Greedo

Greedo was a male Rodian bounty hunter who grew up on Tatooine in Mos Espa. During the Clone Wars, he was hired by the Trade Federation to kidnap Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe Papanoida, the daughters of Chairman Papanoida, but was forced by the chairman to lead him and his son Ion to them. He was occasionally hired by crimelord Jabba the Hutt for various mercenary jobs, including the capture of Han Solo, who killed the luckless Rodian.

Early life
In his youth, Greedo lived on Tatooine in Mos Espa alongside his friend, fellow Rodian W. Wald, and Anakin Skywalker. When young Skywalker won the Boonta Eve Classic, Greedo accused him of cheating, and the two boys scuffled. Their fight was broken up by Qui-Gon Jinn, and Wald warned him that if he continued his violent ways, he would meet a bad end.

Criminal career
By the Clone Wars, Greedo became a bounty hunter under the employ of Jabba the Hutt. At some point in the war, he traveled to Coruscant and kidnapped Baron Papanoida's daughters, Che Amanwe and Chi Eekway, with the help of another mercenary. The chairman of Pantora/Canon and his son Ion tracked the Rodian bounty hunter to Jabba's Palace and forced him to help them retrieve Che Amanwe from Mos Eisley. When they arrived at the Mos Eisley Cantina where Che Amanwe was held, Greedo turned on the Pantorans, causing the patrons at the cantina to fire upon them while the Rodian slipped out of the area.

Death
Greedo hunted Han Solo for the bounty Jabba placed on his head after the smuggler dropped a large shipment of illicit cargo owned by the Hutt to avoid arrest. He challenged Solo at the Mos Eisley Cantina, where he demanded Solo pay his debt to Jabba at blaster point. Eventually Greedo opened fire on Solo, but missed entirely. Solo responded almost instantaneously by shooting Greedo dead from beneath the table with his readily prepared blaster, then left the cantina, compensating and apologizing to the bartender for the mess.

Personality and traits
As a boy, Greedo was noted for his temper and tendency to pick fights with others, which his friend W. Wald (correctly) predicted would bring him to a "bad end". In adulthood, Greedo was overconfident and slow on the uptake, and something of a poor shot with a blaster, managing to miss shooting Han Solo even at point blank range. He thought highly of himself as a "big time" bounty hunter due to his employment to Jabba the Hutt, though others saw him as unremarkable. He was a frequent customer of the Mos Eisley Cantina, considering it his base of operations and prefered venue for death deals.

Behind the scenes
Paul Blake played Greedo in the shots that feature both Greedo and Han Solo in the same frame. For Greedo's close-ups, a new articulated head was built for pickups at the end of the shoot, and Maria De Aragon was enlisted to play the Rodian. Greedo's language was actually Quechua, a native language of South America. During pickups, Greedo's costume vest changes significantly, as do his hands. In the original shoot, Greedo has long, suction-cup tipped fingers, and in pickups, he has swollen knuckles and shorter fingers. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series he was voiced by Tom Kenny. The Greedo mask and tunic are currently on display as part of the "Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television" in the Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame in Seattle, WA.

Greedo's manner of death has been subject to a number of retcons over the years. The most famous involves the question of who shot first, for in the original 1977 release of the film, as well as the script, Greedo did not shoot at Han at all. In the 1997 re-release of the film, Greedo gets a badly-aimed shot at Solo before Solo kills him. George Lucas has said that this change is to enhance Solo's overall heroism. This was a controversial decision and in the 2004 version the two shots are almost simultaneous, with Greedo shooting first.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novel
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novel
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novel