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- "Bad news though. They're supposed to be extremely extinct."
"Don't worry. I can fix that."
"Not sure you can, actually. They're notoriously hard to kill."
"So am I." - ―Chelli Lona Aphra and Durge, on cymotes
Durge was a fearsome male bounty hunter who was active during the Clone Wars and Imperial Era. He encountered Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra and Sana Starros aboard the abandoned starship Opal Empress during the Imperial Era.
Biography[]
- "Besides, you heard the guy. He's notoriously hard to kill."
- ―Chelli Aphra to Sana Starros, on Durge
Durge encounters Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra and Sana Starros during his search for Ebann Drake.
Durge was a notorious bounty hunter who was known for being hard to kill.[1] After being active during the Clone Wars[3] between the Confederacy of Independent Systems and Galactic Republic,[4] Durge's next known action came[3] between 3 ABY and 4 ABY[5] during the reign of the Galactic Empire; he was hired to capture Ebann Drake, who was wanted in two different systems for weapons smuggling and murder. Durge tracked Drake to the abandoned[1] luxury starship[6] Opal Empress. However, the ship was filled with corpses, including Drake's. He also met Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra and Sana Starros. When Durge threatened them both, Aphra explained that she and Starros had not killed any of the people aboard.[1]
The three of them were then attacked by a swarm of cymotes, which chased them throughout the ship. As Durge fought the parasites, Aphra remembered that cymotes were sensitive to atmospheric pressure changes, which gave them the idea to lure the creatures to an airlock and jettison them from the ship. Durge aided in their plan by leading the cymotes to one of the ship's airlocks. Once he entered the airlock with the parasites, Aphra closed the airlock on him and jettisoned him into space along with the cymotes, which exploded in the vacuum of space. Though Durge did not pursue Aphra or Starros, he remained alive.[1]
Personality and traits[]
Durge wore a suit of powerful armor equipped with various weapons.
Infamous[3] and fearsome, Durge worked as a bounty hunter. He enjoyed his reputation for being hard to kill, openly mentioning it to Aphra and Starros shortly after meeting them, and was more than willing to strike down his enemies, even if it meant bringing about the extinction of a species.[1] He was also taller than Aphra's height of 1.56 meters.[2]
Equipment[]
Durge wore silver armor with blue and red markings. He was armed with a multi-barreled rifle and a bola.[1] He also flew a starship.[6]
Behind the scenes[]
Conception and development[]
Durge first canonically debuted in Doctor Aphra (2020) 10, an issue of the 2020 Star Wars: Doctor Aphra comic book series written by Alyssa Wong and pencilled by Ray-Anthony Height.[6]
Durge was originally introduced in the Star Wars Legends continuity in the fifty-first issue of the comic series Star Wars: Republic, written by W. Haden Blackman, illustrated by Tomás Giorello, and published by Dark Horse Comics on March 19, 2003.[7] He was created by Lucasfilm Ltd. as part of the Clone Wars multimedia project to be a new and memorable bounty hunter antagonist who could challenge the Jedi, designed by the Skywalker Ranch Art Department and named by Lucasfilm employees, whereas Blackman wrote his backstory and personality.[8]
The Clone Wars concept[]
An unused Durge design developed for Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Early in the development of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series, Star Wars creator George Lucas mandated that there would be no bounty hunters, as the series was to focus solely on the conflict and those swept up in it.[9] However, as work on the first season progressed, there came a role that needed to be filled by a bounty hunter. Initially, Supervising Director Dave Filoni and writer Henry Gilroy explored incorporating Durge into the series. He was reimagined as a Human with elaborate body armor and gadgets, with his more outlandish alien features being excised[10] due to budget constraints.[11]
This was short-lived, however,[10] as Filoni preferred creating new characters for the series[9] and believed that the bounty hunter character should not be called Durge if they were unable to replicate the shapeshifting abilities he had displayed in the earlier Clone Wars multimedia project.[11] The next iteration of the bounty hunter character,[10] named Nom Kahbah by Gilroy,[11] retained Durge's all-concealing armor. However, the lines were smoothed out to resemble something from World War II–era Germany.[10]
After seeing concept art of Kahbah,[11] George Lucas suggested the character instead draw from iconic characters from the Spaghetti Westerns that inspired the original Star Wars films, which ultimately led to the creation of the Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane.[10]
Appearances[]
- Doctor Aphra (2020) 10 (First appearance)
- Doctor Aphra (2020) 11
Sources[]
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season One (First mentioned)
Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017: Animated Origins and Unexpected Fates on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)- A General, a Jedi, and a Wookiee Plot a Rescue as War of the Bounty Hunters Begins and More From Marvel's June 2021 Star Wars Comics – Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link)
- "Launchpad" – Star Wars Insider 203
- Durge Enters the Fray in Marvel's Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #11 – Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Doctor Aphra (2020) 11
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious establishes that Chelli Lona Aphra is 1.56 meters in height. Since Durge is depicted as being taller than Aphra in Doctor Aphra (2020) 11, Durge must be taller than 1.56 meters.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2
"Launchpad" – Star Wars Insider 203
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars (film)
- ↑ The events of Doctor Aphra (2020) 11 occur between the events of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, which are dated to 3 ABY and 4 ABY by Star Wars: Galactic Atlas, respectively.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Doctor Aphra (2020) 10
- ↑ Republic 51
- ↑ Jozic, Mike: A Conversation with Haden Blackman and Brian Ching on SBC (archived from the original on May 7, 2003)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Bane, Cad in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017: Animated Origins and Unexpected Fates on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
