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The Clone Wars (also known as the Clone War) are a series of fictional intragalactic battles in George Lucas's science fiction saga Star Wars. The conflict is first mentioned in A New Hope (1977), but not featured in Star Wars fiction until the second and third episodes of the six-part Star Wars film series: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005). The animated microseries Clone Wars (2003-2005) chronicle the major campaigns of the war. Additional events and stories are detailed in Star Wars literature and video games. Many of the events featured have parallels in history, politics, and mythology from which Lucas and other writers drew inspiration.
The Clone Wars begin during the Separatist Crisis when thousands of star systems secede from the Galactic Republic to form the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS). The first battle occurs on the CIS planet Geonosis as the Republic's new clone army, led by Jedi generals, combats the Separatists' battle droids. War quickly spreads across the galaxy and eventually reaches the Republic's capital, Coruscant. The Clone Wars end shortly after the Great Jedi Purge, the Separatist Massacre on Mustafar, and the establishment of the Galactic Empire. The events causing the war and those leading to its conclusion are orchestrated by the Republic's chief executive, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.Lucas, George. The Star Wars trilogy (1977 – 2005)
Critics and film historians debate which parallels are most prominent or consistent. Some commentators saw the events of the Clone Wars as a critique by Lucas of the politics of the United States in the early twenty-first century. Nonetheless, as a major part of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, the Clone Wars was a key part of the merchandising campaign accompanying the films' theatrical releases.
Origins
The beginnings of the war are first portrayed in The Phantom Menace (the first chapter but fourth release in the series) as the Invasion of Theed and the Battle of Naboo. However, the real tension begins with the Separatist Crisis, a series of debates in the Galactic Republic that are referred to in Attack of the Clones, and began about two years prior to the start of that film. By the beginning of Attack of the Clones, many star systems had seceded from the Republic. The tension caused by this secession eventually led to the outbreak of war.
The war is engineered by the evil Senator Palpatine to facilitate his own rise to power and the formation of the Galactic Empire. He deftly plays both sides against each other, as a Republic Senator (and later Chancellor) advocating more centralized powers to keep the Republic together, and as Darth Sidious by advising the Separatists. The Clone Wars thus become the first of two major civil wars in the Star Wars galaxy, the other being the Galactic Civil War featured in A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.
Story
The Clone Wars began 32 years before the events of A New Hope (the first film produced in the series, commonly referred to simply as Star Wars). The opening of the war, referred to in the prequel trilogy as the Battle of Naboo, is portrayed in The Phantom Menace. The Trade Federation, a major galactic trade organization controlled by the Sith (a group of Force-wielding warriors bent on evil in terms of the protagonist), blockaded the planet Naboo and demanded the capitulation of the world by its queen, Padmé Amidala. Amidala refused and requested help from the Republic, the group responsible for governing the Star Wars galaxy. The Republic responded by sending two Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, to help free the world. After a few small skirmishes, including an assassination attempt by a Sith warrior named Darth Maul, the Jedi and Naboo military liberated the world with the help of the native Gungans, represented in the film by the computer-animated character Jar-Jar Binks.
Shortly after these events, the Jedi Count Dooku resigned his commission and returned to his homeworld of Serenno. Unbeknownst to the Jedi Council (the "ruling body" of the galaxy's Jedi), Dooku had fallen under the control of the evil Sith master Darth Sidious. Dooku and Sidious arranged for an army of clones to be produced by the Kaminoans under the name of the Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. This is portrayed as a mystery during the rising action of Attack of the Clones.
By this time, the Republic was facing great internal opposition, and many worlds were seceding. The Republic Senate proposed the creation of a stronger military in what came to be known as the Military Creation Act. While many senators supported the act, it also saw great opposition, namely from Padmé Amidala, who by now was a senator herself. The act never came to a vote, due to the discovery of the Confederacy of Independent Systems' military force on Geonosis and the subsequent Battle of Geonosis, which saw the loss of numerous Jedi Knights, as well as the bounty hunter Jango Fett (the father of Boba Fett, a character important to The Empire Strikes Back and, to a lesser extent, Return of the Jedi). Chancellor Palpatine, the head of state of the Republic, was quickly granted emergency powers by the Republic Senate; he used these emergency powers to raise the Grand Army of the Republic, a large military force made up of the clone troopers illicitly commissioned by Dooku and Sidious. The Battle of Geonosis marks the end of Attack of the Clones.
During the in-universe time period between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, conflict between the Republic and the Seperatists increased and expanded, which is chronicled in an extensive Multimedia campaign. During the early months, Dooku seizes control of a weapon called the Dark Reaper, an event which is described in The Clone Wars and Crossfire. After several months of fighting, the Republic begins the Outer Rim Sieges, which is also primarily chronicled in the multimedia campaign as well as Revenge of the Sith, the third film in the trilogy.
Three years after the Battle of Geonosis, Revenge of the Sith, opens with the CIS' attempt to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine on the Republic capital world of Coruscant. The Chancellor was rescued, once again thanks to the efforts of Kenobi (who was by this time a Jedi Master) and Skywalker.
During this time, the Outer Rim Sieges were in full swing. One of the key battles of the Outer Rim Sieges was the Battle of Utapau, depicted in Revenge of the Sith. The Separatist leader, General Grievous, was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi in this battle. Other Outer Rim skirmishes — such as the Battle of Belderone — are featured in the Clone Wars and several novels.
Meanwhile, battles continued to rage all across the Star Wars galaxy. The Jedi, who were the commanders of the Republic military, were scattered at battles as diverse as Mygeeto, Felucia, and Kashyyyk (the latter being commanded by the Jedi Master Yoda himself, a main character in the films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi).
It was during this time that Anakin Skywalker fell prey to the dark side. Stumbling into a duel between Mace Windu and Emperor Palpatine, Skywalker slashed Windu's lightsaber arm off, allowing Sidious to kill Windu. He was soon renamed Darth Vader and completely fell under the sway of Darth Sidious.
Sidious dispatched Skywalker to Mustafar to kill off the rest of the CIS leaders, while he himself issued Order 66, an order for all the clone troopers to execute their Jedi commanders. The few survivors of the Great Jedi Purge included Yoda and Kenobi.
With the extermination of the Jedi and the Confederacy leadership, Palpatine declared an end to the Republic, thus creating the Galactic Empire. Revenge of the Sith then undergoes its climax with two series of personal battles between Yoda/Sidius and Kenobi/Skywalker.
Allusions, references, and parallels
Like all themes within Star Wars, the Clone Wars borrows from multiple mythical, literary, and historical influences and parallels. Writers and critics have debated over which parallels are most prominent or consistent.
Political
In the Star Wars timeline, both the Clone Wars and its consequential results are portrayed as the process which shifted the Galactic Republic from a democracy to a dictatorship. In a 2002 TIME Magazine interview, Star Wars creator George Lucas explains:- "All democracies turn into dictatorships—but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolf Hitler. Ultimately, the general population goes along with the idea. What kinds of things push people and institutions in this direction? That's the issue I've been exploring: how did the Republic turn into the Empire? … How does a good person go bad, and how does a democracy become a dictatorship?"
Lucas answered those questions in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. In Attack of the Clones, Palpatine orchestrates the Seperatist movement (and the Clone Wars that followed) to worry the citizens of the Republic, thus forcing the senate to grant him emergency powers. According to character Obi-Wan Kenobi, these powers increase as the Clone Wars extend into a search for General Grevious, who replaces Count Dooku as Seperatist leader."OBI-WAN: The Senate is expected to vote more executive powers to the Chancellor today." "PALPATINE: That maybe true, but with Count Dooku dead, Grevious is the leader of the Droid Army, and I assure you, the Senate will vote to continue the war as long as Grievous is alive." During the events depicted in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine declares himself Emperor by blaming the Jedi for the Republic's problems. The Jedi were then mostly purged by Order 66."PALPATINE/DARTH SlDIOUS: Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Order Sixty-Six." "PALPATINE/DARTH SlDIOUS: Because the Council did not trust you, my young apprentice, I believe you are the only Jedi with no knowledge of this plot. When the Jedi learn what has transpired here, they will kill us, along with all the Senators."/"PALPATINE: Every single Jedi, including your friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, is now an enemy of the Republic." "PALPATINE: In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society which I assure you will last for ten thousand years."
Comparisons have been made between the political aspects of the Clone Wars and the events leading up to World War II. Radio host Clyde Lewis' article on historical similarities in Star Wars claims that Palpatine's tactics parallel those of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany; both leaders used wars and scapegoats to manipulate society's emotional state, thus providing the leadership with support and power. This viewpoint was also expressed in an editorial on the Clone Wars Unofficial Website. Another writer compares the Clone Wars with World War II in general, basing his arguement on the fact that Lucas was born during the baby boomer generation, and the dark times featured in the original trilogy rival the dark, uncertain Cold War. Lucas, however, cited in multiple interviews that one of his primary influences for the political backdrop behind the Clone Wars (and all of Star Wars) was the Vietnam/Watergate era, when leaders embraced corruption for what they thought was the best course of action.
There is a variety of opinions on the historical parallels between the political aspects of the Clone Wars and the War in Iraq. In claiming that the Star Wars galaxy under the deceitful Palpatine parallels the modern issues of the United States, an editorial on Antiwar.com states that "Wars establishes first the generally agreeable premise that it's right to overthrow oppressive government, before bringing into focus something more discomforting – that the corrupt tyranny referred to is our own". Additionally, an article from AlterNet claims that "like Palpatine, the Bush administration has been able to feed on people's fears to gain more power". However, in an interview with Kiro 7 News, Star Wars producer Rick McCallum explained:
- "George is a product of Vietnam, not a product of Bush. political aspects of the Clone Wars has been in the context of every script I've ever read—every draft—way before Bush became president…"
Lucas claims, however, that he could see political parallels between the Vietnam and Iraq wars. Nevertheless, he states that "When I wrote backstory/Clone Wars, Iraq didn't exist".
Military
The Clone Wars involve parallels to the American Civil War in many respects. The Confederacy of Independent Systems shares a similar name to the Confederate States of America. Like Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Count Dooku was respected by his enemies, and had he survived, he most likely would have been accepted by them. In fact, in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Dooku was given a beard similar to that of Lee's.
Another parallel could be in reference to the Cold War. Like the Clone Wars, the Cold War was mostly fought by proxies in numerous regions across the planet. Like the Wookiees and Geonosians, the Contras and the Sandinistas were each supported by the opposing superpowers: America and the Soviet Union. And as the conflict went on, the weapons and technology became more apocalyptic. In fact, before the Cold War ended, it did not seem to matter which side would be the ultimate victor because they had become so much alike in usurping ultimate power over their global spheres of influence and had ingrained in their citizens a sense of victory or death. This could possibly have been George Lucas' interpretation of the decades-long conflict, seeing as how those in power were benefiting at the expense of keeping everyone else living in fear. His reasoning for creating the Clone Wars could possibly have been a metaphor as a warning regarding leaders who lead their nations into prolonged conflicts.
Order 66 — one of the major events at the conflict's conclusion in Revenge of the Sith — features several real-world parallels. Order 66 also echoes the destruction of the Knights Templar order, another order of protectors who were raided by the secular forces such as King Philip IV's. In addition, the ultimate (and secret) order to begin their dissolution was given by a trusted leader—the Pope, in the case of the Knights Templar (the Knights Templar, like all monastic orders, ultimately derived its authority and permission to exist from the Pope; the Jedi order existed independently of the office of Supreme Chancellor, but were about to be brought under its legal umbrella in Revenge of the Sith, instead of deriving its existence from the Old Republic in general, and its legislature specifically). Another event that might have influenced Lucas for the Great Jedi Purge is the attack on the Shaolin Temple.
Star Wars
A portion of the vehicles developed by the Lucasfilm graphic designers, including the AT-TE and the AT-XT walkers, were created to enhance the continuity in the technology of Star Wars in relation to the Galactic Civil War, which served as the central conflict device in the original trilogy of Star Wars films. Other examples of technological continutity is displayed at the Battle of Geonosis, when several of the fighters were designed with S-foils, much like those seen in the ship designs of the original films.In the original trilogy, the Clone Wars are only referenced in A New Hope. Lucas stated that he first designed a backstory which preceeded the original film trilogy — the events surrounding the Clone War era.
Popular culture
Multimedia campaign
The Clone Wars span the three years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and thus are, for the most part, off-screen. The Expanded Universe is recounting events with an ambitious multimedia campaign.
The videogame The Clone Wars was released in 2002 for PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox. It is set immediately after the final events of Attack of the Clones, and spans many new worlds and settings not mentioned in the films or novelizations. Additionally, Battlefront, Jedi Starfighter, and Battlefront II expand the scenerios of the conflict and add new angles to previously covered battles.
The cartoon microseries Clone Wars started airing in November 2003 on Cartoon Network. It was a series of 20 episodes, each three to five minutes long, showing several of the battles of the war not mentioned in any of the films. Another five episodes, each fifteen minutes long, were made to serve as a prelude to Revenge of the Sith. It is scheduled to become a 3D animated television series.
The comic series Republic has also shed light on this era of the Star Wars universe, focusing in particular on the exploits of the Jedi characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Quinlan Vos, and Aayla Secura. Multiple series of novels based on all aspects of the Clone Wars have been published, as well.
Notes
See also
"Clone Wars (Star Wars)"