Star Wars: Legacy

Star Wars: Legacy is a monthly comic series written by John Ostrander, pencilled by Jan Duursema, and inked by Dan Parsons, with Brad Anderson also involved. It is set in the Legacy era, approximately 137 ABY with a brief introduction 130 ABY. It is produced by Dark Horse Comics and issue #0 was released June 7, 2006. Its tagline was: "All new Sith Order! All new Empire! All new Skywalker!" The chief protagonist of Legacy is Cade Skywalker, a descendant of Luke Skywalker who has given up his Jedi heritage to pursue a life as a bounty hunter. The galaxy is in a state of civil war, with a Sith Lord seated on the Imperial Throne seeing his power being challenged by many different forces. Legacy was considered a bold move by many, as it delved nearly 100 years further into the Star Wars timeline than any other Star Wars material had previously done. Despite the uproar its announcement caused in 2006, it has since gone 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.

Conception
The first official announcement of Legacy came at newsarama.com. Immediately following this announcement, fan reaction was very vocal, and very mixed. 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. At the starwars.com forums, Sue Rostoni and Leland Chee assured skeptical fans that everyone at both Lucasfilm Ltd. and Del Rey were on board for the series, and that the backstory had even been run by the authors of Legacy of the Force. Rostoni expressed her doubts that it would impede the storyline of Legacy of the Force in any way, and Chee pointed out that there are large story gaps between the two series. 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?" ―Leland Chee

Characters
Set nearly 100 years after any previously-published Star Wars material at the time of its initial release, Legacy features a huge cast of almost entirely-new characters.

Continuity
Set in 137 ABY, Legacy is the latest entry in the Star Wars timeline, and has featured numerous references to earlier Expanded Universe works.

References to Dark Horse's Republic comics
Both Ostrander and Duursema were heavily involved with Republic, and several characters and other elements from that series have reappeared in Legacy. A'Sharad Hett: Hett was a 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, and in Legacy, was revealed to be the man behind the mask of Darth Krayt. 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. 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. Chak: A member of the long-lived Wookiee species, Chak made a brief appearance in the final story arc of Republic, The Hidden Enemy. He was revealed to be a bounty hunter and the partner of Kee in Issue 0. It is possible that his ship, the Grinning Liar, is named after his former partner, Vilmarh Grahrk, who also appeared in the pages of Republic. Darth Andeddu: A holocron of the ancient Sith Lord first appeared in Republic 63: Striking From the Shadows, and later appeared to Darth Krayt in Issue #4 of Broken. The Wheel: Originally a creation of Archie Goodwin in the pages of Marvel Star Wars, The Wheel was reused by Ostrander and Duursema in Issue #49 of Republic. It was most recently seen in the Trust Issues arc of Legacy.

References to Bantam and Del Rey
Although Legacy was designed to be enjoyed independently of any Star Wars novels, 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 Emperor Palpatine. The Yuuzhan Vong War: Chronicled in the pages of The New Jedi Order (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. The Fel Dynasty: Roan Fel, Emperor of the New Galactic Empire, is a confirmed descendant of Baron Soontir Fel. He and his daughter Marasiah both have white forelocks, suggesting that they are possible descendants of Jagged Fel. The Galactic Alliance: Prior to their displacement by Darth Krayt's Sith Empire, the reigning galactic power was the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, which was established in 2002's Destiny's Way. Bastion: The seat of power of Roan Fel's Empire, Bastion was established as the capital of the Imperial Remnant in 19 ABY, in 1997's Specter of the Past. Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer: The massive Imperial ship is named in honour of the former leader of the Imperial Remnant, Gilad Pellaeon. The Jedi Temple: The New Jedi Order is headquartered on Ossus; their temple first appeared in 35 ABY, in 2005's The Joiner King. Mara Jade Skywalker: The wife of Luke Skywalker, Mara appeared as a death stick-induced hallucination to Cade Skywalker on Ossus. Darth Caedus: Darth Krayt referenced Darth Caedus's conquest of the galaxy while revealing his origins to Cade Skywalker. Writer John Ostrander was referencing Legacy of the Force, which was being published simultaneously with Claws of the Dragon in 2007. Vergere: A major character of The New Jedi Order, Vergere appeared in a flashback while Darth Krayt revealed his origins to Cade Skywalker.. 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 Traitor. Kol Skywalker's red hair: Kol Skywalker is a redhead, a probable nod to his ginger ancestors Mara Jade and Ben Skywalker.

References to other media
Darth Bane and Darth Nihilus: The two ancient Sith Lords, both well-established in the Expanded Universe, saw their holocrons accessed by Darth Krayt.

Continuity Errors
Issue 0 of Legacy made reference to the Rings of Coruscant, which was possibly intended as a reference to the rings Coruscant received in Traitor, but which disappeared in The Unifying Force.

Issues

 * Star Wars Legacy Vol 1

Story arcs

 * Broken
 * Trust Issues
 * Ghosts
 * Claws of the Dragon
 * Indomitable
 * Vector

Collections

 * Broken
 * Broken hardcover
 * Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collection Volume 12: Legacy
 * Shards
 * Claws of the Dragon
 * Vector, Volume 2