Is Luke The Bad Guy?

[Langenator]

I seem to recall Obi Wan Kenobi being a general in the Clone Wars.

[Greg]

Fun Fact: Since the Jedi are not part of any formal military command structure they are unlawful combatants. On the other hand the Sith, when they had their empire, integrated their force users into the command structure, therefore making them legitimate and legal combatants.

...according to the current LOAC established on a backwater planet in a galaxy far, far away.

Still, though, that's a bit of a stretch. With a Sith government it's more like a military dictatorship. The Jedi had some nebulous role in Republic military hierarchy, but they still had one, even if it seems to be making a general out of anyone holding a light saber.

The Jedi were integrated with the Republic government so thoroughly they were relied on as high-level go-to guys in multiple branches of service:

-Foreign Service, as diplomatic envoys
-Secret Service, as VIP protection
-intelligence service, as field assets gathering intelligence
-military service, as leadership cadre *and* commandos, on land, air, sea and space

[John_in_Longview]

Will Luke Skywalker be revealed to be the Vaderesque head bad guy in the latest SW installment?

My personal theory is that the bad guy is a clone of either Luke or Leia.

[skb12172]

Ah, like the clone Luuke, in Heir To The Empire.

[dfwmtx]

The bad guy is Darth Jar-Jar. He's taking none of your shit anymore because of all the jokes leveled at him after ep. 1-3.

I hope the midget they have rolling around in the ball that's the R2D2 stand-in gets paid well for his troubles.

[Steamforger]

I'm only up on a couple series in the EU. Luke as a bad guy is laughable. He was always a bit of a "pussoir", as we would say.

[Kommander]

Fun Fact: Since the Jedi are not part of any formal military command structure they are unlawful combatants. On the other hand the Sith, when they had their empire, integrated their force users into the command structure, therefore making them legitimate and legal combatants.

...according to the current LOAC established on a backwater planet in a galaxy far, far away.

Still, though, that's a bit of a stretch. With a Sith government it's more like a military dictatorship. The Jedi had some nebulous role in Republic military hierarchy, but they still had one, even if it seems to be making a general out of anyone holding a light saber.

The Jedi were integrated with the Republic government so thoroughly they were relied on as high-level go-to guys in multiple branches of service:

-Foreign Service, as diplomatic envoys
-Secret Service, as VIP protection
-intelligence service, as field assets gathering intelligence
-military service, as leadership cadre *and* commandos, on land, air, sea and space

I have to admit that I am pretty much only going by what I saw in the MMO The Old Republic and should have specified that. In other works they are likely better integrated. In the MMO it always seemed like the Jedi were a bunch of random guys with lightsabers, accountable to their own internal hierarchy, not to the government of the republic and certainly not the people. Even the Bounty Hunter at least exists inside a legal framework, which is more than I can say for the Smuggler. In the Lucas prequels they didn't seem much better, though at least Quo Gon Gin and Obi Won were "Ambassadors" at some point.

[Vonz90]

...according to the current LOAC established on a backwater planet in a galaxy far, far away.

Still, though, that's a bit of a stretch. With a Sith government it's more like a military dictatorship. The Jedi had some nebulous role in Republic military hierarchy, but they still had one, even if it seems to be making a general out of anyone holding a light saber.

The Jedi were integrated with the Republic government so thoroughly they were relied on as high-level go-to guys in multiple branches of service:

-Foreign Service, as diplomatic envoys
-Secret Service, as VIP protection
-intelligence service, as field assets gathering intelligence
-military service, as leadership cadre *and* commandos, on land, air, sea and space

I have to admit that I am pretty much only going by what I saw in the MMO The Old Republic and should have specified that. In other works they are likely better integrated. In the MMO it always seemed like the Jedi were a bunch of random guys with lightsabers, accountable to their own internal hierarchy, not to the government of the republic and certainly not the people. Even the Bounty Hunter at least exists inside a legal framework, which is more than I can say for the Smuggler. In the Lucas prequels they didn't seem much better, though at least Quo Gon Gin and Obi Won were "Ambassadors" at some point.

The comparison point I would have is knights (on which the Jedi are verily loosely modeled). During the transition period between feudal and national armies you could have knights or other nobles who either served directly the sovereign or as allies to the sovereign under their own flag or be integrated into the Sovereign's army in various ways (in leadership positions or otherwise).

[John_in_Longview]

I'm only up on a couple series in the EU. Luke as a bad guy is laughable. He was always a bit of a "pussoir", as we would say.

One of Lucas's original endings for Return of the Jedi had Luke taking over the empire after the death of the Emperor and his father.

[John_in_Longview]

[spoiler]Looks like we were wrong....[/spoiler]