even his knowledge of midi-chlorian manipulation (though Palpatine could not master the skill) and roughly ten years before the events of The Phantom Menace, Palpatine and Plagueis attempted to create a super-being via midi-chlorian manipulation which inadvertently resulted in Anakin's conception (Plagueis theorised the conception was the Force "striking back" for their unnatural use of it) Thus inadvertently Palpatine is indeed responsible for Anakin's conception.
24th Jul 2005
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Question: Why is it that when Palpatine-Sidious gets zapped by his lightning his face wrinkles, but when Luke gets zapped in Return of the Jedi, he remains relatively unscathed?
Answer: Palpatine was using relatively weak (but still painful) bursts of lightning on Luke as a means of torture, wanting Luke to suffer before he died. When he attacked Windu, he used powerful bursts of lightning, trying to kill him and thus ravaged his own body by the reflected attack. Or as some sources indicate, the "damage" was Palpatine's true form, which he had been hiding with the force, and reverted to this form to sell the act that he was "too weak" as he expressed.
17th Feb 2004
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
Question: Does anybody know why Mace Windu is the head of the Jedi council? It just seems as though there are or were better or older Jedi who surely would have rose to become head Jedi. I thought at first that he may have a high Midi-chlorian count, but it seems his is quite normal by Jedi standards. No wonder Count Dooku left, he waited until he was seventy and still didn't become head of the council!
Answer: Mace Windu is not the head of the Council. Yoda, as Grand Master of the Jedi Order for all intents and purposes is head of the council, but each councillor is equal in terms of voting power. Though the councillors are all powerful force users, power seems secondary to wisdom as far as the selection process is concerned. Dooku left the Jedi Order not due to issues of rank, but because he had become disillusioned with the council.
3rd Sep 2004
Star Wars (1977)
Question: Does anybody know why in fact there is a large monster swimming around in the death star's trash compactor? Makes the scene more exciting, yes, but its existence on the space station just seems out of place.
Answer: The creature, a dianoga, stowed into the trash compactor and built a lair as it was being built and installed on the Death Star. Dianogas love habitats like swamps or sewers and are found to commonly inhabit such places.
The main question is why was it on a space station? I can't imagine that there have been other people thrown in the trash compactor so why would it be there.
It would not surprise me at all if someone had written an entire book explaining how the creature got there.
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Answer: Obi-Wan is Kenobi's real first name. It is explained in the Clone Wars television series that Satine Kryze, a Mandalorian Duchess whom Obi-Wan once saved the life of, had an affair with him after Kenobi became a Jedi Knight. Their relationship did not last, but her pet name for him was "Ben" and he adopted the name in tribute.
Darius Angel