A young man from Tatooine, the grandson of a slave, Janek Sunber was raised on a moisture farm near Anchorhead. On Hutt-dominated Tatooine, he learned Huttese in addition to Basic. He ran with a group of other Anchorhead youths near his age. As the biggest of the boys, he gained the nickname "Tank" by which he was commonly known. He was regarded as a mischievous rule-breaker, eager to have fun. He and his good friends Biggs Darklighter and Laze "Fixer" Loneozner were older than some of the other boys, like Windy Starkiller and Sunber's good friend Luke Skywalker, by a few years. This led to a phase in his mid-teens in which, able to do things such as drive landspeeders where Skywalker could not, he spent most of his time with the older boys, racing landspeeders and driving to Anchorhead to kill time at Tosche Station. As they aged, he returned to a close friendship with Skywalker. In one instance, he "borrowed" his father's blaster rifle to go womp rat hunting with Darklighter and Skywalker.
Growing up, Sunber was a skilled pilot, frequently flying through Beggar's Canyon with his friends. He hoped to put those skills to use as an Imperial pilot, cutting a glamorous and dashing figure. Darklighter and Skywalker were planning to become Imperial pilots as well, and Sunber was confident they would succeed and the three could serve together. However, when he applied to enter the Naval Academy on Prefsbelt IV, he did not test well enough to become a pilot.
Rather than admit defeat, Sunber chose a career in the Imperial Army. He left Tatooine in 1 BBY and went through training at the Academy of Carida, where his exceptional performance and tactical skill earned him a transfer to officer training. Within a year he graduated a lieutenant. Training broke him of his impetuosity, bringing him to see the value of discipline. As an army lieutenant, Sunber envied his friends for taking what he believed to be an easier path to advancement than the less-glamorous life of a foot soldier, but was determined to make the best of his lot and rise to a high position.
Sunber was assigned to the world of Maridun. He was put under the command of the young and privileged Captain Gage, whose easy advancement, condescending demeanor, and reluctance to put forth significant effort grated on backwater-born Sunber. As Sunber traveled with an armored column, one of the Juggernauts became stuck. A man who wished to give no orders he would not carry out himself and who did not shy from toil, Sunber intended to aid the stormtroopers under his command in freeing it. For this, he was rebuked by Gage as not properly holding himself above his men. Regardless, Sunber entered the mud to aid his troops, earning the admiration of the expedition's commanding officer, General Ziering, who saw in Sunber a dedicated and hardworking officer.
Immediately upon the Juggernaut being freed, the column came under attack by local Amanin warriors. Sunber, seeing his first action, immediately organized his unit in counter-fire, quickly driving off the ambushers and earning Ziering's praise for his initiative. Newly on guard against what had been perceived as peaceful natives, the column set out with Sunber's squad taking the point position. Before departing, Sunber noted that the rock on which the Juggernaut had hung up bore what appeared to be ritual Amanin markings. A full day of travel brought them to a remote mining outpost on the Maridun prairie—which they found had been raided by the Amanin and left waste while the aliens carried off the miners' blasters. Sunber immediately ordered his men to set up defenses, but Gage countermanded him and took the matter to Ziering, who suggested that only a small redoubt be constructed against the cliff face the outpost was built along, as the men were tired from the day's march. Undaunted, Sunber labored with the stormtroopers to construct the walls. As night fell, he conferred with Gage, Ziering, and Ziering's deputy Commander Frickett. Gage and Frickett were confident in the defenses, but Sunber's doubtful expression prompted Ziering to ask the junior officer's opinion. Knowing he was making enemies by showing up two superiors, he suggested that they did not have enough men to defend the position, lacked proper intelligence on the Amanin, and had no lane of retreat.
Dawn saw an Amanin attack by climbers descending the cliff face, and Sunber, seeing to the defense, was caught next to one of the two Juggernauts when it was destroyed by sabotage. Knocked out, he awoke to learn that Ziering had been wounded in the same blast and was recovering. Frickett and Gage were seeing to the defense, and tasked the impertinent lieutenant with building wider perimeter fortifications. Disappointed in his subordinate, Ziering put Gage on patrol duty. When Gage's patrol came under attack, Sunber quickly took the controls of the remaining Juggernaut and scattered the Amanin with a quick blast, letting Gage make it back to camp. Revealed in his wake were a vast horde of Amanin warriors. With Ziering in surgery, Frickett was in command. Panicking, he ordered a charge. Sunber immediately realized that the Amanin were drawing them out for an ambush, but neither Gage nor Frickett would listen in time. Frickett was slain in the field, and the last Juggernaut captured and put out of commission.
After a conference, Ziering held Sunber back and sought his advice. The younger man accepted that without reinforcements, the death of the entire company was the only likely outcome. Therefore, he suggested that they sell their lives dearly, setting up three successive breastworks with overlapping fields of fire in front of a final redoubt. Impressed, Ziering promoted Sunber to captain and implemented his plan. Sunber spent the night seeing to the building of trenches and earthworks.
When it came time for the defense to be mounted, Sunber protectively suggested that the general retire to the redoubt. In his absence, the jealous Gage ordered Sunber to the first trench, using his power as senior captain to push Sunber into the greatest danger. Sunber kept the spirits of his men up until sunset, when the Amanin made their attack. As the natives threatened to overwhelm his trench, Sunber gave the order to fall back to the second trench. He was shaken to see that Gage, ordered to the second trench by Ziering in retaliation, had quailed on observing the onslaught and ordered his detachment to fall back. Sunber's squad lacked the covering fire necessary for a safe withdrawal. Fearful, he managed to settle on what seemed the squad's only chance: lobbing a thermal detonator at the wrecked Juggernaut in the field. He found success, setting off the Juggernaut's fuel supply in an explosion that cleared much of the field and held off the Amanin advance long enough for Sunber to fall back to the second trench.
Out of thermal detonators, Sunber needed a new tactic to stall the Amanin. He found one by having his men lower themselves out of sight in the center of the trench as if readying for attack, and then sidling to the north and south ends of the trench. Taken in, the Amanin mounted their attack on the center. Sunber's men caught them in a crossfire while Ziering's redoubt E-webs raked the Amanin caught in the center. Sunber quickly fell back to the redoubt, where he was warmly greeted by Ziering before a renewed Amanin offensive commanded their attention. The Imperial forces long held out, but the continual Amanin assault wore down their numbers, and barrages of Amanin throwing spears caught more and more troops. Eventually, Sunber himself was struck in the right shoulder but struggled through the pain to remain conscious and fighting. Next to him, Ziering was pierced through the chest. The Tatooinian rushed to the general's aid, but Ziering could not be helped. He passed away after exhorting Sunber to lead the men to victory and issuing him a field promotion to commander.
Fully feeling the weight of responsibility, Sunber shouted encouragement to his men and they fought even more fiercely. At long last, the opposition faded away. Sunber immediately began consolidating his defenses for another onslaught, but instead the Amanin leader came forward. Honored by the Imperial valor in what the Amanin saw as ritual battle—takital—resulting from the Imperial incursion into sacred lands marked by the stone Sunber had observed, the Amanin chieftain offered peace and a tribute of slaves taken in their battles with other Amanin tribes.
After finalizing the agreement, Sunber filed a report and eventually returned to Carida to face a board of review leading an inquiry into the Battle of Maridun. While losses had exceeded ninety percent of the Imperial force, the board found Sunber's actions satisfactory and the agreement to gain the Empire slaves quite advantageous; they issued Sunber a special commendation. However, as Gage enviously refused to verify Ziering's field promotions, Sunber was returned to lieutenancy.
Approximately seven months later, Sunber was part of a detail assigned to take on an underground fortress of Jabiimi Loyalists which had proven impervious to Imperial bombardment. Sunber led a charge up a rocky hill, against the well-fortified enemy. He directed his engineers in blowing a breach in the rock, exposing an entry point into the Jabiimi base. With access, he was able to compel the defenders to surrender. As per his orders, he oversaw the enslavement of the rebels, but he was uncomfortable with the task.
Boarding the same Acclamator-class assault ship as the slaves, Sunber and his remaining men—all clones—shipped out to Kalist VI. There, he got them situation in a new unit and found himself empty quarters. His belongings had been lost in transit, but he was accustomed to such difficulties. As he unpacked his new kit, he was challenged by another officer, a burly man named Clynn, who claimed the room as his. Rather than back down, Sunber won respect from the other officers by standing up to Clynn and, when Clynn swung, subduing the larger man. The fight was broken up by Captain Kale Roshuir, who assigned Sunber and Clynn to immediately pull double shifts together.
Impressed by Roshuir's mention of Sunber's service at Maridun, Clynn eagerly showed the new man around the base as they supervised the slave workers. Imperial media had made heroes of the survivors of Maridun, and Clynn was hungry for anecdotes. Sunber, however, saw battle as anything but glamorous. After their shifts concluded, Clynn promised to show Sunber entertainment, though the veteran of Maridun simply wanted sleep. Sunber was shocked at Clynn's idea of entertainment when the larger man pulled away a female prisoner and dragged her to a cell. Outraged, Sunber demanded that Clynn desist. When he was ignored, Sunber pulled his blaster on the other officer and forced him to let the woman go. Clynn left while threatening Sunber with retribution.
Clynn reported Sunber to Roshuir, telling the captain that Sunber had drawn a weapon on him while interfering with the disciplining of a prisoner. However, before Roshuir could deal with it, the captain was called away to lead an expedition against a suspected Rebel base at Thila. He left Sunber at the base and promised to bring him up on charges upon his return. Sunber, now experienced in military politics, knew a tribunal would never bear him out. Worried, he was suddenly comforted by the unexpected sight of Skywalker on the landing platform from which Roshuir had departed. Skywalker, wearing a lieutenant's uniform, was equally surprised, and Sunber excitedly engaged in reminiscing with him, filling his old friend in on developments in his own life and asking after the careers of Skywalker and Darklighter. He was proud to hear Skywalker report that he had made pilot, and Darklighter had as well—but devastated to learn that Darklighter was dead at the Battle of Yavin, killed covering his wingman Skywalker. Sunber began to share his doubts about the Empire and its role in slavery, and to his surprise Skywalker replied that he had doubts as well. However, Sunber was shocked when Skywalker suggested that he join the burgeoning Rebel Alliance. When a transmission from command stated that Rebel saboteurs were on the base, Sunber knew that his old friend was one of the enemy. When a nearby explosion broke out, Sunber attempted to apprehend Skywalker, but the other man knocked the Imperial officer out.
When Sunber awoke, he was outraged and betrayed. He immediately reported the presence of saboteurs and gave a description of Skywalker before pursuing him into the slave quarters. There, he found the slaves gone and stormtroopers slain. Furious, he caught up with Skywalker as he was leading the slaves aboard the Acclamator. Confronting his old friend, he was taken aback when Skywalker left himself open, confident Sunber could not shoot him. Instead, the budding Jedi expressed his confidence that Sunber would know that rescuing the slaves was the right thing and not stand in the way—as did the woman he had earlier rescued from Clynn's advances. Sunber admitted that Skywalker was right and agreed to let the slaves go, though he refused to defect, feeling that he was accomplishing good within the Empire. When another detachment of Rebels, bringing with them the freed Rebel Jorin Sol, arrived, Sunber again felt betrayed and manipulated, used by Skywalker to advance a Rebel agenda that had nothing to do with slaves. Enraged, he fired on Sol, but Skywalker's lightsaber blocked the bolt and sent it back into Sunber's shoulder. Skywalker again tried to persuade Sunber, but Sunber was unmoved, though shocked when Skywalker revealed that he had destroyed the Death Star, and Darklighter had been a Rebel as well. Skywalker and the Rebels took off, leaving Sunber wounded on the hangar floor.
After the battle, intelligence officers persuaded Roshuir not to charge Sunber—secretly grateful that Sol, whom they had broken and made a spy, had been returned to the Alliance Fleet. Bacta treatment healed his shoulder, and Sunber was left with only the emotional wounds of having his two best friends on the opposing side of a war. That struggle consumed his thoughts over the next month, even as he commanded in a hard-fought battle against a Rebel base on Keskin. The night before, he had had a dream in which he and the other Anchorhead youths had been boys playing war, and in it he had "killed" Skywalker. Though tormented by the situation, Sunber increasingly came to believe that he was somehow meant to stop Skywalker. Even when he was nearly killed by an infiltrator's thermal detonator, Sunber felt confident that he would not die, as Skywalker was not present. Thrown by the blast, he struggled with and killed another Rebel warrior before making his way back to Imperial lines, which were withdrawing in preparation for a TIE bomber bombardment. One of the bombers was shot down and plummeted towards Sunber. As it tumbled towards him, barely cartwheeling over his head, Sunber first accepted death and then realized that he would survive after all—and knew that he did so to battle Skywalker.
Later, Sunber interrupted the beating of a prisoner from the battle in an interrogation room, rebuking the Imperial soldiers for taking out their anger on a captive. He was determined to show the Rebel that the Empire truly represented justice and order. The prisoner was unconvinced, hostilely proclaiming that the Empire would fall, and mentioning Skywalker as the Rebellion's foremost hero. The prisoner taunting him with Skywalker's name was enough to cause Sunber to snap, striking the man until he was pulled away by the very men he had threatened with charges for beating the prisoner. To have Skywalker a Rebel was one thing—to learn that he was a leading Rebel warrior, the hero of Yavin, was too much for Sunber to bear.
That night, Sunber was again sleepless, tormented by Skywalker's role in the Rebellion. He refused to believe that Skywalker could have been right to join the Rebellion, and realized that if Skywalker was a major Rebel figure, he had important background information on that hero. His sense of duty compelled him to report it. Sunber was taken to the Star Dreadnought Executor and brought before Darth Vader. He made a full report to the intrigued Lord Vader of Skywalker's background, and Vader decided to make use of Sunber's connection to the young Rebel.
Sunber agreed to become a mole among the Rebel forces. He sent a message to Skywalker stating that he wished to defect, and giving coordinates where he could be found. The message was made to look as if he had been found out, and Sunber consented to undergo torture at the base at the given coordinates—a small space station controlling a deep-space junkyard—in order to strengthen his cover and credibility. Rebel commanders did not believe the message, but Skywalker, fully trusting his friend, dismissed concerns that it could be a trap and set out with supply clerk Deena Shan on an unsanctioned rescue mission.
Skywalker found Sunber in a torture chamber on the deserted station, and Sunber warned him that he had been "found out" and the situation was indeed a trap. Roshuir led a boarding party of stormtroopers onto the station, which caught Skywalker, Sunber, and Shan in a firefight in a hallway. At Roshuir's urging, Sunber attempted to seize Skywalker, but a stray shot hit him in the hand, halting the capture effort before it could begin. Skywalker was able to hold off the troops and, wounded, Sunber went with them as the two Rebels escaped the ambush.
When they returned to the Alliance Fleet, Sunber was taken under guard to receive medical care. He was repeatedly interrogated by Rebel spymaster Tungo Li, who found no flaw in his story. Eventually, Sunber was allowed his freedom on a limited basis, kept away from sensitive areas of the ship and always guarded by at least one Rebel. He met up with Skywalker again, but by then had firmly decided that Skywalker was an enemy of the Empire, an enemy of order—a decision made easier by Skywalker's seemingly blithe dismissal of the loss of life in the Death Star's explosion. Still, he could not entirely bring himself to hate his old friend.
That night, he had a dream in which Vader appeared, demanding that he put aside his doubts and capture Skywalker for the Dark Lord of the Sith. Thus urged on, he awoke and knocked out the guard outside his room, taking the man's clothing and sneaking out into Rebel One. Simultaneously, Sol opened fire on Leia Organa on the ship's bridge, and Vader's fleet arrived. Sunber, making his way to the bridge, brought Skywalker under his gun. The Rebel begged Sunber to allow the wounded Organa to receive medical aid, but Sunber was unmoved. He ordered Skywalker, carrying Organa, to proceed to an escape pod which Vader would recover; after that, he promised to see that the Rebel leader received treatment. Skywalker, bitterly disappointed, told Sunber that the Empire had killed Owen and Beru Lars, Skywalker's guardians. Overwhelmed, Sunber struck Skywalker, and the Jedi fought back. Sunber gained the upper hand and had Skywalker at his mercy, threatening to kill him, but he could not bring himself to do so. Skywalker offered to submit to capture if Sunber would only see that Organa lived. Before Sunber could take action, a shot rocked Rebel One, causing a malfunction in its artificial gravity that turned the corridor into a chasm. Sunber grabbed onto Organa and was in turn grabbed by Skywalker, who was secure on top of a horizontal surface. No longer willing to battle Skywalker, he mustered all his strength to hand Organa up to the other man before he lost his grip and plummeted down the long hallway.
Sunber's body was never found aboard Rebel One, but before Rebel One jumped to hyperspace and escaped the ambush, one escape pod was launched and recovered by the Empire.
A Wal-Mart exclusive action figure of Janek Sunber was released in 2009 as part of Hasbro's comic packs line. He was paired with a fearsome Amanin warrior from the strip 'To the Last Man'.
The Comic Packs line is a very important medium for all collectors. Not only do they thrill lovers of the Expanded Universe, they also give "movie only" collectors a chance to get figures that might not otherwise make it into the basic figure line. Enter the Janek Sunber/Amanin set. Fans of the Original Trilogy were thrilled with the announcement that Hasbro was going to revisit the Amanin species in action figure form. And while the version isn't meant to be based on the Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi character to a tee, it is still a solid action figure that blows away the previous Amanin action figures we have received thus far. It is truly a sight to behold. Amanin is large and foreboding and he is a magnificent creature that fits into any collection no matter its focus. While this creature has some extra gear that the bounty hunter from Episode VI didn’t, these extra pieces looks like a natural progression to what this species would indeed use in the wild (or at the very least off screen). The comics portrayed them a truly predatory reptilian-like species and they caused a good amount of grief for the Galactic Empire. And Hasbro translated the species beautifully with all-new tooling. It is so nice to get an exclusive where the tooling is 100% new for at least one of the figures in the set. It clearly makes the pack worthwhile for collectors and we are a hard group to please. Hasbro decided to give Walmart another crack at a trio of Comic Packs. Although the exclusive sets (from the 30 (77-07) line) were less than impressive and very slow sellers, Walmart certainly didn’t get the short end of the stick this time around. This second set of exclusives worked out much better because Hasbro decided to revisit the way they tackled their exclusive Comic Packs by adding much more value for the money while including new sculpts or retools instead of just simple repaints.
Amanin is a completely new figure with seven points of articulation, although you may only see six distinct points. His tail, however, is made of a rubbery substance that contains a bendable wire and this is what we refer to as the seventh point. Amanin is beautifully painted from head to toe and his alternating stripes of green on his back are perhaps the most stunning part on him. Amanin is tall and towers over all members of the Imperial army. He comes accessorized with a great big and tall staff as well as a skull necklace. The necklace contains the souvenirs from his victims and shows off the head-hunting lifestyle of this lethal species. Amanin has amazingly sculpted hands and they are huge (as they should be) in comparison to his frame. The long figures are alarming and his oversized arms and hands are such a striking contrast from his rather proportionate legs and feet. Amanin has been given such an incredible paint job. There is a wealth of final washes to help accent all of the details the sculptors included to give this creature unprecedented realism. The Amanin has an almost expression that warns of an impending strike. It is actually mind-blowing how well this action figure was designed. And we are thankful to Hasbro for all of the attention they gave this action figure. Amanin absolutely towers over the Amanaman figure from the 2001 POTJ Amanaman & Salacious Crumb Deluxe figure set. It is a shame because the sculpt was pretty accurate to the movie version of Amanaman (except for the scale of course). But there is no denying that this Comic Packs version of Amanin is the superior figure by far. It is evident that Hasbro has really taken a lot into consideration to get this scale just right. If we needed to pick at anything, we would have wished for a few more points of articulation (like elbow joints for example). As a finishing touch, Amanin’s red eyes are very absent looking and add to his chilling demeanor and personality.
Janek Sunber is a surprisingly great figure as well. He is a little bit too pale, but he is made up of some fine parts of previously released figures (as well as some of his own new parts). He has an excellently painted battle-damaged uniform, full of splatters of dirt and various damages from war. His Imperial cap does look a little bit too big for his head but it doesn't detract that much from the overall presentation of the figure. He can stand very well and he can hold his gun without issue too. His one and only setback is his swivel elbows. We would rather Hasbro not give us any elbow joints that to include swivel joints in this portion of an action figure’s body. It never seems to look right in our opinion. We are not sure if the red on his uniform is meant to be blood or not, but it looks like he has seen more than his fare share of violence. He didn’t come across as this dirty in the comics, but we suppose Hasbro has modeled it accurately based on their source materials. Janek Sunber uses the middle section of 2006’s TSC Moff Jerjerrod (SAGA 040) and of course has new legs and a new head. The good news is that the knees are now ball-jointed. This exclusive Comic Packs set will definitely be appreciated by Original Trilogy collectors and well as all other collectors too. This set is a nod to the characters contained within the vintage line and these new Expanded Universe action figures reinvent the "old" or "established" characters that we have grown to love. And they are certainly welcome into our collections. These exclusive Comic Packs sets were shipped in very high numbers, but they have also sold very well. We recommend finding a way to get this set into your collections because it is truly one of the better Comic Packs we have seen in quite some time. If you pass on this set we can guarantee that you will be very disappointed. This is one set not to miss!
- jeditemplearchives.com
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