Jabba Desilijic Tiure/Legends

"If I told you half the things I've heard about this Jabba the Hutt, you'd probably short-circuit."

- C-3PO, to R2-D2

Jabba Desilijic Tiure, better known as Jabba the Hutt, was one of the most notorious Hutt crime lords in the galaxy, who governed a large criminal empire located in the Outer Rim Territories from his desert palace on Tatooine. At the height of his power, Jabba was one of the most powerful crime lords in the galaxy, on par with Prince Xizor, the head of the Black Sun Syndicate.

Jabba had started as a small crime lord, but quickly spread his influence into a variety of illegal activities, including spice-smuggling, gunrunning, slavery, and sometimes outright piracy. Known for his cruelty and carnal fancies, Jabba the Hutt was powerful enough not to fear Alliance retributions, and placed a hefty death mark on Han Solo, a former employee of his, after Solo lost a load of spice to an Imperial patrol vessel. He would finally get his revenge on Solo when the carbonite-encased Corellian was delivered to him by Boba Fett, one of the many bounty hunters Jabba was known to employ.

Early life (600 BBY–22 BBY)
"I see only a festering, mountainous pustule which fancies himself to be a high lord of merchants and criminals."

- Ki-Adi-Mundi

Jabba, who was born on Nal Hutta, was the child of Zorba Desilijic Tiure. He took formal control of the Desilijic kajidic around 2 BBY, when he killed the offspring of Jiliac, the former leader. The old Hutt died following a grueling fight to the death with Durga Besadii Tai.

At the incredibly young age of 80, the up-and-coming gangster established his criminal empire on the remote desert world of Tatooine, located in the Tatoo system. In 516 BBY, he moved his criminal operations into an old B'omarr Monastery, safely nestling himself in the planet's comfortable obscurity.

Jabba started small, finding early work as a high-risk gunrunner, along with his lifelong friend Ephant Mon. During Senator Palpatine's rise to power, the Hutt was one of several gangsters who made his bid for dominance. His competitors included Sise Fromm, the then-kingpin of organized crime in the galaxy and Prince Xizor, fledgling heir to the Black Sun criminal empire. Though neither Xizor nor Jabba were by any means young, both had just been handed the reins of power established by their respective criminal families. While Fromm played war games, Xizor and Jabba sensed the winds of change and spent their resources garnering favor with those who seemed to be shifting into power.

Due to the attractive nature of becoming a gangster during the galaxy's time of change, he attained minions. A Twi'lek spice smuggler from Ryloth, Bib Fortuna would become his majordomo early on. He was always in attendance where Jabba was, be it podraces, the Palace, or other ventures. Bib would later be replaced by Naroon Cuthus (only to take power again years later).

Jabba was known to bet on podraces. He often lost, due to the recommendations of his incompetent astromech droid, R5-X2. During such races he was, on occasion, the host, such as at the Boonta Eve Classic, which Xizor also attended. Jabba never had any interest in the sport, other than the profits made from inside betters and the joy that came from having others owe him credits, especially the junk dealer Watto. When Jabba did win, he was rewarded with slave girls and plenty of credits. He made sure that he always got his money's worth "the easy way, or the hard way".

Interfering with Jedi business
Ephant Mon and Jabba made an ill-fated plan to smuggle goods onto Cerea where they encountered Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, whose daughter and a friend of hers had been enslaved by the Hutt. Mundi had to wait for a dangerous lightning storm before he had a chance to free his daughter and friend from the Hutt's slimy grasp, though he was successful in rescuing both Sylvn and her friend Twin. On his mission, Mundi found evidence that linked Jabba with the Trade Federation's arming in preparation for its invasion of Naboo, but the Hutt escaped any serious retribution.

When Mundi later returned to Tatooine to seek safe passage across the desert dunes, Jabba thought he recognized the Jedi Master, and lied to him about being an honorable being. He sent Mundi out on a skiff, accompanied by a few of the Hutt's guards, who were to "keep him safe from harm"; however, Bib Fortuna, the Hutt's majordomo, noted that they had sent the Jedi towards a sandstorm. Mundi realized this early on during the ride, to which Jabba sarcastically replied:


 * A pity I wasn't warned sooner. I hope nothing tragic happens during that storm. It would be hard to find a body under all those sand drifts.

Fortuna and the Hutt laughed as the skiff rode further towards the sandstorm ahead, though Mundi survived and continued to oppose Jabba in his efforts to incite the locals against the Sand People.

A rivalry cut short
Jabba had a fierce rivalry with Gardulla the Elder. When Jabba and his rival met prior to the Boonta Eve Classic, Gardulla had made a full model of the racecourse, surprising Jabba. She also owned a machine that would tell her and Jabba the winner. To Jabba's surprise, it said the winner would be Gasgano, whereas Jabba's droid, R5-X2, showed Sebulba would come in first, Gasgano in second, and Mawhonic in third; the droid also favored Gardulla's former slave, Anakin Skywalker. Jabba had Gardulla as his guest as he hosted the race, and when Skywalker came in first, Jabba had outsmarted Gardulla and won the bet.

During the battle that occurred in the Jundland Wastes, Gardulla conceived a plot to assemble all her criminal underlings to launch an assault on the Tusken Raiders, dispatching the notorious bounty hunter Aurra Sing to destroy their Jedi leader, Sharad Hett. Contemporaneously, Jabba had the idea of sending out his thugs to raid the Tusken camps, inciting the Sand People to launch their own raids. Jabba then planned to profit from this by selling Dreddon's overpriced surplus weapons to defensive civilians. Gardulla's plot failed, forcing her to retreat to her palace in Mos Espa. This would be one of the Hutt's last confrontations with Gardulla.



When the rivalry got out of hand, Jabba hired Jango Fett&mdash;who had won an audience with the Hutt for bringing in the bounty for Longo Two-Guns&mdash;to finish her off once and for all. Jabba led Jango Fett to Gardulla, and was quite pleased to hear that Gardulla was eaten by her pet krayt dragon ; surprised though he was that Jango Fett never came to receive his bounty for Gardulla's death. He discovered the answer soon enough, for he later found out that Jango Fett was killed on Geonosis. Later on, Jabba would do business with Jango Fett's clone son, Boba Fett.

The Clone Wars
Following the recapture of Sarapin during the Clone Wars, Jabba found himself in a position he'd never imagined: aiding a top general for the Galactic Republic during the Second Battle of Tatooine. Since Boorka the Hutt (a rival of Jabba's) was in league with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Jabba concluded that his fellow gangster had gone too far with his antics. Thus, when the Republic's newly arrived clone army proved too small to attack the Confederacy's base on the planet, Jabba became involved.

After bolstering their forces, Jedi Generals Echuu Shen-Jon and Naat Reath successfully engaged the Separatist enemy and slew the vile Boorka. For their troubles, Jabba gave them five thousand nova crystals; glad to be rid of the rival.

But Jabba, being a true Hutt crime boss, always tried to make profits by doing business with both sides of a war. When Separatist leader Wat Tambor, Foreman of the wealthy Techno Union, contacted him, Jabba agreed to help the Separatist smuggle huge shipments of construction materials and cortosis to the planet Metalorn. His involvement with the Confederacy was discovered by Republic informant Raala Ponchar, but battle droids under the command of Saato captured her and she was imprisoned in his palace. When the Jedi Council learned of Ponchar's disappearance, they sent Anakin Skywalker to investigate. The young Jedi freed Ponchar from the palace's dungeon, killed Saato and relayed the information about Jabba's involvement to Master Kenobi.

Some time afterwards, Boba Fett, the cloned "son" of Jango Fett, read his father's "book" which instructed him to visit Jabba. Fett had a run-in with the dangerous Separatist Commander Durge, however, before he could do so. Fett soon managed to escape Durge, and quickly found himself in Jabba's employ. One of the reasons Jabba accepted Boba was to repay the favor Jango Fett did him by killing Gardulla the Hutt a decade earlier. While working for Jabba, Boba had separate plans that had nothing and everything to do with the Hutt at the same time. Besides this, Fett still had connections with the Confederacy of Independent Systems and Count Dooku.



During the mid-Clone Wars, Jabba requested the Jedi's help in finding his son, Rotta, in exchange for passage through Hutt space, for the Separatists control all the major hyperspace lanes. He also sent bounty hunters, who tracked his son to Teth but all came back beheaded. Count Dooku and the CIS kidnapped Jabba's son, allowed the Jedi to get him back, and employed lies, secret video, and an all-out assault to get him back and to curry the crime lord's favor. Ultimately, the Jedi proved victorious and eventually earned Jabba's trust, for a time. Jabba was angry at the main instigator of the plot, his own uncle Ziro, who was planning to take control of his nephew's empire.

Majordomo


Jabba had several lieutenants, and over time, each one helped him control a certain part of the growing criminal empire of Jabba's. His oldest, and best, majordomo was Naroon Cuthus, whom Jabba respected but couldn't let retire, since he knew too much about Jabba's activities. So, in return for his long service, Jabba gave him a quick death. The ensuing power vacuum created a rivalry between a Twi'lek named Bib Fortuna and a Human smuggler named Bidlo Kwerve for the seat as Jabba's right hand man. Jabba enjoyed watching the competition and pitted the two cronies against one other. When Jabba was given his "beloved" pet rancor, Kwerve got the pleasure of being the monster's first public feast, with Fortuna becoming Jabba's new majordomo by default.

In 22 BBY, Jabba's father, Zorba, was imprisoned after being tried for illegal gemstone mining, convicted, and sentenced to prison on Kip. After a bribery attempt to free Zorba failed, Jiliac assumed control of the Desilijic clan, with Jabba next in the line of succession.

Jabba also regularly employed many bounty hunters, one of his favorites being a Gand named Zuckuss. Jabba hired the bounty hunter for many successful yet infamous missions. Also, Jabba had his workers construct a modified protocol droid, who preferred himself to be called 4-LOM. Jabba was pleased with the pair's work and frequently employed them.

Dealing with scum
"I can see that you're eager to get down to business, and so am I."

- Gaar Suppoon

Around five years before the Battle of Yavin, Jabba took his yacht, Star Jewel, and set off for the headquarters of Gaar Suppoon, an old acquaintance of the Hutt's. Jabba informed Gaar that there was a bomb in his palace, but when the Galactic Empire sent Kosh Kurp to investigate, no bomb was discovered. After a heated trade war, with Jabba outwitting Gaar on every trade, Gaar tried to kill the Hutt.

Jabba responded by letting loose a fatally poisonous Tromonid on Gaar, which bit him almost immediately. Threatening to blow everyone up with a bomb he possessed, Jabba persuaded Gaar to give him everything they traded for an antidote to the fatal bite. When Gaar was reminded about the bomb, he played along and asked Jabba to detonate it.

Things took a turn for the worst when Jabba called Gaar by his real name, Sono Bomoor. Kurp, recognizing the name as that of the man who had killed his family, took a shot at the man. The blaster bolt ricocheted, exploding Gaar's head. Kurp realized he was the actual "bomb", and had played right into Jabba's plan.

While leaving the planet, Scuppa, the captain of Jabba's ship, spotted a Nuffin freighter, which they believed to have a wealth of riches ripe for the taking. Jabba, Bib Fortuna, and two Weequays boarded the ship, leaving a Gamorrean guard behind to guard the Star Jewel. When the group entered the vessel, they were taken captive by the vile Princess Nampi.

Nampi put the guards and Bib into the larder, while Jabba and Scuppa confronted her. Jabba was eventually sent to the larder as well, refusing to give up the riches in the ship. Scuppa, being an opportunist, realized that he was now in charge of Jabba's finances and agreed to marry Nampi to preserve his life. The act was foolish, and he didn't realize in his haste that Nampi's species ate the male on the wedding night. In horror, Scuppa realized that he'd become Nampi's appetizer. When Jabba was called into her chambers to be the main course, the Hutt quickly deduced what had happened, and used the situation to his advantage.

Long beforehand, Jabba had installed a remote in Scuppa's skull that released Xenoboric acid should his captain ever betray him. Now in control, he offered Nampi a chance to give over her riches, lest he detonate the remote. Upon her refusal, he pushed it, without a hint of regret, and, in a matter of seconds, Nampi exploded. The guards and Bib were soon unlocked, and started to loot Nampi's hold. Humorously, Jabba suggested that his Twi'lek majordomo "wear his boots" into the exploded viscera.

Jabba planned to sell Nampi's ship to Cabrool Nuum when they were finished with it. When faced with what to do with the deceased Princess's guards, however, Bib at first suggested selling them to Nuum as slaves, but Jabba had a more sadistic idea. He decided to launch them into the vacuum of space to "see'em pop". At first, when Jabba met up with Nuum, the meeting between the two crime lords was friendly. Things began to turn sour, however, because of an argument with Nuum about the offer of Jabba murdering Vu Chusker, Nuum's rival. Nuum sent Jabba to a spare room, where, afterwards, Nuum's son, Rusk, soon contracted Jabba to kill his father instead. Jabba proudly obliged.

With Nuum suffocated in his sleep, Jabba enlisted Rusk as a dealer and partner. Rusk objected, and sent Jabba to the deep holds. While in the prison, Jabba met another member of Nuum's family, Norba, Rusk's sister, who wanted Rusk dead. Jabba agreed, and crushed Rusk in the creature's office with his own two hands, helped in part by Norba. Norba then proceeded to send the Hutt to the deep hold.

When Norba came to visit the Hutt, Jabba laughed when she said she wanted Vu Chusker dead. Jabba, after telling her to listen up, leaned towards the bars of the cell. When she leaned in to listen, he pulled her into his mouth and swallowed her whole. He then grabbed the keys and escaped. During his escape, Jabba ran into&mdash;of all beings&mdash;Vu Chusker. Without warning, Jabba crushed Chusker into the ground and hovered to his ship via repulsor sled. The Hutt thought, in hindsight, that he should have just killed Chusker in the first place.

At the time Jabba returned to his palace, his devious majordomo, Bib Fortuna, had recruited six of Jabba's more dissatisfied minions (including Nivek) to kill Jabba's guards after making them tell all of their secrets to him. Unfortunately, shortly after they started putting the plan into action, guards Gru'um and Miramba unleashed a pack of freckers, thus spoiling the plan. Bib and the would-be assassins managed to kill all the freckers, earning thanks from the Hutt for remaining a loyal hero. Fortuna couldn't bring himself to kill Jabba following this. After all, Nivek and the other co-conspirators died in the struggle with the freckers, taking Bib's failed plan with them to the grave.

Intrigue among the Hutts
Soon, the talents of a young, roguish smuggler named Han Solo caught the eye of Jabba and his great-uncle, Jiliac. Impressed with the boy's performance, the pair hired Han to smuggle spice throughout the galaxy, thus profiting from the distribution of the illegal drug. Han quickly proved his mettle, and was given tougher and more exciting assignments such as the infamous Kessel Run.

Initially unbeknownst to Han, Jiliac and Jabba were preparing to make their bid for supremacy among the Hutt kajidics by targeting the Besadii clan's spice refining operation on Ylesia. Han's piloting abilities while flying for the Desilijic clan allowed him to narrowly escape a brutal pirate attack, the blame of which was this laid upon the Besadiis. Aruk the Hutt, clan leader of Besadii, and his offspring, Durga, were outraged at the ensuing claims. A Council was convened on Nal Hutta to discuss the recent events, the resulting verdict finding the Besadii clan innocent of all transgressions. It was then that Jabba and Jiliac decided that Aruk needed to die. Contacting the High Priest Toroenza of Ylesia, Jabba and Jiliac arranged for a Malkite poison to be used to kill Aruk.

Although Aruk was successfully slain, Imperial entanglements threatened to ruin life for the Hutts when Moff Sarn Shild announced a campaign against Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa. The savvy Hutt families tried to bribe Shild, but when that failed, Jabba and Jiliac instructed Han Solo to contact the Imperial Admiral leading the attack and subvert him. Solo was successful in buying the Imperial battle plan, and began preparations to defend Nar Shaddaa. As a backup, the Hutts hired Drea Renthal's mercenary fleet to protect Nal Hutta. Surprisingly, the smugglers and spacers of Nar Shaddaa, with the aid of Drea Renthal and the Imperial battle plan, defeated the Imperial forces, allowing the Hutts to escape the wrath of the Empire.

It wasn't long before Aruk's son, Durga, suspected Jiliac's involvement in his father's demise and challenged Jiliac's right to rule under Old Law. In the impending duel, Durga slew Jiliac. Whereas most beings would have felt grief or anger, Jabba only saw an opportunity to advance. By killing Jiliac's helpless orphaned youngling, Jabba successfully established himself as the leader of the Desilijic kajidic.

Smuggler scandal
A Rybet named Moruth Doole was Jabba's main source of spice, Doole's knack for picking competent smugglers made transport much easier. Having encountered Han Solo and Chewbacca many times on their spice runs, Doole had no objections about turning in the smuggler to the authorities, if it paid the right amount. The ensuing Imperial patrol came crashing down on one of Jabba's spice runs that Solo was hauling.

Unknown to many, Doole was the reason for Solo's loss of Jabba's paid-in-advance spice cargo. Originally, Jabba held Han solely accountable; however, Jabba eventually found out that Doole was spice skimming, and, suspecting Doole's betrayal, posted a contract on him. Doole staged a prison revolt on Kessel in order to draw attention away from himself. Although the warden worked for Jabba, more than half the guards of the prison were secretly being paid by Doole, making the ploy that much easier. However, Doole was captured, and was soon brought before the Hutt. In an act of mercy, he begged to be left alive: Doole traded one of his eyes for his life. The price of the lost cargo was once more attributed to Solo.

Seven years after Jabba's demise, Moruth Doole would meet his end at the fangs of a hungry energy spider.

Underworld overlord
"Jabba, you're a wonderful Human being."

- Han Solo

By the dawn of the Rebellion, Jabba had become the most powerful crime lord in the Outer Rim, perhaps even the galaxy. This was largely due to his near monopoly of the glitterstim spice business. By this time, the Desilijic kajidic had become the largest and most powerful among all the Hutt dynasties, trumping even their sworn enemies, the Besadii Hutts; Jabba using every opportunity to destroy the rival clan's conglomerate.

Even at the height of his reign, the crime lord dealt with recurring problems: chronic illness caused him constant discomfort, and even his closest lieutenants had begun plotting his demise. The Hutt put his trust in no one other than his Nimbanese accountant Mosep Binneed and Ephant Mon, whom he made Chief of Security of his palace.

It was at this time that the Hutt suffered a major financial loss when Han Solo, his best smuggler, dropped an entire cargo of valuable glitterstim while on a dangerous mission near Kessel. The spice was dropped because Han was boarded by an Imperial customs team. Jabba demanded that Han pay him the value of the cargo, but when the smuggler failed to reimburse his long-time employer, the Hutt put a bounty on Han's head. Greedo attempted to collect the bounty, but was killed by Han Solo.

Following the death of Greedo, Jabba confronted Han in the Millennium Falcon's hangar bay, where he agreed to let Han go in exchange for a premium of fifteen percent. He left Han with a warning that if Han delayed payment again he would have a price on his head so high that Han would not be "able to go near a civilized star system".

After the Battle of Yavin, it was speculated that Jabba was the underworld kingpin who funded the Imperial Dark trooper project and provided the Empire with smuggling ships. His thugs hunted Kyle Katarn, since General Rom Mohc put a bounty on his head. Katarn, along with Jan Ors, however, managed to complete their mission on Nar Shaddaa by vanquishing all the thugs that hunted him. However, Jabba's ship captured the Moldy Crow, Katarn's ship, as they left the moon. Katarn and Jan Ors were imprisoned in the Star Jewel and were to be fed to kell dragons, but Katarn was able to escape Jabba's clutches. This setback, however, was not a major concern for the criminal overlord. Days after the Battle of Yavin, Solo paid Jabba 500,000 credits worth in ancient Sith treasure, through Sprool the Trader. Jabba accepted the gift, but kept the bounty on Han, for it was too little, too late. However,Jabba soon forgave Solo's debt after smuggler saved his accountant Mosep Bineed (under the alias Jabba the Hut) from the stone-mites on planet Orleon. After that Han even made another Kessel Run for Jabba. But this quiet period for Solo was short-lived, because when Mosep found wrecked Crimson Jack's ship(which Jabba helped to refit and recondition) and learned about Han's part in destroying it, the bounty was once again placed on his head.

Jabba and the Zann Consortium
Some time before the Battle of Yavin, Jabba entered into a partnership with the weapons dealer Tyber Zann. However, neither partner apparently planned on this alliance being permanent. When Tyber learned that Jabba had purchased an artifact that had cost him half his great wealth the young smuggler struck. Tyber took several squads of mercenaries to Felucia, where Jabba met the Imperials to whom he was selling the artifact. Tyber managed to steal the artifact, but was captured. Transmitting to Zann on Kessel, he told him that he'd be dead, because he had sent an assassin to kill him. However, Tyber's associate, Urai Fen, managed to free him, and Tyber would go on to form the Zann Consortium, and decided to get his revenge on Jabba. He would go on to steal the Holocron.

One battle of note between Jabba and the Consortium was the Battle of Hypori. Using a listening post on Saleucami Jabba had pinpointed the Constortium's bases and sent saboteurs to hit them. Although he was initially successful, Tyber rebounded and tracked down Jabba's droid factory on Hypori, to which he sent an attack force. Jabba suffered a rare defeat when Bossk switched sides for triple pay and Tyber and Urai were able to slice the Droideka Mk-II's programming. With his newfound power Tyber killed Jabba's men and forced the Hutt to agree to a ceasefire that gave Tyber control of Saleucami and Hypori and the bounty on his head called off.

Black Sun
"Oh, you'll find working for Jabba the Hutt REAL interesting!"

- Big Gizz engaging Jix about his job request

At the time of Jabba's campaign against the Jedi Order during the Purge, Jabba and Xizor built powerful criminal empires parallel to and in symbiosis with Palpatine's New Order. In the wake of the Clone Wars, c. 15 BBY, the galaxy's seats of power were still realigning. The Fromm family had begun to invest heavily in a covert project to build a powerful weapons satellite, dubbed The Trigon 1. Using its orbital laser, Fromm made ambitious power grabs in his home system of Annoo. However, when both the Trigon and his palace were destroyed, Fromm's plans were foiled. Soon after, Jabba made a political move that established him as the galaxy's leading gangster.

The quick-witted Hutt struck while the iron was hot and placed a bounty on the heads of the entire Fromm organization, aiming to crush them while they were still reeling from their losses. Because of a series of run-ins with the bounty hunter Boba Fett, the elderly Annoo-dat gangster was captured and executed along with his son and chief officer of security.

Solo, paid in full
"You may take Captain Solo to Jabba the Hutt after I have Skywalker." "He's no good to me dead." "He will not be permanently damaged."

- Darth Vader and Boba Fett

After the Battle of Hoth, Anakin Skywalker, now the Sith Lord Darth Vader, sent an agent named Jix to spy on Jabba, and to keep an eye out for his son Luke, making sure nothing happened to the boy. While on Tatooine, he ran into Big Gizz and his swoop gang. They brought him before Jabba, since he was "looking for a job". When Jabba received word that Luke was more valuable dead than alive, Jix was confused; he thought Vader wanted the boy alive. With that in mind, when the gang ambushed Luke, Jix stopped Gizz from fatally shooting the young Jedi by knocking the swooper out cold with a rock. Luke took out the rest of the gang, while Spiker, another swooper, rode off with Jix. Jabba was furious and yet curious about the situation at the same time. He believed that it had been a great amount of luck for one man. He then explained that a change of plans has happened: Lord Vader wanted his son dead (unbeknownst to the Hutt, it was really Xizor who was after Luke). He had his suspicions about Jix, since he knew the other bikers were too stupid to betray him. In the meantime, Boba Fett was trying to get the bounty for Solo by bringing the smuggler to the Hutt.

When one of Jabba's aides found Jix messing with the security codes for a transmission, Jix killed the aide and took the key to the security code and transmitted to Vader. Right before Fett arrived, Jabba wondered why one of his aides was murdered. Right after he accused Jix, Fett arrived. He offered five thousand credits to anybody who could bring him Solo (so that he would not have to pay Fett the outrageous price). However, Fett did manage to come through and collect the bounty that Jabba was so hesitant to pay. As Fett left the Hutt's palace, Bossk and Zuckuss waited, heads filled with the fear of loss. Bossk and Fett would continue to stay in Jabba's court for the remainder of the time Solo was his captive. Zuckuss left, since he had business elsewhere, while the others stuck around at Jabba's palace.

At the same time, the Hutt grew increasingly hedonistic, spending millions on a vehicular demolition event with few survivors and even fewer rules after he received the frozen Solo.

However, Jabba's victory was soon disrupted by two droids and a message.

The Infiltration
"We bring a message for your master, Jabba the Hutt&hellip; and a gift. Gift? What gift?"

- C-3PO

The Hutt was greatly pleased with Han's delivery. However, the Rebel Alliance wanted Han back, and to do so, they concocted an elaborate plan. First, Luke Skywalker sent R2-D2 and C-3PO to Jabba with a message, and as a gift. Escorted past Jabba's Gamorrean guards, the droids delivered Luke's message, asking to bargain for Solo. Jabba, bemused, rejected the offer and put his new droids to work.

Afterwards, the Hutt listened to the Max Rebo Band sing "Jedi Rocks", as Oola, his Twi'lek slave girl, danced for him. Demanding a repeat, Jabba tried to bring Oola to him, but she resisted and Jabba pressed his trapdoor button and let his rancor eat her. Directly after the death of Oola, Princess Leia Organa, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, brought Chewbacca as her "prisoner". Jabba and the ersatz Boushh bargained over the price on the Wookiee's head, eventually agreeing on 35,000 credits after the bounty hunter pulled a thermal detonator out and threatened to activate it. Chewbacca was sent to prison, while Boushh remained in the Palace, waiting for evening.

"I know that laugh..."

- Han Solo

Later that night, Leia thawed Han Solo out of the block of carbonite he was in. However, Jabba caught her and Han. Han tried to bargain with the gangster, saying that he was sidetracked, but Jabba said it was too late. Coincidentally, Han was put in the same cell as Chewbacca. Leia was confronted by Jabba, who, to her great displeasure and humiliation, licked her, stripped her naked, and made her his new slave girl. He had her dressed in a slave girl outfit, and chained her scantily clad body to his throne for his amusment.

At last, Luke Skywalker arrived at the Jabba's Palace. Jabba might not have known this, but he was meeting face to face with the son of the Jedi who rescued Rotta. Luke demanded the return of Solo and the Wookiee, warning that Jabba would be destroyed if he didn't comply. After Luke Force pulled a gun from a neighboring guard named Nizuc Bek, Jabba caused the young Jedi and a nearby Gamorrean named Jubnuk to drop down a trap door, into the lair of Jabba's rancor. The rancor ate Jubnuk first as Jabba laughed in amusement, then went for Luke. After bashing its claw with a rock and ramming a bone into its mouth, Luke ran between the monster's legs to the other side of the monster's lair. There, he managed to kill the ferocious beast by destroying the control panel for the door thus dropping a gate on the monster; the sharp points at the bottom of the door piercing the beast's skull and killed it. Leia, who had half strangled herself to watch Luke because Jabba kept her very close on her leash, was relieved to see Luke survive, but was strangled by a furious Jabba and forced to lean against his body while he stroked her.

Mara Jade was present at Jabba's Palace on Palpatine's orders, disguised as the dancing girl Arica, planning to kill Luke, whom she would later marry and become a member of the New Jedi Order. Melina Carniss, a member of Jabba's secret security detail, suspected her of being out to assassinate the Hutt and attempted to have her imprisoned, despite failing this she had made it impossible for Mara to complete her mission.

Showdown at the Pit of Carkoon
"Threepio, you tell that slimy piece of worm-ridden filth he'll get no such pleasure from us! Right?" "Jabba, this is your last chance. Free us or die."

- Han Solo and Luke Skywalker

An enraged Jabba, translated through Threepio, stated that Solo, Chewbacca, and Luke were to be taken to the Great Pit of Carkoon, to be fed to the fearsome sarlacc. Only Leia, Jabba's new slave, was spared from execution as Jabba found her attractive and had better plans for his "pet". Jabba and his entourage traveled aboard Khetanna, his private sail barge, while the prisoners were carried to their doom on a smaller skiff.

As they reached the pit, Jabba offered the prisoners a chance to beg for mercy. Luke warned Jabba once more, but the Hutt ignored the offer and ordered them to be thrown in. Just as Luke was to be thrown to the sarlacc, R2-D2, who was working on the sail barge at that time, launched Luke's lightsaber from a hidden compartment in his dome. Luke immediately launched an attack against the skiff guards, causing a state of panic to break out onboard Khetanna. Amid the chaos, Leia shorted the lighting system, distracting Jabba.

During the distraction, Leia wrapped her slave chain around the Hutt, strangling him to death. After being freed from her restraints by R2-D2, Leia and Luke met on the top deck of Jabba's Sail Barge. Luke had Leia point the deck gun into the bowels of the ship and set it off. Escaping to one of the skiffs, the successful rebels sped away from the exploding sail barge, which had become a funeral pyre for the once-great Jabba the Hutt.

Aftermath (4 ABY&mdash;)
Immediately following Jabba's demise, fighting broke out between the remnants of his criminal empire. Two small time criminals named Qes Dollis and Kisa Shaki tried to take over the Mos Eisley portion of his smuggling business, sparking a gang war. Meanwhile, a group of four war droids called the Mos Eisley Mourners were activated within a week and attempted to wipe out anyone that they identified as a possible responsible party.

The death of Jabba cancelled the debts of many individuals, because of which Luke was held with considerable favor for removing that dangerous complication in people's lives. In response to his son's death, Zorba (fresh out of galactic prison) placed a bounty on Leia, which the Desilijic kajidic later extended to Han, Chewbacca, and Luke. The bounty was not formally rescinded until Leia's election as Chief of State, since the Hutts did not wish to further antagonize the New Republic.

Because of Luke's involvement in Jabba's death, Ka'Pa, if not all the Hutts, grew distrustful to the Jedi, which caused negotiations with Mara Jade on behalf of the New Republic to be a bit shaky.

Gorga the Hutt, Jabba's nephew, went to Jabba's palace seeking a part in his uncle's will. Gorga was given a small statue of a Hutt; a statue that held the key to Jabba's prized treasure trove. Gorga also desired the funeral urns of Jabba, but he had some competition: Spiker (who had somehow survived his encounter with Solo and Fett) and Big Gizz (who was found to have survived his encounter with Jix and Luke Skywalker). Upon learning of their boss's death, the happily reunited swooper duo sought out the deceased Hutt's legendary treasures, joined by Jabba's former servant, Onoh.

When the trio discovered the vaults, however, they activated a security system that nearly killed them. It was a recording made by Jabba, who knew that Gizz was still alive and had predicted that he would try to steal his riches. In its self-destruction, the booby-trapped tape almost killed the bikers. Later, to Gorga's horror, Gizz and Spiker dropped Jabba's urns on Gorga and his henchmen. The urns, of course, were destroyed in the process.

Many years after Jabba's death, many Hutts wished that he still lived, for if he had, the Hutts believed that they would have avoided the disastrous Darksaber project and their treacherous deal with the Yuuzhan Vong. However, Jabba's organization did unwittingly help the Darksaber project; by scouring the Hutt's palace on Tatooine, Durga's Besadii agents procured the access codes to the ex-Imperial databases on Coruscant, where they found the Death Star plans needed to assemble their own superweapon.

Personality


Jabba, a typical Hutt, was greedy, malicious, pragmatic, and adept at bending others to his will. He was also prideful, and he collected things like trophies and trinkets as reminders of his power. He also enjoyed cruelty, in the form of torture, executions, and subjugation (as with the case of his palace). He did this for enjoyment, as well as for practical purposes of logistics and need. He kept the oddity Salacious B. Crumb simply because he was as humorous to him as he was annoying to others.

Possessions and vices
"Ho ho ho!"

- Jabba's infamous booming laugh.

Fortress


Once belonging to the B'omarr Monks, Jabba's palace was a testament to his power, wealth, and charisma. It was a massive brown-colored structure, incorporating circular design and an intricate tunnel system. It had several rooms, each for varying purposes, including torture, droid work, and cooking. Jabba appointed his higher staff personally, with EV-9D9 and others taking the responsibility of hiring underlings, such as mercenaries or droids. Jabba resided in the main hall, where he would watch dancers, listen to music, and deal with the many shady types under his jurisdiction. Jabba's fortress would attract a large amount of "scum", including small-time gangsters, mercenaries (sometimes as his protection), bounty hunters, smugglers, pirates, and thieves.

Guards
Jabba had guards at every corner of his palace, the most common being Weequays and Gamorreans. When the latter came to look for work with the Hutt, they demanded he fight them with his bare hands to show he was worth their loyalty. Jabba agreed, but only if he blindfolded the porcine thugs, allowing his other guards to pummel them. After the smoke cleared, the dim-witted Gamorreans assumed that Jabba had given them the severe beating and served him loyally until his death.

In addition to this hired muscle, Jabba had numerous other henchmen around his fortress. He had skiff guards on his personal skiffs in the case of an execution or long trip, Nikto thugs, as well as hundreds of other sentients of various species at his disposal.

Tattoo
Jabba's right arm bore a tattoo of his kajidic clan, the Desilijic. Big Gizz also bore an identical tattoo, in respect of the Hutt's "generous" employment.

Diet
Jabba, as a Hutt, ate almost anything he could get his hands on, his riches allowing him access to anything he pleased. For cooked meals, he had his private chef, Porcellus, make goulash for his Hutt master. Among the dishes prepared for the Hutt were goatgrass-stuffed gamwidge, chocolate ladybabies, icefish on a bed of Ramorean capanata, Besnian sausage in orange-Madeira sauce, Chantilly crème, and sandmaggot kidneys. Jabba also fancied eating living creatures, his favorites including Gorgs and Klatooine paddy frogs. Most of the time, he kept these unlucky creatures in a bowl located underneath his well used Hookah pipe. Amazingly, he was also capable of eating other beings such as Humans, humanoids, and Bith, just to name a few. His last known meal was a paddy frog he took from his feeding bowl. He had a large portion of his sail barge devoted to kitchens alone.

Slaves
Jabba had numerous slaves at all different points of his career, typically nubile humanoid females, including Twi'leks, Humans, Rodians, and other unlucky female creatures that captured his fancy. Typically, Jabba would have them dressed in very revealing outfits and would keep them in chains by his side on his throne (usually only one at a time), to flaunt his wealth and power (also to break the monotony of his palace). It is likely that most of these slaves were killed or eaten in order to please the Hutt. One slave of interest briefly at Jabba's side was Princess Leia Organa, whom he treated cruelly.

Another slave that was once in his grasp was Sylvn, the daughter of Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, whom he'd captured, along with her close friend. The Hutt held them hostage until they managed to escape.

Pets
Jabba had a fetish for things that were expensive and powerful, and animals were no exception. He kept them to show his power, or for fun, feeding slaves and other "undesirables" that displeased him to his rancor, or other beasts. Over the years, the Hutt kept such specimens as:
 * His rancor
 * An Oskan blood eater
 * Several Caridan combat arachnids
 * A Tromonid
 * Kell Dragons

Jabba also viewed lesser developed individuals of sentient species he kept as slaves as his pets:
 * Salacious B. Crumb
 * Buboicullaar
 * Ghoel

In addition to these, Jabba also long sought to acquire a krayt dragon to pit against his rancor. One of his most notorious "pets" was the Sarlacc; though the creature never really belonged to the Hutt, he often executed his enemies by throwing them into the maw of the slow-digesting beast. He also referred to the slave girls that he kept chained to his throne as his 'pets'

Trophies
Over the years, Jabba collected many "trophies", or possessions of sentients or creatures that he had captured or killed, some of these were:
 * Gilramos Libkath's hat
 * Jhordvar's Ring
 * Han Solo in Carbonite
 * A Tauntaun's head

Behind the scenes
"Bo shuda"

- Jabba's famous catchphrase

Jabba the Hutt looks suspiciously close to Arabic jabhat al ħūţ="the forehead of the fish", which is a suitable name for the star β Piscis Australis when considered in terms of the old pictorial constellations. In Polish language, "żaba" (pronounced "zhabba") means "frog".

In the classic Star Wars spoof Spaceballs, Jabba (and Pizza Hut) are spoofed in the form of "Pizza the Hutt" who appears very briefly at the beginning of the movie and is mentioned toward the end as having eaten himself to death. A newer Star Wars spoof, Thumb Wars, introduced Gabba the Butt, an upside-down chin with eyes.

In Return of the Jedi, Jabba has three fingers on his blubbery hands, while in The Phantom Menace and A New Hope, he has four.

Jabba's film appearances are often accompanied by Jabba's Theme.

In Star Wars: Battlefront II and Star Wars: Battlefront in Jabba's palace, Jabba was seen sitting on his throne watching the battle and he was invincible. No matter how many times you shot at him, he didn't die.

Appearance
Jabba the Hutt's appearance underwent several changes between different versions of the films. The shift in the concept of Jabba the Hutt from a furry creature to a slug and from a puppet to CGI represent two of the more glaring changes to the character in the concept and creation process.

A New Hope


During the shooting of A New Hope, George Lucas filmed a scene in which Jabba confronted Han Solo in Docking Bay 94, connecting A New Hope to Return of the Jedi and explain why Han Solo was imprisoned at the end of The Empire Strikes Back. The scene was filmed using the actor Declan Mulholland playing a stocky Human in a shaggy coat. Mulholland was intended to be only a temporary stand-in that would be replaced by a stop-motion creature in post-production, but this process was unsuccessful due to the limitations in visual effects at the time. The scene was left on the cutting room floor for the 1977 theatrical release of the film.

Despite being deleted from the film, the scene appeared in three early adaptations of 'A New Hope': Star Wars 2: Six Against the Galaxy, the film novelization, and the radio drama. These three sources were produced using the original film script, which used the spelling "Jabba the Hut," and went to press prior to the decision to cut the scene. The radio drama replaced Jabba with a character named "Heater" and the comic adaptation presented Jabba as a species later identified as the Nimbanel. Jabba's appearance as a Nimbanel inspired the identification of the Nimbanese species as servants of the Hutts, and retconned a Nimbanel seen in the Mos Eisley Cantina scene into Mosep Binneed, Jabba's accountant.

Lucas revisited the scene in the 1997 Special Edition release of A New Hope, restoring the sequence and replacing Mulholland with a CGI version of Jabba the Hutt and the English dialogue with Huttese, a fictional language created by sound designer Ben Burtt. Joseph Letteri, the visual effects supervisor for the Special Edition, explained that the ultimate goal of the revised scene was to make it look as if Jabba the Hutt was actually on the set talking to and acting with Harrison Ford and that the crew had merely photographed it. Letteri stated that the new scene consisted of five shots that took over a year to complete.

Beyond the challenge of animating Jabba, the special effects artists had a major challenge in the form of the original scene's blocking: it had been staged for two ordinary-sized humanoid characters, and Harrison Ford had walked around the other actor without allowance for the bulk and large tail that the later version of Jabba would have. Lucas and his effects team dealt with this by manipulating the image so that Solo appears to walk over Jabba's tail and Jabba yelps in pained surprise. Further, Jabba was made significantly leaner than the version shown in Return of the Jedi. In addition, as Solo walks towards his ship, he utters that Jabba is a "wonderful Human being." Lucas considered attempting to replace the line, but the cost of bringing in Ford for ADR work prompted him to leave it in. Fans read the line as typical Solo wit, since Jabba is neither wonderful nor a Human being. Further improvements in CGI techniques led to yet another version of the scene for the 2004 DVD re-release, improving Jabba's appearance with advancements in CGI techniques, making him look more like the original Jabba the Hutt puppet.

In Sleight of Hand: The Tale of Mara Jade, a story included in the anthology Tales From Jabba's Palace, an unnamed employee of Jabba described as a "fat, scar-headed man" appears. He tells Mara Jade that Jabba used to send him to meet with people outside the palace in his stead, and that some people used to think he was Jabba. His physical description agrees with either the cut scene from A New Hope or the narration in the novel. Declan Mulholland also inspired the appearance of Opun Mcgrrrr, a character in the short story Spare Parts, though that character was an enemy of Jabba's.

Return of the Jedi
For his appearance in Return of the Jedi, Jabba was realized using advanced puppetry. The animatronic puppet, based on the creature design of Phil Tippett, was designed by Stuart Freeborn and sculpted by John Coppinger, who also helped build the puppet alongside Bob Bromley, Mike Osborn, Bob Keen, Richard Padbury, Jez Harris, and David Barclay.

When the cameras were rolling, Jabba required four operators: Barclay controlled his right arm, jaw and voice (which was later replaced by Larry Ward's dubbing); Toby Philpott controlled his left arm, head movements and tongue; Mike Edmonds controlled his tail; and Coppinger remotely controlled his eyes. With three operators inside the puppet, filming was a difficult, hot, and arduous process.

Ed Asner voiced the role in the Return of the Jedi radio drama.

The Phantom Menace
Jabba made a minor appearance in The Phantom Menace, using a better CGI model than the one seen in the A New Hope Special Edition. In the film's credits, Jabba the Hutt is credited as playing "himself".

The Empire Strikes Back
Han Solo, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca arrived at Tatooine ready to give their credits to Jabba. Before they were able to, they were ambushed by Gand guards and brought before the Hutt. Jabba refused to accept Solo's money and ordered his execution.

In this manner of execution, similar to a gladiatorial arena, Solo and Chewbacca were pitted against nexu beasts. However, they managed to escape with R2-D2's help. Their escape also unleashed the nexu, which wreaked havoc in Jabba's throne room. After the chaos was over, a wounded Jabba stated that rancor monsters were more controllable and ordered that his men find one. At that point, Darth Vader arrived and demanded to see Jabba's captives. The Hutt was forced to admit that they had escaped. Vader took C-3PO with him as he left, causing Jabba to have another expense to add to his growing list.

Return of the Jedi
Leia Organa, disguised as Boushh, infiltrated the palace with Chewbacca as her captive. However, when Jabba became angry at Leia's demands, he lashed out at his translator droid, C-3PO, resulting in the droid losing his head. In his fury, Jabba ordered Boushh to be killed. During the resulting scuffle, Leia's thermal detonator was activated, causing those assembled in the throne room to flee the detonator in panic. Jabba was unable to move himself because of his own bulk, and, with his aide having deserted him, Jabba and C-3PO were caught in the explosion that destroyed his palace.

Non-canon appearances

 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Best Birthday Ever
 * Smuggler's Blues
 * Skippy the Jedi Droid
 * The Rebel Club
 * Star Wars Infinities: A New Hope
 * Star Wars Infinities: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Skreej
 * The One That Got Away
 * Return of the Ewok
 * Star Wars Infinities: Return of the Jedi
 * The Return of Tag & Bink: Special Edition
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Han Solo Affair