Lit "In the Shadows of Our Fathers." - The Star Wars: Legacy Re-Read Project

With the possibility of Neo-Expanded Universe coming up, it occurs to me that it's time to take the Star Wars universe and look at it from a macro-perspective. What was the 'ending' of the Star Wars universe and how did the story go? Well, Crucible more or less ends the story of the Big Three but Dark Horse comics has the last laugh on the EU in all likelihood. It is Star Wars: Legacy which gives us the long-term view of what our heroes accomplished in not the movies, which we can fill in our heads, but the Old Expanded Universe.

Indeed, a major reason why I'm not getting my pitchfork or torch out for the mob is because I think of Star Wars: Legacy as an appropriate epilogue for the universe. THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES. The never-ending battle against the Dark Side. Even, War, War Never Changes.

However, I know plenty of fans who were less than satisfied with SW:Legacy. They considered it to be a betrayal of the Big Three and left a questionable, well, legacy for our heroes to look back on. I, myself, have mixed feelings about some of the writer's choices.

Still, I used to HATE Legacy and considered it to be something which wasn't part of "my" Star Wars universe. Yet, I found myself buying every issue when it individually came out. I purchased the Star Wars D20 Role-Playing game supplement. I even ran a campaign in its universe. Finally, I've got the two hardcover collections. I am currently buying Vol. 2# of the series. In short, I actually LOVE Legacy. I just didn't realize it until it was done that my feelings were because I was emotionally INVOLVED with the setting.

This thread will be a re-read of every single issue of Star Wars: Legacy from start to finish. I invite you all to join me as I examine each of the issues one-by-one and discuss the issues inside them. Since this is a re-read thread there's no problem with spoilers and I hope everyone will feel free to throw in their comments about how things end up. Love it or hate it, SW: Legacy has left a big mark on the EU and deserves to have all the attention to detail I intend to give it here.

NOW, LET US BEGIN!

 

Yes. Let's go.

 

The Background and Lead-Up to Legacy

Very well, let us begin by taking the wayback machine back to the distant age of 2006. This was before the Dark Times, before fandom had completely split over controversial titles like "The Clone Wars", "The Force Unleashed", "Fate of the Jedi", and so on. The rifts had already begun, of course.

The New Jedi Order was both a great success in launching the "New Star Wars EU" and also splitting the fandom. People were still loyal to Star Wars but Anakin Solo's death, Jacen Solo's role as the hero (especially after "Traitor" called into question what the Dark Side really was), and Jaina's role as the "Sword of the Jedi" all raised questions about where the franchise was headed.

The Yuuzhan Vong were, and remain, the darkest enemies the Big Three have ever faced. While the Empire might blow up your planet, the Yuuzhan Vong might break all of its individual inhabitants before working them to death as slave laborers before offering their infants on blood-soaked altars. A causalty figure in the triple digit trillions made the Empire's destruction of Alderaan seem almost paltry.

On my end, the NJO was where I started wondering about my life-long hobby. Partially, it was due to college and the discovery I could talk to girls, but there was also the issue of it being really depressing in places. I was a fan of Warhammer 40K as well as Star Wars but never-the-two should meet, IMHO. I was ready to "move on" past the NJO and forget it ever happened like many other fans.

John Ostrander, Randy Stradley, Sean Cooke, and Jan Duursema were not about to do that, though. In fact, Star Wars: Legacy was a direct sequel to the NJO in many ways. Not just conceptually but thematically as well. The devastation and horror unleashed by the Yuuzhan Vong would form the backdrop for a darker universe, one where the scars left behind by their invasion and the Galactic Civil War didn't heal all the way.

This is important because Legacy could have just slapped the Star Wars name on an entirely new era divorced from the previous EU and moved on. Instead, it's very much a love-letter to the fans who stuck through literal years of continuity and hundreds of novels. It's also a deconstruction of Star Wars heroics in much the same way Knights of the Old Republic 2 was of the Force.

What happens when a small group of beings, a family even, save the universe TWICE? Not to mention the thousands of other heroic events they did. What sort of impact does that have on the psyche of a galaxy that is single-handedly propped up by a family? I would have loved another 50 issues of Legacy to exam this issue in depth but what we got still contained a large amount of info on the subject.

Our first real information coming from this book.



This 25c and 32 page comic gave us our first insight into the setting and acted as a teaser for what we'd see in the future.

The Sith

Wolf and Shado

The Fel Dynasty

The Imperial Knights

The Imperial Mission

Cade Skywalker

Pellaeon-Class-Cruisers

I won't discuss any of these until they come up in the actual comic (reviewed next) but it was the perfect advertisement for the long-EU fan. In a way, I wonder if it was a little too dense for the new reader but I can't comment on their opinion. All I knew was I was intrigued by the Imperial Knights, the return of the Sith, and two Jedi Knights who looked like they could kick some serious ass. I was more neutral on Cade, being a big fan of "Farmboys" and "Good Guys" while an Antihero Skywalker seemed like a darker and edgier Superman.

Just plain wrong.

Still, I was willing to give them a try. Which I did, when the first issue came out.

 

2006.

The Clone Wars are over, the Sith are triumphant, the Jedi destroyed... It should make for a bummer of any story set in that time hmm? Except, in finishing off the Quinlan Vos saga, Ostrander and Duursema decided to go contra-flow and deliver a small victory for optimism. That individuals could, with care, survive the dark storm now assailing the galaxy. It was an excellent decision, not least as ultimately it doesn't matter in the big picture, but for Vos, a final victory over the dark side is all he sought and he gets it.

I'm not a fan of NJO, lots of potential sure, but it didn't tap it for me and relied too much on the heroes suddenly being dumb. So a far-future SW story by the writers of the best Clone Wars epic? Of course I was going to be interested in that, if only because they'd proven they could balance activity and darkness, without one obliterating the other - something I found NJO ended up doing to often in order to up its darkness quotient. At the same time I really liked and still do like the notion of the Vong seeking the forgiveness of the galaxy and making atonement offerings, only for the Sith to sabotage it and then watch the galaxy give into its demonic side, rather than follow the Jedi and the GA, who took the high road of moral principle and stuck to it.

Legacy also, by default, raises another question for EU fans: Should the NR have been as merciful to the Empire as it was? The Empire is key to the Sith success in Legacy, it leads the calls for vengeance, it gathers members by doing so, does its action prove it to be an incorrigible scorpion?

 

*puts in Star Wars theme*

STAR WARS: LEGACY
ISSUE 1#
BROKEN



Cover Thoughts: A picture of Darth Krayt, Darth Nihl, and Darth Not Appearing In This Issue. My initial impressions of Darth Nihl are actually more favorable than Darth Krayt. My impression of the latter's visual design was he resembled Shao-Khan (Mortal Kombat) a little too much.

There's a bit of humorous retro-active cool, however, added by Skyrim. It's possible that one of Skyrim's developers is a Legacy fan since Dragonbone Plate Armor looks EXACTLY like Krayt's outfit.As for Darth Talon? I can't say she's really doing anything for me. It's strange because everyone else seemed to think she was the SEX on the forums when these issues first came out.

Opening Crawl Thoughts: The entire Bantam and Del Ray Expanded Universes summarized in three paragraphs. I, again, have to wonder how many people were confused by these Yuuzhan Vong people and have the amusing mental image of Marvel Star Wars fans assuming this was another name for the Nagai or Tofs.

Back then, the return of the Sith was a big deal. The Prequels had established that Anakin Skywalker's destiny was to make sure the Sith were really-most-sincerely dead. This was after George Lucas had been somewhat stingy with information about them for over a decade. This appeal, sadly, would be diluted by the later flood of them. The Old Republic Sith, the Lost Tribe of the Sith, the New Sith (sorry JJM), and a bevy of other Dark Side pretenders.

The opening crawl has an unfortunate hint of "been there, done that." I love KOTOR2 but my biggest complaint about that was the repeat of the Jedi Purge. Here, it's like the Sith just found Emperor Palpatine's playbook and decided the Old Ways were best. They manufacture a war, split the galaxy in half, then swoop in to establish their Empire thereafter.

The idea of a THIRD Jedi Purge also undermined my confidence in these stories as it seems people seem to have difficulty telling stories about the Jedi which don't involve them being on the verge of extinction. I give credit where credit is due with Jedi Apprentice and The Clone Wars. The Jedi are plentiful and this doesn't impede storytelling.

Anywho, I'm ready to find out what's been going on as we're thrust into a BIG CRISIS. No Force-Sensitive Hutts or Waru here. This is a threat to the galaxy!

Synopsis: Darth Krayt monologues more or less the opening crawl. The Sith attack Ossus. Jedi Master Kol Skywalker sacrifices himself to allow the children to be evacuated. Kol Skywalker's apprentice is gravely wounded but healed by his apprentice. Cade Skywalker attempts to avenge his father only to be lost. Darth Krayt kills Roan Fel's body-double and declares himself Emperor. Darth Krayt has a heart attack and senses Cade Skywalker's unnatural healing ability.

Thoughts on the Issue: Darth Krayt's line, "I have broken the spine of the galaxy" is a great bit of villainous dialogue. It's also a great introductory line. I would have totally foregone the opening crawl (BLASPHEMY!) and had him just introduce things this way. Our villain is very different from Palpatine and the opening crawl establishes that, even if they have similar tactics. He's a conqueror and a bloodthirsty warlord, lacking completely the subtlety of his predecessor. He's also got it personal for the Jedi. In a very real way, he's a hybrid of Palpatine and Darth Vader. Which, honestly, worked quite well for Revan.

The issue starts us with the murder of a Skywalker. I think this is interesting to put into context as, while Chewbacca and Anakin Solo were killed, this action feels like something momentous. That even the Chosen One's bloodline is not safe in this story. We don't get to know Kol Skywalker very long but he leaves an impression on us. He defeats a small army of Sith and it's only the cowardly attack of Darth Nihl which brings him down.

First impressions are impossible to get back, though, and Darth Nihl never recovers from his. Created as the Darth Vader to Darth Krayt, our first impression of Darth Nihl is the Nagai warlord can't beat Kol Skywalker and is inferior. I was never able to take Darth Nihl seriously again after this moment and it's probably why Wyrrlock, Stryfe, and other characters exist. Nihl is the man who murdered Kol Skywalker but he didn't DEFEAT him. As a result, he exists as a chump worse than Grevious in my mind.

We also get our impression of Cade Skywalker as a young boy. There's something "not quite right" about him, though I can't put it into words. He's a little too eager to die and self-destructive even given the context of the situation. I've always felt Cade Skywalker was a trouble kid well before the Massacre at Ossus and I think this is definitely the case. Given this is exactly the way Anakin was when he was an adult in AOTC, I have to wonder if there's a pill they both need to be on. It might have saved the galaxy some problems.

Yet, really, I think Cade is at his most likable and understandable here. He uses the Dark Side of the Force to save his Jedi Master and he struggles to save his father. He also is willing to sacrifice himself, death wish or not, to save others. Emotionally unbalanced or not, I think everyone was a little hard on Cade later on. His reactions aren't JEDI-like but they're very human. Also, why is Wolf so ready to die? Yeah, there's "No death but the Force" but the Younglings NEED you, jackass.

Darth Krayt's assumption of the Imperial Throne is also a great moment. We see him use his distinctive two-bladed lightsaber style and wipe out multiple opponents before "killing" Roan Fel. Even if it wasn't the real Roan Fel, it was still an Imperial Knight. It's just Roan Fel's cousin was no match for the Dark Lord of the Sith. It's notable that Darth Krayt is fearful of Roan Fel gathering support but he doesn't seem to give two shakes about any Galactic Alliance politicians who might have survived. It's only Fel and the Jedi-Force Sensitives. It's kind of insulting, really.

We also discover that Darth Krayt is dying and he is very much of the "bring order to the galaxy" school of Sith thought. He's willing to die if the galaxy is brought to peace first but he needs too much done before he dies. I always liked this aspect of Krayt and was sorry to see it go for, "KILL ALL MON CALAMARI" and "KILL THE GALAXY!" This also becomes why Krayt continuously doesn't kill Cade over the course of the story.

Morlish Veed and Nyna Calixte also get introduced this issue, serving as the Empire's "Boris and Natasha." I've always had a perverse fondness for Veed. Sadly, the series bends over backwards to establish him as a complete boob. You'd think a man who held both the title of Grand Moff *AND* Grand Admiral would be more formidable.

 

Heartily agree about Quinlan Vos.

That was a bright spot after Revenge of the Sith.

Timothy Zahn's role in the Empire's continued survival is an interesting case study. Were I able to do research worth a crap, I'd write a book on the Star Wars Expanded Universe. But in my uneducated observations, he's pretty much the guy who created the "Worthy Opponent" Empire. They're the guys on the other side, just as noble as the heroes in their own way.

This, however, is nonsense. Grand Moff Tarkin is one of the most sadistic and monstrous characters in the trilogy. We don't get much talk from Admiral Ozzel, Piett, or Needa but there's no reason to assume any of them are any better. The Imperials are Space Nazis and the idea that we just need to learn to "get along" with them is a rather weird idea.

It works for Zahn's Imperials, not so much the movie ones.

There's an upside to this, of course. We now have Imperials we can root for and be happy about. The Imperial Knights are awesome-looking, after all. On the other hand, I kind of think Legacy does a decent job at giving a rebuttal to all those people who hate democracy in the fandom. "When you create a system of government run by the power hungry and militant--of course, the bad eggs will rise to the top."

What does it say about the Empire that 90% of its followers consider, "walking up to Emperor Fel and murdering him" grounds for succession? We don't even get an excuse why Roan Fel is suddenly an outlaw.

 

I personally think Zahn is playing a deeper game with the Empire, the response he creates being to the Q: Why was the Empire so popular? Despite being rotten to the core, it had to have some skill at deploying ideals to sucker people in, what were those? And the answer is - order, at any and all cost. That these ideals tend to be authoritarian rather than totalitarian can be seen in Fel's slow disillusionment over the years.

 

This is probably the main reason I hated Nihl and why I was annoyed when he got promoted to the Big Bad after Legacy:War. He always struck me as a cowardly loser ever since he killed Kol and has yet to do something to change my mind. I actually thought most of the One Sith were pretty lame especially Krayt with the only exceptions being Wyrrlock and Maladi.

 

Ah, but what was his first command decision?

Oh yes.... RUUUUUUNNNNN!

 

It is always a good thing to remember that the "bring order to the galaxy" mindset is more or less a convenient excuse for Sith to do what they do. It's the justification they whisper at night, even if they truly believe that their way is the proper way. Krayt wants order but not out of any benevolence. He wants it because order means he's conquered all his enemies and achieved all the power he possibly can. Sith are not, will not, nor ever have been truly altruistic in their approach to ruling. Krayt talks a good game about "my vision of galactic order" but it's not really all that swell.

When we get to his flashback in issue #18, his issue isn't, say, that a chaotic universe is dangerous. His issue is that a chaotic universe isn't strong. He believes he must impose order for two reasons: the first is that the galaxy will never choose it and the other is that power without a purpose is useless. The last part is the selfish part. I have power, therefore it is my right to impose my will. My will is to control. "Democracy is inherently chaotic.", "I thought to bring peace and order to the galaxy through the existing governments.", these things become platitudes.

He says he wants to save the galaxy by making everyone serve the Sith but it's a lot more self effacing than that. He wants to impose order because it's proof of the power of his will. The rest is rhetoric. Hell, at least by the time of War, he's more honest with himself. In fact, his mindset changes. "I will bring chaos." Regardless of whatever supposed cause Krayt wishes to champion, one thing is clear: he's mostly exercising power because he can. Reason be damned.

EDIT: Since we're talking about it: Nihl>Stryfe. Stryfe's far, far too content to play the servant.

 

Stryfe? Ah yes, for a moment I had thought you meant:

 

Charlemagne19

Great thread! Given the current popularity of Legacy Vol.2, I have been thinking a lot about the first volume. Especially after issue #7, which had a lot of stuff that tied back to the first series.

Legacy #0 has a special place in my heart. It was early 2006, I had just started my job, I had been out of college six months, and my brother and I went to our LCS in Santa Cruz, CA to pick up the issue. There was so much speculation and all of us were clamoring to learn what the future of the GFFA was. This was very ballsy move by Dark Horse and it caused fans to have very strong perceptions. This was the era of "New Empire! New Sith! New Skywalker" and our boards were littered with folks claiming it would either be the best EU story ever or it's death knell. I was initially pretty skeptical, given the premise of the series was that the Galactic Alliance, heir to the New Republic and Rebel Alliance, had fallen. I was initially fearful that this new series would glamorize the Empire, but John Ostrander encouraged me to give it a shot.

I took his suggestion and have been a die hard fan ever since.

Anyways, I loved the little tidbits that #0 dropped. For me personally, one small little thing gave me hope. A 2-3 sentence entry and a image of a new starfighter. The CF9 Crossfire, primary fighter of the Galactic Alliance. That was the only real direct GA thing in the series until issue 8 showed us a hologram of the Battle of Caamas and issues 9-10 formally introduced us to Gar Stazi.

I also really liked Shado Vao and Wolf Sazen. I knew early on at the Jedi would be the folks I would initially root for. I also loved all the pictures of the Sith and I knew right then that we were in for something different!

Looking forward to jumping into issue #1.

--Adm. Nick

 

I only read up to volume five. Anywhere does it explain how Cade survived the first issue?

 

I've been meaning to do a re-read of the trades so now's a good time, I'll likely throw those in.....



At the opportune moment.

 

Recently have read both Hardback Omnibuses myself and loved them.
I collected issues 1-13 or so before the Waldenbooks near me shut down. The Barnes and Noble's near me are very sketchy when it comes to new comic issues coming out. TPB's are fine, Omnibuses are tricky sometimes as well.
Broken has to be one of my most favorite arcs ever. KOTOR's Commencement arc is up there as well.
The basic premise, Rebellion against the Empire (repeat of the OT but plenty of differences)(unlike the LOTF and PT) was really enjoyable imo. Full-scale war but with many different characters and factions, the Jedi and Sith are a major part but they aren't the only focus (like the PT era seems to be) and we get a new group of Force-Users, the Imperial Knights.
Love that they finally moved onwards from the Big 3 time period. No complaints from me on that regard.
The Sith here don't bother me since this series came out before the TOR sith, Caedus, the Lost Tribe, and the KE sith. Yeah it is way after Palpatine but am fine with that for now. I'll expand on that when we get to relevant areas.

 

Interesting perspective. I will say that it also calls into question why Roan and Marasiah both seem to be jerks as soon as they take the throne. The latter being really disappointing as I felt Marasiah was grossly underused in Legacy vol. 1#.

Relevant to the issue of the Empire is that evil should not be admirable but, unless you want your audience to revolted by them, it should have some PANACHE. The Dark Side should be seductive and for us to believe in it, it should be COOL, Sexy, or powerful. One of my favorite corruption stories in the EU is the story of Exar Kun. Exar Kun is an unexceptional Jedi Knight who gets to become warlord of the universe thanks to the Sith. You understand why he chose the Dark Side as you follow him step-by-step.

In Darth Nihl (jokingly referred to as Darth Neil), it's hard to take the power of evil seriously as cool when your first act is to depict the No. 2# baddie as needing to send a small army against a hero in order to defeat him with a backstab. This is a sharp contrast to Lord Vader, who introduces himself with all the power and majesty needed to permanently cement him as one of the greatest villains in cinema.

That's actually something which bothers me because it sort of undermines them as villains. In The Clone Wars there's an interesting moment where Pre Vizsla is about to be struck down by Darth Maul and after a half-dozen episodes of being depicted as a slimy weasal, actually mans up and proclaims the Mandalorians should be ruled by "the strongest." He has the courage of his convictions and it kind of highlights, whatever sort of cowardly bully he was (murdering innocents and calling it victory), he had that. It's why I actually liked him more than Bo Katan who was alright with the Mandalorians right up until the person she liked wasn't in charge anymore.

I felt Darth Krayt's quest for galactic order as an altruistic (but still evil) motive separated him from Palpatine. I also felt that Vader was being sincere in ESB. It was an easy way of separating them from "true Sith" like Darth Bane and Viviate who take sociopathy as a virtue.

Of course, I was hoping for nuance in my Sith and they're at their most evil in Dark Horse comics.

I, too, was really exited about New Jedi and the Gaalctic Alliance "rebellion." Looking forward to your comments on all this.

 

Is there a format for the re-read? One issue per day, etc? I would love to join in.

 

Yeah, I'm going to try to re-read one issue per day. Obviously, that's going to be difficult at times but it's my current plan.

 

I will try to keep up. I lived the series more and more as it came out. I was 50/50 after first few issues but it quickly grew on me. Can't wait to reread to see how I feel this time around.

 

Awesome. Glad to have you aboard. I welcome everyone's comments and thoughts.

 

Hope someone starts a KOTOR or a Republic comic read through. I don't have all of the those comics or I would.

 

I have all of both but I'm immensely lazy!

 

I have the Clone Wars comics. So I can do that but would love to do all of the comics leading up that and the Dark Times ones after that but only have Quinlan Vos Jedi in Darkness and DT: The Path to Nowhere for the rest.

 

Star Wars: Legacy
Issue 2#
Broken



Cover Thoughts: This is the original "rock out" cover a lot of us made fun of way back in the way. It's interesting and, in retrospect, I like everyone's design. Cade Skywalker is a very visually distinctive character while remaining recognizable as Luke's relative. The fact he's stolen his great-great grandfather's pants notwithstanding. Deliah Blue is beautiful and it's a tragedy she doesn't get used more. Jariah Syn is also notable to me simply for being a person of color but also an important and memorable character. Kudos to the art design.

Synopsis: It's been seven years since Darth Krayt took over the galaxy. Wolf and Shado meet with a couple of Jedi on an odd-ball world when the Sith attack. The two Jedi they were with die but the Jedi Knights take out four Sith in the process. They decide to go after Cade since hiding isn't doing any good.

Cade Skywalker visits a criminal safehouse in order to pick up a bounty, only to get more than he bargained for when he discovers there's a Jedi Knight amongst the people hiding out. Cade, very reluctantly, takes said Jedi prisoner in order to preserve his cover. We're introduced to Darth Talon, who murders her mentor for Darth Krayt and proceeds to become his Hand. Darth Talon kills one of the Imperial Knights and seeks out Marasiah Fel in order to find Roan Fel.

Thoughts: This is the first "Cade" appearance despite his presence last issue. Cade Skywalker has abandoned his ancestral profession of Jedi and decided to become a bounty hunter. He is definitely of the "scum" variety but not of the villainy. He's working for pirates and crime-lords but reluctant to take in a Jedi Knight. He commits his 'greatest failure' this book by being unwilling to preserve his cover to protect a fellow Jedi Knight.

I remember being very upset by this action at the time but I am better understanding of what they were going for now. This is the crucible where poor Cade Skywalker is unable to continue his neutrality any further. I liken it to when Han Solo leaves Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia to face the Death Star. That was much more forgivable, of course, because it's not Han and company turning over Leia to Darth Vader.

Now, the funny thing is, I think I would have liked Cade Skywalker more if he DIDN'T go through Han Solo's journey. There's nothing wrong with Cade Skywalker, like Theron Shan, being "his own man." Equally so, there's nothing wrong with Luke Skywalker wanting to learn the ways of the Force and being a Jedi like his father.

You can choose to follow in the footsteps of another or blaze your own trail as long as it's your own choice. The problem is, Cade's entire life is about people trying to deprive him of agency. They want him to be someone he's not because, unfortunately, Luke failed in Crucible. Luke retired so the Jedi Knighthood could stand on its own too feet without him and well, they can't. They need a figurehead to rule over them and Cade is of the chosen bloodline.



Deliah Blue serves as our Fanservice source for the book, doing the old, "I'm a hooker here for your boss routine" which I'm fairly sure wouldn't work in real life. Or, if it did, it really goes to show criminals are morons. Overall, I like Deliah and think she's one of my favorite characters from Legacy. She's certainly a nicer character than 90% of the cast.

Jariah Syn is a character who I would have liked to see more of, entirely separate from Cade. The idea of a bounty hunter who uses Yuuzhan Vong weaponry could have been better developed. That he knows how to use these weapons and Anti-Jedi techniques means he could be an excellent Sith catcher--and I like to think this is what he does after the overthrow of Darth Krayt. Unfortunately, we rarely get to see him outside of his relationship to Cade.

Darth Talon is introduced as the Hand of Krayt and she's certainly an impressive killer. However, she's a bit of a flat-character. Being fanatically loyal to Darth Krayt doesn't really give us much reason to interact with her and about the only thing I was interested in was her brief "relationship" with Cade. Still, it's interesting that for all of Darth Krayt's talk about the "One Sith" being loyal to one another, our second issue with them has him causally murder a loyal follower as a test.

Wolf and Shado make an excellent second appearance this issue, highlighting their badass credentials. Unfortunately, they highlight what a BIG problem of Legacy is. A lot of the secondary characters make a great deal more sense to be the protagonists than Cade. There's nothing keeping Shado, for example, from being the Jedi out to take down Darth Krayt. In fact, I might have preferred it if Cade Skywalker was just continuously bumping into everybody actually trying to save the universe like the commoners in "The Hidden Fortress."

BTW, the Yuuzhan Vong conquered world with the impaled droid heads is really-really creepy.

Marasiah Fel gets introduced this issue and I maintain she is the most criminally underused character in Star Wars: Legacy. I'm a HUGE Leia and Jaina fan, so having her more or less play the Princess role but get even less time to do awesome action than Padme is a SERIOUS problem. I mean, Padme wrecks stuff in TCW. Does anyone else feel this way?

 

I'd say that there's plenty nuance to be found in the right places of Legacy when it comes to Sith. We just also get cookie cutter baddies like Stryfe or Azard. I mean, just look at Maladi or Isen. Look at Wyyrlok. Heck, I'd argue that even Talon and Nihl have some depth, even if they're the most martial and straightforward of our villain ensemble.

As for the notion of order, without a doubt Vader believes it can happen. Palpatine? It's another case of rhetoric. He's enacting cosmic revenge and is so egocentric that even that doesn't really please him; his concerns end up being so far beyond petty politics. Krayt? Well, it's a bit more difficult. I think that as A'sharad, he really looks back at the Clone Wars, the GCW, the Vong and says "If my order was in charge, the galaxy wouldn't have dealt with that crap as poorly".

But it comes at a caveat when we talk about him as Darth Krayt. He needs to be the center of things. It is his will that matters. His will that there be order as he defines it. And this obsession with expressing his dominance is best seen in two things: the punishment of Dac (ie. the extent to which he will punish those who would undermine his rule) and his apparently hypocritical change of beliefs upon his return. If you look at it, the only consistent thing is that he wants is to have loyal followers who do as he commands. So long as people are doing his bidding in his name, he doesn't care about anything else. This is best exemplified with his Sith troopers. His ideal soldier has no will of its own. It only exists as an extension of his. In fact, the Sith troopers are probably the most illuminating example of Krayt's true concerns than anything he says throughout the series.