Xamus/Sumax

Xamus/Sumax was a two-headed, four-armed sentient who was imprisoned on M'Bardi during the Clone Wars. He was possessed of two distinct personalities, one for each of his heads, with one head being a peaceful, gentle being and the other violent and angry. Though they were not unaccustomed to working together, the heads&mdash;each of whom controlled one pair of their body's arms&mdash;had vastly different attitudes and views on life. Eventually, Xamus/Sumax ended up in M'Bardi prison, on a water planet in the Outer Rim.

During the Clone Wars, the Separatist commander Durge started a mass brawl and riot in the prison, which caused damage to the building and allowed water to enter it. Xamus/Sumax was involved in the rioting, though he soon came up against a pair of Jedi Masters, Kit Fisto and Plo Koon, dispatched to M'Bardi to put a stop to the riot. After being incapacitated by Fisto, both of the heads worked together to stop Durge from killing the Jedi, in the interest of their own preservation. Fisto and Koon allowed Xamus/Sumax follow them onto the higher level of the prison, and after another clash with Durge, Fisto allowed him to tag along with the Jedi and watch their back, for which Xamus/Sumax would be rewarded with freedom.

Imprisonment on M'Bardi
"You see everyone as a hero or a villain?" "I also see the innocent victims. Victims of monsters like him."

- Kit Fisto, and Plo Koon, speaking of Xamus/Sumax

Xamus/Sumax was a two-headed, four-armed being with two distinct personalities, both male; one was peaceful and gentle, the other violent and angry. Each personality was embodied by one of the heads, which each controlled two of Xamus/Sumax's four arms&mdash;the peaceful head controlled the lower pair of arms, while the other head controlled the upper, more muscular pair. Each of his heads had three eyes situated in a triangular position, with one above the other two. At some point is his life, the upper left arm was severed and replaced by a simple cybernetic arm, and the aggressive head left eye was badly scarred, while he also lost a number of his teeth. The two shared the same vital organs, so one could not die without taking the other with him to the grave.

The aggressive head often got the other head in trouble, committing illegal acts that the peaceful personality could not prevent. Eventually, Xamus/Sumax was sent to M'Bardi prison on the planet M'Bardi in the Outer Rim Territories. Built underwater on a coral-covered seabed, it was full of ruffians and criminals of various backgrounds and species, and although there was not much in the way of actual security, escaping the prison was not an easy task, as it was surrounded by vast seas. Both of Xamus/Sumax's personalities longed to escape.

Encounter with the Jedi
"No! If you kill one of them, they'll both die! Fortunately, there are other ways to subdue our enemies."

- Kit Fisto, to Plo Koon, speaking of Xamus/Sumax

At some point during the Clone Wars, the bounty hunter Durge, working on behalf of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, incited a large-scale riot at M'Bardi prison. Durge hoped to lure members of the Jedi Order to the riot and ambush them. Before long, the riot had gripped the entire prison; parts of it went up in flames, hundreds of prisoners clashed with each other, and cracks in the walls began to appear throughout the building, allowing water into it, until most floors were covered with a layer of water that reached most beings' feet. Xamus/Sumax was involved in the rioting, finding two blaster pistols, which the aggressive head held in each of his hands, but before long, the Jedi arrived, as Durge had anticipated.

Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Plo Koon were able to disperse the rioting near the prison's entrance, though their appearance prompted the rioters to work together and gang up on them. Eventually, having killed or incapacitated all the prisoners in their path, they came upon Xamus/Sumax, who was alone in a clearing, after cleansing it of any other sentient presence. One of the Jedi ordered him to drop his weapon; the peaceful personality implored his brother to do as told, but the other head refused. He fired at Plo Koon, twice, but each time the Jedi Master blocked the blaster bolts with his lightsaber, before slashing the two weapons from Xamus/Sumax's hands. Koon then Force pushed him backwards and prepared to kill Xamus/Sumax, but his comrade intervened, knowing that if Koon killed his attacker the peaceful head would also perish.

Unlikely allies
"That should hold Durge until reinforcements arrive, but what about our new friends?" "I'll need to trust your instincts on this matter, Master&hellip;" "Then I say we take them along to watch our backs. And perhaps earn time off for good behavior."

- Kit Fisto and Plo Koon decide what to do with Xamus/Sumax

Instead, Fisto knocked Xamus/Sumax unconscious. He didn't stay down for long, though, and awoke to discover that the two Jedi were battling with the heavily-armed Durge. The bounty hunter's natural Gen'dai regenerative abilities made him an almost invincible opponent, so both the aggressive and the peaceful personalities of Xamus/Sumax figured that if they helped the Jedi, they could be granted amnesty and escape M'Bardi; Durge was more likely to let them all drown, as the damage he had caused to the underwater structure with his missiles was letting water in at a very fast rate. Xamus/Sumax, his two halves working together, found a blaster rifle, and found a vantage point from which he could fire upon Durge, who was pinning to the Jedi to either wall on each side of him. Xamus/Sumax's shot took Durge by surprise, and he lost his grip on the Jedi, falling over. In the process, he inadvertently fired two missiles at the ceiling, making it fall in, gallons of water with it.

With Durge seemingly defeated, Xamus/Sumax informed Fisto and Koon that he merely wanted to escape M'Bardi prison alive. The Jedi realized that the whole in ceiling Durge had unwittingly created could be used for them to reach the upper levels; they still had three hundred prisoners to recapture. The Jedi used grappling spikes to ascend to the upper level, helping Xamus/Sumax up with them. As the two-headed convict reached it, however, Durge used his freeforming natural appendages to grab hold of his two heads, attempting to pull Xamus/Sumax back down. The quick-thinking Kit Fisto was able to sever the appendages, rescuing Xamus/Sumax. They then used the Force to push a boulder atop of the whole, trapping Durge below. With their enemy defeated, at least temporarily, Koon and Fisto agreed to allow Xamus/Sumax to travel around the prison with them to watch their backs. Fisto suggested Xamus/Sumax then be allowed leave the prison for their efforts.

Personality and traits
"We just want to get out of here alive." "Both of us."

- The gentle head, and the violent head, of Xamus/Sumax

Xamus/Sumax's right head had cropped, block hair, and a gentle, peaceful personality. He did not partake in violence, seeking to avoid confrontation, and his two arms were far thinner than the two controlled by the left head. When the Jedi at M'Bardi ordered Xamus/Sumax to drop his weapons, the right head requested that his peer do as they told, and he tried to surrender to the Jedi. However, he was not above taking up arms when his life depended on it, and he worked in conjunction with his brother to fire a blaster rifle at Durge.

The left head was the antithesis of his brother. Confrontational and argumentative, he had a scarred, pockmarked face. He was confident in his own strength, opting to take own two senior and powerful Jedi Masters at M'Bardi prison, but he later showed another side by saving the Jedi along with his brother and subsequently turning on his fellow inmates, even if only to save his own skin. His actions questioned Plo Koon's black-and-white view on life, which saw everyone as either a villain or a hero; the left head showed that one could be both.

Behind the scenes
The character of Xamus/Sumax was created by Haden Blackman for Means and Ends, a short comic collected in Clone Wars Adventures Volume 6 in 2006. He was illustrated by Rick Lacy and Dan Jackson, but appeared without a name in the comic. The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published in 2008, gave him a short entry in its third volume, and provided his name.

Appearances

 * Means and Ends