Quinlan Vos

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Star Wars character
Quinlan Vos
Portrayed by Doug Wangler
Position Jedi Master, Republic General
Homeworld Kiffu
Species Kiffar
Gender Male
Affiliation Jedi Order

Quinlan Vos is a fictional character in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, featured primarily in the Star Wars: Republic comic book series. He first appeared in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as a background character.

Contents

[edit] Character overview

Vos is a Jedi Master, hailing originally from the planet Kiffu. He has long, black dreadlocks and a band of pale yellow across his upper face. He has the power of psychometry, which allows him to read "memories" from inanimate objects through physical contact.

Quinlan has a long history of struggle with the dark side of the Force, particularly after sustaining permanent amnesia after a drug overdose administered by an enemy (portrayed the story "Twilight" in Republic). The same story establishes that his parents are killed by the vampiric Anzati. Later, on the planet Kiffex, his padawan Aayla Secura becomes entranced by an ancient Anzati Dark Jedi. Aided by Master Tholme, Quinlan amasses a network of spy contacts within the Separatist movement warring against the Galactic Republic. Quinlan's network, however, fails to provide any advance warning of the battle between the Jedi and the Separatists depicted in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Vos is ashamed of his failure to save so many Jedi at the start of the Clone Wars. Aayla, thinking that her former master has turned to the dark side, decides to search for him. However, Tholme forbids it, for he knows it would foil their plan of secrecy.

[edit] Character history

[edit] Pre Clone Wars

Around the time of The Phantom Menace, Quinlan is on an undercover mission on Tatooine. He is at Mos Espa where Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn is stranded. He later expresses that if he knew that Qui-Gon Jinn was there, we would have helped him.

[edit] Clone Wars

As portrayed in the hoggo series, Quinlan plays a major part in the Clone Wars by infiltrating Count Dooku's inner circle and giving information to the Jedi. In "Rite of Passage", Dooku leads him to the dark side by revealing to him that Quinlan's great-aunt had betrayed the Jedi's parents to the Anzati, thus orphaning him. Quinlan kills his great-aunt in a fit of rage, and is accepted fully into Dooku's command and shortly works as a triple agent against the Republic. In "Double Blind", he assassinates a corrupt Republic Senator, Viento, on the belief he is Sith, and battles fellow Jedi K'Kruhk, injuring him in the process. In the end, however, it turns out that Vos has been loyal to the Republic all along, although in order to completely gain Dooku's trust he had to fool even those on the Republic's side into thinking that he was allied with Dooku, and committed many evil deeds in the process. In "The Siege of Saleucami", Quinlan reveals his true loyalties, overcoming Dooku's temptations to truly turn him to the dark side and killing the Dark Jedi Sora Bulq. In "The Dreadnaughts of Rendili", he returns with Obi-Wan Kenobi to face judgement from the Jedi Council, who welcome him back into the Order.

Shortly afterward, Quinlan's lover, Khaleen Hentz, tells him that she is pregnant. Quinlan tells Khaleen to go to the far edges of the galaxy where she and their unborn child would be safe, and promises that once the Clone Wars were over he would leave the Jedi Order and find her.

Quinlan Vos with his lover Khaleen Hentz
Quinlan Vos with his lover Khaleen Hentz

Returning to the Republic, Quinlan is given command of a battalion of Clone troopers, and moves his troops to Boz Pity. This is mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith when news of the events concerning the Clone Wars is heard at the Jedi Temple.

[edit] Death(?)

Quinlan Vos' eventual fate is a matter of some ambiguity, as it has been portrayed in several contradictory ways in various Star Wars media.

In the comic book novelization of Episode III, Quinlan is on Kashyyyk riding on top of a Clone Turbo Tank when Palpatine orders the Clone troopers throughout the galaxy to kill their Jedi Generals. Another tank fires at the one Quinlan is riding on, and he is presumed to be killed in the fire.

In the Republic story "Into the Unknown", Quinlan escapes into the woods of Kashyyyk, eluding the clone troopers. He clings to his training as a Jedi through his pain, using his connection to the Force to overcome his opponents. He is eventually tracked by Captain Fei, who tells Quinlan that if he doesn't come out of hiding, Fei would call in an airstrike and kill himself, Quinlan, and the neighboring Wookiee village. Quinlan makes up his mind that he cannot run and hide, and that he would never track down the second Sith Lord. His destiny is to stop Fei and protect the innocent Wookiees.

Another story is that Villie soon comes looking for Quinlan and finds him on the ground, the dead Fei a few feet away. Soon afterward, a squad of clone troopers comes through the woods, and finds Villie apparently burning Quinlan's body. Villie claims to have killed the Jedi himself, though the body is actually that of Fei. As the clone troopers leave, Villie mutters under his breath, "All debts paid, Jedi."

In still another story, Vos is killed by Fei himself. Vos cuts Fei's gun in half, but Fei bests him in hand to hand combat, breaking Vos' back. He then kills him with a vibro-knife.

In a cave on Kashyyyk, Khaleen and her baby meet up with Jedi Masters Tholme and T'ra Saa, along with some Wookiees. Khaleen is watching a holocube from Vos, explaining his feelings for her, when suddenly he walks in, and tells her himself. She had feared that he was dead, but due to Villie's trickery Quinlan had sneaked off of the planet and been healed. Khaleen falls into his arms, then presents their child, Korto. Quinlan paints the child's face with the same markings as his own, and proclaims to the baby that he will be raised in the light, and the darkness will never touch him.

[edit] Ghost

Quinlan Vos briefly appears in the comic book Ghost, which takes place about 10 years before events portrayed in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. A teenaged Han Solo meets Quinlan while looking for a map. Just then, bounty hunters appear, and Han is pushed into a Sarlaac. Quinlan uses his Force powers to rescue him.

This encounter, however, may or may not be canonical, as the Tales series is considered part of the Star Wars: Infinities line of "What-If" style stories.

[edit] Vos in the Star Wars TV series?

Lucas himself instructed the writers of the Republic comic book series not to kill off the Quinlan Vos character. Since then, Lucas' instructions have fueled rumours that Vos may appear as a minor character in the Star Wars live-action TV series, but they are still to be confirmed.

Lucas had originally written a scene for Revenge of the Sith involving Quinlan, but ultimately, he only received a passing mention.

[edit] Appearances

[edit] References

[edit] External links