Star Wars Expanded Universe

Sean Hollyman

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So over the years, the Star Wars Universe has expanded far,far,far beyond just the films, and assimilated itself into various comics, books, games, etc etc.

There's so much stuff going on, that that one Stormtrooper who knocks on the door for C3PO and R2 in the Death Star probably has his own story. There's so much going on it's hard to keep track.


Anyway, what are your thoughts on the EU? Do you prefer to just stick to the main stuff? What are your favorite things from the Expanded Universe?
 

an annoyed writer

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Jun 21, 2012
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The expanded universe is one of those places that is home to many of my better childhood memories. Even the stuff made in the era of the prequels was actually pretty good, such as Karen Traviss's Republic Commando novels. It really gets you into the headspace of the characters. I'd say that a lot of the stuff in the EU is actually better than the films(the prequels at the very least) and if you want some good fiction from a galaxy far, far away, go and look some of it up. Into the militaries of the universe? Look up Republic Commando. Bounty Hunters? Boba Fett and his dad have quite a few tales to tell. It's not hard to find something you'll like.
 

Sp3ratus

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Well, for me, the 3 movies made(what do mean prequels?) are and probably always be, my favourite stuff in the Star Wars universe.

Having said that, there's some pretty cool stuff in the EU, my favourite being the KotOR series, with the second game being the best of the two(imo). Other things in the EU I like is the Jedi Knight series, SW: Empire at War(even if it's not as great as it could be, I really like being able to view the entire galaxy like that). The books are also supposed to be decent, especially the Thrawn trilogy, which I, unfortunately, haven't read yet. I did read some of the comics though, mostly the Old Republic stuff and Mara Jade stuff.

My thoughts on the EU are that they're great, all in all. Sure, there might be some crap inbetween(as I'm sure there is), the SW universe is vast and rich with different planets, cultures and people to explore, so I like that there's more to explore, than just the movies.

EDIT: How could I forget? Silly me:
SomeLameStuff said:
My favorite?


Republic Commando is easily one of the best things to come from the EU.
Republic Commando is awesome, plain and simple.
 

Wayneguard

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I love the expanded universe but it's kind of gotten away from me. I read all the novels from the mid 90s and kind of stopped at the Yuzhan Vong crisis (sp?). I think a lot of it is really solid stuff. Most of the coolness of the bounty hunters comes from the EU as well as the completely epic Shadows of the Empire. Yeah, it's good stuff...
 

Yassen

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I'd say KotOR 2 is my favourite piece of Star Wars expanded universe. It was a deconstruction of many things that had just been accepted about the setting, like the good vs evil dichotomy that is actually shallow and doesn't say anything good about the workings of the Force. KotOR 2 actually brought some moral ambiguity into the series which I thought it really needed.

I have a friend who is a pro on the EU post Return of the Jedi. Reads all the books, comics etc. She told me a story about that weird black robot you see in Empire Strikes Back during the bounty hunters scene. Apparently it was planning to wipe out all organic life in the galaxy by taking over the new Death Star, and it would have done if the Rebellion hadn't blown it up. I thought that was a pretty cool idea, how there was a hidden extra threat that was simultaneously thwarted without anyone even knowing.
 

TheFinish

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May 17, 2010
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The Knights of the Old Republic and Legacy comic series by Dark Horse, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter and Republic Commando, the Thrawn book series. The rest is pretty much either meh, shit, or I haven't experienced it.
 

Fappy

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Kotor was great, but like everything that gets used to much it was tainted and destroyed. The Star Wars EU is such a clusterfuck of contradictions and inconsistencies you've got to wonder how the people at wookapedia know what is actually supposed to be canonical.
 

Trasch17

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I enjoy the Star Wars EU, espacially the books about the 2nd Galactic Civil War.
(Darth Caedus FTW)
Also the ridiculously overpowered (or completely useles) superweapons (Deathstar, Darksaber, Sun crusher, Centerpoint station and I also count the Yuuzhan Vongs' Dovin Basal as superweapons).
The only thing I don't like, is The Forced Unleashed aka Starkiller kills the canon.
I can't believe they made him canon in the new books.
 

Scarim Coral

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While I do like the expanded universe games like Kotor and Republic Commando and that animated short Clone Wars (NOT the lame CGI version) but I do like to read other additional infos (when I'm bored) like-

What happen to the game and film characters after it said game and film were over (e.g. what happen to HK-47 after Kotor 2).

More info on the side/ minor characters (did you know that Jar Jar had a son who was far more competant than he is and he stall Vader when Leia was in that blockage runner at the start of Episode 4, he even made Vader cry!).

Some of the Jedi and Sith mythos althought that book The Jedi Path pretty much cover it without doing too much in dept (you should see the info in Wookipedia).

Some of the more detail info of some of the battle like e.g. most of the Wookie homeworld battle that was happening offscreen.
 

Eddie the head

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Fappy said:
Kotor was great, but like everything that gets used to much it was tainted and destroyed. The Star Wars EU is such a clusterfuck of contradictions and inconsistencies you've got to wonder how the people at wookapedia know what is actually supposed to be canonical.
At risk of sounding like a dick I think it's mostly because in Star Wars details don't matter. What is a blaster really? How dose a Reactor work? How the hell dose the FTL drive work? (I just noticed they just use really bland names) In another series like Mass Effect or Star Trek those questions might need some expiation. But it doesn't distract form much in Star Wars so we let it slide.
 

Fappy

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Eddie the head said:
Fappy said:
Kotor was great, but like everything that gets used to much it was tainted and destroyed. The Star Wars EU is such a clusterfuck of contradictions and inconsistencies you've got to wonder how the people at wookapedia know what is actually supposed to be canonical.
At risk of sounding like a dick I think it's mostly because in Star Wars details don't matter. What is a blaster really? How dose a Reactor work? How the hell dose the FTL drive work? (I just noticed they just use really bland names) In another series like Mass Effect or Star Trek those questions might need some expiation. But it doesn't distract form much in Star Wars so we let it slide.
Actually my main issue is inconsistencies in themes and philosophies (usually centered around the force). Anytime someone tries to add any kind of complexity to the force and the lightside/darkside dichotomy (Kotor2 is a good example of this) Lucas' people try to shut it down. They want it plain and simple. There are also far more retcons thrown around than necessary and incredibly improbable story lines... this usually steps from them taking one or more characters and continuously writing stories about them until their life is filled with thousands of battles and heroic moments. It kind of just cheapens them as characters. Boba Fett is a huge offender.
 

Goofguy

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It's like anything else, really. There's plenty of good content and no shortage of bad. As a kid, I read several Star Wars EU books (one of my favourites being the novel about the various bounty hunters, too bad I don't remember its name).

However, my interest in the EU extends only to the immediate expansion of the movies and the characters and settings within. I don't care about the EU decades before Episode I or decades after Episode VI.
 

FURY_007

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A lot of the EU stuff dealing with after the Civil War is amazing IMO, with the Rogue Squadron series dealing with Admiral Daala, to the Admiral Thrawn series, and then the Bounty Hunter wars books and Tales of the... series were pretty good. Also the stuff expanding Corral Horn an Kyle Katarns stories are awesome. I stopped reading after they started getting into the Yuzhan Vong sstuff, that just didn't seem like Star Wars to me.

To sum up, basically what Goofguy said, plenty of good and IMO, great content, but also no shortage of bad.
 

ThaBenMan

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I really like a lot of the EU stuff. I enjoy the Old Republic stuff, like the Tales of the Jedi comics, the KOTOR games and SWTOR - that time period is great because a lot can be done without having to worry about the movies at all. There are some good books too, like the Thrawn Trilogy, and the Jedi Academy Trilogy. In the same vein as that comment in the OP about the random storm trooper's background, I have a couple great books of short stories - Tales from Jabba's Palace and Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina. They have stories about a bunch of the random characters that you see in those two places in the movies, pretty cool.
 

Ravinoff

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Some of the EU stuff is decent enough, I liked the Essential Guides, and Republic Commando was awesome. But there's a lot of forgotten bad. Like for example, Galactic Battlegrounds, which was literally Age of Empires III wearing a Darth Vader mask. Or, god help us, Heir To The Empire.
 

sextus the crazy

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The Thrawn Trilogy is pretty okay; it's the only stuff I've bothered to read. Other than that I just browse wookiepedia, since star wars has one of the most frighteningly comprehensive databases in existance.