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Topic:
The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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Lord_Hydronium
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
6/8 10:17pm
Subject:
The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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The EU's big. Really big. Wookieepedia lists over 10,000 characters, thousands of planets...a lot, in other words. Most of it is probably pretty minor, in-universe or out; some out of the way fueling depot planet, a taxi driver seen for a few seconds a movie, a spaceship that sits around rusting in a junkyard. And then there's the stuff that is important and we all know about: things that everyone knows, like Luke Skywalker; things that anyone who's read the EU knows about, but not really anyone outside the EU fandom, like Thrawn; to a bunch of other EU elements that I'm sure everyone here knows about even if more casual EU readers don't, like Tycho Celchu, or Shimmra, or—seriously, I could make a huge list of these guys.
But the EU is big, as we've established, and even important stuff can get lost in it. So, this thread; the idea is, you tell us about some aspect—a character, a planet, a ship—that you think is fairly important in the scheme of things, but for one reason or another probably isn't known about by most people here. Maybe they haven't been used or referenced a lot by the EU, maybe they had their heyday in older or sources like the Marvel series, but have been forgotten more recently, maybe they just lurk in background mentions and it's only when pieced together that you see their importance. This isn't about characters you like, necessarily, but rather things whose in-universe importance is out of skew with how much attention they receive out of universe. I'll start with:
Xandel Carivus
You'd think that the last Emperor of the First Galactic Empire would get more attention, but according to Wookieepedia he's had all of three references after his first appearance in Crimson Empire II. And one of those is the Handbook for Crimson Empire. And the other is the NEC. Not a very well-known guy, in other words.
Yet look at the aspects of his character, and you wonder why. As I already mentioned, he was the last person to take the title of Emperor until the Fel Dynasty was founded. His money paid for the sabotage that killed Palpatine for good. He worked directly with Nom Anor, of all people, who used him as a puppet to tear apart what remained of the Empire. Until he declared himself Emperor, that is, at which point Anor dropped him like a sack of potatoes, letting him get killed by Kir Kanos.
Now educate us.
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TalonCard
Title: TFN EU Staff
Registered:
Jan '01
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Date Posted:
6/8 11:26pm
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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There's Notron, said to be the birthworld of humanity in Marvel. More recent sources have tried to peg Coruscant as the human's homeworld, but that smacks of the Empire's Human High Culture and doesn't jive too well with earlier sources that are more vague and mysterious on the subject.
TC
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Havac
Title: Lit Mod of Awayness
Registered:
Sep '05
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Date Posted:
6/8 11:45pm
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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Grand General Malcor Brashin, appearing in Force Commander and Force Commander only, is the highest-ranking known officer of the Imperial Army, and the only known Grand General. He seems to be a big R&D guy, and trains up General Brenn Tantor, the Imperial general who gave Veers his orders at Hoth and the New Republic general who gave Han Solo his orders at Endor and ended up taking Coruscant away from Brashin, who commanded the defense. His fate, interestingly, is unknown.
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dizfactor
Registered:
Aug '02
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Date Posted:
6/8 11:55pm
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
- Date Edited:
6/9 12:01am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
dizfactor
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The Conclave on Exis Station. The Jedi Order in TOTJ looks very different from the order in the prequel era. No celibacy rules, no Jedi Council, one Master for many students spread out across the galaxy in a number of praxeums, etc. Then, 30 years later, in the first KOTOR game or even the KOTOR comic, the Jedi Order looks quite a bit like it does in the prequels.
In the middle, the Conclave on Exis Station. A major conference called by Nomi Sunrider to discuss the future of the Jedi Order, remembered thousands of years later as a major turning point in Jedi history.
Details are pretty sparse on what actually transpired there, but the Jedi Order pre-Exis looks very different from the order post-Exis. My guess is that that's where it happened: the rule against attachments, the monastic lifestyle, the one-on-one Master-Padawan relationship, the permanent sitting Jedi Council.
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Second place is the bombardment of Kromus by Darrus Jeht during the Clone Wars.
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Ris_jSarek
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
6/9 12:05am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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We all know that Leia had a friend who grew up with her in the Organa household, named Winter. But what about the OTHER girl who grew up in the Organa household alongside Leia, and who also managed to be offworld when Alderaan died?
Neena.
Who here (who hasn't read my post in the "Forgotten Characters" thread) knew that Luke and Vader's duel on Cloud City had been witnessed?
Allania Jakien.
One world has challenged Coruscant for galactic supremacy for thousands of years, yet only the most drenched in EU lore have heard of . . .
Alsakan.
As the old saying goes, "Amateurs study strategy, professionals study logistics." How does the largest military the galaxy has ever seen move it's materiel?
Modular Taskforce Cruiser.
We've all heard of Cronal, of Jerec, of Tremayne. But one of the Dark Jedi described as having "extraordinary power" has gone completely under our radar.
Croym.
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Battlehymn_Republic
Registered:
Oct '07
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Date Posted:
6/9 12:11am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
- Date Edited:
6/9 12:20am (2 edits total)
Edited By:
Battlehymn_Republic
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Is there anyone from my people still at large thread?
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LtNOWIS
Registered:
May '05
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Date Posted:
6/9 2:40am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
- Date Edited:
6/9 3:23am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
LtNOWIS
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TalonCard posted:
There's Notron, said to be the birthworld of humanity in Marvel. More recent sources have tried to peg Coruscant as the human's homeworld, but that smacks of the Empire's Human High Culture and doesn't jive too well with earlier sources that are more vague and mysterious on the subject.
TC
Um, isn't one of those new sources the New Essential Chronology? Which is of course written by noted Rebel/NR/GA historian Voren Na'al.
And as for the MTC, it wasn't a logistics vessel, it was an auxiliary. It didn't transport material, but various special-missions modules.
Anyways, I would mention Deservo, because I think it's very interesting, but being very important to Galactic History doesn't mean that it has present-day importance.
Edit: I'm missing "rather" in that middle sentence, which in my mind creates a grammatical flaw.
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Charlemagne19
Registered:
Jul '00
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Date Posted:
6/9 2:52am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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I'm annoyed about this.
* So little mentioned about the Imperial Inquisition.
* So little mentioned about COMPNOR.
* So little mentioned about Operation: Durge's Lance.
* So little mentioned about Grevious' massacre of Humbardine.
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Lord_Hydronium
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
6/9 2:58am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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Please, tell us about them, then. This thread is about informing others of important yet largely unknown facets of the canon, not just listing things we want to see more of.
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Charlemagne19
Registered:
Jul '00
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Date Posted:
6/9 3:07am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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Lord_Hydronium posted:
Please, tell us about them, then. This thread is about informing others of important yet largely unknown facets of the canon, not just listing things we want to see more of.
But...but...what if people complain!?
The Imperial Inquisition's introduction in West End Games was a great idea for essentially what "Vade-esque" positions are. Terrifying torturers and warlords who conducted the Emperor's will across countless planets. Unfortunately, aside from one Tales story, we really don't see any of them ever in action. Likewise, the only time there's ever a character who performs the functions described about the Imperial Inquisition (Hethrir), he's given a new title in the Procurator of Justice.
Personally, I love COMPNOR. It's the Schutzstaffel crossed with the Soviet Union's Loyalty officers. Given the ubiquotiousness of the Waffen-SS and Tottenkoph, we should be seeing these guys everywhere. A constant reminder of the Empire's Nazi roots. I'd love to see references to the described destruction of art, butchery of anyone who they suspect of even harboring treasonous thoughts, and the SAGroup (Hitler Youth).
Yet, only once did they appear in Survivor's Quest and a few short stories. Likewise, they didn't make Isard head of the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) but Military Intelligence. To me, the ISB should be far more powerful.
Durge's Lance is Grevious' conquest of nearly HALF the galaxy during the Clone Wars and carves it right up to Duros and Coruscant's doors. There's even an attack on Coruscant that we never see before the one in Revenge of the Sith.
And Humbarine was a planet as large and populous as Coruscant that was destroyed by General Grevious, arguably a bigger atrocity than Alderaan's destruction.
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Ris_jSarek
Registered:
Feb '05
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Date Posted:
6/9 3:08am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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LtNOWIS posted:
And as for the MTC, it wasn't a logistics vessel, it was an auxiliary. It didn't transport material, but various special-missions modules.
I . . . can't believe I made that basic an error. With all the build-up I gave it, too. Oy. You are of course correct, and I deserve much mockery for that mistake.
LtNOWIS posted:
Anyways, I would mention Deservo, because I think it's very interesting, but being very important to Galactic History doesn't mean that it has present-day importance.
I thought about mentioning this one myself; glad you picked up the slack for me.
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Lord_Hydronium
Registered:
Jun '02
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Date Posted:
6/9 3:43am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
- Date Edited:
6/9 3:50am (2 edits total)
Edited By:
Lord_Hydronium
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Chuck mentioning Humbarine reminds me of a few other planets:
Metellos
(wiki link)
The "Coruscant that wasn't." A city-planet with a population of 900 billion, astronomically pretty much right next door to Coruscant. Basically Coruscant's younger, black sheep of a brother. Like any other city-world not named Coruscant or Nar Shaddaa, though, it's referenced very little; in fact, Coruscant and the Core Worlds is the only source to give it a serious amount of information.
Delaya
(wiki link)
The only populated planet in the Alderaan system after 0 BBY, Delaya was close enough to see the destruction of Alderaan, and later served as a home to displaced Alderaanian refugees. So why does it have all of nine mentions in the entire EU? Lots of planets have less flashy next-door neighbors, but with Alderaan gone, Delaya is the closest thing to the destroyed world, literally and figuratively.
Arbra
(wiki link)
The Rebel base before Endor, right up there in importance with Yavin or Hoth. It served as a base for a number of missions, including the search for Han Solo. Yet after a long run in Marvel based out of Arbra, the planet is referred to curiously little afterwards, not even warranting a mention in the NEC. A few mentions of the Marvel events in a couple Essential Guides, a Databank entry during a round of Marvel entries, and one Wizards.com feature. Oh, and a tiny, tiny reference in the first Alien Anthology that the Arbra system was home to a build-up of forces during the Vong War. In fact, though we know that Arbra became a steady member of the New Republic, the information on it in that time is almost all from a couple paragraphs in the Anthology.
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And so ad infinitum.
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The_Four_Dot_Elipsis
Registered:
Mar '05
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Date Posted:
6/9 4:54am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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To Chuck: We've seen a bit of the Inquisitorius in action in the Evasive Action webstrips. And the sacking of Humbarine was elaborated on a bit in the Barrow Oicunn Databank entry.
In terms of characters I think are hugely important but totally neglected...
Vors Voorhorian (Wook link)
This is the guy who designed the X-wing. Yes, that's right, the X-wing. One of the most iconic ships in the franchise. Oh, sure, we've had Walex Blissex running around in RPG adventures for ages, and Sienar (who was introduced after Voorhorian) getting a cushy role in a mediocre novel. But what about this guy? He's in two hugely obscure kids comics, and he's been mentioned ever so briefly in the Complete Cross-Sections. So I suppose that's a start.
Yamarus (Wook link)
No, that's not a picture of him. We haven't got a picture of him. Although Spencer Tracy as Yamarus would work superbly. He's a sort of gruff...kinda father figure dude who was the Admiral of the Liberty task force. And outside X-wing Alliance...we literally know nothing about him. Essentially, he's an awesome character that the comics or something need to pick up on. He probably goes down with the Liberty at Endor sadly, but...yeesh, we (or I) really need to know more about this guy.
Paltr Carvin (Wook link)
What'd he do? Oh, nothing much. Only ruled the Empire briefly in the fallout of Pestage's flight from Coruscant. Again...seriously...nothing beyond Mandatory Retirement. You'd think the New Essential Chronology or something would have at least mentioned him in passing, but...no. Not a whisper. This one actually puzzles me. And he's a pretty cool character as well. I mean, he wears gloves. Gloves! Also, he doesn't put up with Isard's shenanigans.
Stuart Zissu (Wook link)
I think the picture speaks for itself.
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HedecGa
Registered:
Apr '06
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Date Posted:
6/9 8:21am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
- Date Edited:
6/9 8:21am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
HedecGa
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Well, I think Ken is a major one. All jokes and eye-rolling aside, the guy is "supposedly" the grandson of Palpatine (though they've tried to explain this in numerous sources). But we need a definitive answer and what about his Jedi Princess mom? Jedi Princesses, now? Whatever happened to this guy? That deserves some attention, I think.
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_Catherine_
Registered:
Jun '07
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Date Posted:
6/9 10:04am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
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The_Four_Dot_Elipsis posted:
Stuart Zissu (Wook link)
I think the picture speaks for itself.
Yes, God, someone please tell us how Stuart, Artoo, Threepio, and Forbee got off Planet X.  It's only one of the most important untold tales of the EU!
Could science have saved them, perhaps? 
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AdmirableAckbar
Registered:
Jan '08
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Date Posted:
6/9 10:05am
Subject:
RE: The Most Important Thing You've Never Heard Of
- Date Edited:
6/10 8:30am (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Master_Keralys
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Ardus Kaine (Wook link)
Kaine was one of Palpy's biggest supporters during his rise to power, and after the New Order was established, helped form COMPNOR and make it into powerful organisation is was. For his services, Kaine was promoted and he eventually became Tarkin's successor as Grand Moff of the Outer Rim. When Palpatine was killed, he started his own mini Empire -- the Pentastar Alignment -- which held considerable territory at its peak. Unfortunately for Kaine, he was killed during Operation Shadow Hand, the Alignment became part of the Remnant, and Pellaeon took his flagship.
To be fair, he has gotten a few references of late (by Wallace and Pena), though I still think he's an important-character-people-ought-to-know-about.
Just made your links work. 
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