First Appearance Summary: Star Wars Adventures #7 (IDW 2018) is Hondo Ohnaka’s first full appearance in printed comics.
Hondo Ohnaka is a fan favorite Weequay outlaw, pirate, and scoundrel. While not purely evil, he has the tendency to back stab and only really helps the causes of good when it conveniently aligns with his motives. He’s most famous for his appearances in the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series. When it comes to Hondo Ohnaka’s first appearance in comics, however, things get a little blurry.
You can check out Hondo Ohnaka’s first comic appearance, key issues, and cameos over at our sister site WookyWiki.com!
Hunting the Hunters Part I:
Hunting the Hunters Part I was published on June 12, 2009 and is Hondo Ohnaka’s first appearance in a comic medium. It was part of the Starwars.com Hyperspace series of web comics. The premise of the story is that Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, Shahan Alama, and Robonino have successfully broken Ziro the Hutt out of Republic prison, but need to scatter to keep the heat off the group as a whole. Alama heads for Florrum but ends up in the scopes of both a Republic Gunship and a Separatist craft.
The comic was tied into a game called Gunship over Florrum. If you successfully shot down Alama’s saucer spacecraft, you were reward with a sixth bonus page.
This is where Hondo shows up. He offers Alama sanctuary. At a price, of course. So, if you were skilled enough at the game, this comic became Hondo Ohnaka’s first comic appearance. The links for these webcomics are all now defunct, but you can find .cbr files over here.
Star Wars: Tales from The Clone Wars Webcomic Collection Season 1
Now, Hunting the Hunters Part I was a web comic. Most people are interested in first appearances and key issues because they want to collect the physical issue containing that material. This is where you would think Star Wars: Tales from The Clone Wars Webcomic Collection Season 1 would come in. But there’s a twist!
This 200 plus page trade paperback was published by Dreams and Visions Press with Dark Horse Books and was first available at Star Wars Celebration V in August 2010 before being offered exclusively through StarWarsShop.com. It collected the following webcomics and “gameisodes”:
- The Clone Wars: Prelude
- The Clone Wars: Shakedown
- The Clone Wars: Procedure
- The Clone Wars: Agenda
- The Clone Wars: Mouse Hunt
- The Clone Wars: The Fall of Falleen
- The Clone Wars: Discount
- The Clone Wars: Departure
- The Clone Wars: Transfer
- The Clone Wars: The Dreams of General Grievous
- The Clone Wars: Bait
- The Clone Wars: Switch
- The Clone Wars: Headgames
- The Clone Wars: Neighbors
- The Clone Wars: Cold Snap
- The Clone Wars: Shadowed
- The Clone Wars: The Valley
- The Clone Wars: Covetous
- The Clone Wars: Curfew
- The Clone Wars: The Ballad of Cham Syndulla
- The Clone Wars: Invitation Only
- The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part I)
- The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part II)
- The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part III)
So, on its face, you would think this book reprinted the entirety of Hunting the Hunters Part I, but that’s not the case. As you can see below, this paperback goes straight from Hunting the Hunters Part I, page 5 into page 1 of Hunting the Hunters Part 2, skipping the bonus unlockable page 6:
The result? No Hondo Ohnaka.
This book, is not to be discounted, though. It still contains the first comic appearances of Cad Bane, Jek (Clone), King Katuunko, Rys (Clone), Kite (Clone), Ares Nune (Jedi), Broadside (Clone), Matchstick (Clone), Faro Argyus (Senate Commando), Silood (Rodian senatorial aide), Yutsen (Rodian reporter for TriNebulon News), Bouncer (Clone), Stripe (Clone), Gha Nachkt (Trandoshan scavenger), Dannl Faytonni, Achk Med-Beq, Pilf Mukmuk(male Kowakian monkey-lizard and pet of Hondo Ohnaka), Tee Watt Kaa (Lurmen), Wag Too (Lurmen), Tub (Lurmen), Mag (Clone), Shiv (Clone), Chopper (clone), Gus (Clone), Jester (clone), Whorm Loathsom (a Kerkoiden male), Sketch (clone), Slick (clone), Peppi Bow (Gungan), Chrin (Nabooian security officer), Queen Neeyutnee (Monarch of Naboo), Artruk (Twi’lek), Cham Syndulla (Twi’lek father of Hera Syndulla), TA-175 (Wat Tambor’s personal T-series tactical droid), Voyla (Twi’lek), Numa (Twi’lek), Numa’s Father (Twi’lek), Numa’s Mother (Twi’lek), Tronda (Twi’lek), Lubo (Twi’lek), Gobi Glie (Twi’lek), Blurrg (beast of burden from the Mandalorian), Shahan Alama (Weequay bounty hunter), Davtokk (human bounty hunter (dead)), Robonino (Patrolian bounty hunter), Todo 360 (techno-service droid), Ziro Desilijic Tiure (the Hutt), HELIOS-3D (IG-86 sentinel droid bounty hunter), Jaybo Hood (human male child), Torrent Four (clone pilot).
So, phew!
Darth Maul (Marvel 2017):
Hondo next makes a series of cameo appearances, unnamed, in the background of a Jedi auction in Darth Maul issues 2, 3, and 4.
Star Wars Adventures #7 (2018 IDW)
Finally, almost a year later, Hondo makes a cover appearance and a first full, named interior appearance in a print comic book in Star Wars Adventures #7. It’s 3 pages:
That was a long hike for a short drink of water, huh? You can check out Hondo Ohnaka’s first comic appearance, key issues, and cameos over at our sister site WookyWiki.com!