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The Partisans

Formed out of the Onderonian resistance movement led by siblings Saw and Steela Gerrera against their planet's Separatist occupiers, the Partisans once again took up arms when the Empire conquered Onderon, eventually relocating offworld. Under Saw's leadership, the Partisans enacted a controversial rebel campaign, infamous for brutal, borderline terrorist methods, which eventually led to the Rebel Alliance cutting formal relations with them.

For much of the early Imperial era, they were the most active rebel cell in the galaxy, carrying out numerous military campaigns against the Empire. This insistence on direct confrontation (at a time when most Rebel groups were lying low), along with the group’s insistence on brazen, costly attacks, gradually whittled down their strength, and by the time of the Death Star’s destruction, the group was all but wiped out.

In General

He Who Fights Monsters: By the time of the Empire, the Partisans engaged in torture, terrorist attacks, and even battles in populated civilian areas all in the name of fighting the Empire. Their extremism did almost as much harm to the cause of the Rebellion as it did to the Empire.
Hired Guns: During the reign of the Empire, Saw has resorted to this.
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: Due to the supervision of Ahsoka (as well as Obi-Wan and Anakin) as well as Lux and Steela to balance out the leadership, the Partisans had to be careful with their public relations — as in, to assure the citizens that they mean well and to even convince them to rise against Rash's rule. When Saw starts up the rebellion again, due to the death of Steela and apparent absence of/lack of action from Ahsoka and Lux, it quickly becomes a matter of wanting the Empire gone, no matter the cost. All There in the Manual even says that the leadership of the Rebel Alliance is disgusted by their actions.
Renegade Splinter Faction: They can be seen as this from the main Rebel Alliance, though their actions pre-date the Alliance as shown in The Bad Batch. Although they're both fighting to bring down the Empire, the Partisans tend to use far more ruthless and unscrupulous methods, which the Alliance does not approve of. The Rebels had to disown the faction as a whole to avoid letting the Partisan's acts stain the pubic's view of the entire Alliance.
The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: They don't seem to have that many moral qualms during the Imperial era. In Rogue One, they imprison Imperial defector Bodhi Rook despite him coming to them freely with information and subject him to what is essentially torture out of distrust for him; Saw Gerrera also indicates they would've been willing to use Jyn Erso, then an innocent child, as a bargaining chip against the Empire.
Space Jews: They're extremists based on a desert world with a reputation for religious fervor, that is the source of an important mineral that the Empire wants to seize. Subtle.
Uncertain Doom: Their base on Jedha is obliterated by the Death Star, and the last we see of the Partisans is them fleeing to their ships. Of the known Partisans, only Benthic is confirmed to have survived of the group that was on Jedha, with the fate of the rest of his comrades uncertain.
We ARE Struggling Together: The Partisans are technically on the same side of the Rebel Alliance, but the ideological differences and lack of trust between the two groups make cooperation all but impossible. Had the Empire not been such a massive threat, the Partisans would likely actively oppose the Rebel Alliance.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Partisans want to topple the Empire, but they're utterly ruthless about accomplishing this. Terrorism, torture, and the deaths of civilians are all fair game if it means seeing the Empire destroyed.
Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters:
- Unlike with their predecessors, the Onderon rebels, who actively made sure to keep the public on their side with Saw even saying that they're not terrorists, they're patriots, he now doesn't really care that the Partisans are being called terrorists and that they have poor public relations. As long as the Empire is taken down, that's good enough for him.
- After the death of Saw and the bulk of their numbers, the remainder reformed into an even more extreme group, the Dreamers, who act little better than terrorists and pirates on ruins of Jedah.

Leaders

Saw Gerrera

Captain Saw Gerrera

"I am the only one with clarity of purpose."

^{Click here to see him during the Clone Wars}

^{Click here to see him during the Early Rebellion}

Species: Human

Homeworld: Onderon

Portrayed By: Forest Whitaker (Rogue One, Jedi: Fallen Order, Andor)

Voiced By: Andrew Kishino (The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch) | Forest Whitaker (Rebels)

"I'm not a terrorist. I'm a patriot. And resistance is not terrorism."

During the Clone Wars, Saw led the Onderonian resistance against the Separatists alongside his sister, Steela. After the rise of the Empire and his sister's death, he continued the fight, transforming their organization into an interstellar guerilla movement. His brutal campaign against the Empire utilized tactics considered unethical and extreme by many other rebel groups; Saw viewed them with scorn in turn, considering them too weak-willed to do what was necessary to overthrow Imperial tyranny.

Advertised Extra:
- For Rogue One. Despite his critical role in the plot, he dies a third into the film once the Death Star is tested on Jedha.
- Again in Fallen Order, where he has a small role in one chapter of the game before disappearing entirely.
Anti-Hero: A man driven to extremism against the Empire due to everything they've taken from him.
Artificial Limbs: He has lost both his legs and had them replaced with a cybernetic ones shortly before Rogue One.
Ascended Extra: He goes from a one-arc character in The Clone Wars to a key figure in the franchise, critical to the growth of the early Rebellion and the destruction of the first Death Star.
Back for the Dead: After his supplementary roles in The Clone Wars, Rebels, and Jedi: Fallen Order, Saw returns in Rogue One to finally die on Jedha. He's quite relieved at this.
Badass in Distress: Briefly, after his solo attempt to rescue the king fails. He's rescued along with the king when the resistance shows up.
Badass Normal: Not quite on the same level as the bounty hunters or the clone troopers, but he definitely deserves the title.
Beard of Sorrow: By Rogue One, he has grown a messy and graying beard, representing how tired he has become of the war that seemed to have lasted through his entire life.
Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Evil would be a bit of a stretch, but Saw was a relatively compassionate, idealistic soldier before he was tortured by Separatist interrogators and the end of the Clone Wars that saw the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire. It was after this ordeal that he began to transform into a harsher, more ruthless leader.
Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: Andor expands a little on his personal political views and, unsurprisingly, they amount to this. After living his whole life with his homeworld under one corrupt government or another — the Republic, the Separatists, the Empire — he's incredibly cynical of galactic governments and ideologies as a whole and is mostly concerned with just burning the corrupt institution down and letting the resulting mess sort itself out. This forms yet another part of why he's on bad terms with the other Rebel factions in the Alliance, as he's equally dismissive of all their ideas about how to fix things.
Brother–Sister Team: With Steela, as they were a sibling duo of Onderon rebels.
The Cassandra: By the time of the investigation on Geonosis in Rebels, everyone assumes he's just gone off the deep end and dismiss his claims of the Empire building a superweapon. He was right, and by the time they figure it out, it's too late.
Cynicism Catalyst: Saw becomes a much darker and more violent rebel after Steela's death and the rise of the Empire.
Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Well, surrogate daddy. While Jyn saw it as cruel, Saw left her behind because he feared for her safety, thinking someone would uncover her identity and use her as a bargaining chip against the Empire.
Dark Lord on Life Support: While not a bad guy per se, by the time of Rogue One he has still become a delusional and paranoid rebel leader on Jedha. He also needs an oxygen mask to stay alive and can barely walk with his replacement legs, using a staff to support himself.
Death Seeker: By the time of Rogue One, Saw has lost his left foot and most of his right leg, and needs some sort of apparatus to help breathe. His extremism has failed to defeat the Empire, and instead he has seen the galaxy grow darker and darker as the years have passed. The film implies he welcomes death and is tired of his fight. It's comic adaptation shows he looks forward to reuniting with Steela in death.
Despair Event Horizon: All but outright said to have happened when he died. After spending his entire rebel career trying to prevent the creation of the Death Star, and seeing that he was too late, it's understandable.
Determinator: Even after in Rebels, where he ends up inhaling a large and lethal amount of Geonosian insecticide, he gets a respirator and still leads the Partisans, though he's still clearly very tired of fighting.
The Dreaded: Even crippled and on a respirator, the man is feared, and with excellent reason - even his fellow Rebels are wary about him, even Rex and Ezra (the former having known him since he was a kid in the Clone Wars and having his respect, the latter being a Jedi, which grants him a certain degree of reverence in Saw's eyes). Agent Kallus, who willingly goes bare-knuckle with Thrawn, is unfazed by Inquisitors, and even keeps his composure comfortably around Darth Vader himself, goes dead-eyed and haunted when remembering an encounter with Saw Gerrera's Partisans early in his career that wiped out his entire unit. Given that his design and ruthlessness evokes Darth Vader, this was clearly intended.
Electric Torture: Subjected to it after getting captured while trying to free Onderon's true king.
Everyone Has Standards:
- Though he was ousted from the Rebels for being too ruthless for them, Saw does have lines that he himself will not cross. This is why he abandons Jyn as there were ideas going around to use her as a hostage against Galen and the Empire; ultimately he could not bring himself to do that to the girl he helped raise.
- Even with his negative view of Geonosian species, he was still horrified by the Empire's genocide of Geonosis.
- As much as he loathes the man for his incompetence and former affiliation with the Seperatists, he's rather put off by Luthen's plan to offer up Anto Kreegyr and his men so that their larger network stays secret, only reluctantly relenting when Luthen makes his case known.
Evil Makes You Ugly: A mundane, subdued version. The further he goes down the "ruthless terrorist" rabbit hole, the more broken down he obviously becomes from decades of unending war. Watch his appearances in chronological order and you can see him gradually lose more and more of his body while also becoming more and more unhinged and unkempt, until you reach Rogue One and he's a rambling, barely-functional cyborg who looks like he's being held together with duct tape.
The Extremist Was Right: Is considered to be too fanatical and ruthless for the fledgling Rebellion, to the point where they sever all ties with the Partisans. Unlike the Rebellion, however, Saw Gerrera managed to figure out long before everyone else that the Empire was building up towards something catastrophic, and therefore knew that playing by the rules would amount to nothing. He gets fully vindicated by the events of A New Hope, in which the Empire dissolves the Imperial Senate and destroys Alderaan, with the Empire only being defeated after a five-year war, the deaths of the Emperor and Darth Vader, and the destruction of both Death Stars.
Face Death with Dignity: Refuses to run away with the others when the Death Star blasts Jedha and walks out in front of the shockwave, taking off his life support before he is killed. In the comic adaptation, he quietly murmurs his sister's name before the shockwave consumes him.
Famed In-Story: Post-The Clone Wars stories that bring him up tend to talk about his brutality as a rebel leader.
Fantastic Racism: He hates Geonosians for their alliance with the Separatist and for creating the Droid Gunship that killed his sister. Andor further shows that he utterly despises Separatists as a whole period due to their occupation of Onderon during the Clone Wars, and this is hinted to be part of why he's on bad terms with the wider Rebel Alliance; he refuses to work with Separatists and a good deal of the Rebel Alliance are former Separatists or at least formerly sympathetic to the Separatists.
Fire-Forged Friends: To an extent; while they never become too friendly, Saw seems to develop a certain respect for Lux after seeing the young senator get his hands dirty.
Foil:
- In Rogue One, he's this to Galen Erso; both fighting the Empire on different fringes, both having abandoned Jyn. But while Galen confesses he cannot bear to think of Jyn, Saw thought of her endlessly in the five years they were separated.
- Also one to Darth Vader. They used to be heroes fighting against the Separatists and have a deep sense of anger and sorrow; Saw's frustration with the other Rebels parallels Anakin's own disillusionment with the old Jedi Order. Both men are cyborgs and need respirators in order to function, but Saw hasn't fallen the way Darth Vader has.
- To Luthen Rael. Both are well-intentioned if ruthless Rebel leaders willing to advance their goals by horrific actions. However, while Luthen is a Spymaster who operates using espionage and manipulation to sow dissent against the Empire, Saw is a fighter who prefers directly attacking the Empire with guerrilla warfare.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish to Steela's responsible. Saw is the most Hot-Blooded and emotional of the two, thinking before he acts, the exact opposite of his sister.
Freudian Trio: With Steela and Lux; he's the Id, as he's the most reckless and impatience.
The Friend Nobody Likes: He's this to a lot of other Rebels who don't like his more extreme methods. In Rebels, Hera outright distrusts him and by the end of the "Ghosts of Geonosis" two-parter, Ezra has also soured on him as a person and a rebel ally, with pretty much everyone agreeing.
Go Mad from the Revelation: Implied. He figured out long before anyone else that the Empire was building a superweapon. The knowledge that the Empire was preparing for genocide, and the fact that no one would believe him until it was (almost) too late, contributed to his mental decline.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: He sports a scar on his left eyebrow. That's the least of his war injuries, though,
Handicapped Badass: By the time of Rogue One, Saw has lost both legs and needs a cane to walk and a respirator to breathe, but he doesn't let that stop him from fighting the Empire by any means necessary.
He Who Fights Monsters: He has a pretty damn good reason to hate the Empire, but he sadly takes his hatred a little too far. His torture of an Imperial pilot has much in common with Vader torturing Leia.
Hot-Blooded: He's reckless and determined to fight. His ill-considered attempt to rescue King Dendup is a good instance of this.
I Choose to Stay: While Jyn wants him to go with her, Saw stays on Jedha as the debris from the Death Star blast rapidly approaches. It's implied in-film that this is because of his debilitating health preventing him from fighting efficiently, and outright confirmed in the novelization. Saw believes that he'd just slow the other Partisans — along with the group that would become Rogue One — down.
Ink-Suit Actor:
- His The Clone Wars appearance resembles that of his original voice actor, Andrew Kishino.
- An interesting case for Rebels, as he is instead voiced by his Rogue One actor, Forest Whittaker but looks like a blend of both Clone Wars Saw and Forest Whittaker.
- Due to Jedi: Fallen Order's realistic artstyle, Saw looks like a young Forest Whittaker.
Intergenerational Friendship: While "friendship" might be stretching it a bit, he gets along decently with Ezra, who also dislikes the politics of the Rebellion and wants to save his homeworld. Compared to his earlier and hostile confrontation with Mon Mothma, Saw actually respects Ezra's desire to fight the war differently, and Ezra is one of the few who takes Saw's claim of a superweapon seriously.
It Is Beyond Saving: The main ideological sticking point between him and the rest of the Rebellion. The latter were initially reluctant to engage in open warfare and aimed to reform the Empire back to what it once was. Gerrera, on the other hand, saw the Empire for what it was and internalized on the fact that it had to go no matter what - with the "no matter what" part also being his undoing.
It's All My Fault: Blames himself for Steela's death, since the gunship he shot down is what caused her to fall (twice).
Iconic Outfit: Since the Empire started he's worn the same set of armor, it looks pretty new in Fallen Order but by the time of Rogue One it's clearly as beaten as Saw himself, scratched up with most of the medical devices keeping him alive strapped to it.
I Was Quite a Looker: Saw was a handsome, tall Hunk back in the Clone Wars. By the time of Rebels, he has a number of prosthetics, thicker in the gut, and has greying hair. And by Rogue One, he's a raspy-voiced old cyborg who needs a breathing apparatus and has frazzled grey hair and a tired crazy face. 23 long years of endless wartime was not kind to him.
Jerkass Has a Point:
- In the early years of the Galactic Civil War, he calls out Mon Mothma and the rest of the Rebel Alliance for not fully committing to the war effort, because if they don't, they are going to lose the war. While he may have poor moral standards and is guilty of too much violence, he has a point in that the Alliance cannot afford to lose the war, something that other rebels on the ground can relate to. While the Alliance High Council means well by debating tactics extensively and lying low, they have never been in the same position as those actually fighting in the battlefield to realize what is truly at stake.
- Becomes a full on case of The Extremist Was Right with A New Hope. The Empire dissolved the Senate, destroyed a peaceful Core World for the actions of their leaders, and planned to make as many super weapons as necessary then use them to pacify the galaxy. Saw Gerrera was right about the Empire being impossible to defeat with a political solution and military force was the only option. In the end, the galaxy is only liberated by killing the Emperor as well as blowing up the Death Stars plus the fleets at Jakku.
Jerkass to One: While Saw was fairly rude and blunt even before he slipped into being a Knight Templar, he really had it out for Lux due to viewing him as an Armchair Military politician. He grew out of it after coming to respect him.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He frequently berates Lux because of his background as a politician, but they start getting along and working together after repelling the droid attack on their camp. He also later comes to genuinely love Jyn as his adopted daughter and deeply missed her when they parted ways.
Knight Templar: His leadership of the Partisans veered into this some time between the Clone Wars and the genocide of Lasan. It reached the point where he was considered a Persona Non Grata by Rebel Alliance leadership in spite of being a helpful ally to them at one point.
Mon Mothma: You target civilians, kill those who surrender, break every rule of engagement! If we degrade ourselves to the Empire's level, what will we become?
Saw Gerrera: There she is! That's the leader the Rebellion needs! Where is that fire, that passion, when your people need it most? I hope, Senator, after you've lost, and the Empire reigns over the galaxy unopposed, you will find some comfort in the knowledge that you fought according to the rules. And that you maintained your scruples against an enemy that had none. Because that's how they hold the advantage.
La Résistance: Fights in the Onderon resistance, later becoming the leader of the Partisan movement.
Leader Wannabe: He fancies himself the leader of the resistance even though, as Steela points out, he arbitrarily decided that fact. The resistance is loose-knit enough that no one seems to really care and Anakin is quick to take command upon arrival. Steela is formally made the leader after that. It unfortunately doesn't last.
Leeroy Jenkins: He goes off by himself to rescue the king against the advice of the others, getting himself caught when he fails to think his escape through.
Meaningful Name: Gerrera is derived from 'guerra', meaning 'war', and is where the term 'guerrilla warfare' comes from. When pronounced by the British-accented characters, it even sounds like "Sole Guerrilla". His name is also a notable parallel to his inspiration, Che Guevara, who was also a guerrilla fighter who found his foreign backers just as bad as the ones he was fighting and whose methods of fighting oppression also alienated the very people he wanted to help.
Morality Chain: While it may be hard to believe, Saw was this to the Partisans. As ruthless as he was, his goals were well-intentioned, seeking to end the Empire and other corrupt governments to free the people. His leadership, while brutal, steered the Partisans into focusing on fighting the Empire, avoiding attacks on other Rebel factions or civilian targets when possible and avoided crossing certain lines. After his death, the Partisans lost their remaining restraint, caring for nothing but revenge on the Empire and anyone else they considered representing oppression with no care for who gets in the crossfire. Within a few years after his death, they had regrouped to become hardly any different than any other fanatical terrorist cell.
My Sister Is Off-Limits: Initially had this mentality concerning Steela and Lux's relationship.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- In an unfortunate coincidence, Steela just so happens to be in the vicinity of a crashing Droid Gunship he shot down. She survives the crash, but the gunship shoots Ahsoka (who was grabbing her from the ledge) before Steela can be brought to safety, and is killed. Leads to It's All My Fault.
- During the era of the Empire, one of his hired guns ambushed a patrol of Stormtroopers and had no problem with him executing them even if they were wounded and helpless. A mook that the hired gun spared was a young Agent Kallus, who after being traumatized by the experience, became an adversary to another rebel cell significant to the conflict, as well as participating in the genocide of said hired gun's species.
- This comes back around in a weird cosmic sort of way, when Kallus recollects this to another rebel, Zeb, Kallus ends up rethinking about where he'll put his motivation instead; rather than into a questionable cause that is apathetic to the well-being of civilians and its own people, he'll put it into one that is, looking past that he's experienced the worst of the Rebellion in favor of the much more morally grounded parts. Without Kallus as a Fulcrum informant, there's no telling if the Rebellion would've gotten Wedge and Hobbie (and by extension, Biggs), the Iron Squadron, or been able to stop the production of Imperial weapons like the TIE Defenders in time.
- A Partisan bombing results in the assassination of Moff Panaka, one of the more benevolent and nicer Moffs, enough that the Alliance High Council was intending to recruit him to the Rebellion. Though to be fair, he couldn't have known about their plans (though he probably wouldn't have cared anyway), and nobody knew at the time that Panaka had just learned Leia's relation to Padme, which could've resulted in Panaka reporting this to Palpatine (meaning that Saw did them a favor) or Panaka's loyalty to the Empire being wavered in favor of the memory of his former queen (which still means Saw did bad).
- In the The Bad Batch Season 2 finale, he attempts to bomb Tarkin's compound, in the hope of killing a group of military and scientific high-ups who are meeting there. Not only does he fail, as the room they're in has bomb-proofing measures installed, but he ends up interfering with an attempt by the Batch to gain intel on the location of a secret facility where experiments are being performed on clones. The bombing forces the Batch to pull out in a hurry and damages their escape route, leading to Tech being killed and Omega being seriously injured, which in turn indirectly results in her, Hunter and Wrecker being captured by the Empire.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: The Star Wars equivalent of Che Guevara.
Nothing Left to Do but Die: Saw chooses to stay behind in his base as the shockwave from Jedha City's destruction consumes the landscape.
Not So Stoic: As insane and extreme as he is by the end of his life, he still manages to look strong in front of his troops and enemies alike. But in Rogue One when he sees Jyn for the first time in years and briefly thinks the Rebellion sent her to assassinate him, he instantly breaks down and is obviously on the verge of tears before Jyn tells him why she's really there and he quickly and purposefully composes himself, getting "back into character" so to speak. Beneath all that fiery rhetoric, Saw is hurting deeply.
Odd Friendship: You wouldn't think that a ruthless Bomb Throwing Anarchist like Saw would ever be friends with a Spymaster like Luthen Rael, but Andor shows them to be decently close with one another. Though it's downplayed as they sing praises of each others' work just as much as they criticize their respective ways of fighting.
Older and Wiser: By Catalyst, he has become an expert guerrilla fighter, acting as one of the trainers for the fledgling rebellion on Salient fighting against Tarkin's forces. By Rogue One, Saw's Partisans are one of the most hardcore Rebel cells, using every dirty trick and pragmatic tactic against the Empire's occupying force on Jedha.
The Paranoiac: Years of war led him to become this, as evidenced by his treatment of Bodhi Rook (who he believes is an Imperial spy in spite of everything suggesting to the contrary) or his mistaken belief that the Rebel Alliance brought Jyn Erso to Jedha to kill him.
Parental Substitute: He raised Jyn Erso after her father was taken by the Empire and her mother was killed.
Principles Zealot: To say Saw doesn't do compromise is an understatement. He will never bend or bow on anything and when he says no, he means no and nothing you have to say will get him to change his mind. This includes his politics and rebellion against the Empire; Luthen trying to get him to even consider working with another Rebel cell is like trying to squeeze water out of a rock (and just as successful), and he's totally dismissive of every argument Mon Mothma has to make for why his violent extremism is hurting the cause.
Properly Paranoid: In the eighth episode of Andor, Luthen Rael urges Saw to provide extra manpower to a Rebel cell led by Anto Kreegyr. Saw refuses, as Kreegyr was a Separatist during the Clone Wars. When Luthen reminds Saw that the Rebel cells need to work together to survive, Saw reveals a more pragmatic reason for not wanting to work with Kreegyr: He is "slow and stupid" and drawing too much unwanted attention to himself. Sure enough, one episode later we learn that the ISB has placed Kreegyr under surveillance and is in the process of setting a trap for his allies.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The reckless and impatient red to Lux and Steela's rational and calm blue.
Retraux Flashback: In the Rogue One comic adaptation, a panel showing him in his The Clone Wars incarnation has his face look more like a younger Forest Whitaker with Saw's The Clone Wars appearance.
Rousing Speech: Delivers one in Fallen Order, a stark contrast to his resigned world weariness in Rogue One:
Saw Gerrera: These have been hard years. We've lost comrades, friends, family to the Empire. Dark times. And yet the fire still burns. Hope still burns. The Jedi are not yet lost. We are not yet lost. Kashyyyk is not yet lost! For the cause!
Sacrificial Lion: For fans of Clone Wars and Rebels, Saw's death shows that this is a dark work that won't pull any punches.
Saved by Canon: Since he doesn't bite it till Rogue One, his role in Fallen Order, Rebels, and Andor pretty much ensure he'll survive the events in those stories.
Sanity Slippage: By the time of Rogue One, half a lifetime of near-endless fighting have taken a serious toll on Saw, leaving him reclusive, paranoid, and increasingly extreme in his methods.
Scary Black Man: During the Galactic Civil War, he became well-known among both Rebels and Imperials for his brutality and extremism, and by the time of Rogue One, he's lost his marbles. He comes off as intimidating even after he's crippled and on life-support.
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Having fought through the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War, and experiencing War Is Hell full-on, his older self in Rogue One is explicitly described as "shell-shocked" and the nonstop fighting, betrayal, and loss has taken a heavy toll on him.
Small Role, Big Impact:
- Although he's an Advertised Extra in Rogue One, half of the plot of the movie would have never happened if he hadn't captured Bodhi Rook or shown Jyn Erso the message from her father. And by extension, the Death Star's weakness would never have been discovered. He's not in the movie for very long, but needless to say, his role is important, because if he weren't there at all, things would have played out a lot differently.
- He only has a short appearance in "Aftermath", the first episode of The Bad Batch, but his role in the story awakens most of the titular team to the true nature of how the Clone Wars ended, ultimately leading them to realize they have no future serving the Empire.
- He comes back for the second-to-last episode of The Bad Batch Season 2, where he comes across the Bad Batch on a mission, leading to a series of events that culminate in Tech's death and Omega's capture.
So Proud of You: Said this to Steela when she didn't lose her focus and hope, despite the desperate situation they were in, and continued to organize the rebel base's defense.
Spanner in the Works: For the Bad Batch in the last two episodes of Season 2. The Bad Batch are infiltrating an Imperial summit on Eriadu in order to track Dr. Hemlock's shuttle back to his base so they can rescue Crosshair. What they don't realize is that the Partisans are also on Eriadu to bomb the summit. The Partisans' sabotage of the Imperial security systems alerts the garrison, while the explosives they set indirectly result in Tech's death, as well as scuttling their plan to track Hemlock.
Time-Shifted Actor: In animation, his younger self is voiced by Andrew Kishino in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch. By the time of Rebels, he's voiced by his Rogue One actor, Forest Whitaker.
Together in Death: After everyone leaves when he opts to stay behind during Jedha City's destruction, his last thoughts are of Steela and his last word is her name.
Took a Level in Badass: In opposing the Empire, Saw is a far more seasoned and capable soldier than he was during the fight to liberate Onderon. Unfortunately, this came hand-in-hand with a decline in his morals and sanity, leaving him a paranoid, extremist Shell-Shocked Veteran by the time of Rogue One.
Took a Level in Cynic: Years after the Clone Wars, he's apparently not above hiring mercenaries and has no problem with them being ruthless against Imperials, if one takes Agent Kallus's word. The Onderon rebels receive another mention in Bloodline, and it is definitely clear by the comments that they have gotten more brutal. By the time of the OT, they are known as the Partisans. The Bad Batch shows him at something of a midpoint, he's still clearly much more aggressive and bristly than his last appearance in The Clone Wars but he is escorting civilians to safety and he lets the titular Bad Batch go despite knowing that they were ordered to kill him, seeing their conflict and confusion and giving them a chance to make up their own minds about which side to choose. Its hard to imagine the later Gerrera bothering with the former or taking any mercy upon Imperials.
Vader Breath: By Rogue One, he has a very weak voice, presumably due to his life support system. Rebels shows him two years before without the life support system, and it's nearly impossible to tell it's the same person speaking.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's repeatedly called an extremist in Rogue One both by Imperial personnel and the Rebel Alliance, to the point that the latter severed all ties to him and his cell when he began to cause significantly more trouble than he solved despite fighting for the same cause.
Would Hurt a Child: In one incident on Jedha, he was willing to use children as human shields, because as long as it's a blow to the Empire, anything will do. This was put to a stop by Chirrut and Baze.
Younger Than They Look: In Rogue One, despite being portrayed by 55-year old Forrest Whitaker, Saw should chronologically be between his late 30s to early 40s. However, the stress of a seemingly never-ending war may have taken a toll on his appearance.
Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Despite Tandin describing him as a terrorist, Saw insists that he is a patriot, fighting for a free Onderon. By the time of Bloodline, general galactic opinion seems to side with the former.

As the Onderon Rebels

Steela Gerrera

See her entry on the Onderon page.

Ahsoka Tano

See her page.

Lux Bonteri

See his entry on the Onderon page.

As the Partisans

Benthic and Edrio "Two Tubes"

Benthic

Edrio

Species: Tognath

Homeworld: Yar Togna

Portrayed By: Aidan Cook

"You struck at one of us. You have made many enemies."

—Edrio

An eggmate pair of Tognath mercenary pilots from Yar Togna. When their homeworld Yar Togna was conquered and occupied by the Empire, they were forced to flee as refugees. Seeking revenge against the Empire, they joined Saw Gerrera's Partisans.

The Cameo: Benthic appears in Solo as part of the Cloud-Rider Gang, a nascent rebel cell.
Cyborg: Both are clearly some fusion of man and machine — it's unclear how much of their heads are still organic.
A Father to His Men: Benthic believes in the Partisans and upon seeing Cassian killing one of their members in self defense, instantly distrusts him and thinks to kill him. When the base is being evacuated, Benthic can be seen in the background making sure everyone gets out instead of running away for himself.
He Who Fights Monsters: Benthic was once a heroic member of the Cloud-Riders, one of the earliest Rebel Cells who fought for the people. However, years of struggle against he Empire led him to abandon his heroic tendencies in favor of simply repaying the Empire's brutality, and Benthic admits to Han that he is far from the man he once was.
Kick the Dog: Benthic executes a Sho-Turan civilian drill operator after forcing him to lower the shields to the drill.
Killed Offscreen: Not seen, but Edrio's death in Jedha's destruction was confirmed by the Databank.
Number Two: They seem to be the ones in charge whenever Saw isn't around.
Psychic Link: As eggmates they share what is described as "rudimentary telepathy".
Reasonable Authority Figure: After Benthic takes command of the Partisans, he decides to work with the Rebellion instead of killing Luke, Leia, and Han when they come to him with an offer of support, although he does initially consider killing them.
Revenge: Unlike the other mercenaries working for Saw, their work is less about the money and more about getting revenge on the Empire for devastating their homeworld.
Space Pirate: Before he and Edrio joined the Partisans, Benthic was part of the Cloud-Riders, a pirate gang that fought against the Empire and crime syndicates that collaborated with them in oppressing worlds.
Undying Loyalty: To Saw. After his death, while meeting Luke and Leia, Benthic says that if Saw were here, he would've killed them, and considers doing the same.
You Are in Command Now: Benthic becomes the leader of the Partisans and the survivors of Jedha after Saw dies.

Mari Kosan

Species: Human

Portrayed by: Sumalee Montano

Appearances: Jedi: Fallen Order

A former topographer who joined the Partisans after the rise of the Empire. She served as one of Saw's lieutenants during the Partisans' brief campaign on Kashyyyk.

Badass Bookworm: Her occupation under the Republic was almost entirely academic, mapping rock formations on rural planets. Now she's a lieutenant in a guerrilla resistance movement.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: When Saw decides to pull out of Kashyyyk, she defects, taking a group of Partisan soldiers to join the Tarfful's resistance in the Shadowlands.
Small Role, Big Impact: She only appears a handful of times in the game for brief conversations, but she plays a key role by getting Cal in contact with Tarfful (who incidentally also has a small role and big impact).
Workplace-Acquired Abilities: Her background in topography proves surprisingly useful in her new job as a guerrilla soldier, allowing her to quickly map out Imperial defensive positions to determine the optimal time and place to attack.

Members

Pre-Mission to Tamsye Prime

Jyn Erso

See her entry on the Rogue One page.

Maia

Appearances: Rebel Rising | Rogue One ^note

A friend of Jyn's and the goddaughter of Lux. She was killed during the Partisan's attack on the sakoola blossom festival on Inusagi.

Early-Bird Cameo: She's mentioned in the Rogue One novelization, where during the scene in Saw's base, Jyn asks the other Partisans if she's still alive before remembering she saw her die herself. She would later be expanded on in Rebel Rising.

Xosad Hozem

Species: Twi'lek

Appearances: Catalyst | Rebel Rising

One of Saw's contacts and the leader of a crew.

Ambiguous Situation: It is heavily implied he becomes a Fulcrum recruitment agent for the Rebellion later on in the book or he's at least trying to look for a Fulcrum.

Idryssa Barruck

Species: Human

Appearances: Rebel Rising

A friend of Saw. However, as the years passed, she began to distance herself from the Partisans due to disagreeing with their modus operandi, eventually joining a more unified rebel group.

We Used to Be Friends: Saw and Idryssa eventually break off their friendship.
You Remind Me of X: Because she's more sensible, Saw tells her that he reminds her of Steela, then following that up that it isn't necessarily a good thing.

Unnamed Lasat mercenary

See his entry on the Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries page.

Mirienna

Species: Human

Homeworld: Zeffo

Portrayed by: ???

Appearances: Jedi: Fallen Order

A Partisan soldier from Zeffo. When Project Auger began excavating the tombs on Zeffo, her village underwent forced relocation, with any who resisted being killed on the spot. She was saved by her husband, Ostar, whose sacrifice allowed her to escape along with their young daughter, Sienna.

Action Mom: She single-handedly carried her infant daughter out of an Imperial purge and went on to become a guerrilla soldier. She later mentions that the only reason she didn't join Mari's defectors was the fear of leaving her daughter an orphan.

Post-Mission to Tamsye Prime

Tivik

Species: Human

Portrayed By: Daniel Mays

Appearances: Rogue One

"A planet killer! That's what he called it."

A member of the Partisans on Jedha that served as one of Captain Andor's underground contacts from the group to the greater Rebel Alliance.

Go Mad from the Revelation: The knowledge of the Death Star and its capabilities, as well as the fact he knows the Partisans are fighting a losing battle hasn't done wonders for his sanity.
In the Back: Cassian shoots him when his back is turned.
Shoot the Dog: When Imperials find them, due to getting his arm broken, Cassian is forced to kill him so that the Empire doesn't learn what Tivik was telling him.

Beezer Fortuna

Species: Twi'lek

Homeworld: Ryloth

Portrayed By: ??

Appearances: Guardians of the Whills | Rogue One

A member of the Fortuna clan of the Twi'leks — in fact, cousin of Bib Fortuna, he was the most politically-minded member of his clan and came to resent his clan's ties with the criminal underworld. During the Clone Wars, he was inspired by Free Ryloth's rebel leader, Cham Syndulla, and his efforts to liberate Ryloth. First being a seditionist in Lessu during the liberation, he was captured by Imperial forces but was freed by Saw's Partisans, and subsequently joined them.

Face of a Thug: He's rather gaunt and creepy-looking for a Twi'lek, but genuinely wants to follow a heroic path.
The Strategist: Serves as one of the Partisans' chief strategists, mapping out Imperial activity at both a local level on Jedha and on a galactic scale in order to plot operations against the Empire.
White Sheep: He despises his criminal family, and wants to do good for the people like how Cham does. That being said, though, White Sheep does not automatically mean whoever applies for that trope has a completely chained morality, and Fortuna is one of the Partisans' most high-ranking members for a reason.
Would Hurt a Child: He's willing to go along with Saw's plan to use children as a part of their human shield in one incident on Jedha.

Moroff

Species: Gigoran

Homeworld: Gigor

Portrayed By: Ian Whyte

Appearances: Rebels Magazine | Rogue One

A Gigoran mercenary who offered his services to those in combat, wanting to take advantage of the demand and want for heavy gunners such as himself.

Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: Gigorans like Moroff resemble sapient, extraterrestrial yetis.
BFG: Utilizes a Vulk TAU-6-23 "Blastmill" rotary blaster cannon, which requires a massive pack to power and requires both of Moroff's rather large hands to carry.
Canon Immigrant: His species, the Gigorans, originated in the old West End Games RPG.
Humanoid Alien: He's a Gigoran.
Only in It for the Money: He couldn't care less about the Imperial-Rebel conflict. He just wants whatever money he can get out of it, and in this case, Saw is willing to pay more than the Empire will for his services.

Weeteef Cyu-bee

Species: Talpini

Portrayed by: Warwick Davis

Appearances: Guardians of the Whills | Rogue One

A Talpini sharpshooter and explosives expert.

Ace Custom: Uses a hybrid custom tibanna-gas jacked DH-17/E-11 blaster.
Demolitions Expert: He is the Partisans' chief explosives maker, crafting custom-built sticky bombs which they use to take down the Imperial walkers and tanks deployed in Jedha City.
Horned Humanoid: A little hard to notice, but Talpinis have a pair of short, blunt and stubby horns growing from each side of their heads.

Kullbee Sperado

Species: Meftian

Portrayed by: Robert Nairne

Appearances: Guardians of the Whills | Rogue One

A gunslinger who was recruited by Saw on Serralonis. He is running from a past he refuses to talk about. Being intensely private, sometimes, he disappears for weeks, and has been spotted praying at the Temple of Whills.

Ascended Extra: He receives a major role in a scene in Guardians of the Whills, being brought along with Beezer Fortuna to meet with Chirrut to pray.
Dark and Troubled Past: He's running from his past and isn't quite a social butterfly.

Red Herring: Looks may be deceiving, but no, he isn't the Lasat mercenary that executed Kallus' team. The lack of ears might've tipped that off.
Would Hurt a Child: He's willing to go along with Saw's plan to use children as a part of their human shield in one incident on Jedha.

Cycyed Ock

Species: Keredian

Portrayed by: Robert Nairne

Appearances: Rogue One

A male Keredian who was part of the partisans, Ock was present at the Catacombs of Cadera in Jedha.

All There in the Manual: His name is given in the book Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide.
Cyborg: He had a cyber-optic wire connected into his brain which increased his visual senses and allowed him to analyse kyber crystal deposits, examine microcircuitry and throw his vibrorang weapon with unerring accuracy.
Humanoid Alien: Keredians like Ock have the basic humanoid body shape, but have big heads, short necks, long arms and a portly stomach.

Post-Destruction of Jedha

Ubin Des

Species: Human

Homeworld: Jedha

Appears in: Star Wars (Marvel 2015)

A former member of the Alliance Special Forces, Des left the Alliance to join the Partisans after the destruction of Jedha City by the Death Star, determined to prevent the Empire from looting what remained of her homeworld.

Action Girl: Very skilled in combat, as befits a member of Alliance SpecForce.
Doomed Hometown: Jedha, and she returns to what remains of it as soon as she can to stop the Empire from desecrating what little remains with their kyber crystal mining operations.
Plot-Induced Illness: Had she not been ill and kept in Yavin Base's medical bay, Des would have joined the mission to Scarif and perished there.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: She left the Rebellion after the Battle of Yavin to join the Partisans on what remained of Jedha.

The Dreamers

Leadership

Staven

Species: Human

Appearances: Rebel Rising | Inferno Squad

A friend of Jyn's. At some point after the Partisans abandoned her, Staven was captured by the Empire and believed to be dead, but escaped and returned to the group after the destruction of Jedha. Without the leadership of Saw, the remaining loyal Partisans reformed into the Dreamers, with Staven as their leader.

Dye Hard: According to Inferno Squad, his hair is dyed blue.
Early-Bird Cameo: He's mentioned in the Rogue One novelization, where during the scene in Saw's base, Jyn asks the other Partisans if he's still alive, only to be told he was killed sometime after they left Jyn. He would later be expanded on in Rebel Rising.
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: While the Partisans were never the most moral of rebel cells, Staven has little concern for civilian casualties. After the death of Nadrine, he begins actively targeting Imperial citizens, plotting to kill four-hundred Imperial schoolchildren alongside a Moff and general during a tour of an Imperial factory in order to send a message.
Only One Name: According to the Empire, his name is just Staven, though it might be a name he took on to replace his old name.

The Mentor (SPOILER for Inferno Squad)

The Mentor/Senator Lux Bonteri

See his entry on the Onderon page.

Others

Azen Novaren

Lieutenant Azen Novaren/Lar Kantayan

Species: Human

Appearances: Inferno Squad

A Dreamer.

The Unreveal: Seyn recognizes him as an Imperial agent, just like them, but we never learn where his true loyalties lie as everyone (save the Mentor) gets offed.

Piikow

Species: Chadra-Fan

Appearances: Inferno Squad

A Chadra-Fan that had once been employed by the Empire for his mechanical skills.

Nice Guy: Iden sees him as the most approachable out of the Dreamers besides the Mentor, and he gets along quite well with fellow mechanic Del (who was faking, but still). Iden believes that he may have sympathetic friends in the Empire as contacts for him now due to his amicable character.

The Vushan family

Ru Vushan, Halia Vushan, Sadori Vushan

Species: Kage

Homeworld: Quarzite

Appear in: Inferno Squad

A family of Kages.

Interspecies Romance: Sadori, a Kage, has a crush on Seyn, a human. Seyn pretends she reciprocates as a part of her cover.
Outliving One's Offspring: Sadori is killed, much to the distress of Ru and Halia.
Ship Tease: Sadori has a crush on Seyn.

Nadrine

Species: Human

Appearances: Inferno Squad

The Dreamers' explosives expert.

Morality Chain: She and Staven seemed to have been close. Staven becomes more isolated after she and Kaev die.
Stuff Blowing Up: Her specialty. She's the one behind the idea of disguising bombs as pieces of jewelry.

Bokk Naarg

Species: Sullustan

Appearances: Inferno Squad

A former Partisan. After the death of Saw, he attempted to defect to the Empire with information on the source of the Dreamers' intel. However, he was killed by a Dreamer suicide bombing.

Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Figuring he wants to be on the winning team, he left the Partisans and tried to rat them out.

Characters / Star Wars - The Partisans

Edit Locked

All spoilers regarding the Skywalker Saga, The Clone Wars, Rebels, and Rogue One are unmarked. Examples relating to Disney's EU can be spoiler-tagged if deemed necessary.

Leaders

Captain Saw Gerrera

Species: Human

Homeworld: Onderon

As the Onderon Rebels

Steela Gerrera

Ahsoka Tano

Lux Bonteri

As the Partisans

Benthic and Edrio "Two Tubes"

Species: Tognath

Homeworld: Yar Togna

Mari Kosan

Species: Human

Members

Pre-Mission to Tamsye Prime

Jyn Erso

Maia

Xosad Hozem

Species: Twi'lek

Idryssa Barruck

Species: Human

Unnamed Lasat mercenary

Mirienna

Species: Human

Homeworld: Zeffo

Post-Mission to Tamsye Prime

Tivik

Species: Human

Beezer Fortuna

Species: Twi'lek

Homeworld: Ryloth

Moroff

Species: Gigoran

Homeworld: Gigor

Weeteef Cyu-bee

Species: Talpini

Kullbee Sperado

Species: Meftian

Cycyed Ock

Species: Keredian

Post-Destruction of Jedha

Ubin Des

Species: Human

Homeworld: Jedha

The Dreamers

Leadership

Staven

Species: Human

The Mentor/Senator Lux Bonteri

Others

Lieutenant Azen Novaren/Lar Kantayan

Species: Human

Piikow

Species: Chadra-Fan

Ru Vushan, Halia Vushan, Sadori Vushan

Species: Kage

Homeworld: Quarzite

Nadrine

Species: Human

Bokk Naarg

Species: Sullustan

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