Discussions Your Personal Canon

Now that Disney is making the EU into (basically) the AU, many fans are constructing what they see as "their canon." I too have found myself doing this. I think of all the things that I will continue to acknowledge as canon, regardless of what the powers that be say. Here's my list: (in somewhat chronological order)

Knights of the Old Republic
Knights of the Old Republic II
Star Wars: Obi-Wan
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
The Clone Wars (TV series)
Clone Wars (TV series)
The Clone Wars (Video game)
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Revenge of the Sith novelization
Battlefront II
The Lando Calrissian Adventures
Han Solo Trilogy
Han Solo Adventures
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Shadows of the Empire
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
The Thrawn Trilogy
The Courtship of Princess Leia
Jedi Outcast
Jedi Academy Trilogy


This is most of it. What does your canon look like?

(BTW, I'm so excited about the Tarkin novel!)

 

I keep everything up and to the NJO. Once they killed Chewbacca They were dead to me. I have not truly enjoyed Star Wars since. The deaths of Mara and Jacen's fall to the Darkside solidified it for me.



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My personal canon exists of everything but:
-) The Clone Wars TV series + everything related to it => Maul's return never happened to me
-) Clone Wars TV series => I still stick to Luceno's portrayal of the Battle of Coruscant
-) Jedi Prince series
-) Some issues of the original SW Marvel series => Boba Fett never got out of the Sarlacc only to forgot who he was

 

My canon exists of everything except:
1. Both Clone Wars Cartoons: The Clone Wars because I preferred Dark Horse Comics and the Multimedia project. I also disliked the original cartoon because of some of the ridiculous episodes like that Battle of Dantooine. Mace taking down a whole army was ridiculous.
2. The Old Republic MMO and Revan novels: I really disliked Revan's and the Exile's fates in the game and I thought the Sith Emperor was silly.
3. Force Unleashed 2: The first game was tolerable but the second was rushed and silly. Also since this game ends on a cliffhanger that is likly never to be resolved, it is better to pretend it never happened.
4. Post NJO novels: If there is one thing that made me welcome the deletion of the current canon it was the destruction of the Denning verse.

 

I guess my main canon, my own personal "G" Canon, if you will, consists of the following:

-Tales of the Jedi
-KOTOR comics
-KOTOR 1, and although I haven't played the sequel, the general sequence of events there seem fine. No clue about specifics though.
-The Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones
-Pretty much all of Star Wars: Republic, by Dark Horse, and related works (Omnibuses Rise of the Sith through Clone Wars Vol. 3 basically).
-All of Clone Wars (2003) and some of TCW - I actually like Maul and Opress...
-Revenge of the Sith
-Dark Times and Purge by Dark Horse
-A New Hope
-Some of the Classic Star Wars stuff, and some of the Marvel stuff, but a lot is too silly to really be a part of Star Wars honestly. I haven't read Empire or Rebellion, but I will soon and I anticipate enjoying it...
-Empire Strikes Back
-Shadows of the Empire, Shadows of the Empire: Evolution, and Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand.
-Return of the Jedi
-Thrawn Trilogy
-Dark Empire

Whenever I get ahold of Union, I anticipate that being the end of my own canon. Everything post CE gets a little too silly for me.

Now, although the above comprises my "main" canon, I do recognize most stories. I have to really dislike something to exclude it. And as a sidenote, I actually do enjoy SWTOR, but I think it convolutes KOTOR too much. Great idea for a game, but it could've just been set during the "dark wars" that preceded the Battle of Ruusan: Knight Errant-era stuff.

 

I have a problem with SWTOR...it is great on its own, but I just don't feel like it really embodies Star Wars. It has the icons, it has the blasters, lightsabers...but I just don't feel it.

 

Pretty much everything is part of my canon except TCW, TFU 1 and 2, and Post NJO books.
NJO is my ST equivalent.
Legacy Comics Volumes 1 and 2 are my FT (Final trilogy 10-12).
The 2002-2005 Clone Wars run plus KT's books are my Clone Wars.

 

Yeah, I agree. SWTOR should really be enjoyed on its own.

 

I keep pretty much everything up through NJO except Dark Empire because that felt like it didn't really fit and the ramifications aren't really felt in other stuff. I also decided to throw out everything in the Republic Commando series after 4/6 of the way through Order 66 so that there's a happy ending for Kal'buir and clan Skirata

 

Tales of the Jedi
KOTOR comics (with the Vector issues included)
KOTOR I
The Visas Maar short comic story in SW Tales
KOTOR II
Knight Errant
Cloak of Deception
Episode I
Episode II
Republic comics (all of them, including all tie-ins like General Grievous, Jedi, Obsession...)
Clone Wars books that were released from 2002-2005 (all of them)
Clone Wars micro-series
Republic Commando video game
Episode III
Dark Times (with the Vector issues included)
Purge comics
Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison
Dark Lord:The Rise of Darth Vader
Empire comics
Rebellion comics (without the Vector issues included)
Episode IV
Episode V
Shadows of the Empire
Episode VI

So far this is what I like the most from Star Wars that I include in my personal canon. As for post ROTJ stuff, there are things that I like a lot also (especially the Legacy comics), but they aren't canon anymore, and I will almost certainly include all of the upcoming movies in my canon over the Legacy comics.

 

- Knights of the Old Republic (including prequel comics)
- Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
- The Old Republic: Revan
- The Old Republic: Deceived
- The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
- The Old Republic
- The Old Republic: Annihilation
- The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel
- Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
- Darth Bane: Rule of Two
- Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
- Maul: Lockdown
- Cloak of Deception
- Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
- Darth Plagueis
- The Phantom Menace
- Rogue Planet
- The Approaching Storm
- Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars: Clone Wars (Up to the montage following Anakin's Knighting)
- The Cestus Deception
- Shatterpoint
- Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
- The Clone Wars (film and all 6 seasons)
- Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir
- Labyrinth of Evil
- Revenge of the Sith
- Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader
- Kenobi
- Rebels
- The Force Unleashed
- A New Hope
- Scoundrels
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Shadows of the Empire
- Return of the Jedi



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Pretty much any of the novels, except those that have some issues - like Splinter of the Mind's Eye (the majority of which I do consider canon).

I exclude:
-"The Clone Wars" series or any of the comic/novel offsets.
-The Force Unleashed series (which I enjoy, but don't consider canon).

Some comics I think of as canon, but the majority of them are fun offshoots of the novels. Things like the Classic Star Wars from Marvel in the 1970s are complete no-nos for canon (but again, are fun to read).

I will probably not consider the "new canon" to be legit canon.

 

Pretty much everything except for post-NJO. Also I'd heavily rewrite the PT more to my liking, though I haven't really bothered to take the time or effort to think about exactly how I would do that. I've read a bunch of James Luceno's novels set in the PT era, and I think he would've written a better PT than George Lucas.

 

My personal canon is the six movies plus the EU except:

-The Clone Wars movie, TV series, and content related to this series

-The Force Unleashed

-Anything post ROTJ

-The Old Republic

- The revised origin of Darth Maul in the Darth Plagueis novel

 

Ugh, I agree with Darth Maul. All of the back story created by TCW that was then integrated as canon ruined his character, in a way.

 

Most of everything up through the end of the NJO. Somewhere in my head is still a galaxy where the reforms to the Jedi Order and GA/New Republic discussed in the NJO are put in place, where Vergere was never a Sith, where the Sith, for that matter, don't resurface at all (whether through Lumiya or the Lost Tribe or Darth Krayt), where Jacen never falls to the dark side and an Imperial admiral so crazy and incompetent that even she could see it and recused herself never miraculously made it back to the top of the food chain. Having earned their happy ending through the NJO, the good guys get to actually hold onto it for a while.

For the pre-Unifying Force stuff: most of it stays, but I rule out a lot of TCW. In my head, it's basically propaganda and myths about the Clone Wars era, to some extent based on reality, level of canon depending on what I want. Some episodes are like The Longest Day (basically retelling history as best they know how), others are like Captain America: The First Avenger (complete fiction that just happens to be set during a historic war). In that last category are Mortis, the clones being biologically programed for Order 66, and Darth Maul coming back from the dead.

The earlier stuff, going back to Darth Bane and beyond, is... mostly canon. Except when I don't want it to be. I don't care about those eras as much.

I suppose Mercy Kill is in the most awkward position: the basic, main plot can't happen (obviously: no FOTJ), but the opening chapter definitely happened, as did Scut's origin story, and the scene set in the Yuuzhan Vong War... and, of course, Piggy does go on to find peace somehow years after that. And DonoSlane Excursions is real... damn it, maybe Mercy Kill DID happen. Or something incredibly similar.

 

All of it is EU included is cannon for me, until something else is created to replace that time period and I decide its better than what I already have. I have too much time and $$ invested in EU stuff to simply say 'bleh Star Wars says X so I'm a listen like a good Clone' sorry not going to happen.
Bane novel is cannon
Plageuis novel is cannon
Swarm War is Cannon

Jaden Korr is cannon
FOTJ/LOTJ= Cannon

Legacy Comics=Cannon

again until Star Wars releases something to take place during these times, my current Star Wars library will be cannon and will always be canon in my library.

 

Everything until after the Battle of Endor is my canon!

 

I exclude only The Force Unleashed Series as well as Dark Empire trilogy (DE is amazing but it just diminishes the Trilogy's impact, like if the Emperor is still there, the trilogy wouldn't be considered as a 'victory')

 

I definitely understand the concept of "My personal canon." I think every serious fan already had a concept of something like this, if based on nothing but the fact there is just so much raw EU material that you can't read it all and I doubt all but a handful of fans have most of the EU materials.

All the dedicated fans I know (in real life at least) have some part of the EU they focus on more in their personal perceptions, if for no reason other than it's the first EU materials they really spent a lot of time reading and that helped form their picture of the larger Star Wars universe. I know one hardcore fan whose image of the Rebellion Era is basically the old Marvel Comics from the late '70's and early '80's because he grew up reading them in Junior High. I know another whose mental image of Star Wars is very deeply rooted in the West End Games RPG.

These are basically the things that my own mental image of the GFFA:

The 6 movies.
Clone Wars microseries
The West End Games d6 RPG supplements
Shadows of the Empire
The Force Unleashed (I, but NOT II, the ending to II was so patently ridiculous that I move that TFU 2 be stricken from the record)
Star Wars: The Old Republic
The X-Wing game series (X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance) (This is what got me started on the larger Star Wars universe, reading "The Farlander Papers in the original X-Wing box was my introduction to the idea that there was a larger world to Star Wars than just the movies)
The Dark Forces/Jedi Knight game series.
The Thrawn Trilogy
Dark Empire Series
Jedi Academy Series
Hand of Thrawn Duology
The Jedi Path
The Book of Sith

The main things I really would like stricken from the record with regards to the EU and canon:

The Force Unleashed II: So, before Episode IV (when the opening crawl describes the Battle of Toprawa and stealing the DS I plans as their first victory) the Rebels fight a massive space battle with the Empire, not only decisively routing the Empire but fighting Vader to the point he surrenders to the Rebels on bent knee? WTF? The game ends with Vader a Rebel prisoner, the Imperial Navy in full retreat from the Rebel fleet, and Master Rahm Kota AND the "Starkiller" clone of Galen Marek working for the Rebels.

If they had that much Force-firepower available to them, recruiting Obi-Wan Kenobi to the rebellion wouldn't have been as much of a big deal, not to mention it would make Luke look like a putz being a novice Jedi when a couple of Master-level Jedi that can defeat armies singlehandedly and beat Vader into submission are already with the Alliance. The end of the original TFU at least had Marek die, removing that issue, and I mentally assumed that General Kota died in battle in the pre-Yavin rebellion.

The Clone Wars: They already had a good Clone Wars series made, all TCW did was muck around with the timeline and make the Clone Wars into basically the Korean War from MASH, because if TCW is canon on top of everything else, then you're cramming a ridiculous amount of events into 3 years. Heck, the original Clone Wars series was already a start-to-finish tale starting as the Galaxy mobilized for war and ending with Palpatine kidnapped from Coruscant, complete with key events such as Anakin's knighting and Luke & Leia's (strongly implied) conception. The only place TCW could fit in is between two episodes there, and that's cramming 5 years of continuity into the space of 2 episodes of another series.

Not to mention ludicrous things like Darth Maul surviving being cut in two and falling down the shaft, and now being a cyborg. Or the ridiculous retcons of things like Asajj Ventress's background, or all the interspecies mating that they had which never was a part of Star Wars before that.

I think it's best to regard Star Wars: The Clone Wars as in-universe holo fiction, a fairly trashy one at that.

Splinter of the Minds Eye: I know it was the original EU novel, but it has always been a loose, poor fit for the rest of the EU after that. The heavy romantic themes between Luke & Leia, Luke fighting Vader in a lightsaber duel before Bespin, with Obi-Wan's help. I just think it's best left forgotten from the canon.

 

Dawn of the Jedi
Golden age of the Sith
Ulic Qel-droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon
Dark Lords of the Sith
Star Wars: Shadows and Light (Best Comic Ever)
Knights of the Old Republic (Comics)
Knights of the Old Republic (Games)
The Old Republic: Revan
The Old Republic (Game)
All Dark Horse Comics from 1999-2008 (Pre TCW Cluster-f)
All Essential Guides and Vehicle/Weapon/Technology guide books
Darth Plagueis
The Film Novelisations
The Force Unleashed (Games, Novels and Comics)
...

I'm dumping anything post ROTJ for obvious reasons, but I will list some of my Sentimental favorites that I cannot figure into the universe at this time.

NJO: Traitor
Legacy of the Force series
Legacy (Jan Duursema, John Ostrander)

 

YARRRR! Bring 'er hard to port and give 'em everything we've got!

What? I thought we were talking about cannons. (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Seriously, though, I agree with your philosophy, and I have been an adherent to the OP's concept (your own personal canon) since the Special Editions came out (Han Shot First, for instance).

 

For me is this:

Knights of the Old Republic (the first game)
Episode I
Episode II
The Clone Wars (this has come to the terms with the Mandalorians, with putting Karen Traviss cr*p as infinities)
Republic Commando the game (one of the best Star Wars Games I played)
Episode III
Episode IV
Episode V
Episode VI
X-Wing Novel series (the last I is not canon, since I have yet to read it)

Honorable mentions of not part of my Star Wars canon:

Force Unleashed - To me makes no sense at all that the Rebel Alliance was formed by the Emperor to root out his opposition. Gives me the sense that, non-force sensative being are too idiotic to do anything. No, Rebel Alliance was created by people that decided to act against the Empire.

Kotor II - Makes no sense to me the Jedi being extinct in this game. The idea of extinguish of the Jedi by Palpatine, was something to me the Sith never been able to do. Sidious/Palpatine is the one that succeeds in this.

Karen Traviss books - I feel that are one sided and not that well thought out. She let her anger against the Jedi dominated her writing. Despite saying the Republic Commando is good book, but being written from this author, for me is non-canon.

Post - RotJ - most of it except the X-Wing series.

 

Here is my list :

Orginal Trilogy
Prequel Trilogy
The Clone Wars show (new version)
Kenobi novel
Darth Plagueis novel
Clone Wars comic series (realistic)
Tales of the Jedi series
Knights of the Old Republic ( never played the game or even know much about the story but i like era in it)
Darth Bane trilogy

I never really was into Post-ROTJ EU and to be honest if some the things on my list aren't canon i won't be that disappointed because the 6 films are the things that they should keep canon. These are just the things i would like to be considered canon (there might be others but these are the ones i can think of right now).