Ewok battlewagon
From Wookieepedia, the Star Wars wiki.
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| Ewok battlewagon | |
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Battering ram[1] |
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- «…that old battlewagon sure came in handy when them Duloks started making trouble.»
- ―Erpham Warrick[src]
The Ewok battlewagon or war wagon was a large war vehicle created by the Ewok Erpham Warrick on the forest moon of Endor several years before the Battle of Yavin. The wagon proved instrumental in ending the Ewok-Dulok war in Ewok favor, forcing the Dulok people to relocate to Endor's swampier regions. The battlewagon was eventually forgotten, and was abandoned in the woods not far from Bright Tree Village. Through a lack of proper maintenance, the wagon fell into gross disrepair.
Three generations later, it was rediscovered by Erpham's descendant, Wicket Wystri Warrick. With the aid of fellow tribe member Malani and the bordok Baga, Wicket reconstructed the wagon. When the Dulok chief, Gorneesh, learned of this, he ordered his tribe to capture the vehicle. Meeting no real opposition, the Duloks easily stole the wagon, and proceeded to use it to attack Ewok territory. The attack ultimately failed when Wicket pulled out the wagon's main support peg, causing it to collapse. Following this incident, the battlewagon was rebuilt yet again by the Ewok tribe.
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[edit] Description
The battlewagon consisted of two levels; a lower level for its battering ram, and an upper level which supported a protective canopy fashioned from the skull of a tusked-bantha. The wagon's design was centered around a plentiful resource on Endor—wood. It was primarily assembled from logs strapped together with white rope, complemented by a few wooden pegs installed to steady the vehicle. Notably, the entire construction depended on a single main support peg to keep it from collapsing. The base of the wagon was rectangular, and supported four short walls as well as a number of logs that held up the vehicle's second level, in addition to a few vertically placed logs at the front which protected the lower level. The upper level was accessible by a short, wooden ladder. The lower level walls on the sides of the vehicle were flexible, and could be jolted by pulling a set of levers. The battlewagon's battering ram was essentially a thick and long tree trunk, and was operated by one of the same levers that controlled the lower level walls. The butt of the ram was covered by a white cloth. Mobilization was achieved through four stone wheels that made the vehicle roll smoothly downhills. However, when faced with upwards slopes and flat ground, the wagon's only means of movement was through pushing.[1]
[edit] History
[edit] Ewok-Dulok war
The Ewok battlewagon was designed and constructed by Erpham Warrick, an Ewok who resided in Bright Tree Village. Erpham intended to use the finished wagon against a tribe of Duloks who were involved in an armed conflict with the Ewoks for dominance over the forest moon's woodlands. Erpham took the construction very seriously, even making sure to document the process with a set of blueprints. Despite being ridiculed by his fellow tribe members for his work, Erpham stuck to his philosophy of not quitting on projects on which he had made an effort. When the Dulok tribe attacked the Soul trees of the Bright Tree Village residents—objects of great spiritual value to the Ewoks—Erpham's battlewagon was commanded into battle by the inventor himself. The Duloks were driven from the battlefield and into the swamplands of Endor, where they eventually settled down.[1]
In honor of the victory, a tablet detailing the battle was placed in the battlewagon, which was parked in the forest not far from Bright Tree Village. However, as the years passed, it was largely forgotten about. Around 150 years later, only a few select individuals knew of the details surrounding the wagon—Kaink, the Ewok legend keeper, and Murgoob, an inveterate Dulok oracle who had participated in battle against the vehicle.[1]
[edit] Later use
Erpham Warrick used the weapon to defeat a band of Duloks. Years later, Warrick's great-grandsons Wicket, Willy, and Weechee discovered the remains of the battlewagon. Wicket decided to rebuild the wagon; using Erpham's original blueprints obtained from Mistress Kaink, Wicket restored the vehicle, with the help of Malani and Baga. Murgoob, the oracle of a nearby Dulok tribe, discovered the Ewok's doings and warned King Gorneesh, the tribe leader. Gorneesh stole the weapon to use it against the Ewoks' Soul Trees, but Wicket pulled the main support peg on the device and caused it to fall apart. The Duloks fled in defeat, and Wicket resigned himself to the battlewagon's destruction. However, only a short time later, Chief Chirpa revealed that the village had rebuilt the device.
[edit] Behind the scenes
Kenner released a toy version of the battlewagon in 1984 as part of the Power of the Force line. The wagon in the Star Wars: Ewoks cartoon is clearly based on that design.
[edit] Appearances
Star Wars: Ewoks - "Wicket's Wagon" (First appearance)
[edit] Sources
- Star Wars: The Power of the Force (1985) (First mentioned)
- A Guide to the Star Wars Universe
- The Essential Guide to Characters
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
