STAR WARS Legacy of the Force: Darth Krayt / A'Sharad Hett (Part 1)

Presenting the rogue Jedi who would plunge the galaxy into the darkness of the One Sith Empire: Jedi Knight A'Sharad Hett, the man who would become Darth Krayt.

These two actually come from two separate STAR WARS comic-book packs. A'Sharad Hett comes from STAR WARS Expanded Universe two pack  that includes A'Sharad Hett and A'Sharad's former master: the notorious Dark Woman: Jedi Master An'ya Kuro (A Gray Jedi who deserves her own write-up and will get one soon) which retails on Amazon for around US$ 24.99 (PhP 1,074 plus shipping).

A'Sharad's older, Dark Side incarnation Darth Krayt comes from the quite rare 2009 STAR WARS Comic book pack that includes Imperial Knight Sigel Dare. The pack is considered quite rare and once retailed on Amazon for as much as US$ 79.99. It's available now for still a most impressive US$ 59.99 (PhP 2,579 plus shipping)



A'Sharad Hett

Jedi Master A'Sharad Hett is the son of a very famous Jedi Knight named Sharad Hett. Unfortunately the death of his family while he was away serving the republic left Sharad a broken man and he left the Jedi order. Sharad ended up on the planet Tatooine where he - don't ask how - ended up marrying a human female who had been kidnapped as a child and integrated into the Tusken Tribes of Tatooine. A'Sharad Hett was born of that union.

Sharad could not prevent his son from being strong in the Force and trained his son in the ways of the Force instead of informing the Jedi Council and surrendering his son for more formal training. Therefore A'Sharad grew up in Tatooine as one of the Sand People - even surviving an intitiation to manhood requirement of slaying a Krayt Dragon.

Sharad Hett would eventually fall to the bane-of-the Jedi Aurra Sing - who ironically was trained by An'Ya Kuro, the Dark Woman (She apparently specializes in troubled Jedi). Sharad's death brought A'Sharad's existence to the knowledge of the Jedi who sent the Dark Woman and Ki-Adi Mundi (Another of the Dark Woman's former padawans) to hunt down Aurra Sing.

What's to like about A'Sharad Hett?

The detail: specifically his personalized light saber. A'Sharad Hett's lightsaber appears to have a wooden hilt suported by the usual metallic base and metallic emitter that gives out a green blade - originally red. What's so nice about it is that he chose to adorn it with Krayt Dragon teeth in a braid that trails from the base of the lightsaber, making this lightsaber one of the most distinct lightsabers in the Star Wars universe. You can remove the green blade and clip this lightsaber to A'Sharad's belt.

You also have to love the very faint tattoos on A'Sharad Hett's face which will come into bigger play when he becomes Darth Krayt.

A'Sharad Hett's Tusken accouterments is also original. You can add or remove his Tusken faceplate - although showing skin for Tusken's in considered a dishonor - and yes, A'Sharad Hett has a long pony-tail trailing from the back of his head.

A'Sharad Hett is a dual-weapons specialist and usually fights with two lightsabers: his Krayt Dragon teeth saber and his father's (Sharad Hett's) original (simpler) light-saber which also comes with the figure but cannot be clipped to his belt. You can also substitute a lightsaber for a Tusken mace that comes with the figure.

What's not to like about A'Sharad Hett? 

Well the articulation is "iffy" Yes he can bend his knees, but because he can't bend or turn his feet then the range of balance that he's capable of limited. The same goes for his arms which have swivel joints instead of actual elbows. He can therefore dual-wield a lightsaber but A'Sharad Hett cannot hyper-extend his arms. 

A'Sharad Hett would survive Order 666 and actually believed that he was the last Jedi - being unable to sense any other Jedi in the Universe (Probably a flaw brought of arrogance). A'Sharad returned to Tatooine where he vowed to take down the Empire and became a Tusken Warlord uniting several Tusken clans. However when his Tusken raiders threatened a certain Lars Homestead, A'Sharad found himself face-to-face with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their duel ended with A'Sharad losing an arm and having the dishonor of his face wrappings removed. Obi Wan denied him a quick death and exiled him from Tatooine.

A'Sharad would grow to learn that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker - the man who had confessed massacring a Tusken tribe so many years ago. A'Sharad despaired realizing that if he had reported Anakin's confession to the Jedi Council, Darth Vader may never have been born. A'Sharad would eventually find his way to Korriban where he learned the ways of the Sith and be gifted with a prosthetic arm. He would later be captured by the Yuuzhan Vong who would re-grow his arm. It was while he was being tortured by the Yuuzhan Vong that Darth Krayt was born.