Star Wars Republic

Released to capitalise on the success of The Phantom Menace, this portion of the Star Wars Expanded Universe aimed at detailing the events of the Star Wars universe during the prequel films. This series began simply entitled Star Wars and became Republic around the time of the release of Attack of the Clones and the beginning of the Clone Wars storyline.

Originally conceived as a kind of anthology to showcase the vast array of new Jedi characters introduced by Episode I, the series soon developed longer storylines and recurring subplots, many of which tied in to related miniseries such as Jedi Council: Acts of War, the Jedi one-shots, Obsession and Purge (many of which were created by the same artists and writers working on Republic). By the time the series was retitled, approximately half of the stories focused on the continuing adventures of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, while the rest focused on the Ensemble Darkhorse Jedi Master Quinlan Vos and his own supporting cast of friends and enemies.

By the time the series was finished and replaced by Dark Times and Rebellion, the creative team of Jon Ostrander and Jan Duursema were pretty much in control of the storyline. Some of the minor characters they created or made their own for Republic subsequently appeared in their next series, Star Wars Legacy, including the Wookiee Chak, Jedi Master K'Kruhk and Darth Krayt, alias A'Sharad Hett.

Tropes used in Star Wars Republic include:

• The Ace: Sharad Hett is treated as the greatest Jedi knight of his generation in the backstory. However, Hett resents this status because it conflicts with Jedi ideals, and he is only as zealous as he is because it distracts him from the feelings of depression caused by his separation from his family.
• Ace Pilot: Anakin Skywalker and Saesee Tiin.
• Badass: Just about every Jedi and every single clone (especially the ARC troopers).
• Badass Native: Quinlan Vos
• Bald of Evil: Asajj Ventress.
• Batman Gambit: Jedi Master Ronhar Kim attempts to locate the unknown Sith Lord controlling the senate by testing every senator for midichlorians. Unfortunately, he explains this plan to Palpatine, who arranges for his death.
• Berserk Button: Don't call Aurra Sing a Jedi if you value your health.
• Bloodless Carnage: Generally the case, but notably averted in Outlander, which gets pretty bloody as Star Wars comic books go.
• Big Bad: Each story arc had one, but Darth Sidious is obviously the overall threat.
• The Caligula: Prince R'cardo Sooflie IX of Lannik in Emissaries to Malastare; the terrorist General Zug explains that holding him to ransom would be a good idea "if he were any other prince".
• Canon Immigrant: Twi'lek Jedi Knight Aayla Secura, who subsequently appeared in Episodes II and III.
• Captain Obvious: Lampshaded in this exchange -

Adi Gallia: What?! They're shooting!
'Even Piell: Yes! One does not need the Force to see that, friend Gallia.

• The Chessmaster: Darth Sidious, Count Dooku and Master Tholme are particularly skilled at this.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Averted in the early issues when the Jedi wielded lightsabres of almost every possible hue, but played straight after the series became Republic and the standard green and blue for Jedi, red for Sith rule came into play.
• Combat Pragmatist: To track down an assassin, Tholme trained with an Anzati martial artist, and relies on guile and tricks as much as his skill with a lightsaber to win his battles.
• Continuity Nod
• Corrupt Church: The Ffib Priests in the 'Emissaries To Malastare story arc.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Iaco Stark in one of the earliest arcs and the Separatist leadership council in the Clone Wars storylines.
• Dark Is Not Evil: A major element of Quinlan Vos' character arc.
• A Day in the Limelight: The related Jedi miniseries focuses on an adventure of fan favourite Jedi characters such as Mace Windu, Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti.
• Dual-Wielding: A'Sharad Hett, Asajj Ventress and Sora Bulq. The last one is a more realistic example as he employs a regular lightsaber and a short one.
• Downer Ending: It is appropriate that the series which followed this one is called Dark Times.
• Evil Matriarch: Tinté Vos, leader of the Guardians and great-aunt of Quinlan Vos. Initially she is portrayed as an Obstructive Bureaucrat who wanted her nephew to leave the Jedi Order and assume his proper place in the Guardians. Later, she is revealed to have poisoned her brother to take his place and betrayed Quin's parents to the Anzati.
• Fantastic Racism: The Gran senators who rule Malastare use the native Dug species as indentured servants, with the excuse that they have "freed them from savagery".
• Foregone Conclusion
• Friendly Enemy: Vilmarh Grahrk to Quinlan Vos, most of the time.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar: There is a Jedi named Soon Bayts, or Master Bayts. Randy Stradley inserted him as a joke character in the Acts of War miniseries which preceded Republic and was surprised when the editor didn't seem to pick up on the pun.
• Guile Hero: Tholme.
• Handicapped Badass: Subverted by the Sand People proverb, "Whoever has two hands can hold a gaderffi." When a warrior loses a hand they choose to kill themselves rather than become a burden to the clan.

Sharad Hett: "We have no bacta tanks here, Ki-Adi-Mundi."

• Harmless Villain: Vilmarh Grahrk, who thinks of himself as a criminal mastermind despite being a nuisance at best.
• Healing Factor: Fay's unique Force connection gives her one, though she loses it at the worst time when she transfers her Force reserves to Obi-Wan after being stabbed through the chest by Ventress. IF not for having to aid Obi-Wan's escape that way, Fay would have been able to recover from even the wounds Ventress dealt her.
• Heel Face Revolving Door: Quinlan Vos must be one of the best examples of all time.
• Heroic Sacrifice: A very frequent occurrence, probably starting with Micah Giett in the Jedi Council: Acts of War miniseries.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Kh'aris Fenn is promised the governance of his home planet Ryloth by Count Dooku but tries to steal the funds he was allocated to conquer it anyway.
• I Have Many Names: Sharad Hett gathered a collection of heroic titles during his time as a Jedi.
• Karma Houdini: Vilmarh Grarhk gets away with organising a war between the Jedi and the Yinchorri which leaves several Jedi dead on the orders of Darth Sidious because his help his necessary to Quinlan Vos when they get trapped on Kiffex.
• Kill'Em All: Outlander and the Jabiim story arc. The series ends with Order 66.
• Loads and Loads of Characters: Aside from the main characters in the films, numerous minor Jedi created for the movies are developed substantially, and dozens of new characters are included.
• Master Swordsman: While most of the Jedi featured in the series are handy with their lightsabers, characters who are specifically noted for their sword skills include Mace Windu, Sora Bulq and Count Dooku.
• Might Makes Right: The Yinchorri race live by the belief that they are entitled to anything they are strong enough to claim. The Jedi council discuss the trope, observing that the Yinchorri are essentially Tempting Fate with a philosophy that is, "often recanted upon meeting a more powerful adversary".
• Mythology Gag: An officer named Pellaeon appears briefly as the captain of a Republic star destroyer, but it's not specified if he is the same one created by Timothy Zahn.
• Nice Hat: Ki-Adi-Mundi gets a wide brimmed hat to disguise his tall head in Outlander. K'Kruhk gets one which apparently saves his life several times afterwards (it has its own Wookieepedia page).
• Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: The Anzati are martial artist space vampires who consume the "soup" (read: brain) of their victims. Volfe Karkko is one of these with the power of a Dark Jedi Master.
• POV Sequel: The Devaronian Version is Vilmarh Grahrk's embellished retelling of the Acts of War series.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: Sharad Hett, Jedi Knight and leader of the Sand People in the Outlander story arc.

Hett: I'm a war leader, my friend, not a king.

• Psycho for Hire: Durge and Aurra Sing.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Supreme Chancellor Valorum. As seen in the films, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine pretends to be one as part of his public persona.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After surviving Order 66, Quinlan Vos initially vows to enact one of these against the Sith. However, he soon changes his mind when he realises that his duty is to save a Wookiee village from the ruthless clone commander who threatened to raze it to draw him out.
• Rotating Arcs: While the subplots could overlap, after Twilight the comic settled into a pattern of Quinlan Vos arcs alternating with arcs featuring other Jedi.
• Shout-Out: Frequently. For a single panel, for example, we meet a Jedi Master named Shon Kon Ray.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor: Sora Bulq, who joined Count Dooku before returning the Jedi to try and turn his old friends and apprentices to the dark side.
• Space Elves: Fay. Who is awesome.
• The Spymaster: Tholme
• Story Arc: The whole storyline is divided into several distinct arcs. The main subplots are centred on Ki-Adi-Mundi, A'Sharad Hett and the Dark Woman in the first part of the series and Quinlan Vos and his supporting cast in the second.
• Worthy Opponent: How the Morgukai assassins perceive the Jedi Knights.
• Xanatos Gambit: In Jedi Council: Acts Of War, Darth Sidious manipulates the warlike Yinchorri into going to war with the Jedi Order. They are defeated in the end and the henchman responsible for organising the uprising is forced into hiding. When Darth Maul claims that they lost, Sidious explains that Maul's thinking is too narrow; Jedi deaths were never the objective and Sidious was going to benefit regardless of the outcome: the natural Yinchorri resistance to mind tricks could have caused trouble his own plans; he used the Jedi to deal with them and managed to get several of them (including a Council member) killed in the process. Furthermore, Chancellor Valorum was forced to call in almost every favour of his political career to impose sanctions on them, which diminished his support in the senate.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Played straight for Sharad Hett, whose duty as a Jedi prevents him from visiting his homeworld. He considers leaving the Jedi Order so he can go back to his family only to discover that they were all killed by revolutionaries when he was away.
• You Have Failed Me...: This is Star Wars, after all.
• You Killed My Father: A minor example shows up in Emissaries to Malastare, where the sub-plot revolves around podracing. Elan Mak (whose real name is Kam Nale) plots to kill another racer named Aldar Beedo, an assassin who killed his crimelord father. In a later story set during the Clone Wars, Anakin teams up with the Tusken Jedi A'Sharad Hett, almost losing control of himself and killing him in retribution for the death of his mother at the hands of another Tusken tribe.
  • The Morgukai warrior Bok holds a grudge against Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura after they kill his father, Tsyr.