How cool is Monster Week? I love it and I knew I had to participate. My only dilemma was that I’m the Star Wars guy (with a handle like Darth Duff that’s probably no surprise). So what do I do when it’s both Monster Week and the thirtieth anniversary of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back? I bust out the ever handy and trusty Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia and I give you a post on the monsters from The Empire Strikes Back of course, from A-Z.
BOSSK: Yes, he’s a cool bounty hunter. But look at this guy, he’s a monster in most people’s books.
“A Trandoshan bounty hunter devoted to capturing Wookiees, he spent much of his life in pursuit of the heroic Chewbacca and his partner, Han Solo. Although he managed to corner the pair several times, these encounters always resulted in Bossk’s defeat and humiliation. Yet the tenacious and greedy hunter continued his quest undaunted, most often plying the stars in his starship, the Hound’s Tooth. In common with all members of his species, Bossk exuded a brackish stench, had sensitive eyes, and could regenerate lost limbs. Bossk was so vicious that he even murdered and devoured his father Cradossk, leader of the Bounty Hunters’ Guild.”
DRAGONSNAKE: We barely saw this guy in the movie as his back broke the surface of the water just before he swallowed and then famously spit out R2-D2 on Dagobah.
“This large predator inhabited Dagobah’s water channels. A dragonsnake sought out victims, rearing up and slashing them with its fangs or razor-sharp fins.”
MYNOCK: These are the nasty little suckers that were clinging to the Millennium Falcon…of course the Falcon was in the belly of a space slug at the time (see below).
“Leathery winged manta-like fliers scattered throughout the galaxy, mynocks were a common pest faced by spacers. The parasitic creatures attached themselves to hosts via their bristly suction-cup-like mouths. Pilots needed to examine their ships for mynock infestations since the creatures liked to affix to starships and chew on their power cables. Mynocks traveled in packs and typically grew to be 1.6 meters long with a wingspan of approximately 1.25 meters.
The mynock homeworld was unknown, but they derived their name from their supposed origin world, Ord Mynock. Mynocks, like plants, were nourished by stellar radiation. Their leathery surfaces were well suited for absorbing electromagnetic radiation. They rode the stellar winds by unfurling their wings. Mynocks also fed on silica and other minerals for the purposes of reproduction. The creatures were asexual, reproducing through fission once enough raw material had been absorbed and metabolized.
These silicon-based life-forms could only exist in the vacuum of space, and found planetary atmospheres fatal. A number of mynock variants were discovered, however, that not only could survive planetfall, but also could reproduce via larval forms.”
SPACE SLUG (EXOGORTH): “There’s an awful lot of moisture in here.” That’s because you’re in the belly of a space slug Princess Leia!
“Giant worm-like creatures as long as 900 meters, they inhabited deep caverns on larger asteroids near Hoth and other planets. Space slugs, also known as exogorths, were hardy, existing in virtually no atmosphere. Silicon-based lifeforms, they lived for long periods by breaking down the rock and subsisting on the mineral content. Space slugs were plagued by parasites known as mynocks, which they sometimes also fed on. Space slug flesh had a number of commercial uses. The creatures reproduced through fission, splitting into two separate beings.
Space slugs could trace their galactic prominence back to the House of Adasca, which found a way to use them as weapons in the years prior to the Jedi Civil War. By increasing their reproduction rate, growth rate, and hunger, as well as fitting them with hyperdrives, the House of Adasca hoped to sell the exogorths to interested parties as spaceport-wrecking superweapons. Thousands of years later, the pirate Clabburn the Elder placed space slugs in the Hoth asteroid belt and other areas where he maintained hideouts. One slug in the asteroid belt grew to more than 900 meters in length, and became a temporary hiding place for Han Solo during the Millennium Falcon’s escape from Imperial forces.”
TAUNTAUN: You might be questioning my selection of this one as a monster. Look at it, it’s monster ugly. It’s face is all gnarly and it has giant horns and ugly matted fur. Plus they smell horrible. It’s a monster, a tamed monster, but a monster none-the-less.
“Easily domesticated reptile-like creatures insulated with gray-white fur, they were sometimes called snow lizards. Wild tauntauns roamed the frozen wastes of the ice planet Hoth, where they grazed on lichen. Although initially ornery, the spitting tauntaun could be tamed and ridden. The animals were used as mounts and pack animals by the Rebel Alliance when it had its base on Hoth. Although their thick fur protected tauntauns from extreme temperatures, they couldn’t survive Hoth’s brutal nights and had to seek shelter. But during the day, tauntaun herds could be seen running across the plains of ice and snow.”
WAMPA ICE CREATURE: Quite possibly the best monster from the film. The Wampa is awesome. All big and furry with huge teeth and claws, and he hangs his victims from the roof of ice caves until he’s hungry. Just screams monster to me.
“A fearsome and carnivorous predator, the wampa stalked the snowpacked wastes of the planet Hoth. An imposing 2 meters tall, the two-legged ice creature was covered with shaggy white fur. It had eerie yellow eyes and sharp claws and teeth. Solitary creatures for the most part, wampas carved their lairs out of the ice, forming huge caves in which to nest. When they hunted, they often took their prey by surprise thanks to the natural camouflage provided by their white fur. A wampa’s primary source of food was tauntauns. But since life was scarce on Hoth, it was estimated that a single wampa roamed a territory of more than 100 square kilometers in search of food. Wampas never hunted when hungry. Instead, they captured living prey and stored it in their ice caves for later consumption. Rebel hero Luke Skywalker was wounded by a wampa while patrolling Hoth during the Galactic Civil War and had another nasty encounter with a ferocious band years later.”
ZUCKUSS: Like our friend Bossk up above, Zuckuss is a bounty hunter. Also like our friend Bossk you would think he was a monster if you encountered him anywhere.
“A bounty hunter who saw a competitor get the big catch, this insect-like Gand was one of his planet’s most successful findsmen. Zuckuss was from the gaseous planet Gand where bounty hunters–or findsmen–were highly honored. He used the elaborate and arcane rituals of his ancestors to help him in his hunts.
Offplanet, Zuckuss had to wear a special breathing mask to protect him from harmful oxygen. He also wore a set of battle armor under his heavy cloak and hung a computer and sensor array on straps around his neck. He was a hardworking hunter, willing to pursue his quarry in any environment and use his hunches, which were often correct. Zuckuss’s success rate was high, and he commanded a top fee.”
So that’s a look at the monsters we saw in The Empire Strikes Back; however, that’s not all the monsters in the Star Wars universe. To learn more about many of the creatures that exist in this galaxy far, far, away check out Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Alien Species and The Wildlife of Star Wars. Both are great books packed with gorgeous full color illustrations.
Try to watch Empire this week and remind yourself how amazing these Star Wars movies really are. Thirty years later it still holds up wonderfully. The Force is with it.
PS: If you’re wondering why Master Yoda isn’t on this list, it’s because he Jedi mind tricked me.
