- "My handle's Jimm, but I call myself the Starkiller Kid! And you can bet I'm gonna live up to that handle—if I can ever get off this crummy planet."
- ―Jimm Doshun
Jimm Doshun, also known as "the Starkiller Kid" was a Human male native to the village of Onacra on Aduba-3. Orphaned at the age of three, Doshun was raised by an obsolete tractor-robot, FE-9Q, and grew to become a rebellious teenager. His village was victimized by Serji-X Arrogantus and the Cloud-Riders gang, and when the elders refused to actively fight their aggressors, Doshun grew irritable. Hoping to impress a local girl, Merri Shen, Doshun equipped himself with weaponry and set off with FE to the spaceport of Tun Aduban.
There he found the smuggler Han Solo, who was putting together a ragtag team of gunslingers to defend Onacra from Arrogantus. Doshun impressed Solo, and was granted entry into the team. Together with the other members of the team, later dubbed the Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3, Doshun helped defend Onacra from both Arrogantus, and a gargantuan beast of ancient origin. With the attackers driven off, Doshun had impressed Shen, and the two were later married. Doshun later fell afoul of the lethal bounty hunter Beilert Valance, from whom he helped defend Onacra once again. In the following years, he sired two children with Merri.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Jimm Doshun Human male was a native of Onacra, a farming village on the remote Aduba-3. When he was three years old, his parents were killed in a high-hound attack. In the wake of their deaths, he was raised by the villagers of Onacra as a collective whole. The daily nurturing of the boy fell to the Doshuns' aged tractor-robot, FE-9Q. The droid attempted to pass on the Doshuns' values and education to young Doshun, and although the boy openly rebelled against the droid, he felt a great deal of affection for it. As a teenager, Doshun became difficult, and found himself in a great deal of trouble time and time again. FE would often provide support, but Doshun continually exploited the fact that the droid was programmed to do exactly as he willed.[1]
He was furious that the town elders would not defend themselves against the marauding Cloud-Riders of Serji-X Arrogantus. Doshun armed himself with a sling and his hunting knife, confident that he would be able to hold his own. He also sought to impress a local girl, Merri Shen, in spite of his youth and inexperience. In 0 ABY, Doshun was incensed by the news that one of the town leaders, Ramiz, planned to travel to the spaceport of Tun Aduban to enlist aid in finally mounting some sort of defensive measure against Arrogantus—especially in light of the fact that the port had actually spawned the likes of Arrogantus and his Cloud-Riders.[1]
"The Starkiller Kid"[]
- "Me an' my robot's ready, leader man!"
- ―Jimm Doshun
Determining that he would travel to Tun Aduban himself, Doshun armed himself with a blaster pistol, dubbed himself "The Starkiller Kid", and brought FE-Q9 along with him to the township, which he himself had never visited before. The sixteen year old and the droid managed to sneak into Locru's Central Saloon,[1] hoping to join a posse that was being assembled there. When the man organizing the posse, Han Solo, interviewed Doshun, the young boy admitted that he hoped to get offworld. Solo believed that FE would be of use, but he demanded that Doshun provide him with three reasons why he should be brought along. The young man explained that he had been stuck on Aduba-3 all his life, and despaired that he would go insane if he stayed there any longer. Solo inquired as to Doshun's experience in operating a blaster—the young man assured that he was a seasoned gunman, but Solo was incredulous.[2]
The Corellian was nonetheless impressed by Doshun's pluck and enthusiasm,[1][2] was reminded of another of his friends, Luke Skywalker, who he proceeded to tell Doshun about briefly. After reminiscing, he conceded, and allowed Doshun and FE to join his posse. Excited, Doshun set off to begin packing his belongings, fully believing that he would finally be leaving Aduba-3. The next day, Doshun and FE assembled with the rest of the posse—the Wookiee Chewbacca, gunslinger Amaiza Foxtrain, Spiner Hedji, faux-Jedi Don-Wan Kihotay, and the Lepi Jaxxon. Doshun demanded to know where Solo's ship was, but the smuggler explained that Doshun had the wrong idea entirely. Before he could clarify, the posse was approached by Serji-X Arrogantus and the Cloud-Riders. Solo quickly revealed that the posse would in fact be defending Onacra from them—they were the offworlders hired by Ramiz. Doshun, noting that there were only six Cloud-Riders on approach, suggested that the posse could easily take them out, but Solo disagreed, as only a few of their group were even armed with blasters. Arrogantus bandied words with Solo, and called into question the qualifications of the ragtag posse. Enraged, Doshun drew his weapon, but was cuffed by Foxtrain before he could open fire on Arrogantus. The marauder was amused, and departed while Doshun recovered.[2]
Though Doshun's time with Solo was brief, the Corellian taught the Aduban all the basic principles of gunslinging, marksmanship, and defense.[1] When the posse saddled up on banthas and set out for Onacra, Doshun led them on foot. On the way, they sighted a pack of high-hounds raiding some of the farmers' crops. Doshun alerted Solo to the danger the high-hounds posed, prompting the Corellian to lead the posse into a charge against the creatures. The posse did battle with the high-hounds, and when Kihotay took his lightsaber to the creatures, Doshun joined him, echoing the old man's vehement cry of victory. While one of the high-hounds was restrained by FE's telescoping arms, Doshun fatally shot it. The rest of them were driven off as Solo managed to save one of the farm girls who was being harangued by the high-hounds—none other than Merri Shen.[3]
Arriving in Onacra, the posse set about stabling their banthas. Later, Solo set the posse and the villagers about assembling makeshift defenses for when Arrogantus would inevitably arrive. When their work was done, the posse assembled, and Solo ensured that they were all ready for the impending attack. Jaxxon alerted the group at that moment that Arrogantus and the Cloud-Riders were on approach. The battle commenced, and Doshun found himself in the thick of it. FE attempted to issue him some sort of warning, but over the din of the blaster fire, Doshun was unable to hear the tractor-droid. As one of the Cloud-Riders attempted to shoot Doshun in the back, FE raced into the line of fire, taking the shot for "The Starkiller Kid." Doshun called out in vain as the loyal tractor-droid was shattered and destroyed by the blaster fire.[3]
When one of the villagers, known as the Old One, summoned the Behemoth from the World Below into the battle, the situation was greatly complicated. Faced with the gargantuan Behemoth, which was impervious to blaster shots, and able to project concentrated blasts from its head, the posse regrouped. They were again scattered when the Behemoth caused a landslide, and both the Old One and Arrogantus were trampled by the beast. Doshun observed that in the absence of the Old One, who was controlling the beast, the Behemoth was likely to rampage through and destroy Onacra. Jaxxon agreed with Doshun, but in Foxtrain's opinion, the apparent death of Arrogantus signaled the end of their responsibility to the villagers. Solo nonetheless managed to keep the posse together, and decided that they would need to formulate some form of group attack. Before they could do so, they had to contend with yet another landslide. When they had regrouped once more, Solo realized that Kihotay had set off by himself to conquer the beast.[4]
Doshun and the posse watched on in amazement as the elderly faux-Jedi led the Behemoth away from the posse in an effort to isolate the beast. Hedji attempted to aid Kihotay, but was struck down by the Behemoth, his natural quill throwing abilities rendered useless. Doshun could do little but watch as Solo and Chewbacca dashed to the aid, with the former taking Kihotay's lightsaber and destroying the Behemoth with it. The threat eliminated, the posse gathered themselves, and Doshun was ready to finally leave Aduba-3. However, he was approached by Shen in the aftermath, who was astonished at the bravery of his actions. Doshun was shocked, as she had barely even looked at him before, but she hoped he would change his mind about leaving the village. She thanked Solo for "bringing out the man" in Doshun, and the rest of the posse were subsequently paid. Doshun elected to stay with Shen,[4] and the two were wed shortly thereafter.[4] The posse would come to be known as the Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3, and inspired a holodocumentary produced by Tri-Nebula Entertainment.[1]
Valance[]
- "Between my obsession and the crew's greed… we did this all for nothing!"
- ―Valance realizes Jimm Doshun is not his quarry
In time, Shen fell pregnant with their first child, and later that same year, Jaxxon and Foxtrain returned to Onacra in the Lepi's ship, the Rabbit's Foot. Jaxxon informed Doshun that he was wanted by bounty hunters, and that they were likely on their way to Aduba-3 as they spoke. Foxtrain devised a plan to outwit the hunters—the Rabbit's Foot would take to the skies and feign a crash landing near Onacra, prompting the attackers to land and emerge from their ship. Doshun would then trigger a bantha stampede and wipe out the hunters. The plan went off as planned—after re-landing near Onacra, Jaxxon and Foxtrain cleared out of their ship and hid in the tall grass while the hunters' ship, the Kill Switch, landed.[5]
Doshun, lamenting the absence of Solo and Chewbacca, fired his blaster into the air, triggering the stampede. The bulk of the attackers were wiped off, and Foxtrain gunned down one survivor. The leader of the hunters, Beilert Valance, attempted to steal away and get back to the Kill Switch, but his path was blocked by Doshun, Foxtrain, and Jaxxon. Valance regarded Doshun, and remarked that he was not "the boy" he was after. The bounty hunter began to rage, realizing that the endeavor had been all for naught. He fired a blast from his cybernetic hand at the trio, forcing them to scatter while he escaped. As Valance flew away, Doshun believed that the situation was over, but Foxtrain wondered just who Valance had been hunting. Unbeknownst to the Star-Hoppers, his target had been Solo's friend, Luke Skywalker.[5]
Shen eventually gave birth to a daughter, Hanna, and as of 2 ABY, were expecting a second child. That year, Doshun received a death threat, apparently from the bounty hunter Valance,[1] who had been destroyed by the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, several years prior.[6] Doshun and his wife were visited by Alliance historian Voren Na'al, who was compiling a report on the Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3. Doshun himself was unwilling to be interviewed, having been spooked by the apparent resurgence of Valance. Shen was only too happy to speak with Na'al, although her accounts of events two years prior was largely influenced by the Tri-Nebula holodocumentary.[1]
Personality and traits[]
- "Me? Wanted by bounty hunters?! Pretty funny, Jax! I'm an old married farmer… Merri an' I are expectin' our first baby!"
- ―Jimm Doshun
Jimm Doshun elected to take a more aggressive approach to the likes of Arrogantus, and clashed with the town leadership's view of subservience. He had great faith in his own combat abilities at the age of sixteen, despite his total lack of experience. His departure from the town and new found combative lifestyle was partially to impress Merri Shen, with whom he was smitten. When Doshun learned that Ramiz planned to retrieve help for Onacra from Tun Aduban, the very source of their troubles. His enthusiasm proved impressive to the Corellian Han Solo, who accepted Doshun as one of his Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3.[1] He would become enraged when his abilities and experience were called into question, and he would respond with aggression or umbrage. Doshun was also highly impatient, seeking to leap into actions while others practiced caution.[2] Despite his attempts to distance himself from his humble upbringing in a farming community, he was still loyal to the people who had raised him.[3] He was eager to finally get off Aduba-3 after the Behemoth from the World Below was finally destroyed, but was only persuaded to stay when Merri Shen confessed an attraction for him.[4]
Largely raised by the droid FE-9Q, Doshun demonstrably resisted the droid's seniority, but secretly held a great deal of love for the droid. When he found himself in a trouble as a rebellious youth, he was often saved by FE-9Q's efforts, but Doshun would often exploit the fact that FE was programmed to do his bidding. Despite this, FE maintained a verbal superiority, even while being forced to execute the young man's instructions.[1] When dealing with strangers, Doshun maintained that FE was in fact his pet.[2] Although the boy and the droid continued to argue while they were members of the Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3, FE sacrificed himself for the ongoing survival of Doshun, a fact that distressed the young man greatly.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
Jimm Doshun, "the Starkiller Kid," first appeared in Star Wars (1977) 8 (1978), which was written by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin. The "Starkiller" name originated in earlier drafts of the script for Star Wars. It was originally to be the surname of several characters, who would later develop and become the characters of Anakin and Luke Skywalker.[7]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars (1977) 8 (First appearance)
- Star Wars (1977) 9
- Star Wars (1977) 10
- Star Wars (1977) 11 (In flashback(s))
- Star Wars (1977) 16
Sources[]
- "ComicScan: Marvelously Silly Aliens" — Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 3
- "The Starhoppers of Aduba-3" — Star Wars Gamer 4
- "The Hunt Within: Valance's Tale: Part 3" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- So Uncivilized: Great Gunslingers in Star Wars, Part 1 on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
- "New Planets, New Perils!" — Star Wars Insider 181
- "The Mighty Walt" — Star Wars Insider 220
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 "The Starhoppers of Aduba-3" — Star Wars Gamer 4
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Star Wars (1977) 8
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Star Wars (1977) 9
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Star Wars (1977) 10
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Star Wars (1977) 16
- ↑ Star Wars (1977) 29
- ↑ The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film