Zuckuss/Legends

"Zuckuss is dangerous to himself and others."

- Gawynn Karastee

Zuckuss was a successful Gand bounty hunter during the height of the New Order. Referred to as "The Uncanny One" by his fellow hunters, Zuckuss was renowned for his ability to discover hidden quarry. His tracking skills derived both from his training as a findsman and from his innate Force-sensitivity, allowing him to sense individuals at range and sense the motives of his prey.

During his long career, Zuckuss had many associates but was known primarily to partner with the droid 4-LOM. The two made a formidable bounty hunting team, and were successful in retrieving the Yavin Vassilika, over such opponents as Bossk and Dengar. Their success eventually attracted the attention of the Empire, and they were hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon near the end of the Galactic Civil War. Due to his famed abilities, Zuckuss was highly sought after, and he found employment with the Bounty Hunters Guild, the Hutt Cartel, TaggeCo, and even the Rebellion for a time. Somewhat of a Rebel sympathizer, Zuckuss eventually began to hunt primarily for New Republic targets near the end of his career.

Although incredibly successful, Zuckuss was not without major flaws. He was plagued with schizophrenia and an advanced case of multiple personality disorder which caused him to speak in two different dialects. Despite his mental health, Zuckuss became incredibly popular on his homeworld of Gand, eventually inspiring an entire generation of Gand bounty hunters to seek success off-world.

Early life
Zuckuss was a native of the planet Gand, and a member of the Gand subspecies with ammonia-breathing lungs. His family had a long lineage as findsmen, stretching back 300 years, to which Zuckuss, and his second cousin Lu'daal-ud, were heirs. Findsmen were elite religious trackers, able to locate prey through meditating and divining omens in arcane rituals. Zuckuss dubbed this his "intuition" and it would earn him the nickname "The Uncanny One". The findsmen were essential on the mist-filled planet Gand, but when the Galactic Empire conquered the planet, new high-tech scanning equipment rendered the role of the findsman virtually obsolete. Zuckuss later saw this process repeated when he witnessed Darth Vader and his men subjugate another planet. Despite the interference of the Empire, Zuckuss continued his findsman training, regardless of its apparent obsolescence.

While many findsmen retired, or tried to find a new profession, Zuckuss chose to use his talents elsewhere, becoming the first findsman to ever seek employment offworld since the First Jedi Purge. The reasons for Zuckuss's departure are conflicting, and evidence suggests that Zuckuss had failed to become a respected findsman like his forefathers and left the planet in disgrace. The shame Zuckuss experienced by leaving his homeworld eventually caused him to develop a separate personality. While the typically self-deprecating Gand reserved first person pronouns for their elite Janwuine-jika, Zuckuss arrogantly referred to himself in the first-person, using pronouns such as "I" and "me". To balance this disregard for Gand language protocols and culture, Zuckuss's separate personality took to acting as a respectable findsman, never referring to himself except in the third-person.

After leaving his homeworld, Zuckuss had immediate success as a bounty hunter. His ability to divine the future made him one of the most successful hunters around. Joining with the Bounty Hunters Guild under Crimson Nova, Zuckuss began to work high-profile jobs alongside the head of the house, Breela and the Ubese Boushh. One job even found them pursuing the Clone Wars Jedi General Kai Justiss. News of Zuckuss's success eventually reached his home planet where his exploits became legendary. Although many Gand believed Zuckuss to be certifiably insane, his offworld success eventually led to a new generation of Gand bounty hunters that sold their services to the highest bidder. Zuckuss was eventually hired by the Hutts as a permanent member of their staff. Working for Jabba Desilijic Tiure, Zuckuss carried out a number of successful missions on his own, before the Hutt partnered him with another up-and-coming bounty hunter known as 4-LOM.

A profitable partnership
"You estimate this Vassilika to be worth millions. How is it that such a treasure has not become the focus of a galactic expedition? I suspect&hellip;you would prefer this operation conducted with discretion&hellip;?"

- Zuckuss

With his new partner, Zuckuss began to have more success than he had ever experienced. With his ability to find hidden quarry and 4-LOM's patient analytical skills, the duo were unbeatable. Although Zuckuss had initially teamed up with the droid to please his Hutt employers, he grew to genuinely respect the droid's abilities. The pair regularly worked for Embra the Hutt, becoming one of his usual stable of bounty hunters. Around 1 BBY, he employed them to take part in the hunt for the legendary Yavin Vassilika. The hunt pitted them against two rival teams each competing for a different Hutt employer.

The Vassilika's location was unknown to everyone except for a partially-insane old businessman known as Illyan Webble. Webble was known to be residing on the planet Kalkovak, and Zuckuss and 4-LOM hurried to beat their competition to Webble's location. Partnered with the mysterious hunter, Sardu Sallowe, the group was the first to arrive on Kalkovak. Unfortunately, they were unable to locate Webble before he fled off-world, making it as far as Dac. With the other teams in close pursuit, Zuckuss and his companions were, again, the first to arrive, starting their search at the Vagabond Registration Office. The search revealed that Webble had stolen a skiff and had piloted it out into the middle of the ocean. After chartering a skiff, Zuckuss used his intuition to pinpoint Webble's precise location.

However, a rival hunting team made up of Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and Chewbacca&mdash;with Greedo tagging along&mdash;had arrived just after them. Beating Zuckuss and his team to Webble's location, the Gand resorted to sabotage, activating an explosive that Sallowe had placed on their opponent's skiff. Solo's engine exploded, leaving Zuckuss and his companions free to search for Webble unopposed. They found Webble's ship abandoned, with the raving madman nowhere to be found. Luckily, Zuckuss was able to tap into the memory of the great coral reef known as The Bank. The ancient reef had captured Webble's memories before his death, and after reading them, Zuckuss discerned the Vassilika's location.

The group quickly left Dac, making their way to Webble's coordinates where they found an uncharted planet. Sallowe's tracking skills led them right to the Vassilika, where villagers of the Thelvin Order of Barundi were guarding it. Inside the village, 4-LOM easily located the artifact and prepared to retrieve it. However, in trying to secure the item, the entire village assaulted him, causing major damage. Although Sallowe wished to rescue their comrade, Zuckuss decided it would be better to make a quiet retreat back to their ship.

Arriving back at their landing point, Zuckuss was surprised to find two other ships present, the Millennium Falcon and Slave I. Boba Fett's ship could only mean one thing, and Zuckuss was unsurprised when Fett appeared, and rendered Sallowe unconscious. Fett had been hired to protect Solo while he searched for the Vassilika, and he requested that Zuckuss use his abilities to lead him to the Corellian. After sensing that Solo had fallen into the same trap as 4-LOM, Zuckuss led Fett back to the village where the Mandalorian burst into the village's prison, rescuing all inside. Simultaneously, the last team of hunters arrived&mdash;comprising Bossk, Dengar, and IG-88B&mdash;and tried to nab the Vassilika. In the ensuing chaos, Sallowe got a hold of the artifact. Unfortunately, the violence caused Sallowe to lose the item, stolen by Jozzel Moffet, the majordomo of Malta the Hutt. With the item gone, Zuckuss convinced the rest of the hunters to team together to track down Moffet.

Sallowe discovered that Moffet had taken the Millennium Falcon to Yavin 4, and the hunters raced to the site to prevent her from claiming their reward. Zuckuss was forced to leave 4-LOM on the planet, since the Thelvin Order had dismembered him. Arriving on Yavin 4, the hunters ambushed Moffet just as she was selling the Vassilika to the Rebellion. Moffet had sold the artifact for four million credits, and while the rest of the hunters argued over what to do with her, Zuckuss stole the money and placed a 200,000 credit bounty on Bossk and Dengar. This motivated IG-88 to betray his partners to secure the bounty. Although registered bounties were non-rescindable, Zuckuss knew the resulting confusion would allow him to escape with the funds.



However, Dengar caught wind of the betrayal and shot Zuckuss in the shoulder before he could escape. With Zuckuss injured, Moffet temporarily reclaimed the money, but was soon shot in the back by Farquil Ban'n, assistant to Embra the Hutt. Ban'n claimed the 4 million credits for herself, but before she left, declared Zuckuss and his crew the winners of the competition. She instructed him to bring a copy of the Vassilika back to Embra and claim his reward. She also gave Zuckuss an additional 200,000 credit reward to help repair 4-LOM.

New partners
"You needn't act wise and superior with me. I've collected nearly as many bounties as you have. Your family connections are the only reason for your rank in the Guild."

- Zuckuss complains to Bossk

Although Zuckuss and 4-LOM had successfully completed another mission against stiff competition, they found themselves without any funds. Forced to use the extra 200,000 to pay for his bounty on Bossk and Dengar, Zuckuss spent the rest of the reward repairing 4-LOM. Starved for funds, Zuckuss and 4-LOM took a quick job from fellow bounty hunter Skorr to help track down the Rebel agent Kestrel. Joined by the bounty hunter Furlag, the group tracked Kestrel to an old spaceport on Ord Mantell, where she was making a quick getaway. Even though the bounty hunters immediately opened fire and tried to shoot down the ship, they were unable to keep Kestrel from escaping.

Skorr had likely offered his fellow hunters a cut of the reward, and when their quarry escaped, Furlag was the first to blame Skorr for their failure to capture an easy mark. With another blemish on their record, Zuckuss and 4-LOM decided to return to Tatooine and Jabba the Hutt. The duo began running small jobs for Jabba, and around 0 BBY gave fellow hunter Dyyz Nataz a lift out to the Komnor system on Jabba's request. Around the same time, Zuckuss and 4-LOM attended Greedo's funeral for reasons unknown. Although the two hunters were still looking for a new high-profile job, unforeseen circumstances ended up blocking their way.

Jabba had recently received rumors that the droid 12-4C-41 was planning to kill him. Unafraid of the droid but still suspicious of his motives, Jabba sent all the hunters under his employ out to gather information on 12-4C-41's plans. Although Zuckuss and 4-LOM's ship could have been the first one to the droid's location on Vactooine, their craft had broken down and needed repairs at the time. Without the ability to take part in the hunt, the pair devised a plan to still cash in on the bounty. Lying in wait for Jabba's returning hunters, Zuckuss and his partner ambushed the first returning member of the hunting party, hoping to steal his information and give it to the Hutt themselves. Inexplicably, the pair was humiliated by the rival hunter, who eventually gave the information to Jabba himself and cashed in on the bounty.

Back to the Guild
Still with barely any credits, and sensing that he was missing the real profits, Zuckuss split with 4-LOM and the Hutts and decided to rejoin the Bounty Hunters Guild. Zuckuss expected his long career and reputation to precede him. Instead, they treated him as another novice bounty hunter, something that irritated him greatly.

Zuckuss paired with Bossk on a number of missions, but the two disliked each other immensely. Bossk found Zuckuss to be too hesitant while Zuckuss found Bossk's headstrong manner dangerous to their missions. One of their first missions together was to secure a bounty on the unscrupulous accountant, Nil Posondum. With a 12,500 credit bounty on his head, Zuckuss and Bossk hoped to easily secure the contract. After discovering him hiding out in a casino, the duo prepared to eliminate the casino guards and snatch the bounty. Unfortunately for the pair, Boba Fett arrived first and stole the bounty away from them. Zuckuss and Bossk found themselves in a firefight with casino personnel that had arrived following Fett's apprehension of the accountant. To escape the guards, the pair jumped out of a third story window and raced back to their ship, the Hound's Tooth. They eventually caught up with Fett, but were unable to retrieve the bounty from him.

Humiliated by their defeat, Bossk and Zuckuss returned to the Guild just in time to hear that Fett was meeting with the Guild Council. Although Fett was granted safe travel while attending the meeting, Bossk had decided to destroy Fett before his arrival. Zuckuss was vehemently opposed to the plan, but could not dissuade Bossk. After finding a signature matching that of the Slave I, Bossk opened fire on the ship, ripping through its canopy. Bossk was still not convinced that he had killed Fett, and the two searched the ship. However, the craft turned out to be a decoy with a bomb inside. The pair only barely escaped before it exploded in a spectacular fashion.

The Hound's Tooth was badly damaged in the explosion, and Bossk and Zuckuss were forced to make repairs before they could get back to the Guild's headquarters. When they finally arrived, they were surprised to find that Fett had laid aside his independent behavior to join the Guild. Although Bossk was immediately distrustful of Fett, Zuckuss had no problem welcoming him into the Guild. Fett soon received a high profile job obtaining the bounty on Oph Nar Dinnid, with Zuckuss and Bossk placed on a team with him. Cradossk, Bossk's father and leader of the Guild, specifically placed Zuckuss on the team for his own purposes. Cradossk knew that his son had plans to kill him and take control of the Guild and wanted to make sure Bossk didn't return from the job. Zuckuss readily agreed to Cradossk's request and left with Fett and Bossk to recruit fellow hunters for the job.

With the addition of IG-88B and the cyborg hunter D'harhan, Fett's team was completed. Together they left for Shell Hutt territory to retrieve their bounty. Unfortunately for the team, after their arrival, they were double-crossed by Gheeta the Hutt who killed Dinnid prematurely to exact his revenge on Boba Fett. The team came under heavy fire, resulting in the death of D'harhan and a major wound to Bossk. With the mission a failure, the team returned to the Guild where Zuckuss decided to double-cross Cradossk and side with his current partner. Alongside Cradossk's majordomo Ob Fortuna, Zuckuss convinced the old Trandoshan that Bossk had been killed on the mission. Cradossk breathed a sigh of relief before his son surprised him and killed him, eventually devouring his father.

After the Guild
While the death of Cradossk led to the collapse of the Bounty Hunters Guild, Zuckuss was still reluctant to rejoin his Hutt employers. As such, he accepted a job from Boba Fett to trick Bossk into thinking the Gand had died. Fett was partnering with Bossk to capture the bounty on Trhin Voss'on't, and needed a secret ally, should Bossk try to double cross him. Zuckuss's natural ability as a Gand to silence his bodily functions for long stretches of time helped convince Bossk that he was truly dead.

Boba Fett kept Zuckuss in his ship on the ruse that he was using the body to help convince Trhin Voss'on't that they were actually on his side. The dead body would show that they were actually protecting him from other hunters. Fett and Bossk finally managed to apprehend the bounty, but just as Fett suspected, Bossk attempted a double-cross. Fulfilling his part of the deal, Zuckuss held Bossk at gunpoint, preventing him from killing Fett and forcing him aboard an escape pod. Ironically, Fett double crossed Zuckuss as well and forced him aboard the pod with Bossk, keeping the entire bounty to himself.

Back to the Hutts
After being humiliated once again, Zuckuss decided to leave the fractured Guild and its former members behind him. Following the battle of Talus, he became involved in capturing Emperor's Most Wanted, individuals from a list of high-paid bounties on critical Rebel Alliance members and supporters. Zuckuss had been observing the information broker Talon Karrde and when 4-LOM put him in touch with another bounty hunter, Zuckuss welcomed the help. The two hunters decided to infiltrate Karrde's ship, the Wild Karrde, by smuggling Zuckuss in with a shipment of starship parts, while his companion arranged a meeting with the target by impersonating an engineer with a stolen datafile. Examining the information presented to him, Karrde got suspicious and called in his guards, but at that moment, Zuckuss dropped in from the ventilation shaft and started the firefight. In the small confines of the meeting room, the hunters were effectively able to deal with the guards, and Zuckuss called in for an Imperial shuttle to dock with the freighter and prepared to deliver Karrde to the Imperial authorities.

Later, returning to the Hutts, he teamed up with 4-LOM once again. Even with his glaring failures, Zuckuss's exploits had given him legendary status among his people on his home planet and he was able to commission a group of Gand businessman to help him build his own starship. Dubbed the Mist Hunter, the craft was constructed by Byblos Drive Yards, providing Zuckuss with his own personalized ship at long last. Reunited with 4-LOM, Zuckuss and his companion had a stretch of amazing success, capturing one impressive bounty after another. Unfortunately, their success came to a sudden end. In one casual hunt, a desperate woman ripped Zuckuss's respirator away from his face. Although Zuckuss had the ability to hold his breath for extended periods of time, he reflexively inhaled three breaths of deadly oxygen. The oxygen permanently damaged his lungs, and without replacements, he would ultimately die.

Unfortunately, the procedure for cloning new lungs was notoriously expensive, around 50,000 credits. Even with their recent success, the required fee was something that Zuckuss and 4-LOM simply did not have. Desperate, the two took on a bounty from the Rebellion for Imperial Governor Nardix. Although the Rebellion paid the hunters well for the capture, it was still not enough to buy Zuckuss the surgery. Unfortunately for the pair, the Rebellion publicly tried Nardix with crimes against sentients, and executed him, causing a public disgrace for the Empire. For their part in the proceedings, the Empire issued death warrants for Zuckuss and 4-LOM, who were forced to watch their backs at every turn.

The duo was placed in a compromising situation when Jabba ordered them to accept the Imperial bounty for Han Solo. The meeting, to be held on the Executor, was a great risk for the pair, and Zuckuss meditated the entire way there to discover whether Vader knew of their involvement in the Nardix affair. Zuckuss eventually surmised that Vader was aware of the crime, but didn't care. He only wished to see Solo captured. En route to the ship, the Mist Hunter became temporarily caught up in the Battle of Hoth where they helped disable the Rebel transport Bright Hope, an act of good will towards the Imperials.

Before meeting up with the other hunters assigned to the job, Zuckuss was forced to shoot himself up with pain-killers to mask his injury from his fellow bounty hunters and, most importantly, Darth Vader. The meeting went well enough, with Zuckuss and 4-LOM one of the first back to their ship. Zuckuss used his intuition to surmise that Solo would make his way to the Rebel rendezvous in a place outside the known galaxy. Zuckuss planned to make it to the rendezvous first to ambush Solo and get the bounty with ease.

The pair knew that they needed some excuse to be able to arrive at the rendezvous point uninvited. In order to provide an excuse, the pair decided to rescue the transport they had previously help disable, the Bright Hope. Zuckuss and 4-LOM docked with the ship and claimed to the surviving passengers that they had been sent by the Rebellion to rescue them. The survivors' commanding officer, Toryn Farr, was suspicious of the pair, rightfully believing them to be bounty hunters. Eventually, Zuckuss was able to convince Farr that they were genuinely trying to help, and they were able to cram ninety wounded rebels onto the Mist Hunter by replacing the ammonia atmosphere of the ship with oxygen. This confined Zuckuss to an ammonia suit for the duration of the trip.

Instead of bringing the Rebels immediately to the rendezvous point, Farr forced the pair to bring the wounded Rebels to an underground base on Darlyn Boda. Unfortunately, this extended their trip, and Zuckuss's health began to deteriorate rapidly. The Rebels' droid, 2-1B examined the suffering Gand and claimed that he would be able to perform a medical procedure on Zuckuss which would allow him to regrow new lungs. Unfortunately, the procedure could only be performed in a special facility, one which was only located at the Rebels' rendezvous point. Touching down on Darlyn Boda, they quickly offloaded the seriously wounded Rebels, and then proceeded to the rendezvous point, accompanied by a handful of Rebels, including Toryn Farr.

Zuckuss's lungs had deteriorated rapidly due to the confined ammonia suit, and he was near death. However, out of a kindness unknown to droids, his partner 4-LOM allowed Zuckuss to sleep with the Ankarres Sapphire while the droid piloted the Mist Hunter the rest of the way to the rendezvous point. The sapphire, renowned for its healing properties, sustained Zuckuss until they reached the Rebel's specialized medical facilities.

Finally arriving at the rendezvous point, the two bounty hunters were met with open arms, and Zuckuss was immediately taken into intensive care. However, the Rebels also supplied some bad news. Their rival Boba Fett had already captured Han Solo. The pair knew that their failure in the hunt meant that their death mark would remain, but 4-LOM had already calculated another plan. While in the Rebel stronghold, the droid had observed two of the Rebel's heroes: Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Their capture would most likely gain the Empire's favor, and 4-LOM prepared a plan of attack. However, Zuckuss was still in critical condition, awaiting the procedure that would help him regrow new lungs. Zuckuss informed 4-LOM that he had been meditating and had intuited that were they to attempt to capture Skywalker and Organa, they would fail and instead end up with "a golden, bumbling droid" and the two medical droids they had brought to safety. The Empire would be uninterested in acquiring the droids and the pair would find themselves hunted by both the Rebels and the Empire. For this reason, Zuckuss decided against betraying the Rebels, opting to stay with them. Without Zuckuss's help, 4-LOM knew the chances of success were next to none. With no other options open, the pair decided to join the Rebellion, partly in return for their genuine kindness towards Zuckuss in his fragile state.

Rebel agent
"It's a big reward. There's plenty for everyone. We're all in the same business, Fett. Think how much easier it would be if we worked together&mdash;shared the responsibility."

- Zuckuss

After Zuckuss had regrown his lungs, he and 4-LOM were assigned to the Alliance Special Forces, who modified the Mist Hunter considerably so that it resembled more of a recon ship than a starfighter. Their first assignment was recovering Han Solo before Boba Fett could deliver him to Jabba.

Zuckuss rejoined his bounty hunter peers in order to establish his cover as a bounty hunter while working as a Rebel agent. Working with Bossk, Dengar, and IG-88 once again, Zuckuss accepted a contract from Domina Tagge. The quartet provided protection and support for TaggeCo's operatives as they tried to unleash a plague of the Crimson Forever on members of both the Empire and the Rebellion. However, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and Leia Organa were able to foil the plot, and Zuckuss fled the scene with Domina.

His status as a Rebel operative now cleverly obscured, he and 4-LOM recruited his partner Bossk in order to track down the Slave I. Zuckuss arranged a meeting with Fett on the planet Gall to convince the bounty hunter to take on additional partners. Meanwhile, a task force of hunters led by 4-LOM tried to rescue Solo from Fett's ship. The meeting went awry when Fett sensed a double-cross, returning to his ship just in time to prevent 4-LOM from stealing Solo.

Bossk and Zuckuss tried to keep Fett from leaving the planet, but at the same time, a firefight erupted between Imperial and Rebel forces. In the confusion, Fett disappeared, along with 4-LOM who was being held captive aboard Fett's ship. Zuckuss and Bossk quickly fled Gall in the Hound's Tooth, trying to track Fett before he could get to Tatooine and claim the bounty on Solo. Luckily for the hunters, 4-LOM had survived the attack and was able to transmit a signal to Zuckuss and Bossk from the Slave I. The hunters used the signal to find Fett's hiding place and opened fire on him. Fett's ship was damaged, and Zuckuss took the Hound's Tooth reconnaissance ship, the Nashtah Pup, to board the disabled craft along with several other hunters including Furlag.

After boarding the ship, Zuckuss quickly captured Fett and ordered Furlag to chain him up in his own hold. As Zuckuss and his men tried to release the binds securing Solo to the Slave I, Fett easily outsmarted Furlag and was able to get away. Turning the tables, Fett killed the rest of Zuckuss's men and took the Gand hostage. Forced at gunpoint, Zuckuss lied to Bossk about how the operation was proceeding. Fett then loaded the Nashtah Pup with explosives and sent it back to Bossk's ship where it exploded, disabling the Hound's Tooth. With Bossk incapacitated, Fett fled the scene, placing Zuckuss into a cell alongside his comrade 4-LOM, whom Fett had personally disabled by putting a blaster bolt through his verbobrain.

Zuckuss was kept in his cell while Fett repaired his ship and formulated a plan for delivering his cargo to Jabba without further confrontations. Zuckuss believed there was no chance Fett could deliver the cargo untouched, but the Mandalorian designed a plan of attack. Binding and gagging Zuckuss, Fett tied the bounty hunter to a spare speeder bike and outfitted him in an extra set of Mandalorian armor. Fett then mounted 4-LOM's wrecked body to a platform on the back of the craft, completing the illusion that Fett was going to tow Solo the rest of the way on a speeder bike. Flying low to the ground, Fett dropped off the speeder bike, which drove quickly away carrying 4-LOM and Zuckuss with it. Luckily for Zuckuss, the rampaging speeder was brought to a halt by a carefully timed blaster bolt. However, Bossk was not pleased to find that the man under the mask was actually Zuckuss and not Fett.

Back to bounty hunting
"It's a cold, hard galaxy we live in."

- Zuckuss

After Fett humiliated him yet again, Zuckuss left the Rebellion to concentrate on rebuilding 4-LOM. He was finally able to repair the droid, but the encounter with Fett had irreparably damaged his verbobrain. Only a complete memory wipe could reactivate him. Sadly, 4-LOM was never the same, and the idealism that had led him to join the Rebellion alongside Zuckuss had become completely nonexistent. Zuckuss tried to return the pair to bounty hunting, but 4-LOM had other ideas. Having lost his loyalty to Zuckuss, the droid felt that he no longer needed a partner and planned to go out on his own. However, Zuckuss convinced him to take one last job on the gambler Drawmas Sma'Da.

Sma'Da frequented an upscale cantina run by Salla C'airam, which had a strict weapons policy, forcing the pair to come up with a way to sneak a blaster into the establishment. While Zuckuss brought in a powered-down blaster, 4-LOM was able to hide a power pack inside his head-casing. Once inside the establishment, Zuckuss quickly assembled the blaster and took Sma'Da captive. Zuckuss and 4-LOM led the gambler back to their ship and turned him over to the Empire for a handsome reward. Shortly afterward Zuckuss and 4-LOM parted ways. Zuckuss left for the Outer Rim to continue his career as a bounty hunter. It was known that he continued this work into the reign of the New Republic, whose bounties he increasingly took, due to his short stint in the Alliance.

Final fate
"The extreme pressure of some situation drove him over the edge."

- Gawynn Karastee

Although Zuckuss continued bounty hunting in the Outer Rim, he was never able to reach the same heights of success that he had experienced in his glory days. His health continued to deteriorate and at some point, Zuckuss found himself incarcerated in a penal facility on Coruscant, as due to his one-time stint with the Alliance, he was considered too valuable by the New Republic to be thrown into a common prison. While there, Zuckuss was analyzed by Gawynn Karastee, a criminal psychiatrist. In her analysis, Karastee diagnosed Zuckuss as schizophrenic and exhibiting multiple personality disorder. She found Zuckuss to be incredibly violent and dangerous to others. From her analysis, it seemed unlikely that they would ever release Zuckuss&mdash;at least not willingly.

In Zuckuss's meditations, he had often looked to find out the circumstances of his own death. He surmised that he would eventually be killed, though he could not pinpoint exactly who would do the deed. However, he had ruled out 4-LOM and Vader as his potential killers. It was also known that Drawmas Sma'Da planned to exact his revenge on Zuckuss and 4-LOM for turning him over to the authorities. A pilot named Starter once claimed to have killed Zuckuss and several other bounty hunters on Cloud City during the Galactic Civil War, though the pilot's colleagues dismissed the story as a tall tale.

Equipment
"Zuckuss, how any being can exist behind a respirator is beyond me... Mastication is life's greatest pursuit! Chewing is living!"

- Embra the Hutt

Zuckuss made use of a specialized respirator, which allowed him to breathe ammonia in oxygen-rich environments. Zuckuss also equipped a heavy set of battle armor under his heavy cloak to protect his fragile body while on missions. He would also don a computer and a sensor array, which he hung on straps around his neck.

Zuckuss's character weapon was the GRS-1 snare rifle, which he mounted prominently in his cockpit. It was capable of hitting targets up to 150 meters away with liquefied shockstun mist, which hardened into a translucent web upon contact. Zuckuss also occasionally used the BlasTech W-90 concussion rifle,and the EE-3 blaster rifle and was also proficient in the use of stun grenades, vibro-blades and a wide variety of other blaster pistols and blaster rifles.

Zuckuss made use of two ships throughout his long career. The first, used during the hunt for the Yavin Vassilika, had an extremely fast hyperdrive that rivaled that of the Millennium Falcon. It beat the Falcon numerous times during the race for the Yavin Vassilika. After his reunion with 4-LOM, Zuckuss acquired a new ship, dubbed the Mist Hunter. The ship was commissioned by a group of Gand businessmen, from Byblos Drive Yards. A 15 meter G-1A transport, the ship was a typical bounty hunter's ship, though it proved effective for Zuckuss. It made use of special repulsorlift technology developed for cloud cars, such as those on Bespin. Later, the Rebel Alliance heavily modified the ship, bringing it closer in capacity to a recon ship. Smuggling compartments capable of carrying eight beings were installed, along with a sensor mask, tractor beam and various weapons upgrades.

Personality and traits
"The mists will show you the way."

- Zuckuss

Zuckuss displayed a hesitance looked down on by some hunters as cowardice. While many of his comrades would opt to rush in with guns blazing, Zuckuss always took the more cautious approach and weighed his options beforehand. However, Zuckuss was prone to sudden outbursts of violence and could be quite brutal if pushed or cornered.

Plagued with schizophrenia and a split personality, Zuckuss had two distinct outlooks on life. One personality adopted the devout role of a findsman and respected ancient Gand traditions and rules to a fault. Zuckuss's other personality was apathetic to his Gand heritage and freely referred to himself in the first-person. This personality was also insecure with himself and doubted his abilities. The latter personality was the dominant one, and the former only surfaced when Zuckuss felt extremely guilty towards his breaking away from Gand culture.

However, Zuckuss was not without sentimental emotions, and he generally responded positively to kindness and empathy. While with the Rebels, Zuckuss's outlook on life was quite positive and he found himself being genuinely friendly to his comrades in arms. Zuckuss also had a strong connection with his frequent companion 4-LOM and cared about his well-being. When his droid comrade's memory was destroyed during their stint as Rebels, Zuckuss became quite depressed.

Despite his proven competence while working solo, Zuckuss preferred to work with associates, co-operating with over a dozen of his peers during his career. He was open to learning from these others, using their experience to constantly improve his skills.

Behind the scenes
Zuckuss's multiple personality disorder was a retcon introduced in the first edition of The Essential Guide to Alien Species to explain drastic personality differences between sources: especially between The Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy and previously established canon from Tales of the Bounty Hunters.

There was originally some confusion as to which character is Zuckuss and which is his partner 4-LOM due to their names being switched on their Kenner action figures. Initially, the bug-eyed alien was named 4-LOM by Kenner, and the droid was named Zuckuss. Later on, Lucasfilm decided that droids had names with cyphers and letters, and organics had not. Thus, the names were swapped.

Zuckuss is erroneously referred to as "Zuckass" in Star Wars 50: The Crimson Forever, much to the amusement of fans.

In Star Wars Missions 11: Bounty Hunters vs. Battle Droids Zuckuss is mistakenly referred to as a member of the "Gann" species.

In Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, both Zuckuss and 4-LOM are seen fighting alongside IG-88 and Dengar on Cloud City. Because later canon established that Zuckuss was actually on his way to the Rebel rendezvous point during the events of The Empire Strikes Back, it can be assumed that this Zuckuss is in error or is perhaps just simply another Gand that looks similar.

In the fifth draft of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Zuckuss's name is misspelled as "Tuckuss" and he is described as a "Human-type" bounty hunter. This error was also carried over into the novelization. As a result, Archie Goodwin intended the image of Dengar in Star Wars 50: The Crimson Forever and in Showdown to actually be Zuckuss (or rather, "Zuckass;" see above). However, unlike in The Crimson Forever, in Showdown, only the image of Dengar appears, presumably denoting that the Gand bounty hunter did not have a canonical appearance within that story. In the first edition of A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Zuckuss is also labeled as a "human bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader..."

In recent years, Zuckuss appeared in two segments for Robot Chicken: Star Wars and its sequel. Zuckuss, voiced by Conan O'Brien, was the eponymous character in a sketch entitled Mid-Nite with Zuckuss, a parody on Late Nite with Conan O'Brien and other prime time talk shows. The segment featured Zuckuss interviewing "Emperor Palpatine" via a synchro-vox screen. At the end of the segment, a dwarf&mdash;dressed as Darth Vader&mdash;ran amok, while in the background, the Death Star moved into position and fired, which seemingly took the show off the air.

For the DVD-only segment for Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II, Zuckuss and 4-LOM were depicted answering Emperor Palpatine's bounty hunter want ad. Zuckuss acted as the duo's fictitious agent while 4-LOM fed lines from nearby. After they secured the contract, Zuckuss and 4-LOM gave each other a high-five as Zuckuss exclaimed, "Dude, we are bounty hunters!" Conan O'Brien reprised his role as Zuckuss for the sketch, and Andy Richter provided the voice of 4-LOM.

Appearances



 * A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale
 * A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale webstrip
 * Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88
 * Underworld: The Yavin Vassilika
 * Rookies: Rendezvous
 * Star Wars Missions 11: Bounty Hunters vs. Battle Droids
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back radio drama
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novelization
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: Adventures in ABC
 * Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Robot Chicken: Star Wars
 * Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II
 * Of Possible Futures: The Tale of Zuckuss and 4-LOM
 * Star Wars 50: The Crimson Forever
 * Shadows of the Empire comic
 * The Mandalorian Armor
 * Slave Ship
 * Hard Merchandise
 * X-wing: Isard's Revenge
 * Hard Merchandise
 * X-wing: Isard's Revenge
 * X-wing: Isard's Revenge