- «You're just a little gravel maggot!»
- ―Mawhonic taunts a rival
Mawhonic (pronounced /mɑ'hɑnɪk/) was a male Gran who hailed from the planet of Hok. By the year 32 BBY, Mawhonic was an accomplished Podracer pilot, with fame on worlds such as Ando Prime, Malastare, and Ryloth. Using a green Galactic Power Engineering GPE-3130 Podracer, Mawhonic soared through the sport with several record times. In addition to racing, Mawhonic also struck out a living selling Podracer parts. Mawhonic participated in the Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY, which was based out of the desert planet of Tatooine. The Gran started on the front row, and during the first lap Mawhonic's 3130 was destroyed by the Dug Sebulba.
Despite the perceived severity of the crash, Mawhonic survived and later took part in the Vinta Harvest Classic race on Malastare. Although he was the local crowd favorite, Mawhonic lost another race to Sebulba. Furious about Sebulba's attempt to kill him in the Boonta, Mawhonic posted bounties on several of Sebulba's relatives, accepting them either dead or alive. Several years later, Mawhonic, still piloting a GPE Podracer, joined the 24 BBY racing season. Mawhonic held two speed records, and also displayed his aggressive side when he made it onto competitor knockout charts. Mawhonic's career extended into the year 22 BBY, where the Podracing courses extended into worlds such as Felucia and Coruscant.
Biography[]
In addition to being a pilot, Mawhonic was a podracer parts dealer. He could often be found in his shop where his R2-series astromech droid frequently worked on his podracer. The Gran was willing to sell parts for Huttese currency or to trade parts, but he refused to accept Republic credit.[3]
He was one of only a handful of racers, including Gasgano, that Sebulba ever counted as a real threat to his career. Sebulba's loathing of Mawhonic was likely supplemented by the fact that the three-eyed alien was of the Gran race, the very same species that had enslaved Sebulba's people, the Dugs, on their home planet of Malastare. Mawhonic would become vicious whenever Sebulba was around, whereas otherwise he was quite good-natured.
An unspoken alliance between Mawhonic and Gasgano revealed itself whenever they were racing against Sebulba: if an opportunity to work together to bring the Dug down presented itself, they would do so. However, they rarely had anything to do with each other in their off hours, as each found the other's personality detestable. In the Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY, Mawhonic's Podracer was destroyed in the first lap by Sebulba as they were passing through the Mushroom Mesa.
Soon after the race, a maddened Mawhonic pronounced his hatred for Sebulba and his family. He put a bounty on at least two of the cheating Dug's relatives, Nebulba and Xijulba of Malastare's Sebolto Clan. The bounty hunter, Jango Fett, would eventually snag the bounties while on the planet, although it is still unclear whether they were taken alive or dead.[4]
Mawhonic returned later on to compete in Malastare's Vinta Harvest Classic, apparently no worse for wear. During this race, he was introduced by Fode and Beed as the local Gran favourite. Astonished, Sebulba accused him of being an impostor, but all evidence pointed to the fact that he was genuine. Rumors began to fly around that there had been an impostor Mawhonic, but this had been the one who perished in the Boonta Eve Classic—that Mawhonic himself had not raced in the Boonta to begin with. These rumors remain unconfirmed. Later Sebulba destroyed his podracer, after the race Mawhonic disappeared.
Behind the scenes[]
Mawhonic was created for the 1999 theatrical film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, which was directed by Star Wars creator George Lucas.[5] However, Mawhonic's first appearance was in the film's novelization, which was written by Terry Brooks.[6] Although the character appears as a Gran in the film, Mawhonic was originally conceptualized by artist Jay Shuster as a never-before-seen alien species with a thin chin and six eyes.[5] This design made it as far as the film's animatic stages, but was ultimately scrapped.[7] Additionally, even earlier storyboard arts showcased that Aldar Beedo was meant to be the original racer to be crashed by Sebulba. Later art created by Terryl Whitlatch portrayed Mawhonic as a thin Gran with large hands,[5] similar to how the character Ree-Yees, from the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode IV Return of the Jedi, appeared. Ultimately, the new alien and the thin Gran designs were combined, using the rotund nature, hands, and feet from the first design and the Gran likeness of the second, creating Mawhonic's final design.[5] Unlike the other Podracer pilots that would appear in The Phantom Menace, Mawhonic was to be portrayed by an actor in a costume. Mark Coulier was eventually chosen for the role.[8] With a method that was used for the creation process of Ree-Yees, Mawhonic's mask was created by the crew of special effects artist Nick Dudman.[1] In other titles, Mawhonic is voiced by Michael Sorich.[source?]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Episode I Racer
- Podracing Tales
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace ½
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace novelization (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace unabridged audiobook
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace video game
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace Movie Storybook
- Star Wars Episode I Journal: Anakin Skywalker
- Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars (1998) 15
- Star Wars: Racer Revenge
- Garbage Masher on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
Non-canon appearances[]
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars: Episode I Podracer Punch-Outs
- Star Wars: Power of the Jedi
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 26 (POD2, Podracer Pilots)
- Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars
- Star Wars Fandex Deluxe Edition
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars Character Encyclopedia
- Mawhonic in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Podracer, Mawhonic's in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars: Complete Vehicles
- Star Wars: Force Collection (Card: Mawhonic)
- "Podracing 101!" — Star Wars Comic 3
- "Podracing 101!" — Star Wars Magazine 2
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Mawhonic in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I Racer
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace video game
- ↑ Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Star Wars: Episode I Insider's Guide
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace novelization
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace DVD special features
- ↑ Episode I Snapshot: Tatooine Tango on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
External links[]
- Episode I Snapshot: Mawhonic on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Episode I Snapshot: Tatooine Tango on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
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