10 Background Star Wars Characters More Important Than You Think
4. Biggs Darklighter
You have to feel for Biggs Darklighter. Originally destined for a more prominent role in the first Star Wars, Garrick Hagon's part as the Tatooine-born Rebel pilot was drastically cut and ended up only featuring in the third act during the Battle of Yavin, where he died attempting to help Luke navigate the Death Star trench.
Even so, Biggs garnered a cult following and found himself the subject of multiple EU stories in the years following, each attempting to further explore the moustached figure who was once Luke Skywalker's closest friend.
And, for the most part, the comics have done a great job of lending further weight to Biggs' demise in A New Hope. The first volume of the main Star Wars comic written by Jason Aaron devotes some time to Biggs and Luke's childhood during the Journals of Ben Kenobi arc, showing that Darklighter was the son of a wealthy family determined to become a fighter pilot in the Imperial Navy.
Biggs eventually made it to the Imperial Academy, but defected to the Rebel Alliance after one of his fellow cadets, Derek Klivian, initiated a mutiny.