Jon Antilles was the name—though many believed it was an alias—of a Human male Jedi Master who lived during the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Trained by the Jedi Master known as the Dark Woman, who was known for her unusual and often harsh training methods, Antilles followed in his Master's path and roamed the galaxy, letting the Force be his guide. Considered as a legend among his fellow Jedi, one of Antilles's many accomplishments was infiltrating the Bounty Hunters' Guild and bringing known murderers to justice. Because of his nomadic nature and tendency to go on long periods of time without reporting back to the Jedi Temple, Antilles was thought to be dead many times over.
Four months after the Battle of Geonosis, Antilles went to the planet Queyta where a Separatist base was located. Along with four Jedi Masters—Knol Ven'nari, Nico Diath, Fay and Obi-Wan Kenobi—Antilles was tasked with acquiring the antidote for swamp gas, a chemical weapon that the Separatists planned to use against the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, the base was actually a trap laid out by Separatist Commander Asajj Ventress and the Gen'Dai bounty hunter Durge. Antilles confronted Durge, allowing Kenobi and Fay to pursue Ventress and retrieve the antidote from her. Proving to be stronger, Durge killed Antilles by grabbing the Jedi and physically submerging him into one of the many lava streams that flowed through the base.
The Dark Woman
Jon Antilles was the name of a Human male Jedi Master who lived during the beginning of the Clone Wars, a major galactic conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, though many of his fellow Jedi believed it was not his real name but merely an alias. At some point in Antilles's early life, he became a Padawan of the Dark Woman, a Jedi Master who was known to have subjected her Padawans to unorthodox training methods.
After his apprenticeship, Antilles roamed the galaxy and allowed the Force to be his guide. He was considered a nomad by the Jedi Order, refusing to take a Padawan learner of his own. He often went through long periods of time without reporting back to the Jedi High Council, leading to many instances of him being believed dead. Despite his nomadic lifestyle, Antilles's substantial achievements, which included infiltrating the Bounty Hunters' Guild and bringing many murderers to justice, spoke volumes to his mastery of the Force.
The monuments created for the slain Jedi Masters
Four months into the Clone Wars, Antilles went to the world of Queyta to assist four of his fellow Jedi—Masters Knol Ven'nari, Nico Diath, Fay, and Obi-Wan Kenobi—in finding the antidote for a Separatist chemical weapon called swamp gas, a lethal airborne gas that was first tested on Gungan colonists on the moon of Ohma-D'un and resulted in great casualties among the colonists. After the successful initial test, the Separatists planned to use the chemical weapon against the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Even though the Jedi High Council had not assigned him to the strike team, Antilles followed the will of the Force and joined the group. Following their infiltration of the mobile Separatist base, which was located on a small island moving through the planet's lava stream, the group learned that Separatist Commander Asajj Ventress and the Gen'Dai bounty hunter Durge were waiting for them. Informed by their spies, Ventress and Durge had known of the Jedi strike team's arrival in advance and had prepared for the assault.
Antilles engaged Ventress in a lightsaber duel before being forced off a narrow walkway by Durge. With the antidote in her hands, Ventress tried to escape with Fay and Kenobi chasing after her. Durge blocked the pair's path, but Antilles took it upon himself to distract the assassin, allowing his companions to continue pursuing Ventress. In his final moments, Antilles resorted to physical confrontation and grappled with Durge, grabbing him from behind. Although a skilled Jedi, Antilles was no match for the Gen'Dai bounty hunter; Durge incinerated Antilles by pressing him into a lava stream.
The monuments created for the slain Jedi Masters
Kenobi, the only survivor of the Jedi strike team, was successful in retrieving the antidote. He managed to return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant despite his many injuries sustained from the mission, and handed the antidote over to Jedi High Council member Mace Windu for mass production. After being treated for his wounds, Kenobi joined his fellow Jedi in honoring the four deceased Masters for their sacrifice.
Despite his tutelage under the Dark Woman, considered by many as someone who often tread too close to the dark side of the Force, Antilles was a firm believer of the light side. While he was engaged in a lightsaber duel with Ventress, Antilles expressed his opinion that Ventress was already destroyed by falling to the dark side.
Antilles followed the Living Force, traveling across the galaxy and delivering justice when needed, as shown when he apprehended several murderers within the Bounty Hunters' Guild. He allowed the Living Force to guide his decisions and actions, even to the point of ignoring official orders from the Jedi High Council. One such example was when he joined the Jedi strike team on Queyta just by following the Living Force, despite not receiving any official briefing for the mission. When Master Knol Ven'nari berated him for not being assigned to the strike team, Antilles merely replied that he was needed.
During the mission to Queyta, Antilles exhibited signs of being a disobedient loner. He barely acknowledged Nico Diath's authority as leader of the strike team, and took the lead himself when the team infiltrated the Separatist base. Far from being brash and impulsive, however, Antilles displayed a trait of being cautious and observant. After entering the Separatist base and learning that no battle droids were deployed, Antilles advised the strike team that no path was completely safe.
When Master Knol Ven'nari favored a direct assault against the base's Skakoan guards, Antilles rejected that course of action by pointing out that the Skakoans were methane breathers and had to wear pressurized suits, and thus killing them using lightsabers would cause a violent explosion. Antilles's bravery and selflessness were shown in his last act when he took on Durge on his own, sacrificing his life in the process and giving his companions the chance to complete the mission.
Jon Antilles using Force flight on Queyta
As a Padawan of the Dark Woman, Jon Antilles was a product of her rigorous and unconventionally harsh training methods, which were nonetheless effective. Among his many Force powers, Antilles was capable of Force flight, which he demonstrated when he and the Jedi strike team jumped from a cliff and landed safely onto the moving Separatist island base during the mission to Queyta. Antilles was also an experienced swordsman, able to hold his own against Asajj Ventress, who was known to have slain several Jedi.
The character of Jon Antilles first appeared in Blast Radius, the fifty-third issue of the Star Wars: Republic comic series. The issue was written by Haden Blackman.
Antilles is a very common in-universe family name in Star Wars. Stephen J. Sansweet, director of content management at Lucasfilm, stated that Antilles is equivalent to "Jones" or "Smith". "Jon Antilles" is thus synonymous with the name John Smith, a generic alias used in Western culture.
According to The New Essential Chronology, in which the mission to Queyta was mentioned, the mission occurred in 21.7 BBY, which is essentially the exact time period as Blast Radiuss date of four months after the Battle of Geonosis.
- The Official Star Wars Fact File102
- The Official Star Wars Fact File111
- The Official Star Wars Fact File118
- The Official Star Wars Fact File128
- "Ask the Master" — Star Wars Insider 79
- The New Essential Chronology
- Star Wars: The Comics Companion
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia