Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/July 28, 2011

Snoova was a Wookiee bounty hunter and mercenary who was active during the Galactic Civil War. He was ostracized from Wookiee society and faced the death penalty on his homeworld, Kashyyyk, due to his violation of the the Wookiee injunction against the use of his species' natural claws for anything other than climbing; rumors spoke of Snoova slashing at an opponent in a brawl over the affections of a female Wookiee paramour. Snoova escaped Kashyyyk as an outlaw and largely avoided other Wookiees. He turned to a life of bounty hunting&mdash;an unusual profession for a member of his species&mdash;and mercenary work. Because Wookiees were an enslaved species under the regime of the Galactic Empire, Snoova specifically pursued bounties posted by the galactic government; his successes gained him such renown that he was able to travel through the Empire with impunity, and his identification datawork was altered to name him as his own master.

Snoova's unique appearance added to his high profile: he had brown fur splotched with black, and he cut his head-hair into a flat-topped spacer's style. He also wore a monocle ocular enhancer over his right eye, a piece of equipment he had surgically rooted in his eye socket when he lost his right eye in pursuit of a target. Snoova preferred to work alone, but he occasionally teamed up with associates from Aurodium Sword and the Black Sun criminal organizations, as well as with fellow bounty hunters, such as the Ubese Boushh. Snoova's fame inspired the Human replica droid Guri to disguise another well-known Wookiee, the Rebel Alliance operative Chewbacca, as Snoova in an effort to smuggle him past customs in Imperial City, where Chewbacca was a wanted Rebel agent.

Snoova's explosive temper and violent tendencies earned him a reputation as dangerous among the galaxy's criminal underworld. Although the bounty hunter knew how to ingratiate himself with clients, he regularly treated his prey with rough-edged contempt. Snoova was capable of stealthily shadowing a target, but his preference for brute force over subtle means manifested in his favored weapons: a vibro-ax and a heavy blaster rifle. Snoova was equally comfortable shredding his opponents with his climbing claws.