Okay, here we go. If you have read John Carter, you know this already. If all you know is Star Wars, you may be in for a shock. After I got the John Carter of Mars RPG, I went back and reread the book, and I felt a deep sense of realization come upon me.
A step back first, the John Carter of Mars series is an inspiration of much 20th-century sci-fi, from Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to Superman and, yes, even Star Wars. These stories are some of the original inspirational source material for the entire Star Wars series. And if you go back to the source material, you can often see where the following stories went wrong. Or, they got famous, and the idea went astray.
Starting with The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas started to lay the groundwork that the powers of the Jedi were blood-based and hereditary. The blood of kings. The entire British Monarchy legend, where if you did not have "royal blood," you could not rule or have power. You simply were not worthy. I would call this a huge mistake since one of the most inspiring things about Star Wars is the feeling that "anyone could use the force" and become a Jedi since the power flowed through us all.
Yes, this was what The Last Jedi tried to do, and the movie was a complete mess and disaster; I do still like the message with the very final shots of that film since it tried (and failed) to destroy the "royal bloodline" myth every other Star Wars movie tried to reinforce. Rian Johnson had good intentions, and I believe in his vision for the universe since it is closer to what I fell in love with back in 1977 than what came after with all the "Jedi as Royalty" theme. Again, the Last Jedi movie was a mess and confusing, and I bet the best he could do given the owners of the license and the Hollywood system that makes it impossible to make a movie true to a vision.
A missed opportunity to stake the story back for the ordinary people of the world and empower us.
Pivot now to the source material. Look at John Carter of Mars. If you are from Earth and go to Mars, you instantly have superpowers. You are strong, can leap for hundreds of feet, and have many other abilities and powers based on your outsider status. You are, for all intents and purposes, a Jedi.
There is no bloodline here. There is no inherited power. Anyone coming from Earth has these powers.
If you are good, like the book's protagonist, you can use these powers for good.
If you are evil, you can use these powers for evil.
There is no light side to strive for or dark side to "tempt you" and provide a cheap excuse for your actions. Sorry, it is the person underneath that power that matters. Not the power. Not the artificial "side" you follow. It is your actions and what you do that matters. There is no "royal title" for you like the word Jedi. You are an Earthling.
Now that you have power, what are you going to do?
Who you are as a person - without power - matters more than the power.
Yes, in fact, this is a lot like Superman, in that you have Kal-El (Superman) who uses his power for good, and someone like General Zod who uses his power for evil. You see, the mythology starts to get confused when they turn the Superman myth into a "son of Superman" legend and treat the power as hereditary, letting the "right of kings" theme poison the central concept. Yes, those who love royalty and royal weddings will do anything to slip their lore and entitlement themes into every story they get their hands on.
Ultimately what they are doing is saying the ordinary person can not and should not have power. The common person is irresponsible with unique abilities and does not deserve it. Only a few, chosen by those who rule, can have power. You take the Magna Carta, and you rip it up. Trials by peers, bans on cruel and unusual punishments, and the fact that justice can not be delayed or sold all go out the window. Royalty can do anything and get away with it. This is why so many people idolize it.
This cuts to the heart of how you see Jedi versus the myth the powerful and elites are trying to sell you. You see this in the MCU, where the worship of superheroes as elite figureheads and the passing down of powers, shields, suits of armor, and hammers are some anointing rituals of kings. You see the influence everywhere. Ordinary people cannot be influential. You have to be chosen by those already in power or part of a bloodline.
Go back to the source material. And in fact, this one fact makes me more excited to play the John Carter of Mars RPG because what if an evil German Kaiser military general of the 1910s woke up on Mars and tried to conquer it with his powers? Who would stop him?
Without power, the bad guy is terrifying. With powers? He is even more so. And it is not a "dark side" compelling him to do evil. It is him, and he is responsible for his actions. Evil is evil.
I hope people can put some of their advocacy aside and see what is being sold. Ultimately, the story and theme are more important and "real" to you than anything a company puts out or pushes because of agendas or creator bias.
If you want the idea of "anyone can be a Jedi," and it is not a bloodline thing, then that is your right to feel that way and play your games that way. If you like the bloodline myth, I may disagree with you, but you are free to play it that way as well.
The John Carter, or Barsoom Universe, really nails the relationship between "person and power," and now that I see it this way, I can't un-see it. It is the Superman myth done right. It is a planet with no "evil races," and the fight is to understand each other and live together in peace. If you read the later stories, lies and structural societal misinformation are the enemies. There are really many great ideas in this universe that I wish were more well-loved.
I know I probably stepped on a few toes here. I don't do this to be mean, but I like to open some eyes by going back to the source and highlighting relationships. All I really ask is to understand the "why" we have bloodline myths in our fiction, what that says about us, and what that says about how those myths shape the fantasies and dreams we have.
To me, as someone who loves heroic fiction and games, I ask myself these questions:
Do I like my heroes to be anyone or not?
Could I be that hero in my life at this moment? Do I have the power to change things?
Or do I have been chosen to make a change by those in power or born into it?
It comes down to who your heroes are...
Yourself.
Or others.
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