Skeleton Crew: Breaking down the Crimson Jack Easter egg

This week's episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew heightened the excitement that has been playing out since Wim and Neel first play-acted at heroism in the first episode of the new series. While the mystery man at the end of episode two, "Way, Way Out Past The Barrier," named Jod Na Nawood, got a lot less mysterious at Port Borgo, one sobriquet for him struck me hard in the nostalgic feelings about Marvel's Star Wars comics.

Let's discuss the Easter egg of "Crimson Jack" in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.

You can't get much more old school than Crimson Jack. After Marvel printed the comic adaptation of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the post-Yavin stories of the "Star Warriors" began with issue #7. It was in that issue, Star Wars 7: New Planets, New Perils!, that fans were introduced to a pirate gang leader named Crimson Jack. The cover promised to tell the story of "Han Solo and Chewbacca on a world the law forgot!" In the story, Han Solo is robbed of the reward he received for the rescue of Princess Leia.

Wookieepedia's article on the Star Wars Legends version of Crimson Jack is a great resource for following the full story of "Redbeard" as Han calls him. Four issues later, after his original piracy, Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa ran afoul of Jack and the gang again during their search for Luke Skywalker. Says Wookieepedia, "In an elaborate ruse, Solo and Organa were able to convince Jack that there was a Rebel treasury in the Drexel system."

Crimson Jack has also appeared more recently in the canon comics. In the miniseries Star Wars: Halcyon Legacy by Ethan Sacks, our old friend Crimson Jack took on the role of bounty hunter when someone on a starcruiser was discovered to have Resistance ties and would make for a nice payoff if Jack were to turn them over to the First Order.

What does the name "Crimson Jack" mean for Jod Na Nawood?

So, what now? Jod Na Nawood is identified as "Crimson Jack" by Kh'ymm, but Jod, who is also revealed to be Captain Silvo from episode one, "This Could Be A Real Adventure," has a different identity for different audiences. We know he is a pirate, but luck has not been on his side recently. Benjar Pranic remembers him as having "a fire in [his] belly...[and] a mad scheme in [his] heart." Jod reminds his old crew member that he used to talk of a "big score."

Since Jod wears so many masks in the series so far, it's hard to know what his real objective is. It would be interesting to see a callback to the Crimson Jack, who got tricked into helping his prisoners based on rumors of a Rebel treasure trove. After all, he has a habit of not lying so much as omitting the truth.

For now, we look forward to seeing if there's more to him than money. Disney+ is releasing episodes of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew every Tuesday, and we have a long way to go before we get to the end of the arc for everyone headed to At Attin.