What's in your 'head canon?'

[Kor]

So what's in your Star Wars head canon?

Recently in the context of Star Trek discussions, there has been a tendency to refer to 'head canon,' by which fans individually regard certain events or other details that came from outside of canon sources to be part of the story's universe.

Head canon may include things from non-canon books or comics, or details to rationalize or explain in-universe things that may not make complete sense, or perhaps incorporating other sources that are not officially related (i.e. considering Forbidden Planet a prequel to TOS).

Do you have a head canon when it comes to SW? Do you still consider certain things from the decanonized EU to be part of the SW universe? Or have you come up with your own explanations for seeming discrepancies between the OT and the PT? Or anything else not covered above? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I absolutely and without hesitation accept Alien Exodus as part of SW continuity.

 

[Gaith]

In my head, my personal Star Wars canon, at present, consists of:

- Harmy's Depecialized OT
- Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy
- Shadows of the Empire (book)
- Rogue One

... And, so far, that's it; that's all. If Eps 8-9 are major improvements over TFA, I may consider them a plausible alternate timeline, but that very much remains to be seen.

 

[Kor]

- Harmy's Depecialized OT

I can agree with this.

Kor

 

[JD]

Other than all of the movie and new canon stuff, I'd include the first Knights of the Old Republic game and comic.

 

[Kor]

I would include the Dark Horse "Tales of the Jedi" comics unless those events are specifically contradicted in the new movies (I'm sure they won't be).

I'm not including all the new Disney-era comics and novels, as I just don't feel like reading all this stuff.

Kor

 

[fireproof78]

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Disney canon stuff, especially the Vader comics.

For my head canon, I include all the PT and OT novels, Knights of the Old Republic games (all of them, including TOR), Dark Forces games. Other items I will treat as I read it as some makes sense and the rest is just hard to get in to.

 

[Kor]

In my head canon, SW is in a shared universe with everything else that George Lucas ever directed, wrote or produced.

I'll let someone else try to make sense of that.

Kor

 

[Reverend]

I think the only thing I'm inclined to "head canon" is John Jackson Miller's novel 'Kenobi'. It came out right at the cut-off and I think could still more or less fit into canon with but a few minor tweaks. If nothing else I think it sets the kind of tone I'd hope for in a standalone Kenobi movie.

That aside, since finding the 'Freemaker Adventures' LEGO cartoon surprisingly entertaining, I've sort of head canoned in the Kyber Saber as an in-universe myth, if not the actual events of the show itself.
On a similar note I like to think that much of the 'Tales of the Jedi' material are in-universe myths and legends, leaving their factual accuracy up in the air. Hell, one of those comics is actually called "The Ballad of Nomi Sunrider" so that would be a fun nod in itself.

Part of this addresses something I feel has been missing from Star Wars lore: cultural history. Stories, legends, myths. That sort of thing. Some fictional, some not so. Think of things like the Arthurian stories, Robin Hood, Journey into the West, Beowulf, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (no, not the Iron Maiden song!), The Epic of Gilgamesh, the mythology of the Ancient Greeks, Norse & Maya and the the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana.
It'd be nice to see some analogues to this sort of thing in Star Wars and some of the old TotJ/KotOR material would be perfectly suited. It'd enrich the tapestry of Star Wars and avoid any continuity complications since literal legends don't have to be factually accurate.

The new 'Doctor Aphra' comics are starting to move in this direction and of course the Journal of the Whills has been at least mentioned here and there, but I'd love to see much more of it.

 

[fireproof78]

Is "Dr. Aphra" moving towards "head canon" or "in universe myths?" Just for clarification

 

[Reverend]

Is "Dr. Aphra" moving towards "head canon" or "in universe myths?" Just for clarification

The latter. It's basically "female Young Indiana Jones" with lasers and psychotic droids.

 

[Crazy Eddie]

My Headcannon:
For over a thousand generations, the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace throughout the galaxy. The prestige, the glory, the love of power. The Jedi were respected and honored throughout the republic, their order all but worshipped as the pinnacle of moral clarity. Their judgement was considered to be beyond question, their actions accepted without skepticism. When a Jedi showed up and told you to jump you said "How high?" And if you refused, the Jedi would use the force to throw you as high as he wanted. The citizens of the galaxy obeyed the Jedi because resisting them was futile and, of course, everyone knows the Jedi are on the side of light. A force-sensitive child was taken to the order whether the parents liked it or not; a senator or a military official who opposed the order suddenly found himself out of a job, a pariah among his peers, who couldn't afford to be associated with someone critical of the Jedi. And anyone who was found to be an adherent of the Cult of the Sith -- whom the Jedi considered to be heretical sect of Force worshippers -- would be executed on sight with no trial.

By the end of the Clone Wars, the Jedi had become a gang of war criminals. Most of their members could be seen gleefully hacking their way through roomfuls of enemy soldiers, giving no quarter and leaving no opportunity for surrender. The clone troopers they commanded killed without mercy or hesitation, and their orders were absolute and uncompromising. The transition to the Empire was met with very little fanfare, and even less surprise; the oppression of the Jedi Order had already conditioned the populace to be so terrified of the power of the Chancellor that when the Jedi disappeared they were actually relieved. The Empire seemed like an improvement over the Republic; yes, the Storm Troopers were everywhere and the Emperor's word was law, but nobody was going to show up at your door, force choke you and slice your entire family to ribbons if you said the wrong things or helped the wrong people.

Anakin Skywalker didn't turn to the dark side. He was just the last Jedi standing after the ENTIRE ORDER fell off the path.

 

[Kor]

Anakin Skywalker didn't turn to the dark side. He was just the last Jedi standing after the ENTIRE ORDER fell off the path.

Hence Tarkin's line to Vader: "You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion."

Kor

 

[fireproof78]

The latter. It's basically "female Young Indiana Jones" with lasers and psychotic droids.

I think the early parts, when she is working with Vader, I would put that more in canon, with her own adventures spinning off from that.

But, I think Dr. Aphra is a great fun character and brings a nice adventurous spirit in the comic.

 

[Turtletrekker]

The old Marvel Star Wars series, despite the discrepancies. I'm going through a reread and while some of it is silly and some of it is downright bad, I'm loving almost every page.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The old Marvel Star Wars series, despite the discrepancies. I'm going through a reread and while some of it is silly and some of it is downright bad, I'm loving almost every page.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Yup, I'm even a fan of Jaxxon the space rabbit and Don-Wan Khiotay.

Jaxxon is far from the worst character in the Marvel series. Leia's Zeltron entourage from the tail end of Mary Jo Duffy's run could give Jar-Jar Binks a run for his money in pure annoyance value.

 

[Trek Survivor]

I love the Marvel series.

Whatever the storytelling medium and genre, I just want to be entertained with fun stories, exciting characters and engaging plot twists. The Marvel series had all of this in spades, therefore gets a big thumbs up from me.

I find some writers (and fans, frankly), particularly with franchise fiction, spend so much time trying to explain how A fits to B, and doesn't contradict C etc that they forget to write/create a good story in itself.

Don't get me wrong, I'm like the rest of you in that continuity and "the bigger picture" can often enhance a piece of fiction, and is enjoyable. But I have never put things like "canon" above my interest in experiencing a good story.

 

[B.J.]

Greedo never shot.

My Headcannon:
For over a thousand generations, the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace throughout the galaxy. The prestige, the glory, the love of power. The Jedi were respected and honored throughout the republic, their order all but worshipped as the pinnacle of moral clarity. Their judgement was considered to be beyond question, their actions accepted without skepticism. When a Jedi showed up and told you to jump you said "How high?" And if you refused, the Jedi would use the force to throw you as high as he wanted. The citizens of the galaxy obeyed the Jedi because resisting them was futile and, of course, everyone knows the Jedi are on the side of light. A force-sensitive child was taken to the order whether the parents liked it or not; a senator or a military official who opposed the order suddenly found himself out of a job, a pariah among his peers, who couldn't afford to be associated with someone critical of the Jedi. And anyone who was found to be an adherent of the Cult of the Sith -- whom the Jedi considered to be heretical sect of Force worshippers -- would be executed on sight with no trial.

By the end of the Clone Wars, the Jedi had become a gang of war criminals. Most of their members could be seen gleefully hacking their way through roomfuls of enemy soldiers, giving no quarter and leaving no opportunity for surrender. The clone troopers they commanded killed without mercy or hesitation, and their orders were absolute and uncompromising. The transition to the Empire was met with very little fanfare, and even less surprise; the oppression of the Jedi Order had already conditioned the populace to be so terrified of the power of the Chancellor that when the Jedi disappeared they were actually relieved. The Empire seemed like an improvement over the Republic; yes, the Storm Troopers were everywhere and the Emperor's word was law, but nobody was going to show up at your door, force choke you and slice your entire family to ribbons if you said the wrong things or helped the wrong people.

Anakin Skywalker didn't turn to the dark side. He was just the last Jedi standing after the ENTIRE ORDER fell off the path.

Most of this sounds a lot like the Crusades.

 

[The Wormhole]

Greedo never shot.

A bit redundant to say so. All true Star Wars fans accept this as their head-canon.