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- "Gantu would steal supplies of honey…and when that was gone his appetite would turn to the taste of Ewok people!"
- ―Logray
Gantu was an Ogre native to the forest moon of Endor in the Outer Rim Territories around the time of the Galactic Civil War. Gantu had little use for work, typically acted only for self-interest, and was a short-tempered individual—though he was also afraid of the dark. The Ogre was known to the Ewoks and Zandor Rockers as a threat and a menace, as he was prone to raiding Bright Tree Village and stealing the Ewoks' honey, as well as eating some of the Ewoks. He also stole all of the sunnydew nectar from the village of the Zandor Rockers.
One of his few defeats came at the hands of Wicket W. Warrick and his friend Teebo when they stole his sunnydew nectar to save their friend, Princess Kneesa, from an illness. Though Gantu attempted to stop the two Ewoks, they were able to defeat him by capitalizing on his greed for the Rainbow Crystal. They distracted him with the crystal, which would enable the Ogre to cross the Gorge of Fire, throwing it between them, until it eventually broke. Without the Rainbow Crystal, Gantu was unable to cross the Gorge and never attacked Bright Tree Village again.
Biography
Residence
- "Long ago we were plagued by the evil Ogre, Gantu, who lived in the barren land of Zandor."
- ―Logray
Gantu was a male Ogre who lived on the forest moon of Endor. Sometime before or during the time of the Galactic Civil War, he discovered a cave in the land of Zandor, and continued to reside in this cave for the rest of his life. Also around this time, he came into possession of a special rainbow crystal. The crystal, if held toward Endor's sun, Ibleam, would create a bridge that appeared to be made of rainbows. This proved useful to Gantu when he attempted to cross the Gorge of Fire, a barrier that isolated Zandor from the rest of Endor.
After coming into possession of the crystal, the Ogre was able to raid the villages of the Zandor Rockers, a species of sentient rocks that lived on Endor. Gantu was able to steal sunnydew flowers from the Rockers, which gave him sunnydew nectar, a substance valued for its healing powers. However, Gantu used the nectar for a different purpose—to use its glowing power for nocturnal illumination, as the Ogre was afraid of the darkness associated with night.
Raiding Bright Tree Village
- "One day, a young Chief Chirpa followed the Ogre back to his cave!"
- ―Logray
Gantu raids Bright Tree Village
Gantu, using the bridge to cross the Gorge of Fire, found his way to another section of Endor called Happy Grove. It was here he discovered Bright Tree Village, which was the home of the native Ewoks. For reasons unknown, Gantu hated the Ewoks and raided their village any chance he could get. Stealing honey and other supplies from the Ewoks, he earned the hatred of the village. Later, the Ogre even began to consume the Ewoks themselves. Bright Tree Village's young Chief, Chirpa, followed the Ogre back to his cave, following the rainbow bridge, and learned the Ogre's secrets. As the Ogre slept, Chirpa stole the crystal and some of the nectar, though at that time Chirpa was unaware of the nectar's unique properties.
The following day, Gantu awoke, realizing these possessions were gone. He was unable to cross the Gorge of Fire, as Chirpa possessed the crystal, which allowed him to cross it. Chirpa returned to the Ewok village and gave to his fellow villagers the crystal, which was placed in the Council Hut and guarded by the Ewok Ebab. After a few years, Gantu had become nothing more than a legend to the Ewoks.
Wicket and Teebo's escape
- "Teebo, we're trapped!"
- ―Wicket
After Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka, the daughter of Chief Chirpa, was poisoned by a deadly Nightshade thorn, the young Ewoks Wicket and Teebo set out to find a cure. The only known antidote to Nightshade was sunnydew nectar, a substance in short supply. The reserve that Chirpa had stolen from Gantu in years prior had been exhausted, so the two young Ewoks had to find an alternate source. Learning of Chirpa's daring raid on Gantu's lair from Logray, Wicket stole the rainbow crystal from under Ebab's nose, and together with Logray, set out for Zandor.
Gantu chases after Teebo
After walking across Zandor, they encountered the Zandor Rockers, who brought them to Gantu's cave. The Ogre was not to be found in his residence, so Wicket ran over to steal the nectar and save Kneesaa. However, Gantu soon returned from his errands with a club in his hand, ready to kill the Ewoks. Gantu protected the nectar, which he referred to as "light water", so that the Ewoks could not steal it. However, when Wicket distracted the Ogre by showing him the rainbow crystal, Gantu dropped the nectar and ran to reclaim the crystal. Wicket threw the crystal to Teebo, who caught it.
However, Gantu was determined not to lose the crystal again, and grabbed Teebo. The Ewok dropped the crystal, breaking it. After this, the Ogre prepared to eat the two young Ewoks. As Wicket and Teebo ran, a Zandor Rocker dealt Gantu a distracting wound on the foot. Gantu accidentally spilled the sunnydew nectar on himself, causing him to glow.
The spilled nectar began to create new sunnydews. However, sunnydew flowers had a long life cycle before blooming, and the two Ewoks did not have the time to save Kneesaa. The Zandor Rockers created a tunnel to transport the Ewoks under the Gorge, and small enough that Gantu could not fit in it. The Ewoks thanked the Zandor Rockers and left. Later, a plant that Wicket had picked up was found to be a sunnydew, which saved Kneesaa. Gantu never crossed the Gorge again, alleviating the Ewoks' fear of the giant Ogre.
Legacy
- "We can't stand him!"
- ―A Zandor Rocker
Gantu relishes his newfound glow
During his first raid on Bright Tree Village, Gantu was feared by all Ewoks. The Ogre even consumed many Ewoks, which struck much fear in the sentients. He was remembered as a giant monster to all the residents of Bright Tree Village. In addition to this, Gantu stole the Ewoks' supplies of honey, putting many Ewoks in danger of starvation.
To the Zandor Rockers, Gantu was also a monster, but for a different reason. The Ogre raided the Rockers' villages of all their sunnydew flowers and nectar. Gantu used this nectar to light his cave through the night.
Personality and traits
- "Me keep! Me afraid of dark!"
- ―Gantu
Gantu was considered to be evil by the residents of Bright Tree Village and the Zandor Rockers. He constantly raided their villages, stealing the precious honey of the Ewoks and the sunnydew nectar of the Zandor Rockers. He was hated by both civilizations. Gantu was also known to be afraid of the dark. Instead of using the nectar's healing powers to clean his wounds and cure himself of illnesses, he used its glowing powers to light up his cave. Gantu speech used "me" in place of "I", an example of the Ogre's ineptitude with pronouns.
Another characteristic of Gantu was that he was short-tempered and had a large appetite, though he refused to do any work in procuring his own food. Instead of acquiring his own sustenance or asking the Ewoks for honey, Gantu raided their village to feed himself. A similar situation arose when Gantu did not bother to ask the Zandor Rockers for their sunnydew flowers, but instead stole them.
Behind the scenes
Gantu was created by writer David Manak as the antagonist of Ewoks 1: The Rainbow Bridge. Ewoks 1 is the only Star Wars publication in which Gantu appears.
Appearances
- Ewoks 1: The Rainbow Bridge (First appearance)