Why Palpatines Clone Return Was Better In Legends Than Rise of Skywalker

Why Palpatine’s Clone Return Was Better In Legends Than Rise of Skywalker

Using the dark side of the Force and clone bodies, Palpatine came back from the dead in both Canon and Legends – but which story was better?

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Why Palpatines Clone Return Was Better In Legends Than Rise of Skywalker

Palpatine returns from the dead in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, transferring his consciousness into clone bodies just like he did in the original Star Wars timeline, Legends (formerly called the Expanded Universe). It seems that The Rise of Skywalker intentionally borrows many plot elements from the Legends comic series Dark Empire, especially in regards to Palpatine’s resurrection and consolidation of Imperial forces after the Battle of Endor. But which story tells this story better? While viewers will have their preferred version, Dark Empire is in many ways more consonant with the original and prequel trilogies than its Canon counterpart.

The Expanded Universe timeline was the official Star Wars continuity, beginning in 1977 with comics that built off of the first Star Wars film to tell new stories. For over thirty years, it expanded on the franchise with novels, video games, spinoff films, TV shows, and comics. Dark Empire was one such comic series, releasing in 1991 and becoming a somewhat divisive storyline, due to Palpatine’s return and Luke’s seeming turn to the dark side. In 2014, Lucasfilm prepared for its forthcoming sequel trilogy by making the Expanded Universe an alternate timeline and renaming it Legends. While the new Canon only officially included the original six films and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, it has often used Legends as inspiration for characters and plot points in the sequel trilogy and spinoff films.

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In both Canon and Legends, Palpatine uses the teachings of his master, Darth Plagueis, to transfer his essence into a clone body. From his hidden fortress world with a backup portion of the Imperial Military (Byss in Legends and Exegol in Canon), he unleashes his renewed Empire on the galaxy, supported by new superweapons. While superficially, the two versions are near-identical, the Legends story is a crucial part of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa’s character development, building on their arcs from Return of the Jedi. Palpatine’s return in and of itself was tastefully handled, with time spent explaining how he managed this feat and using it as a way to exemplify the dark side’s unnatural power. His return in The Rise of Skywalker was rushed by comparison and his defeat happening within a day diminished Palpatine’s menace.

The sequel trilogy began with Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren as its main dark side-users and villains, setting them up as the successors to Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, respectively. The trilogy’s second installment left Snoke dead and Kylo Ren, who was set up for a redemption arc since the first film, as the new Supreme Leader. Rather than try to make Ren as credible of a threat as Snoke, the final film opted to bring back Palpatine to take Snoke’s place. This allowed Kylo Ren to complete his redemption, but unfortunately made Palpatine’s return and ultimate defeat feel rushed.

Dark Empire showcased the horror and unnatural qualities of the dark side through Palpatine’s return. Luke Skywalker, believing himself to be outmatched by the reborn Emperor, feigned falling to the dark side (a controversial and often misunderstood plot point) so that he could destroy the Emperor from within his organization. This preserved his defiant rejection of the dark side in Return of the Jedi while simultaneously showing that the dark side was akin to an addictive substance, able to corrupt even the most well-intentioned beings. When Luke came dangerously close to truly falling, he was saved by Leia, now with Jedi training of her own. Though they defeated Palpatine together, he still returned from the dead, proving that the Sith Lord possessed backup plans for almost any occasion. By respecting Palpatine’s menace and the original trilogy’s character arcs, Legends handled his cloned rebirth better than Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/palpatine-clone-return-rise-skywalker-dark-empire-better/

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