In the third episode of Skeleton Crew, Jude Law’s character joined the crew of kids promising to help them. But, as was expected, his intentions are far more complicated than that.
Wim believes him to be a Jedi because it seems like he can use the Force, but the man who introduced himself as Jod Na Nawood is the same person as Captain Silvo, the pirate captain seen in the introduction to the series. Through this, we learn that his main interest in these kids isn’t helping them get home out of the kindness of his heart, but the mysterious treasure rumored to be on At Attin. He tells this to one of his men while trying to escape with SM-33, but by the end of the episode he even (somewhat) tells it to the kids, saying he wants to get them home and maybe get a little something for it.
But Jod Na Nawood and Captain Silvo aren’t the only names that he goes by, and his reputation is apparently far more notorious than realized. When he arrives on the moon outpost to see Kh’ymm, she identifies him as Crimson Jack – a notorious pirate who is wanted by the New Republic. Kh’ymm calls the New Republic, who send two X-Wing fighters to intercept the pirate, but “Jack” and the kids escape. At this point we have no idea what this character’s “real” name is, but the Crimson Jack one isn’t coming out of thin air. It’s not only a fitting pirate name (“Captain Jack” Sparrow, anyone?), but also one that has deep Star Wars roots.
In fact, it goes all the way back to 1977, the year Star Wars first premiered. Marvel Comics picked up the franchise and followed the events of the film for the first six issues, finally branching out beyond it for issue #7. Written by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin, the issue focuses on Han Solo and Chewbacca intending to pay off their debts to Jabba the Hutt but having a run-in with pirate boss Crimson Jack and his crew. He showed up in several subsequent issues until his death at the hands of Solo. That was it for the character’s Legends story, but just a few years ago he was introduced into the new canon. In the Halcyon Legacy comic written by Ethan Sacks released in 2022, set during the sequel trilogy, Crimson Jack tried to obtain a bounty payment from the First Order for an apparent Resistance sympathizer.
Now, it’s almost certain that Jod Na Nawood is not intended to be the same character, because he looks absolutely nothing like the other version of Crimson Jack. But the name, at the very least, is a fun nod to an old and oft-forgotten Star Wars tale. It also leads me to wonder how the legend of Crimson Jack evolves in the galaxy: could it be that the Crimson Jack in the Resistance era knows of Jod’s legacy and takes the name as a nod to him? Or is Crimson Jack a sort of well-known pirate legend in the Star Wars galaxy, a mantle that numerous pirates take on? I’m guessing that will be for future reference books to figure out, but in this series, it’s fun that one of the names for this character is a known one.
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