Asajj Ventress is a much-loved character in the Star Wars community. An ambiguous, fascinating character, she constantly oscillates between good and evil. Since she's back in Tales of the Underground, we decided to present 8 surprising facts about this character who is little known to the general public.
8) Her creation
Asajj Ventress has somewhat unusual origins. Indeed, unlike many characters introduced in the Star Wars canon, Asajj Ventress made her first appearance in the Clone Wars series by Genndy Tartakovsky. This iconic 2D animated series was developed from 2003 to 2005 and has become an absolute reference for all fans of the George Lucas franchise. A series that would later serve as the basis for the The Clone Wars series by George Lucas and Dave Filoni. In the 2003 version of Clone Wars, Asajj is already the apprentice of Count Dooku. She is tasked with tracking down Anakin Skywalker and assassinating him. Finally, she will be killed by the latter after a totally epic fight.
7) Her origins
Ventress is from the planet Dathomir, dominated by witches called The Nightsisters. At a very young age, she was recruited by the Jedi Order and spent her first years on Coruscant. Finally, after the death of her Master Ky Narec, she decided to turn to the dark side of the Force and joined the Empire. She then became the apprentice of Count Dooku, who taught her the basics of Sith charms. After The Clone Wars, she decided to leave the Sith Order and go it alone. Since then, she has traded her two red lightsabers for a yellow lightsaber. We then see her in The Bad Batch and in the recent series Tales of the Underground. It has never appeared in live action.
6) What does the yellow lightsaber mean?
The yellow lightsaber is a fairly rare color in the spectrum of lightsaber weapons. Yellow lightsabers were often held by the guardians of Jedi temples, nicknamed the Jedi Sentinels. Yellow symbolizes a balance between martial skills and wisdom. It is also often associated with a form of independence, a rejection of the various established orders, whether Jedi or Sith. Rey Skywalker also possesses a yellow lightsaber at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
5) The Nightsisters
Initially, Asajj Ventress is a Nightsister, although she decided to abandon sorcery to turn to the Jedi arts. Unlike the Jedi or the Sith who use the Force directly, the Nightsisters use a form of magic from the Dark Side, often called ichor magic. They are governed by a powerful figure called Mother Talzin, capable of teleportation, resurrection, illusions, and possessions. It is the latter who will bring Asajj Ventress back to life in Tales of the Underground, but we will talk about that later. While officially, they do not side with the Sith or the Jedi, they have given more support, often despite themselves, to the Empire. Palpatine will even order General Grievous to lead a veritable genocide on Dathomir. Only a few Nightsisters survived, including Asajj Ventress. After Count Dooku's betrayal, she decides to reconnect with her origins by returning to Dathomir. She also participated in the creation of Savage Opress, the brother of Darth Maul.
4) Her relationship with Quinlan Vos
Born on the planet Kiffu and raised at the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant, Vos is a Jedi Master who wields a green-bladed lightsaber. He is also a Jedi General during the Clone Wars and is one of the few Jedi to survive Order 66. After appearing in the comics in 1998, Quinlan Vos appears in the flesh in The Phantom Menace. It wasn't until the series The Clone Wars that he was further developed. Sometime near the end of The Clone Wars, Quinlan Vos teams up with Asajj Ventress to find and kill Count Dooku. It is during this mission that the two characters become closer and fall in love; an adventure recounted in the novel Dark Disciple. When his beloved died, he brought her body back to the planet Dathomir with Obi-Wan Kenobi, as shown at the beginning of Tales of the Underground. At this time, the fate of Quinlan Vos is unknown. It is assumed that the Jedi is still alive under the advent of the Empire, or even the First Order. In episode 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the phrase "Quinlan was here" appears on the wall of a Jedi refuge, thus further implying his existence.
3) His relationship with Ahsoka
Ahsoka Tano and Asajj Ventress have had a conflictual and ambiguous relationship for years, but no less passionate. Initially, they were enemies. Ventress is Dooku's apprentice and Ashoka is Anakin's Padawane. During The Clone Wars, the two women therefore clashed many times. Yet, at the end of The Clone Wars, an unlikely alliance will be born between the two women. In season 5 of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka is wrongly accused of a terrorist attack against the Jedi Temple. Betrayed by her peers, by the Republic, and by the Jedi Council, Ahsoka must flee everything she knows. In her cabal to prove her innocence, she crosses paths with Ventress, who has become a bounty hunter. Surprisingly, Ventress, now more measured, identifies with Ahsoka's story, also betrayed by those close to her and her own points of reference. Despite their past, she agrees to help Ahsoka prove her innocence. Ahsoka will eventually discover that this conspiracy against her was led by Barriss Offee. Since then, the trajectories of Asajj Ventress and Ahsoka Tano have been quite similar. The two warriors decided to continue their journey freely, without a leader, providing assistance here and there to the Jedi against the hegemony of the Empire.
2) The Death of Ventress
Asajj Ventress dies in the novel Dark Disciple, written by Christie Golden, considered canon in the Star Wars cinematic universe and which is based on scripts of unproduced episodes of the series The Clone Wars. In this novel, Ventress and Quinlan Vos manage to track Dooku down. It is during a tense final confrontation that Ventress meets her death. Because of Dooku's influence, Quinlan Vos is increasingly drawn to the dark side of the Force, and, like Ventress, oscillates between good and evil. But as Dooku prepares to assassinate Quinlan, Ventress intervenes and sacrifices herself to save the life of her love. She dies in the arms of the former Jedi, which pushes him to return once and for all to the light side of the Force. But Asajj Ventress has just returned from the dead at the beginning of Tales of the Underground. It now remains to be seen what will happen next in his story...
1) His resurrection
Asajj Ventress is back in Tales of the Underground. Brought back to life, we don't yet know what her goal will be in the sequel to the Star Wars universe. Perhaps she'll try to find Quinlan Vos. In any case, in the three episodes of Dave Filoni's new series, she helps a young Jedi. It's also an opportunity to cross paths with Quinlan Vos again. Watch this space!
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