Ponda Baba: Star Wars’ “Walrus Man”

Walrusman Action Figure
The Walrusman Action Figure package

“Walrusman” was one of the characters in the cantina scene in the Original Star Wars (that’s Episode IV, youngsters). You may not think you remember him, but here’s a clue. He’s the guy who confronts Luke at the bar and ends up getting his arm cut off by Obi Wan Kenobi. “Walrusman” is a nickname, which may well have been coined by Kenner for purposes of naming their action figure. According to online sources, the character wasn’t given a name, species and backstory in the Star Wars universe until 1989. Officially his species is “Aqualish” and the character’s name was “Ponda Baba”, but I’m just glad we have a walrus tie-in with Star Wars here on the blog.

Here’s the character info page on StarWars.com:

http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/pondababa/