Taggor Bren

"Morals and ethics. Whatever. I survive. Someday I'll start worrying about right and wrong. But for now, I'll worry about the 5,000 credits you're worth."

―Taggor Bren^[4]

Taggor Bren was a Human male bounty hunter who hailed from the planet Tatooine and worked with his family on a moisture farm as a young child. One night, a group of Tusken Raiders raided his farm and took Bren. Taggor was raised as one of the Tusken Raider's own, and he was given scars on his face when he was older. After meeting a group of strangers employed by Jabba Desilijic Tiure, Bren left Tatooine and pursued a career as a bounty hunter.

Biography

Youth on family farm

Taggor Bren was Human male hailing from^[1] the Outer Rim Territories planet^[5] Tatooine. The youngest member of^[4] his^[2] family, Bren lived and worked on his family's moisture farm. On one night, Bren's family farm was pillaged by Tusken Raiders,^[4] a culture of desert-dwelling sentients native to Tatooine.^[6] The young boy listened to the Tusken Raiders' wails as they shot through the house's walls. One bullet ricocheted and hit Bren, injuring him. Though having killed his entire family, the invading Tuskens chose not to kill Bren, but to instead take him in as one of their own.^[4]

Life with the Tusken Raiders and bounty hunting

Taggor Bren was raised by the Tusken Raiders (pictured).

During his life with the Tusken Raiders, Bren learned their various customs.^[4] He^[2] was taught to speak their language,^[4] Tusken,^[7] and covered his face as the Tuskens did. He formed a bond with his own bantha, furry creatures^[4] which Tusken Raiders were known to ride.^[8] He believed the bantha would die protecting him, and believed he would do the same contrariwise. Bren went on several raids alongside the Tusken Raiders. When he became older, he was tribally scarred around the top-right of his face, to highlight and represent his right eye as one of Tatooine's twin suns.^[4]

Bren was given full permission to roam the deserts of Tatooine when he was not needed for raids. On one such roam, Bren came into contact with a woman who was wandering alone, who initially drew back from him. Taggor saw the event as an opportunity to obtain a partner, something which he had long desired. The woman spoke to him in the tongue of his childhood, causing Bren to slowly remember some of the words he had once known. Shortly afterward, three strangers approached and offered Bren food and supplies in exchange for the woman. He agreed and went with the strangers, curious of the woman's fate.^[4]

Bren later discovered that the strangers were employees of the gangster Jabba Desilijic Tiure. Taggor eventually left Tatooine in search of power, wealth, and comfort, and he began work as an enforcer^[4] in the Tatoo system.^[9] When he began work as a bounty hunter sometime after, he ventured out to other systems. After every successful pursuit, Bren cleaned his blade as a way to honor the Tuskens who raised him.^[4]

Personality and traits

Bren had blond hair, black eyes, fair skin,^[2] and he stood around 1.83 meters tall.^[3] His black Tusken scars were centered around the upper-right portion of his face.^[2] As a child, Bren had a sense of right and wrong, but as he grew into his role as a bounty hunter he lost his sense of morals and ethics. While he pursued bounties, Bren preferred to focus on the credits each provided, instead of the morality behind the profession.^[4]

Skills and abilities

He spoke several languages including Tusken and his native language, which he relearned as an enforcer after having long forgotten it.^[4]^[7]

Equipment

Taggor Bren wore a traditional tan Tusken tunic with a pouch on the right shoulder and a patch with writing beneath. He also wore a bandolier, dark-colored pants, a black belt, goggles, and a holster. The bounty hunter carried a large knife, a smaller knife located on his bandolier, a blaster rifle which he carried on his back, and a blaster pistol located inside his holster.^[4]

Behind the scenes

"At the time what I'd planned to do was show a Tusken Raider with his headgear/hood removed so you could see what their faces looked like. The editor loved the idea because they were looking for concepts off the beaten path. I was halfway done with it when my editor called one day and informed me that the concept was a 'no go' -- Lucasfilm decided they wanted the Sand People to remain mysterious, and I really couldn't argue with that logic. I was able to salvage the whole thing by coming up with an alternative concept -- the character would be a bounty hunter indigenous to Tatooine, which explained his look with the respirator, robes, tribal tattoos, etc."

―Timothy Bradstreet, on the creation of Taggor Bren^[10]

Taggor Bren standing next to Boba Fett on the cover of Boba Fett ½ — Taggor Bren standing next to Boba Fett on the cover of *Boba Fett* ½

Taggor Bren was created for Star Wars Galaxy Series 2, a trading card set released by The Topps Company, Inc.^[11] in 1994.^[12] Artist Timothy Bradstreet was asked to illustrate a card for the set about himself, titled "Tim Bradstreet." Bradstreet's original concept for Bren was a Tusken Raider without headgear, to reveal what the Tusken Raiders' faces looked like. The set's editor fancied the concept as Topps was looking for something unusual, however Lucasfilm shot down the idea, as they wanted the Tusken Raiders to remain mysterious. To salvage his idea, Bradstreet reworked his character to instead establish Bren as a human raised by Tuskens.^[10]

Taggor Bren received his name and official backstory in "Taggor Bren: One Dangerous Bounty Hunter," a starter story for the West End Games roleplaying game, written by Bill Smith and published in the first issue of the Star Wars Galaxy Magazine in October 1994.^[4] Despite not appearing in the comic itself, Taggor Bren appeared on the cover of Marvel Comics' Boba Fett ½, standing next to notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett on a prison lineup. The cover was drawn by Bradstreet,^[13] and the comic was released on December 1, 1997.^[14]