The Jedi Beat An Original Trilogy Villain 200 Years Before Phantom Menace

The Jedi of the High Republic Era successfully defeated a classic Star Wars villain – some 200 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The relationship between the Jedi and the Hutts has always been a tense one, in part because the Hutts are biologically resistant to Jedi Mind Tricks. It doesn’t help that the Hutts are remarkably long-lived, more so than many Jedi, and thus accomplished members of the Hutt Council swiftly learn how to manipulate Jedi.

By the time Luke Skywalker stood before Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, he was understandably relaxed about facing the Jedi. He’d gone up against them countless times in the past, and – as far as he was concerned – he’d outlived the entire Jedi Order. The youth stood in front of him was alone, without the might of a thousand Jedi to back him up, and Jabba knew Luke’s mentor Obi-Wan had died shortly after leaving Tatooine with him. Luke didn’t even know better than to try to use a Jedi Mind Trick on a Hutt.

This wasn’t the first time Jabba had underestimated the Jedi, though. IDW’s Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures annual includes a short story called “First Mission” by Justina Ireland and Yael Nathan, in which Jabba encountered a handful of Jedi roughly 200 years before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, at the height of the High Republic Era. The Jedi were a relatively new presence on the Outer Rim at the time, and Jedi Master Stellan Gios attempted to negotiate a treaty between the Hutts and another race called the Hynestians. The Hutts had no intention of honoring the treaty, though, with Jabba rigging a poisoning directed against another of his clan – one he intended to use as a pretext to kill the Hynestian diplomats. Unfortunately for Jabba, Jedi Padawan Vernestra Rwoh recognized the poison, and Stellan intervened. The furious Hutts opened fire anyway, but the Jedi simply swatted the blaster bolts away. The Hutts who were party to the event were ransomed back to the Hutt Council, an event that Jabba and his fellows no doubt found embarrassing.

Hutts are arrogant creatures at heart, convinced they are superior to all other beings in the galaxy. Jabba should have learned how powerful Jedi were all those years ago; and Luke Skywalker was arguably the most powerful Jedi of all time, heir to the power of the Chosen One himself. What’s more, although Jabba had seen the decline of the Jedi Order because the shadow of the dark side fell over the galaxy throughout his lifetime, Luke was an agent of balance whose mere presence served to correct that. Jabba did not know it on that fateful day on Tatooine, but he was underestimating the Jedi just as badly as he did during the High Republic Era.

Interestingly, the Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures annual actually serves as the first encounter with Jabba the Hutt in timeline order. He’s clearly a low-ranking member of the Hutt clans at this point in time, and his failed scheme would have delayed his rise through the ranks of the Hutts by decades. He’d go on to become the greatest Hutt crime lord of them all – but it would be Leia Organa who killed Jabba, with her bare hands rather than the Force, earning her the name “Huttslayer.” This classic Star Wars villain met an ignoble end indeed.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4909 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

More From Thomas Bacon