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Kithaba was a famous Klatooinian assassin[2] who, by 4 ABY,[4] served as a skiff guard[3] for the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure.[5] He intended to escape his servitude to the Hutt to become a musician, that is before disposing of a few more of Jabba's prisoners.[6]
Wielding a vibro-staff,[7] Kithaba was onboard the skiff carrying Jabba's Rebel captives Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca as they were brought to be fed to the sarlacc inhabiting the Pit of Carkoon. Skywalker escaped, and in the ensuing battle, Kithaba was the first of the skiff's guards to fall. Despite his struggling to survive, he was eventually seized by the sarlacc's tentacles and devoured.[3]
Personality and traits
Kithaba rose to challenging situations.[2]
Equiqment
Kithaba wore a red bandana and a tan vest. He wielded a vibro-staff during the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon.[8]
Behind the scenes
Kithaba is dragged into the sarlacc's mouth.
The 1983 novelization of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi by James Kahn identifies a no-nonsense, blaster-carrying guard aboard the prisoners' skiff as "Barada".[9] Lucasfilm employee Leland Chee later established this individual to be the first guard to fall from the skiff in the film, though he confirmed his name to be "Kithaba,"[10] as introduced in 1998 by the Jabba's Palace Limited expansion of Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game.[2] Kithaba and Barada, a separate character, were also conflated in the StarWars.com databank, which included an image of the former in the latter's entry.[10]
The original Kenner Barada action figure was sculpted to look like the character of that name, but was painted to resemble Kithaba. In 2012, an action figure bearing Kithaba's name and likeness was released in Hasbro's The Vintage Collection line, available with either a red or black bandana.[11]
Appearances
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi novelization (and unabridged audiobook) (First appearance, in book) (as "Barada")
- Return of the Jedi: The Storybook Based on the Movie
- Star Wars Manga: Return of the Jedi 1
- Escape from Jabba's Palace
- Return of the Jedi 2 (colorized in Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi)
Non-canon appearances
Sources
- Return of the Jedi Dot-to-Dot Fun (Picture only)
Star Wars Customizable Card Game — Jabba's Palace Limited Card: Kithaba (backup link) (First identified as Kithaba)- Star Wars: Behind the Magic
- Jabba's Skiff Guards on Keeper of the Holocron — Leland Chee's StarWars.com Blog (original site is defunct)
- Mistaken Identities on Keeper of the Holocron — Leland Chee's StarWars.com Blog (original site is defunct)
- The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 220 ("Kithaba")
- Star Wars: The Vintage Collection (Pack: #056: Kithaba (Skiff Guard)) (backup link)
- LEGO Star Wars (Set: 9496 Desert Skiff)
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Action Figure Collection
Notes and references
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology dates the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, which includes Kithaba's death on Tatooine, to 4 ABY.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
Star Wars Customizable Card Game — Jabba's Palace Limited Card: Kithaba (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology dates the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi to 4 ABY.
- ↑ The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 130 ("Jabba the Hutt (Jabba Desilijic Tiure)")
- ↑ The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 220 ("Kithaba")
- ↑
Jabba's Skiff Guards on Keeper of the Holocron — Leland Chee's StarWars.com Blog (original site is defunct)
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- ↑ Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novelization
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Mistaken Identities on Keeper of the Holocron — Leland Chee's StarWars.com Blog (original site is defunct)
- ↑ Star Wars: The Vintage Collection (Pack: #056: Kithaba (Skiff Guard)) (backup link)