Tsumo was a male of his species who in 1 ABY had a bounty placed on his head, dead or alive. He was subsequently apprehended by the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who elected to keep Tsumo alive for the time being, holding his new captive in one of the holding cells aboard his Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft Slave I. While en route to Imperial Center, the capital of the Galactic Empire, Fett picked up a distress signal from the ZZ-class freighter Mingula, and broke from his course to investigate—the ship did not respond to any call signs, and was detected to have no life forms on board. Tsumo was retrieved from his cell by the bounty hunter, who cryptically announced that he had a task for his captive, one that could result in Tsumo's death. The captive protested, claiming that one of Fett's other prisoners, the Ubuugan Chung, had committed worse crimes than himself. The bounty hunter was disinterested, as the Ubuugan was wanted alive and Tsumo's bounty would pay even if he were killed.
The pair boarded the Mingula, Tsumo leading, and Fett trailing ten paces behind with a blaster pistol trained on the captive's back. Tsumo was at first unsure of his purpose, until Fett revealed that his intent was salvage. Tsumo despaired, divining that he had been brought along to ascertain how dangerous the Mingula was—any dangers would surely be triggered by him first. As they ventured further into the ship, Tsumo detected that there was indeed something wrong with the Mingula that he could not identify. Fett ordered him into the main cargo hold, which was filled to the brim with valuable items. The pair ventured upon a made from highly valuable solid rodomium, to Tsumo's astonishment. Fett blasted the casket open to reveal the mummified body of Volpau, third cousin of Galactic Emperor Palpatine, who had died of unknown causes and was being shipped to Imperial Center for ritual incineration.
Tsumo is killed by the fleshborers aboard the Mingula.
Tsumo was further perturbed by the mention of "unknown causes," but Fett nonetheless ordered him to press further into the Mingula after retrieving Volpau's valuable amulet. They soon found the bodies of all four crew members, dead and covered with what Tsumo identified as "boils." Fett, satisfied that all on board were dead, prepared to claim the ship—Tsumo however was disturbed by the sight of he dead Zylurian crew, and asked to be returned to his cell. Before the pair could take any further action however, Tsumo noticed that the boils on one of dead Zylurians were moving and shifting. As Fett moved closer to inspect, Tsumo quickly retrieved a blaster from one of the fallen crew members and attempted to down Fett. The bounty hunter was too quick on the draw however, and was able to blast Tsumo in the shoulder. The captive was flung back into one of the Zylurian corpses, prompting a swarm of flying fleshborer worms to burst forth from the body's "boils." The creatures swarmed all over Tsumo, biting and burrowing into his skin. Within moments, the captive was dead from the attack. Fett, however, ultimately escaped the Mingula safely.
Tsumo was a particularly fearful individual, continually predicting his own death at the hands of either Fett or the perils of the Mingula. He protested Fett's treatment of him on a variety of levels, be it his usage as a test case for whatever lurked aboard the Mingula, to the bounty hunter's politeness. Tsumo was continually trying to get out of his situation, pleading with Fett to release him, although the captive stopped short in one instance, citing his own inability to handle rejection. His desire to escape Fett manifested itself in an attempt to kill the bounty hunter—Tsumo however made the mistake of vocalizing his intentions, allowing the bounty hunter to get the better of him. Tsumo had black eyes and brown skin.
Tsumo wore a yellow-and-white jumpsuit when held captive by Boba Fett.
Tsumo first appeared in John Wagner's Boba Fett ½ (1997), penciled by Carlos Ezquerra. Although Tsumo in the comic claims that Chung has committed worse acts than he, the nature of Tsumo's transgression, criminal or otherwise, is not established in the comic.
- The Official Star Wars Fact File27