There's One Dishonorable Action Chewbacca Regrets In Star Wars: The Force Awakens
While Luke the mighty Jedi, Han the rogueish smuggler, and Leia the badass princess get all the attention, Chewbacca has long been the unsung hero of the "Star Wars" universe. Easily mistaken for a furry mascot, Chewbacca is the best friend you can ask for, the best co-pilot, and also one of the strongest fighters in the franchise.
Unfortunately, most of Chewbacca's lore has been told outside of the movies, like the best-forgotten "Star Wars Holiday Special" introducing Chewbacca's family and their holiday traditions, or the Expanded Universe books introducing the idea of Chewie owing Han a life debt. This means that a lot of people know rather little about him or the Wookiees.
Like so many elements of the galaxy far, far away, Chewbacca's life and general Wookiee culture only come into the picture and become important if and when a particular author decides it is important. That's the case with Chewie's bowcaster apparently being incredibly powerful, or how apparently there is a code of honor that prevents Wookiees from doing unarmed strikes in battle. This last one is important, and yet you'd only find out if you read the supplemental materials for "The Force Awakens."
In the book "Star Wars: The Secrets of The Wookies" by Marc Sumerak, C-3PO — who is translating stories told by Chewbacca — reveals that Chewie broke the Wookiee honor code in the wake of Han Solo's death.
As the book states, "The claws on a Wookiee's fingers would also be quite valuable in combat, but using them in such a manner is strictly forbidden by the Wookiees' own code of honor. Chewbacca reluctantly confesses that, after the death of his dear friend Han Solo, he used his claws to strike down a number of First Order soldiers. It's not a moment he takes great pride in."
Dishonor on you, dishonor on your Wookiee
Perhaps just a convenient explanation for why Chewbacca doesn't just go around in full berserk mode clawing every stormtrooper on sight and ripping their arms off, the book explains that Wookiees aren't inclined to mauling their opponents.
"Wookiees will occasionally resort to biting their enemies with their sharp teeth," the book adds. "Chewbacca insists that this is not out of a desire to devour the tissue of other sentient beings, but rather as a means of causing enough pain to distract and disorient the rival, allowing the Wookiee to regain the upper hand."
The idea of an honor code for Wookiees was introduced by Timothy Zahn in his Thrawn trilogy of books. Zahn wrote about Wookiees having extendible claws that allowed them to climb, but then he came up with the Wookiee code of honor to explain why Chewbacca had never used his claws in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
Wookiees have had it rough in the "Star Wars" universe. In the early drafts of "Return of the Jedi," it was Wookiees that were forced to work on the construction of the second Death Star, and they would rise up and fight back against the Empire — though the latter idea would be replaced with Ewoks in the final movie. The Wookiees' plight would resurface in the expanded canon via books and games, before "Solo: A Star Wars Story" finally showed the Wookiees being forced into slavery by the Empire, and used as a labor force.