Ranik Solusar, a male Human Jedi Master, dedicated his service to both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic throughout the Clone Wars era. Defying the Jedi Council's mandates, he chose to marry and become the father of Kam Solusar, leading to disciplinary action. During the Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY, the initial conflict of the Clone Wars, he was part of Master Mace Windu's strike team. Alongside fellow Jedi in their respective starfighters, Solusar played a crucial role in thwarting Confederate ally Cavik Toth's attempt to unleash the devastating bio-agent trihexalon upon Geonosis.
Later, Solusar faced the repercussions of Order 66, the decree commanding clone troopers to eliminate the Jedi they served. Managing to survive this betrayal, he became a wanted fugitive under the newly established Galactic Empire following the Declaration of a New Order. Listed by Imperial Intelligence, civilians were instructed to report any sightings of him. Eventually, he was hunted down by Emperor Palpatine's formidable enforcer, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader, who ultimately killed him. His son, Kam, was then coerced into serving the Empire, but was eventually redeemed by Luke Skywalker, becoming a key figure in the formation of a new Jedi Order.
Ranik Solusar, a Jedi Master within the Jedi Order, dedicated his service to the Galactic Republic. He married and fathered a son, Kam, actions that went against the wishes of the Jedi Council, resulting in a reprimand. Despite this, Solusar proceeded to train his child informally in the ways of the Force. His training methods differed from those of Grand Master Yoda, emphasizing resourcefulness and concentration, and he continued to mentor his son for several years.
As the Separatist Crisis escalated in 22 BBY, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured on Geonosis, a world aligned with the seceding Confederacy of Independent Systems. Believing Kenobi to be in danger, Master Mace Windu formed a strike team that included Solusar. Piloting a Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptor, Solusar joined A'Sharad Hett, Bant Eerin, and The Dark Woman in Master Adi Gallia's Zeta Squadron on Geonosis. There, the Jedi engaged Cavik Toth's Sabaoth Squadron, who were allies of the Confederacy.
While Windu and the main force of the strike team rescued Kenobi and led the newly established Grand Army of the Republic into battle against the Confederate droid army on the planet's surface, Solusar and his allies continued to fight Toth's forces. Toth's attempted deployment of the lethal bioweapon trihexalon on Geonosis was thwarted when Solusar and the other Jedi, aided by Gallia, destroyed the Hex Deployer and Sabaoth destroyer spacecraft. The arrival of the Lok Revenants, led by the pirate Nym, bolstered Solusar and the Jedi, while Gallia personally killed Toth, who had entered the battle in his personal starfighter. The Republic and the Jedi emerged victorious, marking the beginning of the Clone Wars across the galaxy.
Near the end of the Clone Wars, in 19 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine initiated Order 66, which compelled the clone troopers of the Grand Army to turn against their Jedi commanders. Solusar managed to escape the clones, surviving the initial onslaught. Soon after, Palpatine declared himself Galactic Emperor and reformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire. He also declared the Jedi Knights enemies of the Empire, accusing them of attempting to assassinate him and seize control of the Galactic Senate. Forced into hiding, Solusar was hunted by Imperial Intelligence, with citizens being urged via the HoloNet to report any sightings. These events separated Solusar from Kam, ending his son's training.
Solusar's name was included on a comprehensive list of missing Jedi, alongside Halagad Ventor and Kai Justiss. Sometime before 4 ABY, the Jedi Master was eventually killed by Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith and Palpatine's enforcer. Kam was later manipulated into serving the Empire, but he eventually joined Luke Skywalker, the Jedi Knight who defeated Palpatine and Vader. Kam studied under Skywalker and became a founding member of the New Jedi Order, passing on his father's teachings, which were incorporated into the curriculum at Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum.
Solusar's decision to marry and have a child while serving as a Jedi Master brought him into conflict with the Jedi Council, leading to numerous reprimands. As an informal mentor to his son, Solusar employed a different approach than Jedi like Yoda, focusing on developing concentration and resourcefulness.
Solusar was regarded by his son as a "great" Jedi Master. He demonstrated skill as a pilot, successfully flying a Delta-7 interceptor during the Battle of Geonosis. His abilities allowed him to evade Order 66 and survive the early stages of the Great Jedi Purge, but he was ultimately unable to defeat the Sith Lord Darth Vader, resulting in his death.
Ranik Solusar was initially mentioned in Dark Empire II 1, a comic book written by Tom Veitch and published in 1994. The character was subsequently mentioned in the first issue of the Star Wars: Empire's End mini-series in 1995, as well as in the novel I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole. A brief reference to Solusar's instructional methods appeared in The Jedi Academy Sourcebook. Eight years after his initial mention, he debuted in the 2002 video game Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter. The character is seen alongside other Jedi from the Expanded Universe, including those from comics and novels, identified as one of the Jedi starfighter pilots during the Battle of Geonosis.
Later in the same year, the character was mentioned in The New Essential Guide to Characters, which addressed the conflict between Solusar's marriage and fatherhood and the more monastic portrayal of the Jedi in films like Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. In 2005, the character was referenced again in the Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241 article, which was published in Star Wars Insider 84. This article tied into both the backstory of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Solusar's earlier history as established in Dark Empire II and Empire's End.