Quinlan Vos is one of the greatest
expanded universe characters of all time. Vos has conquered every Star Wars
medium. He was the headline character of the comic “Star Wars” which ran in the years
between “The Phantom Menace” and “Revenge of the Sith”. Vos had his own “Clone
Wars” episode in 2010 and his own novel in 2015. Yet few people know that Vos
did not get his start in the Expanded Universe. Vos was in the movies first.
Hawk-eyed fans will be able to spot him on Tatooine in “The Phantom Menace”.
The Movies
It is unknown what background actor
portrayed Quinlan Vos in "Phantom Menace". Amazingly, the production staff did
not keep track of background characters back then. In today’s world every extra
probably has an individual photoshoot, so that they can be included in the
Visual Dictionaries.
 |
| Quinlan Vos in The Phantom Menace |
Vos is onscreen for only a second in The Phantom
Menace, kind of tucked under a shadowy canopy. No one would have ever noticed
him… until someone did. When writer Jon Ostrander and artist Jan Duursema were
developing the Vos character for comics, Duursema actually spotted the extra
while watching the film in cinemas.
"We
had already done some creation of the character and Jan wanted him to be
connected to TPM --- which had appeared in the movie theaters by that time.
Lucasfilm agreed we could use a background character. Jan spotted him while
watching the movie. She can see a hummingbird flap its wing. I'm totally
serious about that. I didn't spot him until The Phantom Menace was out on DVD
and then I had to freeze frame to it." ―John Ostrander
By the release of “Attack of the Clones” Vos was a
comic hero and a fan favorite. He had even caught the eye of Lucas, who wanted
to include him in “Revenge of the Sith”. An animatic was even created showing Vos’
death on Kashyyyk during Order 66. Though the scene was never filmed, Vos is
mentioned by name in “Revenge of the Sith”.
“Saleucami
has fallen, and Master Vos has moved his troops to Boz Pity.”
~Obi-Wan
Kenobi
The Old Expanded Universe
From its inception the 1998 “Star
Wars” comic series was a series in search of a protagonist. Ki-Adi-Mundi
served as the main character for a time, then Mace Windu. But it wasn’t until
Quinlan took over that the comic felt like it had found its real hero (or perhaps
anti-hero)
Quinlan Vos was always a Jedi who struggled between
darkness and light. Quinlan’s pull to darkness was always mitigated by those
around him: his master Tholme, his friend Obi-Wan, his apprentice Ayla Secura.
Those who loved Quinlan kept him in the light.
When readers first met Vos in the comics he was
suffering from amnesia. During his amnesia Vos’ force ability of psychometry was quite useful. Psychometry is a force ability which allowed Vos to pick up trace memories from the objects that he touched. Touching any object would
give Vos an impression of who last used it and how it was used.
Vos’ storylines in the comics heavily featured his
apprentice, Ayla Secura. Ayla became a fan favorite in her own right, and even
caught the eye of George Lucas, who decided to feature her in “Attack of the
Clones”.
"In
much the same way that Aayla Secura caught Lucas' eye enough to prompt the
director to include the comic's character in Episode II, Lucas was intrigued by
Quinlan Vos." ~Pablo Hidalgo
The Jedi council often used Vos as a spy during the
Clone Wars. At one point Quinlan infiltrated Dooku’s inner circle. But while
Vos thought that he could use Dooku to his advantage, Dooku knew that he could
also use Vos. Quinlan became Dooku’s assassin alongside of Asajj Ventress.
Vos even adopted a red lightsaber in place of his green one.
The beauty of Vos’ character is that
fans could never really tell which side he was working for during the Clone
Wars. He was always dancing between the dark and the light. Eventually Vos’
story came to a happy ending in the comic books. Not only did he survive Order
66, he settled down with Khaleen Hentz, his longtime love interest, and the two
had a son named Korto Voss.
"You are Korto
Vos of the Clan Vos, a child of the Force. I swear that the darkness will not
touch you. Your life and your destiny are your own. May the Force be with you,
Korto… always." ~Quinlan Vos
The Disney
Universe
 |
| “Well, That’s your opinion, man.” ~Quinlan Vos |
Though Vos would ultimately appear
in “The Clone Wars” exactly once, he did catch the eye of another Lucas, this
time George’s daughter, Katie. Katie Lucas wrote several scripts for “The Clone
Wars” and wanted to use Vos in a big way. Vos was to be featured in an eight
episode arc, written by Katie Lucas. Creators of the series were excited about the arc, but then “The Clone Wars” was cancelled.
Fortunately we don’t have to guess
what these episodes were about, because they were adapted into novel form by
Christie Golden as part of the “Clone Wars Legacy” initiative.
In the novel, the Jedi Council sends
Vos to assassinate Count Dooku, but they ask him to get help from Assaj
Ventress. Vos seeks out Ventress who is grown out her hair and become a bounty
hunter. Ventress and Vos fall in love and Ventress attempts to teach Vos how to
utilize the Dark Side of the force, but her plan backfires when he is captured
by Dooku and turns into Dooku’s apprentice. (This sort of mirrors Vos’
storyline in the Dark Horse comics, which is no longer canon.)
Under Dooku’s tutelage, Vos adopts the name “Admiral
Enigma” and becomes a force of evil during The Clone Wars. Ventress eventually
rescues Voss
Though the council considers executing Vos for his
betrayal, it is Vos’ old friend Kenobi who convinces the council that it was
their own fault. According to Kenobi, the council should have never sent Vos on
an assassination mission in the first place- it is not the Jedi way. Vos is pardoned and there is
evidence in the Disney canon that he actually survives Order 66.
The Future of Vos
The prequel era of Star Wars had very few characters
that all fans could be proud of, but Vos is one of the fan favorites of that era. With the cancellation of “Clone Wars”, the prequel era of Star Wars is
pretty much dead, so it is doubtful that fans will hear more from Vos. Recently,
Quinlan’s name has been tossed around the fan forums, because there is a character
named Dryden Vos to be featured in the upcoming film “Solo: A Star Wars Story”. Some
fans are even predicting that Dryden Vos (played by Paul Bettany) is Quinlan is disguise, though Lucasfilm has stated that the last name connection
is only a coincidence.
Vos may return to Star Wars someday in some capacity
or he may not. But for 15 years Vos lent an aura of complexity and darkness to
an era of Star Wars that was often corny and wooden. For fans willing to follow that story check
out the collection “Star Wars Omnibus: Quinlan Vos - Jedi in Darkness” or
Christie Golden’s book “Dark Decsiple”.
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