Ultaarian Greenback

Last Updated: 12/23/2023

Name: Ultaarian or Ultaarian Greenback

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Giant/Alternative

Homeworld: Ultaar

Coloration: Pink and Green

Biology: The Ultaarians, also well-known for the addition of “Greenback” to their species title, were a species who appeared once back in 1978, and thus bear many distinctive visual traits from that era. They were hulking creatures who had some rhinoceros-like features, although they still remained mostly humanoid. This bipedal species stood between 2 and 2.5 meters tall, being incredibly muscular, with two massive legs ending in feet that were vaguely split into two pseudo-toes each, as well as four arms, each with large, five-fingered hands. Their skin was smooth, hairless, and bright pink in coloration, with defined musculature on their limbs as well as their torso.

The species’ “Greenback” designation comes from the green, scaly portions of their bodies, starting at a point on their forehead and extending back and down over their upper back, as well as stretching across their shoulders and over the upper back portion of their top set of arms. The species had a wide neck, with their head seemingly melding into their shoulders. Their mouths were wide, with angled lips, and a set of snaggled teeth tucked deep inside, alongside two massive, white tusks which protruded from their lower jaw, curving out and up in front of their cheeks.

Ultaarian Greenbacks had a horn at the center of their face where most species’ noses would be. This elongated horn was ribbed, curving upwards and ending in a sharp point capable of stabbing. It’s possible this growth doubled as a nose, although it’s unclear where the nostril openings may have been located. Under their pronounced brow were two small eyes that seemed to flash from white to green periodically (realistically a coloring error), with tiny black pupils that were only visible upon close inspection. Some depictions of the species also had three-pronged, fan-like ear growths extending from the sides of their head, although this appears to be an artistic liberty, with their recurring appearance having no visible ears or aural cavities at all.

This species was noticeably heavy, with a denseness that made them difficult to injure. Their skin was thick and hard to pierce, especially on the green portions. Despite their large size, the species was surprisingly agile, if not a tad clumsy. Their strength was nothing to scoff at either, making them fierce combatants, enhanced only further by their quadruple arms. Ultaarians have never displayed very high intelligence, seeming more on the mindless and violence-prone side of the spectrum, with it being unclear whether or not they could even pronounce Galactic Basic Standard, or what language, if any, they could speak at all. Their coloration was believed to have helped them camouflage with the colorful, flowery terrain of their homeworld.

Lore: The Ultaarian Greenbacks hailed from the flora-covered Mid Rim world of Ultaar. It was believed the species was first discovered by the Rebel Alliance, who established a small presence on Ultaar some time prior to the Battle of Yavin. With this exposure, a handful of members of the species would travel offworld, although it’s possible they may have been enslaved prior to or shortly after their departure. This meant that they were still relatively unknown, seemingly hidden away within the thick and colorful jungles of their homeworld for millennia prior, although there’s also a fairly good chance that they had developed sentience relatively shortly before their discovery.

The Rebels would be removed from the world in 0 ABY thanks to the unwittingly combined efforts of the Galactic Empire as well as the bounty hunter Beilert Valance. The Empire also may have played a role in some of the species being exported offworld, although there is currently no evidence to support the idea that the regime and the planet’s sentient natives even ever interacted. Still, the species began appearing more and more throughout the galaxy following these events, popular among gladiatorial arenas due to their skill in combat, brute strength, and general bloodlust. They sometimes fought using “Dagger Thorns,” poison-soaked bone-like spikes similar in shape and size to their own tusks, quite possibly some sort of cultural melee weapons. The species’ individual names appeared to remain unknown to others, possibly due to a communication gap, and so they were generally assigned descriptive nicknames. They also wore little in the way of clothing, usually sticking to loincloths or mawashi-style wrappings.

Legends/Canon: The Ultaarian Greenbacks remain relegated to the early days of Star Wars Legends, tentatively canonical within the “main” EU continuity, as were most aspects of the 1977 Marvel comic run.

Unexplored: As with many species from this era of the franchise, they have gone largely unexplored, although it was neat to see them and their homeworld explored in subsequent issues, a nice touch on the creators’ part! Even still, we need to pose a handful of question that might help us better understand this species so that they might be better implemented into future works, if all of their established lore is brought into Canon in the first place (which only matters if you’re working on a Canon-adjacent project as a fan authors, of course). So, the following are some specific questions that come to mind when addressing the Ultaarian Greenbacks, as well as general worldbuilding traits that are always good to have established eventually.

First off, were the Ultaarians truly originally discovered when the Rebellion made landfall on their homeworld, or were their prior occurrences where they had made contact with the outside galaxy, potentially killing previous trespassers throughout the years? If so, should the lore remain consistent if the species ever makes the jump into Canon, or will there be necessary discrepancies regarding their history? What did the species think of outsiders, how did they feel about the Rebellion, especially compared to the Empire, and were they able to communicate or was their language not within a protocol’s translation databank? How exactly did the species make it offworld? Did they manage to steal some ships, were they gifted the technology or at least free passage off of Ultaar, or were they targeted and enslaved by those who would send them to the gladiatorial pits? Regardless of the method, what was the ratio of Ultaarians among the galaxy versus those remaining on their homeworld, and what did their population size look like to begin with?

Where did the phrase “Greenback” originate from? Was it simply slang, maybe something they themselves came up with, was it possibly a derogatory term or slur, or was it simply used to distinguish them from other sentient species native to Ultaar who did not have greenbacks? If the latter is true, what other inhabitants might the planet have boasted and what relationship could the species have had? What other unique elements did Ultaar house, and did the species themselves have unique anatomical or biological traits spurred on from such a strange, floral home? What happened to the species after the end of the Galactic Civil War? Did they have a future of integration into the greater galaxy and its political landscape, maybe they sided with the New Republic or its successor states given their fight against the various “Empires,” or did they simply go back to being relatively primitive isolationists? Exploring the answers to all of these questions, as well as a few of our other usual general worldbuilding traits, will most definitely help with this species’ characterization immensely.

Additional Notes: I don’t know why this species always stuck with me, I didn’t grow up with the OG Marvel comic run, but nonetheless, it did. And so I have definitely striven to include them within my works when possible as I really do find the classic design fun and surprisingly versatile from a storytelling perspective. There are so many questions regarding their EU continuity that I would have loved to see fleshed out more, but alas, we’ll instead have to continue to flesh them out in our collective fan works, and pray for the off chance that they are mentioned (or even better, pictured or utilized) somewhere within Canon!

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