Latest Posts by anakin03986 - Page 3

Stanuary week one: Home The first time he went home in over a decade was to attend his own funeral.

(Please excuse any inaccuracy regarding shiva or Jewish funeral reception customs. I’m an atheist from a mostly atheist country and I know close to nothing about religion.)

Hello notice your reply but TCW is mostly handled by Dave Filoni not George and not to mention George oversaw some of the sources I mentioned and the relationship was never toxic until he turned and that is a fact before TCW everything before TCW never showed it being toxic until Anakin turned evil. My argument is that Anakin even though he was selfish was not an abusive person or some sort of monster before TCW showed up and basically tried to make it look like Anakin was always a bad person

Just thinking about how… 

When you take a step back and look at the Star Wars universe as a whole, it gets really hard to defend Padmé and Anakin’s relationship. 

A common criticism against the Jedi Order is that they stood between Anakin and the love of his life, and that it tore him apart. And yeah, I guess that’s fair - if you ignore that Anakin was absolutely free to leave, that Padmé being a senator was as much of a problem as Anakin being a Jedi (which she states herself in AotC and RotS), and that Jedi weren’t even forbidden to have sex or to be in love (as explicitly stated by Lucas and Obi-Wan respectively - the problem with marriage was commitment; commitment to your spouse over commitment to your duty).

Except it wasn’t the secrecy that made Anakin fall. He would have reduced the Galaxy to ashes to save Padmé even if he’d been free to be married to her openly. And when you look at the fate of the universe? At what Anakin allowed to happen for Padmé? It’s not just the Clones whose identity and free will were ripped from them, not just the Jedi who were slaughtered by their best friends. 

The Lasat were exterminated, the Wookiees enslaved, the Geonosians wiped out, the Mandalorians hunted down, the Force-sensitives children kidnapped. Worlds like Lothal were reduced to starvation. Alderaan was destroyed - billions of people, dead. Thousands of worlds were occupied and stripped of their resources. 

When you need more than one hand to count the number of genocides the Empire committed, the scale of the horror is just too great to fathom. 

So from that perspective - taking a step back, setting aside Padmé’s and Anakin’s feelings, understanding what was a stake - I say who cares. Who cares that Anakin was in love and that he felt he couldn’t live without Padmé. The priority was never “let Anakin Skywalker have everything his heart desires” - the priority was the billions of lives that were between him and his dreams. 

That’s Jedi philosophy (except they are more compassionate that I am here). That you can’t place your emotions, your relationships, your loved ones above everything and everyone else. That’s selfish and that’s evil. Anakin’s tale was never that of a star-crossed lover who tried to break his bonds and love despite his cold, unfeeling Masters’ rules. 

Anakin’s tale was that of a man who loved selfishly. (”There’s nothing more important to me than the way I feel about you” - Padmé isn’t even the most important thing - the way he feels about Padmé is. “You turned her against me! You will not take her from me!”)  Who loved violently. (*after beating the crap out of Clovis* Anakin: “I know I went too far. It’s just… It’s just something inside me snapped.” Padmé: “I don’t know who’s in there sometimes. I just know that I’m not happy anymore. I don’t feel safe. I think it’s best if we don’t see each other anymore. At least not for a while.”) (*later strangles his pregnant wife*) 

He loved selfishly and violently and for the sake of one man’s feelings, one man’s heart, evil like nothing seen before was unleashed.

AAYLA: I can still sense your worry for Anakin, your attachment to him. AHSOKA: It’s just… I get so confused sometimes. It’s forbidden for Jedi to form attachments, yet we are supposed to be compassionate. AAYLA: It is nothing to be ashamed of, Ahsoka. I went through the same process when I was your age with my own master. AHSOKA: Really? You? AAYLA: He was like a father to me. I realized that for the greater good, I had to let him go. Don’t lose a thousand lives just to save one.

Don’t lose a thousand lives to save one. 

That’s it, that’s what letting go was about. And Anakin didn’t even try. 

Of course Palpatine was the instigator of all this death and misery, of course it was his plan, his design, his fault. But Anakin was the catalyst. And Anakin stood by and let it happen, and then picked up a lightsaber and started slaughtering his way to what he imagined was a “happy ending” with Padmé.

Looking at the big picture, looking at all the suffering and loss and the hard struggles of people like Hera and Kanan, like the Rebels who had to sacrifice everything for the freedom of others, it seems absurd, ridiculous, blatantly unfair that this all came to pass become of one’s man love. 

I would like to point a few things out

1. Anakin did want to leave the Jedi order it's stated and multiple times in Legends but they told him he couldn't do it hell Obi-wan basically implied Padme shouldn't get involved with Anakin after the battle of Geonosis because he didn't want Anakin to leave the order and when Anakin suggested to leave with Padme she told him that the order needs him specifically Obi-wan and considering how many Jedi survived because of Anakin or how many things he did for the galaxy would be gone without Anakin no one could have repeated or mimicked what Anakin did not even Yoda. So I just want to clarify Anakin could leave but it wouldn't be a good thing for the galaxy in any shape way or form would it be better than what we got? Maybe but with Palpatine there is not exactly much probability of that happening.

2. Falling in love? No they were allowed and to have sex too but not both that is something you are not allowed at least before Disney because you are exiled immeadeately the mother of Satele Shan was exiled because she believed in attachment not exactly a good look for the Jedi

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Tasiele_Shan

Literally because of a little backlash on the attachment rule that happened so yeah the Order was not going to just let Anakin go from the order scott free they would either exile or do something like house arrest. The Jedi and the republic are famous for being paranoid beings when they need to and I don't think they will just allow Anakin the freaking chosen one roam around the galaxy without at least spies looking at him

3. All of that is tragic and terrible thing most of that is not Anakin's fault because Palpatine would have done that regardless sure Anakin played a part but not necessary he was a small clog in the machine Palpatine had this plan for years do you really think Anakin was part of it before he showed up? No Anakin was basically a bonus for Palpatine.

4. Do you want me to give you how many times the Jedi and the Republic did something just as fucked up and nearly cost or did cost the galaxy I don't mean to make them evil but I want to bring up the fact that the Republic and the Jedi also did genocide,allowed slavery, killed billions, slaughtered multiple padawans just because the possibility of turning evil,helped a slave master because they would get help from him and other things they did that were rivaling the Empire.

5. Not really you don't have loved ones besides the Jedi, you don't speak to them, you don't remember them, you don't even think about them not even once and if that loved one is endanger let them die don't mourn them. Also you can kill how many times you just don't do it to someone with a weapon or a kid but everything else free range. The Jedi philosophy is not innocent nor completely good they have many things that are fucked up but considered normal.

6. TCW Anakin really? That Anakin is probably the worst portrayal of Anakin out there including books,novels, movies and comics. There is no way you can use that Anakin as an accurate portrayal of the character. Again TCW Anakin especially in the clovis arc? Your bringing up Mustafar Vader too. The guy who is drunk on power, thinks he can kill Palpatine even though he can't, hasn't slept or eaten in days and is completely out of his mind? Not denying that happened but you are not doing yourself favors by bringing up him at his worst. That is like me taking a photo of someone who at that point was depressed, drunk, suicidal and was at their absolute worst and telling everyone "Yeah that is him on a regular day" it's very much unfair way to do it. Try to use an example of Anakin having a normal day.

7. "Evil like nothing seen before was unleashed" *Laughs in sith empire,hundred year war of darkness, Nihilus,Eternal Empire* yeah the Empire lasted 20 years and even though Palpatine is the strongest sith in history but if you think what he did was the worst then you have seen nothing in SW in this Galaxy there has been dozens of planets destroyed because of a sith, genocide was a hobby, slavery was normal, xenophobia was rampant etc. What Palpatine for was a slow Tuesday. I am just saying for clarification of no Anakin did not bring out the worst in the galaxy he came close to the top tiers but both SW's past and future are worst from the Yuuzang Vong War that killed 1 trillion people to the one of the sith wars that caused a sun go supernova taking out multiple planets.

8. Another reason why TCW contradicts her master was more like a sibling at best and I don't know what she means by letting go of him as he outlived her. Anyways I won't deny Anakin did that but the Jedi are not like that more than once Jedi allow people to live at the risk of millions so kinda hypocritical of you Aayla.

9. You forgot he let go of Ahsoka not to mention he tried to kill Palpatine and was in conflict that is not exactly lack of trying.

10. You forgot Anakin did not murder people because of a happy ending was conflicted even after turning,most his mind at that point and corrupted by essentially the most powerful drug to ever exist. Not exactly normal Anakin.

11. Yes Kanan and Hers did that and were more selfless than Anakin but one thing you forgot to mention is that neither of them had a psychopath on their shoulder slowly dwindling their morals, had an average teacher in the form of Obi-wan,had far happier moments and days spent most of the time free from being attached and living a lie.

12. Would I say Anakin is innocent? No not even close. Would I say he is selfish? Sure Would I say that selfish nature helped more than it hurt? Yeah Anakin helped people any way he could what he did in ROTS was one mistake that grew bigger yet if we see any other example barring one it worked out great. Would I say he is a victim of Palpatine and treated poorly? Absolutely and I am 100% that in Anakin's shoes with all the trauma and pain he went through no one else would have picked another choice put anyone even Hera and Kanan with the exact same trauma, pain and abuse then they would try to save their loved one too. Anakin is complicated I cannot say he is good completely but before ROTS I have a hard time finding another decent person like him that is including Obi-wan

13. Overall I feel like you either exaggerated some things or used the wrong source for them. Making Anakin look worse than he was and making it sound like Anakin was always a psychopath before ROTS. If you want to blame Anakin for the Empire don't forget to blame everyone else just as much because I highly doubt Anakin would have made that decision didn't let an old man constantly talk privately with him -_-

Just thinking about how… 

When you take a step back and look at the Star Wars universe as a whole, it gets really hard to defend Padmé and Anakin’s relationship. 

A common criticism against the Jedi Order is that they stood between Anakin and the love of his life, and that it tore him apart. And yeah, I guess that’s fair - if you ignore that Anakin was absolutely free to leave, that Padmé being a senator was as much of a problem as Anakin being a Jedi (which she states herself in AotC and RotS), and that Jedi weren’t even forbidden to have sex or to be in love (as explicitly stated by Lucas and Obi-Wan respectively - the problem with marriage was commitment; commitment to your spouse over commitment to your duty).

Except it wasn’t the secrecy that made Anakin fall. He would have reduced the Galaxy to ashes to save Padmé even if he’d been free to be married to her openly. And when you look at the fate of the universe? At what Anakin allowed to happen for Padmé? It’s not just the Clones whose identity and free will were ripped from them, not just the Jedi who were slaughtered by their best friends. 

The Lasat were exterminated, the Wookiees enslaved, the Geonosians wiped out, the Mandalorians hunted down, the Force-sensitives children kidnapped. Worlds like Lothal were reduced to starvation. Alderaan was destroyed - billions of people, dead. Thousands of worlds were occupied and stripped of their resources. 

When you need more than one hand to count the number of genocides the Empire committed, the scale of the horror is just too great to fathom. 

So from that perspective - taking a step back, setting aside Padmé’s and Anakin’s feelings, understanding what was a stake - I say who cares. Who cares that Anakin was in love and that he felt he couldn’t live without Padmé. The priority was never “let Anakin Skywalker have everything his heart desires” - the priority was the billions of lives that were between him and his dreams. 

That’s Jedi philosophy (except they are more compassionate that I am here). That you can’t place your emotions, your relationships, your loved ones above everything and everyone else. That’s selfish and that’s evil. Anakin’s tale was never that of a star-crossed lover who tried to break his bonds and love despite his cold, unfeeling Masters’ rules. 

Anakin’s tale was that of a man who loved selfishly. (”There’s nothing more important to me than the way I feel about you” - Padmé isn’t even the most important thing - the way he feels about Padmé is. “You turned her against me! You will not take her from me!”)  Who loved violently. (*after beating the crap out of Clovis* Anakin: “I know I went too far. It’s just… It’s just something inside me snapped.” Padmé: “I don’t know who’s in there sometimes. I just know that I’m not happy anymore. I don’t feel safe. I think it’s best if we don’t see each other anymore. At least not for a while.”) (*later strangles his pregnant wife*) 

He loved selfishly and violently and for the sake of one man’s feelings, one man’s heart, evil like nothing seen before was unleashed.

AAYLA: I can still sense your worry for Anakin, your attachment to him. AHSOKA: It’s just… I get so confused sometimes. It’s forbidden for Jedi to form attachments, yet we are supposed to be compassionate. AAYLA: It is nothing to be ashamed of, Ahsoka. I went through the same process when I was your age with my own master. AHSOKA: Really? You? AAYLA: He was like a father to me. I realized that for the greater good, I had to let him go. Don’t lose a thousand lives just to save one.

Don’t lose a thousand lives to save one. 

That’s it, that’s what letting go was about. And Anakin didn’t even try. 

Of course Palpatine was the instigator of all this death and misery, of course it was his plan, his design, his fault. But Anakin was the catalyst. And Anakin stood by and let it happen, and then picked up a lightsaber and started slaughtering his way to what he imagined was a “happy ending” with Padmé.

Looking at the big picture, looking at all the suffering and loss and the hard struggles of people like Hera and Kanan, like the Rebels who had to sacrifice everything for the freedom of others, it seems absurd, ridiculous, blatantly unfair that this all came to pass become of one’s man love. 

Um actually you are wrong on several accounts for example Anakin did not care about being a Jedi master because of the tittle it was something he really wanted but because it gave him access to the forbidden archives to find a way to save padme so no he was actually focused on saving his wife and children not because of a promotion. It's in the novelization but it was canon and Lucas over saw it and helped edit it. Also Anakin is shown to be angry because he feels it is injustice that he is on the council seat and not a master instead of not having the seat at all. If the seat was rejected I don't think he would lash out nearly as much as he acts calm at their initial doubt. I think your not giving Anakin enough credit and just writing him of as some arrogant brat when he is not hell Anakin at this point was fully committed to just leaving the Order to be with Padme after saving her life but because the council refuses to give him access to he a master and potentially saving Padme he was pissed. Even then you seem to forget in the movie he just a question and doesn't try to you know kill them or threaten them he only ask a simple question that the SWTOr era would have given him. Satele's apprentice when not given the rank of knight was explained why he couldn't get it but noooo not Anakin.

Anakin, the Jedi Knight class story & the Jedi Council

So the Jedi take a lot of hits - some deserved, many not - for their decisions during the various stories. One of the decisions where i think they don’t deserve the hate was this much-discussed gem from Revenge of the Sith.    

Wouldn’t it be awesome if this were all a test? Like, if Anakin does what a Jedi is supposed to do and says “I understand, Master. I will strive to prove worthy of your trust.” they all say. “Ah - that’s the correct answer. Congratulations. You are now a Jedi Master.” Instead, he throws a fit about not getting a promotion. Jedi are not supposed to care that much about promotions. A reminder here - The Jedi do NOT promote based on personal power, or even as an act of merit for victories in battle. The Jedi promote to Master based on wisdom and dedication to the ideals of the order. They make no secret of this. To anyone. Anakin, at this point, is a galactic hero in the war against the CIS. He slew Dooku. He’s won countless battles. But virtually everything he says and does screams ‘I’m not ready to be a Jedi master and i may never be ready to be a Jedi master!’ (It shouldn’t help that he has married and is having kids, and all he can think about is whether or not he gets the nice corner office at work. He’s honestly thinking about his career?) 

Honestly, this is some petulant emo b.s. And no, The Clone Wars doesn’t make me think differently about it.  Maybe the Jedi Order - and Obi-Wan - did fail Anakin. Maybe they didn’t help him deal with the trauma of his childhood or his mother’s death. Quite frankly, there are so many iterations between Canon and Legends that i can’t keep track.  But you cannot tell me that they were being unfair to him when they told him they weren’t making him a Jedi master. I can’t help but contrast it with the ending of the Jedi Knight story.

Now if you went DS - if you chose to go DS - then Satele does not make you a Master.  This is appropriate. No one “accidentally” goes DS when they play SWTOR, much less when they play JK and the LS points come at you like crazy.  But i keep seeing fans of every stripe complain about how unfair and hypocritical this is. After all - you’ve just saved the galaxy! The Jedi don’t appoint Masters based on saving the galaxy. They don’t appoint Masters based on winning the most battles. If a Jedi Knight does not become a Jedi Master at the end of the story, then the responsibility for that lies squarely on the player. (I will say that its b.s. that Satele calls out the DS JK in front of the Republic’s entire leadership. That was terribly indiscreet on Satele’s part and makes no sense whatsoever.)  I know some people have written fic where the JK has no choice but to go dark-side in order to destroy the Emperor, and then use the fic as a platform to complain about how unfair Satele and the council are. That is their right, but that is not what happens in the actual game.  Jedi Masters certainly do fail, either falling to the dark side or to their own hypocrisy. Jaric Kaedan. Jun Seros. Dooku. Being named a Jedi Master does not give you some kind of shield against failure. Maybe the council should have seen the signs on some of THOSE failures.  But Anakin and a dark-side JK? I’m sorry. But they have have no room to complain. The Jedi order never lied about the qualifications for being a master.  BioWare doesn’t always do a great job making our choices matter. But they did here.

I interpret it more as SWTOR trying to make it seem like that not all sith are good but fail do to the so many evil things the sith hell the sith were invented to be a corrupt the point of balance in the force is to get rid of the dark side because it's basically a cancer I won't deny there a few good apples but the grand majority as in 99% are evil. Last I checked the Jedi didn't try to murder billions of people out of spite, caused supernovas killing billions, would give anything for power including killing your loved ones (looking at you Malgus) and hurt people to fuel their own power (looking at you Nihilus). The sith's way of gaining power is killing your loved ones for self hatred, draining the life of people to gain more power, torturing people(for example the oh so good Marr threatened to do while Satele tried to not do and be more gentle), relish in the fact of who they killed, backstab one another the moment they get the chance, are obsessed with killing Jedi constantly, prioritise killing them over almost anything else, many dark side choices are torturing or killing in the game while light side is not killing people most of the time. It's hard to find a good sith who didn't turn to the light side or was using the good to benefit their side. A sith will almost always try to hurt others to get their way while the Jedi will usually show compassion to help others. Sure the Jedi are sometimes questionable but I would prefer a side that wasn't supporting genocide, planetary destruction, mindless violence, gaining power for power's sake and fascism. There is reason why one is an empire and to gain support and become a leader you must be powerful while the other is a democracy where anyone can have a voice. And for last nail in the coffin here is one passage from Sorzus Syn one of the sith and founder of the sith code:

"The sith purebloods require no mantra to remind them how to live. They simply take what they can, kill what they don't need and use everything to it's fullest. They are ruled by the fittest and are a model of what the dark side can achieve"

One more thing: please spare me this “all Sith are evil and self-serving and only care about themselves” nonsense. In the pre-Darth Bane era that’s ridiculous, as much as it is to say all Jedi are good.  This is the Sith code. There’s nothing here about being selfish, racist or not caring about others. Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me. It’s notable that there seems to be some leave in Sith society for Sith to interpret the Code as they will - there is a scene in the Inquisitor story where Ashara Zavros is frustrated with that lack of a unified philosophy. This isn’t “self serving,” in real-world religions there are often those who question, study and interpret differently.  This is the Jedi code. There’s nothing here about being selfless, being nice or caring for others. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force

From what is said, there’s less leave for Jedi to question and interpret the Code as they will, and more of a unified message. We see this in major world religions too.  Neither one is wrong.  We meet plenty of Sith who are horrible people, but the stories also show us numerous examples of Sith busting their asses to protect the Empire or the galaxy.

- Satele Shan accuses Scourge of helping defeat Vitiate for “selfish reasons.” She never gives any indication what these reasons are, of course. Scourge sacrificed everything to help defeat Vitiate. He had a position of extreme power in the Empire - not even the Dark Council could stop him, and he answered only to Vitiate. He gave that up to help the Jedi that wanted his people dead, made himself a traitor to his own faction, and was risking his own immortality. That doesn’t seem at all selfish to me.   - Darth Marr volunteers his own resources defeat Revan in a Coalition with the Republic to save the galaxy. He later leads another coalition into Wild Space with the same goal. And when the ship goes down he doesn’t save his own ass, he’s running around literally trying to put out the fires himself.     - Lana Beniko risks her neck multiple times to save the Empire and later to save the Alliance, to the point of literally jumping in front of the player to take a blaster shot in the stomach. There are several occasions in KOTFE and KOTET where she offers to sacrifice herself so the PC can get away.  -  The Sith Empire led by Acina puts themselves on the line to support the Alliance against Zakuul, when they could have easily sat back like the Republic. Defying Zakuul could have brought the Eternal Fleet down on their heads, and they did it anyway.   - Khem Val, while technically not a Sith but still ‘dark sided’ literally sacrfices himself to stop Darth Zash from hollowing out the Sith Inquisitor and taking their body. If the Inquisitor died, he would have been free.   - Darth Silthar on Tatooine doesn’t send his men out into the dangerous field, he does it himself, and uses his last breath to utter a warning to the PC.   - When the Sith Empire realizes that releasing the Dread Masters was actually a very, VERY bad idea, they clean up their own mess and devote their own troops to it. The Sith commander on Oricon is on the surface, doing everything he can to shield everyone else, even at his own expense.   So where is this “all Sith are selfish and care only for themselves” thing coming from? Maybe the answer isn’t in the Sith, but with the Jedi and how they operate.   The Jedi serve the Republic for life. In SWTOR you are told that they serve the Republic even if they don’t agree. They are not given a choice. In the newest update there is talk from General Daerunn of tracking down Jedi and making them come back to fight for the Republic even if they don’t want to. The Jedis’ duty is to serve, without question. The Sixth Line even puts this ethos into their modified code: There is no contemplation, but duty. The Jedi hammer this philosophy into their recruits from a young age: they are there to serve unquestionably. The Jedi’s duty is to do the Republic’s bidding. They are expected to forego love, relationships, families or their own personal lives to fulfill this mandate, and it is seen as noble and good.   What about anyone who doesn’t want to do that? What about anyone who wants to have some life of their own? Easy! You make emotions and dissent “the dark side.” You make the dark side evil. You make it a Very Bad Thing for a Force sensitive to have any other goal in life than to unquestioningly serve their government. There’s no other way to preserve the status quo of the Jedi as the Republic’s eternal unpaid servants. If they go off and do what they want, or get to think about it, they might leave!   Hammering this point home, the Jedi consider any other Force creed to be dark-sided, which isn’t unlike some evangelical religions that think that they are the only ones going to Heaven. For example, there are a few exchanges in the Jedi class stories where Satele makes this claim about the Voss. The Voss, who use their Force sensitives to heal others through self-sacrifice in the Shrine of Healing (watch the Sith Warrior story - the Mystic takes her own strength and gives it to a sick person, and it’s painful enough to make her cry), have precognitive visions and interpret them to help their people. There really doesn’t seem much that is evil about that.  Satele Shan says nothing about the Voss’s practice of apartheid against the Gormak, but she’s concerned about their use of the Force. 

Point being, claiming that every action taken by a Sith is for their own benefit is as silly as saying that every action taken by a Jedi is out of the goodness of their own heart or free will. 

This is before TCW though and without that show no real evidence is shown that Anakin has anyone but Obi-wan

That's not ableist in my opinion since it's just a visual meaning of how became dark and evil both physically and inside. Plus George actually showed the opposite by making Vader good in the end

the way it's lowkey ignored how anakin lost half his saber wielding arm at 19 yrs old and prob had to relearn/adjust a lot of shit.. like sure i guess they had some super high tech prosthetics in sw but it's still not his own original hand not to mention the trauma of losing a limb (or half a limb)... and the shit after mustafar.. he didn't just lose all his limbs and became horribly disfigured and in constant chronic pain he also lost most of his power.. lost the force

George has explained the meaning behind Anakin’s loss of limb as a physical representation of the loss of his humanity and his power. His loss of power is explained as him losing limbs = losing midichlorians = weakening his connection to the Forcer. But he also explains his loss of limbs as losing his humanity and, to be honest, I have a huge problem with that. I find it ableist. Losing part of your body doesn’t and shouldn’t make anyone automatically less human.

Hey same guy I like your meta but I feel like this is more out of character beyond something TCW related. For example in most books I read on Dooku they never mention him having a preference for humans and even though the dark side changes people I don't remember a case that a dark sider suddenly became racist because of their arrogance. So unless Dooku hid it so well to the point where they don't mention it even in his point of view I don't see how that is in character for him. I don't want to dismiss but it doesn't really add up to other material I have. To me he is the type of person who could care less about species and more about how useful the person is and is arrogant to everyone not just one species. I understand how he feels about cybernetics for Anakin and Grievous would be in character but not the rest. That's how I feel at least.

Hey um I saw your Dooku meta and I just wanted to mention that in the Revenge of the Sith novelization it's been mentioned that Dooku was a bit out of character when it came to his racism because it makes no sense in context and was never mentioned before. What do you think? Personally I feel like those quotes out of character because he wasn't revolted by Yoda or other Jedi.

Hey! Tbh I’ve never heard that argument before so I don’t really know what to say. It’s usually something people say when they are not happy with the canon and, as someone who has been used the OOC argument before, I think people should be more careful with that. 

Anyway, Dooku’s ‘arrogance’ is part of the movie canon. George cast Christopher Lee because he wanted a gentleman to play the role, he wanted to the character to have a certain ‘nobility’ feel. Plus, Christopher Lee himself talks about Dooku’s lack of morals and quest for power.

"He's very aloof, very self-contained, obviously completely fearless," describes Lee. "He is extremely intelligent, perhaps more so than almost anyone else. He's obviously a man of immense power. I don't suppose that the question of moral values enter into his head. He's not immoral -- he's amoral. Morality is a word that doesn't figure in his vocabulary at all. It's power. Which is something that exists very much in our world today."  But was Dooku always like this? New fiction from the Expanded Universe will soon shed light on Dooku's younger days. The forthcoming Star Wars: Legacy of the Jedi, by Jude Watson and Scholastic Inc., tells a tale when Dooku was a noble Jedi Knight. Like his pupil, Qui-Gon Jinn, he will be headstrong and unorthodox for a Jedi Knight. "Maybe at one time when he was younger, when he became a Jedi, I'm sure he did behave in a totally moral and correct way," speculates Lee. "Probably like the old Knights Templar when they started in the 12th century, they started as very good people to protect all the pilgrims on the Crusades. But gradually over the years they disintegrated morally, spiritually and in every way. I know that because I played the Grand Master of the Templars in a film. Eventually, their whole order disintegrated. Who's to say that this isn't going to happen in the third Episode?" [x]

Stover’s interpretation of Dooku as a prejudiced, arrogant men his not unique either. The same side of him was explored by James Luceno in Labyrinth of Evil, and by Dave Filoni and George Lucas in The Clone Wars (just watch his treatment of Maul, Savage and the nightsisters). 

Arrogance and subjugation of those they deem ‘inferior’ are common traits in sith lords so I don’t see him being arrogant and prejudiced a problem, especially in terms of characters development. Also, Labyrinth of Evil and Revenge of the Sith are set during the final years of the Republic, when Dooku is already a Sith Lord. and we all know that people change when they join the dark side so maybe what we know of Dooku as an adult was exacerbated by the dark side. The way Anakin’s anger and pain took a completely different turn when he became Vader.

In stover’s defense, he worked closely with George when writing the book so if the idea of Dooku being like that had been so OOC I have no doubt George or LF would’ve done something. the idea that the EU was this mess where everyone could do as they please is unrealistic. 

Personally, before I call anything OOC I like to dig deep into the lore and leave my own bias at the door. I’ve read plenty of stuff about my favorites that I don’t like but once I considered the context I’ve accepted why it was written. It’s the same thing happening right now with fans pissed at TCW and Filoni because they made the Jedi Order ‘political’, saying it’s all OCC. The Order has always been political, people has just been in denial. 

Also the Kaleesh faced a similar if not worse fate than Galidraan

talking about war crimes what happened at battle of galidraan? i know dooku talked about it

Oh yeah, i forgot about that one. 

For those who don’t know the story, here’s what happened in Galidraan (an Outer Rim planet): The Governor of Galidraan was harboring some members of the Death Watch. During that time, colonists rebelled against him so he hired True Mandalorians (Jango Fett & friends) to deal with the rebellion. The death watch advised to Governor to tell the Jedi Council the planet was being attack by True Mandalorians. The Council, without checking for evidence or analyzing the situation, sent Jedi Masters to Galidraan to deal with the mandalorians. The clash between Jedi and True Mandalorians became the infamous Battle of Galidraan which resulted the death of all true mandalorians (with the exception of Jango) and many Jedi Masters. Jango was captured and allowed to be sold into slavery by the Jedi.

Dooku was one of the surviving Masters and considers this one of the worst things the Jedi Council ever did. 

“It was a massacre; and the Jedi had carried it out, pawns of the corrupt Galidraan governor, who had set up the Mandalorian army for his own agenda. Looking back on it, Dooku saw it was the tipping point that had changed his life. It was the moment he had started to think. I believed my Masters. I didn’t think for myself. They didn’t question, either; they took the governor at his word. They just believed. And we killed people. We killed them on the say-so of a criminal.” — Count Dooku in Karen Traviss’ the Clone Wars.

It’s genocide. The Jedi Council, on the orders of a corrupted politician, slaughtered an entire culture. There was no investigation, no accountability, no justice. This is where Dooku starts to loose faith in the Order and the Senate. 

It is not unreasonable for anyone to wonder why I have decided to leave at this time. Yes, I am aware of various allegedly discreet queries from those searching for a reason. The recent, tragic loss of my former pupil, Qui-Gon Jinn? The debacle on Baltizaar? My highly publicized criticisms of an increasingly corrupt Senate? Some of my contemporaries have suggested that seeds of discontent were planted twelve years ago, at the Battle of Galidraan. While I cannot deny that these events have left their mark on me, I will only allow that the time has come that I can no longer be a Jedi. ” — Count Dooku’s final message to the Jedi Council | Ryder’s Windham’s Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force

Frigid Galidraan was years behind him, but for Dooku the incident remained an open wound. A local governor had succeeded in luring the Jedi into a conflict with Mandalorian mercenaries that had left eleven Jedi dead and the True Mandalorians—largely innocent of the charges that had been leveled against them—wiped out, save for one. James Luceno. Darth Plagueis

As for crimes, attacking Galidraan without an investigation or real evidence is a crime any way you slice it. Allowing Jango to be sold into slavery is inhumane treatment and it could be considered ‘Unlawful deportation, confinement or transfer’. Jango was never officially arrested or given a trial so definitely ‘‘depriving a prisoner of war of a fair trial’. I’m not sure if mercenaries can be classified as civilians but we can add the killing of innocents to the list.Anyway: Galidraan was such a mess even in-universe it was considered a military debacle. 

“Why are the Jedi unable to serve as a military?” the Senator from Ord Mantell asked. Valorum turned to look at him. “The Jedi are not an army, and they number too few, in any case. They intercede at our request, but also at their own discretion. Furthermore, the Order has seen more deaths in the past twelve years than it saw in the previous fifty. Yinchorr is fast shaping up to be another Galidraan.”

Actually he is most likely in the top 5 with his feats and just scaling

its weird bc anakin is supposed to be be the MOST force potent charcater in the star wars universe but he just fucking NEVER USES THE FORCE, FOR ANYTHING? he ONLY EVER lightsaber battle people, which, like, has nothing do with being as powerful as a jedi

like the emperor uses force lightning all the time and even when yoda fought he was using his powerful force abilities to LIFT SHIT and throw it around but anakin NEVER DOES THAT he ONLY chokes people and then lightsaber fights, literally anyone can use a lightsaber 

I'm not to defend Padme or Anakin but

1. It wasn't genocide there are at least millions more tusken raiders

2. There has rarely if ever been a good tusken raider. They constantly slaughter people and are never on trial because there is no trial in the first place.

3. Eh before becoming Darth Vader he saved at least billions of beings all across the Galaxy so that should make up for killing less than a hundred sentient beings.

4. Luke killed a few thousand if not million people by blowing up the death star yet he never stands trial either so how is that different

there was a kylo ren reference in star wars resistance tonight, apparently slaughtering villages is a hobby for him. the episode’s premise revolves around 2 kids running away from the FO after kylo killed their entire village, including their parents. FO wants to kill the kids, too.

Oh but poor babby Ben felt TERRIBLE about having to kill them, in fact how dare the villagers make him feel so bad these kids deserved to die for that and also children are terrorist enemy combatants too and should have been killed poor Ben did nothing wrong uwu

Also what are these kids whining about anyway? At least they didn’t have a powerful Dark Side user stalking them from their father’s left nut and their dead parents actually cared about them something something kitchen droid Bendemption 2k19!!!✌️👍💖

@professorerudite Umm who was going to trial them? Tattooine is literally lawless and their leader is a freaking crime boss no one would have given a sh** considering this is not the first time they did it

Why do people seem very surprised about Vader killing younglings in Order 66? Yeah it's bad, not justifying it but literally in A New Hope we see him assisting or at least sitting by idly while Tarkin blows up Alderaan.

Because picturing something is different than witnessing it. It’s one thing to imagine, in the back of your mind, the possibility of Anakin slaughtering children and it’s an entirely different thing to watch kids be slaughtered. Also, for most of the prequels, Anakin was the hero. We were used to seen him saving them day – no matter how aware we were about who he would later became – so, to watch that transformation on screen was very traumatic. I guess denial probably plays a role in this too because, until that moment, we knew Anakin would go bad but we didn’t know how. Back in the day, people still theorized about why and how Anakin became Vader so when ROTS premiere we had no idea what to expect. Until we saw it with our own ideas we could still imagine that something/someone “made him do it”, that maybe he wasn’t THAT vile. Watching Anakin, willingly, kill kids in cold blood was a rude awakening for the audience.

It also played with our sympathies. Alderaan was tragic but we didn’t actually *experienced* it. It was something that happened to somebody else, someone we weren’t emotionally attached to, so it was much, much easier to dismiss Vader’s role in the destruction of Alderaan. Now, cute little kids being cruelly cut down *on screen* is not as easy to dismiss.

Thanks and sorry I didn't realize it was just your characters

♦ quicks/hobbies headcanon Satele Shan

I really can’t call Satele one of my own characters or anything, but I am very fond of her! One headcanon that I have, that appears to have tangential canon evidence to back it up, is that she remained in contact with Ngani Zho after he took Theron to raise, and that Master Zho would keep her updated with Theron’s progress/training (and that he sent Theron’s childhood toys to her after baby!spy grew out of them). 

Now I know this technically isn’t a hobby by any real definition of the word, but if you poke around her ship and camp in KotFE Chapter 12, you start to see that she does have a hobby, of collecting momentos of both her Jedi family, as well as her blood relations. So it… sort of counts?

1. Ok first the mechanical arm thing was because it's more helpful to have artificial intelligent arms that help with the project than just being a good multi tasker you can't do everything at once

2. Second because they were made to finish the project that is their whole purpose they don't care about anything else

3. Third because it's much simpler than doing everything at once with your entire focus on the machine abd the arms can help

4. The arms weren't solely responsible if someone wants to kill someone another person tells then to do it and they do who is responsible? Octavius was on the brink when the arms got to him he was a good person but went down a spiral of insanity because he inadvertently killed his wife and lost his life's wok plus the arms kept pushing to finish the project increasing his anger and motivation to new heights. It shows how far a person will go after losing everything and with a litlle push becomes bad before the Dark Knight

5. He was trying to create a fusion power source but the thing was he miscalculated, it destabilized(he did not make it bigger on purpose) and he was confident he could stop it but unfortunately it didn't work

6. It's to power the city do you know how much money you could make by investing in that and you can shut it down because as Otto says "They pay the bills" so people will pay them to continue with the pronect plus it will make Oscorp seen in a better light due to them investing when Norman was around in weapons.

7. He says it's a gift multiple times

8. She was in love with astronaut she says so herself! She tells Peter she is done being a empty seat as he is constantly not around for her compared to even Harry and before she tells him that she is seeing someone tell her if you want to date he says the opposite and she is like "I am marrying this guy fuck you for making me wait so long". So yeah Mary Jane is marrying another person because she's fed up with Peter and fell in love with someone else. Also leaving him at the altar was suppose to be something else but... Also that pussy can kill the strongest normal human on earth. Oh like Batman is any better with him endangering his robins every 5 minutes since they were 10 to 14

9. He did get a hint but he is trying to work things out with her and trying to compensate. Any low life crimminal with a half a brain that notices that he is protecting a famous actress(Literally theres is like posters withth her face on it) more than usual also how about Harry fucking Osborn? You know the guy hell bent in killing Spiderman? As for your second point and thord he is srill trying to work out a way to do both that's what he has been trying to do in the first place in the movie balancing things out. Your fourth point probably because finding one person in particular in New York is almost impossible plus he doesn't boast on that and Otto only knew because of Harry showing him who Peter is

10. Andrew Garfield is horribly misscast as Peter Parker and Tobey in this movie is not suppose to be wisecracking or highly happy

11. He was losing his powers because of a mental struggle you know psychology? Just like someone witha fear of something. No he quit because i can't keep a job i want because I am spiderman,my boss hates me, my best friend hates me,lost my girlfriend to my asshole boss's son,i potentially lost a mentor of mine and couldn't say his wife and my aunt is struggling because she can't pay the bills and because I caused my uncle to die. His life isn't hard it's terrible because of being spiderman he has too much to work with. Also the comic sounds pretty bad compared to that "boohoo i lost"

12. When your faster than any police car and can knock people around easily plus i can web them up. Batman is nowhere close to Spiderman in speed or strength or can do much compared to webs

13. What mugging scene? The scene where he walks away is when police are involved in something? Did you even see the movie?

14. I can point out a million in the dark knight starting with Harvey Dent making no sense

Spider-Man 2 - Movie blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you may want to before reading this review)

So the first Spider-Man movie was… less than satisfactory. How was Spider-Man 2?

This movie often appears in many Top 10 Superhero Movie lists. I’ve got a feeling that those people haven’t actually seen this movie in a very long time. Or if they did, it was possibly through rose tinted lenses.

Like with the previous movie, lets start with what I did like. First, my favourite character, J Jonah Jameson. He’s so funny! Every time he’s on screen I’m in stitches. My favourite scene has to be when he finally concedes that Spider-Man is a hero and that he feels guilty for supposedly driving him away, only for him to return to his old self when Spidey steals the costume back. Hilarious!

Aunt May gets a lot more to do this time around and Rosemary Harris does an excellent job with the extra material. I actually became invested in her little subplot about losing her home. It’s pretty much all she has left of Uncle Ben and it’s sad to see her packing her things and moving away. When Peter Parker tells her the truth, that it was because of him that Uncle Ben died, my heart went out to her, thanks to Rosemary Harris’ understated yet powerful performance. I also loved that speech she makes about how there is a hero in all of us (does Aunt May know Peter is Spider-Man? Because that’s how it’s coming across) And a special shout out has to go to the bit where Aunt May smacks Doc Ock with an umbrella. Followed by this little gem:

Spider-Man: “We sure showed him.”

Aunt May: “What do you mean we?!”

Me: Like a motherfucking BOSS!!! You go girl!

James Franco is given a character less incompetent this time around and does a very good job in the role. Harry Osborn is clearly extremely insecure. He’s trying to live up to his father’s memory and his friendship with his best friend is complicated due to Peter taking photos of the man he believes killed his father. As we see his world fall apart, with Doc Ock practically putting Oscorp out of business and discovering that Peter is Spider-Man, it appears that Harry has finally cracked, as he starts hallucinating Norman in the mirror, which leads to him discovering the Goblin lair and the horrible truth. This is great stuff and I’m curious to see where they go with this.

Alfred Molina does a great job as Doc Ock. The scenes at the beginning with Peter and his wife and the scenes where his humanity comes through are wonderfully performed. The CGI has improved a lot since the first movie, with the tentacles being brought to life with a mix of animatronics and computer graphics. The action sequences are great too, the best being the fight on the train. You really feel the danger and peril these characters are in.

Pity the character is complete crap! (Angry rant in 3… 2… 1)

Who in their right mind would give their mechanical arms artificial intelligence?!

Who in their right mind would program said artificial intelligence with the thought process to kill people and rob banks?!

And if you have to build an inhibitor chip to protect your higher brain functions from the artificial intelligence, WHY NOT JUST BUILD A SET OF ARMS WITHOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!

In the comics, the arms were controlled by a control panel until an accident occurred which fused the arms to his back and allowed him to control them telepathically (don’t ask). The reason the accident was caused was because his personal life was so crap that he put everything into his work, becoming more cynical, disrespectful and reckless in the process. He’s a perfect example of genius gone too far and how allowing your work to consume you is a dangerous thing. It astounds me that they scrapped this potentially interesting and thought provoking character study of what is, essentially, a workaholic in favour of a bog standard ‘the AI did it’ plot. It’s boring and negates any potential character growth for Doc Ock.

I’m not even going to comment on the idiocy of him creating a star (see me not commenting), but he does realise that stars have gravitational pulls right? That’s why it started pulling everything toward it. So what good would it do making it bigger?! Did the arms tell him to do it? Why? What possible reason could they have?

Plus this doesn’t sound like the best business venture for Oscorp, does it? The reason fossil fuels are still being used is because there is still money in it. Renewable energy is infinite. There is no supply and demand for it. So any business that invests in Doc Ock’s star isn’t going to profit from it. There won’t be any need to create more stars or sell them. Just one star and you’re done. It’s a total waste of money.

Also, is intelligence a privilege or a gift? If you know, please let Doc Ock know because he can’t seem to make up his mind on the subject.

I suppose I should talk about Peter and Mary Jane.

Lets start with Mary Jane. Now am I right in thinking that she’s only marrying that guy to make Peter jealous? I mean dating another guy is one thing, but marrying him? At what stage do you come out and say 'only joking’? We’re clearly supposed to want these two to be together, but I reckon Peter should just date the girl in the flat next door. He’s saying the reason they can’t date is because he’s Spider-Man, but I think it’s because MJ keeps dicking around, giving mixed signals and making things unnecessarily complicated. My anger levels officially went through the roof when she left her groom at the alter without even having the courage to dump him face to face. She just leaves a note saying 'Fuck you. I’m running off with the pussy in the red and blue pyjamas.’ (At least that’s what I imagine the note says) What a true inspiration to humanity.

Peter Parker is becoming a hateful character too. He still can’t get a bloody clue about MJ and move on, insisting on reading poetry and attempting to woo her in his own plonkerish way. Here’s what I don’t get. He says they can’t be together because his enemies will use her against him. First of all, WHAT ENEMIES?! YOU HAVE NO ENEMIES! Supervillains only seem to occur once in a blue moon in this universe and the petty criminals hardly seem to care. So I’m calling bullshit on that. (plus, surely the only way they can do that is if they know your identity. And the best way to hide your identity would be to, oh I don’t know, KEEP YOUR FUCKING MASK ON!!!) Second, surely just knowing her puts her in danger. The only way to keep her safe would be to cut her out of your life completely, and you’re clearly not up for that. So you might as well just have the sex. Third, if you two can’t be together, why are you still flirting with her? And fourth, you keep boasting to people that you take Spider-Man’s pictures. Well? Don’t you think that might put your loved ones in danger? Like how Doc Ock did when he threw that car through the window and kidnapped MJ? Idiot!

Tobey Maguire, I’m sorry to say, is horribly miscast in the role. He just can’t get across the wise cracking side of the character. He just sounds incredibly dopey and whiney.

The writing doesn’t help matters either.

Lets talk about the subplot where he’s losing his powers… for some reason. Only to get them back… for some reason. I have no idea what that was about and the movie doesn’t even try to explain. It’s just used to artificially force drama into a fight scene.

Then comes the Spider-Man No More stuff. In the comics the reason he did this was because Doc Ock humiliated him, knocking his confidence and making him question whether he’s in over his head. In the movie the reason is because… his life is a bit hard. Oh boohoo! My job sucks and I can’t get a girlfriend! SO WHAT?! Life isn’t going the way you want it. Big deal. Welcome to the rest of the human race.

In fact, does Spider-Man have to get involved with every single crime? Surely the NYPD aren’t that incompetent. Surely Spider-Man can afford to let one or two go. The movie even goes as far as to say that Spider-Man has single handedly reduced crime by 75%. Bollocks! The reason Batman was able to reduce crime in Gotham was because he was working with the police department. One man can’t do that on his own! This isn’t Hong Kong Phooey!

Plus it’s hard to sympathise with a character when he spots a mugging occurring less than three feet away from him and just turns his back and walks away. What the fuck?! I know you’re not Spider-Man anymore, but couldn’t you at least call the police or something? I don’t care how many children you save from burning buildings. I officially hate you now because of that.

Is Spider-Man 2 one of the greatest superhero movies of all time? No. There’s the occasional flash of brilliance. but it’s mostly bad. Not as bad as the first Spider-Man, but still pretty bad. The love story is bullshit, the villain plot is ridiculous and instead of the writers focusing their efforts on character development, they instead give us mostly pointless shit. Did we really need the scene with Peter in the laundromat? Did we really need the Chinese woman singing the Spidey theme? Or the rent guy next door? Or the obnoxious usher? Or that weird scene in the elevator? (I don’t even get that scene. Is it supposed to be funny? Because it’s not. It just makes the film grind to a halt)

Enough. I’m going to watch The Dark Knight. Get some good superhero fiction back in my system.

Only thing I disagree on is tbat your sayimg Amazing Spiderman has more humanity than any raimi film which in my opinion is not true at all

Why Spider-Man Leaving The MCU Is The Best News I’ve Heard In Ages - Quill’s Scribbles

Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Did you hear the news? I’d be surprised if you didn’t. EVERYONE has heard the news by now. A couple of days ago it was reported that the deal between Marvel and Sony that allowed the two studios to share custody for the rights of Spider-Man has fallen through. Spider-Man is no longer going to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Speaking as someone who is not only a big Spider-Man fan, but also a very vocal critic of the current state of Marvel and Disney’s cynical and convoluted ‘shared universe’, this caused quite a reaction when I first heard the news. I’m as happy as a man who just found out his high school crush likes him back on the same day he won the lottery. Happy, but not surprised. In fact I’m more surprised that other people were surprised by the news. The deal Marvel and Sony managed to strike was almost unheard of. Two rival movie studios in mutual cooperation. Never thought I’d see the day. But if you thought this was going to be the new norm, then I’m afraid you don’t understand this industry. I knew, or at least suspected, that once Sony had a hit on their hands, they’d cut ties with Marvel and Disney. It was only a matter of time. Now that Spider-Man: Far From Home has made over a billion dollars at the box office and now they have found success with their own non-MCU films, Venom and Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, the simple fact of the matter is they don’t need Marvel or Disney anymore. So they’ve flown the coop. Yes it’s possible they could renegotiate the deal, but given how unlikely the prospect of the initial deal was in the first place, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you. It’s more likely they’re going to take their ball and go home. Sony’s Universe Of Marvel Characters (despite its incredibly clunky name) is now going to be firmly built upon and expanded, and I for one could not be more excited.

Of course not everyone shares my excitement. Disney, for one thing, aren’t happy. Nor are the cast. Jeremy Renner has made his views clear, begging Sony to give the rights to Spidey back. (Perhaps he should focus more on his own character Hawkeye, considering what a mess he’s become). Die hard MCU fans aren’t pleased neither. Same goes for ‘celebrity’ fans like Kevin Smith, a filmmaker who preferred to be called a comic book expert on the Venom Blu-Ray bonus features presumably because he hasn’t actually been relevant as a filmmaker since the 90s. (it’s worth reading his thoughts just for a laugh. He honestly thinks Disney aren’t greedy, corporate bastards. ROFL). And of course the so-called ‘professional’ critics, who for years have deluded themselves into thinking the MCU is actually good, have been writing their own little think pieces about what all this means. Can Spider-Man possibly survive without Iron Man and pals to prop him up? To which the answer is obviously yes. Sony had the rights to Spidey for fourteen years before the Marvel deal. They made five Spider-Man movies, four of which were massive box office successes. They also released Venom and Spider-Verse last year. Both hugely successful and the latter even won an Oscar, which is one more Oscar than Marvel Studios have ever won (sorry Black Panther. You were robbed).Can Spider-Man survive outside the MCU? Gee I don’t know. I guess somehow Sony will find the strength to soldier on without them.

Although, that being said, there’s not as many journalists siding with Disney as I thought there would be. There are quite a few articles explaining how this split could help Spidey in the long run, which is both absolutely true and refreshing to see. Hopefully this is a sign that we’re finally turning a corner and critics are starting to use their brains again. Like how everyone worshipped the ground Steven Moffat walked on until Sherlock Series 4 where everyone realised that he’s actually shit and has always been shit. 

Spider-Man leaving the MCU is the best thing you could do for the character at this stage. The way he’s been treated since joining the Marvel clusterfuck has been nothing short of appalling. I’ve made it no secret how much I detest this version of Spider-Man and some might dismiss what I’m about to say out of hand, perhaps claiming I’m biased because I’ve said numerous times that I love The Amazing Spider-Man films starring Andrew Garfield. Two films I will go to my grave defending because they were bloody good movies. People were just butt hurt because it wasn’t Spider-Man 4. Never mind the fact that the original Sam Raimi films were never that good to begin with (seriously, have any of you actually watched Spider-Man 2 recently? Trust me. It’s not as good as you remember it). No, I promise you that if MCU Spidey existed in a vacuum, I would still hate him just as much for the simple reason that he has absolutely nothing in common with the source material. Under the watchful, Orwellian eye of Marvel, they took Spider-Man, a character most famous for being a working class everyman, and turned him into the most spoilt and privileged little bum-balloon I’ve ever seen.

Spider-Man: Homecoming was a terrible movie. Plain and simple. A cynically produced, written by committee, pile of wank that gets so much of Spidey’s character and story completely wrong, it’s almost impressive. No longer a teenager/young adult struggling to balance his superhero life, his school work, his career and his social life, instead we got a groomed Mary Sue who doesn’t have to fight for anything because everything is basically handed to him on a silver platter courtesy of Iron Man. We never see him struggle. He’s not relatable. He never has to face consequences for his actions. He misses God knows how many classes and debate group meetings and yet he never gets punished for it. Sure he gets sent to detention a couple of times, but we see him leave whenever he bloody wants to. It’s just boring. If there’s no struggle, where’s the tension? And the less said about the villain, the better. Taking an eccentric antagonist like the Vulture and turning him into the stereotypical blue collar dad trying to provide for his family has got to be one of the most uninspired and blatantly lazy bits of characterisation I think I’ve ever seen. And that’s not to mention the supporting cast. Aunt May is youthed for no reason other than to make sexist jokes at her expense with every man that comes within her general vicinity staring at her with their tongues hanging out and eyes as large as saucepans. Minor villains like Shocker and the Tinkerer have their characters reduced to unfunny comedy sidekicks. And then there’s Peter Parker’s gang of racial stereotypes. We have Peter’s best friend, the fat and nerdy Ned who has no real personality other than being fat and nerdy (and is without a doubt the most annoying character in the damn film). Flash has been racebent so now he’s the stereotypical arrogant Asian prick. Michelle has no character other than being the same sassy black teenager who don’t give a shit, a caricature so old now it’s practically been fossilised. And then there’s the love interest Liz, a character so bland and one dimensional that I had to look her name up. Oh and lets not forget that the majority of this Spider-Man’s story was nicked from Miles Morales because people are only going to empathise with his story if it revolves around a white kid, am I right?

You know, I get so frustrated whenever people slag off the Amazing Spider-Man movies and claim that these new movies are better because… well… WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I’m sorry, but I was much more invested with Peter and Gwen than I ever was with Peter and… what’s her face? Or Peter and Michelle (who I categorically refuse to call MJ because she’s not MJ, is she? They just used the initials to pander to gullible fans. They didn’t have the guts to just make Mary Jane Watson black, did they? Of course not! We don’t want to alienate the casual racists, do we? They’re our main demographic after all). The reason why Peter and Gwen worked is because they’re well-written, three dimensional characters with great chemistry and whom we actually spend a significant amount of time getting to know. So when Gwen dies at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it becomes a heart wrenching moment because we’ve grown invested in this character and this relationship. If Michelle were to die in a future movie, I honestly wouldn’t bat a fucking eyelid. Even Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst had more chemistry than those two, and that relationship was a total shambles from start to finish.

It also helps that Peter and Gwen felt like real people. I loved the scene in the first movie where Peter awkwardly asks her out because it reminded me so much of how I asked my first girlfriend out. And that’s why I love the Amazing Spider-Man movies. Because out of all the Spidey films we’ve had over the past 17 years, the Amazing ones are the only ones in my opinion that manage to capture the humanity of the character. As fantastical as the world is, the characters, their relationships and their dilemmas are grounded firmly in reality. Homecoming on the other hand is just embarrassing. Despite casting teenage actors, none of the teenagers actually act like teenagers. They act like five year olds. It’s painfully obvious that the filmmakers are trying to pander to young kids and they clearly don’t know how to write them. Again, this is where the Amazing movies stands head and shoulders above the others. They’re not treated like kids or teenagers. They’re treated like people. Real people. Same goes for the villains. (Yes, even Electro, despite wonky execution).

But the main criticism people have with MCU Spidey is that these films aren’t actually about Spidey. They’re really about the MCU mascot Iron Man.

Now to be clear, I don’t necessarily have a problem with the idea of Iron Man being a surrogate father figure to Spidey. It could work. Captain America: Civil War, despite the clunky and contrived way in which Spidey was introduced to the MCU (oh you just happened to know about a masked vigilante we haven’t seen or heard of until now Tony? Okay. What about Daredevil and Luke Cage?… What do you mean they’re not in the movie?), did a good job of setting up the dynamic. Namely that Tony doesn’t actually care about Peter or his well being, merely using him for his own ends. Unless Americans have some kind of ‘Bring Your Child To A Warzone Day’  I don’t know about. 

Despite its flaws, Civil War was good because it gave us an unsettling look at the characters we’ve been watching for years. We see Captain America consumed by his own naivety and idealism to the point where he can no longer see the bigger picture and we see Iron Man go from being an industrial capitalist to an authoritarian fascist. Homecoming could have followed up on that. Have Spidey realise that Tony doesn’t have his best interests at heart, reject him as a father figure and grow into his own man. Instead the movie seems to go out of its way to undo all the interesting things Civil War brought to the table. Of course Tony cares about Peter! Oh and his relationship problems with Pepper Potts have been magically fixed off screen and now they’re getting married! Relax people, it’s okay! Nothing morally complicated going on here! We apologise for assuming you’re actually intelligent and promise never to make you think about anything ever again!

Not only is this quite insulting to the audience, it also negatively impacts Spidey’s arc. Turns out the movie isn’t about Spider-Man becoming his own man. It’s about him proving he can be an Avenger. He’s constantly in the shadow of Iron Man and, more to the point, we’re supposed to be happy that he’s in the shadow of Iron Man.

Again, this is where the Amazing Spider-Man gets it right. The first movie is very much about father figures. Uncle Ben, Curt Connors and Gwen’s dad all play a role in Peter’s growth and development over the course of the film. He’s able to take all the lessons and advice he gets from the three and use them to become his own man. As director Marc Webb so eloquently put it, ‘it’s a story about a kid who grows up looking for his father and finds himself.’ Compare that to the current iteration of Spidey where Uncle Ben doesn’t even appear to exist in this continuity because he’s been completely supplanted by Iron Dad. Remind me again why people think the Amazing movies are shit?

The latest film, Spider-Man: Far From Home, is no better. Same problems as before only this time Mysterio gets MCU’d to death. Instead of the pathetic loser trying desperately to receive recognition for his talents, we basically get a rehash of the plot from Iron Man 3, which in turn was a rehash of the plot from The Incredibles. Mysterio is basically trying to supplant Iron Man because he got screwed over when he used to work for Stark, and it’s up to everyone’s favourite wall-crawler to stop him because there’s only room in this universe for one Iron Boy. Even when Iron Man is dead, he’s still front and centre of the fucking narrative. Here’s a bright idea. How about we make a Spider-Man film that’s actually, you know, about Spider-Man? (Oh yeah, spoiler alert, Iron Man dies in Avengers: Endgame. Not that it’s really spoiling anything because Endgame is a big piece of shit).

Here’s the thing. Everyone is blaming Sony for the deal breaking down, and okay, I’m not going to pretend that Sony aren’t cynical. As much as I love The Amazing Spider-Man movies, I’m well aware the only reason they exist is because Sony desperately wanted to keep the rights. They spent a stupid amount of money on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to the point where it needed to make a billion dollars at the box office in order to make a decent profit (a feat only achieved at that time by Batman with The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises) and they crammed loads of characters and plot points into an already overstuffed movie in order to rush out their own shared universe to compete with Marvel. When that didn’t work, they went crawling to Marvel and Disney in the hopes that the MCU could bail them out of the shit. I get it. There’s plenty to criticise. But for the likes of Kevin Smith and other idiots to only blame Sony and defend Marvel is really quite galling to me because Marvel and Disney are just as cynical, if not more so.

Does anyone here actually know what the deal was? Basically the agreement was that Kevin Feige would get lead producer credit for any solo Spider-Man films and Marvel and Disney would get five percent of the cut. Meanwhile Spider-Man would be allowed to appear in any MCU film. Also, because Sony still hold the rights to the character, they get the final say on any creative decision regarding Spider-Man. Or at least that’s the theory anyway. In reality that wasn’t the case. Reportedly Marvel and Disney were so anal about keeping the plot of Avengers: Endgame a secret that they didn’t tell the screenwriters of Spider-Man: Far From Home what happens in the bloody film. And considering that the film follows directly on from Endgame, that’s quite a problem. Sony may have creative control over Spider-Man, but Marvel and Disney can still call the shots, deliberately sabotaging Sony in order to boost hype for their own films. Also Sony are actually worse off in this deal because Marvel and Disney are the ones making all the money. Spider-Man has appeared in three MCU films. Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. All three of these films made Marvel and Disney over a billion dollars at the box office. Sony meanwhile have only made two Spidey movies, Homecoming and Far From Home, only one of which has made over a billion and both of which Marvel and Disney get five percent of the profit. Now that Sony have finally got their billion dollar Spider-Man movie, Marvel and Disney had the cheek to propose that Sony share fifty percent of the profits with them. Because it’s not enough for Marvel and Disney to be making shit tons of money off their own films. No. They also want as much money as they can get out of films made by other studios that are only tangentially related to their’s. God forbid a movie studio should be allowed to keep all the profits from their movie.

So yeah, I’m glad Sony have split and are free to make their own movies again. Because Disney have got such a strangle hold on the entire industry that I’m always happy to see any studio or IP slip through their fingers. And I’m not the only one who thinks this. Do you know who else agrees with me? Stan Lee’s own daughter.

In an interview with TMZ, Joan Lee slammed Disney for their lack of compassion when her father passed away:

“When my father died, no one from Marvel or Disney reached out to me. From day one, they have commoditised my father’s work and never shown him or his legacy any respect or decency. In the end, no one could have treated my father worse than Marvel and Disney’s executives.”

She then went on to support Sony’s decision to break the deal with Marvel, saying ‘whether it’s Sony or someone else’s, the continued evolution of Stan’s characters and his legacy deserves multiple points of view.’

And do you know what? She’s right. She’s absolutely right.

While people were celebrating when Disney bought 20th Century Fox because the X-Men and Fantastic Four were finally going to be part of their precious shared universe, I was watching in absolute horror because nobody was actually talking about the ramifications of this. Disney serves as a cautionary tale of what happens when capitalism goes unchecked. Seeing this mega-corporation consume and absorb other major studios like some Lovecraftian monster is both frightening and heartbreaking for me because the industry is going to be so much lesser for it. Less studios means less movies are going to be produced. It also means less variety in the entertainment we consume. Marvel and Disney have already done their utmost to homogenise and dumb down every MCU film to the point where most of them all feel the same, look the same and have nothing unique or creative about them whatsoever. And now we’re on the cusp of seeing that potentially happening to my most favourite superhero in the whole wide world:

Thanks to the Disney buyout, plans for X-Force and Deadpool 3 have been placed on indefinite hold with people reckoning we won’t see the Merc with the Mouth again until Phase 5 (Christ, give me strength) of the MCU so that Marvel and Disney can work out exactly how to fit him into their shared universe. Naturally the R rated nature of the character makes him difficult to integrate into the PG-13 MCU. Some have suggested toning down the character. Even David Leitch, the director of Deadpool 2, said they could make a PG-13 version of the character, which just feels like such a massive betrayal. After literally years of Ryan Reynolds, director Tim Miller, screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and the fans fighting tooth and claw to get an R rated Deadpool movie green-lit, it sickens me whenever I see people discussing how a PG-13 Deadpool wouldn’t be so bad and that they just want to see him pop up in an Avengers movie.

Here’s a suggestion. If you can’t make someone like Deadpool fit into the MCU, STOP TRYING TO FUCKING DO IT! Let him be his own separate thing! I’ve got no problem with that! But no. Everything has to be connected to this idiotic shared universe, but here’s the thing, I really don’t fucking care. I couldn’t give two shits if Deadpool and Captain America were to meet in a movie. I just want to see X-Force and Deadpool 3. I just want some good fucking movies. Is that really too much to ask?

The MCU, and by extension Disney, are slowly ruining the industry with this shared universe crap and I’m getting so bloody sick of this. Not only does the premise have absolutely nothing new to offer at this point, it’s also ruining the quality of standalone movies. Instead of telling compelling stories with likeable characters, they’re just adverts for more movies to come with nothing unique to offer. Oooooh, can the Avengers stop Thanos and unkill everyone who we know aren’t really dead because they all have fucking sequels planned? Tune in next week to confirm what you already bloody know! I don’t give a fuck what you’ve got planned for me down the road in ten or fifteen movies time. Right now I’m stuck here at a service station and I’ve got no fucking sandwiches.

Off the top of my head, the only MCU films I can think of that I’ve watched in recent memory and I’ve actually enjoyed are Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther. And do you know why? Because they actually have something to say. They’re not focused on teasing the next bullshit spinoff movie. Black Panther in particular has little to no connection with the rest of the MCU. It works as its own standalone piece and has its own unique voice, commenting on how black people are viewed in society. Civil War takes elements from previous films and goes in an entirely new direction with them, exploring the faults in our beloved Avengers and questioning their role as superheroes. It offers something beyond a tease for the next film. It poses thought provoking questions about the characters and forces us to confront some harsh truths about them. But in an environment like the MCU, where everything is pre-planned by committee, there’s no room for creativity or expression, which means the few good movies get stifled. It’s impossible to continue the themes of Civil War because Homecoming exists to contradict everything. Black Panther is an amazing and impactful movie, but its impact is lessened thanks to Infinity War where we see the Wakandans reduced to little more than cannon fodder so that the real heroes can fight the baddie.

It’s frustrating to see people blindly accept and support the poisonous business model of Marvel and Disney because it’s not normal, it’s not benefiting the industry at large and it’s not even financially viable in the long term. Marvel Studios’ success revolves around one franchise. What happens when the shared universe/comic book movie bubble bursts and people eventually stop watching these films? (and it will happen because it always happens. That’s how trends work). They’re going to be up shit street, aren’t they? At least Warner Bros have Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings to fall back on. Their future isn’t entirely dependant on the success of the DCEU (thank God, some might say).

Also it’s worth noting that studios are slowly starting to move away from the shared universe format. Before the buyout, 20th Century Fox were taking risks with smaller budget, standalone movies like Deadpool and Logan. After the disaster that was Justice League, Warner Bros and DC have recently started focusing more on standalone movies to great success. Aquaman and Shazam, while still part of the DCEU, work as their own independent films. We’ve also got Joker being released in a couple of months time, which I think everyone should be paying really close attention to, because if Joker is critically and commercially successful, it could very well serve as the death knell for the concept of a shared universe. Definitive proof that you don’t need twenty movies and interconnecting stories with massive budgets to be successful. All you need is a very good idea.

Even Sony have finally learnt their lesson. They’ve taken a risk with Into The Spider-Verse and received an Academy Award for their trouble. As for Sony’s Universe Of Marvel Characters, they’re already off to a strong start with Venom. And mercifully they’re not making the same mistakes they did with the Amazing Spider-Man 2 or Ghostbusters. They’re not spending ridiculous amounts of money with unrealistic expectations of success and they’re no longer putting the cart way before the horse. They’re focusing on making a good movie first and worrying about potential expansion later. Venom may not be a masterpiece, but it’s a hell of a lot more entertaining and fulfilling than the majority of MCU films because it tells a complete story with a beginning, middle and end and it has well developed characters that we actually like and grow attached to. And if worst comes to the worst and Sony’s next film, Morbius, doesn’t do well, then they have Venom 2 to fall back on. And if that doesn’t work, they’ll still have Spider-Verse. They are no longer putting all their eggs in one basket and that’s good. That’s the smart thing to do.

Can you imagine something like Venom in the MCU? Of course not! Because Venom has its own unique tone and vision. That’s why it was so successful with audiences. Its mix of dark comedy and campy sci-fi horror made it stand out from the crowd. Marvel and Disney want us to believe that there’s only one way to make a superhero movie, when that’s simply not true. And now that Spider-Man is free to find his own unique voice again, hopefully people will begin to see just how creatively limiting and damaging the MCU truly is.

I need this in my life

Let us appreciate how adorable Luke is in the Star Wars manga.

It does matter

You're all right...

It's my fault... It's all my fault... I don't reach out... Maybe I do but no one answers... But that doesn't matter...

Ahsoka's relationship with Anakin is not as close or as healthy as Padme's as he would keep secrets from her and openly make sure she knew nothing of his past and when turned to Vader he openly tried to kill her with no remorse compared to Padme or Luke

lbr Anakin has probably had about two healthy relationships in his life and that's shmi and ahsoka

(and even that last one's dubious because he's shoved into a parental role to someone five years younger than him in the middle of a civil war 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Yes we can but it's really small issues nothing that Anakin will become abusive or anything compared to other couples in Star Wars or other franchises

“anakin and padme’s relationship was 100% perfect and healthy right up until he choked her on mustafar” is a hot take that i did not expect to find in fandom and now i’m going to have to take valuable hours out of my day to write a 10,000 word rebuttal just because someone had the audacity to say so on one of my posts

But it was

“anakin and padme’s relationship was 100% perfect and healthy right up until he choked her on mustafar” is a hot take that i did not expect to find in fandom and now i’m going to have to take valuable hours out of my day to write a 10,000 word rebuttal just because someone had the audacity to say so on one of my posts

Here is the thing Dooku's right the Jedi order more than once helped the slavers not the slaves for example: the Huk attacked and was brutally slaughtering and enslaving the Kaleesh by the millions and when the Kaleeh fought back the Huk appealed to the Senate and the Senate sent out the Jedi to slaughter the Kaleesh and then the Senate sent the planet to economic dissaray on a whim no questions asked, no checking if the Huk's story was true, the Jedi did not try to sense the deceit,the Jedi did not do anything but be sent out to slaughter lowballing hundreds of people and make a planet submit easily they can do that to almost anyone. That is the power the Jedi and Senate have on the Galaxy the ability to tear a planet asunde with barely any effort if they so pleased. Many planets or civilizations were beaten to submission by the Jedi despite only being 10,000 and most planets have military forces so they don't need help to keep those planets in check.

Your telling me that the Jedi can't do the same on a crime lord that they did in the past?

The Jedi on more than one occasion have gone to war with at least half a galaxy just for simple acts look at the Clone Wars not to mention the Jedi on more than one occassion deciding to make sure the Sith to no longer be a threat commited genocide twice you call that more complicated then freeing slaves? Sure the crime lords will rebel so what? The Jedi have dealt with it over and over again so it won't change now and the Jedi have no qualms of risking their own like for example in Geonosis semt two hundred jedi to save 3 people. I am not saying the Jedi are bad but the fact is the Jedi have fought for far less to ever say they are not willing to fight for slavery

Didn’t think I’d find myself agreeing with Count Dooku but here I am.

I think it's more so because TCW always nerfs Anakin as every time he fights he loses or looks bad every time besides against Dooku while in Legends said like a dozen times was that Anakin was superior to Obi-wan in combat

I LOVE THIS SCENE A LOT???  I mean, it’s super painful because it’s complicated for all of them–I understand why Anakin feels betrayed, because he takes everything so incredibly personally, that he has trouble parsing the difference between what Obi-Wan’s duty is versus Obi-Wan’s personal loyalty to him, that duty and saving lives might actually take precedence over that personal loyalty. Then you have Obi-Wan who understands that this is difficult, but he can put other people’s lives above personal loyalty, that it’s never that he didn’t care, but that he saw a situation where there was something more important than how Anakin would feel about this, no matter how much he cared about Anakin’s feelings, too. BUT IT’S ALSO A REALLY COOL LITTLE SCENE because Anakin is in full rage mode, wanting to kill the person who killed Obi-Wan, he’s ready to do some Serious Murder here and “Rako Hardeen” just absolutely wipes the floor with him.  Even when Anakin gets in a few hits, Obi-Wan flips him right back over and puts him to the ground. Which is fascinating–is Obi-Wan just that much better at hand-to-hand combat than Anakin?  Is it that he knows Anakin so well that he can mop the floor with him like this?  Is it that Anakin’s rage makes him sloppy and unfocused?  Probably some combination of all of the above? It always invites parallels to Mustafar for me, where Obi-Wan spends so much of the time not actually fighting back against Anakin so much as giving ground to try to give Anakin time to come to his senses.  That, part of what allows him to win there is that he knows Anakin so well that he beats him in that fight, that Anakin’s powers should make him at the peak of his entire life thus far (because, in so many ways, Vader may do more grand gestures, but George Lucas was always clear that Vader NEVER reached Anakin’s true potential), but Obi-Wan won that fight pretty thoroughly. Again, to some degree, Anakin’s rage and arrogance made him sloppy, that part of it is Obi-Wan is an incredibly disciplined Jedi who has mastered himself and his style, but a lot of it is just, yeah, holy shit, Obi-Wan is really fucking good. It also makes me think of Naboo, where Qui-Gon was a Jedi Master and still fell to Maul’s attacks, showing that Maul was indeed a powerful and well-trained fighter.  Yet, Obi-Wan still wins that fight as well, even when he probably uses the Force through anger and hurt and suffering (the dark side), he still is good enough and disciplined enough that he ultimately wipes the floor with Maul, too. It also makes me think of his fight against Maul and Savage at the same time, where they’ve both been established as incredibly dangerous fighters, they’ve both killed Jedi before, and Obi-Wan not only holds them both off at the same time, but he even does serious damage to them!

LOOK AT THIS SHIT, THAT’S THE HOTTEST THING EVER AND ALSO HOLY FUCK HOW DID HE NOT DIE, MUCH LESS COME OUT AHEAD IN THAT FIGHT!? A lot of it is about the context of the fights he gets into, but also just OBI-WAN KENOBI IS REALLY FUCKING GOOD IN A FIGHT. THIS IS A GUY WHO KNOWS HOW TO FUCKING MOVE. YOU ALWAYS WANT THIS GUY ON YOUR SIDE, HOLY SHIT.

That's why I killed you