Nicanas Tassu

Nicanas Tassu was a human male who became a Jedi Knight in the Jedi Order and was notable for his skill in Force jumping. In 22 BBY, he was part of a Jedi assault team that Jedi Master Mace Windu led to infiltrate the Petranaki Arena on the planet Geonosis in order to rescue the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. Tassu and the other Jedi revealed themselves when Windu confronted Count Dooku, leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which had captured Kenobi, his Padawan Anakin Skywalker, and Senator Padmé Amidala.

Tassu located the trio of prisoners on the arena floor as fighting broke out with Separatist battle droids and provided the unarmed Skywalker with a spare lightsaber. The Jedi then took heavy casualties but ultimately defeated the Separatist forces on Geonosis.

Biography

Nicanas Tassu was a human male who earned the rank of Jedi Knight within the Jedi Order^[2] during the reign of the Galactic Republic.^[1] In 22 BBY,^[3] Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured during the Separatist Crisis by the Confederacy of Independent Systems on the planet Geonosis and sentenced to public execution in the Petranaki Arena there. With the aim of rescuing Kenobi, Jedi Master Mace Windu led an assault team of 212 Jedi, including Tassu, to Geonosis and they infiltrated the arena while Kenobi fought for his life within alongside his Padawan Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala, who had also been captured.^[1]

The Jedi then revealed themselves when Windu confronted the leader of the confederacy, Count Dooku, and many descended to the arena floor, including Tassu. An army of battle droids emerged to meet them in combat, but Tassu and fellow Knight Sephjet Josall sought out Kenobi, Skywalker, and Amidala, who were riding on a reek that they had taken control of. Tassu threw a spare lightsaber to the unarmed Skywalker while Jephet armed Kenobi. As the fighting continued, the Jedi took heavy casualties and eventually the survivors still fighting on the arena floor were rounded up and surrounded by the droids, with neither Tassu or Josall among their number. Reinforcements then arrived in the form of a clone army that allowed the Jedi to turn the tide and defeat Dooku's forces.^[1]

Personality and traits

Tassu had light skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. During the Battle of Geonosis, his hair was beyond shoulder-length and he had a long, drooping moustache and goatee.^[1]

Skills and abilities

Tassu was notably skilled at Force jumping, which he used to cross great lengths and at a quick speed. The Force jump aspiring Jedi Luke Skywalker performed on Cloud City to escape a carbon-freezing chamber was as fast and high as one of the Force leaps Tassu could perform.^[4]

Equipment

During the Battle of Geonosis, Tassu wore brown and tan Jedi robes including a brown belt and used a green-bladed lightsaber. He provided a spare green-bladed lightsaber to Skywalker.^[1]

Behind the scenes

Nicanas Tassu was portrayed by visual effects editor Nic Anastassiou^[5] in the 2002 prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.^[1] The Jedi battle in the Geonosis Arena scenes were filmed on Stage 3 at Fox Studios, Sydney, between August 10 and August 15, 2000.^[6] In the current Star Wars canon, Tassu's name was used in the mobile card game Star Wars: Force Collection,^[2] which initially launched in 2013. Although the launch of Force Collection predates^[7] the Star Wars canon reset of 2014,^[8] Lucasfilm Story Group member Leland Chee confirmed that the game was kept updated to fit with canon.^[9] The name originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where the character was first identified by Pablo Hidalgo in his "Ask the Master" column in the seventy-seventh issue of Star Wars Insider magazine,^[5] which was published on August 3, 2004.^[10] Hidalgo confirmed the name was based on Anastassiou's name.^[5]

Appearances

• Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones (First appearance)
• The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem (Mentioned only)

Sources

Notes and references