[Star Wars] The NuCanon Positivity thread

[CharlesPhipps]

Share what you like about the new Star Wars canon.

Here's some good articles:

The Twenty Most Memorable Moments of New Canon part I
http://eleven-thirtyeight.com/2019/05/the-20-most-memorable-moments-of-the-new-star-wars-canon-part-i/

The Twenty Most Memorable Moments of New Canon part 2
http://eleven-thirtyeight.com/2019/05/the-20-most-memorable-moments-of-the-new-star-wars-canon-part-ii/

Also the two books I love most so far in the NuCanon:

LOST STARS review
http://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/1221-starwarsloststars

BLOODLINE review
http://booknest.eu/reviews/charles/1642-bloodline

[Mecha82]

This is great. We needed thread like this to counter all negativity going on. My favorites parts about NuCanon so far are Rebels, Aftermath trilogy and Darth Vader comic books as well as what those have brought into table. Based on trailer I am eager to see what Rise of the Skywalker will bring to the table.

[CharlesPhipps]

For me, I was always skeptical of the NuCanon. Not because it was unexpected or that it was unnecessary but because so much of my formative years were devoted to the books. Even if there were only a few diamonds in the rough (KOTOR, Tales of the Jedi, Thrawn, Rogue Squadron, Wraith) they were still pretty beautiful diamonds.

The book that told me the EU was in good hands was Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. That was the first NuCanon Diamond-In-The-Rough for me. The story of a pair of pilots, one rebel and one Imperial, shouldn't have been as engrossing as it was for me but it was. I loved the protagonists, their moral dilemmas, and how both of them ended up on the side you wouldn't expect them to. It's been adapted to a manga and this is a work I really think they need to do a sequel to.

I also give equal props to the same author for coming out with Bloodline afterward. That's the book where you have to deal with Leia being outed as Darth Vader's daughter. Such a monumentous event should have been detailed in previous canon but is handled here perfectly. It derails her political career and sets the stage for the First Order to make their first serious inroads in the galaxy. It also is the first place the First Order doesn't look like a bunch of boobs. It's more like THE WINTER SOLDIER of the NuCanon.

I also am going to give credit to the story "The Disappeared" from STAR WARS: RESISTANCE for being one of the best cartoons they've done. Rebels has a bunch of them but I think this was one of the few that really got to me. The First Order has taken over Colossus station and everything seems normal, except people keep vanishing one after the other. There's always excuses as to what happened to them but everyone knows they're just gone.

[Elderdog]

I appreciate that the New Canon actually played up the diversity of the Mon Calamari ships and I enjoy the fact that the New Canon was brave enough to just let the Empire die rather than propping it up like they did in the Old Canon.

[Karha of Honor]

This is great. We needed thread like this to counter all negativity going on. My favorites parts about NuCanon so far are Rebels, Aftermath trilogy and Darth Vader comic books as well as what those have brought into table. Based on trailer I am eager to see what Rise of the Skywalker will bring to the table.

No one can protect you from the pimp hand of Mr. Market.

[TheStarWarsTrek]

I gotta second the recommendation Lost Stars. All of Claudia Gray's books are good but Lost Stars is a step above the rest. I wouldn't think that a teen love story would be my cup of tea but it was really well done. It does something that I think has been missing from a lot of Star Wars: it asks the question "Just what exactly would it take for someone to see the atrocity that was the destruction of Alderaan . . . and decide to keep serving the Empire? What does that say about them?" In general, two things I think Claudia Gray handles very well are character, and making the Star Wars galaxy feel like a real lived in place where people of different species and planets all intermingle.

The Dooku: Jedi Lost audio drama. My one complaint is that it does jump around in Dooku's life so it sometimes can feel like something isn't resolved. But it's a great look at a character who isn't explored that often, and sucks you in through audio alone.

And although I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea, Rouge One is probably my favorite Star Wars movie. People on the side of the Rebellion who aren't goody two shoes, but don't go full Anti hero either. (except Saw of course). An Imperial defector. People who believe in and worship the Force without necessarily having Force abilities. A sarcastic reprogrammed Imperial droid! Great space combat. Original Trilogy era ground combat that's not just some main characters shooting at stormtroopers in a hallway. A Rebel troop transport. The hammerhead corvette destroying two Star Destroyers! A message about sacrifice!

[Mecha82]

Rogue One is also among my favorites. I absolutely love it for all same reasons that you mentioned so I am with you when it comes to that movie.

[CharlesPhipps]

I'm going to give props to Aftermath Trilogy that may not have been everything everyone wanted it to be but worked well as a snapshot of the Galactic Civil War and told a coherent Pulpy story about a dastardly Imperial warlord, his plans to resurrect the Empire, and how his superweapon was thwarted. It was as close to an homage to all the years of Bantam as you were going to get and I became invested in all of its characters.

I also really liked the short detour to Kashyyk because Han Solo liberating the place is a cool coda to his adventures in the canon universe as the last "great deed" he ever did. I also felt they did an excellent job reminding us the Empire was BAADDDDDDDD by introducingh us to a Grand Moff who was one part Colonel Kurtz, one part Nazi death camp commander, and another part Big Game Hunter.

Rae Sloane, Gallius Rax, Nora Wexley, and Mr. Bones all stood out for me. I also enjoyed the sense that our main characters didn't do everything this time around and also the idea that Mas Amedda is the guy who signed over the Empire in exchange for a cushy retirement.

I also liked how they eventually spun out The Contigency and tied it together with Operation: Cinder into a big huge plot across multiple platforms.

I have more recommendations coming soon but plenty of time to write them up.

[ChrisTheLovableJerk]

Despite my numerous, numerous issues with the ST and Solo, I highly enjoyed Rebels, Rogue One, most of the comics, the few novels I've read (like the Thrawn books) and some of the new ideas and world building like the new explanation for the Red Lightsabers, and I loved the concept of Finn's character. Hell, I even really enjoyed the Poe Dameron comic series.

[CharlesPhipps]

I strongly recommend Twilight Company and Alphabet Squadron which are darker and gritter but not un-Star Wars-like takes on war as well as the Rebellion.

A lot like Rogue One, really.