Owen Lars

Character
Name:	Owen Lars
Occupation:	moisture farmer
Relationships:	Beru Lars (wife), Luke Skywalker (nephew), Anakin Skywalker (half-brother), Shmi Skywalker (step-mother)
Fandom:	Star Wars
Other:
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Owen Lars is a Star Wars character who first appeared in the movie Star Wars: A New Hope (1977).

Fandom

Before the release of Attack of the Clones, it was often speculated by fans how Owen and Aunt Beru were related to the Skywalker family, with the popular belief being that he was Obi-Wan Kenobi's brother; this information came from the Return of the Jedi novelization, that was based on a early screenplay of the movie. It was his most popular portrait in fanworks before the reveal on the prequels.

In fanworks he is often portraited as a lot meaner than in canon, with some entering Character Bashing territory. A common plot point is for him to be very abusive towards Luke and Beru, sometimes even beating them up or selling them, as a way to start a Whump or a Hurt/Comfort fic. This type of fanfic can be controversial with fans, that find it too Out of Character for him, who was only a little grumpy in canon and shown wanting to protect his family.

Pairings

Owen Lars is mostly shipped with his canonical wife, Beru Lars. The couple often appears in the background of fics centered on other characters. Obi-Wan Kenobi/Owen Lars/Beru Whitesun is a rarepair that is either described as a threesome or polyamorous relationship.

Fan Art

• 

  from Sanctuary (1988), by A.G. Steyn

• 

  from Sanctuary (1988), by A.G. Steyn

• 

  from Another Sky #3, by Z.P. Florian

• 

  from Another Sky #9, by John Fredericks

• 

  from Alliance and Empire #1, by Ann Humphrey

• 

  from Kessel Run #2, artist is Bev Swan (1981)

• 

  from Echo Three #1, artist is Jennie Jivan (1994)

Sample Fiction

• Home by Jackie Paciello, illoed by D.M. Walsh (Lars and Beru shortly before the visit by Stormtroopers.), from Moonbeam #3 (1978)
• Visitor's Day by Wanda Lybarger, printed in Kessel Run #2 (1981)
• Desert Seed Series by Carol Mularski (1981-1985)
• A Leave Taking by Gianna ("Luke's mother at 17, stuck on Tatooine, bored out of her mind, having to deal with her unimaginative brother, Owen, her "genuinely nice" future sister-in-law, Beru and her recalcitrant mother.") printed in Combining Forces #3 (1982)

• Sundering by Jeanine Hennig, printed in Shadowstar #15 (1984)
• Nothing Ever Happens by Carolyn Cooper, printed in From a Certain Point of View #1 (1985)
• Pavane for a Dead Princess by Ellen Randolph (1986)
• Changeling by Matthew Whitney ("The child of Owen and Beru Lars had died at birth, but now Owen's brother, Ben Kenobi, approached them with a desperate request—that they foster the newborn son of Anakin Skywalker and pass the babe as their own."), printed in A Tremor in the Force #4 (1988)
• There Are No Rainbows on Tatooine by Ellen Randolph, printed in Sanctuary (1988)
• Conversation on a Sand Dune, fiction by Z.P. Florian, art by Melanie Guttierrez ("Could it be that Owen Lars' motive for taking in an orphan was less than noble?"), printed in Another Sky #3 (1993)
• Return to Tatooine, fiction by Marti Schuller (Luke returns to the Darklighter home and comes to terms with the relationship with his uncle.), printed in Another Sky #5 (1994)
• Sandstorm by J.P. Treleaven ("Owen and Ben strike a bargain."), printed in Only Hope #1 (1994)
• Storm Winds , printed in Echo Three #1 (1994)
• The Uncle, fiction by John Fredericks ("A Y-Wing fighter pilot crashes in the desert and Owen Lars is stunned that the pilot is the brother he hasn't seen in three years. And what is Obi-Wan doing with a baby?"), printed in Another Sky #9 (1996)

• Tatooine Morning by Sinead Reilly ("Gives you the opportunity to eavesdrop on a conversation between Owen and Beru Lars about their foster son."), printed in I Care #1 (1998)
• Suns-Set by Alison Glover, printed in I Don't Care What You Smell #5 (1999)

Meta

• Meet Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru by Carol Mularski, printed in Falcon's Flight #4 (1979)
• Uncle Owen is not a grumpy old man by "yiliy"

Fan Comments

1979

I've really felt that the pair, most especially Owen, has been rather misinterpreted in fanfic to date. I really believe that Owen was an honorable and upright man; he rather suffered from the fact that the movie gives him to us from Luke's standpoint--not that Luke wishes Owen ill, but Luke does quite naturally resent the parental authority Owen represents. I always 'heard' Owen's comment about Luke (in response to Beru's 'he's too much like his father,' as mirroring not a rejection of the ideals of Luke's father, not a condemnation of any Jedi aspirations, but as an echo of the pain of that loss. I always felt Owen loved Luke's parents deeply and the reason he wanted to keep Luke close was his fear of suffering that same pain of loss again.

Links & Resources

• Owen Lars tag on the Ao3
• Owen Lars fics on FF.net
• Wikipedia:List of Star Wars characters
• Owen Lars on Wookieepedia