Vizam

Vizam
Biographical information
Homeworld	Kintan
Died	4 ABY, Tatooine
Descriptive information
Species	Nikto (Kajain'sa'Nikto)
Gender	Male
Pronouns	He/him
Skin color	Orange
Chronological and political information
Affiliation(s)	Jabba Desilijic Tiure's criminal empire

"You said you were interested in a line on some easy money… that still the case, Corbus?"
"Depends on how easy, Vizam. And how much."
"How much is a million credits."
"I'm listening."

―Vizam contacts Corbus Tyra about a potential job

Vizam was a Kajain'sa'Nikto male who served as weapons master for the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Between 8 BBY and 2 BBY, Vizam contacted the criminal Corbus Tyra to let him know that Jabba was offering a million credits for someone to steal an urn containing the ashes of the Hutt's rival Krestrel D'Naran. In 4 ABY, he was present in the throne room of Jabba's Palace on the planet Tatooine when the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO arrived to deliver a message from Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, a member of the Rebel Alliance. Skywalker stated his desire to see the smuggler Han Solo freed from imprisonment in the palace and then gifted the droids to Jabba.

Vizam later watched a performance by the Max Rebo Band in the throne room, which ended with the dancer Oola being dropped through a trap door into a pit containing the rancor Pateesa. The Nikto excitedly watched as the dancer was killed by Pateesa, after which Skywalker's ally Princess Leia Organa arrived disguised as a bounty hunter with the Solo's ally Chewbacca as a prisoner. Vizam and the rest of Jabba's court later hid within the throne room in order to catch Organa attempting to free Solo. Once the smuggler was free, Jabba revealed himself along with Vizam and the others and had Organa and Solo captured.

Vizam was again present in the throne room when Skywalker himself arrived, witnessing Jabba drop the Jedi into the rancor pit only for Skywalker to slay Pateesa. Jabba then demanded that the prisoners be fed to the sarlacc living in the Great Pit of Carkoon. Vizam traveled to the pit onboard Jabba's sail barge, the Khetanna, but the prisoners fought back against Jabba's henchmen once brought to their destination. While Vizam mounted a laser cannon on the barge's top deck and opened fire on the skiff carrying the prisoners, Skywalker boarded the barge and slew the Nikto with his lightsaber.

Biography

Payday for a pal

"I know if he's willing to pay a million credits, I won't be the only one after it."
"That's true, he sent a crew."
"Anyone I know?"
"That depends… do you know Han Solo?"

―Corbus and Vizam

Vizam contacted Corbus Tyra after learning about a lucrative opportunity.

Originally from the planet Kintan, the Nikto male Vizam served as weapons master for the criminal empire of the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure. At some point between around 8 BBY and 2 BBY, Vizam learned that Jabba had offered the criminals Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Greedo one million credits to go to the planet Corellia and steal an urn containing the ashes of Krestrel D'Naran, one of the Hutt's rivals.

Knowing that he was looking for an easy way to make money, Vizam then contacted the criminal known as Corbus Tyra via hologram from a cantina in Mos Eisley spaceport on the planet Tatooine. After Vizam detailed the job and its reward, Tyra correctly guessed that for that much money there must be other parties also trying to steal the urn, prompting Vizam to ask if Tyra was familiar with Solo. Jabba's majordomo, Bib Fortuna, was aware that Vizam had told Tyra about the job and provided this information to Buck Vancto, a marshal of the Benelex Marshal Service who was searching for Solo. Following this lead, Vancto crossed paths with Tyra and arrested him, revealing that he had learned about Vizam's tip off.

Present at the palace

In 4 ABY, during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Vizam was present in the throne room of Jabba's Palace on the Tatooine when the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO delivered a message to the Hutt from Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker of the Rebel Alliance. As Vizam stood next to a Jawa beside Jabba's dais, a hologram of Skywalker stated his intention to see Solo, who was imprisoned in the palace within a block of carbonite, set free. Skywalker then gifted the two droids to Jabba, and they were escorted by several of the Hutt's henchmen from the room.

Vizam eagerly watched the demise of Oola.

Vizam later viewed a musical performance by the Max Rebo Band in the throne room, which ended when the Twi'lek dancer Oola refused Jabba's advances. The Hutt dropped the dancer through a trap door into a pit containing his pet rancor, Pateesa. Vizam was among the members of the court who rushed forward to the grate above the pit to witness Oola's demise. Leia Organa, an ally of Skywalker, then arrived in the throne room disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh and was accepted into the court after delivering Chewbacca as a prisoner to the Hutt.

Plot by a princess

Vizam (back left corner) witnessed Luke Skywalker threaten Jabba the Hutt.

Having been tipped off by the bounty hunter Boba Fett, Jabba knew Boushh was not who they seemed and later that night, Vizam and the rest of the court hid themselves behind a curtain in the throne room in order to set a trap for her. After they had waited for an hour, Organa crept into the room and freed Solo from the carbonite, Jabba revealed himself along with Vizam and his other allies, who were stood between the pair and the exit, blocking their escape. The Hutt then had Organa and Solo taken captive.

With Organa having failed her mission, Skywalker himself arrived at the palace to confront the Hutt. Vizam was seated on the floor of one of the throne room's alcoves among various other resting court members when Skywalker entered the throne room and demanded that Jabba free his friends. Vizam stood to witness the confrontation, which resulted in Skywalker being dropped into the rancor pit after threatening Jabba's life. However, Skywalker managed to slay Pateesa, causing an enraged Jabba to demand that Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca be fed to the sarlacc that dwelled within the Great Pit of Carkoon on Tatooine.

Peril at the pit

Vizam was killed by Luke Skywalker during the battle at the sarlacc pit.

To view his prisoners' execution, Jabba traveled to the sarlacc pit on his sail barge, the Khetanna. Vizam was also on the barge while Jabba's prisoners were transported on a Bantha-II cargo skiff escort. Once the skiff stopped above the pit, R2-D2 launched Skywalker's lightsaber from the barge to the Jedi, who took the blade to defeat Jabba's henchmen and free his friends aboard the skiff. Vizam witnessed the attack and quickly mounted a Gi/9 antipersonnel laser cannon on the sail barge's railing.

The Nikto then opened fire on the skiff, which knocked Lando Calrissian—an ally of Skywalker's who had been disguised as one of Jabba's men—and the skiff's helmsman, Vedain, overboard. Calrissian took hold of the skiff and survived, but the helmsman tumbled into the maw of the sarlacc. Vizam continued firing on the skiff, allowing Skywalker to deflect one of the bolts from the Nikto's turret into the jetpack of Fett, incapacitating Fett and contributing in no small part to the hunter's fall into the sarlacc below. Vizam's assault eventually caused the vehicle to drop on one side, after which Skywalker climbed aboard the sail barge and slashed Vizam with his lightsaber, killing him. The Jedi and his allies went on to kill Jabba and destroy the entire sail barge before escaping Tatooine.

Personality and traits

"That's a lot of cash for some ashes."
"You have to know Jabba."

―Corbus and Vizam

Vizam fired enthusiastically with his turret from the Khetanna, so intent on the weapon that he missed Luke Skywalker scaling the barge.

Vizam was an orange-skinned Kajain'sa'Nikto, a subspecies of the Nikto species, with a flat face. After learning that Jabba had offered a job to Solo and his crew, Vizam contacted Corbus as a potential rival for Jabba's chosen employees. When Corbus expressed surprise at the amount that the Hutt was offering for the urn, Vizam stated that it was not that surprising if you knew Jabba.

Vizam enjoyed grisly executions more than most. When the enslaved girl Oola was being eaten by the rancor, the Nikto chose to move closer to the rancor's pit and watch while bobbing up and down. The disruption of the execution at the Pit of Carkoon spoiled Vizam's day and he began firing from the deck enthusiastically in order try and bring things back under control and earn Jabba's respect. The Nikto was so intent on firing at the skiff that he did not notice Skywalker boarding the sail barge until it was too late.

Equipment

Vizam manned a laser cannon while aboard Jabba's sail barge. He wore brown-and-gray headgear; several layers of clothing that included a yellow padded vest, navy sleeves, and gray shoulder pads; chrome gauntlets; a utility belt; white pants; and black boots. On at least one occasion, Vizam also carried a DL-18 blaster pistol, which he kept in a holster on his belt.

Behind the scenes

Film character

"I would say, 'If I give that guy a full costume, all you have to make are his hands and head.'"

―Nilo Rodis-Jamero describes the collaboration leading to the creation of the Vizam costume

Vizam's costume was made by Phil Tippett's creature design team and Nilo Rodis-Jamero's costume design team.

Vizam first appeared in the 1983 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. The character was created for the film through the combined efforts of Phil Tippett's creature design team and Nilo Rodis-Jamero's costume design team. During production of the film, Vizam was known as "Nikto #4" and dressed in a costume designed to be similar to some of the other skiff guards. A sketch of Vizam's costume was drawn by Tippett.

The Vizam costume consisted of a navy undergarment covered by a brown kimono and then a quilted yellow tabard, as well as white pants, gray vambraces, and a soft hat made of brown-and-gray fabric. The costume's wrist guards were made of plastic, and the cotton jersey that served as the undergarment was dyed navy and smocked to give the clothing a loose, bunched appearance on the arms.

In the new Star Wars canon, the character was first identified by name in 2016 in the nineteenth issue of the Star Wars Helmet Collection magazine produced by De Agostini. That name originated in Star Wars Legends through Decipher, Inc.'s Star Wars Customizable Card Game, where it appeared on the "Vizam" card in the 1998 Jabba's Palace Limited set. The 2018 reference book Star Wars: Complete Vehicles uses Vizam's character design for the majority of guards on board the Khetanna.

Non-canon

Vizam transported members of the band Star Waver on a skiff to their performance in the Mos Espa Grand Arena.

Vizam appears in "Tatooine Rhapsody," an ambiguously canon short film in the Star Wars: Visions series released on September 22, 2021. In the short, the band Star Waver make a deal to perform for Jabba in the Mos Espa Grand Arena before he executes one of their members, Geezer Odajion. Vizam pilots a Bantha-II cargo skiff to the arena's stage carrying two Gamorreans and three members of the band; Odajion, K-344, and V-5.

He then moves the vehicle away from the stage while the song "Galactic Dreamer" is performed, but returns at the end of song transporting the armed guards Vedain, Kithaba, and Rintel Aren. Star Waver's lead singer, Jay, then asks Jabba to spare Odajion and instead become the band's first sponsor. After the crowd demand an encore, the guards on Vizam's skiff aim their blasters at the band, but then shoulder them on Jabba's signal to spare Odajion. Vizam then pilots the skiff away, allowing the band to perform again.

Vizam (left) is grabbed by the sarlacc in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

In the non-canon 2022 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Vizam appears in the mission "The Copa-Khetanna." He is first shown standing with a vibro-ax on the skiff carrying Skywalker and the other prisoners above the sarlacc pit. One of the sarlacc's tentacles then taps Vizam's shoulder, distracting him so that it can grab the Nikto and drag him screaming into the sarlacc pit as C-3PO speaks to the prisoners. The Vizam model is then used as one of several repeated generic enemy model onboard the Khetanna.

Appearances

• The Skywalker Saga
• Han Solo & Chewbacca 1
• Han Solo & Chewbacca 5 (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Treasury: The Original Trilogy
• Star Wars in Pictures: The Original Trilogy
• Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization
• Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Disney Die-Cut Classics)

Non-canon appearances

• Star Wars: Visions — "Tatooine Rhapsody" (Ambiguous canonicity)
• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Sources

• Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy
• Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded (Picture only)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection 19 (Weapons & Uniforms: Jabba's Skiff Guards) (First identified as Vizam)
• Star Wars: Complete Locations (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Geektionary: The Galaxy from A - Z
• Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition (Picture only)
• Star Wars: The Vintage Collection (Pack: Special 3 Action Figures Set) (backup link)
• "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 192
• Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian — "Legacy"
• Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian — "Making of Season Two"
• "Boba Fett and Other Characters of the Underworld" — Star Wars Encyclopedia (Picture only)
• Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – The Official Collector's Edition (Picture only)
• Under The Helmet: The Legacy Of Boba Fett

Notes and references

In other languages

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