Hondo Ohnako Bio – A Comical Pirate from the Star Wars TV Shows

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Brett has lived and breathed Star Wars since He was a small kid. He grew up alongside the prequel films, so he had the closest bond to those compared to the original films. However, he's most passionate about the old republic lore. After all his years of Star Wars fandom, He could name you every planet, animal, and character from all the Star Wars publications.

Description/Overview

As Hondo is a Weequay, he was born on Sriluur, a harsh desert planet that caused the Weequay people to have leathery skin. His parents were loyal to a Weequay god, and they believed that the god told them to sell Hondo into slavery. He was a slave to Porla the Hutt. As most Hutts are criminals, this was where Hondo first learned the tricks of the trade.

While he was a servant at first, he eventually rose in the ranks to become Porla’s advisor on deals of business. This was a sweet deal for a lengthy time, but Hondo realized that he wanted to do things alone and be in charge of his dealings. So, he escaped and created his gang known as the Ohnaka Gang. They settled on Florrum, a planet in the Outer Rim. Before settling there, the gang wreaked havoc on planets to secure supplies for themselves. They had several ships and a whole arsenal of weaponry to use. They started running their pirate operation from Florrum and continued to do so up until the Clone Wars.

Hondo’s announcement of himself during the Clone Wars era occurred when he captured Count Dooku on the nearby planet, Vanqor. Dooku’s ship had crashed there, and Hondo offered him passage off the planet for a suitable fee. As this happened, Hondo realized that Dooku was one of the most important figures in the war, and locked him up at their base on Florum. He then contacted the Republic and offered to give Dooku up for a spice worth a million credits.

Senator Palpatine agreed to this and sent Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to make sure that it was Dooku being held captive. As they arrived, Hondo spiked their drinks and locked them up as well. In true pirate fashion, he wanted the Republic to give them triple the amount that he originally asked for.

Republic representatives eventually came, and the 3 Force-users were able to escape. Obi-Wan and Anakin parted on good terms with Hondo, but Dooku escaped holding a grudge which would eventually end in the destruction of Hondo’s base on Florrum.

The Jedi encountered Hondo again a while later in the war when his gang was raiding villages on Felucia. The Jedi teamed up with a group of bounty hunters and trained the villagers to defend themselves. A battle ensued when Hondo caught on to this, but he was able to escape after an encounter with Anakin.

Hondo had an interesting past, and something that came back to bite him was his relationship with Aurra Sing. She was a ruthless and brutal bounty hunter, and she brought a group of bounty hunters to Hondo’s base at one point while they were hiding from the Republic. This group included the famous bounty hunter, Boba Fett, who was a child at this point. On this occasion, Hondo was on the side of the Republic and the Jedi.

Plo Koon and Ahsoka Tano had tracked the bounty hunters to the planet, and Hondo helped them set a trap. Aurra Sing escaped and presumably died, and Hondo had a heart-to-heart with Boba and got him to reveal where the bounty hunters were holding hostages.

Hondo Ohnaka had two more large dealings during the Clone Wars. The first was when General Grievous came to claim Florrum for the Separatists and strip the Ohnaka Gang base. He captured Hondo, but Ahsoka Tano and a group of youngling Jedi came to rescue him and fight General Grievous’ droid army. Before this, Hondo had captured Ahsoka and threatened to sell her. Things are everchanging in the world of a pirate!

The final role that Hondo played in the war was when Darth Maul and Savage Opress came to Florum to recruit the Ohnaka Gang to join the Shadow Collective. Hondo protested to this, but many of his crew members joined after promises of wealth. Savage and Maul then took over Hondo’s base and killed many of his loyal gang members. Thankfully, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Adi Gallia came to save them and fight the Sith Lord and his brother. Savage and Maul were essentially beaten, and Hondo’s men changed their loyalty back to them. The brothers left the planet after that.

During the Galactic Civil War, Hondo became a lone pirate after the Ohnaka Gang was broken up by the Empire. He met Ezra Bridger and the crew of the Ghost, helping them on multiple occasions to retrieve and transport things that we’re helping the Rebellion effort. He even worked with them to help a group of Lasat find a new homeworld. Although Hondo did a few shady deals at this time, he wasn’t as treacherous as he was in the Clone Wars.

Hondo lived to see the end of the Galactic Civil War and the fall of Emperor Palpatine. While he never played a major role in the conflict, the Ghost crew were key players in the early Rebellion, and helping them ended up being monumental in the long run.

During the time of the First Order and Resistance, Hondo started his own business called, Ohnaka Transport Solutions. It was a transport company, but due to Hondo’s long life of smuggling and pirating, we can assume that the business was just a front for slicker schemes.

Key Moments

Hondo Ohnaka gets sold into slavery by his parents. They did it to please the Weequay god, leading Hondo to believe that the religion of his people was nonsensical.
Hondo escapes from his slave master and forms the Ohnaka Gang, a pirate gang with him as the leader.
The Ohnaka Gang performs raids on a few planets and sets a base upon Florum. They start running their pirate operation from there.
The Ohnaka Gang capture Count Dooku, Anakin Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They hold them to ransom.
Hondo and the Ohnaka gang are involved in several skirmishes during the Clone Wars, always looking for riches and profit over anything else.
Count Dooku takes revenge on the gang by sending General Grevious to destroy them. They are defended by Ahsoka Tano and a group of Jedi younglings.
Darth Maul and Savage Opress attempt to recruit Hondo’s pirate gang. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Adi Gallia help fight the brothers off, leading to Adi Gallia being killed.
The Empire disbands the Ohnaka Gang, leading Hondo to work as a solo pirate during the Galactic Civil War.
He meets Ezra Bridger and the Ghost crew. He helps them do missions on multiple occasions.
After the Galactic Civil War, Hondo creates a business called, Ohnaka Transport Solutions. He uses it as a front for smuggling.

Hondo Ohnaka Themes

Comic Relief

One of the best things about Hondo Ohnaka is the comedic aspect he brings to all his scenes. He’s one of the funniest characters in the Star Wars universe, and you could easily compare him to the likes of Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean.

While most of the stories in Star Wars are quite grim when you think about it, it’s always good to have a character that relieves the tension and gives you a few laughs now and then. No matter how serious things are, Hondo always has a clever comment to make about it.

He maintains his humorous personality all through his lifespan. Even though he goes through the loss of his gang and starts living a life of solitude, we see him with the same quirky personality as he meets Ezra Bridger. This shows that he has an incredibly strong character as he remains true to himself through many hardships.

My favorite scene that exhibits Hondo’s humorous character goes something like this:

Hondo: “Look at them. How powerful can they be? They are running away from Kenobi!”

Darth Maul: “Filth! You will pay for your insolence.”

Hondo: “Insolence! We are pirates. We don’t even know what that means.”

He Deserves More Credit for His Actions

While Hondo acts as the comic relief in all his scenes in the shows, it shouldn’t be understated that he’s achieved a considerable amount as a pirate. He’s a fairly accomplished character in the Star Wars universe.

Firstly, he managed to free himself from slavery when he was younger. He used his slavery to learn everything there was to learn from Porla the Hutt, then escaped with that knowledge to build a pirate empire.

He rounded up a group of Weequay pirates to create the Ohnaka Gang, and they spent multiple years looting, raiding, and pillaging to make money and gather an arsenal of ships and weaponry.

He went toe-to-toe with Jedi on multiple occasions, and he was never killed out outright defeated. Instead, he always escaped when he realized it was a losing battle. He even managed to capture Count Dooku, who was a powerful Sith Lord during the time of the Clone Wars.

While his antics during the Galactic Civil War weren’t as outwardly impressive, he still managed to make a huge impact on the crew of the Ghost. Without his help, they wouldn’t have been able to do the jobs that he aided in. His pirate tendencies and sly way of doing things were highly beneficial during covert missions.

Complicated Relationship with the Jedi

I love Hondo Ohnaka’s relationship with the Jedi. While he’s friends with them in some episodes, he’s trying to sell them on the black market in others. It ends up becoming a lot of playful banter by the end of the Clone Wars TV series.

It’s become a bit of a running gag in the Star Wars community over whether he’s friends with Obi-Wan Kenobi or not. When Ezra reveals his Force powers to Hondo, he explains how one of his best friends was a Jedi. He then goes on to say that he’s pretty sure they were friends. As he interacted with Obi-Wan the most, we can assume that’s who he was talking about.

Throughout his scenes in Star Wars Rebels, you get the impression that Hondo misses the Jedi, and he’d love for them to come back.

This could be because having Jedi around was better for business, though. The Empire was incredibly strict on pirates, stopping them from doing dealings wherever they could. The Republic, on the other hand, often turned a blind eye if the pirates weren’t interfering with them in any way. You always have to guess the ulterior motive when it comes to Hondo Ohnaka.

Potential in the Star Wars Universe

Although Hondo was never part of any of the main Star Wars movies, he was alive through the events of all of them. This means that he could potentially return in any story that Disney puts out if it falls within those timelines.

He has massive potential because of his age, and he’s a fan-favorite character that everyone would love to see on the live-action screen. However, live-action alien models are never as expressive as the animated models from the TV shows, so it could be quite tricky to pull off. I can see a few people preferring for him to stay in the TV shows to preserve his character.

Interestingly, there’s an animatronic version of him in the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge parks that are open around a few states in America. This is where you find out that he’s running a transport business, and the dialogue the figure has is considered Canon in the Star Wars universe.

Special Abilities

While Hondo never exhibited any special abilities such as Force powers, he was a skilled combatant. He primarily used a Weequay blaster which he was fairly accurate with. He also used an electro staff when it came to close-quarters combat. We can see him using the staff when fighting Anakin on Felucia.

He was also an excellent battle tactician. He knows how to approach battles and has particular battle plans for varying situations.

Apart from battle, his leadership ability is arguably his best skill. He managed to run an entire gang of pirates who stayed loyal to him for the most part. While several of them attempted to betray him at different times, he always came out on top.

Overall, he managed to fight Sith Lords, Jedi, and crime lords without ever dying. That shows how his abilities kept him alive for so long.

Key Quotes

“That depends on your definition of civilized.” – Hondo describes Florum to Count Dooku.
“Even a Sith Lord is no match for my men. We put up quite a fight. Blasters, cannons, that glowy thing voof voof.” – Hondo referring to the lightsaber that Dooku used when they captured him.
“As my sweet mother always said – son, if one hostage is good, two are better. And three? Well, that’s just good business!” – Hondo shows how his mother was just as devious as he is.
“Can you blame me? A Sith Lord. What a handsome price you would catch.” – Hondo justifying to Count Dooku why he captured and imprisoned him.
“Traitors. Scum! I’m so proud….but so betrayed” – Some of the Ohnaka Gang defected to Darth Maul and Savage Opress’ side, and Hondo approved of the pirate-like actions.
“Come now. Let’s leave your wife out of this.” – Hondo after Azmorigan said that he doesn’t deal with washed-up, old relics.
“This effort is no longer profitable!” – Hondo just before taking his crew and escaping from Felucia after the Jedi, villagers, and bounty hunters fought them off.
“Are you looking for a crew? Good news, Hondo is hiring.” – Some of Hondo’s first words upon meeting Ezra Bridger.
“I’m rich! I’m dead!” – Hondo just before Ezra uses the Force and reveals that he’s a Jedi.

FAQs

Question: Are Hondo and Obi-Wan Kenobi Friends?

Answer: Hondo and Obi-Wan had a complicated relationship in the Clone Wars TV show. It started with Hondo capturing him along with Anakin and Count Dooku and trying to ransom them. However, Hondo ended up helping Kenobi and the Jedi multiple times in the Clone Wars.
Whether they were on good terms or not, Hondo always greeted Obi-Wan with an excited “Kenobi!” every time he saw him.
When Hondo meets Ezra Bridger, he tells him how he was best friends with a Jedi once. This is him referring to all his antics with Obi-Wan during the Clone Wars.

Question: How Old is Hondo Ohnaka?

Answer: There is never any mention of Hondo Ohnaka’s age in either of the Star Wars TV shows. We just know that he lived through both the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War. By the time of the Clone Wars, Hondo expresses that he’s not as young as he once was, telling us that he’s relatively old at that time already.
We also know that the Weequay people lived up to 90 years of age, similar to humans. So, while Hondo’s age is never disclosed, we can assume that he was between 70 and 90 by the time of the First Order and Resistance.

Question: How Did Hondo Ohnaka Survive the Clone Wars?

Answer: Hondo somehow survived all his encounters with the Jedi and the Separatists. After Order 66, the only group of people that were ordered to be executed were the Jedi. If you weren’t a Jedi at that time, no one was coming to kill you. So, Hondo lived through the Jedi Purge by continuing what he did as always.
However, the Empire disbanded its Ohnaka Gang as they heavily disapproved of piracy in the universe. After that, he became a solo pirate during the Galactic Civil War.

Question: Is Hondo Ohnaka a Villain?

Answer: No, Hondo Ohnaka is more of an anti-hero than a villain. While he was the villain of some episodes, he was the hero in others. He was always out to protect himself. If that meant siding with the Jedi, he’d do it without hesitation. If it meant siding with the Separatists or bounty hunters, he’d jump to that as well.
He became less devious as time went on, though. He grew to respect the Jedi and formed a fondness for Obi-Wan Kenobi. He also helped Ezra Bridger and the Ghost Crew in the Star Wars Rebels, making him less of an anti-hero at that time.

Conclusion

If you want to experience the full glory of Hondo Ohnaka, you should watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. He’s a standout character in both shows thanks to his natural charisma and humorous nature.

He’s a fan-favorite character, and there’s so much potential for him to appear again in anything new that Disney releases. So, it would be good to learn everything about him before that happens.

He’s one of the few characters that was alive through all three Star Wars trilogies. He wasn’t actively involved in any of them, but he was pirating and scheming behind the scenes.

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