Dengar, also known as "Payback," was a Corellian bounty hunter and the pilot of the Punishing One. Brought up in the culture swoop bikes and becoming a successful racer himself, Dengar also led a double life as a successful bounty hunter during the Clone Wars, becoming one of the galaxy's most efficient mercenaries; his work teamed him with the likes of bounty hunters such as Boba Fett and Bossk. Dengar would eventually give up the life of bounty hunting to pursue his other passion: swoop racing.

Following a grievous injury sustained at the hands of the smuggler Han Solo during a swoop race on Agrilat, Dengar was rebuilt by the scientists of the Galactic Empire as an assassin, augmented by various neuro-implants and cybernetic enhancements and being void of all emotions besides rage, despair, and hope. Dengar served under the Empire until he refused the kill the Holy Children of Asrat; sensing the despair in the children, Dengar deserted his post and becoming a freelance gun-for hire. It was after a bounty was posted on Han Solo by the Empire that he became entangled in the Galactic Civil War, serving under the Rebel Alliance in Echo Base on Hoth with the intention of taking Solo when he had the chance. Due to a chance encounter, Dengar was among an elite group of hunters recruited by Darth Vader to capture Solo and the passengers of the Millennium Falcon shortly after the Battle of Hoth.