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Caught up on Star Wars comics. It struck me how, at least here, biggest problem with the new EU is how it turns villains into protagonists.Permalink On twitter.com
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This article hits on the eventual issue, sort of, but it is more than this: io9.gizmodo.com/star-wars-is-poised-to-re-make-one-of-the-expanded-univ-1792902460Permalink On twitter.com
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Star Wars is, hyperspace aside, a small universe. You laugh, but remember half the main characters are basically related...On twitter.com
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The universe's most 'official' expansion until recently were three films trying to create a sympathetic backstory for it's greatest villainPermalink On twitter.com
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So when Disney cleaned slate, ~40% of what was left was trying to get you to care about a genocidal, wife-beating, child-killing maniac...Permalink On twitter.com
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Who uses literal stormtroopers as a leader in an organization that is clearly modeled after Nazis. He's the hero of a huge swath of SW mediaPermalink On twitter.com
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(This, by the way, is why you shouldn't get an Empire logo tattoo)Permalink On twitter.com
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Luke is, theoretically, hero of Eps 4,5 & 6. But almost none of post-Disney reset-EU features him. I think Chewbacca gets equal comic timePermalink On twitter.com
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There's an obvious and good reason. The Hero's Journey is a tightly defined narrative and we've seen most of Luke's. So...Permalink On twitter.com
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For the EU to expand without passing SW Ep. 7, it has to expand out of other character's back stories.Permalink On twitter.com
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Villains are easy targets for expansion because in the type of fiction that gets EU treatments, they tend to be lightly sketched obstacles.Permalink On twitter.com
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Also, they're allowed the type of infighting heroes aren't able to have. Which makes it more exciting to read them.Permalink On twitter.com
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Not to mention, as someone who has done this, more exciting to write.Permalink On twitter.com
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This is ok when they're more opponents but with Star Wars, like Marvel Comics, it means you're asking readers to root for Really Bad People.Permalink On twitter.com
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Star Wars' Empire isn't as bad as Hydra, but we're still talking metaphorical Space Nazis vs Actual Nazis we pretend aren't.Permalink On twitter.com
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So there's a Star Wars Darth Vader comic in the new EU and he's not a good guy in it, but we're still supposed to be rooting for him to win.Permalink On twitter.com
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And the comic does that thing where it shows 'redeeming things' about the Empire, and I question that ethical calculus...Permalink On twitter.com
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It's there though because a character can't be as evil as a protagonist as he is as a villain. No complexity is boring.Permalink On twitter.com
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But the result is these villains get 'expanded' and that ends up with them trying to justify their actions. Or having justifications given.Permalink On twitter.com
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Hydra goes from Nazis to 'over zealous in creating order'. Palpatine goes from cackling madman to 'trying to protect civilization'.Permalink On twitter.com
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And imposing unbeatable vast slaughtering growling enforcer Vader becomes a whiny kid with daddy issues. Or fighting for his life & positionPermalink On twitter.com
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Generally, expanding villains is easy, but doing so often robs them of what made them effective villains in the first place.Permalink On twitter.com
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But more than that, it really worries me how it creates fans of organizations and individual characters that are evil.Permalink On twitter.com
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An excellent video essay diving more into treatment of Nazi-style geek villains this relative to Star Wars - youtu.be/XAVeyXwy3BEPermalink On twitter.com
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And here's my thread diving into this in regard to Hydra - Chronotope/840574470813319169Permalink On twitter.com
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