Jabba Desilijic Tiure / Legends Jabba Desilijic Tiure , better known as Jabba the Hutt and often called " the Bloated One " , though never to his face , was one of the most notorious Hutt crime lords in the galaxy , who governed a large criminal empire located in the Outer Rim Territories from his desert palace on Tatooine . At the height of his power , Jabba was one of the most powerful crime lords in the galaxy , even having contact with Prince Xizor , the head of the Black Sun Syndicate . Jabba had started as a small crime lord , but quickly spread his influence into a variety of illegal activities , including spice - smuggling , gunrunning , slavery , and sometimes outright piracy . Known for his cruelty and carnal fancies , Jabba the Hutt was powerful enough to command respect and payment from the Galaxy ' s ruling government , so much so that during the Clone Wars the Republic went to great lengths to avoid Jabba ' s displeasure . He later placed a hefty death mark on Han Solo , a former employee of his , after Solo lost a load of spice to an Imperial patrol vessel . He would finally get his revenge on Solo when the carbonite - encased Corellian was delivered to him by Boba Fett , one of the many bounty hunters Jabba was known to employ . However , this mission was Jabba ' s undoing , as a rescue mission and subsequent battle with Luke Skywalker and his allies resulted in the Hutt ' s demise at the hands of Leia Organa . Biography . Early life ( 600 BBY – 22 BBY ) . Rise of the crime lord . Jabba , who was born on Nal Hutta , was the child of Zorba Desilijic Tiure . He took formal control of the Desilijic kajidic around 2 BBY , when he killed the offspring of Jiliac , the former leader . The old Hutt died following a grueling fight to the death with Durga Besadii Tai . At the incredibly young age of 80 , the up - and - coming gangster established his criminal empire on the remote desert world of Tatooine , located in the Tatoo system . In 516 BBY , he moved his criminal operations into an old B ' omarr Monastery , safely nestling himself in the planet ' s comfortable obscurity . Jabba started small , finding early work as a high - risk gunrunner , along with his lifelong friend Ephant Mon . During Senator Palpatine ' s rise to power , the Hutt was one of several gangsters who made his bid for dominance . His competitors included Sise Fromm , the then - kingpin of organized crime in the galaxy and Prince Xizor , fledgling heir to the Black Sun criminal empire . Though neither Xizor nor Jabba were by any means young , both had just been handed the reins of power established by their respective criminal families . While Fromm played war games , Xizor and Jabba sensed the winds of change and spent their resources garnering favor with those who seemed to be shifting into power . Due to the attractive nature of becoming a gangster during the galaxy ' s time of change , he attained minions . A Twi ' lek spice smuggler from Ryloth , Bib Fortuna would become his majordomo early on . He was always in attendance where Jabba was , be it podraces , the Palace , or other ventures . Bib would later be replaced by Naroon Cuthus , only to take power again years later . Jabba kept an enormous , reptilian - humanoid creature as his champion gladiator in a spike - pit arena under his suite in the Mos Espa Grand Arena , where he used the beast to get rid of undesirable individuals in death matches for his own amusement . Upon learning that Jedi Master Qui - Gon Jinn needed peggats in order to bet on Anakin Skywalker in the Boonta Eve Classic podrace , Jabba lured Jinn to his arena , and offered him the money he needed if he could defeat his champion . Jinn was successful in killing the predator , and an impressed Jabba thanked the Jedi Master for " providing such worthy entertainment , " rewarded him with 50 peggats and released him from the pit . Jabba was known to bet on podraces . He often lost , due to the recommendations of his incompetent astromech droid , R5 - X2 . During such races he was , on occasion , the host , such as at the Boonta Eve Classic , which Xizor also attended . Jabba never had any interest in the sport — sometimes falling asleep during the race — other than the profits made from inside bettors and the joy that came from having others owe him credits , especially the junk dealer Watto . When Jabba did win , he was rewarded with slave girls and credits . He made sure that he always got his money ' s worth " the easy way , or the hard way . " Interfering with Jedi business . Ephant Mon and Jabba made an ill - fated plan to smuggle goods onto Cerea where they encountered Jedi Master Ki - Adi - Mundi , whose daughter and a friend of his had been enslaved by the Hutt . Mundi had to wait for a dangerous lightning storm before he had a chance to free his daughter and friend from the Hutt ' s slimy grasp , though he was successful in rescuing both Sylvn and her friend Twin . On his mission , Mundi found evidence that linked Jabba with the Trade Federation ' s arming in preparation for its invasion of Naboo , but the Hutt escaped any serious retribution . When Mundi later returned to Tatooine to seek safe passage across the desert dunes , Jabba thought he recognized the Jedi Master , and lied to him about being an honorable being . He sent Mundi out on a skiff , accompanied by a few of the Hutt ' s guards , who were to " keep him safe from harm " ; however , Bib Fortuna , the Hutt ' s majordomo , noted that they had sent the Jedi towards a sandstorm . Mundi realized this early on during the ride , to which Jabba sarcastically replied : Fortuna and the Hutt laughed as the skiff rode further towards the sandstorm ahead , though Mundi survived and continued to oppose Jabba in his efforts to incite the locals against the Sand People . Rivalry with Gardulla . Jabba had a fierce rivalry with Gardulla Besadii the Elder that lasted for decades . Gardulla ' s attempt to establish a new podrace course on Tatooine brought the Besadii into conflict with the Desilijic , and the two clans were vying for control of the planet as early as 54 BBY . The gang war would continue for nearly three decades until 33 BBY , when Jabba , with Bib Fortuna , Ephant Mon and Diva Shaliqua , had a clandestine meeting with Magister Hego Damask II on Sojourn . Damask was secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis , but Jabba demanded that he end his and elements of the InterGalactic Banking Clan ' s support for Gardulla . In exchange , Jabba offered information on the Bando Gora terrorist syndicate that had been targeting the leadership of some of the shipping cartels Plagueis backed : Komari Vosa , believed dead after a disastrous mission to Baltizaar and the former Padawan of Jedi Master Dooku , was alive and had come to lead the cult . Jabba further revealed that Vosa had entered into a plan with Gardulla , a Dug named Sebolto , and Senator Ainlee Teem to distribute contaminated death sticks to draw new members to the cult . Plagueis saw the information as a chance to draw Master Dooku closer to the dark side of the Force , and also to push his apprentice Darth Sidious closer to the position of Supreme Chancellor ( Teem being a competitor for the Chancellorship ) . Jabba was subsequently able to warn Plagueis ahead of time of an attempt on his life by Gardulla , the Bando Gora , and Black Sun organized by Plagueis ' one - time associate King Ars Veruna of Naboo . Plagueis was able to escape the conspirators ' bombardment of Sojourn undetected and was rescued by Jabba ' s yacht " Star Jewel " . Perhaps coincidentally , Jabba had also played a small part in the acquisition of the nuclear device used against Plagueis : Darth Sidious had sent his own apprentice , Darth Maul , to the Cog Hive Seven prison to retrieve the weapon from the arms dealer Iram Radique , with the eventual aim of delivering it to the Bando Gora so it could be used to kill his master . When Jabba had attacked the prison with the " Star Jewel " , Maul was able to escape ( with the aid of Komari Vosa ) aboard Jabba ' s ship , whereupon he passed the weapon on to Vosa . Whether this is how Jabba learned of Vosa ' s identity and of the attempt on Plagueis ' life is unclear . In 32 BBY , at the height of the Naboo crisis , Jabba and his rival met prior to the Boonta Eve Classic of that year . Gardulla had made a full model of the racecourse , surprising Jabba . She also owned a machine that would tell her and Jabba the winner . To Jabba ' s surprise , it said the winner would be Gasgano , whereas Jabba ' s droid , R5 - X2 , showed Sebulba would come in first , Gasgano in second , and Mawhonic in third ; the droid also favored Gardulla ' s former slave , Anakin Skywalker . When the race began , Jabba hosted Gardulla as his guest as he presided over the race . Entering his box at the Mos Espa Grand Arena to wild cheers , Jabba signaled the start of the race by spitting a gorg into the starting gong . When the race concluded , Jabba had to be awoken by Bib Fortuna after falling asleep during the race ; though as Anakin Skywalker had come in first , Jabba had outsmarted Gardulla and won the bet . During the battle that occurred in the Jundland Wastes , Gardulla conceived a plot to assemble all her criminal underlings to launch an assault on the Tusken Raiders , dispatching the notorious bounty hunter Aurra Sing to destroy their Jedi leader , Sharad Hett . Contemporaneously , Jabba had the idea of sending out his thugs to raid the Tusken camps , inciting the Sand People to launch their own raids . Jabba then planned to profit from this by selling Dreddon ' s overpriced surplus weapons to defensive civilians . Gardulla ' s plot failed , forcing her to retreat to her palace in Mos Espa . This would be one of the Hutt ' s last confrontations with Gardulla . When the rivalry got out of hand , Jabba hired Jango Fett — who had won an audience with the Hutt for bringing in the bounty for Longo Two - Guns — to finish her off once and for all . Jabba led Jango Fett to Gardulla , and was quite pleased to hear that Gardulla was " eaten " by her pet krayt dragon , surprised though he was that Jango Fett never came to receive his bounty for Gardulla ' s death . He discovered the answer soon enough , for he later found out that Jango Fett was killed on Geonosis by Jedi Master Mace Windu . Later on , Jabba would do business with Jango Fett ' s clone son , Boba . The Clone Wars . Following the recapture of Sarapin during the Clone Wars , Jabba found himself in a position he ' d never imagined : aiding a top general for the Galactic Republic during the Second Battle of Tatooine . Since Boorka the Hutt ( a rival of Jabba ' s ) was in league with the Confederacy of Independent Systems , Jabba concluded that his fellow gangster had gone too far with his antics . Thus , when the Republic ' s newly arrived clone army proved too small to attack the Confederacy ' s base on the planet , Jabba became involved . After bolstering their forces , Jedi Generals Echuu Shen - Jon and Naat Reath successfully engaged the Separatist enemy and slew Boorka . For their troubles , Jabba gave them five thousand nova crystals ; glad to be rid of the rival . But Jabba , being a true crime boss , always tried to make profits by doing business with both sides of a war . When Separatist Council member Wat Tambor , Foreman of the wealthy Techno Union , contacted him , Jabba agreed to help the Separatist smuggle huge shipments of construction materials and cortosis to the planet Metalorn to aid in the construction of the newly - created C - B3 cortosis battle droid . His involvement with the Confederacy was discovered by Republic informant Raala Ponchar , but battle droids under the command of the Dark Acolyte Saato captured her and she was imprisoned in his palace . When the Jedi Council learned of Ponchar ' s disappearance , they sent Anakin Skywalker to investigate . Jabba , however , quickly learned of Anakin ' s presence on Tatooine and his intentions after he was tipped off by Aurra Sing , and posted a bounty on Anakin ' s head . Despite having to contend with scores of bounty hunters , the young Jedi managed to free Ponchar from the palace ' s dungeon ; he then killed Saato and relayed the information about Jabba ' s involvement to Master Obi - Wan Kenobi . Some time afterward , Boba Fett , the cloned " son " of Jango Fett , read his father ' s " book " which instructed him to visit Jabba . Fett had a run - in with the dangerous Separatist Commander Durge , however , before he could do so . Fett soon managed to escape Durge , and quickly found himself in Jabba ' s employ . One of the reasons Jabba accepted Boba was to repay the favor Jango Fett did him by killing Gardulla the Hutt a decade earlier . While working for Jabba , Boba had separate plans that had nothing and everything to do with the Hutt at the same time . Besides this , Fett still had connections with the Separatists and Count Dooku . As the war progressed , Jabba requested the Jedi ' s help in finding his son , Rotta , in exchange for passage through Hutt space , for the Separatists controlled all the major hyperspace lanes . He had dispatched a group bounty hunters who tracked his son to Teth , but they all were returned beheaded . Count Dooku and the CIS kidnapped Jabba ' s son , allowed the Jedi to get him back , and employed lies , a secret video , and an all - out assault to get him back and to curry the crime lord ' s favor . Ultimately , the Jedi proved victorious and eventually earned Jabba ' s trust for a time , thus allowing his Empire to ally with the Republic against the CIS during the war . Jabba was angry at the main instigator of the plot , his own uncle Ziro Desilijic Tiure , who was planning to take control of his nephew ' s empire . Some time later , Jabba was later approached by Baron Notluwiski Papanoida , the Chairman of the Pantoran Assembly , who held in a standoff against one of Jabba ' s bounty hunters , Greedo . He appealed to Jabba as a fellow parent to ask for assistance in tracking down his daughters Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe . He reasoned that if Greedo ' s blood matched the sample that he found on Coruscant , then it will prove that the Rodian was involved in the kidnapping . No sooner did Jabba did permit a blood sample to be taken , did Greedo spill that he was working for the Separatists . He then led the Pantorans to Mos Eisley , where one of the girls was located . During another time , Jabba hired bounty hunter Cad Bane to get information about the Senate building . After Bane ' s success , Jabba talked to the Hutt Council to see if Ziro should be released from prison . The Hutts hired Bane and he succeeded . Then , Jabba hired Sy Snootles to steal information from Ziro . Sy betrayed Ziro and killed the Hutt , and gave Jabba the diary of the Hutts . In 20 BBY , Darth Maul , his brother Savage Opress , and Pre Vizsla of the Death Watch went to the Hutt Ruling Council in their chambers on Nal Hutta to ask for an alliance with the Hutts , promising to spare their lives in exchange for the Hutt territories and everything in it ' s borders . Jabba and the other elders just laughed and sent bounty hunters after them . While Gorga and Jabba were seen on holograms , the others , except for Oruba , escaped from the skirmish . Maul and company soon arrived at Jabba ' s Palace on Tatooine , where they launched an attack on the Monastery . Maul and the others found Jabba , with Gorga , in his throne room , where they forced the mighty crime lord to join the Collective . Underling mayhem ( 22 BBY – 3 ABY ) . Majordomo . Jabba had several lieutenants , and over time , each one helped him control a certain part of the growing criminal empire of Jabba ' s . His oldest , and best , majordomo was Naroon Cuthus , whom Jabba respected but couldn ' t let retire , since he knew too much about Jabba ' s activities . So , in return for his long service , Jabba gave him a quick death . The ensuing power vacuum created a rivalry between Bib Fortuna and a Human smuggler named Bidlo Kwerve for the seat as Jabba ' s right hand man . Jabba enjoyed watching the competition and pitted the two cronies against one other . When Jabba was given his " beloved " pet rancor , Kwerve got the pleasure of being the monster ' s first public feast , with Fortuna becoming Jabba ' s new majordomo by default . In 22 BBY , Jabba ' s father , Zorba , was imprisoned after being tried for illegal gemstone mining , convicted , and sentenced to prison on Kip . After a bribery attempt to free Zorba failed , Jiliac assumed control of the Desilijic clan , with Jabba next in the line of succession . Jabba also regularly employed many bounty hunters , one of his favorites being a Gand named Zuckuss . Jabba hired the bounty hunter for many successful yet infamous missions . Jabba eventually suggested that Zuckuss team up with a modified protocol droid named 4 - LOM , who had been given a programming upgrade by Jabba ' s workers . Jabba was pleased with the pair ' s work and frequently employed them . Dealing with scum . At an unknown point between the Declaration of a New Order in 19 BBY and the Battle of Yavin , Jabba ended up getting a bounty on his head by the Galactic Empire . Around five years before the Battle of Yavin , Jabba took his yacht , " Star Jewel " , and set off for the headquarters of Gaar Suppoon , an old acquaintance of the Hutt ' s . Jabba informed Gaar that there was a bomb in his palace , but when the Galactic Empire sent Kosh Kurp to investigate , no bomb was discovered . After a heated trade war , with Jabba outwitting Gaar on every trade , Gaar tried to kill the Hutt . Jabba responded by letting loose a fatally poisonous Tromonid on Gaar , which bit him almost immediately . Threatening to blow everyone up with a bomb he possessed , Jabba persuaded Gaar to give him everything they traded for an antidote to the fatal bite . When Gaar was reminded about the bomb , he played along and asked Jabba to detonate it . Things took a turn for the worst when Jabba called Gaar by his real name , Sonopo Bomoor . Kurp , recognizing the name as that of the man who had killed his family , took a shot at the man . The blaster bolt ricocheted , exploding Gaar ' s head . Kurp realized he was the actual " bomb " , and had played right into Jabba ' s plan . While leaving the planet , Scuppa , the captain of Jabba ' s ship , spotted a Nuffin freighter , which they believed to have a wealth of riches ripe for the taking . Jabba , Bib Fortuna , and two Weequays boarded the ship , leaving a Gamorrean guard behind to guard the " Star Jewel " . When the group entered the vessel , they were taken captive by the Princess Nampi . Nampi put the guards and Bib into the larder , while Jabba and Scuppa confronted her . Jabba was eventually sent to the larder as well , refusing to give up the riches in the ship . Scuppa , being an opportunist , realized that he was now in charge of Jabba ' s finances and agreed to marry Nampi to preserve his life . The act was foolish , and he didn ' t realize in his haste that Nampi ' s species ate the male on the wedding night . In horror , Scuppa realized that he ' d become Nampi ' s appetizer . When Jabba was called into her chambers to be the main course , the Hutt quickly deduced what had happened , and used the situation to his advantage . Long beforehand , Jabba had installed a remote in Scuppa ' s skull that released Xenoboric acid should his captain ever betray him . Now in control , he offered Nampi a chance to give over her riches , lest he detonate the remote . Upon her refusal , he pushed it , without a hint of regret , and , in a matter of seconds , Nampi exploded . The guards and Bib were soon unlocked , and started to loot Nampi ' s hold . Humorously , Jabba suggested that his Twi ' lek majordomo " wear his boots " into the exploded viscera . Jabba planned to sell Nampi ' s ship to Cabrool Nuum when they were finished with it . When faced with what to do with the deceased Princess ' s guards , however , Bib at first suggested selling them to Nuum as slaves , but Jabba had a more sadistic idea . He decided to launch them into the vacuum of space to " see ' em pop " . At first , when Jabba met up with Nuum , the meeting between the two crime lords was friendly . Things began to turn sour , however , because of an argument with Nuum about the offer of Jabba murdering Vu Chusker , Nuum ' s rival . Nuum sent Jabba to a spare room , where , afterward , Nuum ' s son , Rusk , soon contracted Jabba to kill his father instead . Jabba proudly obliged . With Nuum suffocated in his sleep , Jabba enlisted Rusk as a dealer and partner . Rusk objected , and sent Jabba to the deep holds . While in the prison , Jabba met another member of Nuum ' s family , Norba , Rusk ' s sister , who wanted Rusk dead . Jabba agreed , and crushed Rusk in the creature ' s office with his own two hands , helped in part by Norba . Norba then proceeded to send the Hutt to the deep hold . When Norba came to visit the Hutt , Jabba laughed when she said she wanted Vu Chusker dead . Jabba leaned towards the bars of the cell , telling her to listen up . When she leaned in to listen , he pulled her into his mouth and ate her . He then grabbed the keys and escaped . During his escape , Jabba ran into — of all beings — Vu Chusker . Without warning , Jabba crushed Chusker into the ground and hovered to his ship via repulsor sled . The Hutt thought , in hindsight , thought he should have just killed Chusker in the first place . At the time Jabba returned to his palace , his devious majordomo , Bib Fortuna , had recruited six of Jabba ' s more dissatisfied minions ( including Nivek ) to kill Jabba ' s guards after making them tell all of their secrets to him . Unfortunately , shortly after they started putting the plan into action , guards Gru ' um and Miramba unleashed a pack of frecker s , thus spoiling the plan . Bib and the would - be assassins managed to kill all the freckers , earning thanks from the Hutt for remaining a loyal hero . Fortuna couldn ' t bring himself to kill Jabba following this . After all , Nivek and the other co - conspirators died in the struggle with the freckers , taking Bib ' s failed plan with them to the grave . Intrigue among the Hutts . Soon , the talents of a young , roguish smuggler named Han Solo caught the eye of Jabba and his great - uncle , Jiliac . Impressed with the boy ' s performance , the pair hired Han to smuggle spice throughout the galaxy , thus profiting from the distribution of the illegal drug . Han quickly proved his mettle , and was given tougher and more exciting assignments such as the infamous Kessel Run . Initially unbeknownst to Han , Jiliac and Jabba were preparing to make their bid for supremacy among the Hutt kajidics by targeting the Besadii clan ' s spice refining operation on Ylesia . Han ' s piloting abilities while flying for the Desilijic clan allowed him to narrowly escape a brutal pirate attack , the blame of which was this laid upon the Besadiis . Aruk the Hutt , clan leader of Besadii , and his offspring , Durga , were outraged at the ensuing claims . A Council was convened on Nal Hutta to discuss the recent events , the resulting verdict finding the Besadii clan innocent of all transgressions . It was then that Jabba and Jiliac decided that Aruk needed to die . Contacting the High Priest Teroenza of Ylesia , Jabba and Jiliac arranged for a Malkite poison to be used to kill Aruk . Although Aruk was successfully slain , Imperial entanglements threatened to ruin life for the Hutts when Moff Sarn Shild announced a campaign against Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa . The savvy Hutt families tried to bribe Shild , but when that failed , Jabba and Jiliac instructed Han Solo to contact the Imperial Admiral leading the attack and subvert him . Solo was successful in buying the Imperial battle plan , and began preparations to defend Nar Shaddaa . As a backup , the Hutts hired Drea Renthal ' s mercenary fleet to protect Nal Hutta . Surprisingly , the smugglers and spacers of Nar Shaddaa , with the aid of Drea Renthal and the Imperial battle plan , defeated the Imperial forces , allowing the Hutts to escape the wrath of the Empire . It wasn ' t long before Aruk ' s son , Durga , suspected Jiliac ' s involvement in his father ' s demise and challenged Jiliac ' s right to rule under Old Law . In the impending duel , Durga slew Jiliac . Whereas most beings would have felt grief or anger , Jabba only saw an opportunity to advance . By killing Jiliac ' s helpless orphaned youngling , Jabba successfully established himself as the leader of the Desilijic kajidic . Smuggler scandal . A Rybet named Moruth Doole was Jabba ' s main source of spice . Doole ' s knack for picking competent smugglers made transport much easier . Having encountered Han Solo and Chewbacca many times on their spice runs , Doole had no objections about turning in the smuggler to the authorities , if it paid the right amount . The ensuing Imperial patrol came crashing down on one of Jabba ' s spice runs that Solo was hauling . Unknown to many , Doole was the reason for Solo ' s loss of Jabba ' s paid - in - advance spice cargo . Originally , Jabba held Han solely accountable ; however , Jabba eventually found out that Doole was spice skimming , and , suspecting Doole ' s betrayal , posted a contract on him . Doole staged a prison revolt on Kessel in order to draw attention away from himself . Although the warden worked for Jabba , more than half the guards of the prison were secretly being paid by Doole , making the ploy that much easier . However , Doole was captured , and was soon brought before the Hutt . In an act of mercy , he begged to be left alive : Doole traded one of his eyes for his life . The price of the lost cargo was once more attributed to Solo . Seven years after Jabba ' s demise , Moruth Doole would meet his end at the fangs of a hungry energy spider . Underworld overlord . By the dawn of the Rebellion , Jabba had become the most powerful crime lord in the Outer Rim , perhaps even the galaxy . This was largely due to his near monopoly of the glitterstim spice business . By this time , the Desilijic kajidic had become the largest and most powerful among all the Hutt dynasties , trumping even their sworn enemies , the Besadii Hutts ; Jabba using every opportunity to destroy the rival clan ' s conglomerate . Even at the height of his reign , the crime lord dealt with recurring problems : chronic illness caused him constant discomfort , and even his closest lieutenants had begun plotting his demise . The Hutt put his trust in no one other than his Nimbanel accountant Mosep Binneed and Ephant Mon , whom he made Chief of Security of his palace . It was at this time that the Hutt suffered a major financial loss when Han Solo , his best smuggler , dropped an entire cargo of valuable glitterstim while on a dangerous mission near Kessel . The spice was dropped because Han was boarded by an Imperial customs team . Jabba demanded that Han pay him the value of the cargo , but when the smuggler failed to reimburse his long - time employer , the Hutt put a bounty on Han ' s head . Greedo attempted to collect the bounty , but was killed by Han . Following the death of Greedo , Jabba confronted Han in the " Millennium Falcon " hangar bay , where he agreed to let Han go in exchange for a premium of fifteen percent . He left Han with a warning that if he delayed payment again , he would put a price on his head so high that Han would not " be able to go near a civilized system . " Han then sarcastically acknowledged Jabba as being a " wonderful human being . " After the Battle of Yavin , it was speculated that Jabba was the underworld kingpin who funded the Imperial Dark trooper project and provided the Empire with smuggling ships . His thugs hunted Kyle Katarn , since General Rom Mohc put a bounty on his head . Katarn , along with Jan Ors , however , managed to complete their mission on Nar Shaddaa by vanquishing all the thugs that hunted him . However , Jabba ' s ship captured the " Moldy Crow " , Katarn ' s ship , as they left the moon . Katarn and Jan Ors were imprisoned in the " Star Jewel " and were to be fed to kell dragon s , but Katarn was able to escape Jabba ' s clutches . This setback , however , was not a major concern for the criminal overlord . Days after the Battle of Yavin , Solo paid Jabba 500 , 000 credits worth in ancient Sith treasure , through Sprool the Trader . Jabba accepted the gift , but kept the bounty on Han , for it was too little , too late . However , Jabba soon forgave Solo ' s debt after the smuggler saved his accountant Mosep Binneed ( under the alias Jabba the " Hut " ) from the stone - mites on planet Orleon . After that Han even made another Kessel Run for Jabba . But this quiet period for Solo was short - lived , because when Mosep found Crimson Jack ' s wrecked ship — which Jabba helped to refit and recondition — and learned about Han ' s part in destroying it , the bounty was once again placed on his head . Jabba and the Zann Consortium . Some time before the Battle of Yavin , Jabba entered into a partnership with the weapons dealer Tyber Zann . However , neither partner apparently planned on this alliance being permanent . When Tyber learned that Jabba had purchased an artifact that had cost him half his great wealth the young smuggler struck . Tyber took several squads of mercenaries to Felucia , where Jabba met the Imperials to whom he was selling the artifact . Tyber managed to steal the artifact , but was captured . Transmitting to Zann on Kessel , he told him that he ' d be dead , because he had sent an assassin to kill him . However , Tyber ' s associate , Urai Fen , managed to free him , and Tyber would go on to form the Zann Consortium , and decided to get his revenge on Jabba . He would go on to steal the Holocron . One battle of note between Jabba and the Consortium was the Battle of Hypori . Using a listening post on Saleucami Jabba had pinpointed the Constortium ' s bases and sent saboteurs to hit them . Although he was initially successful , Tyber rebounded and tracked down Jabba ' s droid factory on Hypori , to which he sent an attack force . Jabba suffered a rare defeat when Bossk switched sides for triple pay and Tyber and Urai were able to slice the Droideka Mark II ' s programming . With his newfound power Tyber killed Jabba ' s men and forced the Hutt to agree to a ceasefire that gave Tyber control of Saleucami and Hypori and the bounty on his head called off . Chaos on Tatooine ( 3 ABY – 4 ABY ) . Black Sun . At the time of Jabba ' s campaign against the Jedi Order during the Purge , Jabba and Xizor built powerful criminal empires parallel to and in symbiosis with Palpatine ' s New Order . In the wake of the Clone Wars , c . 15 BBY , the galaxy ' s seats of power were still realigning . The Fromm family had begun to invest heavily in a covert project to build a powerful weapons satellite , dubbed " Trigon One " . Using its orbital laser , Fromm made ambitious power grabs in his home system of Annoo . However , when both the " Trigon " and his palace were destroyed , Fromm ' s plans were foiled . Soon after , Jabba made a political move that established him as the galaxy ' s leading gangster . The quick - witted Hutt struck while the iron was hot and placed a bounty on the heads of the entire Fromm organization , aiming to crush them while they were still reeling from their losses . Because of a series of run - ins with Boba Fett , the elderly Annoo - dat gangster was captured and executed along with his son and chief officer of security . Solo , paid in full . After the Battle of Hoth , Anakin Skywalker , now the Sith Lord Darth Vader , sent an agent named Jix to spy on Jabba , and to keep an eye out for his son Luke , making sure nothing happened to the boy . While on Tatooine , he ran into Big Gizz and his swoop gang . They brought him before Jabba , since he was " looking for a job " . When Jabba received word that Luke was more valuable dead than alive , Jix was confused ; he thought Vader wanted the boy alive . With that in mind , when the gang ambushed Luke , Jix stopped Gizz from fatally shooting the young Jedi by knocking the swooper out cold with a rock . Luke took out the rest of the gang , while Spiker , another swooper , rode off with Jix . Jabba was furious and yet curious about the situation at the same time . He believed that it had been a great amount of luck for one man . Jabba then explained that a change of plans has happened : Lord Vader wanted his son dead , though unbeknownst to the Hutt , it was really Xizor who was after Luke . He had his suspicions about Jix , since he knew the other bikers were too stupid to betray him . In the meantime , Boba Fett was trying to get the bounty for Solo by bringing the smuggler to the Hutt . When one of Jabba ' s aides found Jix messing with the security codes for a transmission , Jix killed the aide and took the key to the security code and transmitted to Vader . Right before Fett arrived , Jabba wondered why one of his aides was murdered . Right after he accused Jix , Fett arrived . He offered five thousand credits to anybody who could bring him Solo ( so that he would not have to pay Fett the outrageous price ) . However , Fett did manage to come through and collect the bounty that Jabba was so hesitant to pay . Bossk and Fett would continue to stay in Jabba ' s court for the remainder of the time Solo was his captive . Zuckuss left , since he had business elsewhere , while the others stuck around at Jabba ' s palace . At the same time , the Hutt grew increasingly hedonistic , spending millions on a vehicular demolition event with few survivors and even fewer rules after he received the frozen Solo . However , Jabba ' s victory was soon disrupted by two droids and a message . The infiltration . The Hutt was greatly pleased with Han ' s delivery , turning the carbon - frozen captive into his " favorite decoration , " having him hung on a wall in his audience chamber . However , the Rebel Alliance wanted Han back , and to do so , they concocted an elaborate plan . First , Luke Skywalker sent R2 - D2 and C - 3PO to Jabba with a message , and as a gift . Escorted past Jabba ' s Gamorrean guards , the droids delivered Luke ' s message , asking to bargain for Solo . Jabba , bemused , rejected the offer and put his new droids to work . Afterward , the Hutt listened to the Max Rebo Band sing " Jedi Rocks , " as Oola , his Twi ' lek slave girl , danced for him . Demanding a repeat , Jabba tried to bring Oola to him , but she resisted and Jabba pressed his trapdoor button and let his rancor eat her . Directly after the death of Oola , Princess Leia Organa , disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh , brought Chewbacca as her " prisoner " . Jabba and the ersatz Boushh bargained over the price on the Wookiee ' s head , eventually agreeing on 35 , 000 credits after the bounty hunter pulled a thermal detonator out and threatened to activate it . Chewbacca was imprisoned in Jabba ' s dungeons , while Boushh remained in the Palace , waiting for evening . Later that night , Leia thawed Han Solo out of the block of carbonite he was in . However , Jabba caught her and Han . Han tried to bargain with the gangster , saying that he was sidetracked , but Jabba said it was too late . Coincidentally , Han was put in the same cell as Chewbacca while Leia was taken as Jabba ' s new slave . After a few days , Luke Skywalker finally arrived at Jabba ' s Palace . Luke demanded the return of Solo and the Wookiee , warning that Jabba would be destroyed if he didn ' t comply . After Luke Force pulled a gun from a neighboring guard named Nizuc Bek , Jabba caused the young Jedi and a nearby Gamorrean named Jubnuk to drop down a trap door , into the lair of Jabba ' s rancor . The rancor ate Jubnuk first as Jabba laughed in amusement , then went for Luke . After bashing its claw with a rock and ramming a bone into its mouth , Luke ran between the monster ' s legs to the other side of the monster ' s lair . There , he managed to kill the ferocious beast by destroying the control panel for the door thus dropping a gate on the monster ; the sharp points at the bottom of the door piercing the beast ' s skull and killed it . Mara Jade was present at Jabba ' s Palace on Palpatine ' s orders , disguised as the dancing girl Arica , planning to kill Luke , whom she would later marry and become a member of the New Jedi Order . Melina Carniss , a member of Jabba ' s secret security detail , suspected her of being out to assassinate the Hutt and attempted to have her imprisoned , despite failing this she had made it impossible for Mara to complete her mission . Showdown at the Pit of Carkoon . An enraged Jabba , translated through Threepio , stated that Solo , Chewbacca , and Luke were to be taken to the Great Pit of Carkoon , to be fed to the fearsome sarlacc . Only Leia was spared from execution as Jabba found her attractive and had other plans for her . Jabba and his entourage traveled aboard " Khetanna " , his private sail barge , while the prisoners were carried to their doom on a smaller skiff . On the way , Leia attempted to watch the proceedings out of the window , but Jabba would not allow it and boasted that she would soon learn to appreciate him . Later , once they reached the pit , Jabba offered the prisoners a chance to beg for mercy . Luke warned Jabba once more , but the Hutt ignored the offer and ordered them to be thrown in . Just as Luke was to be thrown to the sarlacc , R2 - D2 , who was working on the sail barge at that time , launched Luke ' s lightsaber from a hidden compartment in his dome . Luke immediately launched an attack against the skiff guards , causing a state of panic to break out onboard " Khetanna " . Amid the chaos , Leia shorted the lighting system , distracting Jabba . During the distraction , Leia jumped over Jabba ' s tail , wrapped her chain around the crime lord , and strangled him to death . After being freed from her restraints by R2 - D2 , Leia and Luke met on the top deck of Jabba ' s Sail Barge . Luke had Leia point the deck gun into the bowels of the ship and set it off . Escaping to one of the skiffs , the successful rebels sped away from the exploding sail barge , which had become a funeral pyre for the once - great Jabba the Hutt . Aftermath ( 4 ABY — ) . References . Thuis stuff needs references . Immediately following Jabba ' s demise , fighting broke out between the remnants of his criminal empire . Two small time criminals named Qes Dollis and Kisa Shaki tried to take over the Mos Eisley portion of his smuggling business , sparking a gang war . Meanwhile , a group of four war droids called the Mos Eisley Mourners were activated within a week and attempted to wipe out anyone that they identified as a possible responsible party . The death of Jabba canceled the debts of many individuals , because of which Luke was held with considerable favor for removing that dangerous complication in people ' s lives . In response to his son ' s death , Zorba ( fresh out of galactic prison ) placed a bounty on Leia , which the Desilijic kajidic later extended to Han , Chewbacca , and Luke . The bounty was not formally rescinded until Leia ' s election as Chief of State , since the Hutts did not wish to further antagonize the New Republic . Because of Luke ' s involvement in Jabba ' s death , Ka ' Pa , if not all the Hutts , grew distrustful to the Jedi , which caused negotiations with Mara Jade on behalf of the New Republic to be a bit shaky . Gorga the Hutt , Jabba ' s nephew , went to Jabba ' s palace seeking a part in his uncle ' s will . Gorga was given a small statue of a Hutt ; a statue that held the key to Jabba ' s prized treasure trove . Gorga also desired the funeral urns of Jabba , but he had some competition : Spiker ( who had somehow survived his encounter with Solo and Fett ) and Big Gizz ( who was found to have survived his encounter with Jix and Luke Skywalker ) . Upon learning of their boss ' s death , the happily reunited swooper duo sought out the deceased Hutt ' s legendary treasures , joined by Jabba ' s former servant , Onoh . When the trio discovered the vaults , however , they activated a security system that nearly killed them . It was a recording made by Jabba , who knew that Gizz was still alive and had predicted that he would try to steal his riches . In its self - destruction , the booby - trapped tape almost killed the bikers . Later , to Gorga ' s horror , Gizz and Spiker dropped Jabba ' s urns on Gorga and his henchmen . The urns , of course , were destroyed in the process . Many years after Jabba ' s death , many Hutts wished that he still lived , for if he had , the Hutts believed that they would have avoided the disastrous Darksaber project and their treacherous deal with the Yuuzhan Vong . However , Jabba ' s organization did unwittingly help the Darksaber project ; by scouring the Hutt ' s palace on Tatooine , Durga ' s Besadii agents procured the access codes to the ex - Imperial databases on Coruscant , where they found the Death Star plans needed to assemble their own superweapon . Personality and traits . Jabba , a typical Hutt , was greedy , malicious , pragmatic , and adept at bending others to his will . He was also prideful , and he collected things like trophies and trinkets as reminders of his power . He also enjoyed cruelty , in the form of torture , executions , and subjugation ( as with the case of his palace ) . He did this for enjoyment , as well as for practical purposes of logistics and need . He kept the oddity Salacious B . Crumb simply because he was as humorous to him as he was annoying to others . He also had a lust for female humanoids , often enslaving them for his pleasure , such as Oola and Leia . His humanoid female fetish was also implied by close Hutt associates of Jabba to not be a typical Hutt trait . However , this trait turned out to be his downfall when Leia killed him . Despite his cruel , greedy and sadistic nature , Jabba had shown a softer side as evident when he was overjoyed at the return of his Huttlet , Rotta . He was also furious and a little shocked at his uncle Ziro ' s hand in his son ' s kidnapping . These two attributes point to the possibility that Jabba cared about and respected family , to a certain extent . Likewise , he also seemed to contain some empathy to other people ' s love of their offspring , as evidenced by his ultimately allowing Notluwiski Papanoida , who arrived to search for his daughters , to present evidence and arrest the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo after Papanoida reminded him of his love for his own son . He also expressed regret when Ephant Mon implied that he thought his relationship with Jabba was based on a debt , not on friendship . Jabba considered Han Solo his best smuggler , and had a measure of fondness for him , though he was frustrated that Han had once " dropped his cargo at the first sign of an Imperial starship " and placed a bounty on his head when Han was unable to pay Jabba the money he owed him . Jabba eventually grew tired of Han and , no longer concerned about Han ' s debt to him , kept his frozen state ( brought to him by Boba Fett ) as a wall decoration . When Han was freed from cryogenic freezing by Leia , Jabba had Han taken prisoner and later attempted to feed him , along with Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca , to the sarlacc . Jabba ' s right arm bore a tattoo of his kajidic clan , the Desilijic . While fighting Beldorion the Splendid on Nam Chorios , Leia Organa Solo remembered from her time in Jabba ' s palace that Jabba ' s fat hid a great deal more muscle than anyone suspected , and for all his apparent sluggishness , he could move deceptively fast across a room , particularly when his temper was roused . Behind the scenes . Origins . Jabba Desilijic Tiure was created by George Lucas , the creator of " Star Wars " , but was known only as Jabba the Hutt until his identification as a member of the Desilijic Kajidic in later Expanded Universe works . Jabba the Hutt appears in Lucas ' s second draft of " " , 1975 ' s " " , as the larger and mangier slavering hulk of two gruff and grisly pirates . The pirates , along with Han Solo and Chewbacca , work for the pirate Captain Oxus aboard a TDF104 starship . Lucas ' s third draft , entitled " " , introduced Jabba as the leader of a band of pirates who had paid for Han Solo ' s ship . Still a gross and slavering hulk , Jabba approaches Solo in Mos Eisley and demands use of the ship , but is thwarted when the Corellian blasts away from Utapau with Luke , Kenobi , and the droids . A tweaked version of this latter scene went on to appear in the final script , and was filmed during production of the first " Star Wars " film . However , time and money constraints prevented Lucas from including it in the film ' s final cut . The final script of " Star Wars " changed the spelling of his name to " Jabba the Hut " and described him as a " fat , slug - like creature with eyes on extended feelers and a huge ugly mouth . " Lucas intended for him to be a furry , Chewbacca - esque character , and had actor Declan Mulholland play the role wearing a shaggy coat . Mulholland would have been replaced with a stop - motion creature during post - production had the scene not ended up on the cutting room floor . The scene did appear in the film ' s and comic , however , both using the " Hut " spelling of the screenplay . The film ' s 1981 radio drama replaced Jabba with his henchman Heater . The novelization describes Jabba as a " great mobile tub of muscle and suet topped by a shaggy scarred skull , " while in the comic issue " " , Jabba appears as a member of a walrus - like species also present in the Mos Eisley Cantina , later identified as a Nimbanel . This depiction of Jabba went on to appear in two additional issues of the Marvel Comics - issued " Star Wars " series . Although no official retcon has addressed this issue , Abel G . Peña , a " Star Wars " author who has fit other continuity problems from the Marvel series into " Star Wars " canon , has suggested that the discrepancy between Jabba ' s Nimbanel appearance and his canonical depiction as a slug - like creature can be explained by retconning " Jabba the Hut " into actually being Mosep Binneed , Jabba the Hutt ' s Nimbanel accountant . Although not present in the final version of " Star Wars " , Jabba is mentioned several times in the film as being owed a large sum of credits by Han Solo . In 1980 ' s , Jabba again does not appear , but Solo ' s continued debt causes him to be frozen in carbonite and taken to the Hutt during the climax of the film . The official Databank entry claimed that the release of " Empire " solidified the spelling of " Hutt , " with a double t , but in fact his name is still spelled with a single t in the " Empire " and . It was not until the publication of material contemporaneous with " Return of the Jedi " in 1983 that the spelling was officially changed to " Hutt . " But nothing specified , as of 1983 , whether " Hutt " was a title , family name , species , or other identifier . Jabba was the only Hutt in canon , and was not necessarily considered typical of his species : the stated that Jabba had once had hair , which he had lost to disease . Several years later , West End Games sourcebooks contradicted this by specifying that all Hutts shared Jabba ' s basic form , including hairlessness . They also established that " Hutt " was the name of Jabba ' s species . A slug is born . Jabba the Hutt appeared and played a large role in Richard Marquand ' s 1983 film . Lucas wanted the character redesigned , and told Industrial Light & Magic visual effects supervisor Phil Tippett to design something alien , grotesque , and like the actor . Tippett settled on the idea of Jabba being a large , sluglike pulsating mass of flesh , although the film ' s costume designer , Nilo Rodis - Jamero , had conceived of him being a refined character similar to an older . One of Tippett ' s concept models of the character saw Jabba wear a in the style of Greenstreet . After constructing several models , Tippett turned work over to makeup supervisor Stuart Freeborn , whose team built a one - ton puppet over the course of three months costing half a million dollars . During filming , the puppet was operated by a team of puppeteers . One puppeteer stood behind Jabba and controlled his head ; each of the Hutt ' s arms were controlled by someone sitting inside of the puppet ; two sat inside the puppet and controlled Jabba ' s tail ; and his eyes were radio - controlled by a final operator . David Barclay was the chief puppeteer and controlled the right arm and mouth , Toby Philpott controlled the left arm and tongue , and Mike Edmonds was inside the tail . Sculptor John Coppinger has credited the team ' s performance as having allowed the other actors on set to react and relate to Jabba , and Philpott has praised the builders of the puppet for allowing the character to come alive . The interior body of the fifteen - foot - long puppet was made of fibreglass floating on springs that angled down from posts set onto an industrial turntable . The puppeteers sat inside of the fibreglass shell , and airbags and latex skin were layered on its outside in order to fabricate the shape of Jabba ' s stomach . Philpott has described the interior as smelling like a fine collection of fumes of lubricants , paints , and glues . For several weeks , he and Barclay would spend most of a day inside the puppet , where they had access to a single headset and a monitor showing them a view of the puppet ' s exterior . On their request , Director Richard Marquand would speak and issue instructions directly to Jabba as if the Hutt were a real person . The exchanges helped them continuously practice controlling the puppet , and sustained the illusion of Jabba ' s reality for the other actors on set . The Jabba puppet was filmed on three different sets . On the sail barge set , the scene featuring his death originally called for Carrie Fisher , the actress playing Princess Leia , to attack him from the front and kill him . His manner of death was changed to feature Leia attacking him from behind and choking him to death on the advice of George Lucas . Lucas was inspired by a scene depicting an obese character ' s death in the 1972 film " " . The puppet had to be repaired following each take of its death scene . Jabba ' s Huttese dialogue was recorded and spoken by Larry Ward . Sound effects accompanying movement of the puppet ' s limbs and mouth were created by a hand running through a bowl of cheese casserole and a muddy towel scraping along the inside of a garbage can . Jabba ' s Theme , a musical leitmotif played on the , was often played during Jabba ' s screen time in " Return of the Jedi " . From puppet to CGI . In 1997 , Lucas re - released each entry of the " Star Wars " trilogy as a Special Edition to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the original film ' s release . His intent was to restore the deteriorating film negatives of the original movies while improving special effects and adding in scenes that hadn ' t previously been included . One such scene was Jabba ' s appearance in the original " Star Wars " , as Lucas wanted to connect the film to " Return of the Jedi " . Recent improvements in computer - generated imagery techniques allowed for Declan Mulholland to be replaced by a CGI Jabba . Visual effects supervisors working on the Special Edition created a CGI model of Jabba in a five - shot project that took one year to complete , but faced the problem of Han Solo ' s actor Harrison Ford having walked around Mulholland ' s back . On Lucas ' s advice , they edited the scene to make Solo step on Jabba ' s tail . The CGI Jabba was further polished and improved when the film was released on DVD in 2004 . Jabba was given a cameo in the 1999 film . In the movie , he was again a CGI model , and was credited as playing " himself . " His theme music can be heard briefly in the film , as well as in the DVD release of " A New Hope " . In " Star Wars " media . In addition to appearing in three of the primary films of the " Star Wars " saga , Jabba has been featured in a wide variety of Expanded Universe works . The 1996 anthology of short stories " Tales from Jabba ' s Palace " explored the lives and backstories of the patrons of his court , revealing that many of them were plotting to kill him . Dark Horse Comics released several one - shot Jabba comics in 1995 and 1996 , and several reference books have expanded the character ' s backstory . The 1991 novel " Heir to the Empire " established that the smuggler Talon Karrde replaced Jabba at the top of the criminal underworld following the Hutt ' s death , and a series of young - reader novels involved Jabba ' s father Zorba attempting to enact revenge on Princess Leia following the death of his son . Jabba played a large role in the 2008 film . In the movie , following the kidnapping of the Hutt ' s son , Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano embark on a quest to rescue the young Huttlet , hoping to gain the Republic access to hyperspace routes through Hutt Space during the Clone Wars . Jabba was voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson . David Barclay , one of the " Return of the Jedi " puppeteers , voiced the character in the 1994 video game " " , while Ed Asner provided vocal talents in the " Return of the Jedi " radio drama . Clint Bajakian has voiced the Hutt in the video games " " , " " , " " , " " , and " " . Archive footage of Larry Ward ' s performance from " Return of the Jedi " was used in two video games . Impact on popular culture . In the years since the release of " Return of the Jedi " , a wide variety of Jabba - related merchandise has been released , including scores of action figures , busts , and Halloween costumes . The character has been parodied many times , including on the American cartoons and . 1987 " Star Wars " spoof " " features a character named Pizza the Hut , who satirizes both Jabba and the American fast - food restaurant . In literature and popular culture , Jabba ' s name and appearance have been used to represent obesity , corruption , greed , and anarchy . Authors and Laura Kalpakian have referenced the Hutt in their novels , respectively in regards to gluttony and a character ' s weight , while comedian was frequently compared to Jabba by " " columnist Michael Thomas in what author W . C . Goodman called " vitriolic attacks based on her weight . " biographer Mitchell Krugel asserted that manager had a " Jabba the Hutt " image after making negative comments on Jordan ' s multi - million dollar contract . Further comparisons of the Hutt with greed , as well as anarchy , have been made by author . In his book " " , asserted that Jabba ' s way of life is contrary to the pursuit of the . legislator has been caricatured as a grotesquely overweight Jabba the Hutt – like figure by the newspapers " " and " " , the latter calling her " a human Jabba the Hutt who consumes the good while producing the bad . " Finally , critic has accused American public school systems of being run by inefficient bureaucracy covered with Jabba - like layers of organizational fat . Non - canon appearances . In the alternate comic series " " , Han Solo and Chewbacca arrive at Jabba ' s Palace to pay him , but are denied the opportunity by the Hutt and sentenced to die . Pitted against Nexus in a gladiatorial arena , the pair escape with the help of R2 - D2 and unleash a Nexu into Jabba ' s court . In the wake of the beast ' s rampage , Darth Vader arrives and demands to see Jabba ' s captives . The Hutt is forced to tell the Dark Lord that they escaped . " " recreates the events of its original incarnation until Princess Leia , disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh , activates her thermal detonator and destroys the throne room , killing Jabba . Jabba is seen in , where he has the captured group of Jedi younglings along with C - 3PO and R2 - D2 . He orders the two droids to fight to the death for his amusement but after the younglings encourage C - 3PO the group eventually escapes Jabba ' s clutches .