“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.” —Thucydides
Hiya, folks! Sorry this is a little late. I started it during last night’s overrated sports event, but didn’t get the chance to finish until now. I realized I haven’t showcased any of Tony’s art in a while, so I picked four of his characters I’ve wanted to write about and rolled a d4 to decide. It came up 2, which was this stellar battle-armored Twi’lek bounty huntress for Star Wars: Edge of the Empire.
What I love most about Tony’s Twi’leks is the lack of sexualization. Though I’ve no objections to Oola as character in Return of the Jedi, that she’s an abused slave dancer who ultimately dies for her master’s amusement I feel set an unfortunate precedent for the objectification of Twi’lek characters for the Star Wars fan base. Thus there are few things in the Star Wars universe that please me more than portrayals of Twi’leks as powerful, smartly dressed characters. Oskara the huntress looks to be both.
The mighty Oskara’s primary protection is a durasteel battle cuirass for heavy combat against Black Sun enforcers or Imperial shock troops. Her spaulders should keep her shoulders and upper arms safe from Gamorrean vibro-axes or hits from Stormtrooper carbines. Her breastplate features ablative plating for shrugging off small-arms fire without sacrificing rotational-flexibility while laying down heavy ordinance. Her wired gauntlets keep her forearms safe and contain controls for her suit’s settings and/or other weapons. Interestingly, her gloves seem to be fingerless for unhindered gun play while on the hunt.
Rather than a helmet, our heroine wears a targeting device with a left-eye heads-up display for better targeting in a heavy firefight. Durasteel pauldrons protect Oskara’s hips from blaster fire or disabling melee attacks. Her pants are similarly armored for heavy protection to her legs, knees, and lower abdomen. Under the armor, our heroine wears a flexible black bodysuit for unhindered combat movement.
Oskara seems to be ‘loaded for bear,’ to use the old colloquialism. She’s set up to fight high-powered targets who pack battle armor and heavy ordinance of their own. I suspect her massive gun is either a rapid-fire blaster for heavy assault against armored or entrenched opponents or an anti-vehicle gun for battling light walkers or armored landspeeders. In other words, our huntress is after big-payoff, high profile targets, possibly with Imperial or Hutt protection, not some petty bandits or small-time spice-runners. Stellar portrayal and character design, all around.
Huge thanks to Tony for use of his huntress. Feel free to check out his online galleries and Facebook page. Thanks for reading, folks, and have a productive February. Take care and stay awesome!
Sartorially Smart Heroines 