The Star Wars universe is full of lovable antiheroes and scoundrels who are more than happy to work for either side in a galaxy-wide conflict, if the price is right. However, there are few characters who consistently offer a welcome break from whatever rebellion or destiny-related stuff happens to be going on like the slippery space pirate Hondo Ohnaka. In truth, there's a valid argument to be made that Hondo is one of the more underrated characters in the Star Wars franchise, at least when it comes to gaining wider recognition outside of die-hard fans.
Hondo made his debut in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 1 episode "Dooku Captured," in which Count Dooku is taken prisoner by Hondo's pirate crew and offered to the Republic. However, when Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi showed up to negotiate with Hondo, he worked his charms on the duo before trying to pull a fast one by offering them drugged drinks. Amusingly, despite their attempts to get the upper hand, the two Jedi still end up getting knocked out and imprisoned with Dooku, forcing the three of them to help one another to break out.
That, in a nutshell, is what's great about Hondo: he will absolutely turn on you if he thinks it's worth it, yet always remains genuinely friendly and likable. The character would probably grow tiresome if all he did was try and fail to pull off his schemes, but Hondo manages to stay fresh because he's actually good at what he does. Case in point, he nearly got the upper-hand on Obi-Wan and Anakin again in the Clone Wars Season 2. In "Bounty Hunters," the two Jedi and Ahsoka Tano managed to stop Hondo from raiding villages on the planet Felucia, only for him and his crew to escape.
When Hondo returned on Star Wars Rebels, he found himself working for the then-fledgling Rebellion thanks to his dealings with the crew of the Ghost. He even became something of a mentor to Ezra Bridger, telling him he should join his pirate gang. Instead, it was Hondo who slowly evolved into a trusted ally to the Rebels and participated in the Liberation of Lothal, which allowed the planet to overthrow the Empire's rule. Following the end of the Galactic Civil War, he went so far as to start up a seemingly legitimate shipping business known as Ohnaka Transport Solutions on Batuu, which was, of course, a cover for smuggling.
On top of all that, Hondo is perhaps as close to a classic alien as Star Wars gets. In fact, during the Clone Wars, he and his pirate crew invaded Outer Rim planets using Corona-class armed frigates, which were actually modeled after the flying saucers often found in 1950s sci-fi movies. At the same time, he has a multi-faceted personality and has evolved throughout his appearances in the animated Star Wars TV shows. In that sense, Hondo is part of a welcome trend over the last decade, in which the larger Star Wars franchise has taken the time to better flesh out its non-humans, such as the Tusken Raiders on The Mandalorian.
Hondo has already begun to gain more widespread appreciation over the years. Besides showing up in various Star Wars comic books and video games, along with the non-canon animated series LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, he is also featured as part of the Galaxy's Edge area at Disney's theme parks, where an animatronic Hondo guides visitors in the pre-show for the Smuggler's Run attraction. Still, it's past time the rascally Weequay pirate made the jump to live-action onscreen, so hopefully, that will change in one of the many Star Wars TV series and films that are in development.