Enfys Nest: Under The Mask

In November of 1977, Marvel’s “Star Wars #8”, introduced a notorious gang known as “The Cloud Riders”. The comic was titled “Eight for Abdula-3” and was a seven-samurai inspired tale with Han, Luke, Chewie and five other heroes defending villagers from the gang. The gang was led by Serji-X Arrogantus, a mustached villain.


40 years later, “The Cloud Riders” would be reintroduced into the new Star Wars canon, but this time the leader was known as Enfys Nest. Though Nest’s crew is first portrayed as a gang that rivals Han Solo, by the end of the film they are revealed to be something more. Enfys Nest and her crew are a rag-tag group of refugees who saw their home world’s ravaged under the Galactic Empire. The seek revenge, retribution and even Rebellion.

Though the film “Solo” heavily hints that Nest’s crew is the start of the Rebellion, we know from the new Expanded Universe that the Rebellion was built from multiple cells that eventually come together to form a single entity. Present in Enfys’ crew is Bethnic, one of the brothers known as “Two Tubes” who were featured as members of Saw Gerrera’s militia in “Rogue One”. So there is definitely a link between the “Cloud Riders” and the Rebel cells that come together to form the Alliance.

 

Enfys Nest’s crew are pretty impressive as marauders early in the film, but things really get exciting when they take their masks off in the third act. Enfys Nest is revealed to be a young woman and there are quite a few more surprises among her crew, if you look closely.

Chussido is a Rodian (like Greedo and other Rodians we’ve seen in the saga) but in lieu of the standard green she is orange in color. Waydurk is a Mibanese- a species briefly glimpsed earlier in the film on the mud planet of Mimban. Mimbanese are a very cool species and have roots in Star Wars lore as far back as the 1979 novel “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye”.

Faddera Rabar is a Dyplotid and if you look closely you will find other members of his species sprinkled throughout the rest of the film. Gelan Yees is a Sabat (A species that first appeared in Rogue One). Auromae Iselo is a Melbu, which is a new species, but very well designed. 

Another Cloud Rider of note is Baroosh Pawk. According the "Solo: Visual Dictionary” Baroosh Pawk wears an Ubese mask, which is similar to the one Leia wore while disguised as the Ubese bounty hunter, Boushh.

The biggest shock of the whole Enfys gang is Warwick Davis. The man has appeared in many Star Wars films, (usually heavily costumed as Wicket the Ewok, Wald the Rodian-child, etc.) but here he is unmasked and spouting out dialogue. 

Even more amazing, Davis is appearing as “Weazel”- the Sebulba-cheering podrace fan who sat next to Watto during the Boonta Eve Classic in "The Phantom Menace". The character obviously has grown a lot since his gambling days on Tatooine. The timeline even lines up pretty nicely- it’s been two decades since Warwick appeared in “The Phantom Menace” and “Solo” takes place a couple decades after that fateful podrace.

The saddest thing about the Cloud Riders is the lack of attention that the marketing apartment has given them. Since their alter-ego identities were supposed to be a secret, their faces are not even shown in the "Solo: Visual Dictionary". You won’t find their faces under the Lego Minifigure versions of them either. They aren’t featured in any of the comics or books or TV series. They don’t have action figures. If it wasn’t for Topps digital cards, they wouldn’t even have names. I hope in the future Lucasfilm will correct this error and give these characters the backstory they deserve.