I’m proud to bring everyone a new weekly post that I prefer to call “Know Your Sith”. And yes that is a play on the words ‘know your shit’. Just like Sith Happens and Sith-head. Basically we will feature a new Sith Lord every week and a brief bio including their claim to fame and some pivotal moments for them in the Star Wars universe. And just so everyone knows, we won’t be covering well known Sith Lords such as Darth Vader, Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus. This is a chance for the Star Wars fans out there to have a little back story on Sith Lords from some of the expanded universe work out there including comics, games and novels.
At one point George Lucas issued an edict to the expanded universe writers and figure heads: No Sith and No Galaxy Spanning Wars. Also I think he said no more Wookie Jedi, which is a damn shame. But once the New Jedi Order series started the whole galaxy spanning war thing sort of went out the window. With the completion of the NJO series the no Sith rule also went out the window and now we have Old Republic Sith, post NJO Sith and Legacy era Sith. To the layman, those are several of the different time eras in the Star Wars expanded universe.
And now for this week’s Sith Lord:
DARTH KRUHL
“A Sith has many ways to kill.”
Race: Human (Home Planet Unknown)
Claim to fame: Almost took out the Emperor Roan Fel
Moment of Shame: Dying by blaster bolt. I mean seriously, you’re a Sith.
Sith Affiliation: The Order of the One Sith
Darth Kruhl definitely didn’t have much face time, but definitely made an impact and proved that he was pretty bad ass. Showing up in the widely loved Legacy comic line written John Ostrander, Darth Kruhl was one of the One Sith Order’s best assassins and intelligence operatives. We were able to watch him single handedly manipulate and ultimately bind the planet of Munto Codru to the will of his Sith Emperor, Darth Krayt, but it is Kruhl’s assignment following that which makes him stand out.
Darth Kruhl is charged with assassinating the exiled Emperor Roan Fel who at this point is the second most powerful being in the galaxy behind Darth Krayt. (Politically, not in terms of force use, though Fel was definitely no push over) After infiltrating the heavily fortified Imperial capital of Bastion Kruhl finds Fel meditating in his garden when he springs to attack. Unfortunately Fel was waiting for such an assassin. Kruhl fights valiantly, nearly killing the Emperor at one point, even without a lightsaber. But Fel finally gains the upper hand finishing Kruhl off with a blaster bolt to the guts.
The fight itself was one of the best in the Legacy comics, like a fight between two lone samurai in a bamboo thicket. Many of the fights in Legacy involve groups of force users and tons of limbs and heads flying to and fro, but this one felt more personal and the stakes were quite high. Kruhl more than likely would have never left the planet alive after killing Roan Fel but would have been regarded very highly by his Sith bretheren for sacrificing himself to eliminate Darth Krayt’s competition to the throne. Even failing in his mission I have to say… that Sith had balls.
Stay tuned next week for another installment of Know Your Sith!
There were a couple of clips from season 5 of the Clone Wars released around Comic Con time, and there were some good-uns. After watching the season 5 trailer it would appear that Maul and Savage Oppress will be crossing paths with the Mandalorians at one point. My thoughts from the trailer were that they were obviously going to team up with their mutual disdain and need for vengeance against both Count Dooku and Obi-Wan Kenobi. After watching the clip below I’m not really sure what is behind all of the Mandalorian mayhem on display…. But I like it. Check out the clip below:
Seriously, what the hell is going on? Is that Sidious choking out two Death Watch Mandalorians? And why is Obi-Wan wearing Mando armor and working with Bo-Katan who was all about killing Jedi last season when she crossed paths with Ahsoka? Bo-Katan whom is voiced by the lovely Katee Sackhoff I might add. And are all of the Mandolorians fighting one another Death Watch? And why are they fighting?! AHHHHHH… head exploding! Apparently we’ll be waiting until September to find out. I also loved the incorporation of John William’s music into the scenes, too bad it won’t stay in there.
The next clip is a little less thrilling, but is still quite cool. It shows Maul and Savage infiltrating some sort of space station possibly controlled (or patrolled) by security droids. Check it out below:
Yes it was short and clearly beneath the Maul bros. to be cutting up simple droids but it’s definitely good to see such a deadly pair work together so seamlessly… now to see them fight some Jedi, that would be great. Overall I can’t wait for this upcoming fifth season of the Clone Wars. It’s a show that is constantly outdoing itself each season in terms of animation, story and scope and I would love if it was on for the next five years. Check out the season 5 trailer below if you haven’t already and stay tuned for further upcoming Clone Wars info and news!
The Clone Wars finale wasn’t what I expected in the first half, but it was still pretty excellent. This is episode was ALL Darth Maul, and only a little bit of it being “crazy” Darth Maul. Witwer turned that character off to give us the cold and calculating Darth Maul who kept his rage in check for the most part… until his first confrontation with Obi-Wan Kenobi since the bisection he dealt out to the horned Sith Lord on Naboo.
The first half of the episode involved Savage taking his twisted, spider-legged brother Maul to see Mother Talzin on Dathomir in order to “fix” him. Not only does Talzin repair Maul’s damaged mind to help give him some focus but she also fashions him some new sturdy legs that are far superior to the rickety old spider ones he had. After appearing in about five episodes at this point, Talzin remains to be a mystery to me. She obviously wouldn’t mind seeing Dooku dead, could care less about the Jedi being killed, and she helps Ventress and the Maul/Savage siblings without either one being aware of it. So it remains to be seen just who’s side she is on. She’s obviously on her own side, but to what end is uncertain. It will be interesting to see next season what all of her plans finally culminate into.
It was very interesting to hear a couple of things that Maul had to say after his enlightenment by Mother Talzin. He stated that the Clone Wars had began without him, which makes it clear that the plan to use the clones was known to him through Sidious far in advance. Also involving Sidious was Maul’s statement that he was apprentice to the most powerful being in the galaxy once and that he had a greater destiny than the one that befell him on Naboo. That has me thinking that Maul not only has business with the Jedi, but perhaps with Dooku and Sidious as well. It makes me wonder what the future has in store for us. Possibly some sort of future confrontation between Sidious and Maul? Personally I’d like to see a clash between Maul and Dooku sometime also. I can’t wait if those things actually end up happening next season!
After Talzin departs we are treated to some mercilessness from Maul as he lands on a planet to lure Kenobi to him. I felt a little chilled as children gathered outside of their spaceship, under the impression that it was a routine supply ship and Maul calmly declared to his brother- “In a galaxy at war Savage, there is only one way to get the attention of the Jedi…. Slaughter of the innocent, mercilessly and without compromise.” After a decapitation by lightsaber ridden hologram message to the Jedi council, Obi-Wan is off to a date with destiny… and one pissed off half Sith Lord.
The four way lightsaber fight between Ventress and Obi-Wan v.s. Savage and Maul was pretty darn spectacular. It couldn’t top Dooku v.s. Ventress v.s. Savage, but to be able to see Kenobi and Maul throwdown was enough to put it damn close. I’m a huge fan of trash talk during lightsaber fights, as a Sith Lord tries to lure the Jedi into using the Dark Side. Maul tried accomplishing this by throwing Qui-Gon’s death in Obi-Wan’s face which had the Jedi more than a little angry. In the end it was curious to see how outgunned even Ventress and Obi-Wan were up against the brothers. Maybe if Obi-Wan could fight without having the tar beat out of him previously, then that might have tipped the scales in their favor.
As welcome a sight as it was seeing Obi-Wan and Ventress fighting side by side, I still don’t know how I feel about seeing Ventress as even a reluctant hero. And it’s not because this current path she is on screws up EU continuity. She has been an agent of Dooku and killer of many for far too long for me to accept her as anything more than a villain. True, they’ve done a lot with her character in this season and the last but that doesn’t mean she should be the redeemable bad guy at this point. But then again, if Anakin could be redeemed by the end of Return of the Jedi, then why not Ventress.
It was an interesting way to see the season end, with Maul and Savage being credible threats in store for season 5 and Ventress on a ship with Obi-Wan. Maul is not only anticipating Jedi coming after him and Savage, but he is actually wanting it to happen. I sense there might be more than a few Jedi deaths next season.
I knew after the first ten minutes that there wouldn’t be enough time to expand on the story as much, but the Clone Wars team did a great job with the time that they did have. I give the episode four out of five grizzlies and eagerly await the next season. Usually we get a preview of the next season via one of the comic conventions, so stay tuned!
The Clone Wars is wrapping up its fourth season with a bang as the first of the last four episodes airs in the form of “Massacre“. We see Ventress making her return to Dathomir and swearing full allegiance to the Night Sisters of Dathomir, forsaking the Sith. Count Dooku in the meantime has ordered General Grievous to strike hard at the planet and rid the galaxy of the witches. These rich Sith types just tend to hold a major grudge ya know?
It was actually kind of hard to decide which group of scumbags to root for. I mean, Grievous and the Separatists are a no brainer, they suck. But the Night Sisters are equally as shady, with the hairless harpy leading the charge of laser bow-wielding Night Sisters and even a contingent of zombie Night Sisters. Yes, you heard me…. zombie Night Sisters. They were definitely creepy as hell, but nowhere near as creepy as the wrinkled old Night Sister who is even older than Mother Talzin. I thought Talzin’s double-layered voice was unnerving enough but the oldest Night Sister blew it away with all of her crazy chanting.
So, even though the battle itself was pretty awesome there was no indication of why it would be best if one side or the other was to win. I’m actually a little sick of Grievous being bested over and over again in combat, but even as he lost to Ventress after a short spar he went on quite the killing spree and savagely killed the super old Night Sister and her guards. One might wonder what happened to Mother Talzin but I’m sure we’ve not seen the last of her.
The force magic of the Night Sisters was an interesting thing to see, albeit some was a little ridiculous. I find it curious how Talzin was able to procure a lock of Dooku’s hair, but it’s a minute detail. The episode certainly did live up to its name. It truly did turn into a massacre as not one Night Sister except Ventress was left alive by the episode’s end. Again, I’m not too broken up about this and I can’t feel much sympathy for Ventress being left all alone. We’ll certainly see where she lands next episode as it appears she may be taking on the role of a bounty hunter!
Stayed tuned next week for the continuation of the Clone Wars ending arc. I give the episode 2 out of 5 grizzlies, great visuals but I just couldn’t find myself caring who won this round on the Clone Wars. Bring on the Maul Bros in a couple weeks!
The Darth Plagueis novel was very unlike many other Star Wars literature I’ve read. It was light on action and heavy on political machinations by the Sith as they tipped the force inexorably in their favor. I was under the impression that Plagueis died well before Palpatine started his foray into politics but alas I was very wrong. I also assumed that the book would start with Plagueis training Palpatine from the start and again I was proven wrong. The book not only chronicles the apprenticeship of Sidious to Plagueis but also touches on the relationship between Plagueis and his own master Darth Tenebrous. There are a few other Darths mentioned throughout, but learning further about the Sith succession line is only a small portion of what makes up a fantastic book by Star Wars veteran James Luceno.
If the first trailer for season 4 of the Clone Wars didn’t quite do it for you then wait, there’s more! Now there’s another trailer that shows quite a bit more than just the spectacular (And physics defying) battle underwater on the Mon Calamari homeworld of Dac. Sorry fellow geeks if they stray from EU continuity by just calling the planet Mon Calamari. So take a look at the trailer below so we can sift through all of the goodness and I can push all of the things I’M interested in for Season 4 onto all of you! Enjoy!
Once again, the underwater battle looks breathtaking, but all of the other stuff bodes well for a good season. Of course we’ll get another trailer showcasing the second of the season during the show’s break in winter. Now to the most interesting stuff to me:
Grievous v.s. Ventress
Ventress wasn’t on very good terms with the Confederacy last time we saw her. Her attempt to kill Dooku with his new apprentice failed so now she’s all on her own. So is Grievous sent to eliminate her once and for all so Tyranus has no loose ends? And will Ventress accomplish something to get back into her former master’s good graces? I think so.
Savage Oppress
Ok he wasn’t in the trailer but don’t act like this subject isn’t the Bantha in the room. It appeared in the end of his episode arc last season that Savage had a brother and it sure the hell looked like Darth Maul. So it looks like that might be covered in the second half of the season and I can’t wait! Is Maul going to have robot legs? Will he be a holocron gatekeeper? A Dark Side force ghost? The anticipation is killing me. I want to see Savage in action again because he was a sight to behold in Season 3. I’m wondering who will end up killing him…
The Jedi… With two double-bladed lightsabers!
Seriously doesn’t this whole thing seem a little overkill?! Yes, but I love it. This Jedi better be able to do some damage. And he’s the same species as Dex from Attack of the Clones so that’s something new.
The Togruta Slaves
Unless I’m wrong it looked like there was a lot of talk about slaves when they showed numerous Togruta people lining up. (same species as Ahsoka) I’m interested because we all know how Anakin despises slavery and he looks to be getting pretty pissed in this trailer. Also they kind of covered the Togruta getting enslaved in the Slavers of Zyggeria clone wars book, but I guess it wouldn’t be the first time they deviated from continuity. And I may be completely wrong about the Togruta being slaves.
Ackbar’s Back!
And that’s all I have to say!
So here’s to double-double lightsabers, light-whips, Mon Calamari and Grievous fighting gungans! Be sure to tune in on September 16th at 8:00pm for two episodes: ‘Water War’ and ‘Gungan Attack’ and I’ll be sure to review it!
It would seem George Lucas has set a precedent on doing things in the galaxy far far away backwards, because the latest Old Republic cinematic takes place before the previous two. Satele Shan is not a master yet nor is Darth Malgus. Also the Sith Empire has not returned yet…until the cinematic kicks off of course.
Darth Malgus and Satele Shan in their second duel on Alderaan
The trailers have showed us just about every character class that you can use in the MMORPG and this one introduces us to the smuggler class, portrayed by a smart mouth human Cad Bane wannabe, who also likes to check out Twi’lek behinds. Check out the trailer below to enjoy the goodness. And be good to yourself by watching it in 720p:
Let’s touch on some interesting points: Malgus and Satele certainly end up having quite a history, fighting for the first time here and Satele being the one to injure him so badly on Alderaan that he needs Darth Vader style life support. I can’t wait to see their next confrontation which will no doubt occur during the Old Republic game. (If it ever finally releases.)
Satele’s master
Malgus himself shows that he is quite the skilled fighter, as if that wasn’t apparent with his destruction of the Jedi Temple and concurrent conquering of Coruscant later. (That was a lot of c’s.) He also proves to be a true sith after striking down his wounded master after their fight against the Jedi. It was interesting to see a Sith Lord of the same species of Naga Sadow in action, something I can’t recall seeing before in any video. The red skinned Sith claim to be pure blooded Sith because they share the bloodline of the initially conquered Sith species.
Satele’s master also proved to be quite formidable, taking on both Malgus and his own master with plenty of finesse as he wielded his own lightsaber with Satele’s own double bladed weapon. It’s a shame that he bit the dust because he seemed interesting enough. Given Star Wars penchant for prequel material perhaps we will see him in something in future media.
I’ve told myself and told myself not to waste time playing the MMORPG when it finally does release but the more I see of it the more I know that just won’t happen. From all of the trailers, gameplay and books this portion of the Star Wars expanded universe has shown us so far, the Old Republic era still has plenty for us. Either way I need a new Star Wars game to play because I’m still reeling from the disappointment that was The Force Unleashed 2.
Dorkly recently posted a list of 6 Ways that the Expanded Universe ruined Star Wars. The ‘Expanded Universe’ being anything other that the actual Star Wars movies, such as books, comics and video games. Granted, some of the things in this list were kinda stupid, even though I don’t think that they flat-out ruined Star Wars. It seems like Dorkly may have just not researched very well, but I, being a ridiculous Star Wars buff can help remedy that. I would definitely read their list here before you read the rest of my article. It will make more sense, trust me.
The Clone Wars finale is finally here with the episodes “Padawan Lost” and “Wookie Hunt”. And be forewarned, Chewbacca doesn’t show up until the second episode, so keep your lightsaber holstered for a minute. I’m about to cover both episodes in a single review – prepare to have your mind blown!
*Warning: Spoilers Ahead. Turn back while you can!*
The best way to describe this episode is: Star Wars meets a blend of Surviving the Game, Running Manand Hard Target. We start off the planet Felucia again, and this is the third time unless I’m mistaken. I really wish they would change-up planets instead of revisiting all of the same ones. That aside, Felucia looked awesome down to the last detail of tiny bugs crawling over the plant life.
Felucia…again.Owned!
As Anakin, Plo Koon and Ahsoka are leading an attack on the Separatist base, Ahsoka gets stunned and taken captive by a Trandoshan who leaves the planet for parts unknown. If you’re wondering what a Trandoshan is, it’s the same species as Bossk from The Empire Strikes Back and season 2 of Clone Wars. They are also the mortal enemies of the Wookies, their popular pass-times being: Hunting the walking carpets and using them for slave labor.
Ahoska awakes aboard a transport, another prisoner aboard telling her that these Trandoshans capture people, and then release them in order to hunt them for sport. After being dropped off weaponless on a moon called Wasskah in the Trandosh System, Ahsoka is scattered from the other prisoners by blaster fire from the Trandoshans. It’s not long before Ahsoka is found by three others who have been there for a long time. They reveal themselves to be Jedi younglings, stating that the Trandoshans hunt them because they are far less dangerous than a Jedi Knight. Kalifa, seems to be the group leader, with the grumpy Twi-LekJinx and the more calm CereanO-Mer as her companions. They explain to Ahsoka the situation they are in and try explaining that it is best to run and hide to survive instead of fighting the Trandoshans. As one might predict, Ahsoka isn’t too keen on that advice.
The Padawans from left to right: O-Mer, Jinx, Kalifa and Ahsoka
After finding one of the Trandoshans and giving him a good old-fashioned group beat down, the padawans flee into the jungle once more. That night, inspired by Ahsoka’s defiance, they decide to search for the Trandoshan base and make a stand. This doesn’t go very well as the padawans become seperated, resulting in the death of the Trandoshan leader Garnac’s son at the hand of Ahsoka. Kalifa is in turn killed by the papa lizard in a very emotional scene. This is where Ahsoka promises to look after O-mer and Jinx as her newly found friend slowly passes on.
“Excuse me, you have a laser bolt coming out of your chest.”
If there was ever a time that this was not considered a kid friendly show, these two episodes would be it. Especially in the first episode. To start off, the bloodthirsty Trandoshans are hunting freakin’ kids for sport with all intentions of displaying their bodies in a trophy room. They shoot and kill three of the hunted on-screen, and one of the hunter’s falls onto a spike and gets impaled before our very eyes. It’s all well and good for me as an adult, but for kids watching the show they may have some nightmares. Personally I wish all of the episodes were adult themed as this one was. Now, let’s get to Chewbacca.
These guys need to be returned to the Jerk Store
In ‘Wookie Hunt’, Ahsoka narrowly escapes from the Trandoshans, but finally meets up with O-Mer and Jinx who are about to give up upon hearing of Kalifa’s death. Ahsoka has other ideas and inspires the remaining two Padawans to join her in attacking the next transport that will drop prisoners. The scene with the Padawans attacking the transport was very cool, one of the Trandoshans was even using a shotgun that Trandoshan slavers used in the Republic Commando video game. After the ship crashes spectacularly, the younglings stumble upon Chewbacca who was the only prisoner aboard. Ahsoka can conveniently understand the Wookie and he shows some of his technological prowess by putting together a communication device to contact his fellow fuzzballs. I won’t spoil anymore of the episode by telling you who lives and dies by the end of the episode, but I can say to expect some Wookie rage, a couple familiar characters, and some Trando-bashing by the end of it all.
“I SAID GOOD DAY SIR!”
This finale was about as good as I expected from the previews and even went in a different direction than I thought with the whole hunting aspect. Chewbacca could easily have been any random Wookie, but I liked that they gave the fans a familiar face for the end of the season. It definitely beats out the Boba Fett finale from last year, which I was a bit let down by.
The Trandoshans were a very nice addition to the Clone Wars series. The sounds they made kind of reminded me of the raptors from Jurassic Park 3(but in a good way) by the way they called for help with high-pitched screeching, and the way they growled in attack mode. They sure were a sadistic lot of scumbags. Garnac, their leader, had quite an extensive trophy room consisting of many notable species from the Star Wars universe, and a couple of cool ones for the fans including a Mandalorian Neo-Crusader helmet from the Old Republic and what appeared to be a crystal skull from Indiana Jones.
The voice acting was a bit hit and miss with the Trando voices themselves being a bit over the top. But the padawans Kalifa, Jinx and O-Mer were very nicely done. And I give Clone Wars veteran voice actress Gwendoline Yeo extra props, because in real life she is smoking hot!
Gwendoline Yeo – voice of Kalifa in The Clone Wars
We were also treated to a quick preview of season 4 of the Clone Wars coming out this Fall. Shots included underwater battles involving the Mon Calamari species (Ackbar!), another Anakin/Dooku fight, and what looks to be a bad-ass Gungan fighting General Grievous, if you can believe that. There was also plenty of shootings and a couple explosions so you can’t go wrong there!
Grizzly Bomb 