The Bloodline of the Skywalkers
You know what’s saddest about the Disney Sequels? It’s not the fact that they had no plot, or let the original trio die. It’s the fact that they wasted the potential of the Skywalker bloodline. Ben Solo/Kylo Ren could arguably be called an emo fanboy of his grandfather. However, that didn’t happen in the original timeline of Star Wars. In the old timeline, the bloodline of Anakin Skywalker continued for generations, shaping the Galaxy as we know it!
In honor of Star Wars day, we will be taking a look at what the Skywalker family did in the old Expanded Universe. Since there are so many members, though, we will be covering them as a whole. If you want to learn specific details, click the links to go to the character’s Wookiepedia pages. In addition, we will be primarily covering members of the Skywalker bloodline post-Return of the Jedi.
Now then, let us begin.
A New Generation of Skywalker’s
We already know the story of Anakin, his rise, fall, and eventual redemption and death. However, what would become of his children, Luke and Leia following the Battle of Endor?
For his part, Luke would dedicate the rest of his life to rebuilding the Jedi, and fixing the mistakes the old order made. He would spend the next several years continuing his training and finding any knowledge about the Jedi that the Empire didn’t destroy. Eventually, he felt comfortable enough to begin looking for students to join the new order.
While Leia would come to accept her heritage as a Skywalker, and did receive some training from her brother, she chose to continue the path she was currently on in life as a politician. She and Han would tie the knot a few years after Endor, and before long, they were expecting children. Thus, in 9 ABY, the Galaxy welcomed the twins Jaina and Jacen Solo into its midst. Two years later, they were joined by a little brother, Anakin Solo, named in honor of his grandfather and a reminder of the power of redemption.
Despite being targeted by the Empire for their raw Force power on several separate occasions, the grandchildren of Anakin Skywalker were kept safe from harm, and able to grow up in as normal an environment as possible. When they were old enough, they joined their Uncle Luke at his growing Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. As for Luke himself, he tied the knot with Mara Jade, a former agent of the Emperor turned Jedi. The entire family seemed meant for a happy and bright future.
Then, came the Yuuzhan Vong.
Nearly Torn Asunder, and a New Skywalker is Born
In 25 ABY, the Yuuzhan Vong, alien invaders from another galaxy, entered the galaxy with one goal: to conquer it and destroy anyone who opposed them. Armed with bio-technology the galaxy had never seen, the Vong seemed unstoppable, pushing from the galactic rim all the way to Coruscant in a few years. The Skywalker-Solo family would suffer dearly at the hands of the Vong. The opening salvoes of their invasion took the life of Chewbacca, but the worst was yet to come.
Now in their teens, the Solo siblings fought on the frontlines against the Vong, doing everything they could stop the invaders. Then, at the height of the war, things almost fell apart. Anakin gave his life to stop a Vong-engineered monster that could hunt down and kill Jedi. Jacen found himself captured on that same mission and presumed dead by much of the galaxy. The pain and loss of what she experienced nearly drove Jaina to the Dark Side, and she was barely able to keep herself from the brink.
There was one bright spot amidst all of this. Despite being poisoned by the Vong, Mara Jade became pregnant. Aboard a mobile Jedi academy, she gave birth to her and Luke’s only child, Ben Skywalker, named for Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke’s first mentor and a dear friend of the Skywalker family.
End of War and Moving on
Jacen spent around a year being captured and used by the Vong before finally escaping to reunite with his family. However, the experience would forever change him, as the war would affect all those who fought in it. Despite the pain of their experiences, though, Jaina and Jacen continued to fight the invaders all the way up to the final battle on Coruscant. There, Luke would slay the Supreme Overlord of the Vong, only for Jacen to discover him to have been merely a puppet for the true leader, a mad Vong named Omini. By surrendering himself fully to the Force, though, Jacen slew Omini, ending the Yuuzhan Vong once and for all. Yet nothing would remain the same.
After the war, Jacen would leave to go on a five-year journey of self-discovery, visiting various Force sects and learning what he could from them. When he returned, he was a far different man than the one people knew. As for the young Ben, the trauma of the War had led the child to cut himself off from the Force. It would be years before he opened himself up to it again. Yet, it seemed like the galaxy, and the Skywalkers, were slowly healing.
Until they weren’t.
