Plo Koon was a Kel Dor Jedi master and the former Padawan of the famous Wookiee Jedi Master Tyvokka. Plo gained a seat on the Jedi Council for his achievments during the Stark Hyperspace War. He was the Jedi that found Ahsoka Tano and brought her to the Jedi Temple.
Biography[]
Early life[]
«You always were the most humble, polite, stubborn, and difficult Padawan, Plo.»
―Tyvokka[src]
Plo Koon was the final Padawan of the famous Wookiee Jedi Master Tyvokka. Kel Dor had a reputation for making quick and clear distinctions between right and wrong and Plo was no exception, often taking swift, decisive action with little or no contemplation for repercussive effects. This attitude, combined with Koon's sarcastic wit, often tried the patience of his Master. Koon was a close friend of Qui-Gon Jinn, and believed that Qui-Gon deserved a seat on the Jedi High Council. He even suggested the idea to Tyvokka, though the elder Jedi disagreed. However, Koon soon came to realize that due to his rebellious nature, Qui-Gon would never find a place on the Council.
After training his first Padawan, Lissarkh Plo became a Jedi Master and Tyvokka believed he deserved a seat on the Jedi Council.
Stark Hyperspace War[]
«You...make me proud...Plo Koon...»
―Tyvokka's last words[src]
Before he could accept his former master Tyvokka's offer to join the Council, Koon accompanied the Wookiee to Troiken, where the Republic was to negotiate with the pirate Iaco Stark. Stark had been stealing bacta supplies from cargo vessels and selling them at lower prices than the Trade Federation could afford to offer. Rather than resort to military action, the Republic decided to negotiate, with Master Tyvokka as chief diplomat.
However, some factions in the government wanted more decisive action, and they organized an attack on Stark's forces, which caused the negotiations to degenerate into a firefight. Plo Koon watched in disbelief as Tyvokka was killed in the crossfire. Tyvokka's dying wish was that Plo would become a member of the Jedi Council. In the wake of his Master's death, Koon rallied the forces of the Republic and led them to a miraculous victory in the ensuing conflict, which came to be known as the Stark Hyperspace War. This triumph made Plo Koon a hero of the Republic. During the battle Plo befriended a Republic soldier, Jace Dallin, who later spoke of Koon's bravery and humility.
Jedi Council member[]
Plo Koon on the Jedi Council.
Following the Stark Hyperspace War, Plo Koon was promoted to Jedi Master and was given a life-time seat on the Jedi Council in honor of his Master's dying wish. Koon, ever humble, felt there were many others more qualified than he to serve on the Council. Plo was also a close friend of fellow Council member Micah Giiett and went on many adventures with him. Their constant verbal sparring made them appear as rivals, but those close to the two Jedi Masters understood that they were indeed good friends.
Sometime in the years before the Clone Wars, during a mission on Shili, Plo Koon found a Force sensitive Togruta named Ahsoka Tano. He took her to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to be raised as a Jedi. They became very close friends and Plo nicknamed her "Little Soka". Ahsoka began to consider Plo to be like a father to her and Plo felt that she was like his daughter.
A year before the Invasion of Naboo, Plo and Micah Giiett participated in a mission to quell an uprising on the planet Yinchorr, accompanied by Lilit Twoseas and her apprentice K'Kruhk.
During the fighting, Koon used a Force technique to conjure and manipulate clouds of dust to cloak the Jedi from their Yinchorri attackers. Due to Koon's effective smokescreen, they were rescued by Adi Gallia, Eeth Koth, and Tsui Choi, and soon embarked on a mission to rescue the remaining Jedi. During the conflict, Giiett was mortally wounded and chose to stay behind to distract the enemy. In honor of his fallen friend, Koon took over the training of Giiett's Padawan, Bultar Swan.
The invasion of Naboo[]
In most meetings with the Council, Plo Koon was a silent, enigmatic figure who rarely joined in with debates, but his knowledge was valued by the other Councilors. Plo was present when Qui-Gon brought the young Anakin Skywalker before them, asking for him to be trained as a Jedi. The Council's members were skeptical of the boy's suitability, and Qui-Gon's usual headstrong attitude did nothing to help matters. Before the Council came to a final decision, Qui-Gon was killed on Naboo, and Koon now had to mourn another friend. He, along with the rest of the Council, journeyed to Naboo for Jinn's funeral.
During the years after the Battle of Naboo, Plo traveled with fellow council members to Malastare to negotiate a truce between the Lannik royals and a terrorist group known as the Red Iaro. He also used his telepathic abilities to help Aayla Secura regain her memories following an incident with glitteryll on Ryloth.
Separatist Crisis[]
Plo enjoyed spending time with Ahsoka Tano and gave her some private training in hand to hand combat.
Plo along with the rest of the Jedi Council witnessed a growing public discontent with the galactic government and the Jedi. A splinter group known as the Separatists emerged, led by a former Jedi Count Dooku. At the same time, a group calling itself the People's Inquest began enlisting support for a motion that would have forced the Jedi Order to be more accountable to the government. Plo Koon himself used a Jedi mind trick to disperse a crowd of student protesters who had infiltrated the Jedi Temple.
When an assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala's life caused an uproar in the Senate, Chancellor Palpatine held a meeting with the Jedi and the Loyalist Committee—a meeting which Plo and fellow Council members Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Yoda attended. Plo was also present when Obi-Wan Kenobi contacted the senators when he uncovered Separatist activity on Geonosis.
Clone wars[]
Battle of Geonosis[]
Plo was one of the task force of Jedi who rescued Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, and fought during the Battle of Geonosis joining with Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and a number of others in the Geonosian stands. Though he and Mundi survived they were captured and marched to the execution arena where the surviving Jedi awaited a seemingly imminent death. Just as the surrounding battle droids readied their blasters, the Jedi escaped with the timely intervention of the Republic Army. Plo Koon led a company of clone troopers into battle on Geonosis, and was among the few to survive the Battle of Geonosis. He served as a General in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars.
The Malevolence[]
Plo Koon later led a patrol fleet of three Venator-class Star Destroyers to discover an unknown Separatist super weapon that had killed many fleets of cruisers and left no survivors. During the Battle of Abregado, the Malevolence, commanded by General Grievous, wiped out his patrol fleet leaving Plo, Commander Wolffe, and the two clone troopers Sergeant Sinker and Boost as survivors in an escape pod. Plo and the survivors held off the "Pod Hunter" that destroyed all other pods, and were picked up by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano. After being rescued, the group managed to evade a wave from the deadly ion cannons of the Malevolence, and Plo united with Skywalker's fleet and prepared the counterattack on the Separatist warship. Plo Koon was given the Blade of Dorin, a Delta-7B Aethersprite starfighter, by Skywalker at some point during the Malevolence crisis.
Skywalker took them through a shortcut through the Nebula which the Malevolence was circling to get to the medical station. However, when Skywalker mentioned it was a smuggler's route called Balmorra Run, Koon realized where they were and informed Skywalker that the Balmorra Run was the nesting ground of the Neebray mantas and that they must turn around. Unfortunately, Skywalker refused to give up and they arrived straight in the middle of the nesting ground. They managed to get out and beat the Malevolence to the station, but lost half their squadron to its ion cannon. A plea from Tano and additional persuasion from Plo made Skywalker change targets from attacking the bridge to damaging the warship's ion cannons. When the Malevolence tried to fire its deadly weapon at the medical center, they exploded and caused further damage to the ship. Reinforcements then arrived to take down the Malevolence.
However, a Naboo ship carrying Senator Padmé Amidala and her assistant droid C-3PO arrived, led there by misinformation to be captured as a hostage by Grievous. She contacted the Republic ships, telling them to continue their attack, but Anakin ordered a ceasefire and he and Obi-Wan Kenobi headed to the Malevolence on a rescue mission. Plo and Ahsoka joined them and fought Grievous face to face in a lightsaber duel while Anakin and Obi-Wan rescued Padme and reprogrammed the navacomputer. Realizing that they were outmatched, Plo and Ahsoka were forced to flee from Grievous and everybody, including the cyborg, made it off the Malevolence alive before it was destroyed.
Personality and traits[]
Like many of his kind, Plo had a strong sense of justice. His species tended to see issues in black and white, and favored what was termed "rough justice," a method of solving disputes that to non-Kel Dor seemed overly retributive and too close to vigilantism. In his youth Plo's Master Tyvokka said that he was "humble, polite, stubborn and difficult". Plo felt there were Jedi better suited than him to join the Jedi Council though he got a seat after Tyvokka's death. He rarely participated in Council meetings though he was a wise Jedi.
Unlike most Jedi, Plo Koon did not disapprove of falling in love, though it is unknown if he ever personally had any romantic relationships. Having been a close friend of Qui-Gon Jinn who had fallen in love with Tahl, Plo learned that love was not the weakness most Jedi believed it was. In Plo's opinion love and attachment were not the same thing; however he also believed that a Jedi must not let love turn into attachment and allow it to control them. When talking to Ahsoka Tano about this, he said that a Jedi needed to be prepared for the possibility of loosing a loved one.
During the Clone Wars, Plo Koon grew to care about the Clone troopers under his command, seeing them as individual people rather than expendable products. When his fleet was destroyed by the Malevolence, Plo claimed that he valued the lives of his clones more than finding the Malevolence.
Powers and abilities[]
My saber is ready!
—Plo Koon
Plo Koon was trained as a Jedi Guardian. A talented lightsaber duellist, Plo Koon was a master of Djem So, able to overwhelm his opponents with powerful blows and deflect blaster bolts straight back towards those that had fired them. Darth Maul considered Plo to be one of the greatest warriors of his time, although they have not faced each other in combat.
Plo was able to defeat Aurra Sing in a lightsaber duel relatively easily, his mastery of Djem So enabling him to not only block and parry her Juyo but redirect the force of the blows back at the physically weaker Sing before employing power blows of his own. However, this technique wasn't nearly as effective against Grievous, who's cybernetically enhanced strength and reflexes, combined with his ability to wield four lightsabers at once, enabled him to gain the upper hand against Plo and Ahsoka Tano at the same time, forcing both Jedi to flee. During the latter duel however, Plo showed considerable skill in Jar'Kai.
Despite being trained as a Guardian, Plo was by no means lacking in Force ability. In fact his proficiency as a Force user was among the best in the Jedi Order. A master of telekinesis, he was able to move objects and people without even having to face them. He also possessed an extensive knowledge of the physical sciences. In particular, he used his expert knowledge of physics along with the Force to alter the environment—the resourceful Jedi could create small whirlwinds as well as a dense fog over a limited area, freeze tiny rivers and lakes, and raise or lower the temperature of his surroundings enough to incapacitate an opponent.
Plo was also a skilled telepath using this ability to help Aayla Secura regain her memories. He was also able to sense Ahsoka Tano after his fleet was destroyed by the Malevolence thanks to their strong Force Bond.
Possessing great physical strength, Plo was also a master of hand to hand combat and passed on some of his knowledge of unarmed combat to Ahsoka Tano.
Plo Koon was also an extremely talented pilot, considered to be the best in the Jedi Order apart from Anakin Skywalker and Saesee Tiin. Plo could also survive in space for a limited time thanks to his thick Kel Dor hide.