Beilert Valance

Beilert Valance was a significant character introduced in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, particularly in the original Marvel Star Wars comics published in the late 1970s and early 1980s. A human male originally from the Outer Rim world of Shinbone, Valance was a high-ranking officer in the Galactic Empire until he lost a major part of his body during a mission, forcing him to be reconstructed with cybernetic implants. He eventually became a bounty hunter and a prominent anti-droid racist due to his resentment at being part-machine.

Valance's personal mission was to hunt down and destroy the enigmatic "boy" who was causing upset in the Imperial ranks - the boy in question being Luke Skywalker. Though initially an antagonist, Valance's character was considerably complex. He once saved Skywalker's life when he realised the young rebel was a noble figure fighting for a worthy cause. Over time, Valance became less of a clear-cut villain and more of an antihero, caught in the conflict between his hatred for the Empire and his contempt for his own Cyborg existence.

Valance was portrayed as an aggressive and rarely compromising individual. He was also skillfully manipulative, capable of executing intricate plans to achieve his objectives. Despite his hatred of droids, Valance had a begrudging respect for their abilities and often found himself at odds due to his reliance on his cybernetic enhancements.

In the pages of the Marvel Comics, Valance went through several adventures before he met his end protecting a group of children on a desert planet, dying heroically in battle against Darth Vader. Beilert Valance was a character who encapsulated the moral complexity and diverse character arcs of the Star Wars universe, thus becoming a memorable part of its Expanded Universe canon.