We rank the 50 most memorable Star Wars deaths ever
By Ryan Wrenn
48. Jek Porkins
When Did They Die: Episode IV: A New Hope
Who Were They: A member of Red Squadron, the small group of X-Wing fighters sent to take out the first Death Star as it approached the Rebel base on Yavin 4
How Did They Die: The Death Star’s turbolasers caught him as he tried to pull out of an attack on the surface of the space station.
Not to get too far removed from the story itself, but does it strike anyone else as particularly cruel that George Lucas would introduce a character named Jek Porkins only to have him die mere frames later? How’s he going to make a really lazy fat joke and not at least try to draw it out a bit more?
No one likes fat-shaming, but you have to imagine that even Jek himself would see some of the humor in his particular bit of nominative determinism. All the other characters stuck with some over-obvious descriptive names get some screentime to at least flesh out what makes their names so apt. Han Solo is a rugged individualist, always looking out for himself before only reluctantly joining the Rebel Alliance. Greedo gets to be an assassin-for-hire. General Grievous is generally pretty…grievous.
This app-controlled BB-8 is a must-have for any fan.
And Porkins? All we see is some chubby cheeks followed by a massive explosion as his X-Wing is downed above the Death Star’s surface. A sad and premature ending to one of the most unfortunately named characters in the Star Wars universe.
Next: 47. Shmi Skywalker