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?
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 Valance the Hunter?
Who is Jaxxon?
Who is Vuffi Raa?
Who is Doctor Aphra?
Who is Willrow Hood?
Who is Hondo Ohnaka?
Who is Agent Naare?
Who is Quinlan Vos?
Who is Asajj Ventress?
Who is Gerris Shrike?
Who is Saw Gerrera?
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ReplyDeleteJaxxon was never canon.He was Expanded Universe. George Lucas hated the character and told the creator to never use him again.
ReplyDelete"There's this notion that everything changed when everything became Legends. And I can see why people think that. But, you know, having worked with George I can tell you that it was always very clear -- and he made it very clear -- that the films and the TV shows were the only things that he considered Canon. That was it."
Dave Filoni interview on 'The Star Wars show' [41.40 mark]-
https://youtu.be/hcNXPNXOv2A?t=2500
..
“There are two worlds here,” explained Lucas. “There’s my world, which is the movies, and there’s this other world that has been created, which I say is the parallel universe – the licensing world of the books, games and comic books."
~ George Lucas, Cinescape, 2002
”The novels and comic books are other authors' interpretations of my creation. Sometimes, I tell them what they can and cant do, but I just don't have the time to read them. They're not my vision of what Star Wars is."
~ George Lucas, 2004
..
"I don't read that stuff, I haven't read any of the novels. I don't know anything about that world. That's a different world than my world. But I do try and keep it consistent. The way I do it is they have a Star Wars encyclopedia. So if I come up with a name or something else, I look it and see if it has already been used. When I said other people could make their own Star Wars stories, we decided that, like Star Trek, we would have TWO universes: My Universe and than this other one. They try to make THEIR universe as consistent with mine as possible, but obviously they get enthusiastic and want to go off in other directions."
~ George Lucas Starlog Magazine Interview, 2005 - https://ibb.co/Km1CcNs
..
"But Lucas allows for an Expanded Universe that exists parallel to the one he directly oversees. […] Though these [Expanded Universe] stories may get his stamp of approval, they don’t enter his canon unless they are depicted cinematically in one of his projects.”
~ Pablo Hidalgo, Star Wars: The Essential Reader’s Companion, 2012
..
"What George did with the films and The Clone Wars was pretty much his universe ,” Chee said. “He didn’t really have that much concern for what we were doing in the books and games. So the Expanded Universe was very much separate."
~ Leland Chee, Continuity Database Adminstrator for Lucas Licensing, SYFY WIRE Fandom Files #13
Interview,Jan.2018
..
“Lucas’ canon – and when I say ‘his canon’, I’m talking about what he was doing in the films and what he was doing in The Clone Wars – was hugely important. But what we were doing in the books really wasn’t on his radar.”
~ Leland Chee, Continuity Database Adminstrator,SYFY WIRE Fandom Files #13 Interview,Jan.2018
..
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is where the creator of Jaxxon talks about Lucas hating the character and telling him not to use him again.
ReplyDeletehttp://eleven-thirtyeight.com/2018/03/down-the-rabbit-hole-who-is-jaxxon-anyway/