A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away Star Wars was born. Actually, it was 1977 and in the Milky Way Galaxy. Since then the world has been entrenched in a sea of Star Wars toys, mantras, lifestyles, paraphernalia, and all things Galactic and Empirical. Star Wars will live on as long as there are lifeforms to inhabit this blue world in which we currently take up space. The debate over who is the best, or most popular, character will be debated in basements, chat rooms, dark alleys, comic book stores, and magazines until the Death Star decides to erase us from existence. Here are my 10 favorite Star Wars characters other than Boba Fett.
10) IG-88. He was always a favorite of mine due to the fact that he was freakishly tall. You just know that he would be the star volleyball player on any team that he joined. He may not have been the best bounty hunter but he made up for it in other ways like being able to place the star on the Empire’s Christmas tree, and polishing Lord Vader’s helmet when the Dark One was too stubborn to sit down. IG-88 – the Swiss Army Knife of the Star Wars universe.
9) Jabba The Hutt. This disgusting blob of goo makes the list because he had power. He was the Tony Soprano of Tatooine. He would just snap his fingers and Salacious Crumb would get him a peanut butter and frog sandwich. He controlled the entire desert with the flick of his tongue. His only downside was that he was a huge fan of Mr. T, and liked chains too much.
8) Jawas. What’s small, brown, and good at moving robots across large distances? Answer – the new, more economical and environmentally conscious UPS trucks. But UPS trucks aren’t smart enough to drive single file so as to hide their numbers. Jawas are.
7) Princess Leia. Was she worth the trouble? Let’s explore. She was very good at getting others in grave danger. She steals plans, gets captured, doesn’t stop farm boy from shooting bridge controls, advises heroes to jump into garbage smasher, allows entire home planet to be destroyed, can’t fix hyperdrive, works (presumably briefly) as a bounty hunter, gets Ewok killed by luring them into silly fight against Empire, and she kisses her brother which had to confuse the bejesus out of him. They should have just said no.
6) Luke Skywalker. The most destructive one-armed man since the invention of slot machines. Luke was a friend to robot and wookie alike. He was also a trusting lad who had daddy issues. Yeah, who doesn’t?
5) R2-D2. Not only does he come equipped with cool lightsaber-making device but he can double as a trash can in a pinch. R2 was the perfect dog. He was loyal. He was obedient. He could speak two languages. He knew where to pee. He was a total good guy. It would have been cool to see R2-D2 if he were evil, though. He would have hot-wired the Millennium Falcon and sold it for scrap metal. He’d have sold the lightsabers on eBay. He would have been totally slick.
4) Yoda. Yoda was more of a butt-kicker when he did the butt-kicking with his mind and not the ninja moves. The new movies kind of tainted his legacy much like joining the Wizards did Michael Jordan’s.
3) Chewbacca. When I typed Chewbacca into my Mac it didn’t recognize the name. The only suggestion it provided was ‘chewable’. Just thought I would pass that along. Chewable was the ultimate intimidation machine. He could make John Wayne cry. He made body fur look more suave than anybody since Burt Reynolds. He was one bad co-pilot. He was quit good at full contact chess, too.
2) Biker Scout. Somewhere along the way their name was changed from the awesome Biker Scout to the lame Scout Trooper. Scout Trooper? Sounds like somebody who earns badges for helping old ladies across the street. The Biker Scout does no such thing. He is one of the best because he has the sweetest ride in the galaxy. Forget the Falcon, Landspeeder, Slave 1, and even the Taun Taun, the Speeder Bike was the quintessential mode of transportation.
1) Han Solo. Who else would be number one? Boba Fett? That would be ridiculous. Boba Fett was so meaningless to the trilogy that making him the fan favorite is kind of offensive to fans of the movies. Han was so cool, so bad boy, so full of awesomeness that just being in his presence could get you a Victoria’s Secret model. Han Solo was the black leather jacket of the trilogy. Han Solo will forever be the one ladies want, and the one guys want to be like. Long live the new king.