Passel Argente/Legends

Passel Argente was the Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance and a member of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, being on the Separatist Council.

He was a Koorivar, and his homeworld was the planet Kooriva, though he later made his home on Murkhana at the time of the Clone Wars.

Biography


Before the Clone Wars, Argente was both a Galactic Republic Senator and the representative of a powerful mercantile company on Lethe, in the Corporate Sector. As a Senator, he was often criticized for graft and corruption, and used his corporate connections to amass great wealth. Passel Argente was usually accompanied by his aide, a female Koorivar named Denaria Kee. Jerv Riske acted as his bodyguard.

In 27 BBY, he was nearly assassinated on Barlok while negotiating between the Corporate Alliance and Guildmaster Gilfrome over a mining dispute, but was saved by Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth. "I am authorized by the Corporate Alliance to sign the treaty."

- Passel Argente

As Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance, Passel Argente was also a key member of Count Dooku's Separatist movement. He was present at the Separatist meeting on Geonosis in 22 BBY shortly before the Battle of Geonosis. After serving as a Republic Senator during the term of Supreme Chancellor Valorum and during much of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's reign, he abandoned the Republic and joined the Separatist movement with the promise of more wealth, and pledged the Corporate Alliance's forces to support the Separatist cause. Passel Argente funded and marketed both anti-Jedi and anti-Republic propaganda which helped keep the public in Confederate territory pro-war.

At the beginning of the war, Passel Argente briefly headed a plot to oust Count Dooku as leader of the CIS. He pushed for an early attack on the cloning facility at Kamino to be headed by his pawn, the Mon Calamari Commander Merai. He hoped that an early victory there would shut down the Republic's war-making capabilities before the war even began, and that he would be given credit for winning the war, garnering enough political support to overthrow Dooku.



However, both Darth Sidious and Dooku were aware of this plot. They arranged to have the Confederacy's battle plans leaked to Quinlan Vos on the Wheel, through Dooku's agent Tookarti. As a result, the outcome of the First Battle of Kamino was disastrous for the Separatists, and instead of being hailed as a glorious leader, Passel Argente was deemed responsible for the failure and disgraced, which proved to be a fatal setback to his plans for a coup.

After the Separatist Council was moved to Mustafar, Passel Argente was killed by Darth Vader when the Sith apprentice slashed near Argente's neck. The rest of the CIS leadership died with him during Vader's raid on the Separatist command center. Soon after his death, the Corporate Alliance relocated its distribution companies to the Corporate Sector; with the death of Argente, the Corporate Alliance faded into oblivion.

Behind the scenes
Passel Argente was played by actor Steven Boyle in Attack of the Clones and Marty Wetherill in Revenge of the Sith.

A "passel" is a casual word for "a large grouping of items," and "Argent" is French for "money", as well as an archaic word for "silver". Passel Argente's name, then, roughly means "a lot of money".

Appearances



 * Cloak of Deception
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Outbound Flight
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones comic
 * Star Wars Republic 50: The Battle of Kamino
 * CIS Shadowfeed Year's Start Fete Day Edition
 * Spy Girls
 * Secrets of the Jedi
 * Evasive Action: Reversal of Fortune
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader