Lit We Hav to Take a Trip with Jacen Solo (WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SNARK)

Apologies for the vague title, but I couldn't think of a way to phrase it without implicitly spoiling Invincible, for obvious reasons.

This thread was approved by Rogue Follower.

---

So, Jacen Solo-- arguably the star of the post-Civil War era, and undoubtedly the most controversial character of the same-- is dead.

Now seems like a good time, then, to go back and give his life story a run-through, if only to see how well it all fits together.

To this end, I plan on reading everything Jacen appears in chronologically, starting with [i]The Last Command[/i] and working my way toward [i]Invincible[/i]. I'm not going to be reading the entirety of anything, with a few exceptions ([i]Traitor[/i] comes to mind)-- only the sections of each book that is relevant to Jacen.

This will take some time, probably; I'll be borrowing the point-by-point format Rogue1.5 uses for his Journey through the EU, so I shouldn't spend [i]too[/i] long writing my analyses, but... don't expect this to be done anytime soon. :p

Of course, anyone who wants is welcome to follow along and post their own comments. My only request for any discussion that takes place in this thread is that it stays fairly focused.

I'm gonna try and act like I don't know anything about anything here, both for fun and to avoid preconceived ideas. So, no spoilers! :p

The first post will follow shortly.

 

This sounds positively awesome. GREAT idea, Trip.

I'll follow this with some interest. I may even follow along at some level.

- Keralys

 

Hmm. I was thinking of FAing Jacen's article on Wookieepedia (actually, it's at Darth Caedus now) and this could provide a stimulus to get me going.

 

Part I: The Last Command
In which our hero is born, and promptly burdened with a somewhat unfortunate name.

We begin our story in a medcenter on Coruscant, where Leia Organa Solo is nearing the end of a ten-hour labor.

While giving birth, Leia touches both infants through the Force, and discovers that her unborn children have "become attuned to each each other-- attuned in a way and to a depth that Leia knew she herself would never entirely share."

It seems to be some sort of... 'twin bond,' if you will. It'll be interesting to see if this is developed any in the future.

This revelation leaves Leia a bit disappointed that they have something already in which she'll never share; and then she remembers that Han, not having any Force-sensitivity, will be able to share in even less.

Again, I wonder if this theme (Han's the odd man out) is elaborated on.

Anyway, a baby's about to crown, and-- oh, it's our hero's sister, Jaina. Never mind.

Jacen's not far behind, though; the doctor tells Leia that he's "trying to crawl out on his own." Could this be foreshadowing? Will Jacen grow up to demonstrate an aptitude for spelunking?

There's obviously not much character-wise right now, what with Jacen a newborn and all.

Let's see... he falls asleep midway through nursing one night, while Jaina keeps eating; Han comments that "he's going to be a strong one"; Jacen at one point attempts to study his fingers. Yeah, that's about it.

Winter-- Leia's adopted sister, if you'll remember (her mom was in RotS)-- is apparently Jacen and Jaina's nurse. Which is kind of weird. Especially how she takes care of them while Leia's sitting right there in the room.

Jacen (and his sister) actually has a minor role in the story, when a squad of Imperial commandos attempts to abduct them.

So I guess it's good we got the inevitable kidnapping attempt out of the way now, right?

Yeah, okay, there's really not much more I can say about this entry in the Jacen Saga. Since Jacen's not yet an established character, I don't think it's really fair to rate it, so I'll just leave you with a pair of vaguely amusing images of our newborn hero from TLC's comic adaptation...

EDIT: And, because it's too hilarious not to mention, here's a shot of Leia's doctor-- who, as one http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/User:Havac]wag[/url] put it, just might be the creepiest OB/GYN ever:

 

We're off to a good start.

[image=http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/b/bb/Pervert.jpg]

EDIT: The OB/GYN of Creepiness is getting lots of exposure today.

 

lol

(For the record, RF actually posted the Thumbs Up Man before I'd finished editing him in. )

 

This is even more interesting than I thought. The Ob/Gyn is... creepy.



- Keralys

 

Yeah...if my OB/GYN had looked up at me and given me the thumbs up at that point...well, he would have gotten a kick in the teeth.



CJM

 

That is so creepy.

 

LOL that is nasty. It reminds me of this OB/GYN Kenobi shirt my brother got me. lol If this thread started like this I can't wait for the rest

 

It would be better if the OB/GYN was saying, "You're all clear, kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home."

 

Oh man. Trying not to stray off topic I had to say that a friend of mine dressed as OB/GYN Kenobi for Haloween one year. It was....bizarre. I'm pretty sure he looked at me and gave me the thumbs up when he was talking to a girl as he tried to "Force Persuade" her into a "thorough investigation".

Anyway, this is an excellent thread idea. Uhm. I didn't really get much out of the first installment but I'm sure it will get more interesting.

 

Great idea for a thread - will be interesting once we get to some actual characterisation.

And...yeah...that...guy...



What is wrong with him?!

 

Continue this soon please.

 

Sounds like fun! I'll definitely be following along!

 

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone!

---

[B]Part II: Dark Empire[/B]
[I]In which we find our hero feeling a little blue.[/I]

[li]We finally catch up with our Jacen at the end of issue #5, when Leia and Han arrive at New Alderaan. It seems they're going to go into hiding there for a little while while Leia gives birth to their third kid.[/li]
[li]Jacen, we're told, has been hiding out on New Alderaan with Jaina and Winter while the Operation Shadow Hand ravages the galaxy. Leia's seen him only twice in the past year.[/li]
[li]Well, he's what, one? One and a half? You can't expect him to be saving the galaxy already![/li]

[li]Anyway, Han & Leia land, and have a "joyful reunion" with the twins.[/li]

[li]Issue #6 opens with a nice scene of the kids playing out in the yard. Can't tell which is which-- I'm gonna guess that Jacen's the one poking at a clump of dirt with a stick, and Jaina's the one Chewie's holding.[/li]

[li]HAN: Better get used to havin' your [I]fur [/I]pulled, Chewie-- kids [I]love [/I]big, hairy uncles![/li]
[li]O... [I]kay[/I]...[/li]

[li]Oddly, Winter-- even rendered in a surreal shade of turquoise-- seems more human here than she ever did in the Thrawn Trilogy.[/li]

[li]Luke arrives with Kam (Solusar), Rayf, and Jem. He's got bad news (the Alliance high command is all dead!) but since it doesn't really concern Jacen we'll skip it. Same with the next few scenes.[/li]

[li]Oh no, a band of darksiders has attacked New Alderaan! They're trying assassinate Luke-- and kidnap Jacen & Jaina![/li]
[li]Winter's hilariously ineffectual-- she gnaws on her knuckles and screams LEIAAA![/li]
[li]Some random darksider scoops up the kids, but Rayf cheerfully force-shoves them out of his grip: "Easy as tossin' rocks with the [I]Force![/I]"[/li]
[li]Winter catches them, and Leia shoots the darksider.[/li]

[li]Um... okay. I guess another kidnapping attempt is pretty logical; I mean, it makes sense that Palpatine would want to get ahold of Vader's grandkids. Still, I hope kidnappings don't become a regular event or anything. I could see that getting old pretty fast, you know?[/li]

[li]Our heroes (and their doofus parents) bolt from New Alderaan and make for Nespis VIII, where-- surprise!-- the Alliance high command is hanging out, still very much alive. Luke looks slightly chagrined.[/li]

[li]Jacen's little brother (or sister)'s on its way! We don't get to see the birth, though-- we wait outside with Luke and his cadre of quasi-Jedi.[/li]

[li]HAN: Hey-- I'm a [I]father [/I]again! It's a [I]boy[/I]![/li]

[li]We rush into the room, where Leia lays cradling Jacen's little brother. Han's holding Jacen and his sister.[/li]

[li]Aw, Han's so excited: "Feast your eyes on [I]Han Solo, Jr.![/I] Isn't he a [I]handsome[/I] boy?"[/li]
[li]Leia quickly douses Han's (slightly narcissistic) name idea: "Han... his name is [I]Anakin[/I]. He will be a great Jedi like his grandfather."[/li]
[li]HAN: Uh... okay.[/li]
[li]Poor Han.[/li]

[li]Yay, Jacen gets his first line: "Loook."[/li]
[li]Alright, that might've been Jaina. It's kinda hard to tell without the color-coded onesies.[/li]

[li]Luke has a vision of the future: "a vision of a time when Leia's children will be grown, and when many Jedi Knights will gather in strength to restore peace and justice to the galaxy."[/li]
[li]Oddly, he imagines them all wearing Dracula cloaks.[/li]

[li]The End! Again, Jacen doesn't do much besides almost get kidnapped, so I'll forgo a rating.[/li]

[li]I will, however, leave you Luke's image of the future:[/li]
[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b93/tripzero/Jacen/jasavision.png[/img]

[li]Also, here's one of Jacen digging for termites:[/li]
[img]http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b93/tripzero/Jacen/jasatermites.png[/img]

[li]At least, I think it's Jacen. Like I said, the twins kinda look the same at this point.[/li]

[li]Next time: we travel with our hero to the beast-world of Onderon in [I]Empire's End[/I]![/li]

 

hehe, I remember this one , got the comic, I always found them oddly edgy and interestingly coloured

 

I rather liked this part of DE. Gave me hope for some very awesome adventures with the Solo children. And then Anakin died in SBS. And Jacen went dark for DN and LOTF. And Jaina... well, she may yet be salvaged.

This is a fantastic thread, by the way.

 

I love how the Jedi were all about the Evil!Collar back then. I mean, did Luke just really like Young!Palpatine's dress sense or what?

 

Please continue.

 

That one had me laughing pretty hard.

This is fun to follow, keep it up!