Groznik Groznik was a Wookiee who played key roles in Rogue Squadron operations on Cilpar and Mrlsst . Enslaved by the Galactic Empire prior to the Battle of Endor , he swore a life debt to Throm Loro after the freedom fighter liberated him and saved his life . The two developed a very close bond , and Groznik traveled with him to Cilpar in an attempt to free the world from Imperial rule . When Loro died at the Battle of the Cliffs , Groznik became distraught , but transferred his life debt to Throm ' s wife , Elscol , and continued his work with the Cilpari Resistance . With the help of Commander Wedge Antilles and his fellow Rogue pilots , Elscol Loro and Groznik led the resistance movement to success against Moff Boren Tascl in 4 ABY . After Loro joined Rogue Squadron , Groznik accompanied her to Mrlsst to negotiate for Rebel Alliance control of the Phantom Project , a supposed cloaking device for starships . On that planet , Groznik and Loro encountered what appeared to be the Force ghost of Throm Loro , which was in fact a Mrlssi Laser Phantom controlled by weapon designer Rorax Falken . Falken used the phantom Loro to take control of Groznik and pit him against Rogue Squadron . When stormtroopers killed Falken and the phantom Loro disappeared , the pain of once again losing his master pushed Groznik to ferociously attack the Imperials , allowing the Rogues to escape . Groznik sacrificed himself when he prevented Imperial officer Loka Hask from escaping Falken ' s Lab before it was destroyed by the gravitic polarization beam , a superweapon designed by Falken . Both Hask and Groznik were killed in the weapon ' s destruction . Biography . Early life and life debt to Throm Loro . Groznik , whose name meant " furious jester " in Shyriiwook , was born on Kashyyyk , where he spent much of his early life swinging through the trees of the planet ' s lush forests and playing stick and ball games with his fellow Wookiees . Like many others of his species , however , he was captured and enslaved shortly after the rise of the Galactic Empire . His Imperial captors forced Groznik to load and unload heavy machinery and artillery onto supply shuttles at a military base on the moon of Endor , where he was kept in chains and under the constant watchful eye of armed stormtroopers . Some time prior to the Battle of Endor , the base was attacked and liberated by a group of freedom fighters who , though affiliated with the Rebel Alliance , received little Alliance assistance . Groznik seized upon the opportunity to punish his captors and started attacking wildly , smashing Imperials to death with his fists , shackles , and whatever machinery he could get his hands on . He was nearly shot from behind by a stormtrooper and Imperial officer , but one of the fighters , Throm Loro , gunned them down at the last minute and saved the Wookiee ' s life . Groznik was immediately grateful to his savior , embracing Loro in a powerful hug and pledging a life debt to him . The two became fast friends and , due to the Wookiee ' s fierce loyalty , were inseparable . When Loro returned to his homeworld Cilpar with plans to liberate it from Imperial rule under Moff Boren Tascl and Governor Norquest , Groznik went with him and helped orchestrate his resistance efforts . Groznik helped Loro form the Cilpari Resistance , and Loro trusted his Wookiee companion with sensitive information others were not privy to , including the identity of Winter , the Rebel agent who helped Loro coordinate his resistance forces . Thanks in part to Groznik ' s help , the Cilpari Resistance proved disruptive to the planet ' s Imperial forces . Tascl , who possessed superior firepower , responded with powerful and overwhelming military strikes . The death of Throm Loro . The resistance suffered a major defeat in 4 ABY at the Battle of the Cliffs , a skirmish in the planet ' s mountainous region . The battle began as a fight against stormtroopers , but the Imperials were soon reinforced by two " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttles , and the Cilpari Resistance had no ships or artillery with which to resist them . As Groznik and Loro fought side by side , Loro was shot in the back and killed by one of the shuttles . Furious , Groznik hurled a boulder at the craft as it passed , ripping the left wing apart and destroying the ship that had killed his master . The action turned the tide of the battle and allowed much of the resistance to escape , but Groznik wasn ' t even left with enough time for the traditional Wookiee period of mourning . Even destroying those who killed Loro provided him with no sense of closure , and Groznik was left suffering feelings of guilt and remorse , which would haunt him the rest of his life . Long before his death , Loro told Groznik about his wife , Elscol Loro , and although the Wookiee had never met her , her connection to his old master was enough that the life debt transferred to Elscol . From that point on , he refused to ever leave her side and , as she continued to lead her late husband ' s resistance movement , Groznik fought alongside her . The Wookiee also assisted the movement in other ways , such as helping transport and maintain heavy weaponry and escorting vehicles through the planet ' s forests by swinging from tree to tree and using his sense of smell to detect traps . Despite his strong sense of devotion to Elscol Loro , Groznik never felt as close to her as he had been to Throm , nor did he ever trust her completely like he did his deceased friend . Groznik never revealed to her secrets Loro shared with him , including the identity or whereabouts of Winter . Elscol respected Groznik ' s wishes and made no efforts to persuade Groznik to provide any privileged information . Groznik and Loro nevertheless cared deeply for each other and particularly bonded through their mutual sense of loss and despair over Throm . The two would occasionally seclude themselves from others to mourn together , weeping as they looked at holograms of Throm and shared memories of him . During these sessions , Groznik became particularly protective of Loro and agitated whenever anyone tried to disturb them . The liberation of Cilpar . About one month after the Battle of Endor , Rebel Commander Wedge Antilles and members of his elite Rogue Squadron came to Cilpar on what began as a routine mission to escort a food convoy bound for Mrlsst , another planet in the Colonies Region . Groznik crept up on the Rogues , allowing Elscol Loro to disarm and capture them . Eventually , Antilles convinced Loro , Groznik , and the other resistance fighters that they were on the same side and agreed to help them eliminate the Imperial presence on Cilpar . Groznik quickly demonstrated his strength and usefulness to the Rogues when he helped defend them from an ambush by stormtroopers and an AT - ST piloted by Boren Tascl himself . Antilles agreed to allow Groznik to coordinate the defense for the makeshift Rogue Squadron base west of Kiidan , the Cilpar capital city . Groznik kept the base safe with the help of Dllr Nep , the Sullustan Rogue pilot who used his strong sense of hearing in conjunction with Groznik ' s strong sense of smell . During their long nights protecting the base together , Groznik and Nep became friends . Weeks later , after Tascl ' s forces captured Winter and veteran Rogue pilot Wes Janson , Antilles planned an assault against the Moff ' s palace at Kiidan . During the battle , Loro discovered that Vance Rego , a long - time member of the Cilpari Resistance , was a double - agent who had betrayed the resistance and Rebel forces to Tascl . Believing Groznik to have been killed by TIE Fighter attacks , Rego attempted to kill Loro by hurling her from a moving speeder truck . Groznik , however , evaded the TIE attacks and leaped onto the speeding vehicle . He attacked Rego and hurled the traitor away , then swung Loro to safety on a nearby vine . Presuming Rego to be dead , Loro and Groznik joined the assault on the Imperial palace , where the Wookiee personally found and attacked Tascl . Bent on avenging Throm Loro ' s death , Groznik was about to snap the Moff ' s neck when he was stopped by Elscol , who insisted Tascl should stand trial . Rogue Squadron and Mrlsst . Following the success of the Cilpari Resistance movement , Elscol Loro accepted an invitation by Antilles to join Rogue Squadron . Satisfied that Throm ' s legacy had been fulfilled through the liberation of the planet , Groznik insisted upon following Elscol and the Rogues to Mrlsst about one month later . The squadron was dispatched to the planet to negotiate with the Mrlssi for control of the Phantom Project , an apparent cloaking device for space vehicles that required very little energy to operate . Whenever Loro participated in Rogue missions , Groznik was tasked mainly with guarding Wes Janson , who broke his leg on Mrlsst and was confined to a power chair . Other than this task , Groznik had no official capacity with Rogue Squadron and instead continued to watch over Loro ; Janson affectionately complained that when Groznik watched him , the Wookiee spent more time worrying about Loro than guarding him . During a visit with Janson at the Mrlssi Central Academic Hospital , Imperial stormtroopers attempted to arrest Groznik , along with Rogue Squadron pilots Loro , Janson , Dllr Nep , Tycho Celchu , Plourr Ilo , and Derek Klivian — and local allies Mirax Terrik and Koyi Komad — under false charges that Celchu stole the Phantom Project datacards . Groznik was instrumental in helping the group escape , tossing stormtroopers through transparisteel windows and charging through dozens of enemies in order to create an escape path . Komad led the group into hiding in the planet ' s underground controlled by the humanoid alien Nasta . Phantom Throm Loro and Groznik ' s death . Loro and Groznik stayed behind while the other Rogues pursued a lead they believed could lead to recovering the stolen datacards . Shortly after the Rogues left , the duo were confronted by what appeared to be the Force ghost of Throm Loro . Groznik was entranced and delighted at the thought that his old master had returned , and in his happiness , he failed to question whether the apparition might be a fake , even though Throm Loro had never been a Jedi . When Throm ordered Groznik to knock Elscol out , he did so without question or hesitation . In fact , the Throm Loro image was a Mrlssi Laser Phantom , a sophisticated hologram developed by Professor Rorax Falken . Falken , a renowned physicist , had developed the plans for the fake Phantom Project as a way to swindle credits from the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance . At the phantom Throm ' s orders , Groznik flew a ship to Falken ' s Lab , which had been built into one of the many asteroids in a field orbiting Mrlsst . Although Falken held Nep and Terrik hostage and spoke frankly about his deceptions in front of Groznik , the Wookiee was so desperate to continue believing Throm was alive that he blindly served both Falken and the phantom . When Loka Hask and his Imperial stormtroopers raided the lab in search of the datacards , Groznik fought them alongside the Throm image . The Wookiee reveled in the chance to fight alongside and once again protect his master . His happy delusions were short - lived , however , ending when Falken was gunned down , causing all his Mrlssi Laser Phantoms to disappear . Groznik watched in horror as Throm Loro disappeared before his eyes , and the feelings that he once again failed to save the life of his master caused Groznik to lose control of himself . The Wookiee attacked the stormtroopers with his hands , taking on dozens at a time and beating them to death as his Rogue friends escaped the lab in Mirax Terrik ' s " Pulsar Skate " . Only after all the stormtroopers were dead did Groznik himself collapse , falling on a pile of dead Imperial soldiers . Hask , falsely believing the Wookiee to be dead , explored the lab and discovered the gravitic polarization beam , a molecular weapon that disrupted matter on an atomic level . The weapon , developed in secret by Falken , was capable of destroying an entire planet . However , Antilles and the other Rogue activated the superweapon via remote in order to destroy the lab and the weapon itself , to prevent it from falling into Imperial hands . Hask attempted to flee to his shuttle , where he planned to jump into hyperspace , but the revived Groznik grabbed his ankle and successfully blocked his escape . The gravitic polarization beam fired and created a hyperspace wormhole , destroying Groznik , Hask , his Interdictor Star Destroyer " Dominator " and Falken ' s Lab along with it . Legacy . Groznik ' s death weighed heavily on Elscol Loro , who was still in mourning for the recent loss of her husband . The Mrlssti considered Groznik a hero of the Rebellion and erected a memorial statue of the Wookiee on the Mrlsst Trade and Science Academy campus . Although never attaining the fame or status of the Wookiee Chewbacca , Groznik became well known for his association with the famed Rogue Squadron and his actions at Mrlsst . This was demonstrated by Han Solo ; as he mourned the death of Chewbacca , more than two decades after Groznik ' s death , Solo recalled to himself the stories of Groznik and his devotion to Throm and Elscol Loro . Personality and traits . Groznik had light - brown fur with a dark - brown streak stretching down the center of his face , from the top of his head to his chin . He often wore green , gray , or brown shoulder straps with pouches and utility pockets . Although he frequently carried and was proficient with a blaster rifle , Groznik preferred hand - to - hand combat due to his enormous strength . He often proved himself capable of extraordinary feats in battle , including instances in which he destroyed a TIE Fighter by smashing it with part of a tree , and a " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttle by throwing a boulder at it . Due to his Kashyyyk upbringing , Groznik was able to swing and leap from trees and other large distances at great ease , even with enough speed to keep up with landspeeders , and felt far less comfortable when confined to the small area of slower - moving vehicles . Groznik was a proficient pilot and mechanic , and he could move stealthily in outdoor settings . He also possessed a strong sense of smell that made him an excellent scout and guard . Groznik had a fiery temper due in part to the tragedies that so defined his early life . His kidnapping , captivity , and cruel treatment at the hands of Imperials made Groznik prone to snapping when pushed too hard . In particular , the death of Throm Loro had a profound negative effect on Groznik from which he never fully recovered , instilling in him a sadness that would never fade and making him become closed off and distant from most other beings , even occasionally Elscol Loro . Like many Wookiees , Groznik had a strong sense of loyalty and took the concept of the life debt very seriously . His loyalty to Throm was unmatched , and he never stopped blaming himself for his master ' s death . His sense of loss was so strong that he easily allowed himself to believe Rorax Falken ' s Mrlssi Laser Phantom vision of Throm Loro was the resurrected spirit of his master , even in the face of strong evidence to the contrary . Behind the scenes . Groznik was created by Mike Baron and appears in " " and " " , the first two story - arcs of the " " comic series . He was drawn by Allen Nunis , Andy Mushynsky , and David Nestelle in " The Rebel Opposition " and Edvin Biukovic , Gary Erskine , John Nadeau , and Jordi Ensign in " The Phantom Affair " . The renderings of Groznik vary slightly between the two comics ; in " The Rebel Opposition " , Groznik is a lighter shade of brown , lacks the dark brown streak down his face , and has thicker and longer hair than in " The Phantom Affair " . In a posting to the alt . fan . wedge newsgroup , Michael A . Stackpole stated he did not create Groznik during the course of writing the plot of " The Rebel Opposition " . Instead , Mike Baron — the scripter of " The Rebel Opposition " — created the character on his own initiative . Stackpole took exception to what he viewed as " a retread of the Han Solo / Chewie story " and said he " hated it the second [ he ] saw it . " When Stackpole plotted out " The Phantom Affair " , he included the death of Groznik in the story outline . Although Stackpole feared that Lucasfilm would prevent scripter Darko Macan from killing the Wookiee , they nevertheless allowed it . In the , Elscol Loro that Throm had freed Groznik from captivity during a raid on " an Imp base on Endor " . The description of Groznik ' s backstory in " " also indicated that Endor was the location of the Imperial supply base where he had been enslaved . However , these references to Endor were omitted from the collected versions of these issues in " " .