Hondo Karr was a Human male Mandalorian who served next to Mand'alor Chernan Ordo in the Battle of Botajef. During the battle he was betrayed and, in order to survive and expose the traitor, put on the armor of a stormtrooper and was conscripted into the Joker Squad, a unit in the Army of the Fel Empire. Ten years later, during the Second Imperial Civil War, Karr deserted the new Empire at the Battle of Borosk and found his way into the Galactic Alliance Remnant's famed Rogue Squadron, where he fought for some time, until a chance arose for him to reunite with his former wife and return to the Mandalorian ways, deciding to hunt down the one who betrayed him and bring him to justice.
In 127 ABY Hondo Karr served next to Mand'alor Chernan Ordo in the Battle of Botajef. During the battle, another Mandalorian by the name of Yaga Auchs, betrayed his comrades, which led to the Mand'alor's death, and left Karr to die. Found by Vevec, father of his wife Tes, Karr decided to get off-world and expose Auchs's treachery. He removed his beskar'gam and put on the armor of a dead stormtrooper. Soon, Vevec was killed by advancing troopers and Karr, posing as the last soldier of his unit, was accepted in the 407th Stormtrooper Division.
During the Battle of Borosk, Karr was shocked at the notion of being ordered to kill fellow stormtroopers. Despite his feelings, he continued to follow his orders. But the final straw came after the battle was over. Darth Maleval, the Sith Lord overseeing the battle, put Lieutenant Gil Cassel, Karr's commanding officer, through a cruel loyalty test: he was to kill his own brother, or be executed as a traitor himself. Gil refused, and the Sith Lord executed both men. Karr, enraged at this, attacked Maleval with a vibroknife. But Maleval simply knocked Karr out of the way. Saying that avenging a traitor made him a traitor, Maleval attacked Karr with his electro-whip. However, the Quarren Sith Lord was shot in the back by Anson Trask, a fellow member of the 407th Division. Karr complemented Trask on his shooting, and left. The official report by Sergeant Ran Harkas stated that Karr had been killed in the battle.
Hondo Karr in Rogue uniform
Karr left the Empire and joined Admiral Gar Stazi and the Galactic Alliance Remnant. He was made a member of Rogue Squadron, despite his past. Karr later earned the respect of Andurgo, a fellow Rogue pilot, when he took the blame for a knife fight that they had gotten into.
Hondo Karr, back in his Mandalorian beskar'gam.
At the Battle of Mon Calamari, he led a task force of Alliance troops disguised as stormtroopers as part of Admiral Gar Stazi's plan to hijack the Advanced Star Destroyer Imperious. He later became involved on his risky mission to smuggle a group of Mon Calamari refugees from Napdu. While the mission went successfully, he was confronted by his former wife Tes Vevec, who believed Karr had killed her father and was seeking vengeance. However, Karr was able to disarm her and convince her to believe his true story. Reunited with his wife, Karr left Rogue Squadron, once again donned a suit of Mandalorian armor which he repainted black and gold, the traditional Mandalorian colors for "justice" and "vengeance", and swore to track down Yaga Auchs, who'd declared himself the new Mand'alor.
A Mandalorian and ex-stormtrooper, Karr had a silent, intense, yet laid back and humorous personality and a fondness for vibroknives. His experiences on the battlefield, and the deaths of individuals such as Vevec and Jes Gistang, had led him to avoid forming attachments to his comrades-in-arms. Nevertheless he kept a personal code of loyalty to those that served alongside him, including his superiors, as well as a dislike for unnecessary cruelty, an attitude that prompted him to attack Darth Maleval when the Sith Lord executed the Cassel brothers.
A figure of Hondo Karr was created by Entertainment Earth and unveiled at Comic Con International 2008 as part of the Joker Squad action figure 6-pack.
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Legacy Era Campaign Guide
- "Imperial Icons" — Star Wars Insider 148