My top 20 favourite Star Wars characters

I have a fair amount of Star Wars collectables including 12 inch dolls, original Kenner action figures and a bunch of other nifty vintage Star Wars items which I'll have to post soon. Unfortunately my Star Wars stuff is packed away in storage for awhile (sniffle, I miss my Wookie!), so for now I'll start off the Star Wars section of this Blog with a list of my favourite Star Wars characters.

20. Kit Fisto

I don't know much about this character other than he's a Jedi and was featured in the new trilogy. He also has a role in the Clone Wars series, which I have yet to watch. I've included him in my top 20 as he's a neat looking character for the Star Wars universe, and I like how various artist have depicted him. Shown here are several pictures that I found online.







19. Quinlan Vos

Another character that I know little about, but looks to be a worthy addition to the Star Wars Saga. Like Kit Fisto, Quinlan Vos is a Jedi who seems to have gained quite a following of Star Wars fans in recent years.

  






18. Mace Windu

No explanation needed!

17. Lumpy

Yes I like Lumpy! He's awesome! So is the Kenner action figure prototype, I wish they made that figure (I found a picture of it online, shown below). Lumpy's name is awesome too. Who the heck thought of calling a Wookie Lumpy? It's funny and so is the character, so he is ranked ahead of Mace Windu on my list! Granted, the Star Wars Christmas Special that introduced the character should, for the most part, be forgotten. However it would be neat to see a movie or TV show about the adventures of Chewbacca and his son, and Han Solo too, though I doubt it will never happen. It could be set before the original Star Wars film and show how Chewy and Han Solo met. Lando Calrissian could also be part of the cast. I know I'm dreaming though. Anyways, Lumpy is hilarious!





16. Tawn Tawn

I've always liked the Tawn Tawns. Awesome stop motion animation mixed with full-scale puppets! I love this type of creature special effects infinitely more than computer animation. Although the Tawn Tawns were only featured in Empire Strikes Back, if you watch closely in Return of the Jedi during the scene within Jabba the Hutt's palace, you'll see that there is a Tawn Tawn head hanging on one of the walls! Those poor creatures, they got frozen to death, eaten by Wampas, sliced open, and used as decoration by Jabba. Sucks to be a Tawn Tawn!


15. Rancor Monster

Another awesome creature, this time a hand puppet.


14. Jabba the Hutt

Star Wars is filled with awesome puppet creatures and, at the time, Jabba was the largest puppet ever made for a film. (The T-Rex from Jurasic Park changed that, followed by the Flintstones Movie Brontosaurous! I'm not sure who holds the title today.) Jabba was cool, but then as they say on SCTV "he got blown up real good".


13. Salacious Crumb

Jabba's side kick is also an awesome puppet creature. I always thought that Salacious Crumb would have been quick enough to jump off Jabba's barge before it exploded. He's too cool to be blown up!


12. Jawa

Utini! I've always liked those mysterious little robot collector merchants whith the glowing eyes and their funny dialogue. The first time I saw Star Wars, I remember being so concered about where they were taking R2 D2, very dramatic stuff for a four year old. Oh no! Someone save R2!



11. Lando Calrissian

Billy Dee Williams did an awesome job as Han Solo's friend Lando Calrissian. I'm glad he wasn't killed off in the sene with the Sarlacc Pit, unlike Boba Fett.



10. Greedo

Greedo is one of the most quote worthy aliens in the original Star Wars movie, whose screen time was quite brief but very memorable. Sorry Greedo, Han Solo shot first. None the less, Greedo is the coolest cantina creature by far.



9. Stormtroopers / Sandtroopers

I've noticed that Stormtroopers are often forgotten about when people talk about their favourite Star Wars characters, but what would Star Wars be without them? One of the key characteristics of the Star Wars films is the amazing costuming, and the very unique Stormtrooper outfits certainly give the films a distinct sci-fi look.  In 2009 I went to see "Star Wars in Concert" and before the show there were several costumed characters in the hallway outside the main stadium. The second picture below is a photo I took of one of the Stormtroopers (which I guess technically is a Sandtrooper because of the shoulder thingy he's wearing) that was standing around. It would be awesome to have a costume like that. The last picture shows a Sandtrooper on a Patrol Dewback from the original Star Wars movie (before the film was altered).




8. Darth Vader

Darth Vader is, in my opinion, the best villain ever in movie history. His creepy breathing, his booming voice (supplied by James Earl Jones) and his evil facemask make him a very menacing character. I recall when I was a kid in the late 70s that there was concern about kids liking Darth Vader so much regardless of the fact that he was the villain. So I found it was very clever to resolve the film series with Vader ultimately choosing between his son or his loyalty to the Emperor, and allowing us kids to root for him after all.


7. C-3PO

As a kid I was a huge C-3PO fan and had the 12" action figure (which I still have). I also remember eating C-3PO's cereal and was very disapointed when they stopped making it. I wish I had kept the cereal boxes. I still have some of the stickers that came free inside. When I saw "Star Wars in Concert" in 2009, Anthony Daniels who performed C-3PO was the host of the program. I have lots of C-3PO stuff in my collection.

6. R2-D2

In 2009 I saw an R2-D2 at the Star Wars in Concert event and took the picture below (the second photo showing the close up of R2). He didn't move around or anything though, he just made noises, but it was still neet to see him. He's a cool little robot.



5. Boba Fett

When I was in my 20's Boba Fett became my favourite Star Wars character. He's since moved down a few spaces but is still in my top five. Boba Fett is the coolest Bounty Hunter in all of the Star Wars movies. I also like the odd way that the character was first introduced to Star Wars fans in 1978. He appeared in a short animated segment of the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. (The animation was done by Nelvana Ltd., a Canadian company that was based in Toronto). As a result, an action figure was included among the early Kenner Star Wars toys in 1979 prior to the characters live action debut in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back from 1980. The character was so popular that a 12 inch figure was also included as part of Kenner's large size action figure series.




4. Chewbacca



3. Han Solo



2. Luke Skywalker






1. Yoda





Honourable mention: Princess Leia, Obi Wan Kenobi (from the original trilogy) and Darth Maul.

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