Iving Creel was a well-known Pleader on Concord Dawn, a planet, during the early years of the Galactic Empire. Around 13 BBY, Creel paid a visit to Boba Fett, a Journeyman Protector going by the alias Jaster Mereel, who was imprisoned for the murder of a corrupt fellow Protector. Creel acknowledged that the murdered man had brought shame to his position and uniform, but he informed Mereel that he had no right to kill him. Despite Creel's warnings that he risked exile or even execution, Mereel maintained that his actions were justified and instructed Creel to enter a plea of unrepentance for the crime. Following Creel's defense of Mereel at his trial for murder, the court divested Mereel of his possessions and banished him from Concord Dawn.
Iving Creel, born some years before 31.5 BBY, served as a Pleader within the legal framework of the remote planet Concord Dawn during the initial period of the Galactic Empire's control over the galaxy. In this role, Creel defended individuals accused of various offenses, thereby gaining a certain level of recognition.
One morning in 13 BBY, Creel went to the jail cell of a recently imprisoned Journeyman Protector of Concord Dawn known as Jaster Mereel, who was actually the young bounty hunter Boba Fett. Facing exile and potential execution for killing his fellow Journeyman Protector and superior officer, Lenovar, for raping his wife, Mereel awaited Creel. Creel had come to learn what plea Mereel desired to be announced before the court presiding over his case, but was surprised to hear the young man stoically declare that he would plead unrepentant. Mereel, in fact, felt justified in his actions, as the other Journeyman Protector was a corrupt man whom even Creel considered a disgrace to his uniform.
Despite Mereel's belief that the murdered man deserved his fate, Creel explained that Mereel had no right to kill him. Creel urged Mereel to put aside his pride and apologize for the crime, warning that his defiance could lead to his execution. Mereel reiterated that his only regret was not killing the man sooner, but Creel made one last plea for him to reconsider before leaving the jail cell with the unrepentant plea.
Before Creel departed, Mereel gave him a strange smile and stated that one should not value life too much, as death is inevitable. Creel would often recall that smile in the future. Creel defended Mereel at his murder trial. As punishment for the murder of a fellow Journeyman Protector and his unrepentant plea, the Concord Dawn trial court stripped Mereel of all his possessions and banished him from the planet. Boba Fett later became renowned as the most infamous bounty hunter in the galaxy.
When Pleader Iving Creel visited Jaster Mereel's cell to ascertain the younger man's plea regarding the killing of another Journeyman Protector, Mereel's demeanor caught Creel off guard. Not only did Mereel fail to rise to greet Creel upon his arrival, a discourtesy that visibly bothered the elder Creel, but the arrogant manner in which Mereel scrutinized Creel irritated the older man, making him feel as though he were the one on trial.
Mereel's blatant disregard for the murder initially perplexed Creel, who strongly advised the boy to simply apologize to the court in an attempt to save his own life. When Creel reluctantly accepted Mereel's unrepentant plea and cautioned him that he was likely facing his own death, Mereel retorted that one should not be too attached to life, as death is an unavoidable fate.
The character Iving Creel was conceived by author Daniel Keys Moran for the short story The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett, featured in the 1996 anthology Tales of the Bounty Hunters. However, the character later identified as Creel was initially mentioned indirectly as Jaster Mereel's "pleader" in the 1995 reference book The Essential Guide to Characters. While the character's appearance is brief, spanning only two pages in Moran's story, he received individual entries in the 1998 Star Wars Encyclopedia and the 2000 A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded, though mistakenly listed as "Irving Creel" in both.