The first round was easy. This one's more difficult. Next week'll be easy again. See the pattern?

Who is the greatest mentor of them all?

The players:

Morpheus from "The Matrix"

Obi Wan Kenobi from "Star Wars"

Gandalf from "The Lord of the Rings"

The Oracle from "The Matrix"

Yoda from "Star Wars"

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Oh boy, a long one. I'm guessing in the process of answering this question, I'm going to have to get into the very nature of mentorship, and in some ways, will have to define the success of the mentor on the success of the student. And maybe I'll even have to throw my modest two cents into the discussion on "destiny" and "fate" that's been going on for ages. Let's begin shall we...

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Obi Wan

Obi-Wan's main student was Anakin, but he also instructed Luke. Ultimately, both turned out to be a success, but both took radically different routes to get there. Obi-Wan is hard to define as a mentor, because he's both an incredible failure, as well as a resounding success. His prized pupil did become the ultimate villain of all villains, but he did make amends with getting Luke kick-started down his path. But I'd argue that Luke's greatest strides came under the tutelage of Yoda. Obi-Wan gave Luke a taste of greater things, but it was Yoda who gave Luke the enchilada platter.

Some might say that Obi-Wan was dealt the shittiest of hands in that he basically *had* to grant his dying master Qui Gonn, his final wish to train someone that all of their peers deemed too dangerous to train. But let's get real here, when it comes to Anakin, Obi Wan and the rest of the Jedi, were all miserable failures. The failure of Obi-Wan is the failure of all the Jedi. They were too set in their ways, too connected to their ideologies that they were not able to stop the forseeable from happening. The only mo-fo who had *any* grasp of what the training of Anakin meant was Yoda, but even the most powerful of all Jedi could not stop the inevitable. They were too set in that a Jedi should not show any emotion, that they were blind enough to realize that the most powerful, and emotionally repressed, of all Jedi wouldn't turn out the way they had hoped.

So some might say that Obi-Wan did the best he could do with what he had. But I say that Obi-Wan may have been the most stubborn of all the Jedi. He had this problem student, who had some pretty serious separation issues going on. But I get the feeling that Anakin wasn't much but a nuissance to Obi-Wan. I always get the feeling that Obi-Wan would just prefer to go fishin', kicking back some longnecks out in the woods somewhere. And that all other matters were just something weighing him down. The whole time, he kept telling Anakin to bury his feelings, to disregard his dreams. A more wise Jedi would tell him to at the very least acknowledge his feelings, but to not get stuck down in not being able to let things go.

As far as Luke goes, all Obi-Wan realy had time to do was to give him a taste, and to unlock the potential that Luke already possessed. Realizing and unlocking potential is the first, and probably most important, step that any teacher can make. But when it comes to actual mentorship, Luke learned a lot more from Yoda. And after the first movie (of the old series), Obi-Wan doesn't really do a whole heckuvalot in regards to mentoring Luke.

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Morpheus

Morpheus, especially in the first movie, was one great mentor. After years of dillegently waiting for his pupil, he totally seized the moment and snatched up Neo.

As far as mentorship goes, it doesn't really get any more hands on than it did for Morpheus. He found the pupil, he rescued the pupil, he trained the pupil, and he risked the loss of his life for the potential of his pupil. I don't think you can ask much more from a mentor.

But after the first movie, Morpheus tends to get kinda preachy. In the ever elaborate second and third Matrix movie, Morpheus basically becomes a door-to-door Mormon salesman. He kept up his status as a prophet of sorts, but he didn't really do a lot of mentorship with Neo past the first movie. Off the top of my head, I can't really think of a time in the second or third movie where he actually *does* advise Neo.

But I love the teacher-student relationship that Neo and Morpheus have in the first movie. He shows him *everything* that Neo is going to need to know in that first movie. The fault of the second and third movie is that we don't get to see Neo actually using his skills. Morpheus taught Neo that he didn't need to know Kung Fu and that being "tired" in the Matrix was all just a state of mind. The second and third movie somewhat disregards that message, and instead turns into a kung-fu fest, when Neo should have progressed past that stage. But Morpheus did do everything that a good mentor should do.

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Gandalf

Gandalf was a fantastic mentor. He showcased two really great teaching methods to his pupils, and both instances turned out to be successful.

In the case of Merry and Pippin, and the rest of the fellowship for that matter, he was *very* hands on. He showed the hobbits how to survive in the war torn world that they were living in in a very direct manner. He understood the attitudes and behaviors of Hobbits so incredibly well, that he was able to manipulate them so discreetly, that they all managed to survive the greatest war Middle Earth had ever seen.

And in between it all, he was able to take a moment or two to talk to Merry and Pippin about the nature of life and death. He somehow managed to help the Hobbits be better than they ever thought they could be, but he also had the compassion, and was wise enough to save a little bit of the Hobbit's innocence in the end.

In the case of Gimli, Aragorn, and Legolas, he didn't have to be as hands on, but still managed to drop whatever wisdom he could onto the fellowship. He basically let them do what they had to do, but would step in when need be.

Frodo and Sam are a whole different story. With those two, he had almost NO guidance he could give them once they started their journey, past the guidance he gave them when they first set out for Mount Doom. He told them that even though they faced incredible dangers and possible death, that as long as they relied on each other, they'd be alright. And in the end, he couldn't have been more right. It was only when Sam and Frodo relied on each other that they were able to save themselves from the dangers that they faced.

Gandalf also happened to become a general of sorts in the battle for Minis Tirith in "The Return of the King." When everyone else in leadership positions was failing left and right, it was Gandalf that stood up and took charge. And he did such a wonderful job, that Minis Tirith never did fall, even to seemingly insurmountable odds.

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The Oracle

The Oracle in The Matrix kind of blends the thin blue line between mentorship and being just your basic sage. She did *some* instructing of Neo, but all she really did was just re-confirm all that Morpheus had told Neo. Morpheus introduced Neo to the world of the Matrix, the Oracle blew the lid off so to speak. It's kind of difficult to include the Oracle in this conversation because the second and third movie really complicate things. Did she mentor Neo in the second and third movies? Yes. But what she really did was just give him some basic insights into how the Matrix operates, and how the anomally known as Neo, has worked in times past. But she didn't really give him any hands on advice, besides the advice that all his questions would be answered by himself.

Darnit...I've confused myself again. Next person.

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Yoda

In some ways, Yoda is both a tragic mentor, and an incredible one.

In the new movies, Yoda is probably the only mutha to actually have any sinking suspicion as to what's going on. He pretty much knows that the Jedi have grown too stubborn in their heyday. And he's the only one that's tried to raise awareness to this matter. And he is also the only person that raises an objection to the the training of Anakin Skywalker.

But he's also partly to blame for the fall of the Jedi, because when it comes down to it, he's the head guy in charge. If the Jedi have grown to comfortable, while gaining a new sense of stubborness, he has to shoulder some of that weight. And I think that's why he goes into seclusion. He knows that maybe the old ways of doing things, may not be the best way of handling matters. I feel that the problems with the Jedi in the new movies goes well beyond Yoda. I don't know of any mythological figure that can head an institution for 800 years, and not have it go sour in the end. It's just the nature of bureaucracy.

But any shortcomings he has in the new movies, are more than remedied in the old movies. He takes the most talented Jedi there's ever been, and totally teaches him everything that will help him prove victorious in his battle with the Emperor and Darth Vader. I wonder now if Yoda had any hope that Luke would defeat Vader. I wonder if maybe Yoda felt that Luke might lose that first battle, but would win the second battle, and that by winning the second battle, he would ultimately save Anakin. Who knows.

Yoda does do an incredible job at training Luke though. He not only shows Luke through the rigors of Jedi training, he totally opens Luke's mind to the true nature of the force. He instructs Luke on the relationship of good and evil, and how one isn't any more powerful than the other. He shows Luke that the things we carry with us (in the cave) are the things that destroy us. The lessons he teaches Luke, are not only great for the movies that contain them, but also great for the people who watch them. Call it "Buddhism for Dummies." Don't get too attached to things we have no control over, be mindful of the energies that bind us all, and the forces of good and evil exist on the same plane.

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The verdict:

I have to go with

1. Gandalf. Because of his movie to movie to movie advice and mentorship of nearly *everyone*, from Hobbits to elves to the soldiers of Minis Tirith, in the movie.

2. Yoda. For 800+ years of teaching the ways of the Jedi, and for teaching Anakin, Luke, and Obi Wan the true nature and meaning of the force.

3. Morpheus. For his hands on approach to teaching Neo in teh first movie. He may have ranked higher had the second and third movie been better.

4. Obi Wan. Even with his conflicted record, he was pretty instrumental in the destruction of the Empire, and with hellping Luke destroy not only the Death Star, but also with the turning of Anakin back to the light side.

5. The Oracle. Almost too inconsequential to even warrant a ranking. If the second and third movie had been better, she probably would have ranked a whole heckuva lot higher.