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The BROKEN bubble of Security : Real or Hoax! a.k.a Could Mara die? (NJO Spoilers)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by BEEF, Jan 12, 2002.

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  1. BEEF

    BEEF Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2001
    They had been living on the very edge of disaster for so long, fighting battles, literally for decades, running from bounty hunters and assasins. Even the first place Han and Leia had met,on the Death Star, of all places, and in the gallows of the place, to boot! So many times it seemed, one or more of them shoukd have died.
    And yet, in a strange way, that close flirting with death had only made Han think them all the more invulnerable. They could dodge any blaster, or piggy-back on the side of an asteroid, or climb out og a garbage chute, or...
    But not anymore. Not now. The bubble of security was gone.
    To Han Solo, the galaxy suddenly seemed a more dangerous place by far...

    Star Wars-The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime
    R.A. Salvatore


    Ah was recently rereadin' Star by Star and it started to get the ol hamster in muh head runnin' on his treadmill.

    The death of Anakin Solo was a controversial stunt that had the fans divided just as Chewies death had em divided 2 years agone. Some people loved his death and were salivating for more deaths and the others were crying out against the death crying foul because it was the waste of a good character.

    Me, it just had me thinkin' back to Vector Prime. Chewies death... It served many purposes. One purpose was that it was a publicity stunt that was created to garner interest from readers. To another degree Chewies death also served a dramatic purpose, to show the readers that NJO was willing to take chances, kill off characters if necessary to show that these warent no Bantam books, no character was safe so dont be suprised if we kill em!

    So I got me a lil perspective on the thang. Chewies death was a stunt, it served a purpose but at heart it was a stunt. It was a fine scene in and of itself but it felt tacked on rather than a fully integrated part of the novel. Now Anakins death was different, it felt a bit more... natural in terms of the storyline, maybe its just because Anakin had his origin in the books that it felt natural. Chewie was a real gosh darn 100% George Lucas Star Wars character whereas Anakin was just a character from the books so in many ways it felt kinda fittin' that he die there. I dunno. Anyway Anakins death fit the theme of NJO: Death, Death, Death. :)

    Anyway Anakins death served a purpose. I'm not talking in terms of story but in terms of the readers. Much like the OT characters we had started developing a bubble of security around Anakin. He was the suprise breakout favorite character of NJO, he was the hero and he had become beloved among fans. We didnt think they'd dare kill him off. We felt safe in his longevity. So they killed 'im just to remind us that everyone is safe.

    But my thinkin' is that this is a bit of a hoax. The bubble still exists it's just placed around select characters. Luke, Leia and Han. Del Rey aint gonna touch them. LFL aint gonna let em. Luke is GL's Larry Stue, no way he bites it, Shelly Shapiro has said she aint gonna let Han Solo get killed off so he's safe, then theres Leia but I dont see it happenin' to her either.

    The big three are invulnerable.

    There is Wedge and Lando. The two remaining movie characters that are most vulnerable. Wedges popularity comes more from Stackpoles books than his role in the movies where he's just a glorified extra so he can still bite it. Then theres Lando who in SbS started to get a meatier role. Real good chance they're building him up to kill him off.

    And I know you guys are thinking 'Kill someone off? Dont you know that the next year of NJO will be the turning point in the series! The heroes will be victorious! Stop with your talk of death!' Well I aint gonna stop because we all know that they're gonna take at least one last character down in HC 5. No it aint been announced or confirmed but I see it happenin'. Somone makes a heroic sacrifice for the victory over the Vong. Mark mah words that day is a comin'!

    But it aint gonna come for Luke, Leia or Han thats fer sher. It could come for Wedge or Lando. Heck it could come for Jacen, Jaina,
     
  2. IAmTheDarkSide

    IAmTheDarkSide Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 9, 2002
    Wedges popularity comes more from Stackpoles books than his role in the movies where he's just a glorified extra so he can still bite it.

    Eh. Wrong. His popularity comes from the fact that he's the little guy, kind of the everyman, who survived all the aerospace battles WITHOUT the Force and without the invulnerable Falcon. Before the X-wing books, he was also more than a cameo in Thrawn Trilogy and had a decent-sized role in JAT and Darksaber, as well as a stint in the Dark Empire books. He's always been a popular character among the fanboys; Stackpole's books just gave his ultra-coolness slightly more recognition. :mad:
     
  3. Jedi Ben

    Jedi Ben Chosen One star 9

    Registered:
    Jul 19, 1999
    Uh oh BEEF, prepare to get deluged by the 'Anakin ain't dead' club! :)

    Jedi Ben
     
  4. virtualoctopus

    virtualoctopus Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2001
    We'll I don't think that Mara will be dead yet. It remains to be seen how we see the characters develop in the next year.
     
  5. Anakin SkySolo

    Anakin SkySolo Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 20, 1999
    I don't care what anyone else says!

    Mara isn't dead! She will come back!

    In fact, I say we start a "Mara Is NOT Dead!" club!

    Anyone else want to join?
     
  6. virtualoctopus

    virtualoctopus Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2001
    Me me me!!! I wanna join!
     
  7. Mastadge

    Mastadge Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 1999
    I've said it before and I'll say it again -- don't kill Mara, if only for Luke's sake. What I'd love to see, though, is Callista dying -- to save Ben's life. Bring her back, she'll still love Luke, but realize she can never have him. There'll be a situation where Mara and Luke need to do something for the galaxy's sake, but then Ben's life is endangered, and Callista dies saving him so that Luke and Mara can complete their mission. It offers her some degree of redemption, and it would also get rid of one of those annoying threads that's just been floating in EU limbo forever.
     
  8. PrinceXizor

    PrinceXizor Former TF.N Foreign Book Cover Staff star 5 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 2001
    "I say we start a "Mara Is NOT Dead!" club!"

    That's a good idea ! Some anticipation, here... :D

    But after all, I'm quite sure she died a long time ago...
     
  9. virtualoctopus

    virtualoctopus Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 2, 2001
    "But after all, I'm quite sure she died a long time ago..."

    ... in a galaxy far, far away......
     
  10. IAmTheDarkSide

    IAmTheDarkSide Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 9, 2002
    This reminds me of a good one:

    So, uh, what do Mara and Elvis have in common? :mad:

    EDIT: Yes, virtualoctopus, we all understood what PX was getting at, there... :mad:
     
  11. sith1137

    sith1137 Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 13, 2001
    to what mastadge said, that would be cool. it would make things very dramatic.

    to iamthedarkside-what do they have in common
     
  12. BEEF

    BEEF Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2001
    Iamdarkside, mah bad bout Wedge. Ah fergot the lil cult thang Wedge had. An me a SW fan fer 25 yars.

    An yeah ah know of the Anakin aint dead faction and to a degray ah am one. Ahm in denall, but ah was sayn fer the sake of arguement that at this point he'sa considered effectively dead and gone.

    KILL MARA! Just do it Del Rey and show some guts! Dont just suck up to the Zahnits! KNEEL BEFORE ME SON OF JOR-EL KNEEL BEFORE.... er... Never mahnd. :)
     
  13. NaboosPrincess

    NaboosPrincess Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 14, 2001
    Ok, here's my two cents:
    I could deal with Chewie's death. It was bit more difficult to get over Anakin's death (and yes, he IS dead. Even if he "comes back" as some people believe, he is STILL DEAD in my mind). But Mara's death? :_| As Luke (or Frodo) ;) would say, "NOOOOOOOOO......" How can they kill off Mara??? She is my absolute favorite book character. I will go into severe depression if they kill Mara, I'm serious. She is a lot of other people's absolute favorite book character as well. Of course I'm sure there would be a point to killing her off (at least, someone would make one up), but the fact of the matter is, it's not necessary. It will NEVER be necessary to kill Mara. The only possible reason it may happen is to get a reaction from the fans (which, if I may say it, is a VERY STUPID reason to kill somebody) :mad:.
    I say, leave the poor girl alone. She lived through service to the Emperor and a bunch of other stuff that no one should have to face. It would be cruel to kill her just as she has attained her dream of a husband & child. I won't stop reading the books if Mara dies, but I don't think I'd ever get over it, either.
     
  14. PrinceXizor

    PrinceXizor Former TF.N Foreign Book Cover Staff star 5 VIP

    Registered:
    Jul 4, 2001
    'As Luke (or Frodo) would say, "NOOOOOOOOO......"'

    As Palpatine (or Gandalf) would say, "So be it..." ;)
     
  15. Bria

    Bria Manager Emeritus, -MNFF Council star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 15, 1999
    By the end, I think one of the big three will be dead. :(

    But never Mara. There is no way her fans would stand for it (me, I'm a Zahn's Mara fan, not this NJO Mara :mad:) [face_plain]

    Anyway, as this all happened "a long time ago," all the SW characers are most likely dead. ;)

    ~*~Bria
     
  16. Genghis12

    Genghis12 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 1999
    While Mike Stackpole offered some good words of NJO wisdom...
      "M.A.S.: Well, first, Star Wars belongs to Lucasfilm. They're hosting the party, if you will, they pay the band, so we dance to the music they choose. Second, if you want safe stories, pablum puked out that doesn't make you think, go read Star Trek or some other series. Star Wars has the depth and strength to allow for really dynamic stories. If those are not to your taste, stop reading those stories. All the writers are doing their best to turn out great stories, and I think this series will be full of them. It's funny, on one hand writers will be criticized for having a cadre of "safe" characters who can't die. Readers say that makes the stories boring. Then we turn around and make everyone fair game, and they don't like that. The key is writing the best story we can, and doing what we have to do to make it the best. I'm not going to compromise my standards of storytelling because I'll make someone nervous. If I'm NOT making them nervous, I'm not doing my job."
    He also unfortunately then rather hypocritically (joking actually) answered your whole point about Mara Jade and why she won't ever "die". He's commented in the past about Mara's fans and how they'd hurt any author that messes with her. [face_plain]

    As for Wedge's popularity, Stackpole also addressed that:
      "From the first, Sue Rostoni [of Lucasfilm] told me I should seriously consider using Wedge because he had a following, but I don't think any of us truly realized how loyal it was... His popularity really did surprise me. Kevin Anderson estimated early on that if I didn't use Wedge, the X-wing books would sell 250,000 units. If I did, it would go up to 350,000 units. No one at Bantam expected the first novel to hit the NYTimes list, but it did. Last report I had put Rogue Squadron over 3/4 million copies in the US alone, so I guess we could say Wedge's following is big and very loyal."
    Therefore, Wedge was recognized to already have a huge, existing die-hard cult following (as anyone who's been a fan the last 24 years or so would also know). But, the fact is, LFL (Rostoni & KJA at least) knew it, and advised Stackpole about it. So, Stackpole used Wedge for the X-Wing series and the rest is history. Wedge's following has most likely grown even more over what it was, but it's always been there.

     
  17. BEEF

    BEEF Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2001
    Yeah, ah dont know why I said that bout Wedge, I always liked him muhself before the X-Wing stuff came out.

    As for the Mara thing, as many fans as she has they're just a drop in the bucket next to the Luke, Han and Leia fans out there. Heck even the droids, Hell Jabba have bigger followings to the public at large than Mara does. Maras just a cult figure, a creation of the EU but your average joe on the street wouldnt know who she is but he shore as shootin' would know who Luke Skywalker was. Thats why Mara should be expendable but due to that lil cult she aint. Thats why this whole pierce bubble thing is just bulldookey.
     
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