Hermi Odle

Jabba the Hutt was one of the galaxy’s most powerful gangsters, with far-reaching influence in both politics and the criminal underworld. There were no second chances with Jabba, something Han Solo would find out -- though the slug-like alien would ultimately fall victim to his own hubris and vengeful ways.

A single, winding dirt-swept road curves up into the crook of a rocky canyon, leading to a lone structure in the desert wastes beyond the Dune Sea of Tatooine. Here stood the palace of Jabba the Hutt, an immense curving building of sandblasted metal and pitted stone. Inside, the dregs of the galaxy congregated to do all manner of illicit business, to curry favor with the grotesque crime lord, or to avoid his fickle wrath. Jabba reclined atop a stone dais within the throne room of his palace, a bustling chamber that overlooked a secret pit that contained his favorite beast, the vicious rancor monster.

Tatooine is harsh desert world orbiting twin suns in the galaxy’s Outer Rim. In the days of the Empire and the Republic, many settlers scratched out a living on moisture farms, while spaceport cities such as Mos Eisley and Mos Espa served as home base for smugglers, criminals, and other rogues. Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker both once called Tatooine home, although across the stars it was more widely known as a hive of scum and villainy ruled by the crime boss Jabba the Hutt.

Burly, pig-like brutes who favored axes and other primitive weapons, Gamorreans were often used as muscle by Hutts and other underworld kingpins. Jabba the Hutt employed a gang of intimidating Gamorreans to guard his palace on Tatooine.

A Kowakian monkey-lizard with a shrill cackle, Salacious Crumb sat on Jabba's dais, stealing bits of food and mimicking the Hutt, his courtiers, and visitors. The Hutt's noxious pet was the palace's unofficial court jester, tolerated because his antics amused Jabba, and because of his unwavering support for his master.

As the former majordomo to the late Jabba the Hutt, the scheming Bib Fortuna seized power after his master's demise and attempted to control the criminal underworld on Tatooine. For decades, those attempting to do business with Jabba the Hutt first needed to maneuver past the Twi'lek, an ever-present attendant who often hovered near Jabba's ear, offering advice and feeding his boss information. Fortuna followed the rules of protocol in the Hutt's court (such as they were), and spoke only in Huttese, though he understood other tongues.