Featured Image Credit: Star Wars
When it comes to the most famous green people in media, you tend to think of Kermit the Frog, the Incredible Hulk, and Yoda.
The latter has been a part of pop culture since he first popped up to train Luke Skywalker The Empire Strikes Back, but 44 years later, we know hardly anything about that riddle-talking dude.
Although Yoda wasn't exactly around for long in George Lucas' original trilogy, the character has become an important part of the franchise's mythos, appearing up in everything from the prequel trilogy to Disney's sequel, animations like The Clone Wars to The Acolyte.
Still, it's baffling that we don't even know what his species is, leaving fans to refer to The Mandalorian's Grogu as Baby Yoda until his name was revealed.
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There are other 'Yodas' out there, with The Phantom Menace's Yaddle and Grogu joining a handful of non-canon characters who've appeared in the defunct Legends line.
As the Star Wars IP continues to expand, we've finally got some insight into Yoda's early years.
Yoda was 900 years old when he died in The Empire Strikes Back, meaning he's seen plenty of action in his time. Now, we've learned about his own Jedi Master through Steven Barnes' new book, Star Wars: Mace Windu, The Glass Abyss.
Star Wars Explained 'explains' how the book is written through the eyes of the fan-favorite Mace Windu (played by Samuel L. Jackson in the movies) and explores Yoda's backstory.
Despite Yoda being trained by several Jedi over the years, the novel dives into the story of his main Jedi Master, N'Kata Del Gormo.
N'Kata Del Gormo was a worm-like Hysalrian who trained Yoda when he got his start with a lightsaber around 796 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin).
A Mace Windu novel might be the last place you'd expect to find out about Yoda's origin, but as Star Wars Explained says: "It's not really new lore, it's making some Legend stuff canon again, so it's new old lore."
A passage toward the end of the book mentions how Yoda's living space at the Coruscant Jedi Temple includes a sand sculture depicting the Hyslaria system.
Windu notes the early rumor that Yoda had been trained by N'Kata, but the little guy is quick to write it off by changing the subject.
Those who fancy themselves as something of a Jedi librarian might know N'Kata Del Gormo was orginally created for Star Wars Galaxy Magazine's "Design An Alien" contest and got an honorable mention in the magazine's ninth issue in 1996.
There's also been a nod toward Yoda's master in 2015's The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi? young adult novel, although The Glass Abyss doesn't directly connect the pair.
Nearly three decades after Chuck Hamilton created N'Kata Del Gormo for a magazine competition, Star Wars continues to prove that it leaves no corner of the galaxy unexplored when it comes to bringing back forgotten concepts.
Unfortunately, we no closer to learning about what exactly Yoda's species is or whether Grogu is the illegitimate offspring from a night of passion between Yoda and Yaddle.
