Who Is Atha Prime?
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Marc Guggenheim’s Star Wars: Jedi Knights releases this coming March, but one of the growing selling points of the series has been its mysterious central villain, Atha Prime. Set to first appear in the series’ second issue, Atha Prime is a DEEP cut in the world of Star Wars, and today on CultureSlate we’ll explore his origins and his possible role in the coming comic series.
Origins
The year is 1983. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi has been released, and with it, Kenner Toys has continued to see immense success with its toy lines related to the world of Star Wars. However, this is also the final film, at least for quite a while, and what do you do when a cash cow threatens to be sent on to greener pastures? You try to pump it full of fresh grass!
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Image Source: Wookieepedia
This colorful description of the scenario that birthed Atha Prime isn’t too far off the mark. Kenner Toys, looking to continue the universe of Star Wars in connection with their toy line, created a presentation in 1986 for Lucasfilm called “The Epic Continues" which proposed such a vision. As part of the pitch, for a storyline set after Return of the Jedi, the team at Kenner created their main villain by referring to concept art done for the Emperor’s Royal Guards. This figure, Atha Prime, was a “genetics master, ruler of the dark worlds and architect of the Clone Wars” who returned to the galaxy after a long exile, leading an invasion of clone soldiers.
But, as many Star Wars fans might realize, that never happened. Lucasfilm ultimately chose to decline the offer for the expansion, though they were apparently impressed with the work the creatives behind the project had done. In the years after, several elements of the pitch were pursued for canonization into the wider lore of what is now Legends. Some of these succeeded, but Atha Prime did not make the cut. Now though, after nearly 30 years, he has finally joined the franchise.
His Role to Come
Image Source: X
We don’t know much about the role that Atha Prime will play in Jedi Knights beyond that of a villain, but given how Marc Guggenheim has spoken with enthusiasm about the character, we can assume that some of his key traits will be retained. It is almost certain he will remain somehow involved in genetics, and he may also hold dominion over several planets as a shadowy ruler or through political manipulation rather than outright conquest. One added trait to the character is likely to be incredible combat skills, as we see Atha facing off against Jedi Master Yoda, and doing fairly well, in previews for the second issue in the series. But, we should also consider how his story might be changed to fit canon.
His role in helping start the Clone Wars seems unlikely, as we are over a decade away from Attack of the Clones and a short time before The Phantom Menace. Our best guess is that Atha will be revealed to be working with or for some shadowy benefactor that we as the audience can guess at being Darth Sidious. He may have some involvement in genetic work associated with the Kaminoans, or he may be working to stir up separatist leanings in some worlds, but any further speculation is a mystery. We also know he won’t be alone as a big bad for the series. As revealed in an article for Polygon, a ninja-inspired character called Corlis Rath will be directly gunning for Qui-Gon Jinn in the series too. However, Jinn doesn’t know who this figure is, and if Corlis has a shadowy master in Atha Prime, that could create an interesting team-up.
Image Source: X
But, we don’t know much else for certain at this point. Atha Prime’s debut in the continuity of canon is interesting though, especially as Guggenheim has teased he brought vehicles and other content from that pitch with him into his writing for Jedi Knights. We’ll have to wait and see over the coming months just what shape Atha Prime’s role will take, and what those other elements will be.
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