Geonosian
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Geonosian
Biological classification
Physical characteristics
Skin color
Distinctions
Sociocultural characteristics
Language
- "You know, another thing most beings fail to realize about the Geonosians is that it's in your nature to be industrious."
- ―Orson Krennic[8]
Geonosians were a winged, semi-insectoidspeciesnative to theplanetGeonosis that created nests in large, spire-like colonies on theirhomeworld. The Geonosians would fight on the side of theConfederacy of Independent Systems during theClone Wars, defending their planet on multiple occasions. After contributing to the construction of theDeath Star, they were nearlyexterminated by theGalactic Empire. Only a single Geonosian, nicknamedKlik-Klak, survived the Imperial sterilization of their planet, but there was hope during theNew Republic Era that some eggs could have also survived, creating hope that a newGeonosian hive could arise.
Society and culture[]
- "Geonosians do not hold life to be as precious as you humans do, Lieutenant Commander."
- ―Archduke Poggle the Lesser to Orson Krennic[8]
Poggle the Lesser was an Archduke.
A caste-based species separated by positions that included drones,warriors, andelites,[9] Geonosians were born into hives with each led by aqueen. The queen laid eggs for the hive, and provided orders to thepublic leaders of Geonosis.[10] One such queen,Karina the Great, was even able to control sentient beings, including her own kind, via the use ofbrain worms.[11] It was believed by some that "Karina the Great" was the name assigned to every reigning queen, instead of being the name of one specific individual,[12] but one queen only called herself "Karina" because of her own insanity.[13] No matter the case, Geonosian queens resided underground in thecatacombs of Geonosis. From here, they commanded anarmy's worth of Geonosian drones.[12] Queens took no more than two years to grow from a small egg to a considerable size.[14][15]
Even though they were born without wings,[16] drones were capable of becoming warriors if they proved themselves worthy by successfully defeating other drones in anarena.[8] Geonosians of the warrior caste were known as Geonosian warriors. They had wings and a thick exoskeleton, and they were dedicated to warfare.[17] Among Geonosianbroods, the alpha was known as theGeonosian Brood Alpha.[18] Geonosians also had two sets of mandibles, outer and inner, which they used to gesture. For example, clicking the outer mandibles twice meant "Work Harder," and clicking both sets meant "Die."[19] Geonosians also celebratedMeckgin, a day in which they celebrated the virtues of industry, and believed themselves to be have been blessed by a being known as "theCreator."[8] Geonosians would get drunk by eating a specialfungus which reacted with theirstomach fluids to create a body odor which created euphoria.[19]
The Geonosians hadyellow-coloredblood.[20] Geonosians could also besensitive tothe Force.[21] Naturally industrious and barbaric, they were also known to take upon construction projects from outside parties, as was the case whenBaktoid Armor Workshop approached them to designfactories for theTrade Federation. Productivity was key to Geonosian society, and if not kept in check with enough tasks, hives could devolve into civil war and result in the deaths of thousands of Geonosians.[8]
The Geonosians showed a certain mistrust towardsbounty hunters. Nevertheless, they allowed theMandalorian bounty hunterJango Fett, who was under the employ ofCountDooku, into their hives during the Separatist Crisis.[4]
History[]
Pre-Clone Wars[]
Long ago, the Geonosians inhabited Geonosis' surface. However they were driven underground by a series of mass extinctions caused by meteorites and radiation storms.[22]
Clone Wars[]
Geonosianzombies during the Second Battle of Geonosis.
By32 BBY,[23] a Geonosian namedPoggle the Lesser had risen from the drone caste to that of archduke[8] with help from theSith LordDarth Sidious.[24] During the reign of Poggle, Geonosis became a member of theConfederacy of Independent Systems. The Separatists used the Geonosians to help create theSeparatist Droid Army[4] after the SeparatistHead of State,CountDooku, personally arrived to negotiate the agreement.[8]
This eventually led to alarge battle between theGalactic Republic and the Separatists on Geonosis, marking the official outbreak of theClone Wars. The Geonosians were the ones responsible for creating theplans for theDeath Star.[4][5] Later in the Clone Wars, Geonosis was the site of another majorbattle, which saw Poggle the Lesser captured and theGeonosis primary droid foundry destroyed.[25] Sometime after this second battle, the Republic'sStrategic Advisory Cell began to build the battle station that would one day be known as the Death Star, withLieutenant CommanderOrson Callan Krennic enlisting Poggle the Lesser to make the Geonosians serve as the Republic's workforce. Poggle appeared to agree, but, sometime after he returned to Geonosis, he arranged a Geonosianriot and escaped theRepublic flotilla to return to the Confederacy.[8]
Imperial Era[]
- "The Geonosians are a servant species. They are forbidden from breeding freely."
- ―Darth Vader, to Orson Krennic[26]
The Death Star was built by the Geonosians above Geonosis.
Following the Clone Wars, the Geonosians were forced by theGalactic Empire to assist in the construction of the Death Star. Though anew archduke was appointed to lead theStalgasin hive, the Geonosians became an enslaved[8] servant species to the Empire and were forbidden from freely breeding.[26] When the Geonosians were unable to work out how to refine the superweapon'ssuperlaser, the Empire brought inGalen Walton Erso to finish the job.[8] The Geonosians of theKorakanni Mound attempted to sabotage the project and reach out to Erso for help by sending him anootheca, but they werecrushed byDarth Vader.[26]
After the Death Star'shyperdrive was operational,Grand MoffWilhuff Tarkin ordered theImperial Weapons division to sterilize Geonosis usingImperial gas canisters,[14][27] destroying all butone of the planet's population[28] of approximately 100 billion—the largest genocide ever committed by the Empire to keep the weapon a secret.[19]
Post-sterilization[]
In2 BBY,Saw Gerrera,[29] theSpectres, andCaptainRex uncovered evidence that the Empire had perpetrated genocide against the Geonosian species. They also helpedKlik-Klak,[14] the sole survivor of the sterilization,[28] escape with the last Geonosian queen egg into the depths of Geonosis. The rebels informedSenatorBail Organa andCommanderJun Sato who believed that news of the Empire's atrocities on Geonosis would sway more worlds to the rebellion.[14]
Unfortunately for Klik-Klak,[14] his plan didn't last.[7] Although the egg did eventually hatch into a queen who called herselfKarina,[13] the last known Geonosian Queen[14] was rendered sterile. Karina used the vast technological resources of Geonosis to attach herself to a portabledroid factory. From this, she generated speciallymodifiedB1-series battle droids, which were made to resemble her people. Although they were artificial mockeries of the Geonosians, Karina considered them to be her children.[7]
Karina ultimately lost this womb and many of her children whenDarth Vader, accompanied byDoctorChelli Lona Aphra,assassin droid0-0-0, andBT-1 assassin droidBT-1, arrived and stole it from her in order to build his own droid army shortly after the destruction of the firstDeath Star. Even so, Karina survived the encounter and proclaimed that this set back would not be the end of herempire.[7] Another Geonosian, a hunter namedPehk, was alive in the galaxy but killed during thehunt on X3-299-11.[30] Rumors persisted into theNew Republic Era that a small number of Geonosian eggs could have survived, lending hope to the idea that a new hive could one day emerge.[31]
Geonosians in the galaxy[]
Arkik Von was a Force-sensitive Geonosian who gave into thedark side of the Force and acted as a member of theSorcerers of Tund for a time, only to later leave that group.[32] As leader of theDank Graks criminal faction,[21] Von attempted to usurp control of the planetTakodana fromMaz Kanata and theJedi Order during theHigh Republic Era.[32] During the Clone Wars, the Geonosians were part of aConfederate plot onRishi involving the materialexonium.[33] AGeonosian colony was established on amoon. By the time antiques dealerAntron Bach went into hiding on the moon, the colony had long been abandoned.[34]
Pehk was a Geonosian hunter who gained notoriety for being the first person to headbutt agundark. However, he was hired by Doctor Aphra for the hunt on the world ofX3-299-11. Aphra wanted to be rescued from theShadowfang Beast, but Pehk was caught in atractor beam trap. After monster huntersWinloss andNokk were hired by Aphra and arrived, Pehk was killed by the creature.[30]
Behind the scenes[]
Concept and development[]
- "Doug e-mailed me a picture Iain had done for the Neimoidian face from Episode I, and I went from there. That design was too good not to use."
- ―Dermot Power, and mentioningIain McCaig as well[35]
Concept art byTerryl Whitlatch.
When George Lucas was coming up with concept art for the Geonosians, Lucas was dealing with atermite infestation in his house, which inspired the Geonosians. Lucas then gathered specimens and showed them to concept artists.[36][37] The basic design of the Geonosians originated from unused orignal concept art of theNeimoidians which resembled B1 battle droids. This art was created before it was decided that they would be played by masked actors.[38][37] The Geonosian language that was known as "Geonosian hive-mind" was created from three sounds recorded byMatthew Wood under the direction ofBen Burtt while inAustralia. In the city ofMelbourne, Wood recorded the mating cries ofpenguins at a reserve. In the city ofCairns, Wood recorded a group offruit bats fighting over a banana. While in Australia, Wood also recorded the sounds of flying foxes. Burtt mixed all of these sounds and created the Geonosian language.[39][37]
According to concept artistDoug Chiang, before the final design for the Geonosians was pitched, George Lucas originally desired to have the species to take on a chameleon-like quality and be able to change colors based on their surroundings. Though that idea eventually got nixed, the texture and color of the Geonosians do match that of their homeworld Geonosis.[37]
The inspiration for the Geonosians' role as the ones assigned to construct the Death Star came from a scene in the1994 filmClerks, in which the main characters ponder the lives of the "independent contractors" during the construction of thesecond Death Star.[40]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Crisis on Coruscant"(In flashback(s))- Disney Infinity 3.0(Mentioned only)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures — "Race on Tatooine"
- LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures — "Duel of Destiny"
- LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures — "The Embersteel Blade"
- LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures — "Return to the Wheel"
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
Sources[]
Non-canon sources[]
Notes and references[]
- Related categories:
- Geonosians
- Related Categories:
- Geonosians