Gracca


Gracca was a winged sapient who lived on the Floating Mountain on the moon of Endor. At some point in the early history of Bright Tree Village, an Ewok settlement on the moon, Gracca invaded the village and stole the Ewoks' magical Crystal Cloak, which gave the owner the power to make anything they touched turn into crystal. After stealing the cloak, Gracca departed back to Floating Mountain where he resided for several years, turning the creatures of the mountain into crystal statues. Eventually, the young Ewoks Wicket Wystri Warrick, Latara, Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka, and Teebo arrived on Floating Mountain to retrieve the cloak. However, all they succeeded in doing was destroying the cloak, thereby stripping Gracca of his powers. Gracca became furious and tried to destroy the young Ewok children. Unfortunately, his attack missed and ran him headlong into a forest of towering crystal which toppled upon him. Gracca was then left trapped under the massive crystals as the young Ewoks left the mountain carrying away some of its crystals.

Early life


Gracca perched upon his throne

Gracca perched upon his throne

Gracca was a male individual of a winged species, who was present on the moon of Endor years before 3 ABY. There, Gracca lived on the Floating Mountain, a mountain that hovered above a lake of lava. The mountain was populated by several different creatures, and Gracca desired to rule over the mountain and make its inhabitants serve him. At some point, he learned of the Ewoks of the forest moon, who owned several powerful artifacts that would enable him to gain the power he would need to conquer the mountain. Infiltrating the Ewoks' Bright Tree Village, Gracca stole the Crystal Cloak, a piece of clothing that granted the wearer the ability to turn anything they touched into crystal. Gracca then returned to the Floating Mountain and created a residence and a throne out of crystal where he could rule over the creatures of the mountain. The Ewoks, after learning of the loss of the Crystal Cloak, created a scroll detailing the theft of the cloak. The scroll, written in Ewokese, named Gracca as the thief of the cloak and claimed that only a great warrior would be able to defeat Gracca and retrieve the cloak.

Return of the Ewoks


Gracca blowing his crystal seeds at the Ewoks

Gracca blowing his crystal seeds at the Ewoks

Unknown to Gracca, two Ewoks of Bright Tree Village, Wicket Wystri Warrick and Latara put it upon themselves to recover the Crystal Cloak; Warrick hoped to retrieve the cloak to prove that he was a great warrior, while Latara hoped that the power of the Crystal Cloak could be used to repair a crystal that she had broken. In 3 ABY, the Ewoks used their skin gliders and headed towards the Floating Mountain. They were seen approaching by a floating flower, one of Gracca's servants. The flower returned to its master and informed him that two Ewoks were marching towards his lair. Gracca thanked his pet, but in doing so, he accidentally tapped it on the head, turning the floating flower into a crystal statue as he had done to many of his pets before. After tossing his crystallized pet into a pile with the rest of his crystal creations, Gracca flew out his fortress and circled the Floating Mountain, looking for the Ewok intruders.

Gracca spied the two Ewoks climbing the mountain after overhearing their conversation. Attempting to get rid of the Ewok intruders, Gracca blew a large cloud of crystal seeds onto them. As the Ewoks marveled at the cloud of crystals, the seeds settled into the ground and a forest of crystals sprouted from the ground. The two Ewoks attempted to run from the sprouting crystals, which drove them to the edge of the Floating Mountain. Trapped between the crystal forest and the lava below, the Ewoks were only saved from Gracca's trap by the intervention of their friends, the Ewoks Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka and Teebo.

Attack


Gracca trapped by his crystals

Gracca trapped by his crystals

The four Ewoks, now safe from the crystal forest, gathered their gliders and prepared to depart the Floating Mountain, hoping to escape further attacks. However, Gracca confronted them before they could leave, demonstrating his powers by turning an insect and a flower into crystal. Warrick, unafraid of Gracca's threats, charged with a stick, demanding the return of the Crystal Cloak. As the young Ewok swung the stick at Gracca, he grabbed the weapon from Warrick, turning the weapon into crystal. Gracca reached out at Warrick to turn him into crystal, but the Ewok was pulled away at the last second by Kintaka. The Ewoks fled across the mountain, and Gracca pursued them until they were at its edge. However, as Gracca circled the four Ewoks, attempting to turn them into crystal statues, he failed to notice Kintaka using her lasso to grab hold of the Crystal Cloak. As Gracca swooped past the Ewoks, the lasso pulled the cloak from his back, depriving him of his powers.

As the cloak slowly drifted down towards the lava pit below the Floating Mountain, Gracca pursued it, desperate to get it back. However, the magical artifact hit the lava before Gracca could reach it. A large black explosion erupted from the destroyed cloak, pushing him back towards the Ewoks. Furious at the Ewoks for erasing the source of his power, he claimed that they would pay for their antics. Gracca zeroed in on Warrick and chased him across the mountain, following the Ewok as he headed for the crystal forest. Just as Gracca was about to reach Warrick, the young Ewok jumped around a corner, and Gracca was unable to alter his flight in time. Crashing headfirst into a large crop of crystals, he became pinned as crystals fell all around him. Gracca yelled to the Ewoks to free him, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Defeated, Gracca could only watch as the Ewoks departed the Floating Mountain in their gliders, weighed down by several crystals that they took with them. With no one willing to free him, Gracca was left trapped under the rubble forever.

Personality and traits


Gracca with his wings extended

Gracca with his wings extended

Gracca was an ambitious individual who wished to rule the Floating Mountain and had no qualms about eliminating those who opposed this desire. After acquiring the Crystal Cloak, Gracca did not hesitate to turn anyone who would not serve him into crystal. He even transformed those who did serve him, as he was not careful with his power and would accidentally turn his pets into crystal on a frequent basis. Gracca lamented the loss of his pets when he did this, but he did not feel overly guilty about the act. When the Ewoks invaded his home to reclaim the Crystal Cloak, Gracca opposed them with violence, attempting to turn the Ewok children into crystal before they could take the cloak from him.

Gracca had two large wings that ran along the length of his body and an additional wing that was present between his legs. He was able to use these wings to fly about the Floating Mountain, and he could start his flight from a crouching position, jumping into the air to begin flight. He had two large ears that afforded him great hearing, as he could hear the Ewoks' private conversations from a distance. Gracca had green skin and the insides of his ears and wings were purple in color. Three green spikes ran vertically along his scalp, and he had the appearance of a green beard. Gracca's eyes were black, and he had three digits on his hands and his feet, which were tipped with sharp yellow talons. An additional talon protruded from the heels of his feet. Gracca towered over the Ewoks, appearing to be twice the height of an Ewok child, around two meters in height.

Behind the scenes


Gracca was created by Paul Dini for use in the Ewoks television show and the character appeared in the season premiere of the second season, The Crystal Cloak, which first aired on September 13, 1986. Gracca did not appear again in the cartoon, but the character was later given an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, which reveals that Gracca was trapped under the crystals forever. Although the spelling of Gracca's name is ambiguous from the episode, his name is spelled as "Gracca" in the Star Wars Insider 27 article, "A Star Wars CELibration." The Crystal Cloak names this character "The Gracca" for the majority of the episode, and the article in Star Wars Insider refers to him as "the evil Gracca." However, The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia leaves out "the", only referring to him as "Gracca." As the encyclopedia is the most recent source, this article assumes that "Gracca" is the correct way to refer to the character.

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