The Road to Episode Infinity: April 2018

Friday, April 27, 2018

Jaxxon is Back!

Who is Jaxxon?

Jaxxon, the green space rabbit, does not belong in the Star Wars universe. Everyone knows it. By all rights, Jaxxon should be as undesirable as Jar Jar. Yet, somehow, fans are rooting for the big green bunny. This week Jaxxon became one of the few characters that have managed to crawl back into the New Disney Canon after he was wiped from existence.

So, who is Jaxxon?

Eight for Abdula-3

In 1977 the film "Star Wars" initially released to only a few cinemas. Kids had more access to comic books than those few theaters. Therefore, Marvel’s 1977 Star Wars comic series introduced many fans to the franchise. In the fall of 1977 the monthly comic had finished its coverage of "A New Hope" and began to publish original stories. “Eight for Abdula-3” was one of those earliest tales.

“Eight for Abdula-3” is a “Seven Samurai” tale in which Han Solo and Chewbacca are hired by a moisture farmer to protect a village from a gang called the Cloud Riders. The Cloud Riders are a swoop gang who are not well-known in Star Wars fandom but will be featured in the upcoming “Solo” film. In the comic, Han and Chewie work with six spacers to protect the village. These spacers include Don-Wan Kihotay (a crazy man who believes himself to be a Jedi) Amaiza Foxtrain (a pirate / exotic dancer who is the Star Wars equivalent of Barbarella) and Jaxxon, the big green space rabbit.

From the get-go Jaxxon was a loud and unapologetic character. With catchphrases such as “I ain’t no rodent!” and “Blow it out yer retros!” fans were taken aback by the obtuse bunny. As with many of the early expanded universe missteps (see Stars Wars Christmas Special) the loud-mouthed hare was deemed too silly for Star Wars. Jaxxon appeared in only four comics before being phased out. The character was not acknowledged by the Star Wars franchise for over 20 years and fans would remember him as an early-franchise mistake. By the mid-90s, the Expanded Universe Renaissance was in full swing and most fans were all too happy to forget about Jaxxon along with the entire 117 issue run of Marvel’s Star Wars line. Yet one fan was not willing to give up on the Emerald Cottontail. That fan was Pablo Hidalgo.

From Joke to Legend

Pablo Hidalgo was a lifelong fan hired by Lucasfilm in the year 2000. In 2001 Hidalgo placed Jaxxon and Amaiza on the cover of Star Wars Gamer #4, which featured a Star Wars Role Playing Game article titled "The Starhoppers of Aduba-3". For some younger fans, this was the first they had ever heard of the character. Next, Hidalgo put Jaxxon cameos in the background of two comic books “Rookies: Rendezvous” and “The Clone Wars: Invitation Only”. Jaxxon's popularity slowly began to grow and by 2012, Jaxxon got third place in a Star Wars Insider Poll which asked fans which character they would like to see be made into an action figure. Later that year, Jaxxon even crossed over into Television (sort of). In the Season 5 Clone Wars episode “A Sunny Day in The Void” a skeleton is featured that resembles Jaxxon.

When Disney bought the Star Wars franchise from Lucasfilm, one would have assumed the Jaxxon references would have ended- but with Pablo Hidalgo now Lucasfilm's Story Team, the references to the Jade Jackrabbit only increased.

First there was Jaxxon’s cameo appearance on Maravel’s variant cover of “Star Wars #1” where the main cast of Star Wars was depicted trying to metaphorically shut him out of the franchise. Then there was his duel with Darth Vader on variant covers of “Vader Down” and his turn in Poe's cockpit in a variant cover of “Poe Dameron”. Most recently Jaxxon appeared in the background of an episode of “Forces of Destiny”. Then in the Spring of 2018 came the big announcement: Jaxxon was to be re-canonized. Jaxxon was back.

Jaxxon’s Return

In the Spring of 2018 it was announced that Jaxxon would officially return to Star Wars canon after a 30-year-absence. Both Jaxxon and Amaiza were to be featured in the children’s comic “Star Wars Adventures Annual 2018” in a story called “The Lost Eggs of Livorno” by Cavan Scott. The comic does not disappoint. Jaxxon is back and is as brazen as ever. The 12 page story features the green bunny in 31 of its 48 panels and includes his signature “KCHOP!” kick.

Jaxxon, Amaiza, and the Cloud Raiders from “Eight for Abudla-3” alongside of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn, Rukh, and Pellaeon are the only characters that were dropped from canon to ever be reintroduced into the Disney Universe. Though there are currently rumors and rumblings that fan-favorite Mara Jade could be coming back in a big way. “Star Wars Adventures” was the perfect medium to bring Jaxxon back from the forgotten depths of fandom, and fingers crossed we get more Jaxxon in the future.

"Who Is?" Series

Who is Valance the Hunter?

https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2020/06/who-is-valance-hunter.html

Who is Jaxxon?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/04/jaxxon-is-back.html

Who is Vuffi Raa?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/09/who-is-vuffi-raa.html

Who is Doctor Aphra?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2017/11/who-is-doctor-aphra.html

Who is Willrow Hood?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/09/willrow-hood-star-wars-story.html

Who is Cammie?
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/04/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html

Who is Hondo Ohnaka?

https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-hondo-ohnaka-mixed-tape.html

Who is Agent Naare?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/04/who-is-agent-naare.html

Who is Quinlan Vos?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/03/who-is-quinlan-vos.html

Who is Asajj Ventress?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/03/who-is-asajj-ventress.html

Who is Gerris Shrike?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2017/02/who-is-garris-shrike-and-was-han-solo.html

Who is Sha'a Gi?
https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2019/01/who-is-shaa-gi.html

Who is Saw Gerrera?

http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2016/06/who-is-saw-gerrera.html

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Who is Camie?

“I hate it when you look like that. Like you got cheated, and all this is a big mistake. Like you should have followed Tank and Biggs, and gone to the Academy like you wanted to. Like you were meant to be far away from here. Away from me.”

~Camie Skywalker

The novelization of “The Last Jedi” begins with a dream. Luke is on Tatooine. Luke never left Tatooine. Luke married Camie Marstrap. But who is Camie?

Though most fans haven’t heard of Camie, she has been around for a while. In fact, fans were first introduced to Camie in November of 1976, when the novelization of Star Wars hit book shelves. She was featured in the first issue of “Star Wars” the comic in April of 1977. She appeared in the 1981 radio dramatization of Star Wars. She was featured in the original Star Wars script. An actress named Koo Stark was cast to play the role of Camie and scenes were filmed. The only place you won't fin Camie is in the film itself. So what happened to Camie?

When I was growing up I heard fables of the “Lost Tatooine Scenes”. Some pictures of these scenes had been published, including Luke in his bucket hat and poncho. Some fans will even swear they saw the Tosche Station scene in the cinemas, although they probably remember it from the novelization or the comics. Fans clamored for years for these scenes to be released and eventually they ended up on Youtube in 2008. Were these mythical scenes worth the wait? Or do they disappoint? You'll have to answer those questions for yourself. But if the scenes have one hidden gift, it is probably Koo Stark's portrayal of Camie. Koo originally auditioned for Princess Leia and could have probably pulled off Marion Ravenwood. She has a rough-and-tumble demeanor and could definitely take down a Tusken in a wrestling match.

“Don't worry about it, Wormie.”
~Camie Marstrap

In the deleted scene in question Luke Skywalker goes to the Tosche Station to "pick up some power converters" and "waste time with his friends". Luke’s friends, however, don’t seem especially nice to him. Camie frequently calls him “Wormie” and her boyfriend, “Fixer”, doesn’t seem to like him much either. They treat Luke as if he were the middle-school dork (which he kind of is, especially in the lost scenes). Only Biggs seems to genuinely enjoy Luke’s company.

Biggs of course, is the one friend of Luke's who was not cut from the final film. Many fans did notice that "A New Hope" only really tells half of Biggs' story. In the deleted scenes we find the other half. In those scenes we find that Biggs is far more confident and competent than Luke "Wormie" Skywalker. Luke looks up to Biggs like an older-brother or a super hero. In the final cut of the film we don't see how much of a mentor Biggs actually was to Luke and how much it must have hurt Luke to lose Biggs during the Battle of Yavin. If the Lost Tatooine Scenes had been in the final cut, Biggs' death may have felt heavier to the audience. In that moment Luke lost the third of his three father figures- Owen, Obi-Wan, and Biggs- in about as many days. (Or all in the same day? I've never understood how time passes in Star Wars movies.)

Biggs is a fairly well-known Star Wars character, but Camie and her boyfriend “Fixer” kind of disappeared into obscurity. They did reappear in comics in 1979 and again in 2003. They even had action figures released in 2010. But it wasn’t until recently that Camie started to draw more interest from fans.

Since the novelization of “The Last Jedi” Camie has made a bit of a comeback in Star Wars fandom. There are a lot of “What-Ifs” attached to this character. What if her scenes weren't cut? What if she appeared in other Star Wars films? What if Koo Stark had been cast in the role of Princess Leia instead of Carrie Fisher? What if Camie married Luke Skywalker? What if?