Watch Star Wars The Clone Wars Online - Season 1

Star Wars takes on a dazzling new look in the first-ever animated feature from Lucasfilm Animation - STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, which starts on August 15th, 2008.

As the Clone Wars sweep through the galaxy, the heroic Jedi Knights struggle to maintain order and restore peace. More and more systems are falling prey to the forces of the dark side as the Galatic Republic slips further and further under the sway of the Separatists and their never-ending droid army.

Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences, one that brings them face-to-face with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents, including the nefarious Asajj Ventress, will stop at nothing to ensure that Anakin and Ahsoka fail at their quest.

Meanwhile, on the front lines of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the massive clone army in a valiant effort to resist the forces of the dark side....

The last Great Conflict of the Galactic Republic, the clone wars was the name given to the war waged by Grand Army of the Republic against the droid forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the war, the Jedi Knights acted as the Generals of the Grand Army, leading clone troopers across scattered battlefields to bring an end to the Separatists.

The Clone Wars has its roots in a Separatist crisis that began during the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's term of office. A disillusioned Jedi Knight, Count Dooku, left the order and used his charismatic and political skills to cause star systems to secede. This led to a number of scattered conflicts as more and more worlds left the Republic and the small number of Jedi Knights tasked with protecting the order in the galaxy were overwhelmed. The Galactic Senate was in turmoil as alarmed senators recommended conflicting solutions to the growing problems. Some backed the Military Creation Act, fearful that a war with the Separatists was inevitable. Others believed that matters would never reach a conflict. After all, the Republic had avoided a full scale war for almost a thousand years. Throughout this upheavel, Palpatine extended his term beyond constitutional limitations, as the Senate demanded he stay in office to guide the Republic through this storm.

Intelligence gathered by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Outer Rim World of Geonosis revealed that Dooku had entered into a secret treaty with a number of commerce barons to acquire a droid army of unparalleled size. The Spearatists were gearing for a war and the Republic had no choice but to answer in kind. Granted emergency powers by the Senate, Palpatine activated the Grand Army of the Republic, which had been commissioned in secret by the Jedi Order a decade earlier. The first battle of the Clone Wars then erupted on Geonosis, as the Separatists leaders scattered.

The Clone Wars spanned years, and rapidly spread throughout the Galaxy after the Battle of Geonosis. Though Count Dooku seemed the public mastermind of the Separatist strategy, he secretely answered to his Sith Master, Darth Sidious. Military actions were led by the cyborg General Grievous, and Dooku had a cadre of speciialized underlings, including the dark side warriour Asajj Ventress. Early into the war, Dooku's forces mined the hyperspace routes that connected the Core World to the rest of the Galaxy, effectively cutting off the Republic from the bulk of its resources and allowing the Separatists relative freedom of movement in the Outer Rim. To match this maneuver, the Jedi entreated the Hutts to share their control of the Outer Rim allowing the Republic to move their vessels through the Hutt controlled space.

Graphic storytelling is a respected and centuries-old art form in Japan, and since the end of World War II, comic books -- known in Japan as "Manga" -- have remained the country's dominant medium of entertainment. And over a period of at least the last twenty years, Manga have become increasingly popular with international and especially North American audiences. While every Manga artist has their own artistic flare, you can definitely see similarities in the style as a whole.

The biggest difference you'll notice in the way Manga is drawn from comics in the Western World is the enormous eyes that the characters all have. With larger than life highlights, and refined detail, the contrast in shape and value really make the eyes "pop." While this can often make the characters appear child-like, it also opens the door to making expressions and moods visually interesting.

Step One:
Like the front view, draw the Manga head profile by starting with a circle. The triangular jaw hangs below, and toward whichever side the head will be facing. You should be sketching lightly at this point. Also, lightly draw a line half way through the circle horizontally. This will represent the top of where the eye and ear goes.

Step Two:
This is the most important step, because you're literally drawing the profile. You can see that the brow part of the forehead comes out a little. Give Padmé a little button nose and pouty lips before bringing the profile back to the chin. In addition to sketching in the neck, draw another light line horizontally from the nose to the other side. This will represent where the bottom of the eye and ear goes.

Step Three:
Lightly draw in the eye. From this angle, it appears to have a triangular shape. The ear is about the same size, if not smaller. Also start to map out Padmé's hair, pulled back into a crazy Star Wars bun.

Step Four:
Now that you constructed the drawing with light lines, it's time to go back over them with darker, more confident lines. This is where your drawing starts to look professional. When drawing your characters lightly, you can sketch away until you get the proportions right. The light sketching can be rough, but when you draw your darker lines, you really want to slow down and make them nice and neat. Make them more refined and less "scribbly."

Step Five:
Lastly, shading, details, and of course, our Battle Padmé wouldn't be complete without a huge battle droid blaster. And you're an artist now, so don't forget to sign your work!

First introduced in the Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series, General Grievous is known for not only his fighting skills, but also for his collection of lightsabers that he takes as trophies when he defeats his Jedi opponents. Part machine, part alien -- Grievous' appearance strikes fear into hearts of all who cross his path. As the leader of the Droid Army, Grievous led his troops on many successful missions and ultimately became part of the plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine in Revenge of the Sith.

Star Wars comic book artist Doug Wheatley explains his easy steps to draw General Grievous with examples below.

Steps 1-8 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end in the last step.

Step One:
Draw an oval shape; draw a horizontal line near the bottom of the oval, and then draw two slightly curved vertical lines as shown above. The horizontal line is where we will eventually put General Grievous' eyes, so we will call it the "eye line." The first curved line from left to right represents the side of his head so will call it the side line, the second curve line represents the center off his head so, we will call it the center line.

Step Two:
Next, we draw Grievous' cheeks and the lower part of his face plate. Start near the top of the oval on the right hand side. Draw a slightly curved line out from the oval and stop just before you reach the eye line. Then draw a line straight down and then back toward the bottom of the oval. Next draw a slightly curve line down toward the bottom of the page and square it off and do the same thing on the left side starting your line near the top of the "side line." But remember to leave room for his fang like teeth at the bottom of his face plate as shown above. Now you can add the teeth!

Step Three:
Draw two egg-shaped ovals with arrows run up Grievous' forehead. Remember the top of the ovals should rest just above the "eye line" as shown above. We can also add his ultrasonic vocabulators, those are the four bars at the bottom of the face plate, next to the teeth.

Step Four:
On the left inside of the oval, draw an ellipse as shown above. This is where we will draw his ear piece.

Step Five:
The ear piece! Inside the ellipse, draw two cylinders, the first so that it appears to be coming out of the ellipse. Draw the second smaller cylinder so that it appears to be coming out of the first cylinder, then draw a curved line so that it caps the second cylinder.

Step Six:
Now we must draw General Grievous' transmitting antenna. Draw a triangle like shape so that it look like it is sitting on the ear piece. Make sure you cut a half circle out of the triangle where the ear piece is as shown above. At this point our drawing is starting to take shape and is beginning to look like General Grievous.

Step Seven:
Now we can add the eyes inside the egg shaped ovals, on the eye line. You can add some wrinkles around the eyes if you like! Also, beginning at the top of the General's head, draw an large oval that ends at his teeth, the draw a smaller oval inside the first as shown above. This is Grievous' collar. Just under the antenna, you can add his neck tubes. Don't forget the two wires on either side of his teeth.

Step Eight:
We are almost finished! Now we can erase the construction lines so that just the shapes we want are visible. We can now start to "finish" our drawing. Here, we will add details like scratches and dents to his face plate. We can also add shadows in the eyes and on his head. This will make Grievous look three dimensional.

Step Nine:
You've done it! You have just drawn one of the greatest bad guys in Star Wars history, General Grievous!

With his face hidden behind a forked face mask, Jedi Master Plo Koon sat on the Jedi Council when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn first presented young Anakin Skywalker as a possible Padawan learner. He also fought alongside his fellow Jedi against Geonosians and battle droids in the Geonosian execution arena. Unfortunately, even with his battlefront experience in the Clone Wars, he had no idea of the fatal casualty that awaited him once Order 66 was in play.

Star Wars illustrator Russell Walks explains with easy-to-follow steps (in the form of a fun poem!) on how to draw Jedi Master Plo Koon.

Steps 1-7 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
Like the front view, draw the Manga head profile by starting with a circle. The triangular jaw hangs below, and toward whichever side the head will be facing. You should be sketching lightly at this point. Also, lightly draw a line half way through the circle horizontally. This will represent the top of where the eye and ear goes.

Step Two:
This is the most important step, because you're literally drawing the profile. You can see that the brow part of the forehead comes out a little. Give Padmé a little button nose and pouty lips before bringing the profile back to the chin. In addition to sketching in the neck, draw another light line horizontally from the nose to the other side. This will represent where the bottom of the eye and ear goes.

Step Three:
Lightly draw in the eye. From this angle, it appears to have a triangular shape. The ear is about the same size, if not smaller. Also start to map out Padmé's hair, pulled back into a crazy Star Wars bun.

Step Four:
Now that you constructed the drawing with light lines, it's time to go back over them with darker, more confident lines. This is where your drawing starts to look professional. When drawing your characters lightly, you can sketch away until you get the proportions right. The light sketching can be rough, but when you draw your darker lines, you really want to slow down and make them nice and neat. Make them more refined and less "scribbly."

Step Five:
Lastly, shading, details, and of course, our Battle Padmé wouldn't be complete without a huge battle droid blaster. And you're an artist now, so don't forget to sign your work!

Step 6:
Our line drawing's done, but it doesn't look right. We still need some shadows -- some dark with the light. Let's start with the goggles. They're not simply black. They're gray where the light hits, and dark towards the back.

Step 7:
The same thought applies as you make your next mark. Where shadows are heavy, your shading is dark. But even a mask that's as black as the night may look strange where light strikes it. The darks can look light.

Step 8:
To finish your artwork, work more on the head. First, sharpen your pencil -- one must have good lead. A robe with a collar, and Plo Koon is done.

Discovered by Master Plo Koon, Ahsoka Tano is a Togruta girl who was raised in the Jedi Temple. She graduated to Padawan at an early age, in part, as an effort by Master Yoda to teach her new Master, Anakin Skywalker, a greater sense of responsibility, but it was also necessitated by the Clone Wars. Regardless the reason for her advancement, Ahsoka remained eager, almost overly so, to prove herself worthy of her status as a Padawan.

Star Wars illustrator Grant Gould explains with these easy-to-follow steps on how to draw Ahsoka Tano. Steps 1-5 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
Drawing lightly with a pencil, create a framework using basic shapes like circles and ovals. This will tell you where the shoulders are, elbows, etc.

Step Two:
Now it's time to flesh out your body shapes a bit more. Again, very lightly with your pencil, draw the arms, belt, lightsaber handle, head and torso.

Step Three:
Once you have the basic structure of the body in place, you can start adding in details, such as her face and head decorations. Feel free to erase and redraw your lines until they look just right.

Step Four:
Take a look at each piece of clothing on Ahsoka, such as her gloves and belt, and fill in the details accordingly. Also be sure to add those final touches to her lightsaber handle.

Step Five:
Go over your final lines with a pen or marker. Once your ink lines are dry, erase the pencil lines. Or use heavier pencil lines over the lighter ones. However you decide to finish your drawing is completely up to you!

The spunky and adventurous astromech droid R2-D2 not only is an excellent ship mechanic and computer expert, but his bravery towards his friends helps them get out of tricky situations all throughout the saga. He's no ordinary droid, that's for sure. He's also a postal superstar, with hundreds of R2-D2-styled mailboxes popping up across America. Try finding one of the cool R2-D2 mailboxes near you and draw his portrait!

Star Wars illustrator Grant Gould explains with these easy-to-follow steps on how to draw a cartoon-style R2-D2.

Steps 1-5 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
First begin with the basic shapes. For Artoo's main body, it will look like an oval with a flattened bottom. Across the body draw the "T" lines to give you an idea of where to place the "eye" in Step Two. You're also creating the main structure lines for Artoo's legs as well.

Step Two:
Draw a small circle near the top of the dome (this is Artoo's "eye") and use the "T" shape to darken in the area that separates the dome from body. Next draw a rectangle along the centerline as shown. Use this step to flesh out Artoo's legs a bit more, too. When this step is complete, you should have a pretty good idea of where the rest of the details will fit in.

Step Three:
Instead of drawing in all of Artoo's details (and he's got a lot of them) at once, try tackling the drawing one section at a time. Let's begin with the legs. Use a steady, thick line over your previous pencil work, and start adding in the details as shown in the sample image. As with most of the droids in Star Wars, there are a lot of little gizmos and shapes to be found, so don't get too worried about this stage. If you miss one or two tiny details, that's okay! As long as the basic shapes and forms are there, your Artoo drawing will be a success!

Step Four:
Next up, draw Artoo's dome. Most of these details are fairly simple, so again, using the sample image as your guide, fill in the missing shapes. Be sure your lines are appropriately rounded, because as we know, Artoo's dome is round. Try to think of it as the top of a sphere. If you have an Artoo action figure, keep it in front of you while you're drawing to use as a guide! Sometimes having an actual 3-D shape as reference can help a lot, especially while drawing droids.

Step Five:
The last section to draw is Artoo's mid-section, or "main body." Use that rectangle you drew earlier as a guide, as well as the surrounding areas. Again, don't be too worried about each and every tiny detail. The key is to focus on basic shapes. Focus on one shape at a time then move on to the next.

Step Six:
Your Artoo drawing is almost complete! In this step, go over your final lines with a pen or marker. I like to use artist brush pens, though they take some getting used to. Once your ink lines are dry, erase the pencil lines. Or use heavier pencil lines over the lighter ones. However you decide to finish your drawing is completely up to you. Be sure to darken in the shadowed spots as shown in the sample.

Step Seven:
If you want to color your Artoo drawing, first photocopy your final drawing and use that to color him in. This way you can try different methods and you won't have to worry about making a mistake on your original. There are many ways to add color. Use crayons, markers, colored pencils, or even use your computer if you have a painting program.

Step Eight:
This is the final image colored in Photoshop. I added a desert background (much like the scenes we see in A New Hope) and played around a little by adding some extra shadows and colors.

The Republic clone trooper represents the future of galactic warfare. Being far more advanced than the battle droid armies. As discovered in Attack of the Clones, the clones were grown from genetic material taken from an extremely skilled bounty hunter named Jango Fett in the cloning facilities of Tipoca City, on Kamino. Growth acceleration was key to the clones' development as they were constantly trained in fighting techniques, piloting skills and battlefield tactics.

Clone troopers wore hard white armor, their identical faces concealed behind a t-shaped visor. In the first units, color-coded armor showed rank, with green troopers being sergeants, blue being lieutenants, red being captains, and yellow being commanders. By the end of the war, color-designation came to signify not rank, but individual units, who often became more customized with mission specific gear and armor modifications such as the Galactic Marines, the Shock Troopers, the Attack Battalion and the Star Corps. (As you draw your own clone troopers, you can decide what their color scheme will be.)

During the Clone Wars, the clones fought alongside the Jedi Masters who led them into battle, creating a lifelong bond that only soldiers understand. But in Revenge of the Sith, fans see clone troopers at their deadliest, following Order 66 given by the Emperor to exterminate all Jedi from the Jedi Temple and various battlegrounds on planets scattered throughout the galaxy.

Star Wars webstrip illustrator Tom Hodges explains his super-easy steps on how to draw your very own clone trooper.

Steps 1-7 are to be drawn lightly with a pencil. No pen, no dark lines. Finished lines and details will come at the end.

Step One:
Start with the circle. Always start with the circle when drawing any character -- even ones with weird heads.

Step Two:
On the circle, divide your center of the face/helmet and the eye line guide. This is a 3/4 view which is very common when drawing characters. This allows you to show both the front and part of the side of the character. At this point, it helps to throw in a basic shape to the body to help you along the way further.

Step Three:
Now start to create more "guides" to your clone trooper. Bring the center of the face/helmet line further, the clone's "mouth" which is just a basic triangle without the bottom line. Put a small circle on the side of the large circle of where the ear would be. Add the shoulders and a collar of his armor.

Step Four:
Start bringing more shapes and details into the piece. The lower lines for the helmet, the break off of the shoulder and chest armor. And you'll notice another "eye line" slightly under the existing line.

Step Five:
This is where the fun begins! Now is the time to add some details such as the visor and "mouth" lines, the "speakers" on the front of the mask and the shortened "fin" on top of the helmet.

Step Six:
Start to really take those bits and pieces and put this puzzle together. The helmet details, as you can see are just a matter of taking what you did in Steps 4 and 5 and filling in the blanks. It is all basic lines and shapes.

Step Seven:
The straps on the chest armor have a series of lines across that need to be filled in. Work on adding more detail to the helmet's "mouth" lines. You can also figure out various details you need to add by looking at pictures of clones as well as clone action figures. You might also find small X's in certain spots over the clone. This is to save you time. If you're going to ink the piece in the next step the X's will make it so you won't have to fill those in with pencil and you can use your colored pencils or markers.

Step Eight:
I use a Rapidograph pen with India Ink and a brush for the larger areas. But you can use Micron pens, Uni-Ball pens and Sharpie Markers -- or anything you're comfortable with like waterproof markers. Erase your lines, and you have a crisp, clean clone trooper!

Step Nine:
You can do this in Adobe Photoshop, you can do it with crayons, color pencils, markers -- whatever you choose. You can just about go with any color scheme you like. Create your own color scheme for your clone. Make it your own design!

The soldiers of the Grand Army of the Republic, the clone troopers were mysteriously commissioned by the Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. The Kaminoans used bounty hunter Jango Fett as the genetic template for the fighting forces, employing growth acceleration techniques to develop a fully mobile army in the span of a decade. When the Separatist movement led by Count Dooku militarized by taking on the droid armies of the various commerce guilds, the Republic was ready to respond with its own military forces in a conflict that came to be known as the Clone Wars. Clone troopers were led into battle by Jedi Knights, who became generals in the wars.

Clone troopers were the predecessors of the Imperial stormtrooper ranks that would follow. They wore a 20-piece set of white body armor. Each clone trooper's identification number was coded into his DNA, allowing for specific individuals to be identified, if needed. The use of clone troopers simplified the needs of combat medicine, as a single genetic template streamlined treatment and surgery. Unfortunately, it also meant that the clone troopers were all vulnerable to same biological agents. Early in the Clone Wars, the enemy Separatists experimented with biological warfare.

Unlike droids, clone troopers could think independently and creatively, and pressed their advantage despite the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Separatist droid army. Throughout the Clone Wars, the Kaminoans would refine their cloning techniques, introducing specialized variations.

The white helmets of the initial clone troopers were striped with colors indicating a trooper's rank. This system was quickly supplanted by color coding that identified individual combat units. Many clone troopers became fast friends with their Jedi generals, and it was possible to see how the interactions of the Jedi shaped the personality and styles of the various clone units.

ANAKIN SKYWALKER: Brash, young Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker leads the clone armies of the Republic into battle against the Separatist forces during the galaxy-wide tumult of the Clone Wars. Together with his Padawan Ahsoka, Anakin uses his superior Force abilities to cunningly escape Separatist traps, maneuver through dangerous space battles, and boldly confront his own fateful destiny.

OBI-WAN KENOBI: The noble Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is a high-ranking general in the Clone Army. Disciplined and courageous, Obi-Wan fights to preserve the Republic from the evil machinations of the Separatists. Having recently seen Anakin ascend to the status of Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan now finds endless delight in watching his one-time student struggle with a strong-willed learner of his own, Ahsoka Tano.

AHSOKA TANO: A teenage Togruta Jedi Knight, Ahsoka is eager to prove herself as a worthy Padawan to her bold Master, Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka complements Anakin's aggressive tendencies with a disarming innocence and wit. She can wield a lightsaber and pilot a spacecraft with equal talent. Straddling the chasm between Anakin's impulsiveness and Obi-Wan's staid deliberation, Ahsoka promises to become a worthy Jedi...if she survives the war.

R2-D2: Like his master Anakin Skywalker, Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2) is fearless, quick-thinking and dedicated. He is a tireless worker, a sympathetic listener and always ready for action when the chips are down. Loyal to the end, Artoo is a devoted friend to many.

PADME AMIDALA: A former child-queen from Naboo, Padme Amidala recently assumed her rightful seat in the Galactic Senate. As a political delegate, Padme remains dedicated to ending the war and restoring peace to the galaxy. With her faithful steward, Threepio, at her side, Padme seeks every opportunity to champion the rights of the galaxy's marginalized and downtrodden. Though typically calm, Padme is no stranger to peril and will wield her trusty blaster with remarkable skill in order to protect the things she holds dear, most notably, the Republic and her clandestine love for Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.

C-3PO: C-3PO is a protocol droid conversant in over six million forms of communication. Built by Anakin Skywalker when he was still a boy and then given to Padme Amidala as a gift, this fussy droid constantly struggles to reconcile his genuine concern for his friends with his natural aversion to danger. The usual result is a comedic monologue centered on the seemingly-insurmountable peril presented by even the most benign circumstance. Yet, despite his nervous, know-it-all and sometimes even bossy disposition, Threepio remains a loyal and devoted friend.

COUNT DOOKU: A former member of the Jedi Council, Count Dooku is among a handful of Jedi who have disavowed the Order. Having pursued further Force training at the hands of his merciless Master, the evil Darth Sidious, Dooku now wields the full power of the Force's darker secrets. As second in charge of the Separatist forces, it is Dooku's task to destroy the Republic. Demanding, power-hungry and cruel, Dooku commands his underlings with ruthless efficiency. Even his icy assassin, Asajj Ventress, fears her Master's wrath, knowing all too well that few people live to fail Count Dooku twice.

ASAJJ VENTRESS: Serving as Count Dooku's most-trusted assassin, Asajj Ventress is a lithe beauty possessing both serpentine grace and lethality. Though she's not officially a Sith apprentice, Ventress has clearly been well-trained in the arts of lightsaber dueling and Force manipulation. If Dooku's Master, the terrifying Darth Sidious, ever finds out about Ventress' "education," the consequences will be dire for both teacher and student.

STAR WARS CLONE TROOPER, CLONE COMMANDER REX: Anakin's second in command, Clone Captain Rex, is a freethinking and aggressive soldier's-soldier. Gruff, no-nonsense and tough as nails, Rex will voice his professional opinion to even the highest-ranking Jedi. In command of the famed 501st Clone Trooper Legion, Rex and his men are assigned to patrol the most lawless and dangerous sector of the galaxy, the feared Outer Rim.

YODA: At nearly nine-hundred years old, Yoda is without peer in his knowledge of the Force. He wields his lightsaber with blinding speed and uses his agility to render himself nearly-invulnerable. In an attempt to teach Anakin responsibility, Yoda has given his newest general a Padawan learner named Ahsoka, but Yoda often wonders if his decision to pair the volatile duo has simply created twice the trouble for the Jedi Council.

CHANCELLOR PALPATINE: Currently presiding over the Galactic Republic, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine struggles to bring an end to the Clone Wars. It was with reluctance that he took on the emergency powers required to bring the Grand Army of the Republic into action, but the Senate has backed his every move as his increased authority has allowed him to better manage the war against the Separatists.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars covers an exciting era in the Star Wars Saga, occuring between episodes II and III of the Star Wars Sags. Here is how the entire Saga goes together:

Episode I : The Phantom Menace - (32 years before episode IV) Stranded on the desert planet Tatooine after rescuing young Queen Amidala from the impending invasion of Naboo, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Jedi Master discover nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, a young slave unusually string in the Force. Anakin wins a thrilling podrace and with it his freedom as he leaves his home to be trained as a Jedi Warrior. The heroes return to Naboo where Anakin and the Queen face massive invasion forces while the two Jedi contend with a deadly foe named Darth Maul. Only then do they realise that the invasion is merely the first step in a sinister scheme by the re-emergent forces of the darkness known as the Sith.

Episode II : Attack of the Clones - (22 years before the episode IV) Ten years after the events of the Battle of Naboo, not only has the Galaxy undergone significant change, but so have Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker as they are thrown together again for the first time since the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo. Anakin has grown into the accomplished Jedi apprentice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who himself has transitioned frm a student to teacher. The two Jedi are assigned to protect Padme whose life is threatened by a faction of political Separatists. As relationships form, and powerful forces collide, these heroes face choices that will impact not only their own lives, but the destiny of the Republic.

1: Animation Episode: The Clone Wars - (Previously described above)

Episode III : Revenge of the Sith - (19 years before the episode IV) Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights have been leading a massive clone army into a battle of Galaxy to against the Separatists. When the sinsiter Sith unveil a thousand year old plot to rule the Galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side to become the Emperors new apprentice - Darth Vader. The Jedi are decimated as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda are forced into hiding. The only hope for the Galaxy are Anakin's own offsprings - the twin children born in secrecy who will grow up to become Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.

Episode IV : A New Hope - Nineteen years after the formation of the Empire, Luke Skywalker is thrust into the struggle of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi who has lived for years in seclusion on the desert planet of Tatooine. Obi-Wan begins Luks's Jedi trainings as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the beautiful Rebel Leader Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Empire. Although Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in a light saber duel with Darth Vader, his former apprentice Luke proves that the force is with him by destroying the Empire's dreaded Death Star.

Episode V : The Empire Strikes Back - (3 years after the episode IV) Three years after the destruction of the Death Star, the Imperial Forces continue to pursue the Rebels. After the Rebellion's defeat on the ice planet Hoth, Luke travels to the planet Dagoba to train with the Jedi Master Yoda, who has lived in hiding since the fall of the Republic. In an attempt to convert Luke to the dark side of the Force, Darth Vader lures the young Skywalker into a trap in the Cloud City of Bespin. In the midst of a fierce light saber duel with the Sith Lord, Luke faces the startling revelation that the evil Vader is infact his father, Anakin Skywalker.

Episode VI : The Return of the Jedi - (4 years after the episode IV) In the epic conclusion of the Saga, the Empire prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, while the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts his father Darth Vader in a final climatic duel before the evil Emperor. In the last second, Vader makes a momentous choice: he destroys the Emperor and saves his son. The Empire is finally defeated, the Sith are destroyed and Anakin Skywalker is thus redeemed. At long last, freedom is restored to the Galaxy.

A collection of star systems that attempted to secede from the Republic, the Confederacy of Independent Systems spurred the crisis that erupted into the Clone Wars. The Separatist movement began eight years after Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's election, though many of its roots can be traced back much farther than that. The rampant corruption of the Republic's final years was the prime factor in the rise of Separatism. The Senate's cumbersome bureaucracy slowed down any attempts at reform, and too many of its constituents had grown too complacent to enact any change. Into this disarray stepped the charismatic Count Dooku, a former Jedi, who sought to teach the Republic a lesson.

Dooku's words resonated with the galaxy's populace, and many picked up the banner of the Separatist cause. The Jedi had to weather an increasingly tarnished public image-their forces were spread too thin to protect against the acts of treason seemingly orchestrated by one of their own. In two short years, Dooku had a following of several thousand solar systems.

Frightened Senators called for the creation of an army of the Republic. Others believed that the establishment of such a military would merely be the cause for an all-out civil war. What none in the Senate knew was that the Separatists were already gearing up for war. Count Dooku courted institutions such as the Corporate Alliance, Trade Federation, Techno Union, InterGalactic Banking Clan, and Commerce Guild with promises of reform and unyielding devotion to the pursuit of wealth. In exchange, these bodies would commit their immense armies to the Separatist cause. With their droid troops scattered throughout the galaxy, the Separatists would overwhelm the Republic. Dooku felt confident that ten thousand more systems would join the Separatists.

In a darkened conference room on Geonosis, Count Dooku made this offer, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems was formally established. This meeting of the minds was overheard by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who warned the Republic of the alarming new development. The Republic responded by striking first against the Separatists, attacking their world with a newly discovered clone army. In the explosive ground battle that ensued, the Clone Wars between the Separatists and Republic began. Though they were routed at the Battle of Geonosis, the Separatists eventually regrouped, and the Clone Wars spread to many battlefronts across the galaxy.