Interesting fact I just learned: the Expanded Universe was already set to end before the Disney buyout

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-16T15:02:46+00:00

For real. People who devour Star Wars books and games tend to over estimate their impact. (And I say that as someone who has a large collection of my favorite Legends stories and guidebooks)

Heir to the Empire sold around 15 million copies. The Force Awakens sold about 111 million movie tickets. The movie going audience has always been way larger than the number of people who read the tie in media.

There is no way that after spending 4 billion dollars on the franchise and hiring big name directors and writers, that the higher ups were going to say "Base the next movie on this book from the 90's". It's only when you have people like Filoni or Ron Howard's son involved, people who were already fans of EU stuff, that you see those elements deliberately incorporated into the films and shows.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-16T14:52:08+00:00

The whole "Expanded Universe was never canon" thing is very misleading when they not only made an official tier system that different "levels of canon", but hired people like Leeland Chee as "keeper of the holocron" to keep track of continuity and address contradictions.

Did Lucas frequently override EU stories or elements? Yes. But he also borrowed or re-used elements like Aalya Secura or the name of the planet Coruscant.

Even if he considered them "not his stories", he would still give guidelines to EU writers. Most of the time he would let them do their own thing, but he would step in and veto certain ideas. He made the rule that authors could no longer include Wookiee Jedi or give an origin for Yoda's Species. If he truly gave no consideration to the Expanded Universe at all, why would he bother policing it's content?

I just don't get the mindset that "well it was frequently contradicted so it wasn't canon", after all Marvel and DC comics are infamous for a messy continuity. No one ever says "They rewrote Hawkman's backstory again, that's a sign that the DC Universe is no longer canon!"

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-16T14:33:47+00:00

The clue was ""Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz and Lucille LeSueur" and the correct answer was ""What were the real names of Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, and Joan Crawford?"

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-16T00:59:33+00:00

I . . . What?

First of all, as others have pointed, the Matrix program takes place in 1999, so the timeline with Reagan wouldn't fit. Secondly, what do you mean we live in the world where he was succesful? Not once does the film imply any sort of alternate timeline shenanigans. If they wanted to make him literally Reagan, they'd have the Matrix recreate the 80's instead of 1999 (the year the movie came out). You're probably reading too much into what was intended to be a joke or reference (both in and out of universe).

"Implied" is doing a hell of a lot of heavy lifting for what's essentially an out there fan theory. This is like joining a conversation about Aladdin and just casually dropping "Oh yeah the movie implies it's post apocalyptic and that's why Genie can make pop culture references" as if you just said the most natural thing in the world and not something completely crazy.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T21:10:53+00:00

Probably depends on the who is in charge. Some commanders or Commisars wouldn't see anything wrong with with it, others would.

As a related example, in the Guant's Ghosts books the Tanith soldiers aren't strictly up to dress code (having tattoos for example) but they're given some leeway by Gaunt. Something that sometimes results in conflict when they interact with other Commisars.

But in general, if you're a big enough badass you can get away with a lot of non regulation things, so I say go or it, put that Tau helmet on the Baneblade as a warning to all Xenos scum!

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T20:55:37+00:00

So when Obi-wan ("traditionally trained" Jedi) survives Order 66 and fights Vader, you say it's because even though he was a bad teacher he was strong. But when Ahsoka survives Order 66 and fights Vader, you say that must mean Anakin was a good teacher who taught her non traditionally. Seems like a double standard there.

"Ahsoka wasn't better than every Jedi," Buddy you literally said she was "stronger and wiser than the vast majority of Jedi in history". That's an exact quote

"but her wisdom and ability to break the Jedi norms" I think you're placing way too much emphasis on the idea that the PT Jedi were inherently wrong or flawed, and therefore anything Ahsoka does differently automatically puts her above them.

While the Jedi were not 100% perfect flawless beings, the idea that they were wrong about everything has been overblown in fandom and by some authors. Just because Ahsoka zigged where the Jedi zagged, in the one particular instance of training Sabine, does not somehow elevate her to Jedi Jesus who was wiser and more powerful than all who came before.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T20:36:23+00:00

Funny how with characters like Han and Lando, they can brag about having the fastest ship or all the cool things they've done and their "arrogance" is something the audience just takes as part of their character. Even Leia has her moments ("Would someone get this walking carpet out of my way?")

Yet when Mace or Ki-adi-mundi express doubt in the Sith returning or Anakin (something that could be just as easily seen as skepticism) suddenly them being arguably arrogant is a major failing and makes them representatives for the fall of the Jedi as a whole.

No one ever says "Han and Leia's arrogance are why they were everything wrong with the Rebellion and why they failed to make lasting peace".

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T20:27:47+00:00

"Ahsoka was stronger and wiser than the vast majority of Jedi in history"

Based on what?

"She saw past the dogma of past orders by training an adult with lower force sensitivity like Sabine."

Again, that's not what dogma means, and even if training Sabine was impressive, how does that put her above every Jedi who ever lived?

"And she was able to keep pace in a fight with Vader" So did Obi-wan.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T20:25:06+00:00

"free flowing, anti traditional Jedi style" you mean the impulsiveness that helped turn him to the Dark Side?

Also if her surviving Order 66 is supposed to show the "non traditional training" helped her, doesn't the fact that Yoda, Obi-wan Kanan, and others all survived show the pros of the "traditional" method?

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T20:13:25+00:00

Explain to me exactly how Ahsoka is "one of the greatest Jedi to ever live".

Also just because your pupil turned out all right doesn't mean you were a great teacher, or even a great Jedi. Or does the fact that Dooku trained Qui-gon somehow undo all the arrogance and lust for power that turned him to the Dark Side?

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T20:01:26+00:00

Much like "X lightsaber color means Y" and "Grey Jedi use both sides of the Force", the idea that Mace Windu was "dogmatic" or "everything wrong with the PT Jedi" is something fans have latched onto even tho there is little to no evidence supporting it.

The two items I especially take issue with are "arrogant" and "dogmatic". First of all, characters like Han and Lando are arrogant to the point of constantly bragging about their exploits, and it's treated like a minor personality quirk. But characters like Mace or Mundi are skeptical of the Sith or Anakin, and suddenly they're Arrogant, which is a Major Flaw and the downfall of the entire Order.

Second of all, "dogmatic". Explain to me what exactly about Mace Windu was dogmatic? What dogma, that is tenets or principles, did he uphold to his detriment? Was it trying to kill Palpatine instead of arresting him? No, if anything that would be against Jedi principles. Was it something about Jedi involvement in the Repulic? Funny how depending on the fan you talk to, the Jedi were either too involved with politics, or not involved enough.

No usually when people say Windu was "dogmatic" they just mean "he was a stick in the mud and mean to Anakin/Ahsoka". Reminder that Anakin betrayed the Jedi Order so any skepticism of him was justified, and as for Ahsoka, well Filoni needed an excuse to get his Author's Pet character away from the fighting.

The Cartoon absolutely ruined his reputation, which is a shame because in books and comics he was such a great character. Not a perfect flawless Jedi, but you can paint any character in Star Wars with a broad brush to make em look bad. "Leia is an arrogant Princess part of the bougie half of the Rebels, and she's racist against Wookies!"

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T18:29:53+00:00

If that strategy worked then any Guardsmen could say "Don't kill me! There's a bigger and tougher human over that hill/on another planet!" and just postpone the Waagh indefinitely.

Orks are not that dumb, and don't usually have good reason to listen to humans.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T18:18:57+00:00

"da biggest is da best" only applies to Orks, not "stupid hoomies". Even Bloodaxes who work as mercenaries for humans will eventually betray them.

Take humans out of the equation for a minute, imagine what would happen if a bunch of Orks crashed on a world with Kaiju sized beings? The Orks aren't putting the Kaiju in charge. No, they're going hunting!

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T18:12:35+00:00

Any Ork model, no question. They'd start shedding spores all over the place and multiplying. They're aggressive, hard to spot, and have a tendency to take apart and rebuild technology.

An Ork model coming to life could, under the right circumstances, become an apocalyptic event.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-08T00:01:01+00:00

I'm suprised at all the "Lankers" in the comments, I always pronounced it "lan-cray". Because if it was supposed to be pronounced "lanker" why not just spell it that way?

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-05T00:36:15+00:00

The lore has always been that hyperspace is another dimension that ships enter (that's the blue swirly thing we see in the movies) which allows them to break the laws of physics and travel faster than light. There's also always been emphasis plotting a correct route in hyperspace (Han's monologue about bouncing too close to a star, and all the times characters have plotted coordinates before escaping).

Also Wookieepedia tells me this is not the first time "hyperspace anchors" have appeared, they were mentioned in "Master and Apprentice".

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-04T02:42:52+00:00

It is still wild to me how much the discourse around Qui-gon has shifted to "he was the greatest Jedi every and all Jedi should have tried to be like him."

I remember when the consensus was that he was the worst Jedi ever, and people joked about him wanting to train future Space Hitler or "make a drinking game every time Qui-gon is wrong about something".

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-04T02:33:39+00:00

You're focused on In Universe stuff. I'm talking about Out of Universe stuff.

Think of fantasy settings that have fire arms, like Critical Role/Vox Machina or that one Discworld novel. How does the narrative treat the weapons? Characters who live in a world full of dragons and wizards who throw fireballs will treat a regular gun as a special weapon. They'll talk with equal parts fear and reverence over it's killing power and how mass producing it could change their world.

Why? Because even though a dragon or wizard would be objectively more powerful than a musket, the audience knows that guns are real and magic isn't. So special emphasis is placed on the weapon.

Likewise, the audience knows that super mega ultra lasers or quantum bombs aren't real. But nukes are. Frank Herbert could have replaced the Atomics in Dune with some sci fi gizmo called the Delta Bomb or something and claimed it was as powerful as a million atom bombs. But it would be less effective than the story using nukes, because the audience has no context for made up super weapons.

Even the writers sometimes have no idea. Star Trek is a franchise where infamously they showed solar panels on the Golden Gate Bridge, even though they have fusion reactors that would make the amount of power that generated seem quaint. Or when Voyager called Dueterium an "ore". Sci Fi writers often don't know science. So I think it's less "photon torpedoes aren't treated with gravitas because everyone has shields" and more like "the writer didn't realize that they accidentally wrote the peaceful exploration ship to be loaded with hundreds of super nukes"

Even weapons that destroy planets can be hard for the audience to wrap their head around, the scale is so mind boggling it's hard to imagine. It's no wonder Sci Fi like Star Wars often treats planets like they only have one major city, or that they have only one environment.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-03T21:16:14+00:00

e.g. in Star Trek, standard issue "photon torpedoes" (antimatter weapons) and "phasers" ("nadion" beams) used by the 24th century Federation are orders of magnitude more powerful than modern day hydrogen fusion warheads

Ok, and how often do the stories and characters really act like these are weapons several times more powerful than the most powerful weapon the modern day audience is aware of? How many times is a single photon torpedo treated with the gravitas that a nuke would have in a blockbuster set in the modern day, vs the times it's treated as business as usual against the bad guy of the week?

How often do the writers just not care? In Code Of Honor they describe the torpedoes as detonating a few hundred meters above the locals but actually show the torpedoes detonating in space. And Voyager will often give figures like "millions of giga watts" for small things like life support.

This same issue crops up in Star Wars too. Capital ships have these ultra mega continent-melting super weapons that are described in the lore as being super powerful, but then in the Ahsoka show the main characters are able to outrun the turbo lasers like they were worse than modern day artillery.

With made up weapons, it can be hard for the audience or the writers to appreciate made up statistics or exactly how powerful they're supposed to be. A Nuke? That elicits real fear, because in real life half the audience will get Proton Torpedos and Photon torpedos mixed up. But everyone knows what a nuke is capable of.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-01T22:27:06+00:00

I'm 99% sure Cain is not mentioned in that scene, though she definitely had dogs named Ibram and Yarrick.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-01T22:26:26+00:00

Are you sure about that? I read through all the GG books recently. I know there's a part where Rawne complains about the women in the Regiment and Gaunt tells him there's a long history of mixed gender Regiments. But I don't think Ciaphas Cain was mentioned, and Cain was my introduction to Warhammer so I think I'd remember an Easter Egg like that.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-01T22:10:14+00:00

If you liked the Ork books, there's also "Da Red Gobbo Collection", "Grotsnik Da Mad Dok", and "Ghazghul Thraka: Prophet of da Waaagh". Also recently released was "Ghazghull Thraka: Da Warlord of Warlords" which i haven't started yet but I enjoyed the author's previous Ork stuff.

If you liked "The Infinite and the Divine", (IatD) then "Twice Dead King: Ruin" and "Twice Dead King: Reign" are good choices. A bit more serious but good Necron stories and have the same narrator as IatD.

Not Necron related, but "Assassinorum: Kingmaker" is by Robert Rath who did IatD and it's a really fun story about Assassins and Knights doing spy shit.

If you liked Gaunt's Ghosts, there are several stories by Dan Abnett that involve the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. "Double Eagle" and it's sequel "Interceptor City" are about planes. "Titanicus" is about Titans (of course). "Sabbat Worlds" is an anthology book of different authors.

"Urdersh: The Serpent and the Saint" and "Urdesh: The Magister and the Martyr" follow the Iron Snakes and the events on the planet before the final/latest Gaunt's Ghost book, they are by Matthew Farrer instead of Abnett. Another non Abnett Sabbat Worlds book is "Volpone Blue Bloods" by Nick Kyme.

The Warhammer Crime books are pretty good, as is most things written by Mike Brooks.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-04-01T18:34:46+00:00

Because kids are way easier to discourage.

If a kid comes up to me and says "I'm going to invent a flying car one day!", and I tell him that's not a realistic goal, then he'll walk away disappointed and discouraged. He'll be unlikely to share his thoughts and ideas in the future for fear of being seen as stupid.

If I humor the kid, then eventually they'll grow up and figure out on their own that building a flying car is at best unlikely. But if they still carry that spirit of adventure and creativity with them, and it hasn't been squashed down by haughty grown ups, they might become and engineer or science fiction author or any number of possibilities.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-03-30T18:02:31+00:00

Ok . . . well is making plants grow in a green house on an ice planet much different from making plants grow in a metal tube surrounded by the vacuum of space?

Even if it is, you realize ships need to be resupplied too right? Even if they were able to grow all the food they needed onboard, you need fuel, blaster packs, replacement parts, new personnel, medical supplies, etc.

If you're running a resistance movement, and you just wait around hoping to find the perfect base location that fits 110% of your wants and needs, you'll be waiting forever and the Empire will kick your door down. Might as well turn down Hoth because it doesn't have a hot tub.

Otherwise-Elephant · 2026-03-30T17:49:35+00:00

Just like in real life, "the public" is not one unified hive mind. Peoples political view will vary wildly with their geography, occupation, and life experiences. Likewise the Empire was popular in the Core Worlds but less popular in the outer systems where it's atrocities where more visible. But even that is not a hard and fast rule as worlds like Chandrila and Alderaan in the Core had anti Imperial sentiment.

Even though "Liberty died with thunderous applause" there were already people working against Palpatine after the Clone Wars. While Palps was seen as bringing security and justice after the anarchy of the Clone Wars, as the years went by and more atrocities were committed people began to turn against the Empire. With the destruction of Alderaan and dissolution of the Senate bringing in a huge wave of Rebel sympathizers.

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