Obi-Wan Kenobi was not Anakin Skywalker’s only Jedi mentor in the prequel Star Wars trilogy era. For most of his training, Anakin’s mentor was Obi-Wan, with the two often squabbling but ultimately being close friends – and remaining so after Skywalker had ascended to Jedi Knighthood. In one Legends story, however, Skywalker briefly had another Jedi Master who was exempt from a notorious Jedi rule, despite being a loyal follower of the Jedi Code.
In Star Wars Legends, originally known as the Expanded Universe, Anakin became a Knight far later in the Clone Wars than he did in the new canon. As a Padawan, Anakin fought in the disastrous Battle of Jabiim, a debilitating defeat for the Republic that cost them many Jedi, clone troopers, and allies, as well as harming their reputation. The Battle of Jabiim also saw the presumed deaths of both Obi-Wan Kenobi and the ARC Trooper Alpha, who were seemingly disintegrated while rescuing clone troopers from a downed Republic AT-AT. In truth, they survived the vehicle’s explosion and were captured by Asajj Ventress, who then imprisoned them in her castle on Rattatak – but Anakin was still in need of a mentor to take his place.
Why Anakin Became Ki-Adi-Mundi’s Padawan
With Obi-Wan Kenobi believed to be dead, Anakin was assigned a new Jedi Master: Ki-Adi-Mundi. Mundi believed his mentorship of Skywalker would be brief, and he was correct, since the two only worked together as Master and Padawan during the Battle of Varonat and a rescue mission on Riflor. Ki-Adi-Mundi lacked the Force connection Obi-Wan and Anakin had, so while Mundi could not detect Kenobi after the Battle of Jabiim, Anakin never believed his original Master had died in the first place, as he could sense his presence in the Force. On Riflor, Mundi and Skywalker rescued Kenobi and Alpha, and thus Skywalker became Kenobi’s Padawan again.
Anakin Would Have Seen Ki-Adi-Mundi As Evidence Of Jedi Hypocrisy
Ki-Adi-Mundi was, notably, exempt from the Jedi rule against marrying and starting families. This was due to his species having dangerously low birth rates, and thus the Jedi Order made an exception for Mundi for the sake of his species’ survival. Ki-Adi-Mundi had multiple wives and many children, but he did his best not to become attached to any of his immediate family members for the sake of following the Jedi Code. Tragically, Mundi’s entire family died in the Battle of Cerea, a loss so great that even Ki-Adi-Mundi himself struggled to accept it.
Ki-Adi-Mundi mentions the heartbreaking loss of his family during his brief time as Anakin’s mentor. Unsurprisingly, Anakin is surprised by the fact that Mundi was allowed to marry, prompting Mundi to explain that he tried to avoid becoming attached to his family. Such a task was extremely difficult for Ki-Adi-Mundi, but impossible for Anakin Skywalker, as his secret marriage and attachment to Padmé Amidala is one of the main reasons why he left the Jedi Order and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader at the end of the prequel Star Wars trilogy – and in Legends, this exception for Mundi could have been yet another hypocrisy motivating Anakin to distrust the Jedi Order.
