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An onscreen legend remembers an animated favorite
Star Wars: Lords of the Sith
Author: Paul S. Kemp
Ahsoka Tano is one of the most popular characters in Star Wars, an inspirational influence for an entire generation of fans whose entry point into the franchise was The Clone Wars animated series. Important in her own right with some of the best arcs and moments in the series, she was also key to the maturation of Anakin Skywalker. She, though, like the series she starred in, got off to a rough start. 2008’s theatrically released The Clone Wars movie was not well received. Ahsoka was a tad too precocious for some and brought with her cute nicknames like Artooey for R2 and Stinky for Jabba’s son Rotta. (Small, petty crimes made bigger by an older, grumpier fanbase. How could the man who would become Vader call her “Snips!” *fist shaking*) But one of the biggest questions fueling the cynical gaze at Ahsoka was “where was she by the time Revenge of the Sith started?” Cynicism aside, it’s a fair question. One that didn’t necessarily fade when Ahsoka grew into the unilaterally loved character. How does Ahsoka connect to the movies?
By the events of Revenge of the Sith she’s not mentioned once. And when Darth Vader strolls into A New Hope, do we really believe he spent three years of his life fighting alongside her? So, alright, yes, this question willingly sidesteps the reality that Ahsoka Tano was created by Dave Filoni and The Clone Wars team decades after A New Hope and just shortly after Episode III. That’s the real answer, but, you know, not a fun one and not even a reason fans will accept. If you’re going to introduce an important character in television shows, books, and comics that have an effect on the characters we’ve met on screen, we want to know how they connect. We’re just that demanding.
Ahsoka Tano does end up connecting with the story of Darth Vader in a grand way. The second season of Star Wars Rebels gives us a confrontation worth discussing further. However, there had to be a first time and the first time had to really hit home. And in the modern age of Star Wars canon, the first one to try was author Paul S Kemp in his vastly underrated novel Lords of the Sith.
Set eight years after the beginning of the Clone Wars and featuring fan-favorite Ryloth Rebel Cham Syndulla, the main story of the novel centers around the continuing trials of Darth Vader, now five years into his second life as Palpatine’s twisted apprentice. Their relationship is—and always will remain—a complicated one, which is an additional victory for Kemp in this story. This book was released in April 2015 and helped establish the constant struggle between Vader and his master that was later fleshed out in two Vader-centric comic books and novels. Kemp helped set that tone. Just as he set the tone for the eventual showdown between Ahsoka and Vader.
As Vader, the Emperor, and an attachment of Imperial Royal Guards crash toward the surface of Ryloth in an Imperial shuttle, Vader is in the pilot’s seat and chaos is around him. As the ship tumbles toward a potentially fatal end, Vader calms himself in the Force and is confronted by memories of past. Memories of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Plo Koon, and his beloved Padmé—all of them reaching out and challenging Vader in his current state of emotional torment. The first one, though, was a memory from his last time above Ryloth, lost in an escape pod during the Clone Wars (an event found in the season one episode “Storm over Ryloth”). A name breaks through to his soul.
Ahsoka.
Kemp then boldly follows that up with the nickname that once troubled a fanbase.
“Snips.”
There it is. This is the moment Ahsoka fans have been waiting for. There is pain attached to the memory of Ahsoka for Vader. It is in a far corner of his mind that he does not want to travel to. Vader is still at war, fighting Palpatine, fighting his memories, and fighting Anakin himself. The moment isn’t awkward or clumsy. It’s not wedged in. It is an organic connection between the onscreen legend and the animated superstar. Darth Vader remembers Ahsoka.
Why is this important? Why is this a reason we love Star Wars? Because this made it possible for what would later happen between them in Star Wars Rebels. This is the first moment that Ahsoka fans—correction—WE Ahsoka fans, for I very much am one—can point at and say she matters. Ahsoka Tano is not just a character relegated to an animated corner of Star Wars. It made you stop reading, take a breath, and revel in the fact that there was more to come with Ahsoka. This small moment in a book released at the beginning of a tidal wave of new canon speaks to the importance of being able to see and feel the connection between characters we fall in love with in the movie theater and the ones we meet in the rest of the canon material. It makes it a more robust galaxy and should give hope to fans of characters like Rae Sloane, Doctor Aphra, Sana Starros, Sinjir Rath Velus, and the many exciting characters that dot the landscape of the larger Star Wars universe. They didn’t just impact you, they are impacting the story.
In April 2015, all eyes were on every word in these new shows, books, and comics. A new era of connected canon had been launched and the fans wanted answers. Before Ahsoka returned to face Vader, before E.K. Johnston’s Ahsoka novel, before she went off to search for Ezra Bridger, Paul S Kemp broke through the barrier and let us know that one of the most beloved characters had her rightful place in the galaxy we already knew.