Ha! I can almost hear you thinking… “Doesn’t he mean The Clone Wars?”. Nope, we’re talking about the original Clone Wars cartoon, the 2D animation by Genndy Tartakovsky. You better remember this gem, or get to it if you haven’t seen it yet. Airing as short episodes on Cartoon Network between 2003 and 2005, it included 25 episodes in three seasons. It introduced some cool characters, such as Asajj Ventress, Durge, and even General Grievous. It had guest appearances of the ever popular Aayla Secura and K’kruhk. It showed the underwater battle between the Mon Calamari and Quarren, and the Crystal Caves at Ilum (both later returned in The Clone Wars). It had over-the-top awesome Force battles…
Ahum, I seem to be wandering of. Let us get to the subject of this blog; aliens. Clone Wars wouldn’t be complete without introducing some new species to the Star Wars Galaxy, so here we go!
The Dathomirians were a species of near-Humans, native to the planet Dathomir (Outer Rim, O6). This is a very touchy subject with some fans, as there have been a lot of changes introduced by The Clone Wars and later sources. Originally, Asajj Ventress was identified as a Rattataki, but that’s no longer the case. I could write about the whole ordeal with Dathomirians, Zabrak, Nightsisters, and other connections, but I’d best keep that for a separate entry into this blog. Anyway, retroactively this would be one of the first appearances of a Dathomirian as we know them now. Let’s leave it at that for the time being.
The Gen’Dai were a boneless species, that had a lifespan of several millennia. They were basically formless, appearing to be made out of a fibrous structure. Gen’Dai wore armor to shape themselves like humanoids. They had no heart and powerful generative capabilities. Technically, the comic Republic: The New Face of War was the first ever appearance, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Durge was created for the Clone Wars multimedia project.
The Kaleesh were a reptilian species from the planet Kalee (Wild Space, J4). They had long faces with yellow eyes and large fangs. The Kaleesh were a polygamous species, that had a tradition of hiding their faces behind masks made out of animal skulls. They were a nomadic species, prone to violence and with a culture of war, and saw themselves at the receiving end of economic sanctions due to their conflict with the Huk (or Yam’rii, those praying mantis aliens from the Mos Eisley Cantina). When warlord Qymaen jai Sheelal made a deal with the InterGalactic Banking Clan to save his starving people, he inadvertently set in motion the event that would made him into General Grievous. Chapter 20 was Grievous’ first introduction, before he made his appearance in Revenge of the Sith.
The Kon’Me were a reptilian species, native to Bal’demnic (Outer Rim, R7). They had pink skins and long, thick necks. Their society was split into two classes, with the upper class living in bubble-like structures on the cliffs of Bal’demnic’s many islands, and the lower class residing in simple dwellings on the beaches. The Kon’me were distrustful of outsiders and were considered isolationists. War eventually came to their world during the Clone Wars, when traces of cortosis were discovered in the cliffs of their islands. The Kon’me received their background in the entry for Bal’demnic, in the What’s the Story feature of StarWars.com’s Hyperspace.
The Nelvaanians were a mammalian species from Nelvaan (Outer Rim, Q16). They had blue fur and black manes on their head. The elongated snout, black nose and sharp teeth gave the Nelvaanians a canine appearance. A religious people, the Nelvaanians lived a tribal live. The strongest males hunted for prey, females governed most of the day-to-day part of society. During the Clone Wars, the Techno Union occupied Nelvaan and started experimenting with cybernetic technology on its inhabitants. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker managed to eventually to liberate the Nelvaanians. The planet Nelvaan was named after Nelvana, the animation company that produced the Ewoks and Droids cartoons.
The Rodisar were a reptilian species, native to Rodis (Outer Rim, H16). The had pale skins and a large upper torso. One Rodisar was General Nilo, who at one point ended up in the hands of Zygerrian slavers that sold him to Rattataki war barons. He died fighting in the Cauldron gladiator pit, when he faced Asajj Ventress in 22 BBY. The Rodisar were based on unused concept art for the Gamorrean guards by Nilo Rodis-Jamero. Both the Nilo and Rodis(ar) names are obviously referring to the concept artist.
The Shikitari were a semi-sentient, insectoid species from a planet bearing the same name (Unknown Regions). They had multi-staged life cycles, where the larvae from an egg cluster fused together during the pupal stage into a single Shikitari individual. One such individual was Carl, who fought and died in the Cauldron during the Clone Wars.
The Trogodiles were a reptilian species. They had green skins and protruding jaws, giving them a crocodylomorph appearance. Trogodiles had clawed fingers and toes, and a spiny ridge along their back. Swyy’m-Ee was a Trogodile that fought in the Cauldron, dying by being crushed by a falling piece of ceiling. The species was named in a sticker book based on the TV series.
In addition, there are several unidentified species roaming around the series, most notably in the Cauldron gladiator fight of Chapter 6.
CW Spec. #1 is the species of Giant Flog, a brown-furred hulking mammalian.
CW Spec. #2 is the species of Crockagor, a green-skinned reptilian with bony spikes protruding from his elbows and knees.
CW Spec. #3 is the species of Crutch, a red-carapaced insectoid species with six legs and six arms, and a head with a single eye.
CW Spec. #4 is the species of Krullian, a blue-skinned being with multiple eyes all around his head. Krullian was cut from the series, where he was supposed to have fought in the Cauldron. He can be found in the image gallery on the DVD. Krullian may even be his species name, but at this point we cannot know for sure.
Okay, I think that covers most of it. One more species I can think of from the top of my head is a species we very briefly see as being enslaved during the onslaught of the Clone Wars, but there’s not really much more to say about them. I promise to come back to the whole Rattataki/Dathomirian debate in a separate article!
Sources
- The Clone Wars Campaign Guide, Wizards of the Coast 2009
- The New Essential Guide to Alien Species, Del Rey 2006
- StarWars.com Database (obsolete content)
- Ultimate Sticker Book: Clone Wars, Dorling Kindersley 2004
Alien Anthology 
Maul is confirmed to be Dathomirian Zabrak. So the 1st appearance of Dathomirians is TPM in 1999.
There is a difference between Dathomirians as a species and Zabrak from Dathomir, but it’s all rather complicated nowadays. I will write about this soon (just waiting to see what Ghosts of Dathomir will add on the subject).
Technically I think Maul and the others are still classified as “Zabrak” and not as “Dathomirians”. The whole change with the Dathomirians is kinda confusing and as I stated I will one day write about this. But that needs some more work to make sure I’m not missing any piece of the puzzle. Stay tuned!
Crockagor looks like he could have been inspired by some of the old Marvel SW background aliens.
Maybe Krullian’s people designed the FX-7 droids?
Maul and Ventress are Dathomirian Zabrak
Actually, Ventress is a “Dathomirian”, Maul is a “Dathomirian Zabrak”, which seem to be two distinct species. See https://alienanthology.wordpress.com/2021/04/17/hitting-the-books-the-clone-wars-character-encyclopedia/
Actually, it’s a case of sexual dimorphism, in which two sexes of one species appear to be different species
The problem is that the sources that talk about Dathomirians / Dathomirian Zabrak are all rather vague and open to interpretation. I believe Leland Chee once stated they are a hybrid race. We’ve seen female Zabrak with horns, so the Dathomirians are clearly something different. Can either be a subspecies or a hybrid of some sort, but none of the sources really go beyond providing the two(!) names.