The Star Wars movie saga got its chronological start in The Phantom Menace, establishing the origins of Anakin Skywalker and the Jedi Knighthood of a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi. But that was just the start; ten years later, Anakin was a powerful but troubled Jedi apprentice, and the Republic and Jedi Order were both under serious strain.
Darth Sidious's political intrigue reached new heights in Attack of the Clones, orchestrating both sides of a brewing conflict to realize his dreams of a Galactic Empire. Anakin and Obi-Wan both found themselves in the middle of Sidious' grand plans, and soon enough, so did the entire Jedi Order. These are the five plot twists that defined this leg of the Star Wars movie journey.
Obi-Wan was doggedly pursuing Padmé's would-be assassin, and he only had an exotic poison dart as a lead. His friend Dexter Jettster dropped the name "Kamino," and Obi-Wan finally found this remote world and visited Kamino's leader in person. He was in for quite the shock.
Oddly, the Kaminoan leader, Lama Su, was expecting Obi-Wan, and proudly showed off the clone army that was based on the bounty hunter Jango Fett. This army was intended for the Republic, just in case trouble came knocking, and Obi-Wan reported this to a rather confused Jedi Council. Evidently, Sifo-Dyas had requested this army, but he was long dead by now. The mystery deepened, but this clone army came in handy before long.
When Anakin returned home to Tatooine's desolate dunes, he sought out the Lars family homestead, and found out to his horror that Tusken Raiders had kidnapped Shmi Skywalker and dragged her off to their camp, probably to torture her. Desperate, Anakin mounted up on a speeder bike and found the camp. He broke into a tent and found his dying mother, and grieved as she died from her wounds.
Unspeakable rage and hatred erupted in Anakin, and he massacred the entire camp without mercy. All of this had been part of Sidious' plan, and this was Anakin's first step to the Dark Side. Anakin's attachments, such as the one to his mother, made it almost too easy. This was not the Jedi way, and Padmé was horrified when Anakin explained to her what had transpired. There were no winners here, except Sidious himself.
Obi-Wan pursued Jango Fett's ship, the Slave I, all the way to the rocky, ringed world of Geonosis. A lot of droid ships and soldiers were there, and within the catacombs of Geonosian hives, Obi-Wan found a caped man speaking to a handful of business leaders and politicians from across the galaxy. These were the Separatist leaders, and Obi-Wan soon got himself captured, meeting Count Dooku face to face.
This established Dooku as the new minion of Darth Sidious, who was far more influential and dangerous than a mere assassin like Darth Maul. He was also charismatic and confident, rising as the great leader of the entire Separatist movement. He soon went on to duel Anakin and Obi-Wan in a hangar before escaping, and he continued to lead the Separatist movement in the upcoming Clone Wars.
Boba Fett was only ten years old during the events of Attack of the Clones, being an unmodified clone of Jango Fett. He was already being trained as a bounty hunter, but the death of his "father" in the Geonosis arena at the hands of Mace Windu left a mark on him. He had looked up to Jango, and now he was all alone.
This scene superficially acted as a wink to the fans, showing the moment when young Boba resolved to become an ice-cold bounty hunter. Filled with rage, Boba began plotting his vengeance against Mace at once, using all of his fallen father's tools, most of all the Slave I, to assassinate Mace. Boba failed, but this did establish Boba as a ruthless and tireless hunter who's willing to make things personal. He even went on to face Obi-Wan on Coruscant as a result of all of this.
Anakin was fully aware that Jedi were forbidden from having attachments, but that didn't stop him from falling in love with Padmé Amidala, whom he first met on Tatooine. During Attack of the Clones, Anakin was assigned as Padmé's personal bodyguard, giving them more than a little alone time together. By the movie's end, they were married on Naboo.
Married Jedi are exceptionally rare, and Anakin's secret marriage rolled out the red carpet for the Dark Side (and showed Anakin's contempt for the Jedi way when it inconvenienced him). Now, Anakin had a lot to lose, and this eventually drove him to seek out Palpatine to find a way to save his wife from dying later in the Clone Wars. This marriage also led to the conception and birth of the brother/sister duo Luke and Leia, who became historical figures in their own right.
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