When the writer of a serialized TV show or comic book series gets word of the project’s cancellation and has only a few episodes or issues to wrap it up, they have three options: 1) to not change their plans at all, and just let the story end mid-stream, 2) to stick with their planned story but add an emotional coda, or 3) to cram in as much of the planned story as possible and rush to the end point.
“Star Wars” writers had rarely been put in this position through the years, but there are some examples. Marvel “Star Wars” Volume 1 used Option 3 when it was canceled with Issue 107, cramming every plot resolution into one issue; Michael Stackpole’s “Rogue Squadron” chose Option 2, as Syal Antilles Fel’s fate was left dangling; and “The Clone Wars” took Option 1 by default, as the writers weren’t given a choice — although, by accident, the on-screen finale where Ahsoka leaves and the DVD finale where Yoda battles dream visions ended up being nice codas by coincidence.
The “Ewoks” cartoon wasn’t serialized, but some fans theorize that writer Paul Dini cranked out the episode with Ewoks on a Star Destroyer in a “Why the hell not?” moment when the series was cancelled.
In 2014, the four ongoing comics took different approaches upon getting the news of their cancellations. “Dark Times” took Option 2, as the heroes survived a showdown with Darth Vader but kept on fighting, whereas Brian Wood was too early in his build-up of story elements to take anything other than Option 1 with the ongoing “Star Wars.” I’ll get to “Dawn of the Jedi” in a future post. That leaves “Legacy Volume II,” where writer Corinna Bechko took Option 3 – cramming in a bunch of resolutions.
I generally loathe Option 3, as it made the end of “Dollhouse” into a confusing mess and made the end of “Angel” feel rushed. Come to think of it, the final panel of “Legacy Volume II” is reminiscent of “Angel’s” “entering the fray” conclusion, as Ania, Sauk, AG-37 and Jao come out with blasters blazing against an unknown foe.
But Bechko handles the final condensed arc pretty well. I don’t know if “Legacy Volume II” would’ve ever matched the heights of “Legacy” if it had gone the equivalent 56 issues, but even with only 18 issues it carved out a niche. Like its predecessor, this was “Star Wars” in broad strokes, but Bechko came up with crazily creative ideas that made this title stand out, and the gritty art by Gabriel Hardman and Brian Albert Thies fit the mood. In “Wanted: Ania Solo” (Issues 11-15), Ania is stalked by a bounty hunter across a bleak planet where it rains glass! (Or should that be “transparisteel?”)
I like the concept of “Empire of One” (16-18). We learn that Darth Wredd’s plan was to lure all the Sith to one location to be defeated by him and Triumvirate forces. Then Wredd – who, by the way, wears a helmet like Skorr from the Goodwin/Williamson strips — stabs Empress Fel so the Triumvirate will kill him, thus ending the Sith line. To summarize: Wredd was a good Force-user whose anger made him a Sith, but who retained enough goodness to realize he should be killed for the good of the galaxy, as it will mark the end of the Sith Order. Now that I type that, I realize I could be describing Darth Vader’s arc, but I didn’t make the comparison when reading the story.
On the downside, we don’t find out the specifics of AG-37’s loyalty to the Solo family. It’s possible that Bechko didn’t intend to go beyond the droid’s explanation of: “She is a Solo. I made a promise to a Solo once. That’s really all there is to know.” But I doubt it.
Similarly, we gets hints of Ania’s knowledge of her family tree when she says she thinks she’s a distant cousin of Empress Marasiah Fel. Sauk is surprised to learn Ania is a member of THAT Solo lineage, an indication that the Solo name is prominent in the history books of this time, much like the Skywalker name, as we learned in “Legacy,” where for a while Cade didn’t want people to know his surname.
For the record, Ania is correct: They are both the third generation after Jagged Fel and Jaina Solo. Marasiah is directly descended from Jagged and Jaina (as stated in “Legacy”), whereas it’s not explicitly stated that Ania is, but we do know from the “Legacy Volume II” guide in the “Empire of One” TPB than Han is her great-great-grandfather. Ania could possibly be descended from Jacen and Tenel Ka, with Allana being Ania’s grandmother, but the numbers don’t crunch as well in that scenario. Most likely, both Marasiah and Ania have Jagged and Jaina as great-grandparents.
At the end of “Empire of One,” “Legacy” heroes Cade, Blue and Jariah make a cameo as they sell a spaceship part to Sauk. (It’s implied that they kind of rip him off. Still, it’s nice to see they are doing what makes them happy.) But despite the introduction of the massive Sith army, we never see any of the specific Darths who starred in “Legacy” and then scattered throughout the galaxy to build up bases of power. I feel like Bechko would’ve brought these Sith into the Floating World battle if the series progressed as originally intended, but she didn’t want them to feel tacked on to the rushed ending.
Issue 18 — the last “Star Wars” comic published by Dark Horse — includes what some fans see as a subtle jab at Disney for cancelling the Expanded Universe, and a prediction that these stories will find a way to go on. After Imperial Knight Val tells Empress Fel the Sith are gone from the galaxy and it’s the end of history, she says: “Oh, I don’t know. History has a way of … continuing.” At this point it seems highly unlikely this story will continue. But I guess it doesn’t hurt to hold out a shred of hope.