Zuckuss

"Zuckuss suggests you don't struggle. The stun net will only tighten." "You're Zuckuss? As in the bounty hunter?"

- Zuckuss and Han Solo

Zuckuss was an insectoid male Gand findsman who worked as a bounty hunter prior to and during the Galactic Civil War. A skilled tracker who often worked with 4-LOM, Zuckuss had a run-in with Han Solo that left his ship, the Mist Hunter, powered down on a strange planet. He was later among the hunters assembled by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon following the Battle of Hoth, although Boba Fett ultimately earned the bounty by delivering Han Solo to Jabba Desilijic Tiure.

Early life and career
"And what's with the stink? The place smells like a bantha pen." "The gasses remind Zuckuss of his homeworld."

- Han Solo and 4-LOM

An insectoid being with compound eyes, Zuckuss was a male Gand born on his species' homeworld of Gand as one of the planet's traditional findsmen. Using the findsmen's mystic traditions, dating back centuries, Zuckuss operated as a tireless tracker until the planet's findsman traditions began dying out. He became one of the first such to leave the planet's thick and toxic atmosphere, and wore a respirator to breathe ammonia while operating in oxygen-rich atmospheres in the wider galaxy. He worked as a bounty hunter on lucrative jobs that made use of his particular talents as a highly sought-after hunter with renowned tracking skills, and he often paired up with 4-LOM on many occasions. Although Zuckuss's uncanny abilities made some uneasy, he and 4-LOM remained a formidable team. They flew aboard the Mist Hunter, which Zuckuss filled with gasses to remind him of his homeworld.

Capturing Beris Ford
Zuckuss and 4-LOM captured the small-time criminal Beris Ford, keeping him imprisoned aboard their ship and hoping to use the reward for his capture to pay for tractor beam repairs. Weeks later, the hunters took up a bounty placed by Rekias Nodo on Han Solo, and confronted him at Valtos Space Port. Zuckuss incapacitated the smuggler inside a stun net fired from his snare rifle, and he and 4-LOM loaded Han's cargo into the Mist Hunter, where they imprisoned him along with Ford. Sensing a disturbance in the Force, Zuckuss checked on the stolen cargo only to be attacked by Chewbacca bursting from one of the containers, and was hit with a stun net from his own rifle. Zuckuss was left tied up while the Wookiee rescued Han and Beris, and the scoundrels fled with their cargo back to the Millennium Falcon. However, the hunters pursued, and after a firefight Zuckuss chased the Falcon into space.

Following Solo and Chewbacca to an unidentified planet, Zuckuss again sensed something was wrong, but 4-LOM continued the pursuit through a heavy cloud layer until their ship's systems&mdash;and 4-LOM himself&mdash;suddenly powered down, forcing them to drop out of the sky and crash-land on a beach. Zuckuss was trapped in the wreckage, and called out to Solo for help in freeing his legs, though slapped stuncuffs on Solo when he was in reach. However, the planet's technology-negating effects caused the cuffs to release Solo, who left Zuckuss in his predicament. After Solo and Chewbacca found an energy projector transmitting an immobilizer beam, Zuckuss attacked them with native spears as they climbed the tall mast. Chewbacca dislodged the projection sphere from the top, causing it to crash on the beach below, which caused mechanical drones to erupt from the sand and attack all three interlopers.

Galactic Civil War
"There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the Millennium Falcon. You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive."

- Darth Vader to Zuckuss and five other bounty hunters

Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Zuckuss, along with Black Krrsantan, IG-90, Dengar, Chanath Cha, Beebox and C-21 Highsinger, was hired by Darth Vader to find and return Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, who had been captured by the Rebel Alliance.

After the Battle of Hoth, he was once again hired by Vader, this time to hunt down the Millennium Falcon and capture the passengers alive. However, the passengers were soon found and captured by the Empire on Cloud City, with help from Boba Fett.

Personality and traits
"Something isn't right. Zuckuss can sense it." "How many times must I remind you, Zuckuss? I deal with facts, not superstitious flim-flam."

- Zuckuss and 4-LOM

Zuckuss was a tireless tracker with uncanny abilities that made him a lucrative bounty hunter. Possessing a sixth sense, he claimed he could feel disturbances in the Force, which his partner 4-LOM dismissed as superstitious mumbo-jumbo. He spoke about himself in the third person.

Equipment
"The snare rifle? Where is it? Where is... it?"

- Zuckuss

Zuckuss wore a gas mask respirator connected to breather packs to breathe ammonia in oxygen-rich atmospheres. He wore heavy battle armor under his beige findsman body cloak, and armed himself with a snare rifle. He and 4-LOM flew the Mist Hunter, and sought tractor beam repairs.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Original Trilogy – A Graphic Novel
 * Darth Vader 16: The Shu-Torun War, Part I
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?
 * Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?
 * Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization