Cody Sunn-Childe's sole appearance
was in issue 46 of the Marvel Star Wars series and
was reprinted in "Resurrection of Evil", volume 3 of
Dark Horse Comics' trade paperback series, Star Wars: A
Long Time Ago... The story, "The Dreams of Cody Sunn-Childe"
features Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca in an adventure that pitched
the heroes into a strange new dimension beyond normal space. There
they encountered Sunn-Childe, but the appearance of a fleet of
Imperial Star Destroyers jeopardized the seemingly peaceful oasis
they discovered.
The tale is remarkable for a couple of reasons. First, it introduced
Cody Sunn-Childe a hero of the prequel era of Star Wars,
which was largely off-limits to the Marvel creators. Secondly,
the overseers at Lucasfilm mandated a change to the story so that
in the end Lando rejects Sunn-Childe's pacifist message and sacrifice.
Given the Buddhist influences behind such core Star Wars
concepts as the Force and the Jedi, one might call the
decision to alter the story ironic. Veteran creator J. Marc DeMatteis,
who wrote the issue, chose to adopt a pseudonym rather than accept
the changes to his story, and thus was born the Star Wars
equivalent of Alan Smithee, Wally Lombego.
Cody Sunn-Childe
In the medical wing of a makeshift Rebel base on the volcanic
planet of Golrath, Luke Skywalker zipped up his flight suit and
gathered his equipment. As he finished, Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca
entered the sick bay.
Chewbacca barked a friendly greeting and Luke smiled at the
tall Wookiee.
"How are you feeling, Luke?" Lando asked.
"Much better, thanks to you and Chewie," Luke answered.
"If the two of you hadn't made the trip to the Red Nebula,
The curse of the Crimson Forever would've claimed at least one
more victim."
Lando waved the compliment aside. "Don't worry about it,
Luke. If you ask the Princess, I've got plenty more to make up
for. Hopefully, now Chewie and I can devote some time to finding
Han and that bounty hunter."
"Nothing yet?" Luke asked.
"I'm afraid not. We've been having problems with the Falcon's
hyperdrive. Not long ago, it blew out just was we made the jump
to lightspeed. I'm no astrophysicist, but somehow the explosion
pierced a barrier between normal space and some other dimension,
and the Falcon got sucked through.
"We found ourselves in some strange color-soak void, and
the in the midst of it, an island floating in the ether, and on
the island, a city! We were forced to make an emergency landing
in the jungle outside the city."
Chewbacca growled a comment.
"Hey, given that the instruments were going haywire, it
wasn't a half-bad landing! With the ship damaged, we had to push
through the jungle on foot towards the city. From out of nowhere,
a demonic creature attacked, and in less time than it takes to
swat a Geonosian drone, Chewie and I were down. But there was
someone else we hadn't seen. An orange skinned fellow stepped
out of the jungle and with a wave of his hand, he knocked the
creature out, and, here's the bizarre part, then the creature
turned to energy which was drawn into our benefactor."
"That's amazing," Luke marveled. "Who was he?"
"That's just it, I recognized him! It was Cody Sunn-Childe.
I saw him in action against the Imperials near the Sakya system
when I was just a kid."
"Sure!" Luke replied. "The story of how he and
Beelyard the Holy Terror liberated Bestine during the Clone Wars
is legendary. But I thought Sunn-Childe was dead."
"So did everyone. He vanished a decade ago during the
early days of the Rebellion. As we talked, he led us to the city.
It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. It was
filled with astonishing symmetry, sculpture and music. Sunn-Childe
had brought his followers with him. Ansible Beelyard was there
and others too: humans, Gotals, Duros, Shistavanans, and even
a Wookiee or two."
Chewbacca rumbled sadly in agreement.
"Sunn-Childe said that the legends about him weren't entirely
true. He said he had come to relish war for its own sake. The
rebellion was nothing more than an excuse for him to indulge in
wholesale violence. Those whose real goal was peace left him in
disgust. Finally, the carnage that he craved claimed him. On some
Outer Rim world, Sunn-Childe was struck down. But he didn't die.
Chewie, stop me if get this wrong, because here is where it gets
weird.
"Sunn-Childe fell into the bowels of the planet, and was
consumed by a mysterious flame near the core of the world. The
flame was worshipped by a race of subterranean creatures called
the M'Usts, and no one had ever survived the eternal fire before.
Somehow it changed him. He was filled with unimaginable power.
While he learned to wield that power, he lived among the M'Usts."
Luke looked up in amazement. "It must've been a Force
nexus. There is one on Dagobah, and I heard from one of the scouts
of something similar to what you described on Koda's World."
"I didn't think anyone would believe me! Sunn-Childe said
he learned from the M'Usts about a life of simplicity and peace.
When he finally returned to the surface, he realized that he could
not allow himself to lift a hand against a bellow being without
unleashing the savagery that was in the darkest part of his soul.
Instead he dedicated himself to quieter, personal revolution in
a galaxy gone mad.
"Using the power of the flame, he was able to give corporeal
life to his dreams. He breached the dimensions and constructed
a kingdom from his own mind. The asteroid and the city, he created
it all by force of will. He brought his followers there to live
in the fantasyland he created."
"Incredible," Luke mused, and Chewbacca barked in
agreement.
Lando shook his head in disgust. "He had this incredible
power, but he only used it to shut himself away from a galaxy
that could've use his help. He said he wanted only peace, but
the creature that attacked us, and others like it, came from his
mind. He called them the repressed horrors of his soul. But it
didn't take much to see that he was no better than the rest of
us. I tell you, Luke, he even had Chewie buying into it."
Chewbacca growled in irritation.
"You have to admit that when the Empire arrived it all
came crashing down. Somehow, the Empire had tracked the Falcon
through the tear in the dimensional fabric that pulled us through.
They temporarily expanded it and followed with an entire fleet.
I tried to convince Sunn-Childe to fight, but it was no use. Chewie
and I had to get out of there.
"For a moment, I thought Sunn-Childe had come to his senses.
As we were dodging fire from the Star Destroyers, Sunn-Childe
summoned up more of those demons from his psyche. They were huge,
big as Star Destroyers! But as soon as they appeared, Sunn-Childe
called them back. It was too late. The Imperials turned their
attention to the city. They... they just laid waste to it. In
a moment the city was gone... With the Imperials distracted, we
slipped through the rend in space and back home as the tear sealed
behind us, trapping the Imperial fleet in the void." Lando
shook his head again.
"Sunn-Childe had the power to stop the attack, save himself
and his followers, but he just stood there and died. I know he
believed if he allowed his violent nature free rein he'd be lost
forever, so he created a dream city where he could live in peace,
but he was wrong. Lofty ideals aren't enough when dealing with
the Empire."
Luke smiled ruefully as Lando finished the story. "I don't
agree, Lando. Sunn-Childe laid down his arms and died for a dream
of peace. I have to believe there is nobility in that."
"Meanwhile the rest of us are left to deal with the Empire,"
Lando countered.
"I'm not saying I have all the answers. I'm still learning
how to be a Jedi. But Master Yoda taught me that you can't end
violence with violence. Revenge can only be overcome by abandoning
revenge. Eventually all of us will have to lay down our arms and
stop fighting. I saw Ben Kenobi do it on the Death Star, and I
hope when the time comes I'll have the strength to do it too."
Lando was about to reply, but Chewbacca's bark cut him off.
"All right! All right!" Lando surrendered. "We
should get going anyway. I heard that Shem-Lern, a gunrunner who's
done some work for Jabba just crossed over from the Corporate
Sector. He might have some information on Boba Fett's location.
We'll keep you and the Princess posted."
As Lando exited, Chewbacca playfully mussed Luke's hair and
growled a farewell.
Luke patted the Wookiee on the back and grinned. "Thanks,
Chewie, may the Force be with you too."
Cody Sunn-Childe
Type: Alien Monk
Height: 1.7 meters
Species: Near-human
Sex: Male
DEX 4D PER 3D+1
Blaster 6D Command 6D+1
Brawling Parry 5D Hide 4D+1
Dodge 5D Persuasion 4D+1
Melee Combat 5D Search 4D+1
Melee Parry 4D+2 Sneak 4D+1
KNO 2D+2 STR 3D
Alien Species 4D+2 Brawling 4D
Cultures 5D+2
Scholar 5D+2
Survival 5D
Willpower 5D+2
MEC 2D TEC 2D
Astrogation 5D Demolition 5D
Repulsorlift Ops 4D Security 4D
Starship Piloting 3D
Starship Gunnery 4D
Special Abilities:
Force Skills: Control 10D, Sense 8D, Alter 13D.
Force Powers (these are the known Force powers to which Cody Sunn-Childe has
access but he learned other unknown abilities from the alien M'Usts):
Absorb/Dissipate Energy, Accelerate Healing, Concentration, Control Disease,
Control Pain, Detoxify Poison, Emptiness, Remain Conscious, Instinctive
Astrogation, Magnify Senses, Sense Force, Farseeing, Telekinesis, Accelerate
Another's Healing, Control Another's Pain, Control Disease in Another, Detoxify
Poison in Another, Return Another to Consciousness, Affect Mind, Create
Homunculus.
This Character is Force Sensitive.
Force Points: 15
Dark Side Points: 4
Move: 10
Equipment: Surplus uniform, high military boots, yellow cape.
Description: Cody Sunn-Childe is an orange skinned near human with silvery
white hair and large, pointed ears. Although he has given up violence, he wears
his old rebellion uniform as a reminder of his former life.
A Quote: "Lando! Try to understand the importance of what we're doing here! If
there are no examples of another path then none will ever walk it!"
Cody Sunn-Childe was created by Wally Lomego, Carmine Infantino
and Tom Palmer.
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