Heroes of the Empire in the new Star Wars canon. Meet the new Star Wars canon Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larocca “Star Wars: Darth Vader”
It will soon be three years since the Star Wars Expanded Universe was declared Legends and replaced by a new unified canon. After these years, the author of World of Fantasy and a longtime Star Wars fan bitterly admits that he, to put it mildly, does not like the new canon.
He sent the expanded universe to the trash heap
The same book
Maybe I'm the wrong Star Wars fan, but I (and I'm not the only one) fell in love with a galaxy far, far away not because of the films, but because of the books. On a cold and gloomy April day in 2001, I bought a nice black volume with a promising title in a bookstore. Han Solo in Starry Dead End." I had no idea who Han Solo was or what Stars Dead End was, but the title promised adventure and space adventures, and I bought it. I bought one book, then three more, and another, and another...
Then there were cassettes with films, which in the pre-Internet era had to be searched all over Moscow for about a year, the premiere of “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith” in cinemas, the game Star Wars Episode I on PlayStation, the first issue of “World of Fantasy” purchased with Darth Vader on the cover... But it all started with books.
I've never separated the Expanded Universe and the movies. For me these were two parts of a single whole. Books, comics, and games kept me interested in Star Wars for many years after Revenge of the Sith was released, when it seemed like the Star Wars movie story was over. Therefore, when, first in the Clone Wars series, and then in the new canon, the creators of my favorite universe began to openly ignore that part of it, thanks to which I fell in love with Star Wars, I felt offended.
The Expanded Universe was once as canon to fans as the films. And now half the people in this picture don’t seem to exist.
Intellectually, I understand that the “legendarization” of the Expanded Universe was inevitable. Hundreds of books and comics, thousands of developed plots significantly limited the creative potential of the creators of the new canon. Moreover, formally no one forbids returning elements of the Expanded Universe to the canon, as was done, for example, with Grand Admiral Thrawn... And yet I am dissatisfied.
At one time, the Expanded Universe saved Star Wars, once again awakening people's interest in the saga. She deserved to be treated with more respect. And fans, who have been buying Expanded Universe stories for thirty years, deserved to know how the adventures of their favorite heroes would end, what would happen next to Jaina Solo, Ben Skywalker and Allana Solo, what the final adventure of Han, Luke and Leia would be - and much, much more.
He clumsily uses the old canon
The old Expanded Universe continues to be not only a source of ideas and characters for the new canon, but also a cash cow for its owners. Books and comics of the old canon continue to be republished under the “Legends” banner, some of their ideas are reflected in new books, comics and even films. Well, Grand Admiral Thrawn became the biggest fan service in the entire history of the saga.
When Dave Filoni announced the appearance of Thrawn in the third season of the animated series Rebels at the Star Wars Celebration convention in London, the audience simply exploded with applause. When fans mourned the loss of the Expanded Universe, the name that came up most often in conversation was the blue-skinned admiral. By returning him to the canon, Filoni, in one fell swoop, gained new credibility from fans and got rid of the main source of their dissatisfaction.
But... Thrawn is not the same!
Thrawn from the animated series is similar to Thrawn from the books only in that he is blue
Formally, in Rebels we see exactly the same character as described by Timothy Zahn. Blue skin, red eyes, white uniform, title, love of art, considered an unsurpassed tactical genius... But in fact, for half of the third season, Thrawn never showed his genius. For a dozen episodes he has been trying to cope with the elusive team of the “Ghost”, but there is no result. The writers of Rebels simply cannot show Thrawn in all his glory - otherwise the series would have to end already in the first episode of the third season due to the death of the main characters. However, the loss would be small.
He's just boring!
With the cancellation of the Expanded Universe, a galaxy far, far away was suddenly deprived of thousands of years of history, hundreds of planets, races, heroes and events. Instead... nothing came. The old canon was also not built in a day, but it expanded the world, there were dozens of stories in it that were in no way related to the films or related only indirectly. These stories complemented the galaxy, made it alive and diverse, and most importantly, they were interesting!
Books and comics of the new canon, as a rule, do not expand the universe, but only serve as additions to the main product - films and TV series. The Expanded Universe included adventure novels from the X-Wing series about brave fighter pilots, the detective thriller "Shadow Games", the noir trilogy "Coruscant Nights", its own version of "Heart of Darkness" and "Apocalypse Now" - "Weak Point", zombies horror "Death Troopers"…
The Expanded Universe began with these books.
The new canon cannot boast of anything like this. Here, all the books are either prequels to something, or novelizations, or adaptations, and independent plots are mainly found only in comics. And then most of the comics are devoted to the period between the fourth and fifth episodes - an era that was addressed in the Expanded Universe... five hundred times.
Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy laid the foundation for the entire post-Endor period of the Expanded Universe, talking about the state of affairs in the galaxy, introducing iconic characters and introducing readers to one of the greatest Star Wars villains. Chuck Wendig's Aftermath, which was supposed to introduce fans to the post-Endor period in the new canon, is inferior to Zahn's books on all counts. There is no galactic scope, no interesting and well-developed characters, no logical explanation for why the Alliance won. Aftermath is boring and uninteresting, while Heir to the Empire is still considered one of the best Star Wars books.
He divided the fans
This icon now means "What you read may be cool, but it doesn't matter to the universe"
Some fans calmly reacted to the “legendarization” of the Expanded Universe, but the rest... Some took the change in its status as a reason to declare jihad to the new canon. They boycott new products, write petitions on the Internet and flood the offices of Lucasfilm and Disney with demands to return RV to canon. The latter, on the contrary, extremely meticulously study every book and comic in the store: what if this is not a new canon, but “Legends” and they accidentally buy “printed fan fiction”? For both of these categories, the canonicity of a story has suddenly become more important than its quality, and they cannot agree with each other.
He contradicts himself
The decision to "legendize" the Expanded Universe was explained by Lucasfilm as a desire to avoid conflicts between different works in the future. To monitor contradictions, a special unit was created - the Story Group. But nothing worked out for her.
Already in the first works of the new canon, Luke uses telekinesis twice “for the first time” - in the novel “Heir of the Jedi” by Kevin Hearn and the comic book “Star Wars” by Jason Aaron. In the same comic book series, Luke finds the diaries of Obi-Wan Kenobi, where he describes Yoda’s appearance in detail - how did Luke not recognize his future teacher in the fifth episode? In Claudia Gray's novel Lost Stars, the Death Star's first target is Alderaan. But by that time, Rogue One was already in development, and the story team had to know that the battle station would have other targets - Jedha and Scarif. In the novelization of Revenge of the Sith, it is mentioned that Depa Billaba switched to the dark side during the events of the novel Weak Point, and in the comic book Star Wars: Kanan, Depa remained on the light side until the end of the war and died after Order 66.
He perverted the main characters of the saga
Han and Leia deserve the award for Worst Parents in the Galaxy. And the prize should be in the shape of Kylo Ren
In the Expanded Universe, the heroes of the original trilogy are not perfect either. Leia and Han lost two of their three children, with the eldest son turning to the dark side and seizing power over part of the galaxy. And Luke repeatedly failed as a teacher - almost half of his students went over to the dark side. But in RV the heroes continued to fight for their ideals and stuck to each other. Yes, Khan had a period when he was very upset about the death of Chewbacca and left his family for six months. But in the end he returned to Leia, and then this couple never parted.
What do we see in The Force Awakens? As soon as there was a smell of something fried, Luke and Han, like the last cowards, ran away, leaving Leia to deal with the consequences alone. Real gentlemen.
It has Kylo Ren in it.
The Force Awakens writers essentially cobbled together Kylo Ren from three characters Expanded Universe. Fallen Jedi Jacen Solo was given the name of Ben Skywalker and the costume of Darth Revan
I understand why the creators needed the image of Kylo Ren. If Dooku, Vader and Grievous were already mature villains, then Ren is still relatively young, he is confused in life, he wants to disassociate himself from the past, prove to everyone and, first of all, to himself that he is a worthy grandson of his grandfather.
But such behavior is justified when the character is seventeen. Kylo Ren, for a second, is thirty. At this age, men, as a rule, have already decided on their life goals and are working to achieve them. And this one just whines and whines like an emo teenager. We are offered to sympathize with the snotty, eared slobber, whom we see for the first time in our lives and who has just stabbed to death before our eyes best character in the history of Star Wars?
Some of this story is borrowed from the Expanded Universe, which showed Jacen Solo's fall into darkness. But we knew Jacen from birth. We followed his adventures literally from the cradle, we saw how he grew up, matured, lost friends, gained experience and became a real hero. That is why his fall into darkness was an extremely painful blow. The fans really got attached to this character. And Kylo Ren... Kylo Ren, in principle, is not capable of causing positive emotions.
We must pay tribute to Adam Driver: he treats his character with irony
* * *
If the “legendarization” of the Expanded Universe had been handled differently, if not all elements of the old canon had been scrapped, but only those that contradicted the new films, the new canon could have been forgiven. If its creators offered more interesting, original and simply good stories, there would be much fewer complaints about it. However, in the form it is now, it spoils my beloved universe.
The best of the new canon
Admittedly, even in the current Star Wars canon there are some truly worthwhile things that have retained the spirit distant galaxy.
"Rogue One"
This is how real Star Wars should be. Gareth Edwards perfectly captured the atmosphere of the original trilogy and masterfully wove his own story into the narrative. It was truly a shame to lose the heroes of Rogue One. For the first time, we saw a distant galaxy so dark, a war so brutal, and the rebels so ambiguous. And that's good.
Surprisingly, the novel, written for a teenage audience, turned out to be the most serious and adult in the entire new canon. There really is interesting story two heroes whose principles repeatedly prevented them from living and loving. There are real emotions here: love, resentment, hatred and the desire to serve the fatherland. There is real conflict here, the characters have a lot to lose and are forced to make controversial decisions. Gray also very accurately conveys the atmosphere of a distant galaxy and very successfully fits his novel into the plot of the original trilogy.
Kieron Gillen, Salvador Larocca "Star Wars: Darth Vader"
The period between the fourth and fifth episodes was covered in great detail in the Expanded Universe. However, the Marvel publishing house decided that since the old RV is no longer canon, they can plunge into this period with renewed vigor. Of all the Marvel lines, Darth Vader has proven to be the most interesting and intriguing addition to the canon. We are used to seeing Vader as powerful, but in this comic he is forced to restore his position, shaky after the destruction of the Death Star. And in this he is helped by several extremely colorful characters - the black archaeologist Doctor Aphra and a couple of battle droids, a kind of dark version of C-3PO and R2-D2.
The backstory of Rogue One is written in the best James Luceno tradition: it is a tightly knit political thriller that tells the story of the early life of Galen Erso and Orson Krennic. There are many interesting details and details here, and most importantly, Luceno casually returns entire layers of the Expanded Universe to the new canon.
Reading time:
The very first Star Wars trilogy (of which there will now be four, it’s crazy) used a very poor color scheme for the heroes. Like in fantasy: there are infallible heroes in shining armor, and there is absolute evil. This is not a drawback; the format required it and, in general, the oldest “Star Wars” is a cosmic Western fairy tale, where there is no place for halftones.
Times have changed, one canon grew up, was killed and gave way to a new one. And there is no longer such a deep gap between the good and bad guys. , for example, shows the most important episode in the history of the Galaxy from the point of view of imperial special forces, and from this angle the stormtroopers no longer seem like stupid minions in plastic armor.
In the new canon (and this was not uncommon in the old one), supporters of the Empire often turn out to be ambiguous, charismatic, and in many ways even positive characters.
One of the few characters from the old canon who ended up in the new version of the universe " Star Wars" No wonder: Thrawn is almost the most popular and well-developed hero of the setting, even though he has almost no place in games and movies.
Thrawn's real name is Mitt'rau'nuruodo, and he himself belongs to a race of Chiss, harsh blue-skinned humanoids who managed to survive in the mysterious mess of the Unknown Regions. There also existed their state, the Chiss Dominion, very isolated from the affairs of the rest of the Galaxy. Thrawn had risen to prominence within the Dominion, which had by then discovered an unknown threat deep within the wildest regions of the Unknown Regions. Its scale turned out to be so great that the Dominion began to look for allies in the rest of the Galaxy.
At one time, the Republic seemed to the Chiss to be a very unreliable ally, mired in corruption, civil war and ready to sabotage the discussion of any important issue bureaucratically. After the transformation of the Republic into the Empire, the Chiss changed their minds. Thrawn was presented as an exile from the Dominion and “slipped” to the Imperial forces so that he would fit into their hierarchy and be thoroughly studied.
And so it happened. Thrawn is scary to think about! - fooled Palpatine himself, but he himself became an object of interest, because the Sith Lord was looking for some answers in the Unknown Regions (more about this in our material about the First Order). As a result, Thrawn began his career in the Imperial Navy: first within the walls of the military academy and as a weapons systems officer on a cruiser, and in the future reached the rank of Grand Admiral.
Thrawn seemed to personify his native Unknown Regions: frighteningly cold-blooded and cunning, he was always several steps ahead of his rivals and allies, and could recognize someone else's disguise from a couple of circumstantial clues, like Sherlock Holmes. At first he hunted for smugglers, and when the rebellion cells began to unite into the Alliance, Thrawn destroyed them too.
Thrawn's personality is best illustrated by his visit to the Lothal Weapons Factory, when the Grand Admiral forced one of the workers to personally test a speeder bike accelerated to its maximum speed. The bike exploded and killed a worker who was—surprise—part of a rebel cell. Thrawn later figured out the location of the rebel headquarters and moved closer to victory.
His talent as a commander and intelligence officer was limited only by the writers of the animated series Star Wars Rebels, because without their intervention Thrawn would have ended the resistance. It's a pity! This refined admiral, connoisseur of art and manipulator worthy of the Emperor, more than anyone else, deserved complete triumph. The ending of Thrawn's career has not yet been revealed - ahead is the end of the fourth season of Rebels, where he has an important role, the book Thrawn: Alliances and other works of the new canon.
Wilhuff Tarkin
Grand Moff Tarkin, played by the magnificent Peter Cushing, appeared in the very first film of the epic as a taciturn executioner, ready to blow up an entire planet in order to complete the task. And his reluctance to leave the Death Star at the moment of the decisive attack on it is presented more as self-confident stupidity than courage. However, Wilhuff Tarkin held his position for good reason.
Wilhuff came from a noble family, but did not become the caressed darling of fate, thirsting only for the fulfillment of his whims. His father raised young Tarkin in severity, not allowing him to soften, as often happens with children of noble families. He survived the test of survival on his home planet, and later entered service in the judicial department of the Republic.
When Tarkin met the ambitious Naboo senator Palpatine, his fate was sealed. While still a young Sith, recognizing Tarkin's potential as a cruel manager, he took him under his wing. Wilhuff received the post of governor of his home planet Eriadu, and then higher posts, in which he became increasingly convinced of the helplessness of the Republic, its rotten nature and the omnipotence of the Jedi Order, which was increasingly coping with its peacekeeping role. When Palpatine staged his coup, Tarkin wholeheartedly supported the Imperial order, for which he was rewarded.
Tarkin was very useful to Sidious. The selfishness of a Sith is the worst quality for an administrator who must daily resolve a lot of issues regarding the population of the entire Galaxy. Why the hell would some furry Wookiees on a forested planet surrender to him, the Lord of the Sith?! That is why Wilhuff Tarkin became Grand Moff, the third man in the Empire, and judging by his influence on politics and economics, the first in general. It was he who was entrusted with the construction of the ultimate weapon - the Death Star, and he coped with the task brilliantly, although he overlooked the “constructive sabotage” left by engineer Galen Erso.
Tarkin's power was so great that he could dominate Darth Vader, and it is difficult to say how much Palpatine relied on Wilhuff's advice in running the Empire. Perhaps Tarkin would have kept it after the death of Palpatine, if he had not died in orbit of Yavin?
Alexander Kallus
Empire, like any totalitarian state, spent a lot of money on the secret police. The Imperial Security Bureau was the name of their analogue of the NSA, FSB and MI6: a power structure with a lot of powers and an even greater number of myths around this organization.
Alexander Kallus was a devoted ISB agent, the very ideal of a security officer: a warm heart, a cool head, clean hands. Kallus served the Bureau not out of bloodthirstiness or lust for power, but primarily because he hated lawlessness, and the Emperor in his eyes - thanks to propaganda - was a symbol of law and order. And Kallus considered the growing rebellion movement to be a gathering of terrorists threatening peace and quiet. But deep down, Alexander was still vain and longed for recognition, regarding each of his successes in the service as a reward in itself.
Artist: lorna-ka.
Therefore, Kallus did not leave the field service, rejecting several offers for promotion. Kallus was always on the front lines with his subordinates and showed the ruthlessness worthy of a field agent - including towards his agents.
However, over time, in the soul of Kallus, a contradiction grew between the imperial ideals that he himself cultivated and the ugly methods that the Empire used. Is it possible to restore order through genocide? Should the law cut out everyone in its path? The further he went, the more broken Kallus became.
In the end, Alexander began to secretly help the rebels in their endeavors when he became convinced that their image in imperial propaganda and their real appearance were infinitely far from each other. For quite a long time, Kallus remained a double agent, risking not only his career, but also his life - even Thrawn noted that Kallus had a “rebellious heart.” They soon came for him, and Kallus finally fled to his new friends in the Alliance.
Sienna Rea and Thane Kirrell
Artist: lorna-ka.
In a recent campaign review Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) you could see that the plot of the game does not reveal new sides of the Empire (read all spoilers in Denis Mayorov’s review). It's funny, because among the Star Wars literature there are much richer and more contradictory stories. Even in those novels that are considered teenage!
This is what's great about the story told in Lost Stars: it doesn't force the hero to side with the rebels just to maintain his positive outlook.
Thane and Sienna are the Romeo and Juliet they would be if they were born in a Galaxy far, far away. They had been friends since childhood, and since their planet was occupied by the Empire, they shared a passion for space and flight. Together they entered the Flight Academy, but the sabotage that happened there showed the difference in their outlook on life.
After completing their training, they were assigned to different ships: Thane was lucky enough to become a TIE fighter pilot aboard an unknown station, and Sienna was assigned to Darth Vader's flagship. Since then, they have looked at the Empire from different points of view. Thane deserted shortly after the Death Star explosion when his disappointment reached its peak - he became convinced of how unfair the imperial rules were that allowed slave labor. After meeting in their secret hideout, Thane and Siena, who had long been in love with each other, finally separated: the young man considered the only way out to overthrow the regime, and the girl believed that the Empire would have a chance if good people remained in its ranks. So they parted.
Their story culminated during the Battle of Jakku, when Siena Ree commanded the Star Destroyer Striker and Thane Kirrell served the forces of the New Republic. The Striker was boarded, and Siena sent it directly to the surface of the planet so that it would not fall to the enemy.
Thane broke through to the captain's bridge and forced his lover to use the escape capsule, after which she was arrested by Republican forces. But even human treatment in captivity (instead of the expected torture) and Thane's patronage could not persuade Siena to side with the New Republic.
And the “Smashing” remains on Jakku, given over to scavengers like Rey for plunder.
Sinjir Rath Velus
Of all the characters in this material, Rath Velus experienced the most difficult childhood. He endured years of abuse from his mother and still managed to have warm feelings for her. Living in constant fear made Sinjir sensitive to other people's emotions and behavior, and made him embittered and cunning. These qualities helped him become a loyalty officer in the ISB.
And if the rest of the Bureau units hunted for external enemies, then the loyalty officers kept an eye on their colleagues, looking for any little thing that could be interpreted as a lack of loyalty, sabotage or betrayal. The officers of this service were trained with particular cruelty, teaching both torture and resistance to it. Sinjir completed this training under Officer Sid Uddra. And later he confirmed his skills by extracting from Imperial Navy lieutenant Alster Grove the names of his accomplices in the conspiracy, the purpose of which was nothing less than the overthrow of Palpatine.
However, Sinjir's own loyalty was questionable. After the destruction of the second Death Star, he went on the run, stealing the identity and ship of one of the rebels, and then joined the New Republic, and in almost the same position. Only now he was hunting for the Imperials, who were scattering across the Galaxy with each passing day of weakening of the headless Empire, as well as its agents in the Republican Senate and other organizations. Chancellor Mon Mothma liked his talent so much that she appointed Sinjir as her personal adviser, and in fact, as a personal spy and provocateur.
Sinjir Rath Velus was not truly loyal to either the Empire or the Republic, and was simply trying to improve his position as much as possible. His cynical outlook on life allowed him to go over to the side of the uprising without remorse and serve those whom he had only recently hunted. That is why many did not like him, because it was precisely such opportunists who once allowed the Republic to be turned into an Empire.
Artist: SpikeSDM.
The new Star Wars canon is growing so rapidly that keeping track of its events is becoming more and more difficult. Fortunately, among the authors of this universe there are enough talented writers and screenwriters who make all sides of the conflict equally vibrant. On the big screen this is not so noticeable, because mainstream cinema avoids halftones so as not to confuse the viewer. And we will be waiting for new Star Wars games for a long time.
Before proceeding directly to the discussion of comics, I consider it necessary to draw the attention of readers that this article is aimed at those fans "Star Wars" who are familiar with the products Old Canon And Expanded Universe either indirectly, or are not familiar with it at all, and just want to know what is happening in the universe George Lucas after a massive reboot and the release of episode 7 of the saga. I, for one, do not consider myself any particular expert in the intricacies of the old canon. And although I have read a dozen books and comics from the era before the reboot (plus I have completed many games), I will not rely on them and compare them with the new rules, due to the insufficient amount of knowledge on the issue. And just in case, let me remind you that my opinion is not the only correct one, moreover, it is completely subjective. This article contains mild spoilers, but I will hide the key things, so if you don't want to know the important parts of the stories in advance, then this article shrewdly remains safe for your eyes and minds.
With that said, I invite readers to set up the dashboard of their spaceships, look to the skies, and embark on a journey that leads to the stories that happened...
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
October 30, 2012 studio Lucasfilm was sold The Walt Disney Company for 4.05 billion dollars. Following the successful completion of the transaction, Disney and Lucasfilm created a special committee Lucasfilm Story Group, whose task was to monitor the integrity of the canon of the universe, which includes films, books, comics, games and so on. However, such a unit existed even before the reboot and was under the leadership of Leland Chi, who bears the official title of “Guardian of the Holocron.” Therefore, almost all participants in the old organization migrated to the new committee without any problems, including Chi himself.
Already April 25, 2014 senior management made the truly controversial decision to remove all Expanded Universe material from the modern canon and move it to the " Legends" The updated version of the canon at that time included all 6 films of the saga, as well as the animated series." Clone Wars" This was done, according to the studio, in order to maintain the integrity of the universe in the future, taking into account the release of new episodes. This announcement really angered many fans who had been following the stories of the Expanded Universe for years and probably expected that, at a minimum, those ideas would be used in future Disney projects.
However, the studio insisted on its own, and the released in December 2015 Episode 7 of the saga - “ The Force Awakens" , became (and continues to remain) the central moment of the new canon that the second owners of the universe began to create. You can have different opinions about The Force Awakens, but the fact of its existence cannot be erased (although I have heard that many fans are trying hard). The main thing in this situation is not the film itself, but its surroundings - the empty spots of history that were supposed to be filled works of art renewed universe. These included the same books, games and, of course, comics.
However, it’s worth starting a conversation about how the canon has changed not with comics, but with books. Currently, the main source of important information not included in the films is the book. Chuck Wendig "Aftermath" . It is the first part of a planned trilogy, focusing on the period taking place a short period of time after the ending of the original trilogy. And although movie characters appear in the book, central characters, with the exception of the famous galactic pilot Wedge Antilles, are new characters.
And this “emergence” of a new order of the expanded universe sounded like a loud false start. Among many fans and simply lovers of literature, the book caused a big scandal, as its devastating reviews and low ratings clearly indicate. For example, in the most popular and very eloquent review on the site Amazon, the author claims to have read more than 85 books on the universe in his life, but the only one he could not finish was this novel.
Basically, Wendig is criticized for his ignorance of the universe (for example, he practically does not use the terms of a galaxy far, far away), faceless new heroes and a terrible author's style. From my point of view, I can say that some of the claims are true. I myself am in the process of reading this “masterpiece,” and if you pick up this book, then be prepared for the fact that from the very prologue the author’s vision of the text will begin to drip onto you in abundance. It looks something like this - imagine that Wendig is writing about some event from the point of view of a cameraman who forgot to assign a director. It’s as if he is never completely interested in what is happening and observes events from behind some special type of thick glass.
So, for example, the prologue greets us with a wonderful scene of the destruction of a statue Palpatine on Coruscant, followed by a scuffle between the “police” and the “protesters”. Particularly perplexing in this scene (and in some subsequent ones) is caused by some incredible amount of monstrous pathos, and the most vulgar picture of a little boy like a “young rebel” rising to fight with his father.
At the same time, the description of the scene goes something like this:
Spoiler (plot reveal)
The boy is young, only twelve standard years old, not old enough to fight. Not yet. He looks at his father with pleading eyes and shouts over the noise: “But Father, the battle station has been destroyed! The battle is over! They saw this an hour ago. The supposed end of the Empire. The start of something better.
Now try to imagine the entire book in this spirit and the desired picture of what is happening will appear in your head. Pearls a la “You don’t have to kill him - we’re not animals!”, coming from the lips of imperial soldiers and plot revelations, like Mon Mothma, who, in a half-mad hippie impulse, decides that the best political-strategic solution for the future of the rebels is
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
disarmament
And this takes into account the unfinished Empire, whose resources magically evaporated at the speed of light.
The new heroes don't help the situation either - they are boring, and they are so because of the author's chosen style. There is simply no life (and epithets) in his presentation, descriptions of thoughts and feelings and, therefore, no interest in the reader. I can hardly imagine what will happen in the remaining two future books. Second "episode" comes out July 19th , and the third one will have to wait until 2017.
Hope in the book direction, as in the original trilogy, rests on the shoulders of Lei, or rather books Claudia Gray "Bloodline", which comes out on May 3 this year. Claudia Gray was responsible for the novel "Lost Stars", which, judging by reviews, is considered by some fans to be the best book in the new canon. As far as I understand, “Stars” is a kind of reworking of Romeo and Juliet, where the hero is on the side of the Rebels, and the beloved is on the side of the Empire. Bloodline, in turn, will tell about Leia's political battles in the Senate, taking place after the rebel victory on Endor. Whether the book was successful will soon become clear.
This, of course, is not all the content of the new canon in book equivalent, but in my opinion, the most important. Perhaps, if I can master all the stories and stories, I will have to add new facts to this article, but at the moment I do not see a strong need for this.
On this note, let's move on to what the author finally mastered - comics. However, it is worth noting that the story about Darthe Mole I deliberately avoided it due to my low interest in the fate of this character. Also, I am not including comics about By Damerone- the pilot from episode 7, since only one episode has been released so far.
I decided to place the series in ascending order of quality, or in other words, from worst to best.
What I probably liked the least was the story about Chewbacca by Gerry Duggan. This mini-series consists of 5 issues And occurs after episode 4.
In general, separate stories about Chewbacca are a rather strange idea, since I personally find it very difficult to imagine him as an interesting protagonist, and not only because of the lack of understandable speech. In my opinion, the character himself does not have such strong and exciting character traits to be shown in a leading role, and feels great in secondary positions. However, why not, they wrote and wrote. The problem is that, while confirming the above, in terms of adding to the canon the story has very little to offer useful information, and in essence, not very interesting.
The short plot is this - Chewbacca stops on the Outer Frontiers planet Andelm-4, occupied by imperial forces, where he comes across the girl Zarro, who has escaped from local businessmen/slave traders (they sell resources to the Empire) and helps her, her father and their friends escape from the whips of local rulers. In addition, throughout the story, Chewbacca recalls his own years spent in slavery.
In general, that's all. The comic is very simple and straightforward, and its emotional component confidently tends to zero. The antagonist is shallow and shown in a very uninteresting way. Zarro also does not shine with character and serves rather as a tool to touch the reader, actively and for any reason hugging the furry Chewbacca. By and large, the entire comic is built on this kind of attempt at affection, in the spirit of: “He helped them and now they will fight together.” The main addition to the canon in this comic, I would say, is that Chewbacca
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
gives Zarro the medal that Leia gave to Han and Luke at the end of episode 4. The comic does not explain whose exact medal he gave
The gesture is beautiful and symbolic, but it seemed unnecessary to me, since the scale of this story is painfully small for such awards.
The only really good aspect here is the cute drawing. Phila Notto, which is sometimes just nice to look at, especially if it is not obscured by local clumsy dialogues.
The general plot (I didn’t like it at all) - Lando, because of his debts, gets involved in an adventure and steals someone’s ship. The ship turns out to be the personal property of the Emperor.
The problem with the plot is that there was much more potential in the original idea than is shown in the miniseries. By and large, we are given a little information about Lando’s past, and then he gets involved in an adventure with all his might... and that’s it. The local “twist” is not only strange, but also completely uninteresting within the context of the story. Its essence is this -
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Some of the team members (elite warriors) find Sith artifacts on board, which drive them crazy, and Lando and his colleague are forced to flee from them
This twist, like the events of the miniseries, does not lead to anything at all, since
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
the ship is blown up along with Lando's friend
Yes, Soul is trying to squeeze drama out of this situation, but within 5 issues it looks contrived and unconvincing. The author came up with only two good moments in this story - Lando has a couple of cool scenes in the spirit of Han Solo, and the girls that the hero meets along the way potentially look like very interesting characters.
Drawing Alexa Maleeva seemed ambiguous to me. In some places the frames look stylish, but the faces of the characters often look strange, as if wrinkled or lifeless. However, some action scenes are quite spectacular. In addition, I like Maleev’s work with light and shadow, especially when the authors need to show some kind of dark or cruel intention of the characters.
Liked it a little more Princess Leia by Mark Waid. Again, mini-series, 5 rooms. Happens after episode 4.
According to the plot, Leia, having learned that the Empire wants to exterminate all surviving Alderaanians, goes in search of them along with one of the Resistance pilots, also an Alderaanian.
The overall plot is, again, fairly straightforward. Leia flies to look for hers - she finds hers, they get involved in a battle with imperial forces - the end. The plot, like Lando, has a stupid “twist”, the essence of which is that Leia
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
the imperials are catching
Obviously, given the reader's knowledge of the future, this turn is doomed to failure. All this is also not presented in the best style - so, the troops of the empire are easily led to the obvious bait, and, naturally, lose on all counts. Even Leia
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
they don’t really have time to pick you up on the ship
.The good aspects of the comic lie in some interesting plot elements. For example, many Alderaanians hate Leia not only for the fact that because of her (in fact, this is the case) the planet was blown up, but also for her lack of the required level of emotional experience about this. At the same time, Wade does a good job of reflecting the psychological state of Leia, who cares, but has to control herself, since she has a mountain of responsibility for the Rebels, and now also for her citizens.
In addition, there is an interesting idea about how relatives in many ordinary families of the Far Galaxy could vote for different forces. So, minor characters- two sisters are on opposite sides of the barricades, and one quite successfully enjoys the trust of the other. True, in the best traditions simple stories, the “harmful” sister turns out to be the one who serves on the side of the Empire.
I’ll also add that occasionally Wade allows Leia to relax for a minute - either he lets her joke, or make a sarcastic comment, or something else like that. These moments are really cool, very lively, but, alas, they are few.
There's a nice little tidbit tucked away for new canon in the comic, which is that Leia arrives on Naboo for the first time between Episodes 4 and 5. Moreover, it is in this segment that Uyed fleetingly nods to the past:
There is something similar in the series "Fragmented Empire", but, as will be seen later, the authors turn to another memory from the past.
Another advantage, in part, is that you can write down a drawing Terry Dodson, which, although a little too cartoony for my taste (which especially affects the faces of the participants), still interestingly emphasizes Leia’s rebellious spirit, and allows this story to be made not of a dark drama, but of an interesting adventure.
The next episode takes us back to a deeper past. This is a mini series Obi-Wan and Anakin, again from the same Charles Soule . Occurs between episodes 1 and 2. The series has not been completed, it should have 5 issues, but only 3 have been released so far. However, you can already form an impression from them.
In the story, Anakin is 12 years old and he doubts whether he should be a Jedi. Together with Obi-Wan, they respond to a signal for help sent from the planet Carnelion-4, find the ruins of an ancient civilization and unwittingly get involved in local local conflicts.
I always liked a series of books about adventures as a child. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan before the events of the first episode, and the comic is similar in spirit to that series. Conceptually, all this doesn’t look so interesting and looks like another episode in the style of the animated series Clone Wars - another planet, some local problems. And the ideological confrontation between the inhabitants of the planet is really not the most interesting thing in the comic. The best part of the story is the time Anakin spends on Coruscant. Here they show his doubts about choosing the Jedi path, emotional instability and his first serious meeting with Palpatine. In addition, we witness the beginning of their conscious relationship, which is quite interesting. It is especially well shown how Palpatine manipulates Anakin from the very beginning. Also in the “planetary” plot there is a good psychological moment related to the way they play up the naivety of Anakin, who clearly develops sympathy for a pretty alien. In my opinion this is very good point as his character in this regard was never shown further love line with Padme.
I really liked the drawing Mark Checceto, especially the landscapes and airship battles, which create an atmosphere of the unknown mysterious planet, which, although home to mountains and snowstorms, is strikingly different from good old Hoth.
Together with the next episode, we are transported to the newest period of time - to the future. Miniseries Shattered Empire by Greg Rucka consists of 4 issues, And takes place immediately after the ending of episode 6.
The plot centers on Poe Dameron's mother, Shara Day., Republic pilot who took part in the attack on the second Death Star. After the victory on Endor, she is assigned to Leia's team. Each issue, by and large, is a kind of sketch about battles with imperial troops in different parts of the galaxy. In addition to Shara herself, Poe's father appears - Kes Dameron, who travels with Khan's team.
I ranked this comic a little higher than the previous one, mainly because of the information it carries for the new canon and drawing (although the artist is the same as on the previous series - Checceto). In general, among all, this comic is the most popular among some Star Wars fans, and I don’t really understand the reasons for this popularity. That is, overall, this is a good comic, but it looks more like a series of sketches than a single story.
However, compared to other comics, Shattered Empire succeeds in presenting new information, although it shares it bit by bit. So, for example, it turns out that 1) the empire had another base on Endor (so-so surprise), 2)
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
The Emperor gives a posthumous order to destroy Naboo to protect his secrets, but the enemies are stopped by the rebels with Leia.
3)Luke takes
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
two remaining sprouts of a tree that once grew in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and he gives one of them to Shara
.By the way, another nod to the past, in the form of Leia’s flashback, which I mentioned above, occurs again on Naboo, during her second visit, and it’s done in a really interesting way. According to the plot,
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
Leia and Shara have to go down to the hangar with the ships on which the pilots tried to destroy the Trade Federation station in the first episode
And when they are in the right place this happens:
Apart from everything else, we are given a glimpse of Poe Demeron's parents, although for the most part we are watching the mother. According to the new canon, this couple formed before the Battle of Hoth, and by the time of the events of the comic, Shara was already tired of these endless battles and wants to find peace on some peaceful planet with her husband. Shara is a talented Rebel pilot, and Kes Demeron is well... just a brave guy, without any special distinctive features. Dameron's mother, by the way, suspiciously resembles Norru Wexley- the heroine of the novel Aftermath which I wrote about above. The fact is that according to the plot of Aftermath, Norra is also a talented Rebel pilot who is tired of battles and also wants to find peace. True, unlike Shara, she strives to see her son on the planet Akiva, and not her husband, but still the type is suspiciously similar.
What the comic is really good at is the drawing. As I already said - the artist is the same as on Obi-Wan and Anakin, that is Mark Checceto, but here he is allowed to open up 100%. The battle scenes look simply amazing, reminding us that a galactic war of truly epic proportions is taking place here:
I can’t agree about the title of “best comic” of the new canon, in my opinion, no, but it’s still a worthy thing.
Finally, we come to the highest quality representatives of the comics of the new canon, and next story turned out to be a surprise for me, because about her central character I didn't know anything before reading it.
This is a mini series Kanan in 12 issues from Greg Weisman. Action takes place between episodes 3 and 4, beginning shortly before Order 66 and with flashbacks to the time between episodes 2 and 3.
It is dedicated, as you might guess, Kanan Jarrus, the hero of the animated series Rebels. The series tells about Kanan's period of training in the Jedi Temple and reveals how he survived Order 66 and what he did after that. By and large, the story revolves around the fact that Kanan, due to a smuggling mission, has to return to the planet Keller, where he, in fact, once met the sad consequences of Order 66.
Since I hadn't watched the animated series, I didn't initially have any expectations, except that the stories of the fall of the Jedi under Palpatine's orders had good potential for decent drama. And although I “root” for the principles of Qui-Gon, that is, roughly speaking, the gray Jedi, when I first watched Revenge of the Sith, I was really sad to see how the Jedi were cut out almost to the roots. And the necessary drama that Lucas could not show, was displayed for me by the novel Matthew Stovera for episode 3. In his book, episode 3 is a real epic tragedy with betrayal and pain. For me it's probably best book on Star Wars that I've ever read.
Returning to Kanan - I liked this story because, compared to all previous comics, it was able to hook me with the story and characters, and not with canon information or art. Already from the first issue, it is easy to sympathize with the character, who in his youth is a little reminiscent of Anakin, in the sense that he does not always follow the precepts of the Jedi and asks a lot of questions, which constantly confuses and angers many Padawans and teachers. Moreover, his mentor is Depa Billaba, partly, resembles Qui-Gon in character, and also irritates many Jedi in the temple with his unconventional methods and emotional outbursts.
Actually, order 66 is executed already in the second issue, setting a good dramatic point. Kanan rushes around the planet in horror, hiding from the stormtroopers who were his friends in the morning, literally digging through garbage cans in search of food and living on the streets. A great start, in short. From there, the comic very skillfully and consistently shows the evolution of Kanan, who has to become much more cruel and emotionally closed in order to survive in this world. The author makes a beautiful feint by tying up Kanan
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
with former enemies
Not only showing that not everything was so simple in this war, but also revealing the secondary characters in an unexpectedly interesting light.
Another plus is the delving into the backstory of Kanan and Deppa's relationship when he was still a student at the Temple. The comic gives us a fascinating picture of the adventures of a padawan and master who were suited to each other like Anakin and Obi-Wan. True, there is one drawback related to the structure of the plot. Yes, Depp
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
they kill in the second issue
Which looks impressive, but if this memory had been moved closer to the end of the episode, the emotional impact could have been better. I understand that Weisman did this to give the flashbacks a sad feel, but for me it didn't work as intended.
One more important success"Keynan" became a line of his former clone friends. Personally, I have always been interested in the question of what the Clones think and how they perceive that very order 66. Similar topics were raised in a series of books about clones Republic Commando, novels James Luceno "The Rise of Darth Vader" And "Darth Plagueis", as well as in the novelization of the same 3rd episode, but everything except Stover’s novel is no longer canon.
The book on episode 3 explains very well why the Jedi did not notice the betrayal and did not feel it (which surprised me greatly before reading it). If anyone else was interested in this question, then the answer looks like this - order 66 was “dictated” to the clones even before birth, it remained somewhere in the crust of their subconscious, so when they killed the Jedi, they simply carried out the order like robots, without experiencing at the same time, anger or embarrassment or anger that the Jedi could feel in the Force. And this is a really terribly smart and terribly cold-blooded scheme of Palpatine (and Plagueis).
But “Kanenan” is good because it draws attention to the possible consequences of such an action specifically for clones. Like, did they really shoot their friends (after all, many clones were friends with the Jedi during the war) and moved on, there were no pangs of conscience after? As it turns out, some did, and this subplot does a good job of addressing the issue. Its problem, like the problem of the entire series, is that all these ideas were somewhat underdeveloped. The story is good, but it unfolds too quickly, ends some lines too abruptly and moves from action to conclusion. Why it was not possible to make more than 12 issues is completely incomprehensible to me, since now it’s just good story, which had the potential to be great.
Drawing Pepe Larraza good, although not too complex, with a cartoon style twist a little more than it was in Princess Leia. Some shots are very good in terms of storyboarding and create the right cinematic effect.
The last items on the list have the largest number of issues and the most famous characters universe.
I’ll put it in second place in this peculiar top Kieron Gillen's Darth Vader. Ongoing now consists of 19 issues (+ 1 issue of the Vader Down crossover). Action - between episodes 4 and 5.
In the story, Vader fell out of favor with the Emperor after the explosion of the first Death Star and was forced to win his trust back. Parallel to the Emperor's missions and loyalty tests under the command of General Tagg, Vader searches for the pilot who blew up the ZS, hiring a couple of smugglers, including Bobba Fett, to do this. In addition, he creates his own secret squad, trying to figure out who is spying on him for the Emperor, using the help of archaeologist Doctor Aphra and her droid partners.
Gillen once said about Vader that it would be his personal House of Cards from the world of Star Wars, with political games, deception, betrayal and psychologism. In general, Gillen did not deceive, although from the point of view of political intrigue the level turned out to be much simpler than the series with Kevin Species, of whom I, however, am not the biggest fan.
On at this stage The plot of the series is divided into four sections - in the first, Vader learns about his potential replacement, and also finds out the name of the pilot, in the second, he follows his trail, while simultaneously hiding his activities from the Emperor. In the third, he catches up with Luke, but at the same time becomes trapped on a planet with a large number of rebels. In the fourth, the Emperor sends him to deal with one of the Empire's many conflicts.
I'll start with the minuses, since the series still has a lot of pluses. The main disadvantage is the plot about the potential replacement of Vader with imperial
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
trained fighters in the style of Darth Maul
Not that the idea itself is bad. Taking into account the presence of Maul himself in the past, such a move was made quite in the spirit of the Emperor - to hide a couple of trump cards just in case. However, this plot turns out to be the most uninteresting, since these characters do not have any charisma and, as is immediately obvious, were created only for subsequent destruction. Which, in fact, is what happens to them.
You can also write down political intrigues that are not too complicated as a minus, but I won’t do that. In my opinion, Vader as a character works very poorly in this perspective, no matter what Gillen says. Yes, he deceives and schemes, but his character is not designed for complex plans, which is why it was so easy for the Emperor to manipulate him. Vader's Force is persuasion, often forceful, and various psychic attacks using the Force. In the comic, and not only that, it was well emphasized that when Anakin woke up in the operating room in a new body, he was no longer as powerful as he was during the Clone Wars. For example, Stover in the novel describes his condition as: “A blind artist, a deaf musician.”
All this made it possible to limit Vader's power, lowering his character to the ground so that his competitors posed at least a minimal threat to him. However, in the crossover of the Vader and Star Wars series - Vader Down, as often happens, the authors forgot about their own rules, and Vader demolishes equipment and crowds of people with a wave of his hand.
Let's move on to the positives, the first of which is that the authors forgot their own rules, and Vader demolishes equipment and crowds of people with a wave of his hand. Well, seriously, who doesn't want to see the powerful Vader in action? So this is where he really impresses, especially when he stops holding back. This is a terrible, unstoppable force that acts not only on the ground, but also in the air:
The second positive is the line about Vader's search for Luke. First, there are some really interesting supporting characters in the form of Doctor Aphra, who has a kind of enthusiastic fanaticism towards Vader. It all looks pretty funny and also creates good chemistry between her and the main character. Then, there are a couple of droids, kind of Gillen's answer Threepio And R2D2, who, unlike the film characters, are natural sadists and take great pleasure in torturing and killing people. It turned out pretty creepy. All this is seasoned with black humor, which is ideal for such heroes.
Another plus is the scenes when Vader remembers the past, a particularly powerful moment in this sense was when he learned Luke's name:
Well, the overall story also turns out to be very interesting, filling the gap between episodes with exciting adventures in dark tones. However, the last few issues, where Vader participates in one local war, seemed to me somewhat weaker than all the previous ones.
Drawing Salvador Larocca good, both battle scenes and moments of calm. What I liked most is that the artist manages to convey Vader’s emotions visually, and not through monologues, which is very valuable for the series.
And finally we move on to the last comic, which seemed to me the best representative of the new Star Wars.
What pleased me most was the main series - Star Wars by Jason Aaron, also ongoing, released for now 17 rooms. Action - between episodes 4 and 5.
The main plot revolves around the same old acquaintances - Luke, Leia, Han and Chubbucky. The story follows a series of different scrapes that the heroes get into, starting with an attempt to infiltrate one of the largest factories in the Empire. Further, the lines of Luke and the others are divided, and while the latter is chasing the legacy of the Jedi and hiding from Bobba Fett, Han and Leia find themselves in a stalemate, which is organized for them... by Han's wife.
I liked the series mainly because it reproduces the adventure spirit of the original trilogy better than all other stories. She doesn’t just try to repeat the material she’s already covered and draw approximate characters of familiar characters. Here in every episode it is clear that Aaron is an ardent fan of this universe, these characters, and he, like many, cannot get enough of their adventures in the films. As a result, he begins to create stories that are equal in quality to the original trilogy. The series successfully blends epic scope, humor, and world-exploration with an exploration of the universe's past, all with familiar faces at the center. You get banal pleasure from these comics because the stories feel like a natural continuation of the 4th film. At the same time, the author often creates situations, so to speak, from fans for fans, turning the level of good fan service and coolness up to 200%:
The first story in the plot sets the mood and then very successfully takes the heroes to different corners of the galaxy. Moreover, the right mood is created everywhere - the line of Han and Leia is full of typical Han “oops, I think we’ve got it”, and in Luke’s line there is a lot of exploration of the past and search for oneself. By the way, in this last thread, Aaron successfully appeals to the reader's sense of nostalgia, much more subtly than Episode 7 of the film franchise. For example, when in the second story, Luke gets
Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)
on Nar Shaddaa - the moon of smugglers
Aaron introduces a character who collects Jedi artifacts, which results in a cool nod to the fallen Jedi:
By drawing Stuart Immonen there's not much to say - it's ordinary, but it suits the series well. However, the point here, as I hope is clear from the text above, is not at all about the drawing.
CONCLUSION:
This is how the analysis of the comics of the new canon turned out. As should be clear from the article, the situation with filling in the blank spots of history is still quite difficult, which, however, does not prevent some of the stories created in the new format from delighting the reader. I hope there will be more stories like this in the future. In the meantime, the time has come again to saddle up your cosmic horse and go on an adventure, because the familiar, far, far away galaxy is still endless and full of secrets.
