Cornelius Evazan Doctor Cornelius Evazan was a human male from the planet Alsakan who was a promising cosmetic surgeon until he became gripped by madness and began practicing " creative surgery " on his patients , leaving his victims horrifically disfigured . After information concerning his cruel medical experiments came to light , an encounter with a bounty hunter left his face hideously scarred . The Aqualish thug Ponda Baba rescued Evazan from the hunter , following which the two formed an uneasy partnership and began smuggling spice for the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure . Wanted men , Evazan assumed the alias of " Roofoo , " while Baba became known as " Sawkee . " In the Holy City on Jedha , the fugitive cyborgist used his ghastly medical techniques to produce an order of servants known as the Decraniated . Shortly before the Battle of Yavin , Evazan and Baba were patrons in the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine . When a drunk Baba decided to pick a fight with a local farm boy named Luke Skywalker , Evazan quickly escalated the conflict , causing Skywalker ' s guardian , a hermit named Obi - Wan Kenobi , to intervene . The pirate s drew their blaster pistol s on the wizened man — in secret one of the few remaining Jedi Master s — but Kenobi used his lightsaber to slash Evazan across the chest and sever Baba ' s right arm before they could fire . Evazan tried to use his medical training to reattach Baba ' s arm but failed , nearly killing the Aqualish in the process . Biography . Fugitive surgeon . Hailing from Alsakan , a planet located in the galaxy ' s Core Worlds , Doctor Cornelius Evazan was a promising surgeon who operated a cosmetic surgery clinic in Pons Ora , a small settlement located on the remote desert world of Abafar . However , he became corrupted by madness during his training and began practicing " creative surgery " on his patients without the assistance of droid s , rearranging the limb s of hundreds of victims and leaving them horrifically scarred . After becoming notorious for his cruel medical experiments , Evazan ' s own face was hideously disfigured in a bounty hunter ' s attempt to destroy him , though he was saved by Ponda Baba , an Aqualish thug . The two partnered together and became pirate s , beginning to smuggle spice for the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure . Successful at their trade , they became wanted men , and Evazan was sentenced to death in twelve star system s . However , there was no love lost in their relationship , and Baba even contemplated turning in Evazan to collect the bounty on the doctor ' s head before realizing that their ongoing partnership would be more profitable . Still , the two considered each other friends despite their differences . Creating the Decraniated . Adopting the respective aliases of " Roofoo " and " Sawkee , " Evazan and Baba committed a rash of crimes while visiting Milvayne . Tam Posla , an interstellar lawman representing the Milvayne Authority , began investigating the matter when similar reports of kidnapping , forced servitude , and the surgical alteration of victims came from the desert moon of Jedha . Indeed , the pair had taken up residence in Jedha ' s Holy City , where he pieced together Caysin Bog , a high - gravity humanoid blown apart in an insurgency strike . The fugitive surgeon also used his ghastly medical techniques to produce an order of servants known as the Decraniated , of which Bog was the prototype . Evazan transformed wounded or incapacitated victims of the local insurgency with cybernetic technology to make them as subservient as droids , using the procedure to strip them of their identities before selling them into unwilling servitude . Though taken off the case by his superior officer , Posla voyaged well beyond his jurisdiction and , determined to bring the heinous criminals to justice , became a bounty hunter . . While on their way off - world , the spacer s bumped into Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor while walking through a busy street , after which Evazan warned them to watch themselves with Baba by his side . Cantina encounters . Evazan and Baba departed the city prior to its destruction by the Galactic Empire ' s Death Star battlestation and traveled to the planet Tatooine , where they resumed their illegal medical experiments . Due to his dumb and dangerous behavior , no one wanted to sell Evazan anodyne chemical compounds to help him cope with his injuries . As a result , he made a semi - regular arrangement with Muftak ; the doctor would give him a thousand credit s to pay the smuggler Han Solo for his drugs , minus not - inconsiderable shipping and handling charges . Upon delivery of the illicit substance , Evazan would then pay the Talz a completion bonus and hazard stipend . While the arrangment was meant to be discrete , everyone knew about it . Despite this , the Baba and Evazan agreed to back the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo ' s play against Solo . Baba and Evazan were patrons at a cantina in Mos Eisley spaceport shortly before the Battle of Yavin . While there , a Trandoshan bounty hunter known as Bossk entered the establishment to question its bartender , Wuher , about the location of the rogue Imperial astromech droid 261 . Baba approached him from behind with his blaster drawn , but Evazan held him back , allowing Bossk to depart without incident . Later , the doctor was talking to Kabe , a Chadra - Fan female who frequented the cantina , when a drunk Baba , bored and looking for excitement , decided to pick a fight with Luke Skywalker , a young farm boy who had taken a seat to the right of them at the bar . Assuming Skywalker would be an easy target , Evazan quickly escalated the argument despite the boy ' s youthful apprehension . This caught the attention of nearby Obi - Wan Kenobi , Skywalker ' s guardian , who offered to buy the pair drinks to ease tensions . However , paying little heed to the old man , Evazan angrily hurled the young farmboy into a nearby table , and , ignoring Wuher ' s protest , the pirates drew their blaster pistol s . Given no other choice , the elderly Kenobi — in secret one of the few remaining Jedi Master s — ignited his lightsaber and cut a deep slash in Evazan ' s chest , causing the doctor to fall back against the bar screaming in pain . Kenobi then used his lightsaber to sever Baba ' s right arm , effectively disarming the pair before they could fire their weapons , Evazan supporting the injured Aqualish on the cantina floor . Following the attack , those present in the cantina briefly turned to see what had transpired before returning to their business , while a squad of Mos Eisley ' s Imperial sandtrooper s momentarily investigated the violence . The pair lurched outside of the establishment , Baba ' s severed arm held in Evazan ' s hands . He later tried to reattach Baba ' s arm using his medical training but ended up nearly killing his Aqualish partner in the process when the procedure failed . Skywalker later recalled his encounter with the pair while training with his own lightsaber in the Temple of Eedit on Devaron . Personality and traits . Prior to being gripped by madness , Doctor Cornelius Evazan was a promising surgeon , though he later gained notoriety for the cruelty he inflicted upon his patients , while his reputation as a smuggler and murderer also made him many enemies across the galaxy . He and Ponda Baba enjoyed brawling and gunning down defenseless beings , and Evazan was quick to antagonize those who crossed him , as demonstrated by his brushes with Cassian Andor on Jedha and Luke Skywalker in Mos Eisley . Evazan was boastful of his infamy , openly informing Skywalker in the Mos Eisley Cantina that he had the death sentence on twelve systems . After Baba began to bully Skywalker , Evazan was quick to escalate the argument , even going so far as to threaten Skywalker before Obi - Wan Kenobi interceded . Ignoring the old man ' s attempt to smooth the rising tension , the doctor resorted to violence , shoving the farmboy aside and drawing his blaster pistol , which ended poorly for both Evazan and Baba . A human male , Evazan had light skin and stood at a height of 1 . 77 meter s . His eye s were colored hazel , though his right eye was blind and the flesh around it severely scarred , while his nose looked as if it had barely survived an unfortunate encounter with a meat shredder . Due to his wounds , Evazan lived in a constant state of pain and anger and relied on a constant , alternating barrage of narcotics and physical violence to mitigate his perpetual agony . His hair was colored brown with patches of gray , though he showed signs of balding , and stubble covered the lower half of his face . Evazan had foul - smelling breath . Equipment . Evazan wore a long - sleeved khaki shirt underneath a brown vest , a pair of dark - brown pants , and a pair of black boot s . His black belt had a golden buckle and a holster for his SE - 14C blaster pistol When operating , Evazan wore scrubs and used a variety of medical instruments . Behind the scenes . Conception and portrayal . Cornelius Evazan first appeared in the 1977 film , in which he was played by Alfie Curtis . The original 1976 of " Star Wars " , ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster , described the character as a " short , grubby - looking human " with a surprisingly deep voice . This story ' s version of events , which closely matches the film ' s revised fourth draft , describes Obi - Wan Kenobi as cutting off Evazan ' s arm , rather than Ponda Baba ' s , with Evazan retreating into the crowd without a word following the fight . The Evazan character dates back as early as " " from May 1974 . " Star Wars " creature effects make - up artist Nick Maley was displeased with Evazan ' s distinctive facial prosthetic . He felt that the prosthetic ' s texture did not work well with that of Curtis ' face . Evazan also appears alongside Baba in the 2016 " Anthology Series " film " " , a direct prequel to the events of " A New Hope " . In " Rogue One " , the character was portrayed by Michael Smiley , who is credited as " Dr . Evazan . " " Rogue One " writer Gary Whitta disagreed with Evazan and Baba ' s inclusion in the film , opining that he " thought having Evazan and Walrus Man was a little too much . You have to reign in that instinct to go back and put things in just because you loved them when you were a kid . " Character development . The character ' s name originates in " Star Wars " Legends storytelling , as he was first referred to as " Roofoo " in Brian Daley ' s 1981 " Star Wars " radio dramatization . The name " Evazan " originated in " " , a 1989 " " supplement written by Michael Stern and Grant S . Boucher . " , " a short story written by Kenneth C . Flint for the 1995 anthology book " Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina " , created the name " Cornelius " as an alias of Evazan ' s , while " The Official Star Wars Fact File " 51 from 2002 was the first source to establish the character ' s full name as Cornelius Evazan . The original StarWars . com Databank later established " Roofoo " as another of Evazan ' s aliases . In the new " Star Wars " canon , Cornelius Evazan ' s name was used in the mobile card game " " , which initially launched on September 4 , 2013 . Although the launch of " Force Collection " predates the " Star Wars " canon reset of April 25 , 2014 , Lucasfilm Story Group member Leland Chee confirmed that the game was kept updated to fit with canon . In addition , " " , written by Pablo Hidalgo and published in 2016 , established " Roofoo " as an alias . Inconsistencies . Both the Cornelius Evazan and Ponda Baba StarWars . com Databank entries claim that Evazan died following his confrontation with Obi - Wan Kenobi , but the 2016 " " , written by Pablo Hidalgo , states that Evazan survived the encounter . The short story " The Secrets of Long Snoot , " included in the 2017 anthology " From a Certain Point of View " , also presented Evazan as surviving his encounter with Kenobi . " Updated and Expaned " also states that Evazan is 1 . 77 meters tall , while the character ' s Databank entry provides a height of 1 . 7 meters . This article presents the information from " Star Wars Character Encyclopedia : Updated and Expanded " and " The Secrets of Long Snoot " as more recent sources . Several sources , including the Mos Eisley Cantina and Tatooine StarWars . com Databank entries and the junior novel " " , mistakenly identify Evazan as an alien .