‘Tis the season to look back on the illustrious career and revival of the Star Wars rabbit Jaxxon T. Tumperakki.
Particularly obsessive fans will be quick to point out that Jaxxon is actually a Lepi (who just happen to look like six foot tall green rabbits) and that the character made his debut in 1978’s Star Wars #8 from Marvel Comics. The introduction of Jaxxon (by creators Roy Thomas, Howard Chaykin, and Tom Palmer) was certainly an attempt to further capture the interests of the younger comic readers of the day, but a serious-looking, double-barreled Jaxxon standing next to Han Solo and Chewbacca on the cover must have made some older fans do a double take back in 1978.
Believe it or not, the character remained a part of Solo’s crew (actually called The Star-Hoppers of Aduba-3) for a number of issues, and became an odd footnote in Star Wars lore right next to Chewbacca’s son Lumpy from The Star Wars Holiday Special.
However, ever since Star Wars came back to Marvel, Jaxxon has experienced an unlikely Renaissance due to the fans that remembered the character from their youth. John Tyler Christopher’s variant cover for Marvel Comics Star Wars #1 in 2015 brought the tall green guy back as an inside-joke for fans of the 1970s series, and the fuse was lit for the return of the jumpsuit-wearing Lepi.
Since the one-off joke, Jaxxon has become a special guest star in IDW’s kid-friendly series Star Wars Adventures, appearing in three annuals in 2018, 2019, and 2020 (with his first re-appearance coming courtesy of John Jackson Miller, Cavan Scott, and Jon Sommariva). And Jaxxon doesn’t just appear in these issues, he is the star of them, with story titles such as “The Lost Eggs of Livorno”, “Hare-Brained Heist”, and “Rabbit Hunt”. The green-furred smuggler even made a ‘blink-and-you-will-miss it” animated appearance in Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge last year. And if all of the current comics published through Marvel (or IDW’s Star Wars license) are cannon, Jaxxon has just been welcomed into the fold.
And to complete Jaxxon’s second act, Hasbro released an official Black Series action figure in 2012. On the inside of the box, Jaxxon is described as “…a 6-foot tall, green-furred, Lepi and captain of the Rabbit’s Foot. Known for his wisecracks and karate kicks, Jaxxon has helped Han Solo and Chewbacca out on more than one occasion.”
Jaxxon has continued to make appearances in comics since the release of the figure, starring in Star Wars Adventures: The Ghosts of Vader’s Castle series from IDW in late 2021 (also collected in trade paperback form in 2022).
Dark Horse Comics made Jaxxon the star of their convention season in 2023 with a Star Wars; Hyperspace Stories 2023 Jaxxon Annual (written by Cavan Scott with art by Nick Brokenshire) with covers by Mike Mignola (color and black and white versions), Sergio Aragones, and Joelle Jones for each different stop.
Jaxxon also made his prose debut in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back anthology in a story called “Fake It Till You Make It” by Scott once again ( a real Jaxxon supporter if there ever was one!) who admits to buying Marvel’s Star Wars #16 before he even saw the original film.
Scott said “This was my first real dive into a galaxy far, far away and there was Jaxxon, on the cover alongside Han Solo. I must have read that issue (and the ones that followed it) hundreds of times. And for me, Jax was just as big a part of Star Wars as any of the main heroes and villains.”
Most recently, the green rabbit appeared in Disney+’s LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy-Pieces of the Past, voiced by Ben Schwartz.
Let’s hope we continue to see Jaxxon in comics and animation, and maybe even an appearance on the silver screen in the near future.