[BS403]

Iwas reading the book of a new hope, by  george lucas, and originally the emperor wasn't a sith, he was a puppet being controlled by the bureaucrats.  I thought that was interesting to see how much it changed between the movies

[Snail]

Was it an early plan or considered canon?

[brandx0]

Well the novels are canon as long as they don't contradict the movies.  In this case it could be a contradiction, or perhaps simply a perception that the emperor purveyed to keep a low-ish profile.

I just re-read the books as well, hehe.  Interesting to note, however, that Darth Vader is specifically mentioned as "One of the many Dark Lords" which definitely seems to contradict the movies.

Odd considering that the book very explicitely mentions that Vader considers himself still the last of the Jedi, as do other high ranking imperials. 

[Mobius]

Wasn't Darth Maul a Dark Lord?

[Snail]

Wasn't Darth Maul a Dark Lord?

Yeh but he's dead... And AFAIK he was a Sith apprentice.

I assume it either means the the other deceased Dark Lords, or the Emperor's Hand(s), but they're not Dark Lords...

[brandx0]

Plus Darth Maul was kept a secret.  He was a full sith lord though, but it was mentioned that of all the Dark Lords, Vader was the most willing to ignore the law (Hence Leia's line "Only you would be so bold")

The multiple Dark Lords comment was put in a very contemporary sense though, it sounded as if he was one of many who served the empire at once, rather than successors.

[haloboy100]

I hate retcon.

[Snail]

I hate retcon.

Ehh, I like Palpatine being all evil and Dark Sidish. If he was just some random Cos Da**** dude I wouldn't be very pleased. The most evil bad guy of Star Wars would be like, Bush, which isn't all that hot an idea.

[Herra Tohtori]

The prologue in the book version of A New Hope is supposed to be a piece of history text called "Journal of the Whills", which were supposed to be some kind of tranccendental species of beings (kinda like hyperintelligent shade of blue) that were supposedly closely related to the Force and lived kinda on another plane of existence just connected to the galaxy far far away universe via the Force.

A lot of things changed from the earliest ideas to the abhorrent display of greed and indifference that was the prequel trilogy. The Whills were dropped out pretty much completely (aside from a comment from Qui-Gon's spirit to Yoda - apparently the Whills were the ones who discovered how to join the Force without losing one's individuality), and Force was de-mystified via midi-chlorians at some stage of plot developement - it was originally supposed to be a lot more spiritual than what it ended up as... Lightsabers were supposed to be really heavy, Skywalker was supposed to be Starkiller, and Han was supposed to shoot first. Palpatine, I guess, changed just as well, from a puppet ruler into a manipulating tyrant.

Ironically, I think the story behind Palpatine became better for the changes they made in that regard. It's definitely a plot change too - if it were an ordinary history text in the prologue, I'd chalk it into a misconception of history but due to being a quote from this "Journal of the Whills" it's supposed to be accurate... therefore it's just one more thing that was changed.

[Snail]

Starkiller becoming Skywalker and Palpatine becoming more evil are the only changes from the original plans I really like (in both the prequels and the originals). However cool wielding 2 lightsabers at once was, I didn't like it.

[haloboy100]

Lightsabers were supposed to be really heavy, Skywalker was supposed to be Starkiller, and Han was supposed to shoot first.

I just find that hilarious

[jr2]

Heh, a bureaucrat-controlled, lightning-casting puppet? 

[Flaser]

Starkiller becoming Skywalker and Palpatine becoming more evil are the only changes from the original plans I really like (in both the prequels and the originals). However cool wielding 2 lightsabers at once was, I didn't like it.

Jedi or not, there shouldn't have been many who could handle that. The lightsaber combat was modeled on kendo which is the sport version of kenjutsu, the name of samurai swordsmanship.

There were samurai who could wield two swords (or more likely a katana and wakizashi) and their technique or school of techniques was called nitōjutsu but they were rare and far between. Their most prominent member is Miyamoto Musashi the stuff of legends, the most famous swordsman in Japan.

The downside of wielding two swords is that the strikes lack strength and speed compared to a blade wielded by both hands.

[Galemp]

I believe that true Jedi masters like Palpatine and Yoda should have ascended so far into the upper echelons of the Force that they no longer had any need for lightsabers.

[haloboy100]

What they gonna do? Rip apart bodies with their hands?

[chief1983]

The downside of wielding two swords is that the strikes lack strength and speed compared to a blade wielded by both hands.

Actually, I think that's the whole point of wielding two blades.  You get to the point wielding so much strength that it is wasted on dual-handing one blade, and it then becomes more effective to wield two, as you wield them each with the strength of someone else wielding one with both hands.

[Herra Tohtori]

Mmmh... one hand grip rather reduces the moment of the force available to use for, say, stopping the enemy's weapon or forcing/deflecting it to some arbitrary direction. Also the amount of control over the blade is reduced for the same reasons, but that can be compensated with training. Cutting power depends more on the velocity of the blade than the momentum available at the moment of the hit, so for swords primarily used for slashing (or just beating the opponent senseless) it does kinda increase the offensive capacity - especially against lightly armoured or non-armoured enemies - but also reduces defensive capability and demands greater skill to evade rather than parry attacks...

With light sabers, I daresay that the momentum behind the strike matters even less than with solid blade weapons, as far as damage potential is considered.

Also, stabbing or thrusting attacks become rather difficult without two hands on the grip. I myself would take a jō over almost any kind of sword any time of day... the exception being a lightsaber.

[Galemp]

What they gonna do? Rip apart bodies with their hands?

Q.E.D.

[Colonol Dekker]

They'll rip bodies apart with the force.

[Topgun]

What they gonna do? Rip apart bodies with their hands?

Q.E.D.

Now, at the end, do you truly understand...