Lit Clone Wars Multimedia Project vs. The Clone Wars

The way I see it, there are two "interpretations" of the events of the Clone Wars. I know that technically both are canon, but TCW largely ignored the events of the multimedia project (henceforth to be known as CWMP - Clone Wars Multimedia Project - for this thread) even before the latter was rendered Legends. For example, in the ROTS novelization (which I would call the climax of the CWMP) Kenobi refers to Darth Maul as "the zabrak he fought on Naboo" (paraphrased). Of course, in TCW its shown that they have a rich, wonderful history together in the events after the TPM.

So which interpretation do you prefer?

CWMP, which includes:
-The micro-series Clone Wars
-The following novels: The Cestus Deception, Shatterpoint, Legacy of the Jedi, Medstar 1 & 2, Jedi Trial, and Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (really, I think Labyrinth of Evil and the ROTS novelization both reference these novels so heavily, and were published at the same time, so they could be considered a part of the CWMP). It also technically includes Hard Contact, but not subsequent Republic Commando novels and the Boba Fett young adult books.
-The issues of "Republic" collected in the Clone Wars TPB.
-The Clone Wars Adventures comics.

Or TCW, which includes:
-The Clone Wars film.
-The Clone Wars TV show.
-Tie-in webcomics.
-The following novels: The Clone Wars (by Traviss), Wild Space, No Prisoners, Stealth, and Siege.
-A bunch of YA books.
-Star Wars: The Clone Wars comics by Dark Horse, as well as the Darth Maul: Death Sentence comic mini-series.
-The Clone Wars graphic novellas.
-Perhaps could be said to include Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir, although that's really up to you.

Also, I figured Lit was the best place for this since there are so many comics and novels involved, but since it does tie into other media, mods please feel free to move this to EU community.

 

Well, it's complicated by the fact that - with the exception of the recent Darth Maul comic, which was based on scripts for the unfinished episodes and apparently have been 'canonized' by StoryGroup - the CWAS tie-in material was completely ignored by the show - that is, when it wasn't overrunning it like the old Clone Wars material. It's also all LEU material, much like the older CW stuff.

 

gee I wonder how this poll will go

 

Hey, I've seen what I found to be a surprising number of strong TCW fans. In the old Clone Wars micro series vs. TCW thread in Television, TCW was well ahead if I remember correctly. Of course, those fans might not be in the Literature forums

blackmyron that's true to a large extent, but I'd say the webcomics were actually integrated, so to speak, with the TV show. Anyways, it's mostly just there for completions sake.

Edit: also blackmyron, in terms of Legends vs. Canon, think of this thread as having been made pre-Legends, with the caveat of Son of Dathomir being there.

 

They're both a mixture of good and bad stories. It's hard to judge them overall.

 

Original Clone Wars stuff easily.

 

Going by the lack of any coordination between the CWAS and any of its supposed "supporting" material, I would go with the original series (aka the "micro-series") by default.

 

The CWMP does have the beginning of the Battle of Coruscant unlike TCW.

 

Tartakovsky Clone Wars is overrated as hell.

There. I said it.

 

I think it's great for what it is, and I love the second half, especially the ending. That being said, I think it is inferior to a lot of contemporary works, and even some (though I am a fan) TCW stuff.

 

This thread isn't referring to the microseries exclusively -- it makes up a very small portion of the multimedia project. If that was the primary part then TCW would easily win; there was hardly any substance to the micro series.

Now to which one is bettet: I don't think there's a clear answer to that. I like them the same for different reasons. The multimedia project had great story arcs, some of which were longer than any in TCW (Quinlan Vos and Jabiim through Obi-Wan's rescue); more stories that focused on the darker aspects of war; had deeper characterization of secondary characters; the antagonists felt like credible threats; and it covered the entire war.

On the other hand, TCW made Anakin and Obi-Wan more likeable and added the most to their friendship (I do feel like their characterization matches up in both series); it added a larger number of interesting non movie characters, that didn't exist in previous EU sources, which add significantly to the feel of the era (Ahsoka, Hondo, Talzin, Rex, Satine, and Vizla); it also had some good story arcs, but non were as extensive as the two mentioned in the previous paragraph); and it has the benefit of knowing what the armies looked like in ROTS, which creates more continuity between that and AOTC.

Also, you can't look at TCW without recognizing how it was impacted by what came before. Anakin and Obi-Wan's characterization is very much in line with what's in the previous media, specifically LOE; Assajj starts out the same and maintains a similar backstory; and the idea of the Clones being trained by mercenaries and having names still exists.

 

The part that acted as a prologue to ep III was quite good, but the microseries itself felt to me like videogame stages in 2D animation.

 

I read/watched the multimedia project as it came out between 2002 and 2005, when ROTS was mostly an unknown factor. And my interest in Star Wars was greater back then. TCW simply can't compare to that experience.

 

This! TCW should have a Dark Times series!

 

TCW is Denning-like in its destruction, simplistic/idiotic/boring ideas, discontinuity and poor characterization. It's a total abortion of storytelling and I'm glad it died before its time.

 

I'm probably still alone to this, but to me they're still both part of one grand story, even if Disney wishes otherwise.

 

Technically they are still part of the same saga. CWAS was all before the "New Universe" announcement, and much like the OT and PT are part of the "overlap".

 

You're not completely alone. I like to view them as one story, in some respects. I feel like the Republic comics featuring Anakin and Obi-Wan provide a perfect intro to TCW and actually do a good job bridging the gap between that and AOTC. The other comics and novels can exist pretty much as is. The one exception being the Republic arc that ends with showing Depa being moved closer to Shatterpoint, in order to accommodate the retconning in AND -- granted it can still work with the comic remaining at 17 months. The only real problem is the LOE is very much entrenched in the old timeline, so it was hard for me to veiw them as the sane series. For that reason I prefer to evaluate them as separate entities, but I have a headcanon where parts of both series exist.

 

I feel the same way about the term "micro-series". Everybody wins!

 

The original Clone Wars.