[CowboyCurtis]

That's why I believe each Jedi should be unique in their own right. One is a smuggler type, another is a soldier, another a wise-man. We could've seen different factions of Jedi. Some who don't believe in fighting (Yoda), and some who believe they MUST fight to preserve peace (Obi-Wan). Obi-Wan and Yoda could've had different philosophies about the Force and it's use, and it should've been Obi-Wan who was learning the true nature of the Force---which was what Yoda was teaching in ESB---rather than the prequels being about Yoda learning the lesson--which I think is pure bollocks!!

Yoda---a general, NO! Obi-Wan, yes, because that's what he was called in ANH. Again, Yoda was never called "General Yoda" anywhere else, and again, it goes against his, wars don't make you great line.

[Helena]

"General Kenobi", on the other hand, seems perfectly reasonable.

I disagree. It's not absolutely impossible, presuming that he was insanely talented (for which there's no evidence), but going from civilian to General in two years is still a hell of a stretch. Lucas should have made him a much older man with previous military experience; then it would have made a lot more sense.

[Code Red]

Yoda became a General because it's a well established scientific fact that short guys are power mad megalomaniacs (Exhibit 1 - Napoleon. Exhibit B - Attila the Hun, who was a dwarf).

"Short I am, but my butt you all must kiss!" (Yoda addressing the Clone troops, Episode 3, deleted scene)

Add to the fact that he's green, has big sticky out ears and male pattern baldness despite being only in his early 900's and we have a seriously screwed up little sabre-wielding Hitler on our hands

Obi-Wan got to be General cos he's got a dodgy beard and bad hair. Look at all those pictures of the old American Civil War generals. Spot the similarity?

Oh yes, doesn't a certain someone who carries a lot of weight with Star Wars films also have a beard and bad hair?

This post has been edited by Code Red: 19 May 2005 - 11:34 AM

[JW Wells]

I disagree. It's not absolutely impossible, presuming that he was insanely talented (for which there's no evidence), but going from civilian to General in two years is still a hell of a stretch. Lucas should have made him a much older man with previous military experience; then it would have made a lot more sense.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, given what we see of him in the first two prequels, I figure it would be reasonable for him to be given a commission at the beginning of hostilities. Not a general-grade or field-grade officer, but perhaps a Captain. From there, rapid promotion in wartime might make him a General by the end of the wars. (Although being a general in ROTS would be a bit much.)

I suppose a better question would be "Who in the PT displays the strategic, tactical, and leadership skills necessary to make a good general?" The talent pool might well have been awfully small.

[StarWarsIsUs]

""Yoda became a General because it's a well established scientific fact that short guys are power mad megalomaniacs (Exhibit 1 - Napoleon. Exhibit B - Attila the Hun, who was a dwarf).""

People with low self esteem do tend to dream of riches, wealth, power, great influence, god-like abilities. But I'm not so sure this is the case with Yoda. He is down-to-earth enough that he probably can see past all the dellusions that come with being really really short... and green. With wisdom (which Yoda has), comes great understanding of what is really going on around us. Don't you agree?

[Helena]

I think he was joking, StarWarsIsUs.

Well, given what we see of him in the first two prequels, I figure it would be reasonable for him to be given a commission at the beginning of hostilities.  Not a general-grade or field-grade officer, but perhaps a Captain.  From there, rapid promotion in wartime might make him a General by the end of the wars.  (Although being a general in ROTS would be a bit much.)

I suppose a better question would be "Who in the PT displays the strategic, tactical, and leadership skills necessary to make a good general?"  The talent pool might well have been awfully small.

I don't remember Obi-Wan demonstrating any strategic or tactical skills in the PT. We saw him investigate the clone business, fight a couple of lightsaber duels and get his arse kicked by Dooku, and that was all. A better question might be "Who in the PT has more than two brain cells to rub together?", for which the pool of possible candidates is equally small.

[StarWarsIsUs]

Obi-Wan was definatly a self-proclaimed task master in AOTC, wasn't he?

[Helena]

Obi-Wan was definatly a self-proclaimed task master in AOTC, wasn't he?

Huh? He was Anakin's master, but that was a one-to-one relationship - hardly equivalent to leading a squad of troops, let alone a whole army.

[StarWarsIsUs]

I wasn't defending him. Remember, I HAAAAATTTEEE AOTC. I mean, Obi-Wan went from one place to the other... trying to be like... Gandalf, I guess.

[Renegade]

I'm too lazy to read all your comments so ill just respond to the original post. One, it is inherintly stupid to even mention this since its such a small part of the movie. But going past that, he says war doesn't make ppl great, but that doesn't mean u just run to meditate when war is INEVITABLE. Jedi's fight when they have too, and he had too, and he did so at the best of his ability. Not a hard concept to understand. Why wouldn't he be a general? Ya maybe its odd to make a Jedi a general but there was nobody else to command legions of troops so why not the guardians of the republic? thanks bye.

[Helena]

I'm too lazy to read all your comments so ill just respond to the original post. One, it is inherintly stupid to even mention this since its such a small part of the movie. But going past that, he says war doesn't make ppl great, but that doesn't mean u just run to meditate when war is INEVITABLE. Jedi's fight when they have too, and he had too, and he did so at the best of his ability. Not a hard concept to understand. Why wouldn't he be a general? Ya maybe its odd to make a Jedi a general but there was nobody else to command legions of troops so why not the guardians of the republic? thanks bye.

For God's sake, there must be someone in the galaxy with military experience of some kind. Presumably at least some of the Republic's systems have their own armies, so why not choose a commander from amongst their ranks? Picking Yoda just because he's a Jedi, when all he normally seems to do is sit around and ramble on about the Force, is ridiculous. You can't even argue that he himself might have fought in previous wars, as the movies state that there hasn't been a war for at least 1000 years.

Oh, and on the 'it's just a small part of the movie' thing, that is technically true. However, combined with the other 437185492 'small' problems with the Prequels - plus several very major ones - it adds up to a very big problem indeed. If the movies were actually any good we would be able to overlook a few minor problems, but they're not.

[diligent_d]

^ Exactly.

I understand making him an honorable General or something like that, but to actually have him spouting off tactics on the battlefield just seemed so out of place and contradictory to the Yoda in the new movies.

[Renegade]

It was already said that they didn't have an army or atleast was obvious since they needed the clone army. If that is so, then it can also be assumed that they don't have a military acadamy or the such for training or providing military minds (ie. generals). Since the jedi have been in charge of DEFENDING the republic and are generally considered to be "wise", i don't see how its a stretch to make them also commanders of your military.

[Helena]

It was already said that they didn't have an army or atleast was obvious since they needed the clone army. If that is so, then it can also be assumed that they don't have a military acadamy or the such for training or providing military minds (ie. generals). Since the jedi have been in charge of DEFENDING the republic and are generally considered to be "wise", i don't see how its a stretch to make them also commanders of your military.

I'm talking about individual planets, not the Republic as a whole. Surely there must be some planets with their own military forces, especially since the Republic doesn't have its own army to defend them? It would seem far more sensible to put an experienced military commander in charge of the army than a Jedi, especially given that Yoda SAYS the Jedi are not soldiers. Being generically 'wise' does not mean you're necessarily going to have the qualities needed to be a good military leader, e.g. tactical knowlege and strategic ability.

This post has been edited by Helena: 21 May 2005 - 02:30 PM

[Renegade]

How do they 1) know they can trust commanders from rogue planets 2) even the jedi's aren't "soldiers" they are used in defending the republic, so it can be assumed they have been SOMEWHAT battle tested around the galaxy 3) Why not also whine about the use of Jedi's being sent on ALL the diplomatic missions? Does the republic not have ambassadors or something? 4) nobody cares.