3 minutes ago, SabineKey said:

Oh, look! Games and books actually taking up about 20% of the pie. Hardly "non-existent". And what is making more than even the movies? Merchandising.

Interesting to see numbers and analysis instead of us going back and forth though isn't it?

I'll concede that the EU (books and video games) were worth more than I suspected.

Just now, Zeoinx said:

Better go soak in Egypt's river some more.....

Touché!

Oh wait, im not done.... .<

One of those might be a Black Widow figure though <.<

There was also the Kotobukiya figure:

Less "action figure" and more "statuette" though.

5 minutes ago, Ironlord said:

There was also the Kotobukiya figure:

Less "action figure" and more "statuette" though.

Ok now compare revenue form sales of EU figures to OT and prequels figures.

Well, lets see, More EU figures then OT figures....

28 minutes ago, Zeoinx said:

Oh wait, im not done.... .<

One of those might be a Black Widow figure though <.<

I never had a desire to purchase a Mary Sue, er, Mara Jade figure. Hope people don't point to her as a positive female role model and example of a complex character. More like RPG character taken to 11.

I didnt mind her character, especially her interactions between Luke and Corran.... Her character wasnt ment to be OVERLY complex, but she had enough to be a good character...

that said, if i did get a figure of her, it would prob be that statue..... The hasbro figures leave a lot to be desired sometimes....

Oh **** this one isnt bad either.... more realistic too...

6 EU Merch

And thats JUST Mara Jade......

7 minutes ago, Zeoinx said:

Well, lets see, More EU figures then OT figures....

How many Luke's sold or how many Millennium Falcons sold compared to Corran Horn? Mara Jade? Etc?

1 minute ago, BlodVargarna said:

How many Luke's sold or how many Millennium Falcons sold compared to Corran Horn? Mara Jade? Etc?

I also don't recall anything from EU being able to sell out an empty card board box that was a promise of a future action figure

A real great example to how EU is worth more is in X-Wing alone.....

X-Wing, A-Wing, B-Wing, Y-Wing Falcon

Tie Fighter, Tie Intercepter and Tie Advance and Imperial Shuttle....

Also, if you really just base everything on the movies alone..... Were any of the fighters of the Empire even called out by NAME in the movie?

So you really would just have "Galactic Empire Fighter" as a miniature.... EU gave the ships names, and how they operate as far as capabilities..... we really only see them do very simple maneuvers in the movies.

Whats that? Where is your beloved powerful Corran Horn E-Wing? Thats right, EU, HWK ? EU! Tie Phantom, Defenders? EU.... and most these ships i am mentioning sell BETTER and MORE then any of the OT ships..... Psstt.... forgot, all the good Tie Pilots, like Howlrunner and stuff.... EU

More EU that sells.... Lego Sets, Lego Starwars games....

13 hours ago, BlodVargarna said:

This debate has reached its conclusion. Good day to you. You've won the internet. The EU was the candle in the darkness that kept the light of Star Wars burning through the evil times between OT and prequels. Disney Executives saw such value in the pulp paperbacks, comics, recycled plot lines of the video games with esoteric Star Wars characters and vehicles that they paid a premium over the established franchise that nearly every person on the planet could name a character from, and probably bought a figure of. I mean Mara Jade! She's probably worth a billion herself. Skippy the Jedi Driod, $500 million for sure.

I'm glad for you and others that you enjoyed the EU. But because it was worth something to you, doesn't make it worth much to the rest of the world.

Ask any human being on this planet to name a character from Star Wars... I'm certain they will name Mara Jade.

12 hours ago, BlodVargarna said:

Where's your Mara Jade action figure?

Sorry Blod, but you're snarkiest post was the one that made the most sense to me. I think the main difference between the movie franchise and the EU is accessibility. The movies are pop culture, the EU is fandom. I suspect it is the fandom that kept the franchise alive and worth purchasing after 15 years of vacuum and 3 poorly received movies. Without the EU to keep us dreaming of Star Wars, Lucas could have easily killed the entire thing at the turn of the century. In fact, I think we are lucky that Disney saw SW as a cash cow to be snatched up, because I think Lucas is pretty bitter about the criticism the Prequels received, and could have easily thrown the while thing in the back of a closet and forgotten about it. Instead, he decided to sell it off just to get rid of it, because he wasn't going to bother making anything else.

So yeah, the EU was my candle in the darkness. But it is also the thing that keeps Star Wars alive in between the movies, and makes this franchise something more than say, James Bond.

I have a Mara Jade action figure as well. And let's not forget Thrawn:

On 4/14/2017 at 9:38 PM, AllWingsStandyingBy said:

Here's mine:

Luke has started to rebuild the Jedi Order, but it's small.
Leia is a Political Somebody in the Republic, but there's still lots of in-fighting and bickering between worlds as the power vacuum of the Empire's defeat spreads and as folks realize it's hard to put "we should all govern ourselves!" into practice. This has taken a big morale toll on Leia and the legitimacy of the Republic in general.
Han is dead, but survived by his children with Leia (cause to be revealed later)
Lando is an administrator for the Republic, helping manage finances and contracts and the like


Meanwhile, Palpatine's spirit lingers. We find out though (across the next two episodes) that Palpatine was Plagueis all along, because when Sidious had given himself fully to the corruptive powers of the Dark Side, Plagueis was able to strip Palpatine's spirit from his body and project his own force-essence into Palpatine's now-empty body, thus possessing and taking over Palpatine's body (while Palpatine's spirit ceased to exist, effectively killing him). This has all sorts of metaphors for being used or consumed, in a literal sense, by the seductive Dark Side. So Palpatine was Palpatine's body with Plagueis' spirit. Now, Plagueis has achieved immortality, beyond just that of exisiting as a Jedi Force Spirit or a Sith Force Ghost. Literal, physical, emobied immortality...as long as he has a body to claim when his current vessel wears out. So Anakin was created by Plagueis to be his eventual new body. Created strong in the force, a body to eventually be shaped and claimed. So when Darth Vader is brutalized by Obi-Wan, Palpatine is furious because his prized biological chariot is ruined. Vader spends the majority of his time in pain, soaking alone in bacta, suffering. Palpatine does not want that body. Not anymore. This is why Luke is so god-damned appealing to Palpatine, and why he wants Luke so badly. If he can corrupt Luke under the Dark Side, he can cast out his spirit and transfer himself to Luke's body. This is why he gambles the entire Empire on corrupting Luke. He needs him to survive. And here's where Midichlorians might actually help Star Wars: because a being's force power is related to their midichlorian connection, Palp can't just just into any body. He needs the body of a someone who has a capacity for the Force, someone like Luke, not just that strong healthy young Storm Trooper down the hall. But that fails, and Palpatine (really Plagueis) is cast down the shaft, where his body is destroyed. Of course, before his demise Plagueis is able to separate from Palpatine's body and exists as a disembodied Force Ghost (the sort of unsatisfying existence he didn't want).

So, over the years this Force Ghost of Plagueis now has to find a suitable vessel (he claims the body of some evil though not force-sensitive chump along the way). So he puts his eyes on the most corruptible of Luke's pupils (since Luke is, himself, old at this point...and Plagueis does want his revenge on Luke, afterall). So slowly but surely, with his multiple lifetimes worth of cunning and experience, Plagueis sets a plan into motion. He creates another "Anakin" (that is, a child who is abnormally strong in the force who he eventually plans on possessing) and waits, and watches, and plots, and waits. Cue your new villain.

Of course, when this is learned, the main task for Luke and his best disciple (new gen main character) must go on a quest through the history of Jedi Knowledge and Force Knowledge to try and learn how to defeat a Sith Spirit that has mastered immortality as such. The final solution will likely involve a hefty sacrifice by Luke, destroying himself and his Force Essence and the Sith Ghost in the process (and hence fulfilling the Prophecy of the Chosen One, which had been Luke all along and "balance" to the Force meant to destroy the Sith that had learned to create life and avoid death, thus defying the Will of the Force).

Of course, part of this grand Force-Family-Story (which is what Episodic Star Wars is about) involves the other characters and the Republic's struggle to put out some of the fires that those who sit in the throne have to face, some of which are machinations of the Force Ghost (who had lived lifetimes prior to Plagueis, too, learning and taking, learning and taking, always a new body and a new name, but always the same venerable and well-learned Master of the Dark Side....).

2 days later, I just want to say, that is utter garbage. Actually horrific. I've never been more glad to see TFA as a reboot of ANH than after reading that.

On 4/15/2017 at 8:25 AM, Larky Bobble said:

I was never a Gunship fan in the games so I don´ t care if they bring it back or not.

23 hours ago, SabineKey said:

I'm saying that there is more to Star Wars than just the movies, and Disney knew it. Look how many new books they have put out since buying Star Wars.

(Not sure I quoted the right post) I think we create problems for ourselves when we simplify all the various Star Wars stories from the 90s down to two letters: EU. Truth is, these were all stories written by different people and invited into the Canon. Some are better than others. That one guy upthread couldn't stand Kevin J. Anderson's stories. That's totally fine! I was a huge fan of Stackpole's X-wing series, but when I read them as an adult I was a little disappointed with certain aspects of the writing.

But does this come down to an argument over whether the EU had value or not? Heck no! You can't make any sweeping statements about so many different stories jammed into a single conglomeration. Each story has to stand on its own two feet now, and I like that. Legends was a great idea.

I have nothing really to add to the argument of whether or not the EU kept Star Wars alive and influenced Disney's decision to buy it. But I will say this: the EU kept Star Wars alive in my heart and mind, and that's enough for me.

1 hour ago, ThalanirIII said:

2 days later, I just want to say, that is utter garbage. Actually horrific. I've never been more glad to see TFA as a reboot of ANH than after reading that.

Alright, I'm gonna (actually, my wife is gonna) hijack this thread after rereading Star Wars: Revenge of the Vampires to her.

Is there some EU storyline somewhere in which Anakin is created (rather than born without a father) by Plagueis an Sidious via manipulation of the midichlorians? She thinks that this storyline already exists. . .

56 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

Alright, I'm gonna (actually, my wife is gonna) hijack this thread after rereading Star Wars: Revenge of the Vampires to her.

Is there some EU storyline somewhere in which Anakin is created (rather than born without a father) by Plagueis an Sidious via manipulation of the midichlorians? She thinks that this storyline already exists. . .

Thats a thing in the quite good Darth Plagueis book. They tap into the dark side really hard to shift the balance or something and then the force pushes them back, creating Anakin. Appareantly. It isn't spelled out I think, but heavily implied.

On 14 April 2017 at 8:18 PM, AllWingsStandyingBy said:

Sandspeeders (instead of snowspeeders) racing across a sand desert (instead of an ice desert) to fight AT-ATs

Oh why don't you fly in space little ships?

They'd have been so sweet with my Sandcrawler and Sail Barge

6 hours ago, Admiral Deathrain said:

Thats a thing in the quite good Darth Plagueis book. They tap into the dark side really hard to shift the balance or something and then the force pushes them back, creating Anakin. Appareantly. It isn't spelled out I think, but heavily implied.

I guess that would make sense. . .it is one of the few SW EU books she has read. Having read her your response, she is now having a tiff in the corner over her Scotch about the "virgin birth" of Anakin and how positively stupid that element of the movies was.

And that's why I married her.

I've always thought that the term "Legends " to be demeaning and patronising to the very thing that kept the Star Wars franchises head above water and not disappear without a trace

1 hour ago, Brother Petius said:

I've always thought that the term "Legends " to be demeaning and patronising to the very thing that kept the Star Wars franchises head above water and not disappear without a trace

I think the entire point of Legends is that it's there, but not canon, but some elements will come back in if the story team feels they're good enough and fit in. I prefer the idea of 1 team with a cohesive idea of what the storyline was rather than a mess of writers, game designers, and artists who all had their own visions.

4 hours ago, Brother Petius said:

I've always thought that the term "Legends " to be demeaning and patronising to the very thing that kept the Star Wars franchises head above water and not disappear without a trace

I get why they did it, but yeah, the "everything you thought you knew is wrong" thing is a bit annoying.

3 hours ago, ThalanirIII said:

I think the entire point of Legends is that it's there, but not canon, but some elements will come back in if the story team feels they're good enough and fit in. I prefer the idea of 1 team with a cohesive idea of what the storyline was rather than a mess of writers, game designers, and artists who all had their own visions.

That is not entirely true. Kennedy has long been in charge of continuity and cohesion, and not a thing was written with LFL consent. OTOH, it wasn't always that short of a leash.

47 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

I get why they did it, but yeah, the "everything you thought you knew is wrong" thing is a bit annoying.

That is not entirely true. Kennedy has long been in charge of continuity and cohesion, and not a thing was written with LFL consent. OTOH, it wasn't always that short of a leash.

Purely from an outsider's standpoint, I've heard of the Sun Crusher, Yuuzhan Vong, etc, just seem like messes of design and uncontrolled creators looking to make their book bigger.

On 4/14/2017 at 3:56 PM, Derpzilla88 said:

Out of curiosity (and in all honesty, I've been wanting to ask this to a lot of people that hate TFA just to see what the answers are) what would YOU have made the story be? Without just making movies of the Legends canon books, what would you have the overall storyline be for a sequel to Return of the Jedi?

What I would NOT have done is take away the entirety of the happy ending of ROTJ.

Han would not have broken up with Leia and gone back to being a bad criminal hustling other criminals. Leia and Han would still be together and devoted to each other especially if one of their kids had gone off the rails.

Han and Leia's kid would not be "Ben." It would be "Bail" or some other name important to Han and Leia. Leia didn't even meet Ben.

Luke would not have gone to hide in a cave leaving a force wielding malevolent child to wreak havoc especially if it is his nephew.

I would not have done Death Star III and most certainly wouldn't have done it as stupidly as TFA did. (I'd make a bet that JJ kept that from a story he wrote as a kid.)

The Resistance would be the bad guys trying to bring back the tyranny of The Empire and we'd have The New Republic still struggling with unraveling what The Galactic Empire had wrought and the messes created by the fall of Palpatine. The Resistance would be made up of planets full of corrupt officials under the thumb of corporate conglomerates who'd stepped in or kept their power despite the fall of The Empire.

48 minutes ago, ThalanirIII said:

Purely from an outsider's standpoint, I've heard of the Sun Crusher, Yuuzhan Vong, etc, just seem like messes of design and uncontrolled creators looking to make their book bigger.

Oh, there are plenty of messes, alright. The Yuuzhan Vong (read: Borgs), the Coynites (read: Klingons), Chewie's throw-away death so Han can express grief for a novel, and the ongoing see-saw between the Sith and the Jedi (would somebody just extinguish the other and get this over with), and the ongoing Empire vs. Republic two-party-only-system-of-galactic-governing.

But there's a lot of great material, too: the Thrawn Triology, the X-Wing series, and Traviss' Clone trooper novels.

My point was only that SOMEBODY was supposed to be keeping an eye on cohesion, while at the same time allowing creators some latitude.