Ark Roose/Legends

Ark Roose, sometimes known by the nickname "Bumpy", was a particularly dim-witted podracing pilot who cared little for specialized tactics and maneuvers&mdash;his strategy on the track was simply to smash into whoever was nearby. A native to the Outer Rim planet of Sump, the world's sectarian government disapproved of the male Nuknog pilot, though they permitted Roose to race offworld only in a half-hearted hope that he might somehow improve the image of Nuknogs. Ark Roose actually performed fairly well in the podracing circuits, despite his aggressive strategies that otherwise seemed counter-intuitive to the speed-centered sport. Roose notably performed well on the watery world of Aquilaris. He was also a fairly common sight on the desert world of Tatooine, where Roose became familiar with a young Human pilot named Anakin Skywalker.

Ark Roose was nearly bested by Skywalker during a race once, and even though Roose came out ahead, his near loss to a Human child turned him into a laughing stock, thus creating in Ark Roose a thirst for revenge. During 32 BBY, Roose was finally granted the chance to extract revenge on Skywalker after being hired by the aide of Gardulla the Hutt, Diva Funquita. Gardulla believed Skywalker could be detrimental to her betting, and as such Roose set out to sabotage Skywalker's podracer before the start of the upcoming Boonta Eve Classic. However, unfamiliar with Skywalker's pod, Roose unintentionally sabotaged Ben Quadinaros' podracer. Due to the mistake, Skywalker bested Roose in full during the Boonta race by winning the race outright. Roose on the other hand never finished, having become a victim of the equally rowdy pilot Dud Bolt. Roose ended up recovering in a Mos Espa med center.

Early career
"I've never seen that podracer before, and it sure looks pretty junky to me."

- Ark "Bumpy" Roose, spotting Ben Quadinaros podracer

Hailing from the Outer Rim planet of Sump, the dim-witted male Nuknog named Ark Roose made his way from his homeworld and went out into the galactic podracing circuits, despite the wishes of the Sump government. Purchasing a massive Vokoff-Strood Plug-G 927 with a cluster array styled engine, the vehicle could dominate the straightaways due to high end acceleration, and when upgraded, a top quality high speed. However, the vehicle was lackluster when it came to handling, thus making it difficult on sharper courses. However, Roose still managed to add some fame to his name by excelling at a course on the water covered world of Aquilaris known as Bumpy's Breakers, a course that got it's name from the rough turns and harsh obstacles. At some point during his career, Ark Roose gained the nickname of "Bumpy" himself, and became professionally known as such since. Roose often showed little control over his vehicle, and due to his hot desire to keep the lead once attained, he took anyone trying to pass him as a personal offence. These traits made Roose an unpredictable and dangerous pilot on the course. Roose eventually took his career to the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. During a race there, he was nearly overtaken and beaten by the young Human boy Anakin Skywalker. Roose managed to take back the lead, but found that his near defeat had suddenly turned him and his career into a laughing stock. Furious and paranoid that Skywalker may beat him out in the future, Roose held onto a tight grudge against the young boy.

Boonta Race
Around 32 BBY, right before the upcoming Boonta Eve Classic on Tatooine, Roose generally found himself drinking his anger away while wondering why no one had tried to eliminate Skywalker yet. However, having wondered these thoughts allowed after being harassed by the Dug pilot Sebulba, Roose's complaints were overheard by Diva Funquita. Diva Funquita was both a slave and aide to Gardulla the Hutt, and had been tasked by Gardulla to find a way to bring an end to Skywalker as she sorted her bets out with Jabba the Hutt. Ark Roose eagerly accepted Funquita's bribe to sabotage Skywalker, and followed up by mistakenly drinking cleaning fluid. Ark Roose made his way to the podracer hangar bay some time later, but had difficulty in identifying which pod was Skywalker's. Roose eventually found Sebulba, who was busy sabotaging Mars Guo's podracer, and asked the Dug if he knew what Skywalker's pod looked like. Sebulba brushed Roose off, unhelpfully noting that it probably looked like a piece of junk. Roose spotted Ben Quadinaros' BT310 quadra-Podracer, and having never seen it before and believing it to be in a state of disrepair, Roose sabotaged it, rigging it so it wouldn't accelerate. Believing he had accomplished his job, Roose began to make his own preparations for the Boonta.

Ark Roose started in the fourth row on the outside, and was given a hearty introduction from the Troig race announcer Fodesinbeed Annodue. Upon his introduction, a band began playing from the Mos Espa Grand Arena grand stands and Roose cheerfully waved back before entering his pod. When the race began the contestants burst from the grid and into the track with the exception of two&mdash;Anakin Skywalker and Ben Quadinaros. Skywalker however was able to move his pod into the race shortly after, whereas Ben's podracer, due to Roose's tampering, ended up losing control of the engines when the power couplings failed. Roose managed to stay near the front of the pack for most of the race and navigated the course well, and even managed to avoid being destroyed by Tusken Raiders who had camped out on one of the turns. However, at the beginning of the second lap, Roose needed to make a pit-stop where his DUM-series pit droid team administered the maintenance that was needed before Roose could speed off again. Conversely, the pilot Ody Mandrell also stopped into the pits, but his left engine was destroyed when a Pit Droid was sucked into the engine's intake.

Near the end of the second lap, Roose's nemesis, Skywalker, zoomed past him to take place behind Sebulba, who had for the majority of the race kept the lead. Sebulba and Skywalker, enemies in their own right, dueled each other for the remainder of the race. However, as Roose began to make his way through a part of the track known as The Coil, Sebulba's in-race bodyguard, Dud Bolt, slammed into his podracer. "Bumpy" ended up biting the dust, but managed to take Bolt down with him, becoming one of the last wrecks in the race. Ark Roose and Dud Bolt were both recovered shortly thereafter and were taken to the Mos Espa med center to recover. As it turned out, Skywalker won the race entirely, much to the Nuknog's dismay.

Personality and traits
Ark Roose was a paranoid individual who for a time believed Anakin Skywalker was out to get him. However, the feeling was in no way unusual, as Roose was known to take offense at anyone who tried to overtake him. Even though Skywalker was only a child at the time, Roose was not above finding an act of revenge to partake on Skywalker, though he never came upon the idea of doing it himself until he was hired to do so by Diva Funquita. Roose, though, was generally aggressive on the track towards Anakin Skywalker anyways. However, despite such, Roose was a scatterbrained dim-wit, and one occasion was referred to as a lunkhead, though he detested the insult. Roose wasn't even particularly liked by his own homeworld, who only half-heartedly hoped he could improve the image of Nuknogs by performing well. As it turned out, Roose, as dim-witted as he was, was a fairly skilled pilot.

Ark Roose had skin that was a deep purple in color, and small yellow eyes. Standing at 1.63 meters tall, he was much taller than any of the other Boonta contestants.

Behind the scenes
Ark Roose first appeared in the 1999 novel Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace written by Terry Brooks, based on the 1999 film of the same name. While a detailed sculpture was created, Roose appeared as a low res digital model for medium and and distance shots. The basic model was later re-used in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones for the character Slyther Bushforb and several other background Nuknogs. A more detailed version of Ark Roose's digital model was created for closeups included on The Phantom menace DVD. Much of Roose's history and background was revealed in the 2000 web-comic Podracing Tales, published by Dark Horse Comics. Roose also appeared in the 1999 video game Star Wars: Episode I Racer as a playable character, though in-game he was much shorter than his film appearance. This short-stature version of Roose appeared again in the 2012 Xbox 360 video game Kinect Star Wars.

In The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels, Ark "Bumpy" Roose's name is misspelled as Ark "Bumpy" Rose.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Episode I: The Phantom Menace ½
 * Podracing Tales
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (novel)
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * ''Kinect Star Wars
 * The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi