Plooz

Plooz was an Alzarian prince, and the son of King Gokus. While still very young, Plooz was effectively kidnapped by Gokus' general, Sludd, as part of an elaborate plot to seize control of Alzar and Sooma. Plooz was taken to the latter, where he met King Zornog. It appeared to Gokus that Zornog had kidnapped the child, which prompted the Alzarian King to ready a military invasion of Sooma. Meanwhile, Zornog had the diplomats C-3PO and R2-D2 take Plooz back to his homeworld.

While in transit, their ship was attacked by Sludd, forcing R2-D2 to make a last ditch attempt to escape by jumping to hyperspace. However, Plooz, attempting to help, had disrupted the ship's anti-matter device, causing a time warp in space that caused the ship to travel into the future. Finding himself in the Endor system, Plooz panicked, and jettisoned one of the craft's escape pods. Landing on the Forest Moon of Endor, Plooz was hailed by the native Ewoks as a "Star Child" that would bring good luck. He became embroiled in the failed Chipa-Gorneesh peace summit, and was later retrieved by C-3PO and R2-D2. The trio returned back through the time warp to their own time, and were able to foil Sludd's coup in the process.

Stowaway
"It's not my fault your son, Prince Plooz, stowed away on a freighter and wound up on my planet!"

- King Zornog of Sooma

Born to King Gokus, Prince Plooz resided in the Alzarian palace. At some stage in the Imperial era, one of his father's generals, Sludd, had the child taken from the palace and placed on a trade freighter, bound for the planet Sooma. Sludd, who was preparing to stage a coup against Gokus and Sooma's King Zornog, planned to make it appear as though the Sooman monarch had kidnapped Plooz. The general predicted that Gokus would react be sending a fleet against Sooma, and starting a war between his world and theirs. In the chaos, Sludd planned to claim both worlds for himself.

Upon arriving on Sooma, young Plooz made his way to into the Sooman palace, where he was met by King Zornog. The king kept the child by his side while communications were opened with Alzar. King Gokus was livid, and began threatening the Sooman king. While he would not tolerate Gokus' bullying, Zornog insisted that Plooz had merely stowed away on a freighter, and that there was no kidnapping plot whatsoever. Gokus refused to accept Zornog's explanation however, and demanded the return of Plooz within a day, or he would send his fleet to attack Sooma. Zornog had more immediate problems to deal with, as Plooz, hoping to play with the Sooman king, grasped the monarch's robes and began tugging, inadvertently throttling the man.

Two diplomatic couriers, R2-D2 and C-3PO, who had recently arrived in the place, were able to fend Plooz off. Grateful, Zornog gave the pair of droids his fastest starship, with which to ferry the young prince back to his father. While in transit, Plooz found his way into the ship's food synthesizer, where he began devouring giant Neuvian sundaes, much to C-3PO's chagrin. However, as the ship continued on its course towards Alzar, battleships under the command of General Sludd bore down on the Sooman craft in attack formation. Panicking, C-3PO hailed the vessels, warning them that he had the Alzarian prince on board. Plooz watched on in horror as Sludd's visage materialized on the ship's viewscreen and informed the occupants that they would soon perish under his guns.

Lost in time
"WAAH! Me want to go home!"

- Prince Plooz

As Sludd's craft swooped down on them, C-3PO had R2-D2 take evasive action, and ordered him to prepare the craft's anti-matter system for hyperdrive. Plooz, overhearing the order, wanted to help, and dashed for the anti-matter controls, tugging at the module's handles. In doing so, he disrupted the ship's anti-matter pods, preventing the proper use of the ship's hyperdrive. At the same time, Sludd's craft began firing electron torpedos, causing C-3PO to hastily order his counterpart to jump to hyperspace without the anti-matter system. The jump was made just before the torpedoes would have hit, placing Plooz, C-3PO and R2-D2 in relative safety.

As they made the unorthodox hyperspace jump, the ship's inhabitants were thrown about the cockpit. As they regained composure, C-3PO noted, with great shock, that there were no stars to be seen outside the ship, and the only thing visible was a bright, pink opening. As they flew through the opening, they could once again see stars, but R2-D2 pointed out that they had in fact traveled one hundred years into the future, and had created a time warp by causing an anti-matter overload upon jumping to hyperspace. Though the astromech droid's caluclations were inaccurate, the trio were in fact in the Endor system, in the Moddell sector. Plooz wailed at the prospect, and began pining for his native Alzar. He made a beeline for the ship's escape pod, but was swiftly restrained by C-3PO. As the protocol droid turned his attention away from the Alzarian prince to give R2-D2 instructions, however, the child dashed for the pod again, this time successfully entering and jettisoning it.

"Star Child"
"Isn't the Star Child wonderful, Wicket?"

- Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka

The pod entered the atmosphere of the Forest Moon of Endor, where it landed, abruptly, in a swamp near Bright Tree Village. A terried Plooz emerged eventually, to the sight of a band of Ewoks. The chief of Bright Tree Village, Chirpa, had seen the pod make its fiery descent to Endor, and had taken it as an omen. The village shaman, Logray, had read in his fortune stones that a blinding flash of light, much like the one generated by the pod's fall, would bring good fortune to the Ewoks. Upon seeing Plooz, Chirpa hailed the Alzarian as a "Star Child," who had been sent to Endor from the stars as a sign that the upcoming Chirpa-Gorneesh peace summit would be a success, and would put an end to the Ewok-Dulok war.

Plooz, however, was less than enthusiastic, and began crying loudly. He was pacified by Wicket W. Warrick, who offered him some honey. While consuming the Ewok victual, Plooz was picked up by Chief Chirpa and taken back to Bright Tree Village, where he could be cared for by the settlement's inhabitants. As Chirpa and his Council of Elders prepared to depart for their meeting with King Gorneesh of the Duloks, Plooz hid away in a large honey pot, devouring the contents from within. He was eventually retrieved, bathed, and held aloft by Chirpa's entourage, as he was taken to the summit as a sign of peace.

Chirpa-Gorneesh peace summit
"You go now Chirpa, or&hellip;there will be no more Star Baby!"

- King Gorneesh

The summit was held at a wooden bridge that crossed a deep chasm, with the two parties standing at opposite sides. Gorneesh summoned Chirpa, requesting that he cross the bridge and meet on the Dulok side. The chief did so, bringing Plooz along with him. Gorneesh concurred with Chirpa's description of the child as a good omen, but quickly snatched the child out of the Ewok's hands, declaring that Plooz' was too good a sign to waste on the Ewoks. The terrified Alzarian prince was held over the chasm by the Dulok King, who demanded that Chirpa and his retinue depart the now-failed summit immediately. Chirpa complied, but as he and his colleagues crossed back over the bridge, one of the ropes suspending it was cut by Umwak, Gorneesh's shaman.

At that moment, C-3PO, R2-D2, Warrick, and Chirpa's daughter Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka approached the location of the summit, with the protocol droid demanding that Gorneesh unhand Plooz. The star Ibleam's rays reflected off C-3PO's surface, making him glow and giving him the appearance of what the Duloks percieved to be an Ewok demon. Gorneesh, terrified, departed with his henchman, leaving Plooz behind. While Chirpa and his Elders were able to make it off the heavily damaged bridge, Plooz attempted to cross by himself, much to the concern of his friends and guardians. R2-D2 produced a rope which Warrick tied to himself in an attempt to go out and retrieve Plooz, but the bridge's ropes snapped quickly, leaving the young Ewok with little choice but to jump down into the chasm after the Alzarian prince. Plooz was caught by Warrick mid-fall, and brought back up to the top of the cliff. Overjoyed, Plooz ran to C-3PO, embracing the protocol droid in relief.

Return
"Must find&hellip;FATHER!"

- Prince Plooz

The Ewoks escorted C-3PO, R2-D2 and Plooz back to the Sooman craft, and bade them farewell. The trio reentered the time warp with little time to spare, as it closed just as they made their way through it. They returned to their own time intact, and although their time-traveling journey had taken hours, they came back mere minutes after their departure. As such, they were once again in danger of being destroyed by Sludd's fleet, but C-3PO took charge, ordering R2-D2 to hurry towards Alzar. Their ship was struck by Sludd's fire, and forced to land just near the palace.

Plooz, instructed by C-3PO to bring his father to the ship, hurried through the corridors of the palace, eventually finding Gokus. He rushed back out to the droids, only to see them being held at gunpoint by Sludd himself. The Alzarian prince put himself in the line of fire by leaping onto C-3PO, while Gokus arrived and demanded an explanation from his general. None was needed, however, as R2-D2 played a recording of Sludd's earlier threat to kill Plooz and take over both Alzar and Sooma. Livid, Gokus had his general and his co-conspirators thrown in prison. Young Prince Plooz however, could do little more than fall asleep.

Personality and traits
"Me come!"

- Prince Plooz

Prince Plooz was a curious individual, constantly investigating technology and people. His curiosity would occasionally be detrimental, such as his inadvertent near-strangulation of King Zornog. Speaking in a fractured dialect, he displayed great affection for his father, as well as C-3PO and R2-D2. Plooz was also partial to sweet foods, like sundaes and honey. Despite his age, the prince was also eager to help, even when he was unable. Again, his enthusiasm would be more of a hindrance than a help, since his tinkering with the Sooman ship's anti-matter device would eventually lead to the creation of a time warp.

Behind the scenes
Plooz made his first appearance in Dave Manak's cross over between the Star Wars: Droids and the Ewoks comic series, which encompassed issues Star Wars Droids 4: Lost in Time and Ewoks 10: The Demons of Endor. The two issues revolve around Plooz, and his various exploits in both time-frames.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Droids 4: Lost in Time
 * Ewoks 10: The Demons of Endor