Kol Skywalker

"I am Kol Skywalker, servant of the living Force! None of you will pass!"

- Kol Skywalker

Kol Skywalker was a descendant of Luke Skywalker, a leading member of the Jedi Council in the decades leading up to the Sith-Imperial War, and the father of Cade Skywalker.

Man of honor
An honorable and highly-motivated man, although he could be said to be driven by some. Kol preferred training to politics, and accordingly he tended to spend his time at the Jedi Academy on Ossus rather than the Temple on Coruscant. However, Kol was not simply a man of peace, but also a cunning warrior and a master tactician. He passed on this knowledge of combat to his students, especially the understanding of war as a way of defending peace, believing that this made them better able to serve the ultimate end of peace throughout the Galaxy.

During his lifetime, Kol had two apprentices: first Wolf Sazen and then Shado Vao. Sazen later became the master to his son, Cade Skywalker.

A time of change
Kol was the champion of the Ossus Project; an attempt by the Jedi Council to endear the Yuuzhan Vong to a galaxy that still bore the scars of their invasion and domination. The failure of the wider Vongforming project, due, as some Jedi suspected, to sabotage, brought greater turmoil to the galaxy as a whole and served to divide the member worlds of the Galactic Alliance even further. When the Sith sided with the Empire, the Jedis' suspicions were confirmed, but could not be proven in time to prevent war.

Following the defeat of the Galactic Alliance after three years of fighting the Sith-Imperial War, Kol was one of the Jedi who refused to surrender and submit to the will of the Empire like the Imperial Knights. Preferring instead to continue to serve the Force rather than ally themselves with the Sith, the Jedi withdrew from Coruscant to the Jedi Academy on Ossus. The Sith followed them there.

Massacre on Ossus
Kol ultimately sacrificed himself in defense of the Academy during the Massacre at Ossus, giving Cade and other Jedi younglings a chance to escape the ensuing chaos. Kol encouraged Cade to flee and plunged into battle, where he defeated Darth Nihl and proceeded to slaughter his Sith lackeys. Unfortunately for Kol, an injured Nihl launched a barrage of Force lightning from behind, ending the life of the venerable Jedi Master.

It is confirmed that he killed at least seven Sith during the battle but it is likely he killed a large number more.

Behind the scenes

 * The name Kol has appeared once before as a forename for a human male in Star Wars, with New Republic pilot Kol Eyttyn in Hero's Trial. It has also been recorded as a male forename among the Yevetha, Gran, Advozsec and Sakiyan, and it is borne by one Yuuzhan Vong character, Kol Yabu. It is also a semi-anagram of his ancestor's name, Luke.


 * Kol's last lines bear some resemblance to Gandalf's last lines in Moria: "I am a servant of the Secret Fire...You cannot pass!" Ganner Rhysode's last lines are also similar to Gandalf's speech at Moria.


 * It is speculated that Kol might still be alive, as we have never seen him become one with the Force. In response to why it was Luke Skywalker who showed up as a ghost to Cade and not Kol, John Ostrander said (on theforce.net): "Why Luke and not Kol? That's a very good question and, yes, we do have a reason. And, yes, it's more than just playing with the fans." On the other hand, it appears in Issue #1 that Kol's spirit talks to Shado, and in issue #6, Cade mentions seeing his father's dead body.


 * Kol Skywalker seems to be a Jar'Kai practitioner in the comic, Legacy. This occured when he pick up his unconscious, former apprentice Wolf Sazen's lightsaber and use against a group of Sith.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Legacy 1: Broken, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 3: Broken, Part 3
 * Star Wars Legacy 6: Broken, Part 5
 * Star Wars Legacy 7: Broken, Part 6