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brianhanes · 1 year

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Why Star Wars Attack of the Clones Wasn’t That Bad

A lot of times Attack of the Clones get slack from Star Wars (especially Original Trilogy fans) but it honestly was a decent film even if it wasn’t great for Star Wars standards.

1. The Prequels faced a very high standard

As previously mentioned, the Original Trilogy is one of the best trilogies of all time. Many consider it to be the best trilogy in cinema history. They were known for having great acting, stunning graphics, and a compelling story. This means people expected to see all the same from the Prequels and anything it fell short on caused people to ignore it’s strengths.

I’d honestly argue Attack of the Clones had better pacing than A New Hope. I’m not saying it was a better movie but for me, many of the scenes that took place in the middle of the film (in the Death Star) were dull. We also need to keep in mind the Vader vs Ben Kenobi duel was poor and the movie made stromtroopers look like a joke with them constantly missing. But nostalgia can fix many things. Don’t get me wrong, the start of the ANH was very strong and the end of it (trench run and celebration scene) brought about some of the best moments in cinema history.

2. It reduced the sting of Jar Jar

The main reason and many viewers enjoy Attack of the Clones more than the Phantom Menace is because of Jar Jar Binks. That character had constant, over-the-top comedic scenes that just weren’t funny. Many thought he killed the movie and Attack of the Clones was at least watchable in most scenes. More so, it made such an annoying character become a mature senator. He ended up being more mature than Anakin!

3. People Took it Too Seriously

This honestly is the biggest reason people didn’t enjoy the film as much as they could have. Attack of the Clones is easily one of the funniest if not the funniest Star Wars movie of all time. I watched it as a kid, so I was able to see this, and I watched it again as an adult and enjoyed it even more. It isn’t a Rogue One type of story and shouldn’t be treated that way.

4. We get to see Anakin simp as soon as it starts

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When I rewatch, this scene always has me cracking up. Perhaps some people had gotten so old that they forgot what it was like to be young. If you understand what it’s like to be a teenager and young adult, then much of what Anakin does should make you laugh. I’ve known so many Anakins in my life and honestly don’t know what we’d do without them bringing flavor in this world.

Anakin loses it with Obi Wan all because he’s flipping out about some girl. But it’s not just about that, he’s a young man who wants to prove who he is. Like many recent high school grads in the work force and college graduates. Anakin at this time was 19, still a teenager who wants to rush too quickly which gets him into trouble. I myself have had to learn this lesson so many times, to slow down.

Every time I hear Anakin impulsively say, “WHY??!!” I bust out. Even Jar Jar gulps in fear when he witnesses Anakin’s outburst. And pay close attention, you’ll notice Anakin is still staring at Padme when everyone else has moved on. Lucas knew exactly what he was doing lmao.

5. Anakin is so realistic

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People like to make fun of prequel dialogue even if they believed Anakin was a decent or good actor, but I have another argument, the dialogue wasn’t even that bad. At least not as bad as many people were making it out to be. For me, realistic acting is never bad acting because the point of acting is to mimic reality.

Let us think about Anakin’s past shall we. In the last movie he was a slave. Taken away to join a group of detached monks for ten years. For all his highschool age and younger years he never learned how to deal with women he liked. He never kissed a girl, probably had no idea what flirting was, and wasn’t trained on dating etiquette. Whether people would like to admit it or not most of us wouldn’t figure out and many of us still haven’t in better circumstances found out how to talk to people we are attracted to.

I knew awkward adults in college and high school when it came to women. Why then is it strange for Anakin to be awkward when they who at least had more opportunities to learn about dating approaches were just as awkward?

PADME!!!

6.The first conflict was fun

I did not watch Attack of the Clones in theaters, it was a bit before my time. The first Star Wars movie I watched in theaters was Revenge of the Sith, but I was still quite young then. I don’t know how people initially reacted when the saw the movie. but it had a strong start. There was a conflict, we knew a bounty hunter wanted to hunt down Padme. Anakin had simp tension, and an epic chase ensued throughout the Corsucant streets.

7. Anakin killing the Tuskens was also realistic

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Remember when I said Anakin was only 19? There are soldiers who at 19 snapped and wiped out villages. Killing men, women, and children. More so, Anakin himself is a former child soldier. Who was recruited at 9. Jedi in the Clone Wars TV series fight at 14. Anakin in a legends comic killed someone at 10 years old. Perhaps that could have been more fleshed out, but when you are fighting at such a young age your mind is at risk.

Not to mention they just killed his mother in cold blood. I also loved the scene itself. Seeing Anakin rage and slash up Tuskens was great. I thought his acting was amazing. He was clearly ticked off and people often blame others when big incidents happen (like how he blamed Kenobi). Some people criticize Padme for staying with Anakin knowing he slaughtered tuskens of all ages. But Padme’s reaction was realistic.

I recommend people watch a movie called “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” about Tina Turner. It’s incredibly underrated. Women stay with abusive men all the time. In this case, she had a clear way to justify it because they killed his mother and Tuskens had terrorized the local villages for years. The Tuskens themselves have probably cleaned out households, so while Anakin’s actions weren’t justifiable they are not surprising and remember Anakin is from Tatooine.

For all we know, he may have heard bad stories about them for years even while he was gone away as a Jedi. He might have been anxious about his mother well before the movie.

8, Jango Fett vs Obi Wan

This fight was epic and Jango gave us everything Boba didn’t in ROTJ, an amazing fight! Jango was the first to really show us that you don’t have to be a Jedi in Star Wars to take them on.

9. Jango vs Obi Wan in Space

Ok honestly, this was one of the best dogfights in Sci-Fi history. There I said it. It was phenomenal 10/10 the entire time. And it even did things to make it stand out as a showdown such as...

10. Seismic Charges

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Jango’s use of a homing rocket was also a nice addition to the space showdown.

11. No Dull Moments

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How anyone can watch Anakin riding that animal until he gets bucked off without laughing is beyond me. It’s gold and the CGI only makes it more comical.

12. The sand joke

Big deal, Anakin said sand is rough, course, and irritating. Is that not true? Sand really has all of those qualities. Is it more irritating that he said everything is smooth on Naboo, perhaps but is it that big of a deal. I’ve heard plenty of people make weird statements before and remember this is a monk who was not able to party, date, or do anything wild.

If you live a socially deprived like you might make lame statements too. All we can reasonably expect Anakin to do well is fight well and he did that. Outside of that, we could somewhat expect him to conduct himself professionally, but there is always an immature person out there. Like many young people, rock stars, class clowns, and others. There is always that person, why can’t it be Anakin.

13. The Droid Factory

This was a visually stunning scene with great action. We also got a good humor bit with R2 and 3P0. They are always 100 percent on character. Their argument about leaving the ship was noteworthy as well.

Also mentioning humor, when Obi Wan said he wanted to be left alone and Anakin literally wanted to ditch him after he was captured, I was in stitches. Seriously felt like a comedy skit. Padme of course does the mature thing and emphasizes that they need to rescue Obi Wan and lets Anakin know that she’ll be looking for Obi Wan. Anakin then has no choice but to also look for his master.

Maybe he was seriously, lol. Perhaps he had been nagged one too many times. Perhaps he was yanking her tail and knew Padme would insist. I guess Kenobi would have to hope that was the case.

14. The Arena creatures

A great nod to Star Wars in general. Creatures have always been an essential part of Star Wars and Anakin never missed his mark. Especially when Anakin took command of one of them. That was iconic.

15. The Arena Battle

Here Lucas did something really novel. In other depictions, we always only saw one or two Jedi around. Lucas gave us a scene with 200 Jedi fighting together as a group against a massive droid army. Like the Battle of Hoth, speeder chase, Mustafar duel, Phantom Menace duel, and Battle over Coruscant this was a staple moment in Star Wars.

Though the scene itself might not have been cinema gold, the idea was. it really deserves to get remade more in Star Wars video games. I hope to see more scraps like this in Tales of the Jedi’s next seasons.

17. C3PO switched out

Hilarious, who’d ever imagine fighting him? Him nearly blasting Gunray made it even better.

18. The Clone Troopers

One of the most beloved aspects of Star Wars. What later became a staple of the Clone Wars 2003 miniseries and 2008 Clone Wars series. It all started here and there was something special about the early clones. While the second phase of clones was my favorite (episode 3 timeline), I really enjoyed the uniform, professional, and mysterious vibes we got form the early clone troopers.

19. Count Dooku

One of the most iconic, beloved, elegant, and unique Sith Lords of all time emerged. Dooku is a staple Star Wars character (like Maul, Vader, Grievous, Jango Fett, Luke, Obi Wan) who is listed in many fans top 10 Star Wars characters. Not only is he an amazing villain but he makes for a great anti-hero or anti-villain in the Tales of the Jedi tv series. And they picked someone who was 80 years old yet still seemed powerful at all moments and someone who they can still make a lot more content about in a new show.

20. Mace Windu

Mace Windu is a classic prequel character. He has been shown in countless tv shows, comics, and novels. He is known for his dogmatic nature, being a mighty force user, and exceptional duelist. Mace really shows us what it’s like to look at an intimidating Jedi Master. His showing against Jango Fett further displays his dominance.

Dude is just OP!

21. Yoda in action

I’ve heard that people reacted by cheering in the theaters while watching Yoda’s first lightsaber duel. I remember watching the documentary and seeing how the Prequel devs created a unique acrobatic fighting style for the legendary Jedi master. He dueled in a way that made him seem terrifying and inspiring despite his size.

He showed he had the force feats and saber skills to easily match a lethal Sith Lord who just beat two top tier duelists. This was another groundbreaking moment in Star Wars much like Obi Wan’s duel with Grievous and the fight in the Phantom Menace with a double bladed lightsaber user.

22. Geonosians

Star Wars has many fascinating cultures and races such as the Wookiees, Ewoks, Mandalorians, and Twileks but what makes Geonosians particularly inspiring is their insect like appearance. More so, most of them seem to have an ability to fly and they have unique weapons that make them lethal warriors. The vicious nature of Geonosian warriors was further explore in the Star Wars Republic Commando video game which came two years after the release of Attack of the Clones.

23. Kamino

I don’t know how I skipped this but I skipped it. Kamino was an awesome water world. Similar to how Mustafar was an awesome fire planet and Naboo was stunning. Bespin was a gorgeous land in the clouds and Hoth was a nice arctic tundra. Kamino is another fine addition to Star Wars’s collection of intriguing locations.

24. It builds up beautifully with Revenge of the Sith

Especially the scene where Anakin has his vision and his mother dies. It really explains the peril he feels when Padme is also at risk. Anakin didn’t have a lot of people that he loved that weren’t involved in the Jedi Order. And that really matters because all the Jedi that he knew (even the ones he liked) constantly reminded him (whether intentionally or not) of the rules and obligations he desperately wanted a break from.

The scene where Anakin vows to never again let someone he loves die and how he reacts to his mother’s passing is huge. It really lays out why he isn’t willing to risk Padme’s death in Episode 3 and how his biggest issue is an inability to accept that some things are beyond his control. Furthermore, it laid out the foundation for the story of Darth Plageius the Wise.

My rating of ATOC is 7 out of 10 stars but I honestly enjoy it more than that rating.

25. Obi Wan’s sass

Ok how did I miss this? Anakin doesn’t get to hog all of the comedic points. Kenobi definitely deserves to join in on this fun. If you didn’t notice his blatant sarcasm during the “rescue attempt” I really don’t know what to tell you.

26. The Fireplace Scene

One of my friends mainly agrees with me, he tells me most of the scenes in this movie are decent. Some were a bit cringey but they made sense (like how Anakin acted around Padme) but the fireplace scene was just atrocious. I’m going to argue with him. I’m going to argue it was delicious. But seriously, this is an all or nothing scene.

Either you love it or hate it and I love it to pieces! Perhaps not so much if you care about Anakin’s dignity, I mean he really went way to far here. Like I said, the sand quote wasn’t embarrassing, it wasn’t an odd thing to think though uncommon to express. But the I CAN’T BREATH, you’re in MY SOUL TOURMENTING ME! That would get a man ghosted very quickly.

Still, fighting in the battlefield and almost getting killed alongside each other might change things. I mean, maybe Padme was intending to ghost and friend zone until that happened. Being a hero, slashing droids in half, that definitely can win a woman over.

And to be fair, if a woman meets with you in a nice gown and you’re supposed to “protect her” I’m not quite sure what her real motives are.

27. Deathsticks

Brilliant, brilliant, absolutely BRILLIANT! Seriously, drugs in Star Wars were makes it feel much more real. But what’s even better about this is Kenobi himself uses his trademark jedi mindtrick to convince a man to clean himself up, stop selling drugs, and change his life. That’s inspiring, Lucas was dropping golden nuggets and making people laugh in a Star Wars movie.

28. Little Boba

This was honestly a nice touch. Boba at this point in the story a goofy little kid, it added personality to his dry yet cool persona we saw in the OT. Which was appropriate for the Original Trilogy, but it is important to know that people are people, there is a reason they act however they do.

Boba Fett yelling, “Get him dad. Get HIM. FIRA.” It wasn’t that bad and hey he was a kid, just rooting for his father. Boba also showed maturity by doing as Jango ordered without hesitation and being able to operate the Slave 1 on his own even managing to use it to hurt Obi Wan.

The most important scene here was him witnessing his father’s death, it completely explain how he became such a ruthless and cold bounty hunter later. But like his father Boba had some values, unfortunately AOTC didn’t do a good job showing the values Jango had or how he passed them down to his son.

29. Dexter’s Diner

It was a nice dive into a more casual aspect of the Star Wars universe. I felt the same way about the glimpses we got into Coruscant, the Jedi Temple, Naboo, and the public transport in the film. The nice thing about Star Wars is getting different themes and narratives each movie. it can’t be all doom and gloom like Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, and you get it.

30. Look at what it led to

I pretty much wrapped it up but I want to add this. I’m not focusing on projects that came out Revenge of the Sith, which in my opinion was the best movie lore-wise (not in general) in Star Wars history. Attack of the Clones and the Phantom Meance may not be the best Star Wars movies by any means, but they were decent (well TPM is decent without Jar Jar) but lore-wise I think the Prequels as a whole are on another level to anything else Star Wars.

Star Wars Republic Commando (2004)

One of the best video game series of all time. It was outright phenomenal and delved more deeply into the mysterious, sci-fi, war, and clone aspects of the Clone Wars that Attack of the Clones introduced us to.

Star Wars Clone Wars (2003) Volume 1

This series was epic and action packed. It really showed us the huge battles, vast frontiers, mysterious worlds, great array of vehicles, and different climates that were shown in Clone Wars battles. This is a distinct vibe from the later Clone Wars which has more of an episode 3 vibe. The biggest difference is by then both the CIS and Republic are much more developed and begin to fight in more populated and crowded worlds.

The 2008 Clone Wars series initially gave us a blend of both feels that were in Episode II and III but eventually (post season 3) became more centered on the Episode III tone of war. The same was true with the second volume of the Clone Wars (which makes perfect sense) but the first volume is largely regarded as the favorite. And what really made it special was that peculiar vibe the era had, you never knew what you were going to encounter.

When invisible droids engaged Yoda on Illum or when Ventress dueled Anakin something about it was so new and fresh that isn’t easily implemented in other eras. And for good resaon, they all have something special about them.

Star Wars The Clone Wars (2002)

It was a phenomenal vehicle based video game that existed in a Star Wars setting. It had a compelling story, epic battles, unique vehicles, and diverse multiplayer modes. This game just showed how much potential the AOTC era had.

Star Wars Republic (2002-2004 content)

While Republic initially came after The Phantom Menace and many of it’s great comics were inspired by the character Quinlan Vos, much of it’s content that came after 2002 was influenced by Attack of the Clones. But likewise Attack of the Clones was influenced by the comic series.

Many people though Aayla Secura was created in Attack of the Clones, but she actually first appeared in Star Wars Republic back in 1998. Still, the Clone Wars timeline brought many interesting storylines to this series.

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brianhanes · 2 years

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How to deal with terrible customers

Disclaimer: Most customers and staff members are decent or nice people in the majority of work environments. But a few bad apples can ruin an employee’s perception of something. Knowing how to professionally deal and mentally think of your encounters with them can be a game changer.

There was a time that many companies believed customers were always right, but it seems those days are long gone. Also keep in mind that most people have a choice between being sensible individuals and buffoons however it requires effort to change bad habits.

1. Smile

Smiling makes you look professional. It also naturally reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and has several other indirect benefits (Doane, 2021).

2. Listen

Regardless of if you want to or not, it is important to listen to what is bothering the customer. Perhaps they recently got in a car accident, that may give you a reason to emphasize with them and make you less annoyed.

3. Be secure In yourself

Remember to not take it personal. Sometimes we are offended because we begin to doubt ourselves even when it isn’t our fault or if a mistake was made that you couldn’t have anticipated. Even if you genuinely messed up remember everyone makes mistakes and you deserve respect. Still, you deserving respect doesn’t justify arguing with the client. Sometimes in life, we have to play a bit of a game to get the best outcome for ourselves.

4. Stay calm

I cannot stress this enough. If you lose your cool your job could be on the line. Never give up what you have for a jerk. Don’t even give someone like that the ability to have THAT much of an impact on your life.

For example, if an older man snaps his fingers at you to request assistance, remember he is clowning himself. When you are brand new you may not be able to afford many times of walking out on customers and refusing to assist them.

5. Let them say whatever they want and tire themselves out

Surely, they can’t talk forever. Remember them going on a tirade simply makes them look stupid. Especially if they are the only person that is upset and the other customers are enjoying themselves.

6. Don’t interrupt them

Never under any circumstances should you interrupt them. That will only escalate the situation and make you look worse. You want to look professional no matter what, it is essential that you maintain that persona to maintain your credibility.

7. Say “Please continue” if you are interrupted.

Let the person finish what they have to say. Give them every opportunity to make their point clear.

8. Tell the customer “I fully understand your concern”

Telling the customer this can mitigate the situation. Just make sure you are actually listening. Seriously take notes, if you need to make sure you got the full picture of what was said.

9. If you are new, don’t hesitate to communicate that

Tell the customer “This is my first week or work, so please bear with me.”

Anyone reasonable would understand that an employee that has just started out for a few days or two weeks might not understand everything at the job yet. You may not have been shown several drills by your supervisor. A lot of customers will become nicer upon hearing this but not all of them will.

What makes us perceive someone as a jerk is dealing with a person who lacks empathy and perspective. Some customers could care less that you’re new and are still learning the job. Even worse, some of them could take it among themselves to try to teach you how to do the job and giving off hand advice that isn’t helpful in a scolding manner.

Even so, if you need a second to refer to work notes or just a couple more seconds to adequately complete the process do so. You may need to get another employee to help you or give pointers while you work out the process. Don’t worry, it is normal.

10. Be confident

Be confident but not arrogant. Be meek but remember “you’ve got this”. The issue will be resolved one way or the other. A lack of confidence makes you more likely to snap or get into a mudslinging contest with the customer. That is the last thing you want, so remember that you are going to do your job either way.

11. Resolve the issue quickly

If you can quickly solve the problem the customer might cool down. Still these issues often happen when solutions aren’t as fast as an individual would like. Sometimes they happen because you have to solve the issue in a different way than usual.

Just remember don’t focus so much on moving quickly that you make careless mistakes.

12. Offer an apology

Regardless of if you are in the wrong or not, just do this. It is a formality and it helps calm people down. It is nice to hear when the situation is reversed, and you are the irritated patron.

13. Kill them with kindness

This is just a way to think of things. A lot of times when someone is going on a rant and you act nice and smile it has an impact on people. Pay close attention. Sometimes they begin to doubt themselves when they realize their aggression is not fazing you. This often leads to customers attempting to be nicer or at least behaving in a more neutral fashion.

14. Think when you are angry

As I said before, do not take it personal. It is almost always about something that has nothing to do with you. Even if the person is prejudice or something crazy like that, remember you can’t do anything about that. If someone is lost enough to give you a hard time because of your ethnicity or race or anything else, you really shouldn’t let someone like that upset you.

It’s honestly more a reason to pity them.

15. Don’t berate them after they leave

Do not diss customers when they leave to other customers. That could easily be repeated everywhere.

16. Be ready to contact a supervisor

Some scenarios simply require you to do this. If you are the supervisor, you will probably have discretion to solve the issue. In 95% of scenarios (this is an estimation) the supervisor will have a choice to say yes or no. If the supervisor (or you) still can’t give an answer, there is always the option to refer the customer to someone or somewhere else like corporate, HR, or your organization’s legal team.

17. Sometimes they have a point

A lot of times, haters have no point at all. A lot of times they are incredibly negative without any basis which is what enrages staff. Still, they are right from time to time. Sometimes a process, your way of doing things, or your communication methods could be better. Take some time to reflect on what could have been differently by you or your organization. You could even share feedback with a manager regarding a reoccurring issue that may have bothered more than one people.

18. Always end with “Have a nice day.”

Finishing on this note makes you look classy. It sometimes gets in the skin of rude people without giving them a justifiable way to respond negatively. Sometimes it gets them to respond back in the same manner. This is useful whether it was a three-minute encounter with an obnoxious individual or a twenty-minute endeavor involving multiple departments.

Sources:

Doane, C. (2021, February 18). 11 Science Backed Benefits of Smiling. Mindfulness Media Insitute. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://mindfulnessmeditationinstitute.org/2021/02/18/11-science-backed-benefits-of-smiling/

Godron, L. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.pinterest.com/loranegordon/.

Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, March 9). How to Deal With Rude Customers. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-deal-with-rude-customers

larryc. (2009, May 23). Smile have a nice day sign. Wiki Commons. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Smile_have_a_nice_day_sign.jpg

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brianhanes · 2 years

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Why we need a Dooku Series

Star Wars Tales of the Jedi has recently released a trailer. The show will mainly star the Jedi Ahsoka Tano and Dooku back when he was a Jedi Master. Tales of the Jedi is a short six-episode series which 15-minute-long episodes. For Ahsoka, we know she is also getting her own Ahsoka series. It is possible that Tales of the Jedi is a test to gauge the popularity of a potential Dooku series while also generating hype for Ahsoka’s upcoming show.

Info: CIS/Separatists= Dooku’s Faction that broke off from the Republic in the Star Wars Prequels... Canon= Official Star Wars storyline under Disney after it bought out Star Wars in 2013

1. Tales of the Jedi isn’t enough Dooku content

I’ve already said it but yea. While Dooku is a major character in this, keep in mind that Ahsoka also is but she is also getting an Ahsoka series in addition to this.

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2. The Dooku series can use a different artstyle for Dooku

Ok, I believe Jedi Dooku looks kind of like Dooku in the trailer but to me, I’m not a huge fan of his art style. I’d like to see an animated Dooku that looks more like this photoshopped picture. I know he has a big nose but I felt the art made it look a little too big.

3. We could see Dooku and Yoda fight together and learn about their master-apprentice relationship

4. Ventress (Origin Story)

We could get a Ventress origin story and learn what she did after her Jedi Master was killed. Even though it’s a Dooku show they could dedicate an entire arc to Ventress. During one of the later seasons, Dooku might read holonet information about her starting from what she did after her master was killed by pirates and she was stranded. Ventress may have become the leader of a local gang, learned how to become an expert pilot after her gang mentor trained her, perhaps her mentor was killed by a new group of muraders led by a fallen Jedi, and Ventress had the defeat the fallen Jedi and his gang on her own.

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We could then get a story about how one of the people who snipped her old master escaped and she never caught him. Ventress later gets an opportunity to get revenge on that man as stated in the canon novel “Dooku: Jedi Lost”. The tournament likely looked something like this.

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We could also see more of Dooku training Ventress and fighting alongside her. While some may say this was done in Dooku: Jedi Lost, we can argue the same thing about scenes in Ahsoka that were later used in Star Wars the Clone Wars Season 7 and now Star Wars Tales of the Jedi.

We could also see some of Ventress’s early missions against the clones and Republic. We could see her take down some arc troopers, defeat a pair of Jedi, and kill Master Tholme.

5. General Grievous (origin story)

Grievous is one of the most beloved characters in Star Wars. We could get a four-episode ARC that shows how he became a legendary CIS general. He was once a deadly alien General. We could see one of his early battles, how he became crippled and recruited by Dooku, learn about his magnaguards and how Grievous made them resemble his old comrades, wtiness his first fight when he protected CIS leaders in Geonosis, and see one of his first early military victories (perhaps the Battle of Hypori remastered).

6. Jango Fett (Battle of Galidraan)

Perhaps Jango’s first origin story can be saved for a Jango Fett series, movie, or video game however Jango’s first major conflict with the Jedi and the demise of the True Mandalorians would be amazing to see in a Dooku series. Especially since Dooku, led the army that destroyed Jango’s Mandalorian clan and it was all manufactured by the DEATH WATCH (a villainous Mandalorian faction in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series). During that battle, Jango took down several Jedi Knights himself which earned Dooku’s respect.

Perhaps we could see Jedi Dooku personally take down Jango in a short fight. Without his clan, Jango is forced to start over as a bounty hunter. Then later in the series Dooku returns and gives him an offer he can’t refuse.

7. Durge

Durge is a bounty hunter who initially appeared in the 2002 Clone Wars miniseries. After Disney took over, that series is no longer canon. However, lots of concepts from old canon Star Wars material has been brought back to the Disney universe. Durge returned to canon in the Marvel comic which started that he fought in the Clone Wars.

8. Dooku’s undercover mission

Perhaps Dooku first went on his own mission taking down several mercenaries, droids, capturing/blackmailing a corrupt politician (maybe Nute Gunray but later earning his loyalty), fighting bounty hunters, and taking on cult leaders before he discovered Sidious.

It could end with an intense duel between Dooku and Sidious that Sidious ultimately wins.

9. Sifo Dyas

Sifo was one of Dooku’s best friends. He left the Jedi order but later had a vision about the Republic’s fall. He was played by Dooku and Sidious and used to create a Clone army (which is referenced in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones). It would be nice to see more of him and to learn about his rapport with Dooku.

10. Dooku’s Sith Lord reign

Most of Dooku’s time as a Sith Lord was before the Clone Wars. Back then, he was a smooth Sith politician working in the shadows. During most cases, he was doing more networking and blackmailing than someone like Darth Maul who was an assassin before Episode 1. Still, Dooku had to act as an assassin during different scenarios when blackmail and politics weren’t enough to get the point across. And Dooku was Sidious’s most powerful disciple during the decade between Episode 1 and 2 so he definitely took down several Jedi and other threats.

He moved swiftly into battle using his mastery of the force and excellent lightsaber skills to destroy his enemies like a ghost. In legends, there was a battle where the Trade Federation wiped out several an army of Wookiees that refused to pay taxes. Perhaps the Wookiee chieftain before Tarful engaged and was destroyed by Dooku.

11. Dooku vs Other Darksiders

This is a bonus point. We know Dooku later fell out with a group of dark siders called the Nightsisters during the Clone Wars. SIdious definitely would want Dooku to destroy any potential rivals to his Empire. Because of this, it would be interesting to see Dooku take down a couple of dark side users who aren’t sith.

Maybe one has a dual yellow lightsabers and another has a brown lightsaber.

12. Dooku and Jango Fett fighting together

While we have seen Dooku and Jango individually it seemed like they were close during Attack of the Clones. While their relationship may have been strictly professional they clearly had respect for each other. Seeing a skilled Sith Lord and an elite bounty hunter take down multiple mercenaries or local police officers could be amazing.

13. Dooku and Ventress fighting together

While Dooku often sent Ventress on missions during Star Wars the Clone Wars and trained her in the miniseries; we have never seen Dooku and Ventress actually fight alongside each other on screen. With Dooku’s sheer skills, composure, and force feats and Ventress’s balance between stealth, brutality, and the skill it would be amazing to see them take down several warriors as a duo.

I believe they would fight together in near perfect sync. It would look like art.

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brianhanes · 2 years

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21 Concepts “Star Wars Ahsoka” Should Have

1. Grand Admiral Thrawn (Legends Style)

For those who don’t know, Grand Admiral Thrawn was a major anti-hero in a popular Star Wars “Hier to the Empire” 1993 novel trilogy. He would later be used again in Disney’s “Star Wars Rebels” series, but the big difference I would like to see is a scaled-up Thrawn from that version. In Rebels, Thrawn seemed to be a bit watered down. He gave away battles as he looked at ‘the big picture’.

A major change that we need to see a Thrawn who is constantly winning important battles and seems unbeatable (as he was in Legends). Someone who dominates the scene almost all the time and only gives up ground when necessary. Someone who only takes battles worth taking rather than wasting time on pointless missions.

Thrawn might be the only big villain in season 1, but that could leave room for another key villain to rise in book 2! Hopefully this villain would be teased during the end of season 1 (read more to find out who I’m talking about).

2. Mara Jade

Like Thrawn, Mara Jade was a major character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (comics, novels, etc. outside of the main films) before Disney took over. While Disney may be looking to promote the new characters it has introduced, it would be a travesty if they ignore her. Thousands of legends fans would salivate at the sight of her! It would automatically give the series more love and praise. Mara=$$$ so they better not pass this up!

Mara was an Emperor’s Hand meaning she was trained and raised by Emperor Palpatine himself. The Emperor Hand was a special program that is similar to the Imperial Inquisitor program in that it brought in dark force sensitives into the Empire. Like inquisitors, hands were not Palpatine’s actual apprentices and weren’t caught as deeply in the dark side as Vader. On the other hand (no pun intended), Hands didn’t grow up as Jedi.

Mara was also special in that she was trained to be a grey user. Palpatine wanted to see if he could successfully recruit a grey person to his ranks that would be less likely to betray him than another Sith. Mara Jade was pushed to be completely loyal to Palpatine and she was until his ‘passing’ during the Battle of Endor. It would be nice to see Mara with her purple lightsaber, hand-to-hand skills, force lightning, marksmanship (she could use a sniper rifle or pistol in battle), force choke abilities, and wit in to rival Ahsoka.

Mara is also an expert pilot like Luke. She is sort of like a combination of Ventress, Black Widow, and Luke! That is too good of a character to be passed up. And when I say great pilot, I mean even better than Ahsoka good (only Luke should be able to match her in space).

3. Ezra

Now I’ll mention another given, Ezra definitely will be in this show. To be honest with you, I really enjoyed some episodes of Rebels however, I didn’t like most of the show. For me, Rebels seemed a bit watered down (I wanted a gritty war story with lots of cultural/political lore like Star Wars: The Clone Wars). On the bright (or should I say light) side, I got much of what I wanted to see in Rebels with Rogue One and the Mandalorian. I also expect to get even more of that from Andor.

Like Ashoka, when Ezra first entered Rebels, he was very annoying. However, by the third season, I really liked him. He started reminding me of Anakin from the Star Wars 2003 Clone Wars series. Ezra was more mature, powerful, and seemed like a truly gifted Padawan. At this point, we can get an Ezra that is at knight level. We will see this with his maturity and wisdom but hopefully he also knows when to think outside the box like Qui Gon.

4. Lumiya

This is the season 2 boss I was talking about. Maybe operate on her own at first and her loyalists will run into Ahsoka and her friends. After a few conflicts, Lumiya could join forces with Thrawn.

Like Mara Jade, Lumiya was also an Emperor’s Hand. She was brutal, intelligent, adaptive, manipulative, and through in the force. Lumiya was trained more deeply in the darkness than Mara, which makes for a good contrast of their characters.

Mara is that dream female supervillain that ever story needs. She gives me Cheetah vibes from DC Universe or Azula vibes from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sometimes you really have to appreciate an amazing female villain and Lumiya is one who does this naturally. To add to that, Lumiya was experimented on from a young age. She has super strength, immense speed (like Palpatine), and amazing acrobatics (like Darth Talon).

Lumiya should be portrayed in a way that shows she is obviously physically superior to the other characters in the series. Lumiya uses a lightsaber whip that makes her distinct from other lightsaber duelists. Her whip gives her more range in a duel and she maintains a firm grip of her weapon so she isn’t easily disarmed.

One major disadvantage of the lightsaber whip is that it limits her ability to defend against saber strikes. However, Lumiya is incredibly fast and agile so she can flip and leap away when her enemies attack. On top of that, she uses force push, pull, force throw, and lightning to keep enemies away from her. Another special aspect of Lumiya’s lightsaber whip vs other whips (like the ones used by Zygerian slavers in Star Wars the Clone Wars) should be that it is lethal.

Lumiya also had her own royal guard stormtroopers who have red armor! That makes for a whole different vibe when the main character goes up against her. Lumiya’s character themes also would make an interaction between her and Mara Jade in the show insane. Imagine Mara Jade vs Lumiya in Ahsoka!

But if Disney wants to move in another direction, they could give her imperial royal guards instead. That still works with the epic boss villain afterall, some of them would need a new boss after Sidious.

5. Shadow Stormtroopers

If you have seen any of my other Star Wars threads, it should be obvious that I’m obsessed with the soldiers! Seriously, soldiers are a big part of what made the Clone Wars and Rogue One special! Just because Jedi are in this story doesn’t mean soldiers shouldn’t still get their moments. The Mandalorian brought dark troopers from legends to canon. Star Wars battlefront 2015 brought these guys to canon, still I’d like to see them on the big screen.

Shadowtroopers are stormtroopers that can turn invisible in battle. They are elite which means they have better aim, personal HUDs, superior tactics, smoke grenades, and can adjust more in firefights. Ahsoka would also be strong enough to beat them.

6. Evo Troopers

Here are some of the coolest stormtroopers in history. Evo troopers are environmental experts with armor that can help them survive in several different environments (duh)! What makes them even more special is they basically use electric shotguns in battle and those electric shot guns fire quickly and have a wide range. They are annoying to fight in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Seeing Ahsoka go up against these guys would give many fans a rush of nostalgia and they are just awesome anyway.

7. Tie Phantoms

Star Wars Rebels blessed us with tie defenders. While I didn’t like all the episodes in Rebels, I adore some of the things they did with the show. Tie defenders where special because they were specialized imperial tie fighters that had personal shields and more firepower. Phantoms are special because they are tie fighters that can turn invisible! Another reason they need to do this is because Ahsoka dueled Maul in season 7 of Star Wars the Clone Wars and he was the Phantom Menace!

8. Cal Kestits

Cal was the main character in Star Wars Fallen Order! He is a jedi survivor of Order 66. Fallen Order is one of the best Star Wars things I have seen in a while and it would be nice to see him.

9. Imperial Jumptroopers

One really special thing about Star Wars the Clone Wars, is there were always new droids to fight. From battledroids, to super battledroids, to commando droids, to magnaguards, to crab droids and so on. Imperial jumptroopers have been utilized a good amount by Rebels.

10. New Republic Soldiers

This is something the Mandalorian didn’t show us enough of. Although the New Republic was considered a joke in the show, it realistically would at least function throughout the Core worlds and Colonies. If matters were important enough and there was enough political demand, they would definitely battle against Imperial Remnant forces or whatever other threat is lurking around the galaxy.

11. New Republic Droids

We saw these bad boys in the Mandalorian series. They are durable, accurate shooters, and very strong. Although they are predictable, they would be useful in battle against Imperial forces.

12. Imperial Security Droids

On the flip side of this discussion, it would also be useful for the Empire to use more of its security droids. These guys are very big and strong. They also can run deceptively fast for their size. We see in Rogue One that they are very accurate. But instead of seeing them unarmed like in Fallen Order or with pistols like K-2SO, let’s see them with heavy blaster and disruptor rifles. Then they would be deadly juggernauts in battle that even a jedi would be cautious of taking on.

13. New Republic Light Cruiser

In the Mandalorian, there was a lot of hype about the New Republic Fleet dealing with some shady people in one of the episodes. Unfortunately, what we saw was underwhelming to say the least. We need to see a New Republic cruiser and it doesn’t need to be a massive one (a huge one wouldn’t even make sense in many cases).

14. More Battles

More battles is always useful in Star Wars. Especially during a timeline like this where the New Republic is more powerful than the Rebellion was and the Imperial Remnant strongholds are being knocked down as their resources dwindle.

15. Embo

Embo was a popular and honorable bounty hunter in Star Wars the Clone Wars. It would be great to see him on the big screen. Apparently, he retired and became a farmer but maybe we could see him defend his farm. I also think Embo deserves his own series, but that’s another story for another time.

16. Jedi Leia

The Jedi side of Leia has been abandoned in canon, but that can always change. Adding Leia and even having her fight against someone like Lumiya would be amazing. Still if Lumiya can defeat a seasoned Ahsoka the first time they fight, a less experienced Leia would really be at risk against her. Perhaps that’s where we see more parallels between Leia and her mother.

Padme was often seen as a helpless senator by Jedi but it turned out she could defend herself well with her surprising hand-to-hand and marksmanship skills. Leia showed us the same in A New Hope but in Ahsoka she will have to be even more cautious as she takes on greater challenges with skills that she is still honing.

17. Luke Skywalker

Luke has to be shown at some point in the series. He is just too important to not show.

18. Durge

Durge was a deadly bounty hunter in the Star Wars Clone Wars 2003 miniseries. He also appeared in several comics. Durge has also appeared in one of Disney’s canon comics.

19. Smugglers and pirates

I know this is a given, but I just decided to write it anyway. There literally has to be a couple of episodes with these type of characters. It’s like a Star Wars rite of passage for shows.

20. New Jedi Order

Not every jedi that is listed should be named. Fall Order did a good job of avoiding this mistake. It would be nice to see more ordinary jedi in this show as well and that would also make the Star Wars universe feel bigger. A scene of Luke training padawans would also be nice.

21. Ahsoka and Chewbacca reunite

Ahsoka has actually already met Chewbacca as a teenager during the Clone Wars. It would be nice to see them meet up again. This could also be an opportunity for her to meet Han Solo and Leia.

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brianhanes · 2 years

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Why I’m Excited About Star Wars Andor

While a lot of new Star Wars series have been announced over the last year (Kenobi, Ahsoka, Visions, Bad Batch, etc.) I’ve been the most excited about this series. Here are several reasons why I think this may be the most promising Star Wars series since the Mandalorian.

1. The Trailer

Even before the trailer, I noticed people were saying that no one wanted an Andor series. But I actually took up for Andor at the time listing several reasons you will see of why I was hyped for it. The trailer simply confirmed many reasons why I thought this. It was brilliant, in-depth, and of a higher quality than the Kenobi series. I’d argue it was a better planned and more poetic trailer than what we got from the Mandalorian.

Part of the reason for this is because Kenobi sells itself due to the name of the main character and it just seemed like the budget for this series will be higher than that.

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2. Non-Force Sensitive Story

While many see this as a weakness, I view it as a strength. Whenever Star Wars gets on overload with Jedi vs Sith stories, it starts to feel less special. Lightsaber fights don’t have the same charm to them when you see them over and over again. There is also something thrilling about when people who can’t use the force fight because they’re a lot more vulnerable in the universe.

3. It’s like Rogue One

Rogue One was another project that I was hyped for. Even before the trailer came out which showed many of us that it would be promising. I am biased toward Rogue One because I wanted a Star Wars soldier story since I was a child and Rogue One gave me literally everything I wanted in it. A lot of people complained that the storyline would be predictable because we know what happens in ANH but it wasn’t. Because even though it had familiar aspects, it included original characters with fates that were unknown to us.

People also forget that Star Wars the Clone Wars is one of the most beloved stories in Star Wars and it was expected to have some of the same issues. With all the hate they got, the Prequels had some of the best narrative potential and stories in Star Wars. Unfortunately, the execution and dialogue of those films was off.

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4. It will have war aspects (minor spoilers in this one)

While I wouldn’t call Andor a war story, it is based off one (Rogue One). Andor was a spy, but that doesn’t mean battles didn’t happen. Afterall one of the best scenes in the Mandalorian season 2 was one where Din did some undercover work. We even got a battle where we saw the imperials prevail.

5. New Perspectives

This is a chance to learn more about what the imperials think, which is awesome. We can learn more about common imperials, like we did in season 2 of the Mandalorian and we can also learn more about what imperial officers think. Some of them are more brutal while others might be fairer and less crazy. We can also learn more about the different types of rebels such as the brutal ones and the more merciful rebels. This is part of what was special about Rogue One which showed us more of the dark side of the rebellion.

6. Rebel Revolt

In the trailer, we notice a city that is full of political and social unrest. It is likely that people will start protesting, imperials will attack protestors, and that could turn into an outright battle. It would be interesting to see the Empire move through the ranks as it uses superior tech, numbers, and training to outmatch the rebels. Eventually, we might see Andor sabotage the imperials to the point that the rebels can win.

7. Imperial Special Forces (outside of death troopers)

While I love Death Troopers, they were basically the special part of Rogue One. It would be nice to see something different like storm commandos in this one. I think they would be particularly interesting, because storm commandos are the Empire’s counter to guerrilla forces. They can flank, ambush, and sabotage just as well as rebels. Plus they are better trained, better sharpshooters, have personal HUDs, a larger variety of weapons (smoke grenades, ec greandes, heavy blasters, snipers, rockets), are masters of stealth, and are more skilled with melee weapons like daggers.

Seeing them and a storm commando captain as a villain kill team would be incredible. It would also show us more competent imperials. It is also nice to see differernt types of imperial special forces. While Death Troopers are intimidating killers that invoke fear through their size, strength, distorted voices, and tech the stormcommandos are another vibe entirely. Stormcommandos are tactical, analytical, witty, and adaptive imperials that can beat Rebels at their own game and we actually understand what they’re saying so they can teach us more about zealous imperials.

8. People forget how important spies were in Star Wars

In past Galactic Civil War (original trilogy) storylines, spies were some of the most important people in Star Wars. Especially for the rebels. A big reason they stole the Death Star plans was because of a spy network. A big reason they won the war at all, made it as far as they did in Episode IV, survived after ANH, and took down the second Death Star was because of spies. The Empire also used them and imperial spies were some of the best trained and most deadly forces the Empire had to offer in Legends. It’s time we see more of both in canon.

9. New Tech

I said it before and I’ll say it again, new tech! I’d love to see concussion rifles based on the old Star Wars Republic Commando game return to Star Wars. I’d also like to see more of the Imperial Security droids in action, like in Fallen Order. Imagine seeing Sentry Droids with heavy blaster rifles. They already have durable armor, accuracy, and great strength so if they are given advanced guns they’ll be wrecking machines.

10. Mon Mothma

She might not be the first person people get excited for, but I am looking forward to seeing more of her. There is something about her personality as seen in the Clone Wars that is just epic and noble. She gives me serious charisma, philanthropy, and mental strength vibes. I remember playing the Empire at War videogame as a child and hearing Mothma’s inspiring speeches. They always made the Alliance feel more grounded and real to me.

11. The Senate, Politics!

This is kind of similar to my Mon Mothma point since she was a senator. There was still an Imperial Senate until Episode IV where it is stated that it was dissolved. Still, the senate itself was likely much more watered down during this timeline than when it was a real yet declining Republic in the Prequels. Senators likely had to follow their given directives.

And while many may have stuck to this, there must have been an event that led to some of them changing their minds and making a political statement against the Empire. This likely inspired Rebels which helped pave the way to Rogue One which paved the way to the Destruction of the Death Star in episode IV as well as the Senate being shut down right before that.

This will be different vibes than the Senate we remember in the Prequels. There should be more fear and control during meetings at this point. But some aspects that we saw back then might still be present here.

13. A more brutal and dominant Empire

Outside of Vader, we still haven’t seen many depictions of a more dominant and brutal Empire. In Rogue One, we got a taste of it with the death troopers, Battle of Jedha, and stormtroopers overwhelming K-2SO but consistently seeing the Empire as a threatening group would be interesting. It is important to get a good amount of stormtroopers who can aim and that are decently competent. While they might not be the best troops in Star Wars or even the Empire, they are better trained and more skilled than most rebels.

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#star wars #star wars legends #star wars stormcommandos #star wars empire #star wars rebel alliance #star wars rebellion #star wars original trilogy #star wars anthology #spinoff #star wars canon #tv #tv series #disney plus

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brianhanes · 2 years

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Chapters: 77 (for four seasons) Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Avatar: Legend of Korra Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Macai/Azula Characters: Macai, Rosh, Azula, Eyre, Yosari, Zuko, Kett, Kanna, Zuko, Alev, Hazo

Additional Tags: War, Battle, Swords, Bows & Arrows, Fire, Firebending & Firebenders, Ice Powers, Military, Earthbending & Earthbenders, Waterbending & Waterbenders, Airbending & Airbenders, Strong Female Characters, Male-Female Friendship, Fire Nation Politics (Avatar), Culture, Culture Shock, Pain, Internal Conflict, Conflict, Post-War, Imperialism, Anti-Hero, Honor, Fantasy, Discrimination, Romance, Eventual Romance, Romantic Comedy, Violence, Protests, Rebels, Royalty, Terrorism, Cults, Religion, Philosophy, Strategy & Tactics, Friendship, Family, Love/Hate, Deception, Feelings, Humor, Manipulation, Psychology, Gritty, Supernatural Elements, Teenagers, Spears, Weapons, Navy, Control, Loss of Control, Martial Arts, Fluff, Dating, Platonic Relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Blood, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Feels

Summary:

Macai, son of General Eyre, is trying to live up to his family name by becoming one of the greatest Fire Nation leaders of all time. His father constantly pushes him to be the best warrior and officer he possibly can be. Despite this, Macai has an internal conflict within him that he will need to overcome to be his best self.

Macai has also romantically fallen for Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. This attraction gives Ozai a reason to use Macai as his own personal tool. Ozai doesn't care for the relationship but, seeks to test Macai to see how useful he might be in the future.

Description: Avatar Macai’s Journey (AMJ) is a growing fan Fire Nation spinoff of the hit Avatar: The Last Airbender series. It is currently on several platforms including A03.

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brianhanes · 2 years

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Features that we should see in Halo 2 Firefight

With the new updates of Halo MCC’s firefight, I think now is a better time than ever to point this out. For those who don’t know, MCC has added the ability to use boons in Halo 3 ODST’s firefight. Boons include the ability to fight alongside AI allies such as marines, police officers, and spec ops elites. Halo 3 ODST also now has a flood firefight mode where players take on waves of flood.

When MCC first came out, a lot of people were hoping for a Halo 2 Firefight mode. There was a firefight mode for Halo CE Anniversary, but I must admit that the Halo CE firefight wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I noticed CE’s firefight was just another version of Reach firefight. The mode had ODSTs that had reduced health and were effectively useless as allies and only one map. It also included Reach AI and mechanics which made it feel nothing like Halo CE.

In my opinion, the CE firefight should have included multiple maps and CE AI to battle against. Allies should have been a squad of traditional CE marines. However, that time has passed and Halo 2 has a chance to fix the mistakes that were made before. The chances of something like this happening may not be high because the AI system used in Halo 2 is very specific, but it’s worth a try to ask.

When I was initially thinking about this thread, I wanted to make a post about why Halo 2 Firefight should be added. But I’ve instead decided that I can better explain that by just mentioning the features that should be present in such a firefight mode. By looking at these features, people can see why this firefight would be awesome.

1. Friendly AI

While I think that a squad of ODST AI would be the most fitting Halo 2 marines could also make good allies. Characters like Sergeant Stacker are entertaining and have unique dialogue lines that make them stand out as useful allies.

Players can get a squad of five marines or ODST (depending on the map) as allies at the beginning of the match. Friendly Ai consist of one allies with a variety of weapons (one with a shot gun, one with a sniper rifle, two with SMGs, and two with battle rifles). The players can get three AI to assist when reinforcements come.

2. Maps

There should be at least five maps. Maps could be entirely new or modified versions of original Halo 2 locations. Ideas include:

-Gravemind (the first place where you fight)

-High Charity (the last place where you fight or one of the open battle areas before then)

-Cairo Station (where the mission initially starts or one of the large open areas you fought in later)

-Outskirts (based on where the mission began at)

-Delta Halo (where you first defended against phantoms)

-Regret (where you fight the Prophet)

-Uprising (outdoors)

-Great Journey (Indoors)

3. Obstacles

Below is a list of several obstacles we could enjoy.

OUTDOORS (Uprising, Delta Halo):

-Ghosts

-Phantoms

-Wraiths (are a lot less annoying than the ones in Halo 3 ODST firefight)

-Banshees (are incredibly annoying)

-Jackal Snipers (yikes)

INDOORS:

There shouldn’t be any obstacles in these modes, but infantry will be more overwhelming in these versions (because you’ll have to fight them in close range). Enemy AI will travel through doors.

4. Map Differences

In outdoor battles players can use certain things that they can’t indoors. But players may get higher varieties of weapons indoors (rockets, sniper rifles). Things that players can utilize in outdoor matches are listed below.

Outdoors:

-Mounted Machinegun Turrets

-Warthogs (With standard or heavy anti-vehicle turrets)

5. Spawned Weapons

In this mode characters can spawn with basic weapons like a submachine gun as the primary weapon, a battle rifle as the secondary weapon, and two frag grenades. Keep in mind, players can pick up weapons from enemies they defeat.

6. Health System

Unlike in Halo ODST and Reach firefight, this would be the only Halo Firefight mode with a classic Halo health system. The biggest difference between Halo CE, 2, and 3′s classic health system and the ones in some of the other Halo games is that your health is almost entirely based on shields. Once your shields go down, your health is practically nothing. But shields can always recharge.

Whereas in ODST you don’t have shields, but your health can still regenerate if it doesn’t take a certain level of damage.

7. AI Waves

This is the most special part of the Halo 2 Firefight mode and brings the most value to the mode.

PATROLS:

Elite patrol: Elite minors, majors, and ultras with grunt minors, majors, and ultras. Elites use plasma rifles, needlers, and carbines.

(Elite ultras have stronger shields than other elites and can switch to energy swords in close combat. Ultra grunts throw grenades more frequently.)

Brute patrol:

Brute minors, majors, and captains with grunt minors, majors, and ultras. Brutes go beserk when their allies are killed. Beserk mode makes them difficult to defeat in close combat.

(Brute minors can be headshot more quickly because they don’t have helmets. Majors and captains have helmets and captains often have brute shots which are deadly grenade launchers).

Buggers:

These are flying creatures that many people mistakenly think came form Halo 3. In reality, they were first used in Halo 2. Buggers use a combination of plasma pistols and needlers in battle. They are particularly overwhelming in combat. Some buggers could be given plasma rifles in firefight to enhance gameplay.

Brutes and Buggers:

Brute minors, majors, and captains as well as a wave of buggers. Elites use plasma pistols, needlers, and plasma rifles.

Elites and Buggers:

Elite minors, majors, ultras, and buggers to assist them. Elites use plasma rifles, needlers, and carbines. Buggers use plasma pistols, needlers, and plasma rifles.

Elite Rangers:

Elites with jetpacks and plasma rifles (most will have single plasma rifles and a few will have dual plasma rifles).

Hunter Assault Team:

Two hunters (heavy Covenant fighters), grunts, and jackals.

Elites and Jackals:

Elite minors, majors, and ultras and jackal minors, majors, and snipers working side by side. Elites use plasma rifles, needlers, and carbines.

(Halo 2 jackal snipers are particularly special because they are incredibly accurate on legendary and have quick reflexes).

Jackal Snipers:

As stated before, Halo 2 Jackal snipers are legendary. this wave consists of jackals with carbines and beam rifles.

Stealth Elites and Grunts:

These elites have brown armor and are invisible in combat. The same is true for their grunts. Stealth elites use plasma rifles, carbines, needlers, dual plasma rifles, and energy swords. Stealth grunts use plasma pistols and needlers.

Spec Ops Elites and Grunts:

Elites with purple armor that throw grenades frequently in combat. These elites use a combination of plasma rifles, needlers, carbines, beam rifles, and energy swords. Spec ops grunts use grenades more frequently and also have purple armor. Spec grunts use plasma pistols, needlers, and fuel rod guns.

8. Boss Waves

ZEALOTS: These elites have gold armor. Zealots use a mixture of energy swords (like in campaign), dual plasma rifles, and dual needlers. The dual plasma rifles and needlers is a natural fit for zealots because their AI automatically shoot faster than normal elites. With dual weapons, they would be overwhelming in combat. Zealots have more aggressive tactics than normal elites.

I was thinking eight zealots in total. Two with energy swords, two with dual plasma rifles, two with fuel rod guns that are modified to switch to energy swords in close range, and two with dual needlers. Zealots switching to swords makes them more similar to Field Marshals in Halo Reach but it also works because we’ve seen Halo Reach add some slightly different variants of Elite Generals in Firefight (Generals with plasma cannons which aren’t in campaign).

BRUTE HONOR GUARDS: This makes sense because they’re often the leaders of brutes in campaign. This can include honor guards with brute plasma rifles, shot guns, brute shots, and carbines.

REGRET: The Prophet Regret could be a bonus boss. He’s someone you fight in Halo 2. He can be killed by boarding his vehicle and shoots laser beams at his opponents. Regret has several grunts and elite honor guards that assist him. Regret’s honor guards use plasma rifles, energy swords, dual plasma rifles, and carbines in combat.

HERETICS: The heretic leader has dual plasma rifles and a jetpack. He has grunts with needlers as an escort. He also has elites with carbines, energy swords, and beam rifles as his escort.

TRUTH: This could be a bonus boss. He’s a reskinned Regret with the firepower of a ghost instead of using a laser beam and different dialogue lines. Truth could have brute honor guards and jackals as a defense team. The jackals use needlers and plasma rifles while the brute honor guards use plasma rifles, brute shots, carbines, and shotguns.

TARTARUS: Tartarus will be weaker in firefight. In this mode he’ll have the same health as a brute honor guard (which is similar to a shielded elite major), but he’ll also have shields on top of that which are equal to an elite major. That would make his health in total being about the same as an ultra but with half of it being rechargeable shields and the other half being heatlh (while most ultra resilence is in shields and not health).

Tartarus has a high damage output but limited range and is a bit slower than elites. However, Tartarus can dive after his enemies in combat. Tartarus will have several brutes of various ranks by his side (two minors, two majors, two captains, and two honor guards). The brutes with him will use a mix of brute plasma rifles, carbines, shotguns, and brute shots.

ELITE STRIKE TEAM: An elite strike team will consist of one zealot leader (who will either have an energy sword, dual plasma rifles, fuel rod guns with a modified sword beserk ability, or dual needlers). Although halo 2 zealots have less health than other variants, I would not underestimate halo 2 zealots with dual needlers or plasma rifles because zealots actually shoot faster than the other elite variants (as well as rangers and spec ops elites). The zealots also fight more aggressive which would make them overwhelming with those weapons.

The strike team will also include two ultra elites, three elite majors, and three minors.

9. Skulls

Skulls are gameplay modifiers that make AI different and they can also change a player’s abilities. The skulls would be the same as the typical Halo 2 campaign ones.

Notable skulls:

-Anger (faster rate of fire)

-Grunt Birthday Party (grunts die in explosion of confetti)

-Feather (change in physics mechanics, similar to cowbell in Halo 3)

-Mythic (increased enemy health)

-Catch (enemies use more grenades)

-Scarab gun (guns cause extra damage when fired)

-PInata (enemies drop grenades when meleed)

-Thunderstorm (all minors and majors become ultras, ultras have extra health and switch to energy swords when enemies get close).

10. Zealot Buff

I described how some of the zealots would use different weapons than in campaign (where they only use energy swords). But there is another buff that would be added to them. We notice in Halo Reach that zealots can take about 25 standard shield shots before they go down. With the highest health (along with Generals and Field Marshals) of all the elite ranks. In Halo 2, Ultras get around 35 standard shots before they drop.

The best solution would be to either give zealots 25 standard shield shots (between halo 2 major and ultra health) so that they can be a new unique challenge. While they have less health than ultras, they fight more aggressively and can be more overwhelming with the health they do have. Zealots also seem to be a bit faster than other elite variants, but their paper shields in the halo 2 campaign wouldn’t do them much justice as bosses (though they are always cool to see).

A different option would be to give zealots 20 standard shield shots. Which is a bit over a major but is below what their health in Reach. It is exactly equal to their health in Halo CE. The Zealots could also have a 200 percent shield recharge rate and could get 200% health (10 shots instead of 5 before death). This would make zealots even more distinct from other elite ranks in how they function.

The second option would also zealots operate a bit more like stealth elites. Which have slightly weaker shields but more health than elite minors and a faster recharge rate. It often works for them because they fight more defensively and have active camo. However, the zealots could benefit from this style because it would allow them to recover more quickly from intense fights and adjust during prolonged showdowns while sacrificing some resilience (which is more useful during initial fights against players).

CONCLUSION:

So let’s make it happen. This mode would be so fun. They could add it as a DLC for $5-$8.

With friendly AI, it would be just as fun as campaign and players could keep replaying it. Players could have up to four friends to fight with at a time, which would be nice because you can only fight with up to two players at a time in Halo 2′s CO-OP mode.

#halo 2 #halo 2 anniversary #halo mcc #video games #shooter #first person shooter #scifi #aliens #super soldiers #future #xbox #xbox one #firefight #halo firefight #fun #Entertainment #microsoft #co-op #ai

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brianhanes · 2 years

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Best Current Batman Film (Minor Spoilers Below)

5. Batman Begins

The list starts with Batman Begins (BB), which was the first part of the Dark Knight trilogy. At the time of its creation this story was iconic, creative, and unique. It took Batman soundtracks to the next level and had immersive storytelling that looked at the Dark Knight’s origins. I admire the creativity that was displayed in this story and the mystery that was tied to Ra sa Gul transitioning from a mentor to the villain of the series. This story also showed a nightmarish Scarecrow as a sidevillain.

4. Joker

This was another story that showed how creative the Batman writers really are. They went out of the box with this one by adding an origin story of the main Batman villain, the Joker himself. I loved how this story shows that a lot of really ‘evil’ people once were a lot more normal and relatable. Many times villains emerge when people feel they are neglected and marginalized by society. The scenes of bullying and the Joker turning to immerse violence to become an unstable killer was brilliant.

This story was a tragedy which makes it different than most DC Universe and superhero stories. Joker increased the realism of the DC Universe.

3. Dark Knight Rises

Dark Knight Rises probably has the best Batman soundtrack. While at lot of people praise the Dark Knight and The Batman’s soundtracks I believe this one has the most iconic songs. For the Dark Knight, the main song that we think about is the theme. There are some variations to the theme and the Joker has his own terrifying side theme but this story has a lot more including: Bane’s Reckoning theme, Bane Storming Blackgate, The Shadows Betray You, and Batman vs Bane. I listen to the Dark Knight Rises soundtracks all the time.

Besides that, I think Bane is easily the second-best villain in the Dark Knight Trilogy. He is intimidating, fierce, and he broke the Batman. Physically, he’s the only one who can direct match Batman so far. The scene where Bane breaks Batman is the single most powerful scene in the entire trilogy for me. We also can enjoy some epic battles in this story, see the origin of Nightwing, and see Catwoman. This story hit a lot of cool checkmarks that makes it one of the best Batman films yet.

The stakes are high in this tale and it is inspiring to see the Dark Knight remotivate himself and train for his rematch with Bane.

2. The Dark Knight

This story had an amazing original soundtrack and it completely changed the precedent of Batman movies. Here we see the best villain to ever enter the Batman scene. While the Joker is less physically intimidating than Bane he still looks frightening with his wardrobe, scars, and paint. The Joker often fought dirty using goons, dogs, and weapons to help him in battle against the Batman. The most frightening aspect of the Joker was not his combat skills, but it was his mentality.

The Joker was willing to do whatever it took to win and never feared death. Almost half of the story is dedicated to the Joker and shows how he steadily pushes the city into more chaos. Such a anarchic tone was never made before in a batman story. There are several iconic scenes in this film such as the Joker crashing Wayne’s party, the Batman vs Joker final showdown, the opening Bane scene (my second favorite) and Joker vs Batman chase scene (my favorite).

The Joker also has a nice combination of wits (the second smartest Batman villain), skill, and ruthlessness. Batman could beat this Joker up a dozen times and it could still be just as entertaining to see them fight again. Can you say that about most villains?

One thing I’d like to see more in this story was the application of substantive moral values however, we got a good use of that at the end of the story. There is a part where Joker challenges the morality of the Gotham citizens when they are at breaking point. We see two different points of view of how bad circumstances can bring out the worst and the best of people. Both Batman and the Joker are right to a certain degree and that’s what makes their moral dispute so gripping. In the end, the people do the right thing, which makes for a satisfying ending.

There is also an amazing quote at the end of the story about Batman being the hero that the people need but not who they deserve. It talks about how sometimes you have to do what is right even when it’s not easy and others don’t appreciate it. So, while I thought the film held out on important moral lessons during the beginning and middle of the film it more than delivered in the end.

1. The Batman

That’s right, I have The Batman as number 1. While I love the Dark Knight, for me this is the best Batman film yet. The Batman has the best story, which means more than anything else when considering the quality of a film. The Batman shows us strong moral connotations throughout the film. It also shows us the dark side of Batman, but it seems the dark moments of this story are never without reason.

This story appeases the lower senses of great action scenes and also appeases the higher senses with its thought provoking lessons. We notice realistic themes of corruption, inequality, and greed. This story also has the best combat choreography, one of the best soundtracks, and some of the best villains in Batman film history. If you play close attention, you’ll notice

This tale also had a great side story about Catwoman that kept my eyes glued to the screen. I believe it has the best depiction of Penguin who is my fifth favorite Batman villain. Penguin was a humorous and crafty opponent of Batman. The chase scene between Penguin and Batman was legendary as was the scene when Batman fought his way into the Penguin’s club. For me, the Penguin is the best sidevillain in the Batman films beating out Scareshow and Two-Face in that regard.

While Bane was my second favorite Dark Knight Trilogy villain, the Riddler is my second favorite Batman movie villain in general. As much as I love Bane’s combat abilities and iconic lines; the Riddler is a much more charismatic villain. Granted the Riddler needs a mask to pull that off, but he really inspires the people. The Riddler actually says things that are true and has a relatable motive as he looks to combat corruption.

The Riddler is also special in that he can orchestrate events and cause Batman problems without directly taking him on. The Riddler is easily the smartest Batman villain so far. The Riddler creates a mysterious awe about himself and he reflects certain type of people who exist in this current world (though the same is true for the Joker, Bane, and even Ra’s a Ghul). Catwoman also has a nice side theme.

Besides all of that, I have to say that I love the intro theme to the series. I love how we learn much more about Batman and the Wayne family in this story. I really enjoyed this Alfred who was great (but I love the Dark Knight Alfred equally). This film had the best poetic imagery of all the Batman movies. From the start of the film to the end, there are certain scenes that I’ll never forget. The way Matt Revees put everything together was just phenomenal.

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brianhanes · 2 years

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Concepts & Characters Star Wars Needs to Bring Back in a new Legends Sequel Series

Before Disney bought out the franchise, Star Wars already had a rich story about what happened after Episode VI. Once Disney took over, the old stories were scrapped for a newer trilogy that disappointed a lot of fans. Star Wars became split between its old legends fans and the newer sequel trilogy ones. It seemed as if there was no way to bring the two divided groups together, however there is a way to bring them together.

One of the most special things about Star Wars is its versatility. You can never please everyone. Fortunately, Star Wars doesn’t have to. Star Wars has such a large franchise, so many eras, and so many characters that they can make content that brings in different types of fans. They can have more original content, more traditional content, stories about Jedi, stories about bounty hunters, stories about soldiers, stories about detectives, and so on. Star Wars can have comedies and serious films.

The legends fans can be appeased and get everything they ever dreamed of with the new legends alternate universe series that is inspired by the stories that came to be before the Sequel Trilogy. The canon fans can enjoy the Sequel trilogy and neutral fans can enjoy them. Now I will briefly mention aspects of the Legend Sequel that should be seen.

Warning: Spoilers Below

1. Mara Jade

Mara was one of the most popular Star Wars characters. She was Ahsoka Tano, before the Clone Wars with a touch of Ventress. Mara was a mysterious, brilliant, tactical, and adaptive assassin. Mara was also a talented duelist, excellent sharpshooter, and acrobatic fighter. Mara could swift between using sniper rifles, pistols, smoke grenades, gravity hooks, close combat skills, and her lightsaber.

Mara was a master of stealth and infiltration. She knew how to hack into databases with ease. Mara could use force abilities like choke, force push, force pull, throw, and lightning in battle. Mara was trained by Palpatine as an Emperor’s Hand and was given one final mission to kill Luke Skywalker during Palpatine’s death in Episode VI. Despite her orders, Mara eventually fell in love with her target and realized that everything she was told was a lie.

Mara went on to become one of the best Jedi of all time and married Luke Skywalker. Mara has several loyal fans who would buy content with her in it. A lot of people would watch the series simply because she is in it.

2. Grand Master Luke

While a lot of people might argue that we already saw him, you should understand that Luke’s depiction in Legends is very different than what we saw in the Sequel Trilogy. While Luke seems to be more similar in during his depiction in the Mandalorian, Star Wars Battlefront II’s campaign, and some other recent lore readers need to keep in mind that Luke still makes some major decisions later on in the Sequels that impact people’s perception of his legacy.

Luke was incredibly powerful during this timeline, but his beliefs make him stand out more than anything. Legends Luke fulfilled the errors of the Prequels Jedi Order by making a more robust and just Order that was built to last. The New Jedi Order that allowed people to marry, wasn’t overly restrictive like the old one, but still held people on convictions which made it more stable and morally grounded than the Sith.

3. New Jedi Order

The New Jedi Order is something we completely missed out on in the new trilogy. This order was more like an extended family. People looked out for each other and did what they believed was right. Sometimes it still came with harsh lectures and hard lessons however; the structure of this order was less rigid. The members were allowed to marry and attachments were allowed though people were advised to keep those attachments under control.

A big difference between this order and the old one was that there was more choice. They still stood out from the Sith because they had convictions in what was morally wrong and right. These jedi still lived as public servants, monks, and heroes. However, the Jedi were also allowed to look after themselves a bit more (to a healthy extent).

Another key difference between these Jedi is they were more independent from the Republic. While this was also true for some of the first Jedi, we notice that the Order becomes very dependent on the Republic during the timeline leading up to the Prequels. In the first three films, the Jedi are basically government agents. In Legends, the New Jedi Order might not agree to join the Republic in a war or with their methods of solving a conflict. Though it may have seemed the Jedi had a choice in the Prequels, it also seemed like the two groups never went against each other.

The Jedi often stated their allegiance was to the Republic and Democracy. While the Jedi in Legends seem to be more loyal to their fundamental beliefs than anything else. The Jedi during the Prequels don’t seem to differentiate the two.

4. Lumiya

Lumiya is one of the most distinct villains in Star Wars. She is a brutal, determined, fast, and unusually strong female warrior. Lumiya can be seen using a combination of a defensive fighting style, deadly melee attacks to keep her enemies at bay, advanced acrobatics to keep herself from being pinned down, and deadly force attacks. Lumiya uses force choke, force lightning, force slam, and force pull (to disarm opponents or pull them into fatal attacks) in battle.

Lumiya gives characters like Luke and Mara competitive fights in the Sequel novels. Lumiya has undergone some gruesome medical interventions and enhancements that have made her superhuman. This is a theme we see with many villains in Star Wars such as Darth Vader, Darth Malak, General Grievous, and Durge. Even so, Lumiya stands out for being a female villain with these traits.

Lumiya isn’t only an excellent fighter, she also is a manipulative individual. We could see Lumiya using force illusions and dream interference to get in her enemies’ heads. I’d like to see a Lumiya who doesn’t tolerate failure and brutally executes members who come up short.

5. Legends Thrawn

While Thrawn is in Star Wars Rebels, he is even deadlier in Legends. Legends Thrawn isn’t deadlier because he fights better. Infact, he never really shoots or beats people up. Legends Thrawn is deadlier because he wins nearly every mission and is always a step ahead of his enemies. Thrawn in Rebels wasn’t convincing enough for many fans and most of his victories in the show seemed to be hallow.

A legends series allows us to see a Thrawn who gives the heroes several burning defeats and causes them to clearly struggle every time he goes up against them.

6. Master Organa

While Leia remains a senator in Legends like Canon, the Legends depiction allows us to see Leia fighting as an actual Jedi. Leia never focused as much in lightsaber combat as Luke or Mara Jade but she still was capable of giving her enemies a good fight. One thing canon got right that we also should see in the legends series is that Leia was the soul of the New Republic.

7. Kyle Katarn

Kyle is the legendary Jedi battlemaster. He has a cool Wolverine-style personality except he’s funnier. Katarn is a tough guy who can also use a classic sarcastic sense of humor like Obi Wan. Katarn has elements of Obi Wan and Han Solo in him. Katarn was once an imperial agent before he became a rebel spy who played a major role in the acquisition of the Death Star’s plans.

Katarn discovered the Empire’s Dark Trooper program, which was a program that secretly made several killer droids for the Empire. Katarn destroyed the Dark Trooper models that he encountered.

8. World Devastators

World devastators are epic Imperial killing and planet draining machines. To me, these are just as cool as the Death Stars.

9. Liberation of Coruscant

Here lies an epic event that has never been depicted in canon. I’d love to see this as the final battle of the first season of a legends sequel tv series. We’ve never seen millions of rebels and imperials going at it on ground in an epic city space. I’d like to see a Space battle that is large with several ships on both sides just going at each other without any death stars making things more complicated.

It doesn’t just have to be standard stormtroopers and rebel commandos shooting each other. We can see scout trooper snipers firing at them from rooftops, imperial gunners on e-web turrets, imperial ground vehicles vs rebel ground vehicles, Luke leading the Republic charge on the ground, Wedge doing damage in space, imperial jetpack troopers ambushing rebel teams, and imperial shock troopers in action.

The imperial shock troopers I mentioned are heavy troopers from Canon. We’ve noticed that Canon has taken from Legends, so seeing Legends do the same is fair game.

10. Jerec

Jerec is Kyle’s classic and legendary rival. Jerec was a Sith Inquisitor and sharp duelist (like Dooku). Jerec studied the ancient arts of the Sith Lords and several of his inquisitors attempted to hunt Katarn down as he investigated their evil project. The Sith were becoming stronger as they studied ancient Sith knowledge in forgotten temples. While this may sound similar to Kanan’s battle with the Inquisitors in Star Wars Rebels, this plays out much more intensely.

Kyle fought the Sith one by one on his own and defeated each one of them as well as their imperial allies before facing Jerec. The amount of heat he was directly taking is greater than even what we see from Cal in Fallen Order, but the last battle between Jerec and Katarn is one of the best in Star Wars history. Another thing that makes Jerec special is that he’s a blind darksider.

Something about Jerec gives me X-Men and Dooku vibes.

11. Yuuzhan Vong

Imagine an army of strong force-resistant warriors. The Vong use organic creatures a vehicles, are more durable than most races, have super strength, and are a well-trained warrior race. The Vong are deadly even without weapons due to their sharp claws and teeth. Standard Vong weapons may consist of spears, toxic gas, energy beams, and deadly creatures. I’d like to see the Vong use bright energy flares to blind their enemies in battle and a variant of Vong warriors with attachable wings (basically a more intimdiating type of jet trooper).

12. Desann

Desann is a physically intimidating, tall, strong, and ruthless villain. This reborn Sith Lord has an epic voice and unique design that make him worthy. It would be nice to see him on the big screen.

13. Liberation of Kamino

A clash between the Rebels and Imperials on Kamino is another epic battle that we’re currently missing out on.

14. Storm Commandos

We haven’t seen enough of these elite imperials. While Death Troopers are brutal body guards and shock troopers in canon; the storm commandos are counterguerilla experts. Storm commandos are among the most intelligent, adaptive, and tactical warriors in Star Wars. Storm commandos look like scout troopers with slick black armor. Storm commandos use a wide variety of weapons from e-11 blasters, to t-21 ranged blasters, to dlt-19 heavy blasters, to flamethrowers, to sniper rifles, and so on.

They sport weapons like ec grenades, mines, virboblades, smoke grenades, etc. In Legends, Luke seems to have a few encounters with them.

15. Shadow Stormtroopers

While the shadow stromtroopers are shown in Star Wars Battlefront 2015′s campaign they would make for good opponents for Luke Skywalker. I’d also love to see them taking out several New Republic Troopers in battle. Shadow stormtroopers are highly accurate imperial marksmen who have advanced HUDs and armor that can become invisible.

Shadow stormtroopers look like standard stormtroopers but they have black armor.

16. More of Wedge

In Legends, they greatly expanded on the story of Wedge Antilles. I was already a fan of his when I saw him in Star Wars A New Hope. Seeing more of Wedge is a must in Star Wars.

17. More Lando

Lando is another top-tier Star Wars character who could use more screen time. While canon is giving him his own series, you never can have too much Lando.

18. New Republic/Rebel Special Forces

This was a special aspect of legends that has been missed out on in canon. Bring them back!

19. More Battles

Though I mentioned two specific battles, seeing the New Republic vs the Imperial Remnant will allow us to see more battles. This is something the Sequel Trilogy was lacking. We can now see battles with imperials and new sith vs new republic troopers and jedi. These battles take place both on ground and in space.

#star wars #star wars legends #jedi #sith #new jedi order #Entertainment #war #lumiya #mara jade #luke skywalker #kyle katarn #leia organa #wedge antilles

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