Chewy: General to Outlaw?

[ensignd]

Someone give me perspective here. How is it that Chewbocca goes from being a heroic military general to being the furry assistant to an outlaw smuggler? It doesn't compute.

I feel as though Lucas was throwing a gratuitous "oh, look, here's Chewbocca" in ROTS to an audience he thinks will salivate over any precursor reference whatsoever.

[Mon-Jas Charan]

That's a simple one ... Chewbocca saved Yoda from the clone troopers, and knew of the Empire's slaughter of the Jedi and also the Wookiees.

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

Is Chewbacca a general? I didn't read the book, so I don't know what his position was. He could have just been with the command staff.

It's easy to see how Chewbacca could go from the Wookie high command to smuggler's sidekick! When Palpatine reorganized the Republic into the Empire you can bet that anyone in authority who wouldn't tow the party line would be at best moved out of power or more likely just eliminated by the clones.

Bail Organa, being a politician, could probably negotiate the new order without too much damage, but a lot of compromise. But if you didn't want to make the right compromises to the Emprie, your best bet would be to cut your losses and leave your old life. I assume that's what Chewie did.

[devineoin]

I can't say I know what all is canonical and what isn't, but weren't the wookies enslaved at some point? Couldn't it be that Chewie was captured, sold as a slave, some how got out of it (possibly thanks to Han... thus a wookie lifedebt?) and then hooked up with the one person he knew he could trust, Han?

[Parga Carwis]

Yeah, devineoin, Kashyyyk was enslaved - some way or another, Han helped Chewie (and some of his friends, if I'm remembering correctly) and Chewie (through Wookiee tradition) owed Han a life debt. Han became a smuggler, Chewie followed suit. (And in the NJO series, Chewie's son, Lowie {God forbid that he looks like he did in the Holiday Special} shows up to take Chewie's place in the life debt since Han isn't dead yet.
That's one of the things that really isn't covered in the movies yet is talked about almost constantly in the books (novelizations of the movies & otherwise), is the Empire's racism against anything other than Humans. Thus, the Stormtroopers (who aren't clones, since there was an Imperial Academy that Han Solo went to when he wanted to become a T.I.E. Pilot but got kicked out because he blew up the planet's moon - really), the Death Star staff, all the Imperials on the Star Destroyers, etc - they're all human. Also why in Empire the Imperials sneer & talk bad about the Bounty Hunters.
Well, they probably do it because they're Bounty Hunters too, nevermind the fact that all but one (Dengar) are not human.

[Aayla]

all i know is that han saved chewie from slavery and thats how he got his life dept from him

[Rünya I’shiego]

Was Chewie a General? The book didn't talk about the Wookies hardly at all, and I only heard Tarful (possible misspelling) being called a General. Although, since Chewie was there with him, obviously he had some postion of power. I thought it was funny that all the Jedi automatically become Generals, except for Luke. He only gets to be a Commander. Poor Luke.

I'm just waiting now for someone to write the fanfic where Luke turns to Chewie to learn about Yoda and his past. Can't you just see the dialog?

Luke smiled at the big Wookie, "Tell me, how'd you meet Yoda?"
Chewie said something.
"Really? Go on."
Chewie spoke at length.
Luke stared at Chewie in amazement. "You saved his life!"
There was a bashful undertone to the responding growl. Unusual for a Wookie, and Luke laughed. "Oh don't get shy now, Chewie, I understand you didn't kill the clone troopers, but still, getting Yoda off the planet in a secret shuttle? I never knew you did anything like that!"
Chewie spoke again.

Yeah . . . that would be a different sort of fict right there. Not sure if it'd be a good thing or not, but it'd definitly be different.

[lazlototh]

If you read Ann Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy, Solo was actually an Imperial officer and rescued Chewbacca from being killed for some offense. Solo was drummed out of the military at that point, which led him to being a "scoundrel." Being an officer also gave him some of his formal pilot training and knowledge of Imperial protocols.

Whatever Chewbacca was in EpIII, the enslavement of Kashyyyk was a known. The Empire may not know or care of Chewbacca's role in that battle.

[charli]

lazlototh said:

If you read Ann Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy, Solo was actually an Imperial officer and rescued Chewbacca from being killed for some offense. Solo was drummed out of the military at that point, which led him to being a "scoundrel." Being an officer also gave him some of his formal pilot training and knowledge of Imperial protocols.
.

One of his sayings on life, in the books was along the lines of 'If you can't beat 'em, rob 'em blind' - so since he'd been kicked out of the military, he was as a smuggler now against them.