Panther

For other uses, see panther.

"Well, this is not what I expected… you're not a danger at all. You are just a mouse. A weak, scared little mouse. But that's okay, because I… I am a panther. A mean hungry panther."

―Red Rishyk, to Deena Shan^[1]

Panthers were carnivorous feline predators that were known to hunt smaller prey that were not a danger to them, such as mice. When the fancy struck them, panthers played with their prey prior to killing and eventually eating it. Known subspecies included the Corellian sand panther and the plains panther. When Red Rishyk, Bannistar Station's head of security, discovered and disarmed Deena Shan during the Rebel Alliance's attack on the station, he metaphorically compared himself to a panther and her a mouse prior to his abortive attempt to kill her.

Behind the scenes

Rishyk's comparison to himself as a predator and Shan as his prey, in addition to his statement that he wanted to "play a little" before killing her led a number of readers to believe that he intended to assault her.^[2]^[3] Writer Jeremy Barlow and editor Randy Stradley stated the dialogue was intended to convey that Rishyk was instead planning to kill Shan in a slow and torturous manner.^[4] Stradley in particular, responded to the controversy with the inquiry, "What kind of cats do you guys have where you live?"^[5]