The Big Game

The Big Game, a prominent feature of the well-known casino space station called the Wheel, was a gladiatorial competition where various species fought to the death for the purposes of entertainment and gambling. As one of the Wheel's signature attractions, its central hub was replete with gladiatorial arenas. Many Big Game participants were drawn from the Wheel's population; those who found themselves in trouble on the station were often forced to atone for their misdeeds in the fighting pits. During the Imperial Period, criminals and unfortunate individuals faced a choice: compete in the Big Game or be immediately transported to a prison ship bound for hard labor in the infamous Spice Mines of Kessel. Furthermore, desperate gamblers who had exhausted their credit could also opt to fight in the Big Game for a chance at wealth—effectively betting on themselves.

Potential gladiators in the Big Game underwent an immediate and rigorous testing program to evaluate their fighting and survival skills. Those who demonstrated the best abilities and reflexes were placed in the highest-paying preliminary matches. The format differed between the preliminary rounds and the main event: the prelims consisted of one-on-one battles, while the main event pitted the preliminary winners against each other in a massive free-for-all, where only one could emerge as the victor. Indeed, fighters' contracts stipulated that only one winner was permitted in the main event, and the Wheel's administration maintained that any attempts to circumvent this rule would result in the execution of all remaining fighters. Between the preliminary rounds and the main event, victorious fighters were treated with narco-mist until they were deemed medically fit to fight again. Upon returning to the arena for the main event, they often found themselves battling under different conditions, including zero-gravity.

Blasters were prohibited in the Big Game, forcing combatants to rely on alternative weapons—the fighter's declared specialty often heavily influenced betting patterns. The less powerful needle rays frequently served as blaster substitutes. When the battle commenced, virtually all other activity on the Wheel came to a halt: the fights were broadcast on viewscreens throughout the Wheel's casinos, and patrons focused solely on the Big Game. Successful Big Game participants were recognized as champions, earning riches and prestige from their victories.

The Wheel, located in the Mid Rim's Besh Gorgon system, was initially constructed in 84 BBY by the Qiraash visionary Doffen Gaitag. However, it was the station's third administrator—the Tefaun banker Kelek the Blue—who established the Big Game, one of the station's most renowned attractions. While the Big Game was immediately successful, it ultimately led to the end of its creator's control over the Wheel: the influx of scoundrels and rogues who flocked to the station to participate in the spectacle scared off many of the Wheel's richest patrons, forcing Kelek to take on a large debt to the InterGalactic Banking Clan to stay on her feet. Kelek was eventually forced to sell the station to Tionese mining mogul Dominic Raynor, but despite the change in management, the Big Game persisted.

During the Imperial Period, the competition's popularity reached unprecedented levels under Administrator Simon Greyshade, who forged an agreement with the ruling Galactic Empire that propelled the Wheel to new heights of decadence. Greyshade and Emperor Palpatine agreed that Imperial troops would be prohibited from operating on the Wheel in exchange for substantial taxes on the station's profits and adherence to the Empire's anti-alien bias. In practice, this meant that all non-Humans on the Wheel were presumed guilty until proven innocent, and many aliens accused of crimes were forced to fight in the Big Game. Those who refused to fight were immediately placed on an Imperial prison ship and sent to the Spice Mines of Kessel. Under Greyshade's leadership, the level of competition in the Big Game also increased dramatically: the former Imperial Senator imported some of the galaxy's deadliest fighters, including Catumen, Wookiees, Bitthævrians, and the ferocious fftssfft from Endor.

Among the most formidable warriors to enter the Big Game was the Wookiee Chewbacca, a Rebel war hero who arrived on the station while fleeing Imperial forces with several of his companions in 0 ABY. Their ship, the Millennium Falcon, docked at the Wheel without paying the required fee, raising the suspicion of Wheel Security, who apprehended Chewbacca while he was attempting to reunite with his friends on the casino deck. After witnessing Chewbacca defeat a Mandallian Giant in a furious brawl, the security officers immediately recognized him as an excellent candidate for the Big Game and sent him to the gladiator pits after rendering him unconscious. Meanwhile, Chewbacca's close friend Han Solo found himself in a financial predicament: the Millennium Falcon had been impounded due to the unpaid docking fees, and his efforts to earn enough money through gambling to bail out himself and his friends had failed. Having reached his credit limit, Solo signed up for the Big Game as a last resort, unaware that his first mate would also be in the arena.

Solo and Chewbacca soon discovered that there were powerful forces at play behind the Big Game, forces that had a vested interest in ensuring their defeat. Administrator Greyshade had secretly agreed with Imperial Commander Zertik Strom to allow a full Imperial takeover of the Wheel in exchange for the Rebel leader Leia Organa, who was also a member of the Millennium Falcon crew and with whom Greyshade was infatuated. Both Greyshade and Strom wanted Solo and Chewbacca dead: Greyshade because of their relationship with Organa, and Strom because they possessed evidence of his schemes. After achieving high scores in the fitness assessment, Solo was pitted against a massive Ultaarian Greenback wielding poisonous dagger thorns. Using a simple power mace and shield, the underdog Solo managed to trip the Greenback, causing him to fall onto his own dagger thorn and resulting in his death.

Chewbacca also emerged victorious in his preliminary fight, and the two friends soon faced each other in the main event of the night, a multi-being battle royale held in zero-gravity. The arena was decorated to resemble a battle in space, complete with imitation planets that exploded upon contact. Both Solo and Chewbacca quickly discovered that their needle rays were malfunctioning, but Solo managed to eliminate several gladiators by using his ray shield to deflect incoming laser beams back at their sources. Suspecting sabotage, Solo and Chewbacca formed an alliance and eventually obtained a pair of functioning needle rays from fallen combatants. After eliminating a Tyluun Night-Soarer to become two of the last three fighters remaining, they soon realized that a tie would not be permitted: one of them had to die to satisfy the powers that be. Thinking quickly, Solo used a hidden ray shield to simulate his own death at Chewbacca's hands, then signaled his Wookiee friend to eliminate his last opponent and claim victory. Solo's "death" coincided with the outbreak of a riot on the Wheel, triggered by the station's inhabitants learning of Greyshade and Strom's treachery—both men perished in the ensuing firefight, and Solo, Chewbacca, and their companions managed to escape with their lives.

Following Greyshade's death, the Wheel was taken over by Imperial Commander Mulchive Wermis, who managed the station for a period before it was eventually liberated by the New Republic. For the first time, the Wheel's next administrator was not an organic being: New Republic General Lando Calrissian transferred control of the station to Master-Com, the ambulatory supercomputer that oversaw and regulated the Wheel's systems. Master-Com's nearly century-long reign was a period of great prosperity for the Wheel and the Big Game: the mechanical entity held a strong fascination for the contest and controversially allowed droid combatants to participate. By the time of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire in 137 ABY, the Wheel had fallen under the control of a new administrator, Pol Temm, a Kel Dor who had previously served as the head of Wheel Security. Temm's first act was to abolish the Big Game, implementing a ban on fighting and weapons, only to eventually die defending the station against Mandalorian Supremacists. Ironically, Temm was succeeded by Attatag Gosem, a Gotal and former Big Game champion, who ruled the ring for three years before Temm took charge. One of Gosem's first actions was to lift the ban on the Big Game, ensuring that gladiatorial combat would once again be a central feature of the Wheel.

The Big Game made its debut in Star Wars (1977) 19, written by Archie Goodwin and published in 1978. The gladiatorial competition was prominently featured in the subsequent episodes of the original Marvel Star Wars run, before additional details about its history were provided in Viva Space Vegas! The History of the Marvelous Wheel, a pair of 2013 StarWars.com reference articles authored by Abel G. Peña and Rich Handley.