Kit Fisto – Who in the Galaxy is That? – by Pariah Burke

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Famous for his battle smile. Green-skinned and tentacled with a green lightsaber. Jedi Master. Amphibious Nautolan. Hero of Geonisis, Mon Cala, and Ord Cestus.

There’s an entire galaxy of characters and adventures beyond Luke, Leia, Han, Rey, Finn, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and the other faces that dominate the Star Wars films. Who in the Galaxy is That? profiles individual characters from the Star Wars universe—from the films, book, comics, and games. From favorite supporting characters to interesting creatures lurking in the background, if you’ve ever asked “hey, who’s that?” Who in the Galaxy is That? strives to tell you.

Kit Fisto

The famous Kit Fisto smile debuts during the Battle of Geonisis. Courtesy of LucasFilm/Disney.

Fighting in the Battle of Geonosis with a smile on his face, Jedi Master Kit Fisto instantly piques the interest of Star Wars fans. Of the 200 Jedi who traveled to Geonisis in Episode II: Attack of the ClonesCanon to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, Fisto leads the charge in the arena. Admist the grim and determined countenances of the Jedi, Fisto’s is the only smile to grace a battlefield littered with fallen droids and the bodies of Geonisians and Jedi.

The Nautolan Jedi Master becomes famous for his easy smile and positive attitude in and out of combat, even inspiring fanfiction in the aptly titled short story “Kit Fisto’s Smile.”Fan-Created

Nahdar Vebb, Kit Fisto, and a Clone Trooper defend Mon Cala. Courtesy of LucasFilm/Disney.

Following the Battle of Geonosis, he appears only once more in the films, as part of Mace Windu’s party intent on arresting Chancellor Palpatine in Episode III: Revenge of the SithCanon. When Palpatine reveals himself to be the titular Sith bent on revenge against the Jedi, Fisto’s smile falters. Moments later, despite fighting bravely, he’s dead by the hand of Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious. On screen, his smile is absent at the time Palpatine strikes him across the torso, killing him, but in the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, Fisto is beheaded while wearing his trademark smile—at least, this is what we’re mean to infer from the fact that Anakin Skywalker comes to find Fisto’s smiling head sitting detached atop Palpatine’s table.

Between his live action debut and demise, Fisto’s smile and green lightsaber feature in short appearances on television, the Web, and in print.

Kit Fisto wielding duel lightsabers in battle with General Grievious. Courtesy of LucasFilm/Disney.

Including the official comic book adaptations of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, he is a supporting character, or is mentioned, in more than 25 issues of various Star Wars comic book series from Dark Horse Comics. The latest in terms of Star Wars timelines is as a hologram in Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost PrisonLegends (Non-Canon). He was also a common character in Reversal of FortuneLegends (Non-Canon), a Web-based comic strip published from October 2004 through June 2005 on the now defunct Official Star Wars Fan Club site, Hyperspace.

Though never reaching leading man status, Fisto did appear prominently in Star Wars books. He is mentioned in Michael Reaves noir-style detective story, Coruscant Nights I: Jedi TwilightLegends (Non-Canon), as well as Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth VaderLegends (Non-Canon) and the young adult The Last of the Jedi: The Desperate MissionLegends (Non-Canon), all of which reflect on Fisto’s death at the hands of the Chancellor cum Emperor. He even appears in Star Wars: Head-to-HeadLegends (Non-Canon), a whimsical book that pits two characters against each other and describes which would win in a fight. Fisto faces off against Darth Maul.

Kit Fisto leading a Clone Trooper unit charge during the Battle of Geonosis. Courtesy of LucasFilm/Disney.

He is much more active in James Luceno’s Revenge of the Sith prequel novel Labyrinth of EvilLegends (Non-Canon), which begins the entanglement of Fisto’s appearances with those of General Grievous, the four-armed cyborg antagonist in Revenge of the Sith.

That association carried through comics and onto television with Fisto fighting Grievous on a number of episodes of both incarnations of the animated television Star Wars: The Clone WarsCanon.

On the show, Fisto fought Grievous to a standstill and even gaining the upperhand while severing one of Grievous’s four hands. Without the timely intervention of Grievous’s IG-100 MagnaGuards, Fisto likely would have arrested or killed the Separatists’ top general.

Other episodes explored Fisto’s amphibious nature as a member of the Nautolan species. On the aquatic planet Mon Cala, home to future Rebel Alliance Admiral , Fisto commanded a squad of clone troopers in the defense of the Mon Calamari against the planet’s other sentient species, the Quarren. During such underwater missions, Fisto’s biology and unique Force-training focus became evident. As a Nautolan, Fisto was raised in and around water, possessing the ability to breath underwater as well as a comfort moving and fighting there. He further enhanced his underwater combat abilities by orienting his personal Force-training to the task, resulting in an ability to swim with great speed commensurate with the increase in running speed many land-loving Jedi teach themselves.

Arresting Chancellor Palpatine. From left to right: Saesee Tin, Agen Kolar, Mace Windu, and Kit Fisto. Courtesy of LucasFilm/Disney.

Beyond The Clone Wars, the only other substantive story of Kit Fisto is the tragically no longer canon novel The Cestus DeceptionLegends (Non-Canon) by Steven Barnes. In the book, the Separatists have begun building bio-technical Jedi-killing droids on the planet Ord Cestus. Obi-Wan Kenobi leads a diplomatic mission to negotiate with the Cestian leadership in hopes of ending the production of the droids. Simultaneously, the less politically adept Jedi Master Kit Fisto is sent to work another side of the same problem by instigating and training a rebellion from the citizens of Ord Cestus. The story is a high point for anyone hoping to learn about Fisto. Not only does it contain Fisto getting nearly equal coverage to A-list star Kenobi, it also allows both Jedi Masters to show of skill sets and roles not found in the other appearances. The Cestus Deception, published during the run of The Clone Wars, ties in tightly with the show, including casting show original villain Asajj Ventress as the chief antagonist who fights both Fisto and Kenobi in dynamically-written lightsaber duels.

Behind the scenes, the design of Kit Fisto was originally created to be the representation of the Sith species. When that idea was abandoned, the tentacled, large-eyed countenance was going to be an individual Sith Lord to appear in Attack of the Clones. That Sith Lord would, after many design revisions and a gender swap, become Asajj Ventress. Lucas asked for the Sith alien design to be refined and softened, with the formerly ghost white skin turned green. The result was Kit Fisto.

Kit Fisto. Courtesy of LucasFilm/Disney.

In the Sony PSP in Star Wars: Battlefront: Renegade SquadronLegends (Non-Canon), Kit Fisto is a hero who can be played on the planets Ord Mantell and Sullust. He also appears in the PSP and Nintendo DS follow-up game Star Wars: Battlefront: Elite QuadronLegends (Non-Canon), as well as on all platforms in the LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone WarsLegends (Non-Canon), Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic HeroesLegends (Non-Canon), and several other video games.

What in the Galaxy are those Symbols?

Throughout Who in the Galaxy is That? profiles you may encounter one or more of the following symbols.

Here’s what they mean:

Canon
Sources and media cited as canon contain information that is officially part of the Star Wars film universe, which also includes non-film media such as books, comic books, games, and more. This means the information is officially part of the history of Star Wars that appears in the films. It came from, or may appear within or influence, the events of a Star Wars film.
Legends
Following Return of the Jedi, George Lucas stated that he would not make other Star Wars movies. He then opened Star Wars to other creators and media. Carefully overseen by Lucas’s company, Lucas Arts, hundreds of new Star Wars novels, comic books and graphic novels, video games, and television shows were created to expand the Star Wars universe and tell stories in all directions—from thousands of years before Luke Skywalker was born to thousands of years after, from filling in the histories of the greatest Star Wars legends to bringing life to every background alien in the Cantina scene. This was the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and it was all canon until new Star Wars films were once again possible. Disney and Lucas Arts then found themselves penned in by the massive amount of material from other creators and projects. They simply couldn’t make Episode VII and beyond because every moment in the lives of the major characters of Han, Luke, Leia, and others had already been chronicled in the Expanded Universe, and very little of that could easily be translated to feature films easily followed by, and appealing to, the many different types of Star Wars fans who loved the Original Trilogy. As a result, a large portion of the formerly-canon Expanded Universe stories were declared non-canon, unofficial in terms of the film continuity. The stories still exist and continue to expand, but now in an alternate reality called Star Wars Legends while other new stories are created alongside them within the universe of the films.
Fandom-Created
Though rare, you’ll see this symbol appear from time-to-time in Who in the Galaxy is That? Star Wars fans are many and varied, and they like to create their own movies, stories, comics, artwork, and more based in the Star Wars universe. Occasionally, a fan-created work is so good and becomes so popular that it gains super star status all on its own. When such rarities relate to the characters profiled in Who in the Galaxy is That?, they are identified by the Fandom-Created symbol.

Suggest a Character to Profile

Have you ever wondered, “who in the galaxy is that?” Tell us in the comments who you’ve wondered about in the Star Wars universe of films, books, comics, games, and even toys. If you know the character’s name, tell us, but if you don’t know a name, tell us where we can find the character that has piqued your curiosity. Something like “the third bounty hunter from the left in the Star Destroyer scene in Empire Strikes Back” works quite well in directing us to who you’re thinking about. Whomever you wonder about, we might just profile in Who in the Galaxy is That?

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