Annikin Starkiller (The Star Legends)

"I' am the hope of Aquilae! It's Lord and Protector! The next generation of the Jedi-Bendu! Son of Kane Starkiller and brother to Deak Starkiller! Your life will end by my sword alone!"

- Annikin Starkiller, in combat against Darth Vader

Annikin Starkiller was the son of Kane Starkiller and a Padawan of Luke Skywalker. He was the hero of the battle which saw the defeat of the Galactic Empire in the Aquilaean system. He was given the title of Lord Protector of Aquilae and was a key general in the Galactic Civil War.

Biography
After the Jedi Rebellion, the young Annikin and his brother Deak Starkiller settled on the Fourth Moon of Utapau with their father Kane Starkiller. Annikin, despite his relative youth, had taken part in the Kessilian civil wars and led a Hubble expedition to the Cone systems. He wore his hair in a distinctive Kessilian hair knot.

After a Sith Knight located him and his family and killed his brother, Deak, Annikin and Kane headed back home to Aquilae.

He became the Padawan learner of Luke Skywalker's after his father, Kane revealed to Skywalker that he was dying.

After the death of his father, he became a suitor to Queen Leia of Aquilae, ruler of his home planet, and was named Lord Protector of Aquilae.

Personality and traits
Annikin Starkiller in his youth was a brash and confident man. His confidence though if unchecked could turn into cockiness and egotism and would led to mistakes he would make in combat and to those around him.

Behind the scenes
Annikin Starkiller was the proposed name for the lead character in the what would become Episode IV and appeared in the rough draft. He would have played a similar role as Luke Skywalker in A New Hope, although in his cockiness and brashness he also resembles Han Solo. He became the source of Luke's father's name, Anakin, in the third and later drafts.

In the first draft, Annikin was renamed "Justin Valor." This name was dropped in later drafts. While there was no one named Annikin or Anakin in the second draft, the name reappeared in the third and earliest versions of the fourth draft. During the filming of Episode IV Luke's surname was changed from Starkiller to Skywalker, his Jedi byname in the second draft.