in:Canon articles,Articles in need of updating,Aces,

Biggs Darklighter

This article details a subject that is considered canon.

This article covers the Canon version of this subject.

Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Legends version of this subject.

Content approaching.

Parts of this article are no longer up to date. This article needs updating from multiple sources. Click the dropdown below to see the full list.

Sources

From a Certain Point of View,The Chronicler,Star Wars: On the Front Lines,Star Wars Helmet Collection 66,Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition,Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire

Please update the article to include missing information, and remove this template when finished.

Biggs Darklighter

Biographical information

Descriptive information

Species

Human^[1]

Gender

Male^[3]

Pronouns

He/him^[3]

Height

1.83meters^[3]

Hair color

Black^[1]

Eye color

Hazel^[1]

Skin color

Light^[1]

Family information

Family

Darklighter family^[1]

Parent(s)

amother^[4]

Chronological & political information

Affiliation(s)

"It'll be like old times, Luke. They'll never stop us."

―Biggs Darklighter, to Luke Skywalker, just before the Battle of Yavin^[1]

Biggs Darklighter was ahuman male ace pilot who fought for theAlliance to Restore the Republic during the earlydays of theGalactic Civil War. He grew up on thedesert world ofTatooine, where he became a close boyhood friend ofLuke Skywalker. The two became pilots and dreamed of leaving Tatooine. Darklighter left his homeworld for theImperial Academy, but defected from theGalactic Empire after graduation in order to join the Rebel Alliance. He returned to Tatooine one final time to tell Skywalker of his defection.

With his home planet behind him, Darklighter relocated to theRebel base onYavin 4. He reunited with Skywalker, who had helped rescuePrincess Leia Organa, a leader in the Alliance, from theDeath Star withstolen plans for the planet-destroying space station. The Rebellion analyzed the plans and organized theBattle of Yavin, where Darklighter and Skywalker flew as members ofRed Squadron in the assault on the station. Skywalker successfully destroyed the Death Star, but not before Darklighter was killed in combat byDarth Vader.

Biography[]

Leaving Tatooine[]

"And you said I'd never make it through Mushroom Mesa, Biggs!"
"Don't get too cocky, Skyboy."

―Luke Skywalker and Biggs Darklighter^[6]

Born by19 BBY,^[2] Biggs Darklightergrew up on thedesert world ofTatooine, raised byhis mother.^[4] He eventually became close friends withLuke Skywalker. The two becamepilots and often flew throughBeggar's Canyon.^[7] Darklighter's family was wealthy for Tatooine standards, owning twentymoisture farms. Growing up, he had the best of everything, includingclothing and a newskyhopper with each new model released, but despite this never made Skywalker feel less for it.^[8] In theyear after theGreat Drought, Biggs and fellow youngsters watched Skywalker fly hisT-16 skyhopper through the desert canyons after test flights inJag Crag Gorge. Keeping in contact with his friend viacomlink, Biggs warned Skywalker not to get too cocky after he made it throughMushroom Mesa, warning him of the dangerous Beggar's Canyon ahead. Although Biggs cautioned Luke to slow down through the tight canyon, Skywalker ignored his advice and ultimately crashed the skyhopper after clipping the edge of the canyon, requiring new tools and repair parts to fix the damage.^[6]

When they were young, Darklighter and Skywalker both dreamed of leaving their homeworld behind and attending theImperial Academy.^[7] Darklighter eventually left Tatooine for the Academy, but Skywalker was left behind, as his uncle,Owen Lars, would not allow him to leave out of fear that he would follow in the footsteps of his father: theJedi Knight-turned-Sith Lord Anakin Skywalker.^[1] Darklighter would enroll in thePrefsbelt Fleet Camp, where he befriendedDerek Klivian,^[5] and Darklighter would become anImperial Starfighter Pilot.^[9] After attending the Academy, Darklighter and Klivian received their commissions aboard theRand Ecliptic,^[10] with Darklighter assigned asfirst mate of thevessel.^[11] Klivian, who was secretly undercover as anagent of theAlliance to Restore the Republic,^[12] incited amutiny, assisting Darklighter's defection to the Rebellion.^[11]

Joining the Rebel Alliance[]

Taking a vacation[]

"There's a vacation planet with such a struggling economy that the exchange rate really works in our favor."

―Biggs Darklighter, to Jek Tono Porkins^[13]

Biggs whilst on vacation on the planet Irff.

During his time in the Alliance, Darklighter andJek Tono Porkins took part in abattle near Kashyyyk before taking a vacation to theplanet Irff, a planet where littering was encouraged. After staying on the planet for twelve days, a worker told them both that their resting area was reserved. The worker then kicked them out after they refused to move. The spot was reserved for afemale Imperial officer. Later, Darklighter and Porkins pretended to point blasters under towels at the officer to scare her away. She then told them that she was just a single parent of six children—Brit,Blip,Flip,Jeef,Gerf,Bilf, andArnold—who wanted to take a break and a vacation from them.^[13]

Porkins then apologized to her and he and Darklighter left. When outside her vacation house, she called security on them. While running from security, Darklighter and Porkins tried to escape on a green creature, but the creature tried to eat Darklighter and both of them then escaped. Later, security caught Darklighter and Porkins and told them to leave or the manager would be called.^[13]

Darklighter tells Skywalker of his defection to join the Rebel Alliance.

After his Irff vacation,^[9] Darklighter returned to Tatooine to visit Skywalker and his friends inTosche Station. When Skywalker arrived at Tosche Station, he claimed to have witnessed a battle in the skies over Tatooine. Darklighter and the others were skeptical, however, and the pilot believed that it was simply two ships sitting in orbit. In actuality, Skywalker had witnessed abattle between theGalactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Although Darklighter wasn't involved in the battle, his return did deal with the Rebel Alliance:^[7] he told Skywalker that he defected from the Empire and became a pilot for the Rebel Alliance.^[9] As the two said their goodbyes, Darklighter told his old friend that he would keep an eye out for him, in the event Skywalker ever joined the Rebellion.^[7] Darklighter then traveled to theRebel base onYavin 4.^[9]

The Battle of Yavin[]

"Hurry up, Luke! Quick! Quick!"

―Biggs Darklighter's final words, at the Battle of Yavin^[1]

In the meantime,Princess Leia Organa ofAlderaan, a leader in the Rebel Alliance, successfully broughtstolen plans for theDeath Star to the Rebel base; this was done with the help of Skywalker,Han Solo, and theWookiee Chewbacca, who aided in Organa'sescape after she had been held prisoner by the Empire on the Death Star. Using the plans, the Rebel Alliance put together an attack plan to destroy the planet-destroying space station, which arrived near Yavin 4 with the intention of destroying it—as well as the Rebel Alliance. Darklighter was assigned to be a fighter pilot in the assault.^[1] Skywalker had also become a pilot in the Rebellion. DuringGeneral Jan Dodonna's briefing, Biggs heard his friend's voice before brushing apart with fellow pilotJek Tono Porkins, who playfully teased him.^[4]

Darklighter prepares to board his X-wing before the battle.

In the lead-up to the battle, Darklighter encountered Skywalker in the Rebel hangar. The two reminisced about their time flying on Tatooine, and Darklighter vouched for Skywalker as the best bush pilot in theOuter Rim Territories whenGarven Dreis, the leader ofRed Squadron, questioned whether the rookie pilot would be able to handle anX-wing starfighter.^[1] Before climbing on their respective starfighters, Biggs promised Skywalker to exchange stories with him, leading Luke to tell him that he told him that he would make it some day. As he boarded his X-wing,Wedge Antilles asked Darklighter who the kid was, to which Darklighter responded that the kid was a friend from who said he would join the Rebellion.^[4]

TheBattle of Yavin started afterwards. As the pilots approached the Death Star, Darklighter found himself grappling with fear. When Garven asked the pilots to report in, Biggs replied that "Red Three" was hiscallsign. Under "Red Leader"'s command, Biggs and his fellow pilots locked their S-foils into attack position and switched their deflectors on double front.^[4] Descending on thebattle station, Biggs and his fellow pilots dodgedturbolaser bolts fired by the Death Star's heavy turbolaser emplacements, which were too slow for the nimble rebel fighters. As Biggs asked Porkins to cover his starfighter from behind, Porkins was unfortunately shot down. Managing to move his X-wing out of harm's way in the nick of time thanks to Skywalker, allowing his friend to shoot down one of theTIE/ln space superiority starfighters behind him, Biggs strafed the turbolaser towers that were peppering the Y-wingGold Squadron, which were flying through themeridian trench to take out thethermal exhaust port.^[1]

Darklighter's X-wing gets destroyed during the Battle of Yavin.

As the battle neared its end, Garven was shot down, with Biggs along with Skywalker and Antilles remaining.^[1] As he and Antilles resolved to buy Skywalker enough time to reach the thermal exhaust port and drop his payload ofproton torpedoes, Darklighter imagined they were racing through Beggar's Canyon shootingwomp rats.^[4] With Wedge forced to pull out due his X-wing facing mechanical problems, Biggs concluded that he and Skywalker were the only ones who remained. Cornered byDarth Vader'sTIE Advanced x1 and two remaining TIE fighters, Biggs resolved to sacrifice his life to ensure Luke's survival, diverting power to the X-wing's engines. Immediately, Darklighter's X-wing was hit by enemy fire from Vader, killing him in the process.^[1] As the ship exploded, Darklighter heard the call of his mother for dinner and felt Tatooine's wind sweeping across the desert as he died, overcoming his fear and making peace with life.^[4]

Legacy[]

Shortly after Darklighter's death, Skywalker destroyed the Death Star.^[1] After the Battle of Yavin, Skywalker continued to think of his late friend and his sacrifice. Skywalker consoled himself knowing that Darklighter was a strong believer in the cause that he died for, and hoped that each new mission would destroy the Empire and honor Darklighter's sacrifice.^[14]

Not long after the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader hired thebounty hunter Boba Fett to capture Luke Skywalker.^[15] Tracking Skywalker on Tatooine, Fett eventually interrogated amoisture farmer, who told the bounty hunter Skywalker's name and history on Tatooine. The farmer mentioned that Skywalker frequented Tosche Station with Darklighter.^[16]

After aRebel victory on the planetJedha, Skywalker reunited with Antilles, who introduced him to the new Rebel pilotsDerek Klivian andZev Senesca, at theMess Hall IV on the Rebel Alliancespace station Mako-Ta Space Docks. With the Rebel pilots, Skywalker performed atoast to Red Squadron, listing the names of several pilots killed in battle. He expressed particular sadness at Biggs's name. When smugglerHan Solo expressed surprise at Skywalker memorizing the names, he responded that he was thinking about all the people who had got Skywalker to where he was.^[17]

In34 ABY, during his self-imposedexile onAhch-To, theJedi Master Luke Skywalker had adream about an alternate life where he ignored Organa's message and never joined the rebellion, remaining in the moisture farming business with his uncle andmarrying Camie Marstrap. In his dream, Darklighter was killed somewhere unimaginably far away, but Skywalker never got to know the details of his demise while his family was taken away bystormtroopers, leaving their farm to be stripped byJawas andTusken Raiders.^[18]

Personality and traits[]

Biggs Darklighter was ahuman male with hazeleyes, blackhair, and light skin. As a member of the Rebel Alliance, Darklighter was a believer in its cause against the Empire. Skywalker felt that Darklighter would have thought joining the Alliance was worth the risk and worth dying for, even if Darklighter had known he would perish in the Battle of Yavin.^[14] He also felt concern for Skywalker, whose story he would listen to with amusement and patience,^[7] and defended him when Garven Dreis questioned whether Skywalker was ready to fly with Red Squadron.^[1]

Skills and abilities[]

"Hey, don't knock T-16s. I learned to fly on them—if you can handle a skyhopper, you can handle an X-wing."

―Biggs Darklighter, to Col Takbright^[19]

Darklighter was a skilled pilot, and loved to fly alongside Skywalker.^[7] He gained piloting experience on Tatooine, including flying through the narrow Beggar's Canyon, and eventually used that experience to join the Imperial Academy and the Rebel Alliance.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

"Take it easy buddy, you'll always be the best friend I ever had."

―Luke Skywalker says goodbye to Biggs Darklighter in a deleted scene fromStar Wars: Episode IVA New Hope^[20]

Darklighter's K-22995 light flight helmet

Biggs Darklighter was played byGarrick Hagon in the1977 film ofStar Wars: Episode IVA New Hope, then-titled simplyStar Wars.^[1] The character first appeared in the various script drafts ofStar Wars asKing Kayos's son and the brother of the princess who became Leia Organa. He was Luke Skywalker's younger brother and the brother ofWindy Marstrap in the second draft, before finally being changed to Skywalker's friend in the third draft.^[21] Although Darklighter only appears briefly in the final film, where he is listed as "Red Three" in the film's closing credits, the movie originally included several scenes in which he figured much more prominently in the story. These included deleted scenes set in Tosche Station on Tatooine.^[22] The scene with him in the hangar before the battle of Yavin was later added back in as part of the special editions.

In the early development of theStar Wars Rebels episode "The Antilles Extraction," then known as "Darklighter," the story was originally intended to deal with the defection of Biggs from Imperial service into the rebel ranks. However, due to timeline complications with Biggs' already established backstory seen inA New Hope, it was decided to replace Biggs with Wedge Antilles.^[23]

Biggs's helmet design is similar to that ofDerek Klivian's inRogue One: A Star Wars Story.^[24]