How Mace Windu Almost Killed Ochi of Bestoon During The Clone Wars
It seems the party was almost over for Ochi of Bestoon during the Clone Wars. Star Wars: Shadow of the Sith, a new canon novel released on June 28, told a story roughly sixteen years after Return of the Jedi and centered on Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian. In the novel, we see Luke and Lando search for the latter’s missing child while becoming tangled up in a plot by sinister forces in service to the newly resurrected Darth Sidious.
The Emperor’s plans involve the Sith assassin Ochi locating his runaway son along with his wife and child, the latter of which could be a potential future vessel for Palpatine’s spirit to embody. In his initial introduction in The Rise of Skywalker, Ochi was simply a plot device to facilitate Rey’s backstory. Though recently, his character and history have been greatly expanded upon.
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If you want to learn more about Ochi of Bestoon and his role in the Star Wars galaxy, look no further than Greg Pak’s Darth Vader comic series. Since it started in early 2020, Greg Pak’s Darth Vader has been taking the iconic villain in myriad exciting directions. From discovering the existence of Exegol and his master’s future fleet to hunting down Crimson Dawn agents within the Empire, Vader as a character has never been busier, especially with Ochi at his side.
Under Sidious’ service during the original trilogy, Ochi has been accompanying Vader on his various missions while also secretly serving Crimson Dawn for his own personal ends. Throughout Greg Pak’s Darth Vader, Ochi has been portrayed as a competent yet overly confident assassin who will often get into trouble due to his ego and naïveté. These qualities of Ochi are further demonstrated by a Clone Wars-era flashback in Shadow of the Sith.
In said flashback, we see that Ochi was serving Palpatine even while he was still Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Set during the Clone Wars, the flashback shows Ochi on a planet known as Malathon IX hunting none other than Jedi Master Depa Billaba. Upon locating the Jedi, Ochi sets up his weapon of choice and prepares to fire on the Jedi. However, he is quickly interrupted by the arrival of Billaba’s former master, Mace Windu. Lying in wait for the assassin to appear, Windu met Ochi in combat and nearly killed him before Ochi reluctantly retreated from the planet.
Knowing Ochi was active even during the Clone Wars means that it’s possible we could see the character appear in media set prior to the original trilogy. Plus, the fact that he was hunting Jedi at the time means that he could potentially come into contact with other Jedi before or after Order 66. In less than three years since his debut, Ochi of Bestoon has become a recurring character throughout various Star Wars media. This has me optimistic that we’ll see the franchise further embrace sequel-era content while continuing to expand upon what the films established. Ochi may not be the best assassin, but he is a highly entertaining side character from whom I’m eager to see more in the years to come.
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