Biggs Darklighter

Biggs Darklighter
Homeworld	Tatooine
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Height	1.83 meters
Hair Color	Black
Eye Color	Brown
Affiliation	Rebel Alliance

Biggs Darklighter (c. 20 BBY—0 BBY) was a member of the Rebel Alliance who flew an X-wing during the Battle of Yavin.

Biography

Born on Tatooine to the local agricultural magnate Huff Darklighter, he was a close friend of Luke Skywalker. The two of them spent most of their youth together, racing through Beggar's Canyon in T-16 Skyhoppers and socializing with the other local teenagers at Tosche Station. The two friends planned to attend the Imperial Academy together, and go into business together by buying their own ship after their service in the Imperial Starfleet ended. This plan was not to be, as Luke's uncle, Owen Lars, kept him behind to help on his moisture farm while Biggs went off to the Academy.

While at the Academy, Biggs became disenchanted with the Empire. Managing to make contact with Rebel sympathizers, he and a group of his fellow cadets who were about to be assigned to the Rand Ecliptic made plans to jump ship in an outlying system and join the Alliance. During a brief furlough when Biggs returned to Tatooine, Biggs revealed this plan to Luke. Shortly thereafter, Luke would also join the Alliance after rescuing Princess Leia. The two old friends had a brief reunion on Yavin 4 shortly before the attack on the Death Star. Biggs told Red Squadron's leader, Garven Dreis, that Luke was the "best bush pilot in the Outer Rim," convincing him that the untrained young pilot would be able to fly a starfighter in the upcoming battle. During the final attack run on the Death Star, Biggs and Wedge Antilles flew as Luke's wingmen. Biggs was killed when Darth Vader fired upon him while he was flanking Luke down the Death Star trench.

Biggs Darklighter's legacy as a pilot would be picked up by his younger cousin, Gavin Darklighter.

Behind the scenes

Biggs briefly appeared in the 1977 release of A New Hope, where he was only seen as Luke's wingman. The script included the scene at Tosche Station where Biggs tells Luke of his secret plans to join the Rebel Alliance, as well as the conversation where he meets Luke in the hangar on Yavin 4. These scenes were filmed, but were cut from the final version. These scenes did appear, however, in the novelization and the radio adaptation. Part of the Yavin 4 scene was reintroduced in the 1997 re-release of the film.

Biggs was played by Garrick Hagon in A New Hope.