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

I remember when this issue first appeared I was actually worried Marasiah might be dead and having to wait a month to find out was annoying. I did like the fact that Sia went to rescue Cade however (who was lost in his memories and nightmares). It says something about her that she'd be willing to protect and die for someone who she barely knows and who might even have sold her to the Sith. Which makes her jerk behavior in Vol. 2 a bit annoying.

Antares and Ganner made an awesome entrance and the look on Talon's face was priceless. I admit I always kinda expected Antares to fall to the Dark Side (he just seems to have a lot of anger) but I'm happy that never happened. I still think Ganner is the more awesome of the duo.

The last page with Cade holding his gun and the lightsaber looks great (and the whole battle reads so much better in TPB format). It was another one of those moments where the soundtrack went off in my head - this time Duel of the Fates. And the fury and intensity of that soundtrack actually works with Cade's fighting style which uses anger a lot. Not in a berserker style (like the Bloody Nine from the First Law Trilogy) but he is still powered by anger and he never really let's go of that in combat. It's something I've always found interesting.

 

Star Wars: Legacy
Broken
Issue 7#



Cover Analysis: My hands-down favorite Star Wars: Legacy cover. It's a simple but powerful image. Luke Skywalker has become one with the Force and more powerful than you could possibly imagine. I'm of the school where its not "really" death and treating the Force Ghosts like (small g) ghosts is a mistake.

I think of it more as a form of apotheosis where the figures are now more like the Ones. It's why I never quite liked Obi-Wan Kenobi's leaving because he could no longer do it. He was just doing it, IMHO, because Luke needed to learn to stand on his own two feet. This cover spells out, more than anything, this is a new era.

Synopsis: Fight-fight-fight. Our heroes escape. Cade heals Marasiah. Our heroes visit Bastion. Cade and Deliah Blue have sex. Cade abandons his friends to go deal with his problems on his own. Darth Krayt spares Darth Talon because she's discovered Cade Skywalker is alive and that he possesses the healing power he needs.

Analysis: The first page has a rather darkly humorous moment. Cade shouts, more or less, "YOU KILLED MY FATHER!" Nihl responds a bit like the Dread Pirates. "Could be, I've killed a lot of people." There was a similar line on Batman Beyond. "Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?" Cade, being the reasonable bloke he is, informs Nihl that he's Kol Skywalker's son. Dummy. Nihl is impressed with Cade's anger even as the latter is unconcerned with vengeance not being a Jedi trait.

Darth Talon, by contrast, is horrified at the way this has turned out. She was 100% sure Roan Fel would come, personally, for his daughter and this shows a bit of ignorance on her part. She has been raised by the Sith to believe everyone else is a weak sentimental fool so finding out Roan Fel doesn't care causes her to double down. She thinks, if they kill everyone here, that Roan Fel will STILL COME. It's an interesting character moment because it's obvious she doesn't understand the Fel Emperor.

People mentioned earlier that a major problem they had with the One Sith was that they demeaned the Sith by creating "Red Tatts" (see Redshirts). I have to agree on this as despite the fact that almost 200 Jedi died on Geonosis, we have a pretty good idea who all of those guys were. The idea of the Sith being used as interchangeable mooks is something I'm not too comfortable with. That is my favorite reason for the Rule of Two, ironically enough, because it goes to show that the Sith are always powerful.

I mean, it works in "KOTOR" where you visit Tatooine and there's three guys in black with lightsabers to kill you. Then later, when you have to destroy the Sith Academy and later still when you destroy the Star Forge. There's a sense of power to the fact you're growing in strength to be able to decimate the ranks of Darth Malak's organization single-handedly. However, here, there's nothing the Sith did which couldn't have been done by the Royal Guard or bounty-hunters.

It's part of the reason why I love Darth Kruhl and Darth Maleval. Darth Kruhl and Maleval are one-issue villains as well as one-dimensionally evil but they have style. When Roan Fel kills Darth Kruhl and Anson slays Maleval, there's a sense of accomplishment. There's significantly less so when Wolf, the Imperial Knights, and so on kill the various bad guys assisting Talon as well as Nihl.

Anyway, this episode highlights an interesting character choice for Cade Skywalker. Specifically, that Cade Skywalker is Goku. In D&D terms, Cade Skywalker is 20th level and everyone else is operating around 11th to 15th, even Krayt. He defeats Darth Nihl quite handily, here, which is something that gets repeated later right before Cade owns Darth Krayt. It's also why he's able to throw a starship at Darth Talon. The Skywalker blood isn't something which makes Cade a better Jedi, it makes him more powerful than ANY Jedi.

Or Sith for that matter.

This adds an intentional (?) parallel to Anakin Skywalker's life and makes the Jedi Knighthood repeat their mistake with him. Cade Skywalker has such ridiculous mind-blowing potential they can't let him go. Anakin, once he decides to go all out, is someone Dooku and Ventress can't defeat. Cade even does Anakin one up because he's never given the same sort of put-down that Anakin is on Geonosis. While this highlights why people won't leave Cade alone, it's kind of depressing for those who depend on hard work because it shows genetics has clearly favored the Pirate.

We also get another scene of Nihl being a jealous little shutta.



That last panel really has Darth Nihl looking like an elf.

The cultural posturing I mentioned earlier takes a big role in the back of the Mynock as Antares starts freaking out over Marasiah Fel dying. Cade Skywalker wants to heal her but Draco just socks him in the jaw. Really, I'm glad that Ganner pulled Antares back because after the display back there--it's fairly obvious Cade could splatter Antares across the wall with his mind. We also get a more even fight where Ganner and Antares say they could take Shado. Given Shado was able to hold his own against Darth Talon once he wasn't taken by surprise anymore, I'm not so sure about that. Someone mentioned that Cade being able to defeat Talon on his own was inconsistent, I don't believe that. I think Cade is just THAT good.

We get another example of Cade Skywalker's "Dark Side Healing" power and it's interesting it coincidentally resembles "Force Transfer."

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Transfer_Force

Later, of course, Cade's version is labeled DARK TRANSFER. But yes, in West End Games, we used this ability ALL THE TIME. It was pretty much a "get out of death free" card that allowed us to adventure with the occasional cybernetic replacement.

 

Ooooh, Idea! [I need a pic or animation of North from Rise of the Guardians when he goes "idea"] A fan art contest to design how Krayt elite mooks should have looked like
Something that the jedi can slice and dice without undermining the sith

And yes, I know that that will not happen but I would love to see it

Well in Cade's case he is doing it fully instinctual and are doing it on people that should be dead; by some of the comments Wolf and/or Luke do i got the impression that if Cade trained he would be able to pull it of without using the dark side. It is just that using the dark side is quicker, easier, more seductive.

 

Yeah, I also disliked the devaluing of the Darth title both here in "Legacy" as well as in "The Old Republic." It seems everyone and their brother has the Darth title.

But yeah, some elite mooks like in The Force Unleashed would have been good.

 

I would like to say that I find it interesting that Nihl (and probably Maladi and possibly Talon (she could be a lethan )) are the only sith we see, to my knowledge, that only use black tattoos and let their natural skin colour be seen

 

Krayt didn't dye his face either. Although I suppose he wore his mask all the time so no one realized it.

 

It's one of those things where I regret Star Wars: Legacy didn't have more nerdy supplements for explaining how life went on in the Sith Empire. Were the Sith baby-snatching like the Jedi in the Old Republic were accused of doing (and the Old Sith Empire did)? How were defectors treated? Darth Nihl is (arguably) second-in-command of the Empire and certainly third with Wyyrlok occupying the Sate Pestage role while Nihl was doing the Vader one.

So, in other words, Nihl has every right to wonder what Darth Maladi (Isard) is smoking when she says he's being left out of the Big Kid's Table. I do think Nihl, however, gets a sense he's not QUITE as valued by Krayt as he wants to be and it's weird he considers the Hand position to be the *BIG* job. One enough to leave the position of being Vader's Fist.

I get a general sense that Nihl wants Krayt's approval in an almost fatherly way. Talon is his rival because he's taking Dad's attention.

 

I liked issue #7. Looking back over it, this is the issue where the seeds of Imperial Knight awesomeness were planted. I point you to the infinitely awesome Ganner Kreig, who along with Treis Sinde and Sigel Dare is are my favorite IK's. This quote says it all.

"I am Ganner Kreig, Knight of the Empire! You have betrayed my emperor, sullied the Empire, killed my friends, and stuck down she I have sworn on my life to protect! I will leave your bones for the beasts to crack!"

The arc ended just a first act should. The Princess is safe, the new hero embarking on his journey, and the enemy is preparing it's next step. I love that panel showing the Mynock jetting away from Bastion, with several Star Destroyers in the background. If this was a movie, that would be the final scene prior to the credits. Then, as you sit through the credits, they would cut to the scene in the Sith Temple on Coruscant between Darth Krayt and Darth Talon, as they plot to use Cade's healing power to their advantage.

Having completed this arc, I am still struck by my general apathy towards Blue & Syn. They just never grabbed my attention like other characters did. Cade isn't perfect and sure as hell ain't a saint, but I was always compelled by his story, even when he failed time and again. Even after all these years, I can't say that his fellow crewmates evince much excitement out of me.

Looking forward to the Noob standalone and the upcoming 8-10 arc, which finally introduces us to the Galactic Alliance!

--Adm. Nick

 

One of the few things we were told about Sith recruitment was that Maladi's father was a Jedi, and that Krayt murdered her father before taking her along to join his club.

 

I have to agree with AdmiralNick22 on the Mynock's crew. Blue and Syn never really caught my attention as Blue feels too much like a Khaleen expy and Syn wasn't all that interesting beyond his use of Vong weapons. The One Sith, with the exceptions of Wyyrlokk and Maladi, never struck me as that great villains either, and Krayt getting told off by the Sith holocrons really negatively colored my perception of him, however it wasn't until the reveal that Krayt was A'sharad Hetyt that I really began to loathe Krayt. I don't mind Cade, and rather than be annoyed by a Skywalker being a loser, I actually enjoy that aspect of his character and really wished he wasn't shoehorned into being the galactic savior. I think they should have used Marasiah Fel to fit the more traditional Skywalker hero role, and it bothers me that she is so underused throughout the series. Wolf Sazen and Shado Vao suffer the same problems as Marasiah in that they are both majorly awesome but don't have much time in the spotlight due to Legacy being Cade's story and only having a limited amount of space per issue. The Imperial knights are definitely the Highlight of Legacy and Ganner Krieg, Tries Sinde and Azlyn Rae are my favorite characters of the series. Hopefully Ganner and Azlyn will get together as I was kind of ticked when Azlyn friend zoned Ganner in favor of pursuing Cade. Legacy Vol. 2 is already off to a good start by having Imperial Knights featured prominently.

 

I remembered liking Syn and Blue much more the first time I read this. If I remember correctly, they become much more dynamic as the issues go on, especially the Syn centric arc. Can't remember issue #s at the moment.

 

It used to be that Darth was a powerful title, that say, there might have only been a few thousand Darths in galactic history. In the movies we had Darth Vader, and that was it at firtst, the prequels added Darth Sidious, Maul and Tyrannus and that was it. Having Krayt and elite (Nihl, Maladi, Wyrrlok) as Darths makes sense, but having random Darths everywhere kind of dilutes the title. TOR doesn't help since half the time you could run into Darth Brick or Darth Doorstop as a bonus boss anywhere.

This was a good ending, in that Cade still doesn't want to contribute to the war effort, but he can't hide as a pirate anymore. Never cared about Deliah much, but I liked Jariah, as he's nowhere near as screwed up as Cade and is much more jolly. With Cade, even in his better moments, it always comes off as him trying to cover up old tragedies for almost the entire series. Its nice to see that he left to avoid having to deal with Jariah's anti-Jedi grudge, and aside from pulling that blaster on him last issue, Jariah doesn't make any other move on Cade actually. And then there's that old miscolored page- I sometimes wonder what they were thinking. Doesn't help that it turned out to just be a mistake.

Aside from that improbable relationship, this is also almost the last of Marasiah we see again until... the Hidden Temple arc, 20 issues later? Which is a shame, she was an interesting character. Its mentioned in a later issue that she argued for allowing Cade to leave Bastion in gratitude for saving her, but that's the last of her we hear directly for a while. Too bad we never got to see Cade and Roan Fel meet face to face. I'm not actually sure they ever do meet for the duration of the series as Cade barely bumps head with a few IKs here and there. Might've been interesting to see if there were any hints of just how distantly they were related. Although that situation might come about in volume 2 of Legacy with Marasiah and Ania in another few months.

The good guys escape and Cade uses his healing lightning to save someone else. It was a bit of an issue early on, but apparently Cade also established Force bonds with whoever he heals, too bad its not really brought up again much later on, since Cade just keeps on healing lots of people, and some of them he already had strong bonds with (such as Wolf).

We already see quite a bit of tension on the Mynock between the Jedi, Cade and the IKs, but then Draco is worried over Marasiah. Interestingly, you had two Jedi on Bastion but they both choose to leave rather than stay and ally with Roan Fel. Probably a lingering sign of mistrust between the Fel Empire and former allies (for most of the series almost everyone brings up the Sith mistake, with the Fel Empire pushing for stronger diplomatic ties... or at least be able to use them as cannon fodder, in a less charitable light). At least Wolf's not pushing Cade into the training thing, as Cade's obviously not receptive to that idea, so Wolf's smart enough not to push him too much yet.

Also Krayt now finally finds what the needs to survive, making Cade not just the "last Skywalker" but also Krayt's key to survival. Nice way of ending the arc and showing that Cade's still in big trouble. And that was also quite a good cover too, nice simple image of Luke having ascended to Obi-wan's status as a Force ghost. Too bad his nagging mostly doesn't go anywhere for most of the series (severe scoldings and guilt trips only occasionally convince Cade to do something), but its a worthy way for Luke to end up, as a Force ghost who is still helping the galaxy.

 

Ignoring the somewhat unfair practice of jumping forward ten issues to make a point about Nihl's behavior in #6, I really don't know that I agree that the scene shows some sort of insecurity on Nihl's part.

I guess I see how Nihl insisting to accompany Cade into Krayt's throne room could be viewed as insecurity instead of a potential safety concern, but it seems that is more Maladi's take than Nihl's. Nihl debunks Maladi's claims himself right in the scene as opposed to agreeing with them. That said I do like the nuance of division amongst the One Sith based upon ones place of birth.

I still don't feel that Nihl following Krayt's orders in issue #6 has anything to do with insecurity. I also see no evidence that being a 'Hand' isn't a promotion from being a 'Fist, nor do I see any evidence that Nihl gave up that position on his own.

Regardless if you like or dislike this perceived insecurity( this would be kinda like Jello claiming he liked Pellaeon's cowardice ) Maladi is the one showing insecurity in the scene you mention, Nihl's request to accompany Cade just seems prudent.

 

My apologies for the jump, Robimus.

Won't happen again.

I do think we have different takes on Nihl but that's part of the fun of a well-told story. Characters can come off differently to different people.

It also makes for great discussion.

 

Is it just me that think that Talon has irritating-big/little-brother-don't-know-what-he-is-talking-about look on her face?

 

Star Wars: Legacy
Fall of the Alliance, Rise of the Sith
Issue 8#



Cover Analysis: The first real space battle we've seen in this comic book series. One thing I like about Legacy is it's aware Star Wars is not just about the Jedi vs. Sith. It has space battles, Rebels, Imperials, criminals, and other figures. There was a diversity in the stories which made the work appealing to a wide variety of people. It's why Gar Stazi was so popular and important to the narrative. We really didn't have many important Muggles in the EU by the time of LOTF. Han had become the Token Forceless individual.

Synopsis: Roan Fel calls out Nyna Calixte about her role in arranging the war against the Jedi. He mentions that he had no choice about the conflict and (now) knows that the Sith sabotage the Yuuzhan Vong terraforming process. Later, we discover that Morlish Veed is giddily ecstatic about the prospect of becoming Emperor. Nyna, of course, realizes where this is really going. Nyna warns Roan Fel about Darth Krayt's upcoming betrayal and helps him escape. Roan Fel's doppleganger is murdered by Darth Krayt. Nyna is allowed to continue serving as head of Imperial intelligence but now reports to Darth Maladi.

Issue Thoughts: Nyna Calixte is probably the worst schemer in the galaxy's history. Which is weird since I think we're meant to assume she's actually very talented at it and the "brains behind the throne." Instead, I consider this an Informed Attribute as her schemes backfire worse than Admiral Daala. At least Daala only lost four Star Destroyers, Calixte lost the entire galaxy.

While Morlish Veed is pretty dumb and obviously relies on Nyna to do things, I think this issue actually proves she rivals Cersei Lannister for sheer dumbass decisions. Yes, she manages to outwit everyone around her but if you look at the consequences of her actions, she consistently makes things worse for herself as well as everyone around her. She brings about the Empire's fall by allying with the Sith, screws the Sith, and then screws everyone else in-between.

I'm not even sure what she hopes to accomplish by all these plots. Is she trying to put her husband on the throne? By the intensity of Roan's reaction and his appreciation for ruthless power-mongering, I'm not sure she couldn't have done much better by simply marrying him. Call me crazy but after the death of his wife, I think Roan would have been receptive. That and Nyna seems to have aged remarkably well, aside from the make-up she chooses to wear (and she's actually quite nice in certain lighting).

The depiction of Morlish Veed in this comic also starts the trend of treating him like an imbecile. I'm rather irritated by that because I'm a big fan of Grand Moff Tarkin as a villain. Given the last Grand Moff we saw as a villain was Hissa, I was looking forward to the kind of formidable evil Imperial warlords we saw in the past. The kind of individuals who were capable of holding Vader's leash. Unfortunately, the High Moff is outmaneuvered not only by Nyna Calixte but is seemingly unable to make a single correct decision in the series.

This seems unfair, not the least because Veed was already the Grand Admiral of the Empire by the time Nyna and he got together. He also managed to wage war against Gar Stazi and successfully won the Sith-Imperial War based upon, presumably, his strategies. In short, his backstory speaks of an individual who rose to the top of a meritocracy on his own skills as well as a military genius. Maybe not one on par with Grand Admiral Thrawn but certainly one capable of matching wits with Admiral Piett. The depiction of Morlish Veed as King of Moronville, may all other morons bow before him is disappointing.

Roan Fel doesn't particularly come as too smart this issue either. It doesn't take a political genius to figure out that allying with the Sith is going to bite you in the ass. One only needs the slightest grasp of history to understand they're a bunch who always betray their allies. It's not like the Sith have spent the past century passing out Girl Scout Cookies and Free Healthcare. In fact, I'd actually have enjoyed that as the sheer stunned SHOCK everyone displays at the Sith betrayal would at least make sense then. Roan Fel's lack of a Plan B is kind of disconcerting as you'd think he'd be more on the ball.

So yeah, this isn't my favorite issue as both Roan Fel and Nyna are meant to be politically savvy while Morlish Veed is incompetent. Instead, Roan Fel and Nyna both come off as having a huge blindspot given they know the Sith are untrustworthy yet still find themselves completely at their mercy. Morlish Veed trusts the Sith, which is stupid, but he's also the man who managed to defeat the Galactic Alliance in a war. In short, I think Veed is actually the guy who comes off looking the best.

 

When Krayt takes the throne in Allies is not anywhere as iconic as it was in Broken 1.

 

I also feel bad for the Fel family.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mohrgan_Fel

Who sacrifices a Duke or Prince as a body-double?

Re: Jariah Syn and Deliah Blue

I actually like these characters and would happily read a series about them with Cade. The problem, unfortunately, isn't that they're uninteresting (IMHO). Instead, I'd argue their biggest issue is they're the sanest most well-adjusted people in the setting. They're entirely comfortable with who they are and more or less have no major damage to carry around. Jariah Syn has his anti-Jediism but he's unique in the galaxy that he actually has a REASON versus anti-mutant prejudice.

I would have loved to have explored their relationships with each other, Firefly style. However, the galaxy-spanning quest really undermines the role these two can play. They should be fighting crime-lords and pirates, not facing down Dark Lords of the Sith. It's a bit like taking Mission Vao to fight Darth Malak--it just seems wrong. However, those comics that we see Deliah and Jariah deal with things more their speed--like when they visit Kiffar--are quite enjoyable to me.

 

2 quick comments:

re: #8's cover - awe-some, just really excellent.

Now time for me to dig out the Volume 1 TPB, may try to read that Sunday.

 

Welcome aboard JB!

Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

 

I won't be here Saturday or Sunday, I'm going on a trip, so I'll be posting this early.

Star Wars: Legacy
Noob
Issue 4#



Cover: Darth Maleval and two stormtroopers together. It's not a particularly imaginative cover but I like what it represents. It's an almost Tolkien-esque image of evil, with the power of the the supernatural wielded over the power of raw military force and conformity. It immediately conjures up an old song from the Return of the King cartoon.

"Where there's a whip, there's a way."

Synopsis: A Stormtrooper recruit joins Joker Squadron, a group of Stormtroopers which have been part of the Empire for decades. He is sent to slaughter a bunch of Fel Loyal Stormtroopers in a battle which is overseen by Darth Maleval, a brutal Sith Lord who could give Darth Vader a run for his money. Finally, after one bit of pointless sadism too many, the squadron rebels against Darth Maleval and he's killed at the cost of the majority's lives. Of the two survivors, one decides to reform Joker squadron while the other goes off to join the Rebellion.

Issue Thoughts: I am going to have to divide my review into two parts. The unbiased part of my review which is based on my feelings toward this issue on its own merits as well as the part which is the "The Evil Sith vs. Noble Empire" theme. This latter part is going to be filled with personal opinions which may or may not be shared by the majority of the fans. Indeed, they're slightly unorthodox, which is why is why I'm going to mark it off.

Just a heads up.

The unbiased part of this review is this issue is exceptionally good and actually one of my favorite issues of SW:L. As a stand-alone issue, it manages to tell a complete story that broadens our knowledge of the setting considerably while giving us a host of memorable characters. The fact the majority of these memorable characters are summarily killed off is a credit to the author, as you FEEL it when it happens.

There's a vaguely Warhammer 40K feel to the whole issue as well. While Ciaphas Cain and Commissar Gaunt defy the stereotype, the wargame as well as fluff fiction mention that the Commissar position exists to execute potential traitors. While the RL Soviet political officers were mostly moral officers, this particular myth persists because it makes good fiction. The idea that the government isn't just spying on you but your troops as well.

Here, Darth Maleval makes no pretense of being the soldiers' friend. He brutalizes and terrorizes the squadron like Darth Vader but does so with little to no justification. Vader, at least, made the pretense of failure as a reason for his executions and was notable for rewarding the clever. Darth Maleval wields all stick and no carrot.

"Maleval, I served with Darth Vader. I knew Darth Vader. Darth Vader was a friend of mine. Maleval, you're no Darth Vader."
-Rex, 501st Stormtrooper.

Given Joker squadron is relatively small, you have to wonder if he's supervising more groups or the Sith are so numerous they can afford to put a "Darth" amongst every Special Ops unit. I'd say Darth Maleval might also be a screw up but our later views of the Sith show them to be as equally dumb and brutal as Maleval.

The moment of insurrection where the Noob slays Maleval with a blaster bolt from behind is doubly ironic. Order 66 without the pretense or subterfuge. It's also a powerful moment of Rebellion, symbolizing that the more the Sith tighten their grip, the more star systems will slip through their fingers. The only dissonant element is that Noob would stay with the Sith Empire but given he's willing to murder any Sith commander who gets in his way, perhaps that's not a bad thing.

At heart, though, this issue is all about describing what the Krayt Sith are all about. They're tyrants, bloodthirsty savages, and will ultimately cause their undoing by brutalizing everyone in the galaxy. People often talk about whether or not Darth Krayt's Empire invalidates Palpatine's achievement or lessens it. In a weird way, I think this issue more or less states that Krayt was never going to be able to match Darth Sidious' accomplishments.

His Sith are brutal thugs and spend their good will like candy. As we later see with Dac, the Sith are destroying themselves with their pointless murders as they can't comprehend or appreciate the idea people with nothing to gain by compliance have nothing to lose by defiance. If life is worse than death, people will fight back and the Sith seem genuinely confused by this. As if the concept of courage or self-sacrifice eludes them. In a very real way, this is a GREAT issue for characterizing the Sith. They are pure evil and WEAK because of it.

Now for my biased opinions

Which is stupid.

This is shameless fanboyism on my part but I deeply enjoy the depiction of Kaan's Empire in Darth Bane, the Sith Empire in the Old Republic, and the Sith under the command of Darth Revan/Malak. To go outside of the Expanded Universe, I love the Empire as depicted by the movies themselves. What do all of these depictions have in common? The servants of the Sith are willing participants in their evil.

Grand Moff Tarkin is a character I think gets insufficient love in the Star Wars EU and I'm still hoping for some more powerful GMs in the MMORPG. While it's unlikely to happen, I'd very much like to see Cipher Nine get "brought in from the cold" and given the position. What I like about Tarkin, Isard, and Thrawn is they represent that Muggles can be every bit the terrifying engines of destruction the Sith are.

A attitude I find deeply offensive in the Star Wars EU is attempting to gloss over the idea of the Empire's misdeeds or attribute them to Palpatine as well as Vader alone. The "evil heads of the Empire" and all that. I used to be enamoured of this idea but, as I've matured, I've decided I deeply dislike it.

Timmy Zahn's work will always be beloved by me but it, Death Star, and Legacy (to an extent) tries to white-wash evil. After Alderaan blew up, I pretty much have the view that every Imperial had to face the idea that their job was at the cost of 5 billion pacifists. Whoever stayed is choosing their job OVER those 5 billion pacifists.

Part of what I like about the Old Republic Empire is the Sith are the top dogs and abusive. However, the system remains functional because as much as the upper-echelons of the Empire are abused, they get to abuse the people right beneath them. The Sith Emperor abuses the Sith Council, they abuse the Darths, the Darths abuse the Sith Lords, the Lords abuse their apprentices, who abuse the Officers, who abuse the Slaves. I quote 1984 for an example of how this system would work.

"It is deliberate policy to keep even the favoured groups somewhere near the brink of hardship, because a general state of scarcity increases the importance of small privileges and thus magnifies the distinction between one group and another."

"By the standards of the early twentieth century, even a member of the Inner Party lives an austere, laborious kind of life. Nevertheless, the few luxuries that he does enjoy his large, well-appointed flat, the better texture of his clothes, the better quality of his food and drink and tobacco, his two or three servants, his private motor-car or helicopter--set him in a different world from a member of the Outer Party, and the members of the Outer Party have a similar advantage in comparison with the submerged masses whom we call 'the proles'."

"The social atmosphere is that of a besieged city, where the possession of a lump of horseflesh makes the difference between wealth and poverty. And at the same time the consciousness of being at war, and therefore in danger, makes the handing-over of all power to a small caste seem the natural, unavoidable condition of survival."

Yes, we could say the Sith (Evil Wizards) are MORE EVIL than the Space Nazis but I find that disingenuous and ludicrous. I admit, as the Bright Sith fanboy, I am completely biased. However, part of what I loved is that the Sith in Revan's Academy joined because of entirely human reasons. They weren't supernaturally evil.

They were just evil.

 

Legacy #8 Allies is one of those issues that stands out it my mind, based in large part to the anticipation that had been building in me for the appearance of the Galactic Alliance in Legacy. If you check out this link for the original thread on Legacy #8, the comments of 000 (currently Trip) state very clearly how well it was known that I was eager for this issue. To quote Trip: "Someone needs to stand by with a defibrillator for Admiral Nick."

Randy had hinted prior to this issue that we would be seeing the GA in the coming arc. He had been dropping little hints prior to the issue about the "Galactic Alliance Battle Cruiser" that ultimately became know as the Scythe-class main battle cruiser. It is also worth noting that we got the previews for #8 and #9 at the same time, so before the issue came out we already knew about Admiral Stazi and his role as a GA leader. This whole period is what really locked me into being a total Legacy fanboy. After being told for months by Randy Stradley, John Ostrander, and Jan Duursema to be patient for the arrival of the GA, suddenly they entered the story in a big way.

Anyways, I really liked the touch of having the Battle of Caamas be shown via hologram, all while Roan Fel and Nyna Calixte have a verbal sparring match over the Empire's decision to side with the Sith and who was at fault. The comic does a great job, but I love to image how that scene would play out on film. The hologram would have low audio, with just quiet explosions and occasional comm traffic. As Nyna and Fel face off, above all above and around them holographic representations of the Galactic Alliance and Imperial warships dance about trading fire. As Fel lays out his case for Nyna and Morlish Veed's betrayal, the battle slowly turns into the Empire's favor, as the number of GA ships beings to diminish. It all comes to crescendo as Veed announces the surrender of Admiral Petan and the main GA fleet in the Galactic Core, which leaves Coruscant undefended and vulnerable. Of course, as we learn in the next issue and eventually see in #20-21, the battle at Caamas isn't a total defeat, as a good chunk of the fleet escapes thanks to the quick thinking of Admiral Stazi.

Ah, my friends, these were among the glory days of the Expanded Universe!

--Adm. Nick

 

I always liked that cover, of a Legacy-era Imp and GA ship clashing. The holographic display of the Battle of Caamas was somewhat epic too, with Calixte watching the whole thing. Sadly in terms of plotting, Calixte doesn't look too good. She's smart enough to know the Sith wouldn't help put Veed on the throne, but Veed isn't. At best Veed always seemed like just a brute, a good figurehead for Calixte to control, but still, she did ally with the Sith, so that means a lot of the events of Legacy weigh on her. At least Calixte has enough mental strength to resist mind probes somewhat, and dealing with so many Sith requires some mental strength. Although in Veed's case, he just might not have much of a mind to read.

I like details, and I'm always sad when they introduce a cousin of the Emperor, but don't mention who his father was, or how many other members of the royal family might be left.

For a oneshot that was thrown in there, I think just to fill a gap when there was a delay with the main story if I remember right, Noob was pretty good for a common soldier point of view. There's a lot of talk about chain of command, loyalty, following orders, but still, many of them just come off as brainless when they're following Sith orders. Hondo Karr probably the best one, he actually tries to kill a Sith and then walks off. Nice way of showing why the 908th was delayed when it was mentioned earlier.

Calixte is more sympathetic later on, not just for the obvious reasons, but because by then she knows the Sith are a losing prospect. Even if the Sith win, the Imperials won't, particularly the Moffs. Too bad most of the other Moffs are either too burnt out or too stupid to do anything about it.

And while I'm not that much a fan of CG art (there was several bits of CG art in the original #0, such as the Jedi Temple I think or Ossus), its still a really cool cover showing the GA cruiser approaching the Star Destroyer.

 

Bit delayed but the devaluing of the term sort of is important to the plot in Legacy. Remember that this is before TOR came out and established the Sith Empire. Krayt's Empire was pretty shocking. All those Darths sold home the point, that this was a unified Sith. The One Sith.

 

Charlemagne19 I have to agree with your assessment that many of the average Imperials/non force using baddies can be just as evil as the Sith and should be portrayed as such. As you mentioned in your post, Imperials like Tarkin are great in that they are just as scary and sometimes even more evil than their Sith counterparts despite not being Sith. I think the EU needs more non force users as heroes and villains as it feels like everything has been focused on just Jedi and Sith for the past few years. Star Wars to me was always much larger than just force users, it had soldiers and smugglers, pilots and politicians and a vast range of other characters, yet sadly the current EU hardly seems to reflect this.