Story: John Ostrander & Jan Duursema
Script: John Ostrander
Pencils: Jan Duursema
Inks: Dan Parsons
Colors: Wes Dzioba
Lettering: Michael Heisler
Cover: Jan Duursema

The Dark Side of the Force has descended on the Je’daii Order and the planet Tython. A Force Storm is building. One with a strength that has not been seen in 10,000 years, fueled by the dark side energies of the crashed Rakatan Empire ship and its lone survivor; the Force Hound Xesh.

Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm, Part 4

While the Je’daii elders seek to piece together what has happened, our young heroes, the Je’daii journeymen, seek to find safety from the storm. Xesh is finding the planet inhospitable as he is attacked by various beasts.

While I felt issue #3 was lacking tension, this issue more than made up for it. The Je’daii journeymen find themselves tested by the dark side. Each of them have to confront the demons they carry within themselves.

Xesh however finds himself digging deeper into the dark side and his tortured upbringing to survive the harsh wilderness of Tython. We see not only his ruthlessness, but also his cunning and intelligence. He is more than just a beast or a weapon used by the Rakatans. He is driven by an outside force that even he doesn’t  seem to fully understand.

This issue goes deep into the dark side, and the young Je’daii Journeymen learn its true nature: the destruction it causes and the selfishness it breeds.

Everything is set up for issue #5 and the finale to this chapter of the story.

4/5 Kath Hounds

Reviewed by Paul DePaola
All staff members can be contacted at staff@eucantina.net

Written by John Jackson Miller
Pencils by Andrea Mutti
Inks by Pierluigi Baldassini
Colors by Michael Atiyeh
Lettering by Michael Heisler
Cover Art by Benjamin Carré

From my experience, writing a good ending to a comic story arc is difficult, and I found the ending to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: War #5 to have this difficulty. John Jackson Miller and team wrap up all the loose ends, even slipping in commentary on why these comics are told in miniseries instead of ongoings, but it comes across anticlimactically.

Knights of the Old Republic: War #5

The script John writes is fine, reminding readers new and old alike where the story is, what’s brought the story to this point, and where it’s going now. The emotional drive to explain the ending is well written in the dialogue and dramatic spacing of panels, and even though the action of the final battle is only a few panels long, I can believe it would be that short because of what’s discussed between our hero, Zayne Carrick, and the leader of the Mandalorian Knights.

Throughout the whole arc, the art team of Andrea Mutti, Pierluigi Baldassini, and Michael Atiyeh has done a good job capturing emotional moments when they’re included, but I’m still unsure what some of their art at certain moments is trying to say. I’ve continually addressed the awkward shadows, and they return more prominent in this issue than the last one. A couple panels had entire speaking characters blacked out who I couldn’t identify until I read their dialogue in the context of the story. And when a silhouette of a human character is all I’m given, I have trouble differentiating him or her from the other ones, although alien silhouettes are easier to identify, as the art team demonstrates towards the end of the issue.

I enjoyed the miniseries up to this final issue where the team built up an action-driven finale which turned out to be a talking-driven finale instead. There’s no more adventures for these characters in the near future, and with John writing a new Knight Errant and Lost Tribe of the Sith miniseries, spreading out the stories instead of a giving us a “lump sum,” I wouldn’t expect Zayne to return until the fall, if he does return in a timely fashion.

3/5 Kath Hounds

Reviewed by J. Lawrence Davis
All staff members can be contacted at staff@eucantina.net

Welcome to another installment of EUCantina’s opinion column, EU Action/Reaction! Twice per month, I tackle a specific Star Wars EU event that has garnered a significant reaction from Star Wars fans and offer my own view to further the discussion. Once you read the article, feel free to leave a comment and offer your own thoughts!

This week, I’ll discuss the resurrection of Darth Maul for The Clone Wars and why it was a cool idea.

There’s no doubt that Darth Maul was an extremely popular character in 1999, when The Phantom Menace was first released. Using a double-bladed lightsaber, having an impressive physical appearance (horns and facial tattoos!), and hardly ever speaking (the latter making him similar to the helmeted and mysterious Boba Fett), Darth Maul captured the imagination of fans young and old… and then he died. Darth Maul’s early death never stopped the fans, though. It wasn’t uncommon to see fake lightsaber battles on playgrounds, where kids used their imaginations to decide how Maul might have lived. He’s been resurrected multiple times in the comics, to answer the What If? questions of whether he could best Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader (the obvious answer never stopping a good story from being told). When Attack of the Clones became the official title for Episode II, fans began to speculate that Darth Maul would return in the form of a clone, ready to have his revenge. As the saga was being completed, the idea of Darth Maul returning was one that never really had any negative vocalization.

But when The Clone Wars officially raised Darth Maul from the dead for the show’s fourth season, the negative backlash was much more extreme. Suddenly, Darth Maul’s return from the dead was (yet another) death knell for Star Wars and continuity as a whole. But why?

Returning From the Dead Has Been Done Before.

Star Wars has never been above bringing popular characters back from the dead, so Darth Maul’s resurrection has not set some kind of precedence for the saga. Boba Fett, perhaps the most well-loved minor character of the Original Trilogy, returned to the Expanded Universe after blasting his way out of the Sarlacc Pit. The helmeted bounty hunter has a huge fan base, and contributors to the Expanded Universe weren’t about to let that built-in audience go to waste. It’s a return from the dead that even George Lucas has agreed with, saying in the Return of the Jedi DVD commentary that he wanted to include an additional scene with Boba Fett rocketing out of the Sarlacc Pit, but couldn’t find the right place to put the scene in. Oddly enough, fans seem less tolerant of the inconsistency of Fett’s return to life than his actual returning to life. By some counts, Fett has had to escape the Sarlacc Pit three different times. It makes his return harder to swallow, but his continuing adventures in the Expanded Universe (particularly his post-”death” comic appearances) signify that there was a lot more story to tell in regards to Boba Fett.

Emperor Palpatine has also returned from certain death, having transferred his Force presence into a clone. The idea of the Palpatine body-hopping was ludicrous, and it certainly seemed to diminish Darth Vader’s sacrifice in Return of the Jedi, but fans have remained rather divided on whether having Palpatine return from the dead was a good idea. Whether or not it was, it certainly didn’t bring the Expanded Universe collapsing down around it. In fact, Palpatine’s return in Dark Empire paved the way for dead characters to return to life as clones. Nowhere is this more evident than Starkiller’s return to life in The Force Unleashed II. After being killed by the Emperor at the end of The Force Unleashed, it seemed as though Starkiller’s story was over. Instead, he returned to life as a clone and was able to regain his memories along the way. The Force Unleashed franchise plays heavily with cloning, and it is implied that Starkiller has returned from the dead many times. As convoluted as his return to life may be, there’s certainly no denying that it opens the door to interesting (and potentially powerful) storytelling techniques.

Of course, these are far from the only characters to return from certain death. K’Kruhk has been killed on more than one occasion, only to return later seemingly fine. The reason? Simple: he goes into a death-like healing state when grievously injured. Others may think that he’s dead (even Jedi colleagues that should know about his unique skills), but he always comes back. Asajj Ventress tricks everyone into thinking she’s dead when Anakin supposedly kills her by dropping her from a great height (not unlike Maul’s “death”) and again inObsession, before disappearing into the Unknown Regions. Heck, even the dead Force users come back in the form of Force ghosts. True, they are dead… but fans accept that their spirits live on to speak and guide the living. Star Wars has never been about realism, as its treatment of death, cloning, and the afterlife have shown.

The Clone Wars Effect.

There’s no use denying that there are fans out there that hate The Clone Wars. And hey, everyone’s entitled to their opinions – I’ve personally been on both sides of that argument, loving The Clone Wars when its great and loathing it when continuity is tossed aside for no real reason. In fact, the bulk of The Clone Wars negativity seems to stem from the show’s inability to adhere to previously established “facts” about the Expanded Universe. Whether it’s because Anakin has a padawan or the reveals of the Mortis arc, there are fans that bristle at the idea of introducing too much new stuff into an era that has been fairly extensively covered already – for fear that some excellent material (i.e. the Quinlan Vos Clone Wars comics) will eventually be phased out of existence. Say what you will about aspects of The Clone Wars that are detrimental to the Expanded Universe, but Darth Maul’s return from the dead isn’t one of them.

Maul’s return from the dead is an acknowledgement that fans want more of Darth Maul. Sure, he was cut in half and fell down a seemingly bottomless pit – but Maul is also a Zabrak. His alien physiology, along with his Sith teachings, could conceivably have kept him alive after the apparently fatal injury. Is it a stretch to say that Maul could survive such a fate? Sure, but no more of a stretch than comparing his survival to Palpatine’s or Boba Fett’s. The real reason for Maul’s survival story being glossed over is because The Clone Wars is a 22-minute television show. Dave Filoni and his crew are also well aware of the implications that Maul’s return have, and styled his robotic legs after “Old Wounds,” a non-canon story where Maul (with robotic legs) seeks out Obi-Wan Kenobi for revenge. It’s hard to say what impact that Maul’s return to life will have on the galaxy at large, but it will probably be minimal. Even running around with his brother, Savage, the two Zabraks are essentially Force-powered thugs. The real villains of The Clone Wars are still the Dooku-led Confederate forces with their vast armies. The overall collateral damage that Maul could inflict is minor, and with his mindset on revenge, it doesn’t seem likely that Maul will command an army to lead against the Jedi. Assuming his appearances stay minor in scale, there’s really no problem with the character returning from the dead. The Jedi aren’t going to talk about him or mention him constantly. In fact, the very notion that he is even alive might still be kept from the majority of the Jedi.

Don’t Worry. Be Happy.

Darth Maul has only appeared in two episodes of The Clone Wars so far, with more appearances guaranteed. He’s even got a comic book series coming out soon. There’s been nothing to suggest that his Maul’s return from the dead will utterly break the Expanded Universe. In fact, it’s still standing right now. Instead, the Expanded Universe has gained another villain – and a great one, at that. The villain that many hoped would one day return has finally, after too long an absence, returned to the spotlight again. His return is a testament to his popularity, and to Lucasfilm’s willingness to listen to the incessant clamoring of fans. Until Maul makes an appearance that causes irrecoverable damage to the Expanded Universe, we should give him the benefit of the doubt.

That, and start demanding that he swap lightsabers with Savage. You can’t have Darth Maul without a double-bladed lightsaber!

- Chris

Check out the rest of EUCantina’s Weekly Columns.
If you’d like to see a specific topic discussed, email Chris!

Original Air Date: 3, 10, and 17 October 2008
Written by: Steven Melching
Directed by: Dave Filoni (Rising Malevolence); Brian Kalin O’Connell (Shadow of Malevolence and Destroy Malevolence).
Special Guests: Gwendoline Yeo (Nala Se), Olivia d’Abo (Luminara Unduli)

The first multi-episode arc of The Clone Wars was the Malevolence trilogy. It consisted of three episodes: Rising Malevolence (airing on 3 October 2008), Shadow of Malevolence (airing on 10 October 2008), and Destroy Malevolence (airing on 17 October 2008). In Rising Malevolence, a Republic battle group, led by Master Plo Koon, locates the new Separatist superweapon, the Malevolence. Grievous and Dooku use their weapon to destroy Plo’s fleet, and begin hunting the survivors, to ensure that the weapon’s location is not revealed. Anakin and Ahsoka take the Twilight to search for survivors, and they are able to recover Plo Koon and his troopers, obtain data on the Malevolence, and escape back to the Republic. It is revealed that the Malevolence is a massive ion cannon, which disables all systems aboard any enemy ships, allowing conventional weapons to destroy those ships much more easily. In Shadow of Malevolence, Anakin leads Shadow Squadron, a group of Y-Wing bombers, to destroy the Malevolence and kill General Grievous before it destroys a Republic medical station. They take a shortcut through a nebula infested with Neebrays; everyone makes it out alive, but it was a close call, and Anakin’s judgment is called into question. They arrive at the medical station moments before the Malevolence shows up. Anakin’s squadron takes heavy losses, and it appears that his mission will fail. At the last minute, Anakin orders the squadron to destroy the ion cannon instead of the bridge, saving the medical station and disabling the ship, but leaving Grievous alive. In Destroy Malevolence, Republic cruisers are hammering away at the Malevolence, and it looks like Grievous will lose the ship. Dooku arranges for Padmé and C-3PO to get captured by the Malevolence, for use as hostages so Grievous and the Malevolence can escape safely. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and R2 board the Separatist warship using the Twilight; Obi-Wan duels Grievous while Anakin rescues Padmé and sabotages the ship’s hyperdrive. As our heroes escape, the Malevolence flies directly into a moon, completely destroying it (though Grievous manages to escape).

This was the first set of episodes that were linked together, and it was by and large a success. Each episode was a self-contained story, but the three together formed a larger saga. It also introduced the use of silent/background characters from the films as prominent characters in the TV show, in this case Plo Koon. The Malevolence looked absolutely massive, and was clearly derived from other ships in Star Wars, such as the Invisible Hand. We see Anakin use the Twilight as his own personal transport, which he uses quite a lot in this series. In the middle episode, the depiction of Anakin’s internal struggle was fascinating: does he destroy the Malevolence’s ion cannon, saving thousands of clones, but allowing Grievous to escape, or does he kill Grievous, and allow the clones to be destroyed? I love when they are able to convey the emotions and struggles of characters. The blu-ray special features showed how the Malevolence, the Y-Wings, the medical station, the train system, and Plo Koon were all designed, and that was really interesting.

There are, however, several things about this arc that bother me. The Malevolence’s ion cannon can only be fired in one direction (per side), and its aperture is not terribly large (in astronomical terms). In theory, ships can avoid it by actively remaining outside of its firing arc; even Venator-class ships should be more maneuverable than the Malevolence, and therefore be able to manage this. But time and time again, Republic ships are caught in the blast, because its Captain seemed not to notice that he was staring down the barrel of a gun. It isn’t until the end of Shadow of Malevolence that Anakin sees this as a possible tactic.  Another issue is the way that the Republic searched for the Malevolence in the first episode. Plo Koon reports that he has seen the enemy ship, and is immediately destroyed. And yet the Jedi don’t send anyone to Plo’s last location. Instead, they continue patrolling. They have confirmation of the ship’s location.  Why not send every possible ship all at once? Strength in numbers; the Malevolence can’t point its weapon at everyone simultaneously. Another point is that Anakin ordered all ships to stop firing when he realized Padmé was on board the Malevolence. I understand he is emotionally compromised here, but one should think that Obi-Wan might counter the order (acceptable losses in war). Or perhaps he could order the ships to target specific systems only, to prevent the Malevolence from fleeing or defending itself.  These are plot holes that bother me.

But those plot holes don’t change the fact that it’s a well-written threat-of-the-week trilogy that makes me want to continue watching The Clone Wars.

4/5 Kath Hounds

Next week: Rookies!  Note that I will review its two tie-in episodes, Clone Cadets and ARC Troopers, separately, as they are part of Season 3.

Reviewed by Andrew Halliday
All staff members can be contacted at staff@eucantina.net

In an earning statement from Electronic Arts today, the video game publisher announced that the number of subscribers for Star Wars: The Old Republic has taken a massive tumble with the loss of 400,000 players.

In EA’s Q3 statement earlier this year, the amount of subscribers playing The Old Republic was 1.7 million. In today’s Q4 statement, however, EA revealed that the number of subscribers has dropped almost 25% to 1.3 million. EA has referred to the significant decrease in players as the result of “casual and trial players” no longer playing the game. When The Old Republic launched, players were given a free 30-day trial.

Are you still playing The Old Republic, or have you moved on to other games? Let us know in the comments. For those wondering if they should jump into The Old Republic, EUCantina’s Andrew Halliday has started a new weekly column, Life in The Old Republic, that shares the experience of The Old Republic for non-gamers and those on the fence.

Source: Kotaku

Hello all,

Welcome to this new column from EUCantina.net, entitled Life in The Old Republic. Here, I plan to showcase the excellent features and stories from the new Star Wars Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG, often just MMO), The Old Republic. I will do so by discussing the actions of one of my characters in the game, and describe the game’s various systems using that character as a medium. It is my hope that the column with progress as my characters do. I will also give a Tip of the Week. What I will not be doing is describing the stories or missions in detail; I want everyone to be able to experience the stories as they play (although certain story elements may be divulged, if relevant to the article, with the appropriate spoiler warnings).

In this first post, we will showcase the character creation system, as I create a new character for the game.

But first: a bit of background. Star Wars: The Old Republic (TOR) came out on 20 December 2011.  The game requires that players pay a subscription fee of $14.99 USD per month, though the first month is free, there are price breaks by paying in lump sums (e.g. it costs $13.99 USD per month if you pay for three months at a time), and there are occasionally promotions for free additional time (for example, players who had a character at Level 50 as of Game Update 1.2 were treated to a free month).

I purchased my copy at the end of February 2012, and have been playing for a few hours a week ever since. I play on the server entitled “Sword of Ajunta Pall”, which is a PVP server (details later). I already have three characters, a main Sith Warrior by the name of Tarahl (a male pureblood Sith), a Bounty Hunter named My’Tillinahr (a female Chiss), and a Jedi Consular named Kyrahn (a male Miraluka). This new character will be my fourth. All characters are part of the Legacy of my Sith Warrior, the Veradose Legacy (more in a subsequent article).

Today, I will look at character creation, and showcase the development of my character. I have characters that start on Korriban (Tarahl), Hutta (My’Tillinahr), and Tython (Kyrahn). I have no characters that start on Ord Mantell, so I will pick between a Trooper and a Smuggler, on the Republic side.

The first time you boot the game, you are treated to the Return cinematic trailer, showing the Sith attacking and liberating Korriban. The first step in character creation is selecting a server. There are four main types of servers you can pick: PVE (player-vs.-environment, fighting against non-player characters, NPCs, though you may manually flag yourself as being available to fight others), PVP (player-vs.-player, where on most planets you are susceptible to attack from enemy players), RP-PVE (a PVE server, where you’re expected to roleplay your character 100%), and RP-PVP (roleplaying, but with a PVP element). Servers are geographically located, probably to reduce lag, but also to allow players to tailor their gaming schedule; if I would like to run Flashpoints or Operations at midnight, then a West Coast server might be good, because peak hours will be around 8pm local. Sword of Ajunta Pall is a PVP server, but without the RP element, meaning that, in the chat, people acknowledge that they are real people, and are not “in character.” It is based in the Eastern United States. I selected Sword of Ajunta Pall because my friend Nathan is operating there. He and I went to high school together, he’s dating my best friend, and he and I would sometimes play online games together (mostly Starcraft II). I had no other forces pulling me to any specific server, so I picked Sword of Ajunta Pall. Once you pick a server, you cannot move to another one (though that may change; under-populated servers may be closed later, and the developers may institute a “pay-to-move” system). You can, however, have different characters on different servers, but they can’t be part of the same Legacy.

When you click “Create a new character”, it brings you to the character creation screen. The first step is selecting your affiliation: Galactic Republic or Sith Empire. Like I said before, it was my intent to pick Republic. The first time you pick a Republic character, you are shown the Hope trailer, whereas the first time you make a Sith character, you see the Deceived trailer.

Figure 1: Your first major choice: Republic or Sith (screenshot from Star Wars: The Old Republic wiki)

Next you pick your Class. Each side has four classes you can choose from. Republic can pick between Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Trooper, and Smuggler; Sith can choose between Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter, or Imperial Agent. As I mentioned earlier, it was my intention to pick either a smuggler or a trooper; I ultimately chose to make a Trooper. The next step is to select your species. Republic Troopers can either be Human, Cyborg (cybernetically-enhanced Human), Zabrak, or Mirialanm but other classes offer other species choices (Sith pureblood, Miraluka, Twi’lek, Chiss, or Rattataki). As my other characters were all aliens, I opted for this one to be Human. The last choice that needs to be made is the gender: male or female. When you make your choice, you are also treated to a sample of their voice. The male voice is Brian Bloom, and the female is Jennifer Hale, who is most renowed for being the voice of the female Commander Shephard in the Mass Effect series of games. As I always loved playing FemShep in Mass Effect, I chose my Trooper to be female.

Next comes customization. In order to ensure high variation between each player character in the game, there are numerous factors to customize. The Female Human Trooper can be customized in terms of her body type (tiny, small, medium, large), head (shape of face), scars, complexion, eye color, cosmetics/tattoos, hair design, hair color, and skin color (on a slider). You also pick your character’s name. I aimed to give my character a good name, that sounded appropriate for a Human female in Star Wars. Another trait it needed was to contain the letters AH, which are both my initials and a design I’ve decided to give all my characters. I settled upon Lenahra.  Her last name is the same as my Legacy name, Veradose. Any name can be chosen, as long as it is not the name of a Star Wars film character, and that it has not been chosen by someone else on the server already. If you have trouble picking a name, there is a random name generator button to assist.

In the end, you have a wonderful picture of your character, how s/he will look throughout the game.

Figure 2: Lenahra, the Republic Trooper, my newest character on the Sword of Ajunta Pall server.

Another choice that I made is the direction in which to take my character: Light or Dark. This is by no means a choice you must make at the beginning, nor is it permanent. But with my other characters, I decided at the beginning that I would play them one way or the other. In some cases, I stick with what is expected (a Dark Sith Warrior, a Light Jedi Consular), but in others I chose the opposite (a Light Bounty Hunter with a heart of gold). Lenahra would be the latter; despite being a Republic character, she would be played Dark (a Trooper with ice-cold blood in her veins).

When you are finished customizing your character, a cinematic cutscene using the game’s engine shows your character landing on his or her planet of origin, and sets the story in motion. Lenahra has landed on Ord Mantell. She is the newest recruit in the Special Operations group called Havoc Squad, under Captain Tavus (who we first saw in Star Wars: The Old Republic 1-3: Threat of Peace, collected in Star Wars: The Old Republic Volume 2 TPB). She is there to help the Republic beat back Mantellian separatists, who wish Ord Mantell to secede from the Republic and join the Sith Empire.

Figure 3: A screenshot of Ord Mantell.

Thus concludes my take on character creation. Come back next week for a look at character statistics and in-game controls, as well as the progression of the story through missions. Anyone who wants to play with me should create a character on Sword of Ajunta Pall, put a comment below with your character’s name, and send me an in-game email (to either Lenahra, if you are Republic, or Tarahl, if you are Sith).

Tip of the Week: Your character’s physical appearance will never change throughout the entire game (except for the physical toll that The Dark Side can manifest). Make sure you are fully satisfied with your character design and name before you click the Play button.

-Written by Andrew Halliday

Among the throng of May The Fourth Star Wars news, a new comic by John Jackson Miller (Knights of the Old Republic, Knight Errant) has been announced. The Lost Tribe of the Sith comic series is going to be set after Pandemonium, the last novella in The Old Republic-era series of eBooks of the same name. The first arc is titled “Spiral,” and is set to be released on August 8th, 2012.

Miller stated that the comic has taken a step up from the books, saying;

“Lost Tribe has amped this up to an even greater degree. It’s like a world trapped in time, a place for one big lab experiment where we can see how things play out over centuries.”

All of The Lost Tribe of the Sith eBooks are being collected in The Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories, which will also include the only-for-print Pandemonium novella. The book will hit bookshelves on July 31st.

Source: USA Today

Welcome to another installment of EUCantina’s opinion column, EU Action/Reaction! Twice per month, I tackle a specific Star Wars EU event that has garnered a significant reaction from Star Wars fans and offer my own view to further the discussion. Once you read the article, feel free to leave a comment and offer your own thoughts!

This week, I’ll discuss the growing call for more Star Wars stories that focus on women – and why I think that’s detrimental to the Expanded Universe.

Forget the fact that Star Wars is an intellectual property that is (apparently) aimed at young boys. Clearly, there are countless fans that are adults and women – the sign of a healthy franchise that extends far beyond its target audience. In the last few years, there’s been a growing outcry for gender equality in Star Wars. Some readers have expressed wanting to see a larger focus on female roles in Star Wars, disregarding the large amount of female characters in the Expanded Universe as lacking in quality. Frankly, it’s bordering on ludicrous – this notion that the Expanded Universe lacks female characters. It’s a result of either fans not experiencing everything that the Expanded Universe has to offer and then making grandiose, ridiculous statements, or it’s the result of fans that are simply deluded.

It’s Sexist.

You know what I never see? Guys discussing the need for Star Wars stories that focus on strong male characters. Because if we did, it’d be sexist. And it would be sexist. So why do women readers cry out for stories that focus on strong female characters? It denigrates the Expanded Universe, for readers to demand that great storytelling take a backseat to shoehorning women characters. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. As a long-time Star Wars fan, I just want to read stories that are going to excite me. Stories that are going to transport me to a galaxy far, far away. I could care less if the main characters are men or women – and neither should anyone else. As far as minority groups go, individuals of African and Asian descent are far less visible in the Expanded Universe than women – as are homosexual characters.

There are some that roll their eyes regarding the fate of Luke Skywalker’s many love interests, but do these fans not react the same with Leia’s countless love interests that have also met a similar fate? Some fans seem to forget that there are an awful lot of male characters that are similarly underdeveloped. Sure, I’d love to see Seha Dorvold be developed in the future. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Kyle Katarn actually get developed as a character. Valin Horn is no more developed than his sister, Jysella. There are plenty of male characters in the Expanded Universe that are just as underutilized and underdeveloped. Some complain about Tahiri’s and Tenal Ka’s characters being assassinated? Allow me to offer a rebuttal in the form of Jacen Solo (turned Sith, dead). Or Anakin Solo (dead). Or Corran Horn (transformed into a whiny baby for the majority of Fate of the Jedi). Or Jagged Fel (forced to be the Imperial Head of State, totally sucks at it). See, this whole “women characters have it tough” attitude is malarkey.

You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees.

In Fate of the Jedi, the two most prominent new characters to be introduced to the Expanded Universe are both female. First is Vestara Khai, a sneaky and conniving Sith with enough heart to make her a joy to read with each book. Honestly, she’s probably one of my favorite Expanded Universe characters at the moment. She’s the definition of a strong character, someone who struggles internally with herself and with the forces at work around her. For me, she’s been a breath of fresh air and I can’t wait to see the future of her character development. On the other hand, we have Abeloth – an insanely powerful (perhaps even god-like) creature. Although she was mostly shrouded in mystery throughout the series, she proved to be a competent villain that could stand toe-to-toe with not only Luke Skywalker, but also his allies – at the same time. She wasn’t just some crazy, one-note villain either. There was an odd vulnerability to her – she wanted to feed off suffering, but she also wanted to be loved. She had been trapped for a very long time, and more than anything else, she didn’t want to be lonely anymore. She has a characterization that readers can relate to, regardless of her appearance and origin. More than any other characters in Fate of the Jedi, these are the two big players. Assuming that they both survive long into the future, they will certainly guide the storyline of the Expanded Universe in the coming years.

Do Luke Skywalker, Ben Skywalker, and Han Solo have plenty of pages devoted to them in Fate of the Jedi? Absolutely. But you know who else does? Leia Solo, Daala, Abeloth, Vestara, Saba Sebatyne, Jaina, and Allana. These are all strong (sometimes flawed) female characters that have major roles in the series. Not counting the inept Lost Tribe, whose members aren’t even worth a mention in the Dratamis Personae, Fate of the Jedi is comprised entirely of female villains! Mara Jade stands, as of now, as one of the greatest characters in the Expanded Universe. Not because she’s a female, but because she is a great character. Of course, I’m not even touching on characters like Nomi Sunrider and her daughter, Vima – both of whom are part of one of the greatest and most emotional Star Wars comics ever produced, Tales of the Jedi: Redemption. It was a real shame that the Nomi Sunrider book was cancelled, but I wasn’t looking forward to it because it starred those two fantastic characters. I was looking forward to it because I already love those characters, and I want to know what happens next in their story. Ahsoka Tano is another example of a strong female character, who serves a purpose as a character that is growing up and learning how to be a Jedi during wartime. Again, we don’t care about her because she’s a female. We care about her because she has grown into her own and has become a memorable character worth caring about. Oh, and how about everyone’s favorite Knight Errant, Kerra Holt? Talk about a strong female character – where’s the love for her? I’ve been demanding a new book about her since I finished the last page of Knight Errant – she’s one of the best new additions to the Expanded Universe yet. Have we already forgotten that the Medstar duology focused on Barris Offee’s character? And in the future? The cancellation of the Nomi Sunrider book doesn’t mean that Nomi’s character will never be explored again – it just means that the Expanded Universe isn’t ready to retread that time period yet. The Old Republic is a huge hit, so why waste time introducing (or reintroducing) readers and fans to another new time period that, like the Knight Errant time period, will likely only be briefly explored? Instead of the Nomi Sunrider novel, though, we’re getting a new Drew Karpyshyn novel this Winter with Satele Shan in a starring role – likely an even trade, if the sex of the characters is all that you’re concerned with.

What also frustrates me, though, is that this outcry for more focus on female characters is never far from an outcry for more female authors in the Expanded Universe. But when we get fantastic female authors, like Karen Traviss (one of the most prolific Star Wars authors period) and Christie Golden, these same vocal fans are the first to turn on these authors and criticize their every book. To be frank, the sex of an author has nothing to do with their final product – all that’s really relevant is if they can write a good story. There is a large discrepancy between male and female authors writing in the Expanded Universe, sure. But that same gap exists when comparing male and female authors in the sci-fi/fantasy genre in general, it’s not something exclusive to Star Wars. The fact that the executive director and fiction/comic editor at Lucas Licensing has been a female for a long time, first with Sue Rostoni and now with Jennifer Heddle, shows that the Expanded Universe isn’t a men’s club.

It’s Star Wars, Not Snore Wars.

You know what I hope I never have to read? A book with Leia as a main character where she’s a senator. Or a Padme-centric story detailing her time as a queen or senator. Not because the women would be main characters, but because those stories sound so boring that I already fell asleep twice just thinking about those scenarios. If The Clone Wars television show has taught me anything, it’s to skip the Padme-centric episodes. The diplomacy aspect is just mind-numbingly boring. You want to put Padme or Leia in a starring role (I guess we’re discounting the existence of books like Tatooine Ghost, Allegiance, and Choices of One – all with female leads), then do it in the vein of Star Wars. Give ‘em a kriffing blaster and throw ‘em in harm’s way. Make the stories exciting and thrilling. Don’t dumb down the stories to fit the established roles of these characters. As characters like Kerra Holt and Ahoska have shown, women can absolutely lead the charge and be exciting characters.

Arguing about gender equality in the Expanded Universe is ridiculous. There are plenty of male and female characters to love and loathe, and just as many on each side that is underdeveloped. As a male reader, who just loves a good story and could care less about gender politics, I think it’s time to put the soapboxes away and just enjoy the stories. If you want a Padme or Leia-centric story, than by all means – shout it from the rooftops. But don’t do it because you want a book that focuses on women. Do it because you want a great story, and because you believe in the potential of the story.

- Chris

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In honor of the unofficial Star Wars Day, Barnes and Noble has posted a guest blog with Aaron Allston, Christie Golden, and Troy Denning as they discuss the creative process and themes surrounding the Fate of the Jedi series.

The discussion can be read here.

It’s May the 4th (known by many as “Star Wars Day”), and the previews and excerpts are out in full force (no pun intended).

A four page preview for the upcoming Tom Taylor Clone Wars-era comic; Darth Maul: Death Sentence has been posted on StarWars.com. It can be read here.

The first issue of Death Sentence will hit shelves on July 25th.

Source: Roqoo Depot