# Your Favourite Star Wars Character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008 "2010-05-11T03:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/61 "2010-05-12T08:56:49Z")
Darth Zannah from the Bane books. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/62 "2010-05-12T09:51:24Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Because I like the underdog (and for some reason he _is_ one, since he’s not ‘cool’), I’m going with… Luke. Yes. The so-called whiny farmboy. There’s just something about a kid who goes through angst and suffering to become a tougher, stronger, wiser hero. And I think Mark Hamill’s performance is underrated, especially in V and VI. This is my favorite scene from SW attesting to choie’s point. Note no fancy special effects just emotion and poignancy. ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wEUGF3NGbPg/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/wEUGF3NGbPg?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/63 "2010-05-12T12:09:17Z")
Add me to the Luke camp, with a healthy dose of Han. I was in high school when the original came out, and while it’s true I had a huge crush on Mark Hamill, it’s really Luke’s sweet underdog side that I root on. But Han Solo is just far too cool to not count as a favorite. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/64 "2010-05-12T17:45:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Of course, of that list of 10 ten characters, Yoda would be #1, but he’s no longer my favorite because of his incredibly stupid fighting style in the prequels. Really, throw down his cane and then turn into the Mosquito of Death? Seriously? I was really expecting that his cane would be his lightsabre, like a naginata. You know what I wanted to see? Yoda just standing there, perfectly still except for a crease on his forehead, in deep concentration, while his lightsabre flew around him telekinetically like a mosquito of death. It’s all about the Force, baby. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/65 "2010-05-12T17:50:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You know what I wanted to see? Yoda just standing there, perfectly still except for a crease on his forehead, in deep concentration, while his lightsabre flew around him telekinetically like a mosquito of death. It’s all about the Force, baby. You know what I would have liked to see? Yoda not fighting at all. He didn’t even have a lightsaber in the original story. Neither did Pappy. Only their apprentices used weapons. They were both so strong in the force that they were beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/66 "2010-05-12T18:18:24Z")
Obi wan Kenobi. I do love HK-47, Carth Onasi, and many other characters, but to me, Obi Wan was by far the most interesting and had the most depth. He lost a father figure in Qui-gon. Lost a brother in Anakin. Lost all of his friends, peers, and associates when the Jedi were cut down, all but Yoda. He was left knowing he was not much more than a Padawan (what, three years maybe?) and one of the last of the Jedi. And lastly, nearly, nearly lost a son in Luke. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/67 "2010-05-12T18:40:13Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > He was left knowing he was not much more than a Padawan (what, three years maybe?) and one of the last of the Jedi. And lastly, nearly, nearly lost a son in Luke. He had been a padawan for 13 years when Qui-Gon died on Naboo. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/68 "2010-05-12T20:27:35Z")
**Admiral Motti**. One of the few people bad ass enough to call out Darth Vader for being a screw up. Even if he did get forced choked for his efforts. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/69 "2010-05-12T22:28:17Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > You know what I would have liked to see? Yoda not fighting at all. He didn’t even have a lightsaber in the original story. Neither did Pappy. Only their apprentices used weapons. They were both so strong in the force that they were beyond that. If Yoda DID absolutely have to fight - and frankly, it was stupid that he fought at all - it should have been in just one scene, and just him using the Force to absolutely lay waste to someone. Seeing him flip around and hang on to stuff trying not to fall and crawl through ventilation shafts like John McClane was a pathetic joke. In “The Empire Strikes Back,” how many times do you see Yoda teaching Luke how to use a light saber? Zero. Yoda is about the Force; weapons should be beneath him. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/70 "2010-05-12T23:43:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Wedge Antilles. Only Rebel pilot to survive attacks on both Death Stars, and unlike certain whiny farmboys, didn’t need to use some mystical energy field to do so. 😉 Why was Wedge Antilles so tough? Let’s just say that as a child, he was known as “Wedgie” Antilles. 😉 Me, I’ll go with Obi-wan, with a side order of Qui-gon. Now if only the prequels didn’t suck so hard. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/71 "2010-05-13T08:11:46Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Because I like the underdog (and for some reason he _is_ one, since he’s not ‘cool’), I’m going with… Luke. Yes. The so-called whiny farmboy. There’s just something about a kid who goes through angst and suffering to become a tougher, stronger, wiser hero. And I think Mark Hamill’s performance is underrated, especially in V and VI. Sadly, I could never take Luke seriously as a character. My wife and I always laugh at the scene when he fires the torpedoes into the thermal exhaust port as it looks like he shits himself. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/72 "2010-05-13T08:17:20Z")
“But I wanted to pick up some _power converters_!” ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/73 "2010-05-13T16:55:49Z")
The DorkFactor is high in this Thread. That said. Ahem. Where should one start if one started reading the Star Wars books? Is there a Master List? ( It’s for my son. Really.) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/74 "2010-05-13T17:06:15Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > The DorkFactor is high in this Thread. > > That said. > > Ahem. > > Where should one start if one started reading the Star Wars books? Is there a Master List? ( It’s for my son. Really.) Screw books, get yourself- ah, I mean, get _your son_ the KOTOR comic series. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/75 "2010-05-13T17:23:29Z")
Thrawn. Easily. I’d have liked to read him meeting Prince Xizor and kicking the crap out of him. Or the Eye of Palpatine. I don’t know why, but that ship has stayed with me and seems creepier than most of the Sith. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/76 "2010-05-13T17:39:14Z")
[Thrawn Trilogy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrawn_trilogy), then the [Hand of Thrawn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_of_Thrawn) duology. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/77 "2010-05-13T17:45:35Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Where should one start if one started reading the Star Wars books? Is there a Master List? ( It’s for my son. Really.) First off, anything written by Timothy Zahn is worth reading. If your son has seen the original trilogy, he can get straight into _The Thrawn Trilogy_ without any worries. His other works include _Outbound Flight_, a “Start of Darkness” novel for Thrawn set around the time of Episode Two, and the _Hand of Thrawn_ duology, in which Zahn undoes some of the damage caused by some of the other authors to the franchise. Your son should probably wait until after he’s read at least the _X-Wing_ novels before he reads _Hand of Thrawn_, but doing otherwise isn’t that much of a setback. I’ve heard great things about _Shatterpoint_ (Mace Windu) and _Dark Rendezvous_ (Yoda), but haven’t got around to reading them yet. The Tartakovsky Clone Wars cartoon is absolutely awesome, and can be watched any time after he’s seen Episode Two. Most of the stories from the anthology _Tales of the Bounty Hunters_ are quite good, too, and work fine as long as he’s seen the original trilogy. _Rebel Dream_ and _Rebel Stand_ from the _New Jedi Order_ series are both great fun, and don’t require much in the way of background from the earlier books. There are some spoilers for the earlier books, but apart from that he can just read these two on their own if he wants, any time after he’s read the _Hand of Thrawn_. Don’t read: [ul] [li]The _Legacy of the Force_ novels. They’re just a boatload of stupid and offensiveness.[/li][li]Anything by Karen Traviss except _Hard Contact_. She’s got a warped view of the setting, and mostly uses her novels to bash the Jedi and satisfy her Mandalorian fetish.[/li][li]Anything by Kevin J. Anderson.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/78 "2010-05-13T18:42:49Z")
Avoid Barbara Hambly too. She’s not QUITE as bad as Anderson, but she’s definetly taking notes from him. Oh, and definitely read the novelizations – especially Matthew Stover’s _Revenge of the Sith_ – he’s a fantastic writer. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/79 "2010-05-13T22:23:55Z")
**Grumman** alludes to the “X-Wing” series, which is a must-read for any Star Wars fan - especially those who, like me, always found the non-Jedi side characters (your Han Solos and Wedge Antilles…es) more interesting than the Magic Monk protagonists. The X-Wing series itself is loosely divided into two sub-series, one written by Michael J. Stackpole and one written by Aaron Allston. Both are excellent, although markedly different in tone. Stackpole writes great action and intrigue, while Allston focuses more on character-driven humor and drama. Both sub-series feature some of the best starfighter battles you’ll find outside the movies themselves - not surprising, considering the novels are technically a spinoff of the awesome “X-Wing” video game series. Personally, I think Allston’s “Wraith Squadron” books are better even than Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy. I’m a sucker for well-developed, complex characters, and doubly so when they’re given some of the most consistently funny dialogue this side of the Discworld. As I said upthread, Allston’s development of the Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson characters is superb, and some of the characters he created (in particular, an Imperial intelligence agent-turned-Rebel starfighter pilot named Lara Notsil) are among the most compelling to inhabit the Galaxy Far, Far Away. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008/80 "2010-05-13T23:59:15Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Avoid Barbara Hambly too. She’s not QUITE as bad as Anderson, but she’s definetly taking notes from him. > . I quite liked _Children of the Jedi_! :mad: ☹ Why is she seen as a bad writer? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favourite-star-wars-character/539008.md?page=5)