The Epic Continues

The Epic Continues was a presentation that angled to support a planned 1986 extension of Kenner's Power of the Force action figure range. It was based on original characters and vehicles, stemming from a new plot line created by Kenner designer Tim Effler, that concerned the genetics master Atha Prime (a name that Effler created that alludes to the term 'number one evil') ruler of dark worlds, who had been freed from exile following the death of Emperor Palpatine. Striking at the Rebel Alliance, he was forced to do battle with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the Mongo Beefhead Tribesmen. Meanwhile, Grand Moff Tarkin, who had evaded death at the Battle of Yavin, had returned to take control of the Galactic Empire.

Many of the new figures and vehicles were inspired by elements from the films and were designed to illustrate Kenner's understanding of George Lucas' vision. The ideas took shape in concept art and prototypes that had been woven into a narrative created by Effler, who wrote a finalized list of characters that he worked on in 2D form. Some of vehicles were pulled from previous, unused concepts, while others were developed by Effler in concert with Boudreaux. Ultimately Effler was responsible for the bulk of the new designs, while Boudreaux who also contributed, was tasked with creating the vehicle models with assistance from several in-house model makers. Most of the prototypes were kitbashed, including some with minor alterations to existing designs. The proposal was presented to Lucasfilm. Effler recalls the concept of the line continuing being approved by them, but not by Kenner's own management. As a result none of the figures were produced, and the plot line was rendered non-canon. In the mid 1990s, several of the vehicles and droids from the line were canonized in the short story The Battle of Cadinth, and in the early 2000s Abel G. Peña made several attempts to canonize Atha Prime. Though the character was not directly made canon, one inspired by Prime, a genetic terrorist later revealed to be named Zeta Magnus, was.

Text and facts from the “The Epic Continues” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.