Gatekeepers beware, Jaxxon is here. If you’ve never heard of Jaxxon, the giant green rabbit, you may be confused how such a cartoonish character managed to sneak into the sacred garden of Star Wars canon. But the reality is that Jaxxon has always been a part of Star Wars (at least as long as 1978). Jaxxon kicked his way through some of the earliest issues of the 1970’s Marvel Star Wars comics. It is true that Jaxxon was initially not very popular with fans- but over the years the jade space bunny has gained more of a following.
The truth, that many fans refuse to admit, is that anthropomorphic rabbits do have a place in the Star Wars universe. Maybe not in the theatrical films or within the episodes of the Mandalorian. But stuck between the pages of the comics aimed at younger readers is a perfect venue for Bugs-Bunny-like heroes. For the last four years Jaxxon has appeared in the annual edition of “Star Wars Adventures” published by IDW comics. This Halloween, he was also featured in the “Ghosts of Vader’s Castle” line (again from IDW).
Even though Jaxxon has mostly been regulated to kids titles, it’s easy to see how he could appeal to adults. Jaxxon is not some fluffy, cute critter. The character knows how to sling insults and fight his way out of dire situations. He constantly lands himself in trouble (mostly by taking up dangerous smuggling missions) but he always manages to get out of it using his luck and his wits. Jaxxon, in fact, is almost an amalgamation of Han Solo combined with Chewbacca. Jaxxon has recently found his way into titles aimed towards older readers including Star Wars #108 (2019), “From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back” (2020), and a Black Series Hasbro action figure (2021).
And if imitation is really the best form of flattery, then there is no greater testament to Jaxxon’s lasting appeal than the introduction of a new anthropomorphic rabbit to the Star Wars universe. "Star Wars: Visions", which premiered in September 2021 featured an animated short titled “Lop and Ocho”. The eponymous “Lop” being a Lepi (the same bunny-like species of Jaxxon). Though Lop is brown instead of green, the inspiration is clear and the implication is that Star Wars rabbits are here to stay.
Now, plenty of Star Wars “fans” continue to rail against any part of the universe that they find distasteful, and it is true that there isn’t much tasteful about Jaxxon. Although it is notable that some of the same fans that disparage Jaxxon, have no problem with Jar Jar Binks or Ziro the Hutt.
Adventures Annual 2021
Despite his appearance on the cover of Adventures Annual this year (which is becoming something of a tradition for the IDW line) Jaxxon is nowhere to be found within the pages of the double-sized comic. Instead Cavan Scott and crew have decided to bring back another rodent from the vintage Marvel comics of the 1970s. Hoojibs are a species of rabbit-like creatures which are less anthropomorphic and more… basically just rabbits. The creatures were first introduced in Star Wars #55 “Plif” (1981). The titular, Plif, was a representative of the Hoojib back in the 70s comics and is the main Hoojib featured in the 2021 Adventure’s Annual. Hoojibs lack mouths, but feed off of electricity and communicate telepathically. Though they look fairly defenless, having the ability to consume energy is actually pretty useful when fending off droids and blasters. In this way the Hoojibs may be perfectly evolved to fend off the dangers of the Star Wars universe.
Hoojibs are cute and some fans might think that cute little creatures have no place in their toy collections. You know, apart from R2-D2, Ewoks, BB-8, Porgs, and Grogu. Ok… so Grogu kind of cements the point that tiny cute creatures with telepathic powers kind of actually have a comfy home in Star Wars. It doesn’t mean that every Star Wars fan has to dress up in furry outfits like a bunch of bronies, but it does mean that Star Wars is massive enough that it can be a buffet of personal preference and options. Don’t like the rabbits? Fine, skip the rabbits and move onto the robots and space wizards. But please know that some people like the rabbits. And they are getting more popular every day.
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