**Warning: Contains spoilers from the Dark Disciple Star Wars novel and the Star Wars: Republic comic series**
Ever since Episode 3 of Obi-Wan Kenobi, fans haven't been able to stop talking about the name drop of the Jedi named Quinlan Vos. He was a Jedi well-known for his missions of going undercover, so much so that he was even sent on a mission to assassinate Count Dooku.
While this event, which happened in the novel Dark Disciple, is from canon, it is largely inspired by Legends in the comic book run titled Star Wars: Republic. While Vos possesses many similarities from his Legends and canon versions, there are many differences too.
Vos doesn't really experience amnesia in canon, though when he is discovered to have been serving Dooku after a time skip, many of the Jedi do not recognize him and wondered how much his mind had suffered.
In Legends, Quinlan Vos's very first appearance is that of a Jedi with amnesia. This was a great way of slowly introducing a new character and the beginning of a new story. Especially with how helpful Vos's unique ability was, as he's capable of psychometry, which allows him to see into the past of items. This allowed him to know who he was when he found his lightsaber and his apprentice's saber.
The canon version of Vos borrows a great deal from Legends, however, his overall personality and attitude are fairly different. On one hand, both Jedi are willing to bend the rules. But canon Vos is a much more mischievous and sarcastic type of man.
Legends Vos takes things more seriously. He does bend the rules, but only because he thinks it's what's right or necessary. Vos has a bit too much confidence that he can control the Dark Side, a common belief that Jedi have before the fall. He also ventures too far into the shadows, committing crimes such as murder and leaking Republic information. While canon Vos goes too far too, Vos's more serious personality in Legends makes him feel more dangerous and much more like an antihero.
In canon, Quinlan Vos isn't shown to have many friends. Akar-Deshu and Obi-Wan Kenobi are the closest Jedi to him, the former of whom he accidentally caused the death of. Outside of them and Asajj Ventress, there aren't many characters close to Vos.
However, Vos has far more allies in Legends, such as recurring Jedi like Tholme, Secura, and Kenobi. His most iconic allies are Khaleen Hentz, who was originally Count Dooku's spy before she fell in love with Quinlan Vos, and Vilmarh Grahrk, a scoundrel who constantly tries to betray Vos and only fails because Vos sees through him every time. Though in the end, it's Vilmarh who saves Vos's life.
One of the biggest changes to Vos's character arc was his relationship with Ventress, who was both his master in the Dark Side and his lover.
Vos rarely interacts with Ventress, and the two of them are really only temporary allies when Vos serves Dooku as one of the Dark Acolytes. The two are never close and after he turns traitor she instantly tries to kill him. Vos also has a completely different love interest in Legends named Khaleen Hentz who he ends up having a son with.
Count Dooku is an underrated villain given that fans can forget how prominent he really was during the Clone Wars. In canon, Vos's mission is to try and become an ally of Dooku's and assassinate him. This idea was Mace Windu's, and Obi-Wan recommended Quinlan Vos for the task. The Council then asked Vos, who agreed.
Vos is very similarly given a task of infiltration in Legends. However, he isn't tasked to kill Count Dooku at all. Rather, he is meant to uncover who exactly the second Sith is (however, in canon Vos adopts his own personal mission of trying to find out who the second Sith is). In the end, this mission is a failure and the closest they come is to believing that Sora Bulq, a former Jedi and co-creator of the Vaapad alongside Mace Windu, was the second Sith.
To tap into the Dark Side, Ventress tells Vos that Dooku was the one who murdered his master. However, with his psychometry powers and Dooku providing Vos his master's saber, he soon finds out it was actually Ventress who killed his master.
In Legends, Tholme is alive (even being an Order 66 survivor alongside Vos) and plays a different part in Vos's story. He's a much more supportive character and is the one who recommends Vos for his mission in Legends. While Tholme is really the driving force of turning Vos to the Dark Side in canon, it's the opposite in Legends. Dooku is insistent on having Vos kill Tholme and the reader even believes at one moment he has, but ultimately Vos refuses and chooses the path of the Jedi.
Vos is arguably far more powerful in the Force in canon than he is in Legends. While he doesn't engage in many battles, he is able to both outdo General Grievous and Count Dooku in some amazing lightsaber duels. Vos had lost sight of his original mission and so didn't kill Dooku when he had the chance, and this mistake cost him the life of Ventress.
In Legends, there is far more emphasis on lightsaber dueling skills and stances, as seen with Vos's unique talent in using Vaapad. However, while Vos shows great skill and even impressive strength in the Force, he often just barely wins his fights. Vos has a way of staving off fighters superior to him and holding on. There is far less fluidity to his combat in Legends at times, in contrast to how he fought against Grievous in canon.
It's surprising that Aayla Secura, the former padawan of Quinlan Vos, has zero interactions with him in canon. Vos has a couple of reflections of her in Dark Disciple and Secura mentions him once to Ahsoka, but other than that they aren't seen together.
In Legends, this is completely different. They are seen on multiple missions together and Vos even has to save her on a couple of occasions. Of course, the largest difference here is that Quinlan Vos's initial appearance is a year after the events of the Phantom Menace, meaning Secura is still his padawan and Vos is only a Jedi Knight. So their journeys are seen much longer even after Vos becomes a Jedi Master and Secura becomes a Jedi Knight.
In Canon, it's really Asajj Ventress who pulls Quinlan Vos back to the light side after her death, along with a bit of help from Obi-Wan Kenobi.
However, in Legends Vos has the aid of different Jedi, such as his former master, Tholme. What truly helps Vos overcome the Dark Side is his final duel of mastery with Vaapad against the former Jedi Sora Bulq. This is the least used lightsaber stance and is incredibly difficult to master, as it opens Jedi up to the Dark Side. While this is essentially why Bulq fell to the Dark Side, Vos is able to overcome the darkness at last and defeat Bulq.
Quinlan Vos has yet to have a story conclusion in canon, and prior to his mention in Kenobi, his last appearance was at the end of the Dark Disciple novel.
However, in Legends, he appeared for a while longer, even after his mission with Dooku. His final story arc takes place on Kashyyyk during the events of Revenge of the Sith. Master Vos however, is fortunate enough to survive Order 66 and discovers other surviving Jedi such as his former master and his wife, Khaleen, who has had his son. In many ways, Vos's story is almost the happy ending version of Anakin Skywalker.
Quinlan Vos was recently name-dropped on Obi-Wan Kenobi, but what are the differences between his Star Wars Legends and canon versions?Caleb Greenough