Peter Petrelli

Nathan Petrelli

Angela Petrelli

Claire Bennet

Arthur Petrelli

Heidi Petrelli

Simon & Monty Petrelli

Yes, Virginia. There is a Darth Vader


Halfway through his section of the TopCow panel at Comic-Con, astute fans noticed that a group of people had marched in to the room dressed as Storm Troopers from Star Wars.  Their faces were covered by their helmets, and they just stood by on the sides of the room, leaning against the walls.  I heard someone in the room say: “what are they doing here?”  I had to ask myself the same question as one of them stepped on my computer cord and nearly unplugged it.  But the Storm Troopers said nothing, simply waiting silently until the end of the panel.

                Regrettably, I had to leave his panel as soon as it ended to make it to Zachary Quinto’s panel on time.  As I was walking to Quinto’s panel, however, I happened to catch a glimpse of Milo, surrounded by a gaggle of Storm Troopers and Bounty Hunters.  I will admit that my first thought was what do they want with Milo?  Then I reminded myself that Milo is a Star Wars fan and was probably enjoying himself immensely.  I was later to learn that these troopers and bounty hunters were not merely fans dressed in costume; they were members of the 501st Legion, a well-known and highly respected Star Wars fan and costuming group.

                The 501st Legion is a group that is committed not only to accuracy in costuming, but to the highest ideals of fandom.  They attend conventions, they appear at everything from charity events to birthday parties in pursuit of their goal to spread the love of Star Wars, and they are strong supporters of the real-life armed forces.  As part of their mission of spreading their love of Star Wars, they induct non-costumers into their ranks as either Honorary members of the 501st, or as Friends of the 501st.  Honorary membership is restricted to those who have been a part of the Star Wars mythology—the actors, artists, creators.  Friends of the 501st are those outside the Star Wars universe that the 501st has chosen to honor.  The induction is usually similar for all inductees.  It's kept a secret from the person chosen until the moment that the inductee is tracked down by the Storm Troopers and the ceremony happens.  Inductees are given a badge to wear to signify their status as a Friend of the 501st, and a plaque to commemorate the occasion.  In Milo's case, however, the situation was a little different.  Since he had a comic book signing immediately after the panel and induction, the Storm Troopers escorted him to the signing, where a group picture was taken.  Lesley Farquqhar, commander of the San Diego garrison that sponsored Milo, this induction had the distinction of being as much of an honor for the Legion as it was for Milo.  Farquahar added that she found Milo to be "very personable with everyone," and that he "really got into" the entire experience.

Being chosen as a Friend of the 501st is not an easy accomplishment or random decision by the Legion.  In order to qualify, a candidate must be a fan of Star Wars.  A member of the Legion, usually a garrison’s commanding officer, sponsors a candidate they find worthy of the title of Friend of the 501st.   They must send a formal application with their reason as to why the candidate in question would be a good Friend to the leaders of the Legion, who then decide whether to grant the title or not.  Needless to say, it doesn’t happen often. 

Milo and his friends at DiVide Pictures had received a movie poster from Lucasfilm, which impressed Milo so much that he personally contacted the one who had sent them the poster.  Milo talked about his love of Star Wars, and in return, Lucasfilm sent DiVide a trio of lightsabers.  DiVide made a series of short fan videos, which were melded into one movie and presented at San Diego Comic-Con 2008 at a Lucasfilm-sanctioned fan video presentation.  Lucasfilm were so pleased with what they saw that they gave DiVide permission to add the music from the Star Wars movies to DiVide’s films, resulting in the film’s current incarnation.  Links to the video and an interview with Milo from starwars.com are below. 

But being a fan and a celebrity alone do not guarantee a place among the Legion’s friends.  Since the 501st is a strong supporter of charity work, they look for those fans who also support charities.  According to Farquahar, the main attraction for their sponsorship was Milo’s support of charity, especially for the veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.   

Congratulations, Milo.  The House is very proud of you.

http://www.starwars.com/fans/rocks/news20081006.html

http://bonniegrrl.livejournal.com/612580.html