Star Wars Confirms the Backstory of Notorious Return of the Jedi Character

By Patrick Cavanaugh

When audiences first traveled to Jabba's Palace back in 1983's Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, we learned the ruthlessness of jabba the Hutt in various ways, one of which being the torture he subjected his former interpreter to, which resulted in C-3PO being tasked with taking over the gig. While this might have seemed like a throwaway sequence that does little more than demonstrate Jabba's villainy, some fans have been wondering what the droid could have possibly done to deserve such a fate, with the new comic book Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Jabba's Palace #1 finally shedding light on the character's fate. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Jabba's Palace #1 is on sale now.

WARNING: Spoilers below for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Jabba's Palace #1 

The comic confirms that the droid, known as Eightyem, was a victim of manipulation by one of the guests of Jabba's Palace. The protocol droid itself reflected on its history, describing how they were a protocol droid who landed in Jabba's service through a "series of unfortunate events." Regardless of how they ended up working for Jabba, Eightyem was a relatively faithful servant of the gangster, though dreamed of a life outside the palace. 

Eightyem's trajectory changes when Silvan Kaan arrives, a Twi'lek with his own agenda. The figure offers Eightyem a chance at freedom, promising that if the droid pulls off three favors for him, he'll remove his restraining bolt. Understandably, Eightyem is apprehensive about assisting the scoundrel, though Silvan expresses how he's ultimately trying to help Jabba, which makes the droid trust his intentions and also be enticed by the promise of freedom. 

The first favor Eightyem had to carry out was poisoning Jabba's bookkeeper, allowing Silvan access to these financial records and using that information to stoke the flames of jealousy among Jabba's crew. The next favor was to serve as a translator for Jabba in regards to a dispute between two employees, which allowed Silvan to further exacerbate tensions in Jabba's Palace. The third favor required Eightyem to secure a blaster from Jabba's armory, which made its way to a disgruntled employee, which he then used to cause all manner of chaos.

Silvan did ultimately ask for yet another favor from the droid, which included intentionally translating the employee's remarks to Jabba incorrectly, and while Silvan did remove Eightyem's restraining bolt, a bounty hunter became wise to Silvan's plans and Jabba held him accountable. Realizing that Eightyem served as a co-conspirator, Jabba sentenced the droid to disintegration, as seen in Return of the Jedi.

While this history might not have major ramifications on the rest of the galaxy far, far away, it makes for a fascinating exploration of a character who was relegated to the outskirts of the original trilogy's narrative. 

Related:

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Jabba's Palace #1 is on sale now.

What did you think of the character's backstory? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror! 

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