Wookiee honor code

Wookiee honor code
Outcome	Wookiees may only use claws for climbing

The Wookiee honor code was a rule in Wookiee culture which forbade Wookiees from using their extendable claws for anything other than climbing. In the year 34 ABY, Chewbacca, a Wookiee male from Kashyyyk, used his claws to kill a First Order stormtrooper following the murder of his closest friend, Han Solo. Solo had been killed by his son, Kylo Ren, who was a leader of the First Order. Chewbacca knowingly violated the Wookiee honor code, but he rationalized that there was no honor among the First Order and that Ren had broken all of the rules by committing patricide.

Behind the scenes

The Wookiee honor code was first introduced in the audiobook of The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel.

The Wookiee honor code was first mentioned in the audiobook of Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel, by Michael Kogge, which was published on January 15, 2016. Although the novel was originally released as an eBook in 2015, the Wookiee honor code was not mentioned; it was later added to the novel's paperback edition, which was published on February 16, 2016.

The concept of Wookiees having protractable claws to facilitate tree climbing was first introduced by Timothy Zahn in his 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, which is now part of the Star Wars Legends continuity. Zahn later realized that this created a discrepancy: if the Wookiees indeed had claws, Chewbacca would have used them in the original Star Wars movies. In the following year, Heir to the Empire Sourcebook resolved the discrepancy, explaining that it was a matter of honor that Wookiees never used their claws in combat, but kept them strictly for climbing. Wookiees who used their claws in combat were exiled and labeled as "madclaws."

Appearances

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel (and audiobook) (Mentioned only) (Introduced in paperback edition)

Sources

• Collapse of the Republic