Quirt
- "Take your ship and get out of my sight, Solo...Forever!"
- ―Colonel Quirt
Colonel Quirt was a Human male captain who commanded an Imperial prison ship and the Imperial forces on the planet Formos.
Biography
Around 1 BBY, Han Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca arrived on the planet to smuggle spice. Quirt was suspicious of the pair from the time of their arrival, and interviewed them carefully before letting them continue their business. However, Quirt suspected the two of foul play, and when he saw them conversing with N'Mrith, a known associate of Jabba Desilijic Tiure, it was enough to prove his suspicions correct. Quirt questioned N'Mrith, who told Quirt that Solo and the Wookiee were smugglers. Quirt prepared an ambush for the Millennium Falcon above the spaceport and waited for Solo to take off.
A small prison uprising that night disrupted Quirt's plans, but he was still able to maneuver his ship to capture the two criminals. Capturing the ship in a tractor beam, Quirt began to carefully examine the ship for illegal spice. Unfortunately for Quirt, Chewbacca had jettisoned the spice when he saw the Imperial ship, and Quirt's stormtroopers could find no trace of spice. However, Quirt was still suspicious, as he had lost the Wookiee Hronk during the prison uprising and suspected Solo of having a hand in it. The stormtroopers searched the ship once again searching for Hronk's specific circulatory signal, but the search came up empty.
Quirt was furious but was forced to allow Solo and Chewbacca to leave. In reality, Hronk had posed as Chewbacca while Chewbacca hid in the Falcon's secret compartments. The specific scans did not locate Hronk who made sure to stay close to Colonel Quirt. After the Millennium Falcon left the system, Quirt decided to replace Hronk with N'Mrith for his backstabbing ways.
Behind the scenes
Quirt first appeared in the Star Wars Legends continuity in Way of the Wookiee!, a 1979 Archie Goodwin comic strip published in Star Wars Weekly 94–96. Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo, who grew up reading the Weekly strips released in paperback reprints, attempted to work a mention of Quirt into the 2018 canon film Solo: A Star Wars Story, which featured a version of Captain |Solo's Kessel Run.[2] Ultimately, however, the colonel went unmentioned in the final film.[3] Years prior, however, Hidalgo had managed to score Quirt a mention in the 1998 novel Rebel Dawn.[4]
Appearances
- Way of the Wookiee! (First appearance)
- Rebel Dawn (Mentioned only)
Sources
Notes and references
- ↑ Way of the Wookiee!
- ↑
Pablo Hidalgo (@pabl0hidalgo) on Twitter: "These battered Marvel paperbacks were the only way as a kid I could get a look at the Star Wars UK comics. One told the story of Han's fateful Kessel Run and an encounter with Colonel Quirt. When SOLO was in early development, tried to find a way to get Quirt mentioned." (backup link)
- ↑ Solo: A Star Wars Story
- ↑ Pablo Hidalgo (@pabl0hidalgo) on Twitter: "(I did get him mentioned in Rebel Dawn, way back in 1998 though!)" (backup link)