Annikin Skywalker

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Annikin Skywalker
Biographical information
Homeworld	Tatooine[1]
Born	41 BBY[1]
Physical description
Species	Human[1]
Gender	Male[1]
Height	Approx. 2 meters[1]
Hair color	Brown[1]
Eye color	Blue[1]
Chronological and political information
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era[1]
Affiliation	Lars family[2]

[Source]

Annikin Skywalker was a moisture farmer and occasional swoop racer outside of Anchorhead on the desert world of Tatooine during the Invasion of Utapau. When he was a youth, Skywalker’s mother, Shmi Skywalker, married a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars. Lars’s son, Owen Lars, became Skywalker’s stepbrother and, along with Shmi, Skywalker moved to the Lars moisture farm just outside of Anchorhead. Skywalker worked as a sharecropper, as the farm was owned by Jabba the Hutt from the Hutt Cartel.

During the Invasion of Utapau, a conflict between the Trade Federation shipping cartel and the planet Utapau, Skywalker came into contact with Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had been serving as a Jedi ambassador during the crisis on Utapau. Kenobi was part of the crew of a starship belonging to Queen Sabé Arcadia of Utapau that crashed during a sandstorm outside of Anchorhead. When Skywalker found out that the vessel’s hyperdrive had been disabled, he offered to fix it for them, feeling that he had the technical expertise to do so. Arcadia approved, and Skywalker and his family granted the entire crew permission to stay on their farm while the ship was being repaired. Skywalker therefore began to develop a friendship with Kenobi.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Skywalker while he was a young boy.

"We all barely have money to make ends meet."

—Annikin Skywalker expresses his long felt misfortune to Greedo during an argument^[src]

Annikin Skywalker was born in 41 BBY on Tatooine to Shmi Skywalker.^[1] When he was young, he became friends with Kitster Banai, who he later came to call as his best friend.^[2] Although it was unknown if Banai was a part of this group, Skywalker and a group of friends once encountered a pilot from the Galactic Republic in a cantina. This pilot told them the story of Revan, a Jedi Knight who traveled to Tatooine during the Jedi Civil War to find a star map that told him the location of an ancient super weapon.^[1] The pilot also explained certain philosophies of the Jedi Order, such as the idea that certain emotions could be destructive.^[2]

In 32 BBY, Skywalker’s mother met a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars. She eventually married him and changed her name to Shmi Skywalker-Lars, although Skywalker did not have his name changed. The marriage gave Skywalker a step-brother, Owen Lars, although the two never got along despite Skywalker attempting to be both a brother and friend to Lars. Skywalker did, however, come to think of Cliegg Lars as his father, just as Lars came to think of Skywalker as his son. After the wedding, Skywalker and his mother moved to the Lars moisture farm outside of the Anchorhead settlement,^[2] where Skywalker came to develop a muscular build due to working with numerous pieces of supposedly heavy farm equipment.^[1]

Living on the Lars farm made Skywalker a sharecropper, as the farm was owned by Jabba the Hutt from the criminal Hutt Cartel. Jabba would sometimes, as Skywalker believed, prey on those that the Hutts felt were weak whenever he needed some sort of amusement, so Jabba would go after sharecroppers who worked for him by raising taxes or ordering armed searches of their homes. Jabba would, on occasion, do this to the Lars homestead with what Skywalker felt was no justifiable reason, although Skywalker did recognize that there were those who had it worse than his family did.^[2]

Skywalker gestures while in an argument with Greedo over the former's swoop racing debts.

Sometime before 22 BBY, Skywalker developed an interest in swoop racing. He also raced occasionally and held a belief that he was skilled in doing so.^[1] After winning one such swoop race, Skywalker was in the presence of Jabba the Hutt, where Skywalker was able to use his hatred for the Hutt to mask the fear that he felt in his presence.^[2] After another swoop race, Skywalker lost a bet to Greedo, a Rodian who worked as a bartender in the Anchorhead Cantina. Although Skywalker had come to be known as a man of character in Anchorhead, he was unable to pay Greedo back due to his own lack of funds, which resulted in frequent arguments and fights between the two.^[1]

[edit] The outsiders

In 22 BBY, Skywalker was in the Anchorhead Cantina when he had another argument with Greedo, who was still demanding payment for the lost swoop racing bet. After Skywalker left, still unable to pay Greedo, Skywalker noticed a sandstorm approaching Anchorhead. Shortly thereafter, he saw a foreign starship approaching the storm, which he felt was larger than most other storms he had been through. The vessel crashed after grazing the sandstorm, and Skywalker rushed in his speeder to the site of the crash in order to make sure those inside of it were safe. He was able to safely enter the vessel before the sandstorm overtook it.^[1]

Once inside the vessel, Skywalker was apprehended by Jedi Master Jard Dooku and the guards from the planet Utapau, all of whom were on the planet to make repairs to their vessel while hiding from the Trade Federation due to the shipping cartel’s invasion of Utapau. The guards, who believed that Skywalker was there to loot their vessel, eventually freed Skywalker at the behest of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was also aboard the ship. After finding out from Panaka, the head of the Utapau Security Forces, that the craft’s hyperdrive generator was damaged in the craft, Skywalker offered to help repair it as he believed he had the necessary technical skills to do so.^[2]

Kenobi allowed Skywalker to inspect the damage and Skywalker determined that he could repair it. Because he would need to shut down the vessel’s systems while repairing the generator, he offered to allow the entire crew to stay at his farm. Kenobi and Skywalker went before Queen Sabé Arcadia of Utapau, who was also aboard the vessel to escape the Federation, and Skywalker received permission to make an attempt at repairing the damage, as Arcadia believed that she would have little to lose by letting Skywalker try. After securing the queen’s blessing, Kenobi and Skywalker made their way to the Lars farm, where Skywalker’s mother and step-father agreed to allow the crew to stay on their farm. Owen was opposed to it and chastised Skywalker in private about it, leading to another argument between the two. Skywalker-Lars stepped in and stopped it, however, before comforting her son about Owen’s seemingly arrogant nature.^[2]

The next day, Kenobi and Skywalker worked on the damaged starship. They talked and learned about one another during the repair session, with Kenobi sharing Jedi philosophies once Skywalker admitted he knew Kenobi was a Jedi, having seen Kenobi's lightsaber the day before. By the end of the day, Skywalker made a technical mistake that put the repairs back a few hours, causing them to leave and go back to the homestead.^[3]

[edit] Legacy

"...I have a different interpretation about the life of Annikin Skywalker."

—Ussej Padric Bac speaks to Duseuso about his personal interpretation of Skywalker's life story^[src]

Skywalker was remembered for many years after the Invasion of Utapau. After the end of the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Skywalker's life story was in the process of being transcribed into the Journal of the Whills by a historian from the Order of the Whills named Duseuso. Ussej Padric Bac, the Shaman of the Whills, told the Whill that they both had two different interpretations of Skywalker's biography, so Bac explained his personal interpretation of Skywalker's life story.^[4]

[edit] Personality and traits

Skywalker is knocked to the floor by Utapau guards after rushing to the crashed starship.

Skywalker was respected by the people of Anchorhead as being a man of character, although he generally avoided interacting with others unless he knew them well or felt that they required his help. He preferred to keep to himself as a result of spending much of his time alone while working on the Lars moisture farm. Some of this character was evident when Skywalker was the only known person in Anchorhead to react to the crashed starship from Utapau by rushing to help those inside, whereas the other townspeople watched and gossiped about the exact cause of the crash.^[1]

Despite this public perception, Skywalker did, at times, do things that he felt went against this. He owed Greedo money from a lost swoop race for quite some time, although he did not pay the Rodian back because he lacked the money to do so. Although Skywalker maintained that he did not care about the debt, as he knew that the deal had nothing to do with the Hutt Cartel and, therefore, there was no one to enforce the upholding of it, he did try to be as honest as possible and could not help but feel sorry for not following through on his end of the bargain. Nevertheless, he continued to argue with Greedo on a frequent basis, and was known to become angry at the Rodian, who Skywalker assumed would someday meet a bad end.^[1]

Due to the so-called atrocities that they committed against the people of Tatooine, Skywalker held a self-described hatred of the Hutts and their cartel, particularly Jabba the Hutt. Skywalker felt that sharecropping for the Hutt Cartel was the closest thing to being a slave without, as he put it, having chains around his ankles. When he was in the presence of Jabba the Hutt following a successful swoop race, his hatred for the Hutt was the only thing that was able to overcome his fear of being in Jabba’s presence.^[2]

Having never interacted with someone of power other than Jabba the Hutt, Skywalker was nervous while in the presence of Queen Arcadia. Although he considered himself someone who could rise above supposedly petty fears like making a fool out of himself in front of a powerful person, he found out that he was not such a person when his nervousness led to noticeable gaffes in front of the queen, such as stumbling over his words and saying things he did not intend to say. Nevertheless, he was able to rid himself of his nervousness when Arcadia dropped seemingly normal royal protocols and insisted that Skywalker refer to her by her first name, as he was not one of her subjects or a member of the Galactic Republic.^[2]

[edit] Talents and abilities

"You obviously haven’t seen me race if you think I need to go back to racing school."

—Annikin Skywalker deflects an insult by Greedo about the former’s racing abilities^[src]

Sometime during his youth, Skywalker developed the skill to race swoops, a fast-paced racing sport on Tatooine. He was confident in his abilities to be a successful racer after having won races, one of which allowed him to be taken before Jabba the Hutt. His confidence was evident when Greedo stated that Skywalker would become “womp-rat food” if he raced again and that Skywalker needed to go to racing school, both of which Skywalker shrugged off as a meaningless insult.^[1] Skywalker was also able to develop mechanical skills after working on the Lars moisture farm, and he also had confidence in his ability to perform tasks that required mechanical expertise. He expressed what he believed was his mechanical proficiency by offering to repair the crashed Utapau starship’s hyperdrive generator, which Queen Arcadia agreed to.^[2]

[edit] Relationships

[edit] Lars family

Skywalker had what he felt was a good relationship with both his mother and step-father. His mother, Shmi, would comfort him when he had disagreements with his stepbrother, Owen, and she also trusted her son completely. She desired a better life for him and intended to find a way to make that happen. Skywalker also saw his stepfather, Cliegg, as his father and referred to him as “dad” as opposed to his first name. Cliegg returned this sentiment by thinking of Skywalker as his own son, also wanting a better life for Skywalker than what he was able to provide for him as a sharecropper.^[2]

The relationship between Skywalker and Owen, however, was not as blissful as the former would have liked. The two had frequent arguments, some stemming from Skywalker’s belief that Owen had trust issues and Owen’s belief that Skywalker was too easily trusting and naïve. Skywalker had tried for nine years to be Owen’s brother and, failing that, his friend, but he felt that Owen continued to push him away while becoming more arrogant and stubborn. In hoping for a better brotherly relationship between the two, Skywalker would think of his best friend Kitster Banai who had the type of relationship with his own brother that Skywalker desired.^[2]

[edit] Outsiders

Unlike his stepbrother, Skywalker did not mind those who lived outside of Tatooine, as he did not believe the prejudice that outsiders were only interested in supposedly saving those on Tatooine from their miserable existence. Instead, Skywalker offered to help the so-called outsiders from Utapau when their vessel crashed, much to the dismay of Owen who felt that Skywalker was far too trusting of individuals he did not even know. Nevertheless, Skywalker did not back down from his belief that they could be trusted, leading to further disagreements between him and his stepbrother.^[2]

Although he felt he could trust the Utapau crew, he did not care for Jard Dooku. Instead of thanking Skywalker for making sure that the crew of the crashed starship was safe, which nearly killed Skywalker during the sandstorm, Dooku attacked him and later mocked Skywalker’s supposed attempts at heroism. Skywalker overheard Dooku say to Obi-Wan Kenobi that Skywalker was not worth their time and efforts, which did have a negative effect on Skywalker’s feelings and caused him to momentarily question what he was doing to help the crew. Skywalker also privately questioned Dooku’s adherence to the Jedi principles that taught how Jedi were not supposed to have thoughts of superiority, which Skywalker felt Dooku contradicted. Skywalker felt the opposite about Kenobi, whom he saw as someone who better fit his knowledge of the Jedi Order’s philosophies. This also allowed him to trust Kenobi more so than he could trust Dooku.^[2]

Skywalker became surprised when he found out that the starship was carrying Queen Arcadia of Utapau, and he became nervous when in her presence as he felt intimidated by the power and fame that she held. This changed when Arcadia dropped the royal protocols she was accustomed to and told Skywalker that he could call her by her first name, Sabé. This changed his perception of the queen and allowed him to feel that he could trust her as well.^[2]

[edit] Behind the scenes

[edit] Development

Star Wars Fanon has a collection of images related to Annikin Skywalker.

Star Wars Fanon has a collection of quotes related to Annikin Skywalker.

Annikin Skywalker was based on the original character of Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars prequel trilogy that was written and directed by George Lucas. Like that trilogy, the character Annikin Skywalker still utilizes the likeness of Hayden Christensen, the actor who portrayed Skywalker in the prequel films. Brandon Rhea, author of the novel Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One in which Skywalker first appears, originally intended to keep the name Anakin Skywalker, as he intended to begin the re-imagining of the Star Wars Saga not with Episode I but rather Star Wars: Episode IV, which meant the Prequel Trilogy would have been kept intact.^[5] When Rhea decided to rewrite the entire saga, fellow fan fiction author Victor Dorantes convinced him to change the name to Annikin Skywalker as he felt it “look[ed] much better this way”.^[6]

After careful consideration, Rhea decided to change the name to Dorantes’s suggestion based on the fact that the name Annikin was from the original drafts of Star Wars, something that Rhea frequently draws inspiration from.^[5] In those drafts, Annikin Starkiller was the proposed lead character of what would become Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, playing a similar role to what Luke Skywalker played. Though the name was later changed to Justin Valor, the name Annikin Starkiller became the source for Anakin Starkiller and then Anakin Skywalker in later drafts and films.^[7]

In the original storyline of The Chosen One, Skywalker was not meant to learn about the prophecy from the Ophuchi. Originally, he would have met Obi-Wan Kenobi and the other outsiders the same way he did in The Chosen One, though the Ophuchi Clan would not have become involved after that and Kenobi would have instead felt that there was something different about Skywalker. After seeing Skywalker perform certain feats when working on a pod racer, as the sport had not yet been changed to swoop racing in the story at that point, Kenobi would have somehow come to the conclusion that Skywalker was the Chosen One.^[5]

The storyline did not change until a conversation with fellow fan fiction author Atarumaster88 on the #swfanon Internet Relay Chat channel. During the conversation, Ataru mentioned that he did not like it in stories on Tatooine when characters would mention how insignificant it was, despite it producing a star map found by Darth Revan, as well as characters such as Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker. After some thought, Rhea agreed with this criticism and only then did he create the Ophuchi storyline. By the conclusion of the Tatooine arc in the novel, Rhea felt that the Ophuchi storyline with Skywalker was far stronger than the original could have been.^[5]

Annikin Skywalker in an animated test image from The Chosen One: The Animated Movie.

Another frequent source of inspiration for Rhea has been the popular television series Smallville, a story about Clark Kent before becoming Superman. In the television show, Kent is always reluctant to accept his destiny as a superhero and instead wishes he could have a normal life. Skywalker not wanting to accept that he is possibly the Chosen One and preferring to have a normal life on Tatooine was based on this plot element, albeit used differently based on the many different circumstances between the two stories.^[5]

Along with all other characters in The Chosen One, Skywalker was set to appear in the now-canceled film called The Chosen One: The Animated Movie which was to be based on the novel. Unlike other characters, aside from Jedi Master Mace Windy and Obi-Wan Kenobi, test images of Skywalker were developed in animated form, and there were four of him in total. Animation tests were also conducted on the character. In these tests, Skywalker was walking over a sand dune in the Dune Sea on Tatooine. This was done to test the abilities of the designer in creating locations as well as characters.^[8]

[edit] Reception

Reception towards the character has been relatively positive since he first appeared in the initial draft of The Chosen One. In the character's first appearance in Chapter Seven of the first draft, reviewer Atarumaster88 said of the sequence that "the Annikin thing was great" and that it was "nicely detailed and gave us a good picture of this character".^[9] Once the draft continued forward, beginning in Chapter Eight, Atarumaster88 dialed back on some of this praise by saying that "I still like him, but perhaps not quite as much" due to what he felt was forced characterization. Atarumaster88 also stated that Annikin could be a "good character if done well", but a "dismal character if handled improperly".^[10]

On September 3, 2008, Rhea's Skywalker was briefly mentioned in the internet blog of Garrard McClendon, a professor, writer, diversity trainer and television show host on Chicagoland's Television, a twenty-four hour cable news station based in Oak Brook, Illinois owned by the Tribune Company. The article, titled "Lieberman is Annikin Skywalker", briefly acknowledged the introduction of the Star Wars Fanon article on Annikin Skywalker by saying "Annikin Skywalker, also called Optivum Servator, has changed his named to Joe Lieberman", the part about the birth name and Optivum Servator having been taken from a now-outed version of the article. The blog article went on to discuss independent Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman's change of political parties and his support of John McCain in the 2008 United States presidential election. An image edited by Andrew Barton also appeared in the blog posting.^[11]

[edit] Appearances

• Star Wars: Episode I - The Chosen One (First appearance)
• Star Wars: Trials of War - Shadows of Utapau
• Star Wars: Trials of War - Angels With Silver Wings
• Star Wars: Trials of War - Stranger in a Strange Land
• Star Wars: Episode II - Dawn of an Empire
• Star Wars: Episode III

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• Anakin Skywalker on Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki