Legacy #33: Fight Another Day, part 2 (of 2)

But if Roan says, "Let's be realistic -- we're not going to get them on our side, and you're not going to stop the genocide singlehandedly; get back here where you can do some real good," how is that really different from, say, Ackbar deciding the NR has to give up defending anything other than the most absolutely vital worlds in order to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong? How is it different from Luke in DN saying, "Well, let's let the Chiss and Killiks kill each other some more; it'll teach them a lesson and let us move on to solving the real problem rather than just saving a handful of lives here and there"? How is it different from Luke saying "Screw the war, we're going to let a lot of people die in this battle. We're pulling out from your force, Caedus, to serve a greater good"? "Good guys" have always had to make hardheaded greater good decisions; I don't really see how this is significantly different, other than that we haven't been conditioned to be automatically sympathetic to Roan Fel.

 

I agree that they're distinct from the Post-Ruusan Order - but I'd say the TotJ era Jedi are pretty similar.

 

We really haven't been told Roan is "a great guy". Most everything about the man has been hearsay to me so his little cameos taken out of contest are a little chilly lately. He's been bunkered for an awfully long time.

 

""We're not here to free slaves."



PotJ SB takes the line in TPM a step further and points out that the Jedi condone slavery on worlds outside of the republic, where the local laws allow it. They were very much creatures of the government, and are no different from the IK. Skywalker's species of touchy-feely Jedi are uttery alien and new."

Freeing slaves and saving someone's life are a little different. Qui Gon was trying to save the lives of the Naboo. The slaves on Tatooine weren't necessarily in danger of mass extinction. True, Qui Gon made a comment about not being in the Republic but I don't think he would have thought twice from stopping someone from killing their slave if he witnessed it. And I highly doubt Qui Gon thought slavery was OK if it was permissible on whatever planet. John O. has to give up these subtle differences between the Jedi and IK and the IK and the Sith. Otherwise, besides their fashion sense, what's the diffenence between the Jedi and IK if what you say is true?

 

But aren't the IK "grey?" What sets them apart if it isn't a more militaristic mindset?

 

You mean Jaina Solo who rammed a lightsaber through her (clearly defeated) twin brother's chest in order to fight for and protect who and what she loved? Jaina Solo who joined forces against pilots she had flown with for years that chose to stay with the GA?

Somehow I think Jaina would understand the situation that Roan is in militarily, morally and strategically. Somehow, I doubt she'd be in line to judge Roan for anything we've seen him do so far. Like Jaina his duty has demanded that he make some tough decisions that aren't morally easy... Jaina would understand that.

Jaina would understand that Sith assassins are trying to kill him and his daughter and hounding them to the ends of the galaxy, and that it's time to not play nice. At least he's fighting the Sith unlike the Jedi Order which has gone AWOL. I think Jaina would be very proud of that, being as though the Sith have now destroyed her family three times.

Or perhaps Han and Leia Solo should sit in judgment of Roan? You know Han and Leia who signed off on their own son's death warrant. Hell, not even Vader did that. And Roan certainly hasn't committed atrocities on Vader's level.

Or perhaps Luke should judge Roan. Luke who blew up the death star that undoubtedly had innocents on it. Very similar to what Roan did with the Dauntless crew, actually. Except I would say the loss of innocent life was considerably less in Roan's case.

Or perhaps the rebel Wedge Antilles. How many men has Wedge killed? Men like some on the Dauntless who were just following orders.

Or perhaps Cade Skywalker who you mentioned. Cade Skywalker that has taken it upon himself to decide who lives and dies even if he has to UNQUESTIONABLY touch the dark side to do so. The dark side has such a hold on Skywalker that his eyes even turn, where we have not seen that with Fel.

There is no doubt that Cade dabbles in the dark side - where there still is with Roan, so to say that Roan's 'ethics and budding megalomanio' are equal to Cade's is not accurate based on any canon evidence that I have seen. They are two completely different men in two completely different circumstances.

You're evidence of this is what - may I ask? Being as though you have no idea what kind of ruler Fel I or his son were, because it hasn't been written yet. All we know of the reign of Fel I is that he allowed aliens to serve in the Empire given his upbringing and supported a 'victory without war,' campaign. However, Roan was forced into a war he didn't want to fight, and that comes from Krayt who has no reason to take up for Fel. Roan's reluctance to fight sounds like he was upholding his grandfather's principles.

Once again your evidence is what? You have no idea what his ancestors did once they came to power. Because once again... it. hasn't. been. written. yet.

And Krayt or some other Sith getting their claws on it would have been better? And that was the most likely alternative. Granted it wasn't the one that en

 

Hello!

This is another invitation to my Blog!

You will find more designs and sketches,
as well as 3D renders and Black & White pages,
referred to the "Fight Another Day" Arc!

LINK:

I hope you enjoy it!
Feel free to leave messages, comments, or just say hello!

Thanks for the support!
- Omar.

 

Sweet stuff Omar - keep it up!

 

Excellent issue. It was great to see someone in Legacy acting like a hero for a change. Beautiful art and a gripping story, I look forward to seeing future stories about Sinde and the Mon Cal.

Did that scene where Shonmai destroys the AT-AT swimmer remind anyone else of Independence Day? And I loved the conversations between Isen and Azard. "Are we there yet?" "For the last time -- NO!" I was surprised that Isen actually saved Azard, very nice twist there. I'll look forward to seeing those two in the future as well.

Hm...the Fel revelation certainly seems to have many people talking. I honestly don't see what the big deal is, most of us have been assuming it since Legacy started. It wasn't exactly the most exciting part of the issue...

 

I am wondering whether Sinde's warning about land leviathans is foreshadowing that Bastion may fall prey to a massive attack. Since the very begining of Legacy, Bastion has been described as being a fortress, albeit one under risk. Fel's own forces seem to be heavily concentrated in stormtrooper and army units. Add to that the fact that we have not yet had a massive ground battle, and things start getting very interesting...

--Adm. Nick

 

Now this one I can answer. It is the power of Sith will imposed upon the Force. It makes demonsquid superior to any possible technical device not Sithlord-operated. My source is Ostrander himself in the badinage between Wyrlokk and Andeddu. Legacy 27.
NO Loose ends in my Star Wars!

 

Just finished reading it.

oh my. what a BUZZKILL.

can the Sith go purge the Imperial Knights please?

coz I really cant stand these Imps & their unbound loyalty to that Emperor of theirs. I really hope by the end of this Legacy storyline Fel dies along with his band of brothers.

Not a fan & never will like these fellas. They make the Gungans & Jar Jar Binks more tolerable to read on...

 

That would be unfortuante

I hope someone will kill her. Woman Emperor!? Never, as long as any imperial traditionalist live.

 

The most exciting stuff for me in this issue was the Sith interaction. Great stuff that raised some interesting questions.

I was intrigued by Azard's surprise that he was helped by the Sith scientist (whose name I forget), rather than slain or left to die. Seems to me that, whilst the Darths may all be unswervingly loyal to Krayt, betrayal is still commonplace amongst the lesser Darths themselves.

Sinde's ability to mind whammy so many of those deathsquid things stretched my disbelief somewhat, though. Struck me as rather overpowered. Though, hey, in this era the Force is (one would assume) still more or less "in balance", and I guess the Jedi/Imperial Knight's ability to use the Force is not so "diminished".

That's what I'm going with, anyway.

 

Omar- the art you've put up on your blog is great. Between your blog and Sean Cooke's concept gallery, I'm loving how much of the design process we're getting to see.

---

So: read the issue.

I thought the Leviathan was dealt with a bit too easily, and, like Uli, I thought Sinde's devilsquid trick was a bit much.

Speaking of which, not sure if I liked the devil/demonsquid showing up randomly on Dac, although I suppose on the whole critters tend to be kinda widespread over in that galaxy far, far away.

I thought it was odd that Sinde happened to have his official Imperial Knight Aqua-Armor with him, when he was only on Dac in the first place undercover... and in the orbital yards, at that. But eh; maybe he stashed a set on the surface just in case, or something.

I'm also wondering what the Rangers are; for a band of apparent insurgents they've got some awfully nice equipment. Or are they what's left of the planetary defense force?

The next-gen AT-AT Swimmer was a nice addition, if a bit hard to visualize in terms of scale. Wish it had a new name, though; "Ayetee-ayetee Swimmer" is just clumsy. :p

Omar's art was superb overall, as usual, though I had some difficulty visualizing the scale of everything. I love his expressive Mon Cals, especially, and all the new Imperial tech was nice.

(Though, I couldn't help but be mildly nonplussed at what the female Mon Cal clutching the infant implied. Mon Cal spawn like fish and raise their children communally, dammit! :p)

I'll be honest; on the whole, this arc didn't do a whole lot for me. I can't quite decide why; aside from the ease of the Leviathan's elimination, the nitpicks I highlighted above are fairly minor. Maybe my distaste for the rest of the franchise of late is unfairly coloring my appreciation for the stuff I do like, or something.

That said, Vul Isen was an enjoyable enough addition, and I did enjoy getting a bit more insight into One Sith society. I liked Roan's cameo, too-- it was a bit reassuring to see him acting a bit more cheerful than usual. His relationship with Sinde seems amusing.

Finally getting confirmation that Jag was the first Fel Emperor, of course, was much appreciated.

 

I saw it as possibly more an insight into the way One Sith operate. I found the following exchange intriguing:

"So long as I obey, neither you nor Lord Krayt has any reason to doubt me!"
"So long as you obey and succeed, I will not."

Basically: screw up and you're dead. Azard was probably more surprised that he'd been spared after his failure. This echoes back to Krayt's treatment of Nihl after he lost the duel with Cade: he was going to kill him. Even Talon's elevation, it was basically "Ruyn, if you don't win you don't deserve to serve me anymore."

The only person we have really seen any leniency given was Talon--Nihl was only saved by Wyyrlok's intervention. Krayt got pretty angry at Maladi after she screwed up once too, and if I recall I think he more or less threatened her that she better not screw up twice.

 

Ah! Good observation. Hadn't really thought about it that way.

I think you're right.

 

Trip, I actually had somewhat the same feeling. I think it might just be a matter of style and timing here. Letdown, so to speak, after the immensity that was Vector and even the last overarching arc in Legacy (9 issues or so, I think?). (A welcome letdown, IMO, but a letdown nonetheless.) That's about all I can come up with, because Sinde remains one of my favorite characters in the Legacy era. I do think that making the fight with the Leviathan a bit longer and harder might have helped give the issue some punch.

Actually, the more I think about it, that's probably what it is. The first issue was essentially a huge build-up to the unleashing of the Leviathan, and then we got about three pages of Sinde's actual fight with it, which especially in the context of the whole issue, isn't a lot. And there are only 7 pages of Leviathan in the whole issue; in fact, there's a lot of talking. So while it was a good issue, I think it may have felt a little light on action, given how big of a threat a Leviathan should be.

 

I beg to differ on 2 grounds...

1) its a modified leviathan... sea based so may not be as potent as the Korriban type.

2) That Sinde aint no Jedi. So kinda neutral to what the leviathan can do to Jedi!

 

You act so surprised of a woman emperor? Sure it wasnt the imperial army, but there was Empress Teta from millenia in the past who ruled her system and had alot of respect from her people and enemies. And as you've probably already noticed with the legacy comics, the imperial military is no where near as prejudice to aliens or sexist to women as it was in the past. Even a few issues back that racist human commander who didnt want any "alien" personel in his fleet, he still accepted women as long as they were humans. I think imperial traditionalists are all about humans being the top guns, nothing to do with gender. Even in Sidious/vader time period there are female imps, which is before the movies. God, Juno was hand picked by Vader to lead his apprentice, what does that say? Mara worked for the emperor and Daala was eventually an admiral. it did say in legacy # 0 though that some imps have a hard time putting a woman as emperor, but I'm sure there are some who dont care. They serve the throne remmeber? there are female moffs and IK's in this time period, i dont see the big deal.

 

I just got the chance to read this issue now. Truly great stuff.

I guess it's kind of a shame that I want to talk so much about the reveal before I talk about the actual plot of the issue and stuff... but as I read it, I did one of those throw-my-hands-down-on-the-table in shock things while my housemate looked up at me confusedly. This is... this is perfect. It's amazing to see it it print, and I think it's really cool that it was done so casually. "Yeah, he was our first Emperor. Now let's go fight a Leviathan."

I don't know, it just... seems to make everything so official. The complex character development of the Imperial Remnant from evil Empire-wannabes to a benevolent government fighting for the greater good. And Jagged Fel, who has himself gotten fantastic character development from Ruin to Invincible, played such a huge part in that development. I'm a very happy fanboy right now.

We also got some really cool stuff on the Imperial Knights this issue. Treis Sinde seemed to reveal that the doctrine of the Empire is a very large influence on the doctrine of the Imperial Knights, if not an identical doctrine. Sacrifices made for the greater good --- Sinde was perfectly willing to sacrifice both himself and the lives of Mon Cal refugees for the survival of the Mon Cal resistance. And this is wonderfully consistent with what we've seen of the Imperial Knights so far in Legacy, who have never had any qualms with killing. In Trust Issues, we saw Ganner & Antares attack the Galactic Alliance toughs, and Sinde and Dare cut through stormtroopers like it was nobody's business in The Wrath of the Dragon. Ganner Krieg had reservations about killing in Vector, but that was seemingly only because it was fellow Imperials. Despite their service to the light side, the Imperial Knights continue to distinguish themselves from the Jedi Order in ways that do wonders to reinforce my love for them.

Roan Fel was pretty cool in what we saw of him, too --- I really feel like he and Sinde could go to a bar together. He doesn't seem like the power-crazed lunatic he came across as in Vector, else he likely wouldn't have acquiesced to Sinde in the end. I would really, really love to see a Fel-centric arc in the near future.

The interactions between Darth Azard and Vul Isen were a treat. I liked how we didn't get a Sinde-Azard rematch, but rather, subtle development of Azard and the One Sith that leave us wanting more of them. Darth Azard is a really cool character, and came across as more complex than the random angry Sith he seemed like in The Wrath of the Dragon. I hope to see more of him soon.

Can't wait for Storms, can't wait for more Treis Sinde and Darth Azard... seriously, every month, Legacy cements itself as the flagship of Star Wars.