Shumari


Behind the scenes


Originally published in Japan, stories from Star Wars Manga were considered to be of "fuzzy" continuity by Lucasfilm. Since then, they have been republished in English in the United Kingdom under Infinities label, which established the material in them as non-canonical.

Author Daniel Wallace stated definitively in the article We Need to Talk About Jar Jar, written for Star Wars Insider 131 in February 2012, that the stories included in the Star Wars Manga: Black comic trade paperback are non-canon. Despite this, however, the events of the comic were briefly alluded to later in the August 22, 2013 Blog Barely Tolerable: Alien Henchmen of the Empire Part 2, where it mentioned that one of the aliens aligned with the Galactic Empire, KkH'Oar'Rrhr, had traveled to the planet with the hopes of slaying the "Demon Outlander" (Darth Vader).

The planet has been later referenced in The Essential Atlas, which included the Shumari system in its appendix. However, according to Jason Fry, "its inclusion shouldn't be taken as a statement of canonicity for anything except the geography."

Non-canon History


The planet Shumari was the site of a devastating battle in which Jedi survivors of Order 66 clashed with Imperial stormtroopers lead by Darth Vader. While the battle raged planetside, Imperial Star Destroyers positioned above the planet subjected it to heavy orbital bombardment which, much like the destruction of Taris four millennia earlier, devastated the surface of the planet completely, rendering it uninhabitable.

The Jedi forces were eventually all eliminated but one. The Shumari native Padawan, Tao was spared by Vader, who took him as his secret Sith apprentice.

Years later, in 1 ABY, Vader returned to Shumari with Tao, who was dying from wounds inflicted upon him by Vader in a duel. It was Vader's intention to let Tao see his home planet one last time. Suddenly Vader was attacked by a vengeful Tusken Raider who had survived Anakin Skywalker's massacre of the Tusken Raiders of the Valley of the Spirits tribe in 22 BBY. The Tusken, who had sworn to hunt down Vader and kill him, had learned Basic and been trained in lightsaber combat. Using a modified gaffi stick, he managed to knock Vader down.

Before the Tusken managed to deliver the final blow, Tao struggled to his feet and used his last strength to defend the Dark Lord. Tao managed to ward of the attack and kill the Tusken, thus saving Vader's life. Seconds later, the Shumari Jedi collapsed on the ground, dead from his wounds. Vader raised a monument to the Shumari Jedi which was to be the last hand-made object to be made on the planet.

Sources


  • The Essential Atlas

Appearances

Unknown

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