The old Star Wars Expanded Universe was home to some beloved characters — Mara Jade, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Quinlan Vos, the list goes on. But no other character stands as a testament to the sheer joy of the EU than Hoar. Not familiar with him? Well, we’re here to help, with a rundown of the life and times of this iconic character. Without making fun of his silly name.
Hoar Wasn’t His Full Name
Actually, ok, we are going to make fun of the name, after all. In an attempt to hide the fact that in his inaugural appearance in the Star Wars canon, the phenomenally bad Playstation fighting game Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi, Hoar was called, well, Hoar, the character’s full Tusken name was revealed in later canon material as KkH’Oar’Rrhr. Significantly harder to say, but admittedly a lot less rude-sounding. Seriously, say his name out loud, and you’ll see why they changed it.
He’s the Sole Survivor of Anakin Skywalker’s Tusken Temper Tantrum
The Rrhr clan was the group of Tusken Raiders that kidnapped Shmi Skywalker during the events of Attack of the Clones — which, as we all know, led to her death, and then the clan’s death at the hands of her son Anakin, who slaughtered every man, woman and child in the village… except for Hoar, who was away from the village at the time, bonding with his Bantha so he could become an effective rider.
Upon returning to find his people slaughtered, Hoar became listless, and sought out other Tuskens to take him in — he was eventually adopted by the clan of A’Sharad Hett, another prominent Tusken in the Expanded Universe who was once a Jedi Knight during the last days of the Republic, and eventually became the Sith Lord Darth Krayt… for reasons best not discussed here.
He’s Force Sensitive
Hoar’s master, A’Sharad Hett, duelling Obi-Wan on Tatooine.
Before Hoar joined Hett’s clan however, he just so happened to raid the dwellings of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and came across Anakin’s old lightsaber — the effect of which tapped into his latent Force sensitivity and gave him a vision of the “Demon Outlander” who had massacred his village. Eventually, Hett discovered this sensitivity and took Hoar as his apprentice in the Force, training him with the traditional Tusken Gaderffi stick and teaching him how to channel his Force powers into every strike — the ancient art of Teras Kasi.
After Hett was defeated in a duel by Obi-Wan and shamed by his fellow Tuskens, Hoar struck out into the galaxy with a few faithful followers, and was eventually turned to the Dark Side by a dark Jedi named Maw, and tasked with raiding ancient Jedi temples for knowledge and power.
He Beat Luke Skywalker In a Fight, But Let Him Live
That pillaging lead to Hoar working with the Emperor’s Hand Arden Lyn, herself a master of Teras Kasi. The two duelled at first, but after Lyn defeated Hoar, she decided train him and improve his fighting skills — and in the process, taught him to hate Luke Skywalker, whom Hoar recognised as looking eerily similar to the “Demon Outlander” from his visions.
Hoar actually tried to fight Luke multiple times out of vengeance, but was repelled by — I shit you not — the ghostly spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was presumably hella pissed at Hoar for breaking into his house. Hoar and Lyn eventually encountered Darth Vader, whom, of course, Hoar also recognised from his vision somehow, leading him to ponder whether:
- Luke was secretly Vader
- There were two “Demon Outlanders”
- He was going insane
He apparently decided to ignore all three options. He dueled Luke once and for all — and won, but had a last minute change of heart, running off on his own to hunt down Vader and gain the vengeance he sought.
He Might Have Died Fighting Darth Vader
Years later, Hoar eventually cornered Vader on the planet Shumari, ready to take vengeance on the man who had murdered his clan, once and for all. Hoar nearly bested Vader — only to be cut down by an acolyte of Vader’s named Tao, who succumbed to wounds sustained from his fight with Hoar. Oh by the way, Tao, in his dying words, begged Vader to turn to the light side of the Force, apparently having such an impact on the Sith Lord that he began formulating his plan to overthrow the Emperor, with his son at his side.
Or maybe not — all this happened in Star Wars Manga: Black, which was declared non-canon even by the old Expanded Universe’s standards. So who knows what happened to this most noble of Force-sensitive Tuskens after the events of Masters of Teras Kasi?
OK, so maybe we’re joking just a little bit about him being the greatest character in the old EU. In fact, Hoar represents some of the worst pitfalls that the old Expanded Universe, and arguably the Prequels to a certain extent, regularly fell into: like making everyone and their uncle (or aunt) Force-sensitive, or making the galaxy far far away so much smaller by connecting every insignificant character into the major events of the films, or by having said characters meet up with the heroes and villains we know and love for no particular reason, and prove that they’re better than them somehow.
And yet, Hoar also represents the joy of the old EU — shining a light on the tiniest spaces in the Star Wars galaxy, and giving them a life and character. The universe that inspired people to look at a man running around Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back with an ice cream machine, and transform him into a Rebel hero. Only Star Wars could inspire such dedication.
Hoar information sourced via Wookieepedia.