Luminara Unduli

SW Character


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name=Luminara Unduli
position= Jedi Master, Republic General
species=Mirialan
gender=Female
height=1.70 meters
hair= Black
eyes= Blue
weapon= Green Lightsaber
vehicle= Jedi Starfighter
planet= Mirial
affiliation= Jedi Galactic Republic
portrayer=Mary Oyaya
(Cree Summer in the "" miniseries)

Luminara Unduli is a fictional character in the "Star Wars" universe. [Andy Mangels, Michael Sutfin, and DANIEL WALLACE, "Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Characters" (Ballantine Books, 2002), p.94.] She was portrayed by Mary Oyaya in ' and '. [Dominique Mainon and James Ursini, "The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women on Screen" (Hal Leonard, 2006), p.380.] She also appears in the animated microseries ', and the Expanded Universe novels "The Approaching Storm" and '.

Character creation

Claire E. White asked, "The Jedi Master Luminara Unduli is an unusual and entertaining character. How did you create her character -- were you given much guidance as to her?" Alan Dean Foster replied, "No guidance at all. Just a name and a couple of artist's renderings. I wanted to make her as different from the more familiar Jedi as I could without overstepping the bounds I alluded to in the previous question. It's unreasonable, for example, to expect a female Jedi to think exactly like a male Jedi...or an alien one...in every situation." [cite news |first=Claire E. |last=White |url=http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/apr02/foster.htm |title=A Conversation With Alan Dean Foster |work=Writers Write: The Internet Writing Journal]

Background

Luminara Unduli served in the Jedi Order during the last days of the Old Republic, and rose to the rank of Jedi Master 10 years prior to the Clone Wars. Her Padawan was Barriss Offee; while in battle, they moved in tandem, synchronizing every attack.

Unduli was a humanoid female hailing from the planet of Mirial. Her lower lip was stained a permanent purplish-black, and a series of interlocking black diamonds ran down her chin while more intricate markings covered her knuckle joints; these tattoos denoted her physical discipline. Her eyes were an intense blue, a contrast to her olive-colored skin.

Not only were her lightsaber skills superb, but she had also trained herself to become so flexible that she could easily twist to evade almost any attack that she could not block with her green lightsaber. Years of intense training turned her body into a weapon itself, increasing the flexibility of her joints to allow her superhuman agility and contortionist feats during combat.

In "The Approaching Storm", Unduli and Barriss Offee, together with Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, were dispatched to the minor world of Ansion to settle a dispute, thus solidifying Ansion's place in the Republic and dissuading them from joining the Separatist movement. Unduli would continue to use her diplomatic skills, quick wit, and strength in the Force in the war to come. She was also famous for training Aria Lakeisha, who eventually fell to the dark side.

The Clone Wars

In "Episode II", Unduli fought alongside the Jedi in the Battle of Geonosis. She was one of the few survivors.

As depicted in the "Clone Wars" series, Unduli took Offee to the light crystal caves of Ilum to complete her training. After Offee constructed her own lightsaber, the two sensed the entrance of the Chameleon Droids entering the Jedi Temple. The two succeeded in defeating half of the hundreds of droids, but planted mines from the droids nearly destroyed the Temple. They had to use all of their powers to keep themselves from being crushed by the rock slides and implosions that ensued after the explosion. Yoda rescued Unduli and her newly ascended Jedi partner.

In "Episode III", Unduli was stationed on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk along with Quinlan Vos. The treacherous Order 66 was transmitted to the clone troopers in her squad and she was gunned down by the troopers under Commander Faie's command.

Merchandise

Along with the ubiquitous action figures, [cite news |work=Star Wars Action Figures Reviews |url=http://starwars.carrotnetwork.com/reviews/saga_2002_26_luminara_unduli_j/ |title=Saga 2002 #26 Luminara Unduli (Jedi Master) Review] Luminara has been immortalized in Lego form as a playable character in '. She was also included in a Lego set featuring a light-up lightsaber. Along with "Lego Star Wars: The Video Game", Luminara was also an unplayable character in '. Luminara Unduli has made appearances in board games as well.

References

External links

*databank|category=character|subject=luminaraunduli|text=Luminara Unduli
*sww|Luminara Unduli