Was Force Unleashed a Better for Star Wars Lore?
WARNING: Article contains spoilers for The Force Unleashed.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed introduced Starkiller (Galen Marek) to the galaxy; a powerful Force user adopted by Darth Vader at a young age as a secret apprentice. With the blessing and encouragement of George Lucas, Starkiller was meant to show what a Force user could do without any restrictions, using powers that rival and possibly exceed those of Yoda and Darth Vader. It was an exciting addition to the universe at the time. One that was meant to show a full embrace of video games as a storytelling medium. Furthermore, it bridged the two movie trilogies with lasting implications.
Dubbed Starkiller as an adult, his mission was to wipe out the Jedi remnants as a means of preparing for a greater goal: helping Darth Vader kill the Emperor, thereby elevating himself to a full Sith Lord. However, his existence was discovered by the Emperor, and Darth Vader had to fall back on Plan B: form a resistance group and use it to destroy the Emperor. The Emperor would be so distracted by the ensuing civil war that he'd forget to watch his own back, giving Vader the opening to take a shot.
Then something happened. No, we're not talking about how the whole "start a rebellion" thing was actually a plan thought up by Vader and the Emperor as a means of ferreting out traitors. Nor are we referring to how Starkiller pulls a reverse Vader by discovering the Light side, falling in love, and sacrificing himself in a battle against the Emperor - an act that marked the beginning of the Alliance to Restore the Republic (later shortened to Rebel Alliance), which uses the Marek insignia as its symbol. We're talking about September 2012, when it was announced that everything that happened in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU) didn't count as canon. That meant no video game, including The Force Unleashed, Knights of the Old Republic, or Republic Commando, had any real bearing on the Star Wars universe, thus negating all of video gaming's contributions to the Star Wars lore.
As it stands, the official story of the Rebel Alliance's origin is a little more organic. As depicted in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, the last remnants of the of the Jedi Order join forces with renegade members of the Imperial Senate. Together, they create an alliance group with the goal of fighting a war of attrition against the Empire. Neat, understandable, and totally boring.
On the one hand, not being counted as canon allows for all the crazy events that happened in The Force Unleashed 2, especially its ending. If it doesn't count toward anything, then you can pretty much do whatever you want. On the other, using Starkiller to found the rebellion as part of some plot to find traitors among the Empire is so insane that it's worthy of a true mastermind. Hey, it makes more sense than space bacteria being responsible for Force sensitivity.
When you think about it, Starkiller's founding of the Rebellion can be looked at in one of two ways. Firstly, as the ultimate power grab by Darth Vader. Up until then, fans knew him as either the impetuous (and whiney) Anakin Skywalker, who betrayed the whole Jedi Order. Or as Darth Vader, the guy would Force Choke you to death via video phone. But training and using Starkiller (and the Rebel Alliance by extension) to kill a master he can't beat in a straight fight demonstrates that Vader is also capable of great patience. It took the Rebel Alliance a long while, but it ultimately gave him the opening he needed to take out the Emperor. Vader might have fired a bullet that took decades to hit, but doing so would solidify his role as the galaxy's ultimate badass.
Alternatively, Starkiller's storyline could be seen as the Emperor committing suicide, he originally cooked up the complicated plan to further secure his own power. But the plan backfired and ultimately destroyed everything he built. Or, perhaps the Emperor wanted to see if Vader would take advantage of his schemes and prove himself by killing his master in the traditional Sith way. Either way would essentially amount to suicide.
Using Starkiller's storyline opens up a wealth of different questions and makes the Star Wars events richer. What does it mean for the Alliance's identity if it was founded as part of a secret Imperial plot? If it was a suicide, then does that mean the Emperor was the only person in the galaxy who could take himself down? No matter how you use slice it, and whether or not you use a lightsaber to do it, Starkiller's involvement adds an air of complexity to an otherwise straightforward story, not to mention video games' involvement in the franchise canon. Star Wars lost something significant when it denied Starkiller's involvement.
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Ultimately, the new canon will probably just be a regurgitation of what we've already seen, just in different ways. There's only so many ways you can tell Darth Vader's story, with all his self-loathing and his on/off relationship with Palpatine, for instance.
The EU, for all the bad or silly it may have had at times, had a ton of good in it, too. It's what's kept Star Wars alive and popular for decades now so Disney could have a chance to make money off of it now with new films, after all. The whole new canon thing is just another marketing thing as it is, so they can re-sell the stories that have already happened to both old and new fans.
I'll certainly be there for the new films, but it's a separate continuity for me. You want a full universe, mapped out and in-depth with over 25,000 years of history involved? With games, comics, novels, and more connected together and being part of each other? You'll want the EU, then.
Except for Anakin at first, whose power he was hoping to use in his pursuit of immortality (to “cheat death” as he put it in Revenge of the Sith), he chooses apprentices he can manipulate and discard as his plans require. When Vader was ruined at the end of Revenge of the Sith from his battle with Obi-Wan and his loss of Padme and the life she was carrying (he assumes), he became little more than a leashed pet for Palpatine as time went on; another tool to be used and discarded at his master's leisure.
The Book of Sith (EU) gives a little Palpatine quote on this that I like, “While I may choose apprentices, I will never choose a successor.”
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In the end, Palpatine may have failed in the good ending, but he was still confident he could destroy the Rebellion and would try to have Luke replace Vader as he hoped Starkiller would.
The Sith way is to train your apprentice as they grow in skill and talent, but at the same time holding all the power and keeping watchful guard against treachery. If you can defeat your apprentice and their attempt to kill you, then you haven't got a worthy apprentice. Palpatine, however, in both Expanded Universe (EU) and likely "new-canon" works, probably assumes he's the ultimate culmination of the ancient plan of the Sith to overthrow the Republic and destroy the Jedi. That he feels he's at the top of the Sith hierarchy; that even death may be beyond him.
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I think you meant the "Rebels" TV show.
I generally agree with this article's depiction of events, though it should be noted that the Emperor was still, in the end, more concerned with his own power and well-being, and likely had all sorts of plans cooked up in case things turned around on him. I'm sure he already considered the possibility of Vader actually turning on him, though it doesn't seem like he expected Starkiller to come out on top via his self-sacrifice, in the end.
As evidenced by the alternate ending, Palpatine was ready for Starkiller to turn on Vader, to use him as his new, more powerful apprentice; the apprentice he wanted in Anakin before his severe physical and mental wounds. Palpatine was even ready for Starkiller when he turned on him.
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I do hope we see some references to these greats, these "Legends" as they're being referred to. I personally would love to see a Starkiller, or Tyber Zann, or even freakin' awesome HK-47, or anything else that is in Wookieepedia.
A bit thin I realize but if you will: Going off of Grav's "To heck with it" model for Starkiller being able to do things his way. It can be seen where maybe the inspiration was taken in the real world to develop this "New" Star Wars. I can't say it is "excusable" (because I'm personally still a bit upset about the whole de-canonizing thing, slowly opening to the idea) but maybe it can be more understandable.
A note on the Emperor. It can less be seen as some long complicated path of suicide and more as a testament to what Sith do all the time, cause their own destruciton through greed. The Emperor is
I never played Force Unleashed II, in part because I found so much of it- the degree of cloning, the power creep, the Return of the Jedi DLC- going to a bit too dark a place for me to follow Star Wars. Obviously not an EU guy.
Maybe that's exactly what the galaxy needed.
Starkiller succeeded at least to some degree where the Jedi failed. But that's not the most impressive part: He managed to do it while embracing the dark side, while not being corrupted by it, and he did this while following an altogether selfish quest.
Basically, Starkiller proved that the raw integrity and willpower of a force user can be more important than their philosophy when it comes to handling the Force. The same thing that broke Anakin is what kept Starkiller on the path of virtue.
I agree that it's interesting, because it raises so many questions. It throws the entire dark side and light side thing into question, and opens up a -ton- of possibilities for where things could go next.