Legacy delved nearly 100 years further into the Star Wars timeline than any previously published material. Despite some initial uproar upon its announcement in 2006, it went on to become one of the most well-received and popular Expanded Universe works of all time, as well as one of Dark Horse's best-selling comic series.
"To celebrate its own 15th anniversary of publishing Star Wars in comic form, Randy had convinced everyone at DH to cancel the existing books and start afresh with new ones – including Legacy. The franchise does pretty well for DH so, to my mind, that was a gutsy gamble. From the looks of the panel, I'd say the gamble has paid off."
Four members of the Legacy team at the 2007 New York Comic Con: Randy Stradley, John Ostrander, Sean Cooke, and Jan Duursema.
The first official announcement of Legacy came at newsarama.com.[24] Immediately following this announcement, fan reaction was very vocal, and very mixed.[25][17][26] Some readers were excited at the prospect of a series set 100 years in the future in completely uncharted territory, while others were worried about seemingly stereotypical characters (such as the revival of the Sith) and plotlines, and that the series would destroy Del Rey's continuity while also inhibiting future novel storylines. John Ostrander and Jan Duursema were very active on popular Star Wars forums, answering fans' questions and attempting to assuage their concerns.
On the StarWars.com Message Boards, Sue Rostoni and Leland Chee assured skeptical fans that everyone at both Lucasfilm and Del Rey were on board for the series, and that the backstory had even been run by the authors of Star Wars: Legacy of the Force.[27] Similarly, John Ostrander stated that he and Jan Duursema were taking into account what was happening in Legacy of the Force and working with it.[28] Rostoni expressed her doubts that it would impede the storyline of Legacy of the Force in any way,[29] and Chee pointed out that there are large story gaps between the two series.[30] He did mention, however:
"There were definitely things that we told both of them to stay clear of because of things the other team was doing. Even with the large gap, there are some things that the comic team needed direction on such as what would the Jedi academy look like? What has happened to Coruscant?"
During the making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, it was revealed that one of the initial ideas for the video game had been a game set 500 years in the future, with the player being "The last Skywalker", though such idea was ultimately dropped in favor of Galen Marek's story.[31] This concept is very similar to what eventually became Legacy, though it is doubtful that this is anything more than a coincidence.
The series was set to debut around the same time as the first installment in the Legacy of the Force novel series, which led to some speculation that the two series would be connected. Though the first outline of a then-nameless Legacy of the Force was delivered five months prior to the first outline of Legacy,[32] Ostrander and Duursema actually came up with the idea of using the word "Legacy" first. When Legacy of the Force came up as a title during brainstorming sessions, the idea of creating the Legacy era was born.[33]
According to John Ostrander, launching the series required a major villain and a major occurrence, as he believes that that is what drives Star Wars overall.[34] He, and all of the parties responsible for planning Legacy, agreed early on that a Skywalker was needed in order to appeal to as many fans as possible.[35]
Ostrander has also stated that the concept of the Empire that he and Jan Duursema used grew from their concept of reading the Expanded Universe through to Star Wars: The Dark Nest Trilogy --- an Empire that has changed and evolved from Palpatine's era.[36]
Jan Duursema has stated, perhaps jokingly, that while naming Cade, she was looking for a name that she could hear Aunt Beru calling.[37][38]
Issues of Legacy routinely sell over 30,000 copies.[39][40]
Some fans were disappointed in the first issues, and were still largely hesitant about the series. Ostrander and Duursema continued to address fans' concerns; Ostrander stated: "I certainly don't expect everyone to love Legacy."[41] He also said that while it was fair to criticize Duursema and him on the value of their work, it was not to do so if only because they went a different path that what some fans speculated.[42]
Continuity[]
Set in 137 ABY, Legacy takes place later than any other events in the Star Wars Legends timeline. It features numerous references to earlier Expanded Universe works.
References to Dark Horse's Republic comics[]
Both Ostrander and Duursema were heavily involved with Star Wars: Republic, and several characters and other elements from that series reappeared in Legacy.
K'Kruhk appears to Cade Skywalker on Ossus.
A'Sharad Hett: Hett was a Jedi who was active in the Clone Wars, and was featured in many issues of Republic. He was a confirmed survivor of Order 66,[43] and in Legacy, was revealed to be the man behind the mask of Darth Krayt.[44] The story of how Hett fell to the dark side and assumed the mantle of the Sith Lord was told in the Legacy arc Claws of the Dragon.
K'Kruhk: An Old Republic era Jedi who, like Hett, was featured in many issues of Republic, K'Kruhk was also a confirmed survivor of Order 66.[43] He met Cade Skywalker on Ossus, revealing to the reader that he had reemerged from hiding some time prior to the Sith-Imperial War to join the New Jedi Order.[45]
Tholme: Another Jedi Master who also regularly appeared in Republic, also survived Order 66. He was mentioned having passed away at some point after that.[10]
References to Bantam and Del Rey[]
Although Legacy was designed to be enjoyed independently of any Star Wars novels,[30] the state of the galaxy in 137 ABY still draws on many elements from the post-Return of the Jedi novels published by Bantam Spectra and Del Rey, which shaped the state of the galaxy following the death of EmperorPalpatine.
Yuuzhan Vong attack Cade Skywalker.
The Yuuzhan Vong War: Chronicled in the pages of The New Jedi Order[54] (1999 - 2003), the Yuuzhan Vong War wrought devastation on the galaxy from 25 – 29 ABY. In Legacy, the defeated invaders have been used as pawns by Darth Krayt's Sith Order in order to start the Sith–Imperial War, a war that was in part fueled by wide-scale galactic mistrust of the Vong.[1]
Vergere: A major character of The New Jedi Order, Vergere appeared in a flashback while Darth Krayt revealed his origins to Cade Skywalker.[59] It was revealed that she tutored Krayt while keeping him in the Embrace of Pain, just as she did to Jacen Solo in 2002's The New Jedi Order: Traitor.[60]
Many fans expressed their desire to see Jedi from Luke Skywalker's order appear in Legacy, such as Lowbacca, a member of the long-lived Wookiee species. John Ostrander replied to these claims, stating that using a character from that era would compromise what the authors of Del Rey's novels could do with them.[63] However, he also stated that if the creative teams doing the novels had no more interest in a particular character, he would be up for using them.[64]
The two ancient Sith Lords, both well-established in the Expanded Universe, saw their holocrons accessed by Darth Krayt.[49]
Nagai and Zeltrons: Two prominent species from Marvel Star Wars, which were largely unseen in the Expanded Universe for over two decades, are represented by Darth Nihl and Deliah Blue, respectively.
Darth Bane's holocron was shown to have an Orbalisk Armored Gatekeeper. This, however, contradicts with Darth Bane: Rule of Two's account of Bane having his armor removed prior to succeeding in crafting a holocron. It is later explained in Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil that Bane chose to represent himself in his Orbalisk armor, in an effort to inspire fear and to conceal a majority of his true face.
Crossovers[]
Legacy of the Force[]
Darth Krayt's Sith Empire appears in the nine-book series Legacy of the Force, which began its publishing run just one month before Legacy.[68] In Legacy of the Force: Tempest, released in November 2006, Lumiya hints to Alema Rar that there may be other Sith in the galaxy.[69] Later, in Legacy of the Force: Inferno, released in August 2007, Alema discovers these Sith on Korriban, who identify themselves to her as the One Sith, a name that would not be used in Legacy until Issue 27,[11] released one year later. The Sith tell Alema that they have had contact with both Lumiya and Vergere, and give her a holocron made by Darth Vectivus to give to Jacen Solo.[70]
In Legacy of the Force: Fury, released in November 2007, the One Sith make their final appearance within Legacy of the Force, sending the Sith Dician to destroy Lumiya's Asteroid Base. Though Dician's ship, the Poison Moon, has contact with the Millennium Falcon, Dician's identity is not discovered, and the One Sith remain a background threat. Alema Rar meets her fate in Fury, preventing the possibility of knowledge of the One Sith's existence from spreading.[71]
Celeste Morne in Legacy.
John Ostrander stated that it was the choice of the Legacy of the Force planning team to include the One Sith.[72]
Legacy is a part of Star Wars: Vector, the twelve-part crossover story arc which involves all four of Dark Horse's then-current Star Wars comics. As the latest comic series in the chronology, Legacy was allotted the final four of the twelve issues. Within these issues, Celeste Morne, the protagonist of Vector, is discovered by Cade Skywalker, and joins him on his quest to assassinate Darth Krayt.[74]
The miniatures set was advertised through a one-page comic ad produced by Wizards of the Coast and drawn by Jan Duursema, which appeared on the back covers of Star Wars Insider issues 100,[77]102[78] and 103,[79] and also in a number of Dark Horse comics.[78]
Action figures[]
Darth Talon and Cade Skywalker Hasbro figures.
Also in 2008, Hasbro, as part of its Legacy Collection comic packs, released three comic packs featuring characters from Legacy in 3 3/4 inch action figures.[80] Cade Skywalker and Darth Talon appeared in a two-pack along with Issue 2 of Broken, while Imperial Knights Ganner Krieg and Antares Draco appeared in a two-pack along with Issue 5 of Broken, and Darth Krayt and Imperial Knight Sigel Dare appeared in a two-pack along with The Wrath of the Dragon.
↑Ironically, in Legacy (2006) 39, Cade undergoes a sequence in which he is reliving Luke's past at the Homestead, and Aunt Beru calls both Luke and Cade.
↑Star Wars: Legacy comic series SPOILERS! (JFA) on the StarWars.comMessage Boards (July 6, 2007): "Criticizing what Jan and I DO is valid. Speculating on what we're GOING to do and then criticizing us on that basis, in my opinion, is not. Legacy may not be how you see the SW Universe or what you want to see from it and that's perfectly fair. But Jan and I love SW, too. And we have a lot of experience at what we do. We've put a HUGE amount of time and labor into developing Legacy. To suggest otherwise, IMO, is NOT fair." (original site is defunct)
