Starweird

"I sense it, Shaak. That foul, oily presence radiating through the Force… We're getting closer."
"Only we can stop the Starweird now, Aayla."
"Is that little thing really enough to hold a planet-eater in stasis?"

―Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti^[1]

Starweirds were an ancient species of semi-corporeal spirits that resonated with the Force and were considered a great and terrible power. Tall, thin, almost skeletal in appearance, and with pale skin, Starweirds had blazing eyes, long white hair, long arms that ended in three-fingered sharp claws, and long legs. Overall, they were regarded as a terrifying species.

Biology and appearance

"According to legend, Starweirds lived in the vacuum of space. The floating, the protective orbiting debris, the way it crushed us against the walls… they're gravitational anomalies! That's how they survive!"

―Chelli Lona Aphra^[1]

Starweirds were tall and thin, with pale skin and a nearly skeletal appearance. A terrifying and ancient^[1] species of semi-corporeal spirits^[3] who were connected to the dark side,^[4] Starweirds resonated with the Force and were considered a great and terrible power. They had long white hair that floated around their heads, even when exposed to gravity, and glowing eyes. Their arms were lengthy and three-fingered, ending in large, sharp claws.^[1] The creatures fed on fear, characterized by waves of psychic disturbance such as horror, fury, and even abnormal pleasure. They were rumored to haunt the hyperspace lanes.^[3]

Starweirds proved to be dangerous beings.^[4] They were capable of attacking by emitting a powerful sound^[1] with a raw, psychological energy^[3] that could reach a height comparable to that of a starfighter engine, causing great pain to their victims and perhaps even making their ears bleed. The Starweirds were able to use gravity for attack and defense, throwing objects and using them as shields around them. It was considerably difficult to injure Starweirds in a way that really affected them. Blasters were not very effective. Even after having practically its entire body impaled, a Starweird could continue to pursue its target. They inhabited the vacuum of space and were considered extinct until the last years of the Imperial Era.^[1]

History

"Aphra, what is that?!"
"No way—it looks like a Starweird?! All the records say they're extinct—"

―Luke Skywalker and Chelli Lona Aphra^[1]

A Starweird attacked Luke Skywalker and Chelli Lona Aphra after the creature was freed from its prison on Sason.

During the time of the Clone Wars,^[4] one was sealed away by Jedi Masters Aayla Secura and Shaak Ti in the Jedi prison known as the Sason Temple.^[2] Approximately two decades later, between 3 ABY and 4 ABY,^[5] the rogue archaeologist Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra and the Jedi Luke Skywalker accidentally released the Starweird during Aphra's attempt to recover Kythoo's Bell, which she believed to be a Jedi artifact, but was in fact a security system installed at the temple to help keep the Starweird sealed.^[2] After a difficult confrontation, the duo was able to defeat the Starweird.^[1] At some point, when the pirate Sidon Ithano was simply known as Sidon, he read about creatures like Starweird on Kalee^[3] in Wild Space.^[6] Later, Ithano led his crew to capture a Starweird during what seemed to be his build up for war.^[3]

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Behind the scenes

Starweird as depicted in Star Wars Legends. — Starweird as depicted in *Star Wars* Legends.

Starweird, although unnamed, was initially revealed through a variant cover done by Kyle Hotz on April 10, 2023, during Celebration Europe.^[7] However, it was brought back into canon through the thirty-third issue of the 2020 comic book series Star Wars: Doctor Aphra,^[2] which was written by Alyssa Wong, illustrated by Minkyu Jung, and published by Marvel Comics on June 28, 2023.^[8] The species was later identified in the thirty-fourth issue of the same series,^[1] which was also written by Wong and published by Marvel on July 19, 2023.^[9]