Star Wars’ Strongest Wookiee Makes Chewbacca Look Weak

While not many fans know every character in Star Wars‘ long list of Wookiees, Chewbacca and Black Krrsantan are currently the most well-known. The Wookiees of Kashyyyk are far more than just the sidekicks of smugglers. Some of these overlooked creatures live some of the most interesting lives in the galaxy.

Despite the galaxy’s most xenophobic humans viewing them as primitive, Wookiees are actually quite intelligent beings. As a matter of fact, they’re some of the most tech-savvy creatures across the stars. Chewbacca, the first and most iconic Wookiee, is the co-pilot of the Millenium Falcon, one of the Rebellion’s best mechanics, and has phenomenal aim with his bowcaster. While he’s not as physically strong as Black Krrsantan, Chewie’s resourcefulness has outmatched the intimidating Wookiee bounty hunter. These hairy characters clearly earn the love and fear of many, but there’s another Wookiee in Star Wars Legends that makes these Wookiees look much weaker in comparison.

In Darko Macan, Brent Anderson, Igor Kordey’s Chewbacca Dark Horse comics from 2000, now part of Star Wars Legends, Chewbacca successfully fights off a madclaw Wookiee named Tojjevvuk on the Wookiees’ native treetops. In Legends, Wookiees have retractable claws to climb trees, craft tools, or cut wires. All Wookiees are forbidden to bring out their claws during battle. They view claw attacks, especially against other Wookiees, as extremely dishonorable. Nevertheless, a few Wookiees have broken this rule and have been branded madclaws. Chewie’s fight against Tojjevvuk is one of the most challenging and bloody encounters in his history. On the brink of defeat, Chewie throws the madclaw to the Shadowlands of Kashyyyk (the planet’s surface). Tojjevvuk was indeed a mighty Wookiee, but his dishonor proved to be futile against Chewbacca’s heart of gold.

In the Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) multimedia experience, set about 4,000 years before the Battle of Yavin, one of the Ebon Hawke’s crewmembers is the Wookiee, Zaalbar. “Big Z,” as his Twi’lek partner Mission Vao calls him, might be the most legendary Wookiee in Star Wars. The 14-year-old Mission found him on Taris, an urban city, facing anti-alien prejudice—something she understood too well. Zaalbar never opened up much to Mission about his past, but he’s an exile from the Wookiee planet Kashyyyk. After striking his brother Chuundar dishonorably, Zaalbar’s father, Freyyr, banished him. Unlike Tojjevvuk, Zaalbar only used his claws accidentally, proving his enraged strength is beyond his own control. Furthermore, he had a good reason for his rage; Zaalbar discovered Chuundar made a deal with the Czerka Corporation, allowing them to abduct Wookiees from the Shadowlands and sell them as slaves.

As a playable character in KOTOR, Zaalbar displays immense constitution, sword skills, detonator expertise, and talented aim. In other words, Zaalbar has Chewbacca’s resourcefulness, Black Krrsantan’s weapons mastery, and Tojjevvuk’s raw strength combined. While KOTOR has alternate endings, Legends books, like The Old Republic: Revan, officially canonized the Light Side story. The noble path on Kashyyyk redeems Zaalbar, who gets his chance to reveal the truth about Chuundar’s slave deal with the Czerka Corporation and ultimately liberate the Wookiees of Kashyyyk, at least until the Empire would continue Czerka’s work. His Wookiee roars are also translated in KOTOR, quite literally making him the most understood Wookiee ever.

Chewbacca still has a better heart than any Wookiee that ever lived, but Zaalbar’s redemptive story definitely puts him close. While Lowbacca, another Legends Wookiee, is a Jedi Knight, Zaalbar is possibly Star Wars’ most powerful, resourceful, and strongest non-Force-sensitive Wookiee. Chewbacca and Black Krrsantan‘s achievements simply don’t match up against Zaalbar in Star Wars.

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