Magnificent Bastard / Star Wars

"I will start my operations here, and pull the Rebels apart piece by piece. They will be the architects of their own destruction."

"To defeat an enemy, you must know them. Not simply their battle tactics, but their history, philosophy, art."

— Grand Admiral Thrawn, Star Wars Rebels, "Hera's Heroes"

A scrawling world taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away has seen the rise and fall of many brilliant strategists. Below are the most brilliant.

All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!

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Canon Works

Multiple Media

Examples

• Boba Fett, the greatest Bounty Hunter in the galaxy, is "just a simple man trying to make his way." Growing from an impulsive child to a skilled hunter, Boba is able to face off with even Jedi and constantly outwits and traps his quarries. Gaining a name for himself, Boba tracks the Millennium Falcon to Bespin City on behalf of Darth Vader and, after losing the carbonite-frozen Han Solo, engages in the Bounty Hunter Wars, where he expertly infiltrates his enemies to recover Han. Escaping the Sarlaac, Boba is taken in by a tribe of Tuskens whom he helps corner a Pyke train trespassing through their lands. Later saving Fennec Shand, Boba assists Din Djarin with his missions, returning to Tatooine to kill Bib Fortuna and take over the fallen Jabba's organization. Managing to navigate the treacherous politics of Mos Espa, Boba makes enemies into allies via ruling by respect and eventually kills his old nemesis and mentor Cad Bane through his wits and the skills he learned from the Tuskens, cementing himself as the best there is in his ruthless profession.
• Cad Bane is one of the top Bounty Hunters of the galaxy following the death of Jango Fett. In one of his first appearances, Bane is hired by Darth Sidious to steal a holocron from the Jedi Temple. Bane succeeds in this goal using Cato Parasitti and Todo 360 as distractions. Needing a Jedi to unlock the holocron, Bane forces Anakin Skywalker to assist him by threatening his Padawan, Ahsoka. Later on, Bane flawlessly infiltrates the Galactic Senate to force Chancellor Palpatine to free Ziro the Hutt, and during a mission to recapture Ziro on behalf of the Hutt Council holds his own in a fight against Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos. Bane also displays a noble side when he saves Obi-Wan, disguised as "Rako Hardeen", from a rigged challenge in the Box, before proceeding to take over Dooku's mission to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine from the incompetent Moralo Eval. Ruthless and methodical, Bane returns decades later to confront his former mentee Boba Fett on behalf of the Pyke cartel, coming close to killing Fett and dismantling his fledgling criminal empire in his quest to see once and for all who truly is the best.
• The Grand Inquisitor was once a Jedi Knight who turned to the Dark Side, becoming the leader of the Inquisitorius, a group dedicated to hunting Jedi who survived Order 66. Having used Reva Sevander's hatred for Vader to manipulate her into a driven attack dog for the Empire, the Inquisitor later uses the bones of the deceased Luminara Unduli to lure in numerous Jedi, and nearly kills Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger using this tactic. Pursuing the two afterwards, the Inquisitor gathers information on them before entrapping them again and planting a tracking device on their ship to follow them across the galaxy. With the help of Wilhuff Tarkin, the Inquisitor is able to capture Kanan and uses him to bait his allies after their attempts to break him fail. Losing to Kanan in a duel, the Inquisitor decides to take his own life rather than suffer a worse punishment for his failures, facing death with complete dignity.
• Black Krrsantan is a particularly vicious and dangerous Wookiee Bounty Hunter who started out as an unbeatable gladiator. Years ago ambushing and wiping out several slaver groups until he found one working for the Xonti, Krrsantan willingly joined their Gladiator Games to satisfy his brutality, and though he was enslaved by the Xonti, he eventually escaped and turned to mercenary work. Allying with everyone from Boba Fett himself to Dr. Aphra while always willing to turn on them for the right price, Krrsantan is so deadly that he faces down the likes of Ben Kenobi and Luke Skywalker's band with fierce near-victory. After hunting down and "repaying" the Xonti for their hand in his harsh enslavement, Krrsantan continues his career until rejoining Boba Fett's banner, helping the new crime lord take control of Tattooine from the Pyke Syndicate.
• Mitth'raw'nuruodo, better known as Grand Admiral Thrawn, manages to be just as brilliant in canon as he was in Legends. Thrawn is a strategical and analytical genius who inspires both admiration and loathing from his peers in the Chiss Ascendany. Dispatched to uncover the culprit behind attacks on the Ascendancy's capital world, he uncovers the Grysk conspiracy to destroy the Chiss. Using his cunning and the resoucres at his disposal, he defeats regimes supported by the Grysk and foils plots to throw the Ascendancy into a civil war. Falsely exiled into the known galaxy in search of allies, he rises to one of highest military ranks within the xenophobic Galactic Empire. Dispatched to deal with the rising Rebel Alliance, Thrawn discerns Kallus is their mole and uses him to feed them false information, his plans culminating in the destruction of Chopper Base and the elimination of Phoenix Squadron; Thrawn's total victory is prevented only by by his incompetent allies and the intervention of an Eldritch Abomination. Thrawn sets up a blockade to stop the Rebels from invading Lothal, with a second blockade in place should they evade the first, resulting in the annihilation of all but three fighters. Despite being dragged into the unknown regions of space, Thrawn returns years later to spearhead the resurgence of the Empire, working behind the scenes to dismantle the New Republic.
• Qi'ra was once a scrappy street rat from Corellia, who grows into the woman who almost toppled the Empire and annihilated the Sith. The former lover of Han Solo, Qi'ra joined Crimson Dawn and climbed her way to become Dryden Vos' right-hand. Upon reuniting with Han, Qi'ra helps him double-cross Vos and personally kills her former employer to gain Maul's favor, learning the secrets of the Sith at his feet. Uncovering the truth of the Emperor's identity, Qi'ra resolves to overthrow him and bring freedom back to the galaxy by rebuilding Crimson Dawn from the shadows, assembling legions of followers to infiltrate organizations throughout the universe. Qi'ra makes her grand re-entrance by stealing the carbonite-frozen Han from Boba Fett and hosting an auction for him, creating conflict between the Empire and the Hutts; with the underworld destabilized, Qi'ra sets off an intergalactic gang war, all while helping the Rebels rescue her former lover. Sowing chaos to such extents that she rattles even the Emperor himself, Qi'ra stages a massive battle to goad the Sith into a Fermata Cage, only prevented from freezing them in time for all eternity by the sudden betrayal of the Knights of Ren. Even with her plans foiled, Qi'ra survives to see the Empire's downfall, having lain what groundwork she could to help those in search of freedom.
• Fennec Shand, Master Assassin, rarely fails to complete a hit. Quickly proving herself a cunning mercenary in her debut on the eve of the Clone Wars, Fennec is hired to safeguard the young Kaminoan clone Omega, managing to take on the Bad Batch and even matching wits with Cad Bane. Years later being left for dead on Tatooine, Fennec is saved by Boba Fett and bonds closely with him as she helps the infamous bounty hunter reclaim his ship and armor, while aiding Din Djarin in his plight against the vile Moff Gideon. Becoming the right hand of Boba when he forges his own criminal empire in Mos Espa, Fennec's ruthless and pragmatic advice make her the Hypercompetent Sidekick of their organization; when the Pykes attempt to take over, Fennec saves the lives of Boba's enforcers, the Mods, before demonstrating her skills on the leaders of the invasion, wiping them all out with them never even managing to see her.

By Medium

Films

• The Last Jedi: "DJ" is an unnamed slicer who lives by the code "Live free, don't join", whereby he refuses to support either side in the war between the Resistance and the First Order. Encountering Finn and Rose when they get thrown into jail with him, DJ finds out they are seeking a hacker and offers his services, while proving his worth by breaking them out of prison. When Finn discovers DJ stole a yacht and starts doubting his morals, DJ shows him the yacht owner's corrupt identity and teaches Finn his personal philosophy. Despite demanding upfront payment in the form of Rose's gold pendant, it's revealed he merely wanted it as an electrical conductor and returns it to her afterwards. Coming very close to successfully disabling the hyperspace tracker, the trio are caught, to which DJ saves his own skin by revealing the Resistance's escape plan. DJ is paid handsomely and allowed to walk free, with his refusal to take sides paying off in the end.
• Solo: Tobias Beckett is a smuggler working for the Crimson Dawn Syndicate. Introduced disguised as an Imperial officer, Beckett and his teammates successfully desert a battle in spite of Han Solo's blackmail attempt, later taking the young man as a protégé after a train heist goes wrong. Assigned to deliver a stolen shipment of coaxium to Dryden Vos, Beckett secretly monitors his teammates and reports them to his boss when they decide to give the material to the Cloud Riders instead. When it turns out that Han anticipated this, Beckett betrays Vos as well in order to make off with the coaxium for himself. Whether working with him or against him, Beckett proves himself to be a worthy teacher toward the young Han Solo.

Comic Books

• Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra is a rogue archaeologist who believes in guile and might deciding one's way. Working as a brilliant operative for Darth Vader by gathering information and technology, Aphra manages to fool even the Sith Lord into thinking he had killed her before escaping with her life ahead of her. Later betraying Luke Skywalker to the tyrannical Queen of Ktath'atn, Aphra helps him defeat the parasitic monster even as her treachery temporarily costs her Luke's respect. Forming an intense relationship with Magna Tolvan, an Imperial officer, Aphra uses their relationship to once more fake her death before leaving her for her own safety, going on to play the Rebel Alliance to orchestrate the death of the Imperial minister responsible for her mother's murder. Subsequently ending up in Vader's service again, Aphra sabotages the Empire's efforts to locate the Rebel base on Hoth before escaping his wrath once more. Always with a new scheme in mind, Aphra manipulates and scams everyone she meets throughout the galaxy to get rich and survive another day, while always ensuring her loved ones are safe.
• Queen Trios, introduced as The Un-Favourite child of her father who is sent to die in an assassination attempt on Darth Vader, instead finds herself ruler of Shu-Torun in the wake of the disastrous plot. Rather than be cowed into meek subservience, Trios instead evolves into an utterly ruthless agent of the Empire, willing to do whatever is necessary to stave off Imperial wrath. The young queen's first act as ruler is to crush a rebellion; Trios weaponizes her own experiences to coldly secure her reign by executing traitor barons and replacing them with their youngest, more easily manipulated children. Later tasked with infiltrating the Rebellion, Trios masterfully influences Rebel and Imperial alike to gain Leia's trust, aiding her in raising revolts on Mon Cala and even sabotaging one of Shu-Torun's prize starship drills to see the ruse through. Trios' machinations allow the Rebel Alliance to grow and unite, leaving her in the prime position to sabotage their armada so that Vader can slaughter them all. Even when Leia attacks Shu-Torun in revenge, Trios quickly organizes a response to the assault before meeting her end in a duel, apologetic for the misery she's wrought yet forever adamant that everyone—herself included—is expendable so long as her people survive.
• Star Wars (Marvel 2015) annual #1 & issues #16-19—"Rebel Jail" arc: Eneb Ray was once Leia's most accomplished spy, willing to do whatever it took to rise up the Imperial bureaucracy and tear down Palpatine's tyranny. After being outwitted and just barely killed in a masterful trap designed by the Emperor's own hand, Eneb comes to respect his monstrous yet brilliant mind and concludes that the Rebellion must adopt a similar ruthless approach to stand any chance of winning. Faking his death, Eneb leads his forces to lay siege to a Rebel prison when Leia comes to deliver Dr. Aphra as its newest inmate. Eneb traps the princess with the vile prisoners in an effort to have her develop the hardened killer mindset he believes is needed to lead the Rebellion, executing all the Imperials himself when Leia refuses before taking Han and Luke hostage in a last endeavor to force her to kill Aphra and prove herself a worthy leader. Though ultimately failing to convert Leia to his approach, Eneb remains confident they will need his methods down the line, and exits the series initiating his escape from Rebel custody.
• Darth Vader (2015): Inspector Thanoth is an agent of the Imperial Inspectorate assigned to assess the competence of Darth Vader himself after the loss of the Death Star. Accompanying Vader on a competition to complete missions against a group of artificial Force-users with his apprenticeship to Sidious on the line, Thanoth proves every bit the Dark Lord's match in scheming ability and coolly thwarts all of Vader's attempts to ditch him. A believer in the Empire, but not in the ability of Sidious to lead it, Thanoth is revealed to be a supporter of Vader himself usurping the throne, and ultimately gives him everything he needs to take down his foes before cheerfully engineering his own death on Vader's blade by revealing that he had deduced his true identity.
• Darth Maul: Xev Xrexus is the head of the Xrexus Cartel. Having her men abduct a Jedi Padawan named Eldra Kaitis and hoping to turn a profit, Xrexus arranges an auction with multiple decoy events to sell the Padawan to the highest bidder. Deducing Maul will kidnap the Padawan from a simple conversation, Xrexus sets a bomb to send the ship he takes her in crashing to the planet below and arranges a pay-to-enter hunt to make further profit from the ordeal. Though the hunters fail, Xrexus remains composed when Maul kills her, talking solemnly to him and deconstructing his desire for vengeance before ultimately revealing to him that she deduced his true nature as a Sith as her last words.
• Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith issues #13-17—"Burning Seas" arc: Ferren Barr was once a Jedi Padawan. Going on the run when the Order fell, Barr has a vision of the fall of the Empire and sets about gathering information and putting together acolytes to aid with his goal. Barr travels to the Mon Calamari homeworld Mon Cala to have their king resist the Empire, before murdering the Imperial ambassador to inflame tensions and draw out military action. When the Inquisitors arrive, Barr entraps them by ordering their own troopers to "execute Order 66," knowing the programming will recognize the Inquisitors as Jedi. Escaping to face Vader amidst the bombardment of Mon Cala, Barr boasts that his actions may kill billions, but countless others will hear of the Empire's evil and unite to face them, with Mon Calamari soldiers returning to one day liberate their world. Before falling at the hands of Vader, Barr gloats that while he may not be a Jedi, he still beat the Sith.
• Doctor Aphra (2020):
  • Domina Tagge is the charismatic president of Tagge Corporation and head of the House of Tagge, under whose leadership TaggeCo became one of the main assets of the Empire. Recruiting Doctor Aphra as her agent, Domina has her complete missions for the company, from discovering a rival's scam to hunting down her runaway cousin. Learning about Crimson Dawn's infiltration, Domina organizes a board meeting to lure out The Mole and recruit a team of bounty hunters hired to kill her. Working with Sana Staros to lure her treacherous nephew Ronen into a trap and kill him, Domina has Sana and her team released from her service, proudly declaring that TaggeCo will outlive Crimson Dawn.
  • Lapin Tagge is Domina's cousin and right hand, put in charge of discovering and eliminating Crimson Dawn spies. Helping Domina organize a board meeting, Lapin stands their ground to protect interns during Boushh's team's raid. Faking a defection to the treacherous Ronen Tagge's side, Lapin has him lured to Domina to unwittingly confess his crimes before sedating him and leaving him at Domina's mercy.

Live-Action TV

• Andor:
  • Luthen Rael is the unfettered, original mastermind of the entire rebellion against the Empire. Inspired to fight against the Empire's tyranny, Luthen has used his position as an affable antique shop owner to gain political connections and mask his true goal of igniting an uprising across the galaxy. Drafting soldiers like Cassion Andor and politicians like Mon Mothma alike to his cause, Luthen meticulously schemes countless minor blows against the Empire, building up to the masterful heist of the quarterly payroll for an entire Imperial sector. Luthen knows full well that his actions are prodding the Empire into more brutal oppression against the galaxy, and considers it a worthy cause so long as it inspires more and more people to rise up against the Imperial dictatorship. Able to personally outfly and outgun a squadron of TIE fighters as smoothly as he can talk himself out of any situation, Luthen's actions pave the way for the ultimate destruction of the Empire in the years to come, all as he acknowledges that his crimes ensure he is damned to never see the better galaxy he strives for.
  • Kleya Marki is Luthen Rael's assistant, subordinate, and most trusted agent. Brilliantly managing his antiques shop without shattering its simple facade for a second, Kleya distracts Mon Mothma's driver to facilitate a meeting between the two and proves eternally willing to clean up Luthen's messes and call him out on his mistakes. Equally ruthless and even willing to enter the field, Kleya dispenses information across Luthen's network and covers the shop's connections to the Rebellion handily.
  • Cinta Kaz is an especially quiet and vicious medic who serves the Rebellion. Aiding in the Aldhani Heist, Cinta plays a vital role with her quick wits and clever thinking. Keeping utterly calm no matter the horrific circumstances, Cinta proves willing to put a gun to the head of an Imperial governor's son and even later tries to personally kill Cassian Andor to keep Luthen Rael's secrets safe. Upon being tracked by an ISB agent, Cinta recognizes the signs of being stalked before ultimately outmaneuvering and stealthily stabbing her pursuer to death. With this accomplished, Cinta quickly cleans up and prepares to leave the planet.

Video Games

• Battlefront II (2017): Iden Versio is the commander of the Empire's elite Inferno Squadron. Along with her squad, Iden infiltrates The Dreamers, gaining the trust of the extremist group before dismantling it. Iden allows herself to be captured by the Rebel Alliance to infiltrate their ship and delete all the data gathered on the Imperial Fleet before making her escape. Learning of the Empire's intention to destroy her home planet, Iden turns on them with Del to join the Rebels, using her cunning to ensure many victories over the Empire, eventually leading to its destruction in the Battle of Jakku. Learning of Gideon Hask killing Del and his Project Resurrection years later, Iden and her daughter use a TIE fighter to sneak into Hask's Star Destroyer and kill Hask. Being fatally shot beforehand, Iden ensures that her daughter escapes the destroyed ship to notify Leia Organa about the First Order's forces before accepting her death.
• Jedi duology:
  • Fallen Order: Trilla Suduri, the Second Sister, is one of the smartest of the Inquisitors and among the most skilled of their number. Tortured into the Dark Side after being betrayed by her mentor Cere, Trilla becomes a ruthlessly effective servant of the Empire's Inquisitorius. Hunting down Cal Kestis and Cere so she may find a Holocron that contains the location of every Force-sensitive child known in the galaxy, Trilla manipulates Cal into doing all the work to open a path to the Holocron so Trilla may take it from him, all while she works to sow doubt in his heart over Cere. Even upon the possibility of redemption being denied to her by the arrival of Darth Vader himself, Trilla manages to compose herself and die with dignity, her final words being a plea for Cal and Cere to avenge the victims like her.
  • Survivor: Rayvis is a hulking Gen'Dai warrior honor bound to serve Jedi Master Dagan Gera after being bested in combat. Having gone on a rampage in revenge for his master being imprisoned that resulted in his own incarceration, Rayvis escaped during the fall of the Republic so he could return to his master's service, forming the Bedlam Raiders from the remnants of Separatist technology in his quest to free Dagan. Rayvis, coming into conflict with Cal Kestis, follows the rebel to Dagan's prison so as to provide the fallen Jedi a quick escape upon his revival, and collaborates with him to find the planet Tanalorr, a safe haven where they can build their own rebellion to drown the Empire in blood. Upon being defeated, Rayvis forces Cal to give him a warrior's death so he cannot be made to choose between serving two different Worthy Opponents, meeting his end with far more dignity than any other enemy fought in the game.

Western Animation

• Hondo Ohnaka is a swaggering, charming Space Pirate out to make the biggest profit possible while having fun. His cunning shown off immediately in his introductory arc, wherein he kidnaps Count Dooku, uses him to lure in and capture two Jedi, then nearly succeeds in selling them all off for a fortune, Hondo regularly clashes with Jedi and Sith alike, always coming out not only alive, but often in better standing than before. As honorable as he is villainous, Hondo will extort villages and threaten children, only to turn around and assist in rebellions against dictatorships and bond with the very same children he endangered, happy to ally with anyone he feels keen to only to betray them if he finds a better business prospect. Ending his original series at an all-time high as he overcomes Darth Maul and steals the crime lord's riches, Hondo's return in Rebels is marked with a far more heroic turn for the old pirate, as he allies with the Rebellion, assists them in pulling off many heists against the Empire, and forms close friendships with the crew of The Ghost, all while making profit for himself. With genuine respect any enemy and ally alike who are deserving and a generally nonmalicious disposition about him, Hondo easily sticks out among the many war criminals and monsters the Jedi combatted as a true swashbuckling rogue.
• General Kalani, the first of the Super Tactical Droid line, was assigned by Count Dooku to uproot the Republic-backed rebels on Onderon. Quickly proving to be far more intelligent than the incompetent King Rash, Kalani's stratagems turn an attempted rescue into the near execution of the entire movement. Undeterred after his initial failure, Kalani uses droid gunships to nearly obliterate the rebel army, but wastes no time executing Rash upon learning of Dooku's disinterest in prolonging the proxy war. Kalani is later revealed to have survived the Clone Wars, having ignored the droid army shutdown command under the assumption it was a Republic trick. Deciding to hold a "last battle" with Rex to determine once and for all who would have won the war, Kalani nevertheless agrees to ally against invading Imperials and utilizes the superior accuracy of the Jedi to improve the aim of his aging droids in their escape, parting amicably with his former foe.
• The Clone Wars (includes Dark Disciple & Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir):
  • Asajj Ventress was a Dathomirian Nightsister who was enslaved. She eventually came into the care of a Jedi who trained her until his death. Seeking vengeance for the Order's perceived abandonment of him, Ventress would come to be an elite assassin for Count Dooku. When betrayed by Dooku, Ventress returned to her home of Dathomir, allying with Mother Talzin and plotting against Dooku, becoming cold yet not without heroic traits. When her people were massacred on Dooku's orders, she found work as a bounty hunter, allying with Boba Fett on a cargo mission. Upon learning the target they were transporting was a tyrant's forced bride, Ventress saved the girl and kept her share of the payment with quick thinking. As a freelancer, Ventress cleverly saved the life of Obi-Wan Kenobi from Maul and his brother Savage. On Coruscant, Ventress would ally with fugitive Jedi Ahsoka Tano, aiding her and pointing out her mistreatment to her master. Later in life, Ventress would ally and fall for the Jedi Quinlan Vos, training him in the Dark Side and saving him when he was captured, ultimately giving her life to save Quinlan and saving the Jedi Order from corruption.
  • Embo is an honorable, respected bounty hunter willing to do jobs ranging from the noble to the ruthless. Introduced with fellow mercenary Sugi as protectors of a Felucian village, Embo works with the Jedi to defend their clients from Hondo Ohnaka's pirates, using his skills to effortlessly murder several of the bandits; such upstanding jobs are so frequently taken by the pair that they end up in considerable debt, angering several major underworld organizations through their refusal to let innocents suffer. Taking on countless other tasks throughout the Clone Wars, from attempting to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine to protecting the Hutt Council, Embo proves capable of surviving a fight against the combined might of a Sith Lord and the Mandalorian Death Watch, and further showcases his competence when he takes on Anakin Skywalker himself to successfully stage false assassination attempts on Rush Clovis. Even in the twilight hours of the Empire, Embo shows he has not lost one ounce of his edge over the years; when he is hired to apprehend Jas Emari, Sugi's niece, the Zabrak bounty hunter only survives through Embo's mercy, which earns him a full pardon for his crimes after Jas convinces his team to turn on their employer.
  • Mother Talzin, spiritual and political leader of the Nightsisters, intends revenge on Palpatine for stealing away her beloved son Maul. Upon the return of Asajj Ventress to the clan, Talzin arranges an assassination attempt on Count Dooku, knowing he will survive but be in need of a new apprentice. Talzin provides her son Savage Oppress to eventually betray and kill Dooku and sends him to locate Maul when this fails. Even when the clans are threatened, Talzin reveals she once stole a lock of Dooku's hair to kill him with her magic, almost succeeding before the clan is wiped out. Later manipulating another sect with a ritual to drain their lives for more power, Talzin finally aids her son Maul to rise in prominence, matching wits with Palpatine himself before sacrificing her life to save Maul's own.
  • "The Hidden Enemy": Slick is a tactically brilliant and clever clone trooper who betrays the Republic to the Separatists. Communicating Republic plans to the enemy and sabotaging their operations, Slick manages to deflect suspicion when the presence of a traitor is revealed and even frame another clone on the spot. Upon being exposed, Slick proceeds to destroy the Republic weapons depot and nearly escape, delivering a brutal battle against his pursuers. When finally arrested, Slick declares that he did everything he did for freedom from the life of slavery that all clones have been forced into.
  • "Storm Over Ryloth": Captain Mar Tuuk commands the Techno Union blockade that has crippled the Twi'lek homeworld, and is distinguished from the vast majority of Separatist commanders by his keen intelligence and respect for proper conduct in war. Defeating Ahsoka Tano's squadron and severely damaging the opposing Republic ships by having extra forces jump out of hyperspace right on top of the young Jedi's overconfident charge, Tuuk next goes up against Anakin Skywalker, whom he greatly respects. Tuuk is defeated only because Anakin distracts Tuuk with a false surrender before ramming his ship into Tuuk's, and the Captain takes a moment to castigate the Jedi for his flagrant violation of battlefield ethics before coolly making his escape.
• Resistance:
  • Season 1: Major Baron Elrik Vonreg is an Ace Pilot and Imperial noble in service to the First Order, and Co-Dragons with Commander Pyre to Captain Phasma. Opening the series by nearly killing Kazuda "Kaz" Xiono and Poe Dameron in a dogfight, the baron spends the rest of his tenure in the show working with Pyre to mastermind the First Order's efforts to take control of the Colossus from Captain Doza. The pair hire the Warbird gang to harass the station, pressuring Doza to accept the First Order's offers of protection from the pirates' attacks; Pyre eventually has the Warbirds kidnap Doza's daughter, Torra, only for Vonreg to betray the pirates when he arrives to deliver their payment, rescuing Torra to return her to her father. Vonreg's Engineered Heroics are the ultimate tipping point for him to gain Doza's trust and convince the captain to allow First Order forces onto the station, giving them the authority to finally begin their occupation of the Colossus.
  • "The Engineer": Nenavakasa "Nena" Nalor is a charming saboteur hired by the First Order to track down and infiltrate the Colossus. Tracking the Colossus for days before sending a fake distress signal to be brought on board, Nena quickly sabotages the station's systems under the guise of fixing them while genuinely befriending Neeku. She frames pirates for stealing energy from the station to buy herself time before being found out and offering Neeku a partnership. Rejected she, with some remorse, escapes with her payment from the First Order, all while making it clear it was nothing personal.
  • "The Missing Agent" & "Breakout": Ax Tagrin is a dangerous bounty hunter who regularly captures Resistance agents on behalf of the First Order. Introduced hunting down Resistance spy Norath, Tagrin has his informants look out for his inevitable reinforcements and nearly kills Kaz, Synara, and Yeager when they come to rescue him. Although initially evaded, Tagrin allows them to find and enter his ship to free Norath, immediately closing their escape route so he can fly them to the First Order. When Kaz and Norath escape, Tagrin spies on them to learn the location of their ship, using it to discern the coordinates of the Colossus to sell to the First Order, before cleverly lying in wait to ambush Kaz and Norath upon them returning from their rescue mission.

Other Disney works

Examples

• Visions:
  • "The Elder": The titular Elder was once a Sith lord who rejected the ways of his kind when he realized the Sith were destroying themselves with in-fighting. Going into hiding from the Jedi for hundreds of years, the Elder realizes his time is short and so seeks out a final challenge before he dies. He lures a Jedi and his Padawan to an isolated planet, where he wounds the latter to lure his master to him. The Elder then duels the Jedi Tajin, eagerly praising Tajin's power and nearly striking him down. Though he is beaten, the Elder still one-ups Tajin by setting his ship to self-destruct, ensuring the Jedi can find no secrets hidden onboard.
  • "Akakiri": Masago is a Sith Lord who killed her brother, the king to claim his kingdom for herself, while also banishing his daughter Misa. When Misa returns with allies, including a Jedi Knight named Tsubaki, Masago effortlessly defeats them while corrupting Tsubaki, driving him to accidentally kill Misa. Masago later offers to bring Misa Back from the Dead on the condition that Tsubaki becomes her apprentice, which Masago upholds after Tsubaki accepts her deal.
  • "Screecher's Reach": The Sith Mother is a Sith Lord who offers the child Daal a way off her horrid planet if she travels to Screecher’s Reach to kill the creature living there. Giving Daal her amulet as a means of communication and tracking her progress, the Sith Mother tells Daal she passed her test before convincing Daal to abandon her friends and leave her planet to become her Sith apprentice.
  • "Journey to the Dark Head": Bichan is a powerful Sith who is introduced effortlessly wiping out an entire squad of Jedi, using his natural skill and his hidden whip to kill even the strongest opponent. Sparing young Toul because he senses the potential for the Dark Side in the boy, Bichan tracks Toul down years later to usher him towards the Sith. Bichan attacks Toul and his ally Ara, outdoing Ara in aerial combat and reacting to his ship being damaged by simply leaping out of it and catching a ride on Ara's. Revealing that Toul and Ara's mission to destroy the dark head monument is a futile quest, Bichan nearly succeeds in corrupting or killing Toul.
• LEGO Star Wars: Terrifying Tales: Vanee is Darth Vader's former assistant, who schemes to become a Dark Lord himself. He resides in Vader's castle, waiting for someone who can open a Sith tomb. Setting his sights on newly arrived Poe Dameron, Vanee lures Poe and young Dean further into the castle while telling them scary stories. Eventually realising he actually needs Dean, Vanee manipulates the boy into opening the tomb and the Sith artifact they find there. Vanee takes the artifact for himself and uses it to create lightsaber-wielding mecha before activating a droid army, ready to bring new terror into the galaxy.

Legends

Multiple Media

Examples

• King Adas was the most powerful, ruthless and legendary member of the Sith race to reign on Korriban. Through might and cunning, Adas united the fractured nations of Korriban under his one banner, eliminating any who stood against him. Earning fear and respect alike from the population, Adas lead the Sith people for hundreds of years, and even when the Rakatan Infinite Empire tried to invade Korriban when Adas was advanced in years, Adas personally drove them off. Adas then pilfered the Infinite Empire's own technology, and would use it to strengthen and spread the Sith to more worlds, ensuring power for his people for ages to come.
• Xendor, founder of the Legions of Lettow, was a brilliant young man of the Kashi Mer dynasty. Leaving his family after studying "Bogan," the Dark Side, Xendor became a great Jedi Knight but broke with the order over his desire to pursue studies of Bogan. Ultimately founding his own academy, Xendor marshaled his forces and struck out at the Jedi Order in the First Great Schism, nearly toppling the Jedi Order and Republic himself with his second in command and lover Arden Lyn. Despite the great war, Xendor remained a figure of renown to the Legions, whose actions influenced Dark Siders for milennia after.
• Tulak Hord, one of the mightiest Dark Lords of the Sith of the ancient empire, was known for his tactical acumen and especially his unbelievable skill with a lightsaber. Rising to power via a series of clever and ruthless campaigns, Hord conquered a hundred worlds for the Empire, eliminating rivals via subterfuge and assassination. Upon the Jedi laying siege to an Imperial world, Hord personally broke the siege and annihilated an entire army himself. Plotting ahead for his own eventual fall, Hord scattered items and left his best friend Khem Val in stasis to guide an eventual and worthy successor.
• Marka Ragnos is considered to be one of the greatest Dark Lords of the Sith to ever exist, being singlehandedly responsible for the legendary "Golden Age" and having lead the Sith to victories for millennia. Ragnos assumed the title of Dark Lord by turning his rivals against each other and utterly crushing any potential enemies, while avoiding pointless sadism or ego-driven cruelties. Leading the Sith to prosperity for hundreds of years, Ragnos continues to influence his organization even after his death, using his spirit to guide Naga Sadow, Exar Kun and more in their quests to destroy the Jedi and attain Sith domination over the galaxy. Ragnos eventually tries to regain a physical form to bring the Sith back into the golden years he once lead them to, using a cult of followers to strike the galaxy and nearly succeed. Even when he is beaten by Kyle Katarn, Ragnos escapes once more into the ether of the Force, swearing to return one day for vengeance.
• Jango Fett, in this continuity, is regarded as perhaps the most dangerous Bounty Hunter in the galaxy, a reputation well-earned. Raised by Mandalorians from youth after the deaths of his family, Jango carved a path as a deadly warrior, killing three Jedi with his bare hands at one point and capable of taking down even massive Krayt Dragons with little difficulty. As exceptional a father as he is a hunter, Jango raises his young son Boba in his footsteps, training the boy to have honor as well as pragmatic ruthlessness. Jango outsmarts Count Dooku, provides the template for and trains a massive portion of the Clone army, and takes on the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu with unflinching resolve. Even after his death, Jango makes waves across the universe, as he left resources for his son to become a renowned bounty hunter himself, and the Clone soldiers came to be known as one of the most powerful armies to have ever graced the galaxy.
• Boba Fett, the son of Jango, rises from an orphaned child to become the finest Bounty Hunter in the galaxy. Proving his worth as a boy by setting up traps for Mace Windu and the monstrous Durge, Boba is known for his brilliant career in which he has faced countless opponents, even surviving battles with Darth Vader through his intelligence. Hired to destroy the Bounty Hunter Guild, Boba infiltrates it, starts the Bounty Hunter Wars and manages to profit for it. Hired to capture the monstrous pirate Bar-Koods, Boba seeks a bounty on a magician named Magwit once held captive by Bar-Kooda and arranges for Magwit to lure Bar-Kooda into a trap. Upon escaping the Sarlaac, Boba allows the galaxy to think he's dead while rebuilding his reputation, eventually rising to lead the Mandalorians and connecting with his long-lost granddaughter Mirta Gev, being known throughout the galaxy by one single title: "The Best".
• Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik distinguished himself as one of the Empire's most brilliant military minds and as perhaps the most legitimately decent and empathetic person in its topmost ranks. As a firm believer that the Empire was a necessary institution to keep people safe, Teshik obeyed orders without question, even when Emperor Palpatine sentenced him to death by suicide mission for a minor mistake. Teshik miraculously managed to survive, and as he hovered between life and death experienced an equally miraculous vision of all Galactic history, including conflicts yet to come. At Endor, he kept the entire Rebel fleet on its toes for three hours with a single ship after the rest of the Imperials retreated before he was captured. Sentenced to death, Teshik spent his last moments mocking the young New Republic with the story of his vision, letting them know the fight was far from over.
• Bib Fortuna, Jabba the Hutt's majordomo, is intelligent enough to allow his partner Bidlo Kwerve to gain a "greater reward" for bringing Jabba his rancor—becoming its first meal, as it turns out. Bib forms a conspiracy to take Jabba down at one point, saving Jabba from a second attempt while ingratiating himself further to the Hutt. Having saved a Twi'lek boy named Nat Secura to raise him to be a puppet ruler on Ryloth, Bib saves him from Jabba's whims by having his brain removed and stored. Later having his own brain removed by the B'omarr monks, Bib convinces them to give his brain a new home in the body of a rival as he rebuilds his own criminal empire with himself at the top.
• The Dark Lady Lumiya, born Shira Brie, is the one who kept the Sith alive after the fall of Palpatine. After being rebuilt when shot down by Luke as an imperial spy, Lumiya manipulates her way through the Nagai-Tof war before going underground. Training guardsman Carnor Jax as her apprentice, Lumiya helps to sabotage Palpatine's clone bodies for revival and steadily eliminates rival Sith cults by playing their enemies against them. Later returning to bring peace to the galaxy, Lumiya manipulates a galactic conflict and lures Jacen Solo to the dark Side, finally letting Luke believing that she was the murderer of his wife so Luke will kill her, allowing Jacen to operate with greater ease and fulfill all her goals as she goes on to her rest.
• Gilad Pellaeon, once just the commander of the Star Destroyer Chimaera, became the right hand and student of none other than Grand Admiral Thrawn. Winning Thrawn's respect with healthy debate and competence, Pellaeon showed wisdom in knowing his limits after Thrawn's death and did not commit his troops to a doomed battle. After watching numerous failed attempts to revitalize the Empire, Pellaeon ultimately outplayed his rivals and took control of the Imperial Remnant to make a lasting peace. Showing himself as an adept hand in politics by staying ahead of the Moffs and seeding spies throughout the Galaxy, Pellaeon emerged from retirement to show himself as a true strategic mastermind. Coming up with a multitude of tactics, Pellaeon won numerous battles against such enemies as the Yuuzhan Vong. On the assent of Jacen Solo as Darth Caedus, Pellaeon sacrificed his life to direct the Imperials to fight the Sith, also exposing the traitors in the Empire and ensuring his forces would fight to the last to avenge him.
• Soontir Fel, once a simple farmboy on Corellia with a skill for flying, had his morals result in him sent to the Imperial Academy to protect a well-connected young thug when Fel prevented him from raping a local girl. Excelling in the academy and becoming one of the finest pilots in the galaxy, Fel led numerous missions to victory against a multitude of enemies. Upon falling in love with actress Wynssa Starflare, Fel kept her secrets when he learned she was Syal Antilles, sister of the famous rebel pilot Wedge. When Syal went into hiding, Fel was ultimately bested by Wedge and immediately defected to make the Rogues promise to find his wife. An invaluable, brilliant asset and pilot, Fel helped to bring down the would-be Empire of Ysanne Isard until he was brought into the company of Grand Admiral Thrawn. becoming an ardent supporter of the Empire of the Hand, Fel secured Thrawn's dominion and became respected even by the Chiss Ascendancy. Still a skilled pilot and planner decades on, Soontir Fel lived long enough to see his son Jagged become Emperor of the new risen Empire.
• Talon Karrde is a master smuggler and crime boss who faces down everything from Jedi Masters to Imperial Grand Admirals with swagger and cunning. Talon clawed his way into his own powerful organization following the downfall of the Hutt clan, and earns the loyalty of his vast group of followers down to the dangerous Mara Jade. Though initially a foe to Luke Skywalker, Talon earns a target on his back in the sights of Thrawn when Talon chooses to ally with Luke against the Empire for his own benefit. Talon outwits various attempts to discredit and frame him by traitors while manipulating himself into further power among fellow crime lords and the New Republic, eventually ingratiating his own information network into the New Republic to such a point that Talon rakes in fortunes while assisting in the takedown of Thrawn and the truce with the Empire for years to come.

By Medium

Comic Books

• Star Wars: Crimson Empire: Carnor Jax is the man who became the Empire's last, best hope for staying together after its numerous defeats. Once The Ace of Palpatine's Royal Guard, then one of Lumiya's Dark Side acolytes, Jax heeded the call of his reborn liege only to find Palpatine a stark raving mad shell of his former self. Arranging for the sabotage of the Emperor's backup clone bodies, thus making Palpatine's final death possible, Jax cleverly forges alliances with various power brokers to cement his rule of what remains of the Empire - including, for the first time, nonhumans - all the while attempting to eliminate everyone who knows his dirtier secrets, especially his rival Kir Kanos. Clever enough to predict and avoid multiple attempts on his life by Kanos, Jax ultimately challenges him to honorable single combat in their old training grounds, and only loses because third parties interfere in the battle.
• Star Wars (Marvel 1977) issues 18-23 (The Wheel arc): Master-Com was once one of many self-aware supercomputers in the Galaxy, but over a century of time, grew far beyond his programming. Installed to run every system aboard the spacegoing gambling palace The Wheel, Master-Com struck up an Odd Friendship with the station's administrator Simon Greyshade, expertly foiling a plot by Imperial Commander Strom to frame Greyshade for embezzlement. During this crisis he also met the Heroes of Yavin and was intrigued by their genuine camaraderie with droids. When Greyshade sacrificed himself to kill Strom, Master-Com took great pleasure in sabotaging the casino's systems to torment his Imperial-appointed successor, and when that administrator was felled by a sudden heart attack, took over the station himself. As suave as he was ruthless, Master-Com ran everything aboard the station from its slot machines to its gladiatorial arena with consummate flair for nearly a century. When he mysteriously vanished one day, he was missed by all who knew him.
• Star Wars: Republic:
  • Vilmarh "Villie" Grahrk is a crafty Devaronian mercenary who helps to instigate the Yinchorri-Jedi war for money, later coming across the amnesiac Jedi Master Quinlan Vos and assisting him to win a bet. Guiding Quinlan for his own schemes, Villie later betrays him to the architect of his misfortune before promptly betraying his employer for Quinlan's sake once he has the credits in his possession. Villie later helps renegade Twi'lek criminal Kh'aris Fenn elude the law by audaciously telling the truth about his location and spends the rest of the Clone Wars looking out for himself before managing to deceive the Clone Army about Quinlan's survival so he may save his Jedi friend one final time, being forever immortalized by his Wookie protege Chak as the namesake for his ship: The Grinning Liar.
  • Ros Lai is a member of the Nightsister clans and the daughter of the powerful Nightsister Queen Zalem, who murdered Ros's father. Seeking vengeance, Ros Lai disguises herself as a feebleminded and deformed cripple with an illusion to bide her time, revealing herself to Jedi Quinlan Vos. Getting Quinlan to help her overthrow her clan so she might kill her mother, Ros takes over the clan and attempts to destroy Coruscant to free Dathomir forever.
• Knights of the Old Republic: Cassus Fett is the second-in-command of the Mandalorian army, passed in rank only by his leader Mandalore the Ultimate, to whom Cassus is utterly dedicated to conquering the galaxy in the name of. Reforming the frazzled people of the planet Mandalore into a competent armada that ever-expands its ranks by offering warrior posts to anyone able and willing, Cassus brilliantly pulls off a variety of extremely successful strategies that result in the Mandalorians conquering world after world all while manipulating the Galactic Republic into believing Mandalore is weaker than it truly is. Vicious and smart enough to pull off a full-scale genocide of the powerful planet of Cathar as vengeance for their betrayal of Mandalore decades past, Cassus ends up indebting himself to Zayne Carrick when the rogue Jedi saves Cassus's life, and Cassus later assists Zayne in taking down the horrific Demagol, proclaiming it to be not only about repaying Zayne, but also due to a personal distaste for Demagol.
• Star Wars: Legacy:
  • Darth Nihl was once a tracker, warrior and warlord of the Nagai people. Inducted into the One Sith, Nihl ascends to be the chief enforcer of Darth Krayt's will and one of his Hands. Leading the attack on Ossus, Nihl kills many Jedi, including the more powerful Grandmaster Kol Skywalker, whom he kills by striking from behind. Later capturing Kol's son Cade for Darth Krayt, Nihl allies with Darth Wyyrlok despite knowing he betrayed Krayt, intending to find Krayt's "body" and kill his hated rival Hand Darth Talon along with Krayt should he survive. Returning to Krayt's side, Nihl ensures he sets up a contingency for Krayt's fall and orders the elimination of Krayt's super soldiers. Directing his forces to flee and hide before infiltrating governments across the galaxy to bring them down from within, Nihl ends the series as the ascendant Dark Lord of the Sith at last.
  • Darth Talon is one of Krayt's Shadow Hands who uses her cunning and seductive wiles to prove herself the most loyal member of Krayt's One Sith. Trained by Darth Ruyn who she effortlessly murders without hesitation at Krayt's command, Talon earns her place at his side by outwitting and defeating multiple Jedi, as well as nearly luring denounced emperor Fel into a trap with the man's daughter. After seducing Cade to the dark side for a brief period, Talon continues to serve Krayt and expertly carries out his will in many schemes, using manipulation and power equally in her missions. When Krayt apparently dies, Talon is his most trusted asset in faking his demise and helping him reconstitute himself to strike back and nearly take over the entire galaxy for good. Even once Krayt is defeated, Talon flees from capture and continues to strike blows against the Jedi for years to come.
  • Volume 1: Morrigan Corde, alias Nyna Calixte, is a brilliant imperial agent and the director of Imperial Intelligence under the Calixte alias. Helping to overthrow the galactic alliance with the Sith, Corde later goes behind their back to ensure the survival and freedom of Emperor Roan Fel, spending years in her position while manipulating her lover Morlish Veed and all around her to steadily work at the downfall of the Sith. Reactivating the Corde identity, she aids her son Cade Skywalker in his freedom from Krayt, switching identities to ensure she is never caught while ruthlessly protecting her allies and securing her own power base. Even after Veed supposedly kills "Nyna" after discovering her secret, she survives and returns to execute him as Corde, even ensuring Cade's survival with a last act of cleverness by the end of War.
  • Volume 2 (2013): Darth Wredd is a Sith apprentice introduced killing his master from behind. Endeavoring to weaken public support of the Triumvirate, Wredd impersonates Imperial Knight Val so as to take control of the galactic array, intending to execute Val live to the galaxy. When this fails, he goes on a crusade to destroy the One Sith, killing their high-ranking infiltrators and exposing their intentions to the governments around the galaxy. After manipulating Ania Solo and her team into killing Darth Luth for him, Wredd then captures Jao Assam, revealing that he was formerly a heroic warrior until his former master destroyed his planet and forced him into his servitude; in response, Wredd schemed for years, vowing to destroy the Sith entirely. After manipulating the entire One Sith into open combat with the Triumvirate and helping the Triumvirate wipe them out, Wredd attacks the Empress in front of everyone to ensure his own death, eradicating the Sith presence from the galaxy once and for all.
• Star Wars: Knight Errant: Vilia Calimondra, ruler in all but name of the Grumani Sector and matriarch of the Sith Calimondra family, is an innocuous seeming grandmotherly figure who is a ruthless Sith Lord. Having initiated the Charge Matrica to see who among her children was worthy of being her heir, Vilia is strongly have implied to have eliminated her remaining son Chagras when he became a threat before initiating a second contest among her grandchildren. Manipulating them and sowing strife to strengthen them while having them eliminate rival Sith, Vilia uses her spies to disable any plots against her, even using her granddaughter Arkadia's scheme against her to gain custody of her overthrown twin grandchildren to keep them safe, remarking that her reasons for bettering them are "While the Sith may be ancient, there were grandmothers long before that."
• Shadows of the Empire:
  • Wrenga Jixton, aka "Jix", was an imperial trooper court-martialed after his failure to participate in the destruction of a city on the world of Falleen. Later saving the life of Darth Vader to become an Imperial Agent in return for leaving his friends alone, Jix infiltrates Jabba the Hutt's palace and swoop gang to safeguard Luke Skywalker, keeping Luke alive even after being forced to kill one of Jabba's men. After planting the dead man's code book on an injured swoop member, Jix departs with his mission complete and his enemies none the wiser while remaining in Vader's service.
  • Evolution, by Ron Randall, Steve Perry, and Tom Simmons: Savan, the niece of Prince Xizor seeks to avenge her uncle and take over Black Sun. Disguising herself to gain a seat on the council of Vigos, Black Sun's lieutenants desiring Xizor's position as Underlord, Savan plays the Vigos against one another. Exploiting their differences to cause strife and borderline wars to keep them from allying against her, Savan disguises herself as an antiques dealer to operate in secret. Savan intends to obtain the Human Replica Droid Guri as an assassin and take over the criminal organization for good and all.
• X-Wing Rogue Squadron: In The Phantom Affair Dr. Rorax Falken is a renowned physicist, teacher, and composer who contracts to build a cloaking device for the Empire but is scamming them to divert funding for other, non-Imperial projects he works on in a secret, well-defended, orbital lab and get revenge on the Empire for manipulating him into helping build the Death Star. When an oblivious colleague starts a bidding war for the cloaking device, Falken lets Imperial sympathizers steal his research, then steals it back before they can examine it and alters surveillance footage to frame the Rebels for the theft and ruin their efforts to ally his planet with the New Republic. He uses hologram technology to fake the resurrection of a man Rebel Wookie Groznik owes a life debt to, making Groznik assualt and capture his betray his friends to protect Falken. Falken is prepared to kill the visiting Rebels if it is necessary to keep the Empire from learning his secret or seizing his other weapons research. However, he remains solemn, apologetic, and hopeful it won’t come to that before dying in an Imperial raid and leaving behind a booby trap that decimates the attackers.
• Dark Horse Comics:
  • Moff Trachta is a passionate member of the Empire whose noble loyalty to the cause leads to conflicts with even the likes of the Emperor himself. In his introductory story, Trachta saves the Emperor from Gentis's machinations and then schemes with Vader to take back Coruscant from the leaders of a coup, ultimately succeeding thanks to Trachta's charisma and strategies. When Vader murders a group of prisoners Trachta had honorably promised to spare out of respect, a disgusted Trachta spends decades planning a coup of his own against Vader and the Emperor, putting his plan into play in Star Wars: Empire as leader of the Anti-Sith Conspiracy. Secretly training a squad of stormtroopers to serve him right under Vader's nose, Trachta sacrifices part of them in a faked assassination on the Emperor, killing many of his Elite Guard so that Palpatine would request more security, which Trachta would use to allow his trained stormtroopers access to the Emperor to carry out an assassination. Trachta thinks to lure Vader away from the location into a separate trap as well, and nearly gets the drop on his own allies trying to betray him, a betrayal that ultimately undoes the entire plan and proves that Trachta was the genius behind the Anti-Sith Conspiracy as a whole.
  • Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison: Headmaster Gentis is an Imperial general with a personal vendetta against the Empire, recognizing how horrible its tyranny has become and how callously it dismisses the deaths of its own Imperials. Arranging a coup against the Emperor, Gentis turns hundreds of potential Imperial recruits to his ideology, convincing them to lead a hostile takeover of Coruscant while Gentis himself infects the Emperor with a powerful poison that nearly kills him and reprograms droids across the planet to kill all Imperials in sight. His scheme outdoing even the usually-infallible Emperor and Vader, Gentis successfully seizes control of Coruscant and turns more and more Imperials to his side with sheer charm and conviction, planning to round out his coup by luring Grand Moff Tarkin into a death trap, something that very nearly succeeds by a split second margin and cements Gentis's control.
  • Darth Vader and the Lost Command:
    • Lady Saro is a spiritual leader of the Atoa System and a powerful sorceress. When Admiral Garoche Tarkin comes to subjugate her sector for the Empire, she offers herself as a hostage to protect her people but wins him to her cause by offering him forgiveness for his crimes, after which they fall in love. When Darth Vader arrives looking for Garoche, she offers to help him in exchange for control over the sector, and defuses his threats by promising to lie to him if he tortures her, or be a martyr to her people if he kills her. She tricks Vader into attacking rival Atoan factions who would have welcomed a true alliance with the Empire. After capturing Vader, Saro seeks to have him atone and join her government by giving him visions of Padmé, nearly succeeding before Vader decides to collapse a building on all of them instead. Saro spends her last moments proving herself to be more than a selfish manipulator, comforting Garoche and reaffirming her love for him rather than despair over her failure and doom.
    • Captain Shale is a friend and former classmate of Garoche Tarkin, who accompanies Vader into the Ghost Nebula to search for Garoche. He personally leads a group of elite Storm Commandos into the field with Vader. He is highly adept at outmaneuvering hostile forces and works to minimize casualties among his forces. He gradually begins showing disgust for Vader and his brutal tactics, reflecting his secret contempt for the Empire as a whole and desire to stop serving it. He rallies dozens of soldiers to join a mutiny to protect Garoche and wipe out the troops loyal to Vader, destroy a Star destroyer from within, and ultimately capture Vader himself. When Vader escapes, Shale fights Vader with his own lightsaber to buy time for Garoche and Saro to flee. After being defeated, he reiterates his contempt for the Empire and loyalty to Garoche before nearly killing Vader with a suicide bomb and showing peace, contentment, and good humor in his final moments.

Literature

• Star Wars: Allegiance: Caaldra is a mercenary employed by an ambitious governor out to secede from the Empire. He has a vast intelligence network whose reports he scrutinizes carefully and forms alliances with mercenaries, Small Town Tyrants, and pirate gangs across the sector to steal weapons and attack Imperial loyalists once the plot begins. He directs his pirate allies to attack many innocent freighters in addition to those carrying weapons to obscure the other hijackings. While ruthless and not motivated by higher ideals, he holds the corrupt Imperial hierarchy in general and Darth Vader in particular in contempt. Caaldra uses traps, decoys, and Combat Pragmatism to retain an edge in several conflicts with Mara Jade. He refuses to engage in Just Between You and Me discussions except while negotiating in good faith and, even then, lies about who his boss is to mislead Mara. Bold, ingenious, and surprisingly loyal, Caaldra is almost singlehandedly responsible for the failed secession being in a position where, if not for several last-minute spanners in the works, it would have probably succeeded despite the active efforts of one of its leaders to sabotage the plot from within.
• The Thrawn Trilogy: Mitth'raw'nuruodo, known to all as simply "Thrawn," is the most brilliant mind to ever grace the Imperial ranks, a genius strategist and master manipulator. Having ascended to the position of Grand Admiral in the xenophobic Empire despite his Chiss heritage, Thrawn leads the Imperial remnants following the death of Emperor Palpatine and the collapse of the Empire, embarking on a new galactic domination tour in which he is madly successful. Learning of entire races' war strategies and military tactics by studying their art, Thrawn handily dominates each and every one of his opponents, either through military prowess or his own persuasive charm, and utilizes the Ysalamir to gain the allegiance of the insane Jedi clone Joruus C'baoth. A polite, affable leader to his men—yet completely and totally willing to eliminate any who disrespect Thrawn or their positions—Thrawn is ultimately only beaten after conquering half the galaxy, solely by a completely unforeseen betrayal by his otherwise most loyal servant, and cannot help but spend his final moments remarking how "artistically" it was done.
• New Jedi Order:
  • Nom Anor is a cunning agent of the Yuuzhan Vong who specializes in "weakening the hinges of the enemy's fort", spying and sowing conflict on targeted worlds to prepare them to invasion. Anor is one of the key figures driving his people's war against the New Republic, and when he is cast out for failure he turns his skills against them as well, assuming the persona of "the Prophet" and leading the lower castes in revolution. Ultimately loyal only to his own ambition, Anor ends up Playing Both Sides for his own game; after the Yuuzhan Vong are defeated and his final plans fail, rather than throw himself on the mercy of any of the factions he's backstabbed, he chooses to meet death on his own terms. Manipulative, resourceful, and always with another trick up his sleeve, Nom Anor is a key player in the Yuuzhan Vong War and the iconic antagonist of the New Jedi Order saga.
  • Edge Of Victory I: Conquest, by Greg Keyes: Vua Rapuung was a talented Yuuzhan Vong commander of Domain Rapuung engaged in an illicit affair with the Shaper Mezhan Kwaad. When he attempted to end their relationship, Kwaad sabotaged him to render him a Shamed One, lowest of the low in the Yuuzhan Vong society. Seeking revenge, Via Rapuung allies with Anakin Solo to infiltrate the Yuuzhan Vong of Yavin 4, forming a plot to bring him closer to his former lover and expose her treachery. Little by little, he and Anakin grow to respect one another and when Vua Rapuung elicits Mezhan Kwaad's confession, he chooses to die so Anakin may escape, becoming a messianic figure to the Shamed Ones.
• Jedi Quest: The Trail of the Jedi:
  • Hunti Pereg is a rugged Bounty Hunter who is famous for having never failed to capture or kill a single fugitive and is hired by the sinister Granta Omega to go against Obi-Wan and Anakin. He attacks the Jedi from a strategic location with droids and thermal detonators, forcing them to push through heavy snow to reach him, tiring them out, while he doesn't have to move at all. Pereg shows respect and amusement at Obi-Wan's cunning methods of fighting back but is poised to win until the Jedi defeat him through trickery, forcing him into a thermal spring that will set off the explosives he is carrying. When Obi-Wan tries to rescue him Pereg refuses, saying that this would only cause him to suffer at Omega's hands. He calmly waits for his death, and spends his last moments warning Obi-Wan that Omega is dangerous and will keep attacking him.
  • Teleq is a tree-climbing Gadgeteer Genius and respected Bounty Hunter who joins the effort to capture Obi-Wan and Anakin. He abducts and drugs another Jedi to lure Obi-Wan and Anakin into a trap, and keeps them on their toes with multiple holograms of his hostage and dart guns spread throughout the trees where the heroes chase him. He nearly lures them into a pit trap below where his prisoner is suspended from a net before being defeated. While he never directly meets the Jedi and is carried off to an unclear fate by a giant native bird after being knocked into its nest, Teleq is the most ingenious antagonist Obi-Wan and Anakin face in the book.
• Dark Lord—The Rise of Darth Vader: Cash Garrulan is a Black Sun vigo who has long operated with the tacit approval of the Jedi and the Republic in exchange for giving them information and staying out of any criminal operations more detestable than gunrunning. He is a prolific and dutiful informant, vainly trying to warn the Republic about Count Dooku's military buildup well before the Clone Wars, and has a friendly relationship with Roan Shryne, his Jedi handler, but also pays off the Separatists to operate in their territory. After Order 66, Cash is one of the few Outer Rim citizens who believe that Palpatine is scapegoating the Jedi for his own actions. This knowledge, the Empire's tough stance on gangsters, the promise of future favors from Roan, and their past friendship cause Cash to agree to work against the Empire. He remains calm and cunning while being interrogated by Vader, has unwitting Separatist mercenaries be decoys to divert Vader away from Roan and his honorary Padawan, and temporarily gets both himself and Roan out of the Empire's reach with a calculating piece of misdirection during a ship chase.
• Darth Bane:
  • Darth Bane himself began life as Dessel, the abused son of a miner, but grew to become much more. A hulking beast of a man with great power in the Dark Side of the Force and an intellect to match his might, Bane, upon shedding his old name and joining the Sith, quickly became one of the most powerful among them, making his own way in defiance of the established order. After realizing that the Brotherhood of Darkness is hopelessly flawed, Bane engineers its annihilation and devises the "Rule of Two", planning to turn the Sith's greatest weaknesses, their greed and ambition, into their greatest strengths. Spending the next two decades training his apprentice, Darth Zannah, and laying the groundwork for the Sith's domination of the galaxy, Bane endures every setback and challenge that comes his way with his iron will and near-infinite patience, holding firm to his self-imposed ideals, even managing to turn a parasitic infestation into an advantage. Ultimately meeting his end in a duel with his apprentice in accordance with the Rule of Two, Bane's legacy endures, setting a standard for the next thousand years of Sith Lords and setting the stage for the eventual fall of the Jedi and the Republic.
  • Darth Zannah, Bane's apprentice, shows her manipulative acumen when still a girl named Rain, using her wits to convince a spacer to take her aboard his ship before murdering those on board to join Bane on Onderon. Becoming an adept apprentice, Zannah infiltrates numerous factions for Bane to manipulate them into conflict and remove the rivals of the Sith, in one such mission meeting a man who knows of the Sith and intends to become Zannah's apprentice, prompting her to lure him into conflict with Bane to either deal with the problem or leave her as the Master. When Bane is critically injured, Zannah destroys her own cousin's mind to make him appear as the true Sith Lord to the Jedi and secure Bane's survival so she may complete her own training. Enraged ten years on when Bane seems to betray his own teachings, Zannah engages him in a contest ending with a battle of wills that she is triumphant in, proving herself worthy of the title of Dark Lord of the Sith and continuing Bane's plans to see the fall of the Jedi and Republic.
  • Lord Kopecz made a rational and reasoned decision to betray the Jedi for the Sith, believing the latter offered the best hope for Galactic peace. Becoming one of the strongest of the Sith Lords and known for his skill and brilliance, Kopecz's lack of depravity brought him respect even by his enemies. One of the first to join Skere Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness, Kopecz proves invaluable in battle, almost singlehandedly leading the defeat of the Jedi and Republic forces in one key confrontation. When he realizes the dangers of the Thought Bomb, Kopecz refuses to flee the side he had chosen long ago and opts to lead a charge so he may give the Jedi the information on what Kaan plots, as well as securing his own death in combat.
• Maul: Lockdown: Iram Radique is an infamous intergalactic arms dealer who runs his operations from within the space station Cog Hive Seven. Radique got himself sent to the prison deliberately to run his operations and stay away from assassins. The prison authorities aren't even sure whether he really exists or not. Radique builds and distributes all kinds of weapons inside the prison, smuggling in weapon components one piece at a time and even training birds to carry them down to his workshop, before shipping the finished weapons outside. He pays his inmate workers to blind themselves to keep the location of his factory a secret and is more effective at preventing escape attempts than the guards due not wanting anyone to tell the outside world about what he's up to. When Darth Maul comes to the prison, intending to force Radique to sell Emperor Palpatine a nuke, Radique and his lieutenants easily manipulate Maul into chasing numerous false leads and even get the drop on the Sith apprentice and only fail to kill him due to a third party's intervention.
• Death Troopers: Jareth Satoris is the ruthless captain of the Purge Imperial prison barge, who has cultivated an image of being far more cruel and ruthless than he truly is. Renowned for keeping some of the Empire's worst prisoners in line with his tactics, Sartoris is the first person to realize the errors being made by his superiors in handling a viral outbreak, and quickly deduces that the virus is transforming the populace of the Purge into ravenous zombies. Stoically blasting his way through many enemies before killing and swiping the escape pod codes from his boss, Sartoris later outwits a group of cannibalistic Imperial survivors of the outbreak. Though bitten by the zombies and soon to die from infection, Sartoris uses his last moments to sacrifice himself and save the lives of other passengers, imparting comforting words to Trig Longo about his father as Sartoris finally accepts the remorse he holds for killing Trig's father.
• Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side, by Daniel Wallace: Sorzus Syn is one of the original Dark Jedi who took over Korriban and became the first true Sith Lord. A master alchemist who scoured Korriban for countless treasure troves of artifacts and scrolls while overpowering curses and traps, Syn used her acquired knowledge to craft new Dark Side abilities and empower herself and her fellow Sith. Syn would turn her own allies against each other to distract them from her growing power, and in her alchemical studies she created the monstrous Leviathans and others powerful beasts used against the Jedi. Syn is revealed to have been the author of the Code of the Sith itself, and her influence and guidance over future generations of Sith is shown to be more powerful than most of her contemporaries.
• X-Wing Series: Gara Petothel is an Imperial spy who, after the fall of Ysanne Isard, seeks out other Imperial remnants to serve. She is introduced after having tampered with mapping databases to lure Talon Squadron into a deadly ambush. Later, when her superior tries to sacrifice and abandon a whole Star destroyer crew, she saves most of them and engineers her superior's death by telling Wraith Squadron his escape route. She uses Crazy-Prepared methods and supplies to hide her old identity and make a new one that lets her infiltrate the New Republic for a second time. However, seeing how honorable her new friends in Wraith Squadron are and how callous the Imperial warlords are cause her to do a Heel–Face Turn. After her double identity is blown and her new boyfriend Myn (a survivor of Talon Squadron) tries to shoot her down in a tragically impulsive moment, she seemingly defects back to the Imperials. However, she sabotages Warlord Zsinj's flagship, leaks his location to the Wraiths, and fights alongside her squadron one more time before faking her death, reconciling with Myn, and later starting a family and a business with him.

Tabletop Games

• Star Wars Adventure Journal
  • Adalric Cessius Brandl was once simply a talented actor, but after his Force potential was recognized by Emperor Palpatine during a performance, he became an Inquisitor under Antinnis Tremayne. After his brutality as an Inquisitor led his wife to leave him and take their son Jaalib, Adalric became the only Inquisitor ever to desert his duty, which in turn led to the Empire leading a massacre of his hometown. Staying behind in its ruins to train Jaalib as an actor, the father and son meet a young Rebel agent and Jedi hopeful, Fable Astin, whom Adalric plans to corrupt and turn over to Tremayne to get him to leave his family alone. When Jaalib foils this plan due to falling in love with Fable, Adalric is forced to turn over Jaalib himself to the Inquisitors. Jaalib later escapes and reunites with his father following the fall of the Emperor, and the two open up a powerful mercenary guild that aims to take New Republic hostages to bait a Moff that had forcibly annexed their home planet into leaving himself vulnerable to assassination. Instead, Adalric happily takes a deal to ally with the New Republic in exchange for the marriage of Fable and Jaalib, his long battle between the light and dark within him over at last.
  • Jaalib Brandl never intended to be his father's son, but ended up his equal in cunning, ruthlessness, and moral ambiguity nonetheless. Trained as a Master Actor by his father, Jaalib falls in love with a young Jedi hopeful, Fable Astin, and helps her escape his father's plan to corrupt her and turn her over to Tremayne. Left with no choice but to go with Tremayne himself to spare his family the High Inquisitor's wrath, Jaalib endured years of abuse before deciding to dramatically break with the Empire by assassinating Governor Tork Winger. Impressed by Winger's daughter's devotion to him, he instead saves Winger's life. Later founding the mercenary guild Protectorate with his father, Jaalib finally denies the Dark Side by turning Protectorate from an enemy to an ally of the New Republic overnight via deciding to marry Fable.

Video Games

• Dark Forces: The Dark Jedi Jerec is a powerful Miraluka and former Inquisitor who uses his connections and talents to forge a massive information network and to convert Force-Users to the Dark Side while keeping them loyal to himself. Using his own schemes and abilities, Jerec seemingly serves many warlords for his own interests and gain the location of the Valley of the Jedi. Jerec is later able to find the Valley before facing hero Kyle Katarn, stopped just before he can achieve near omnipotence himself.
• Knights of the Old Republic:
  • Darth Revan himself, prior to being mindwiped into a blank slate, brought the Republic to its knees. Once a bold, dynamic young Jedi commander who singlehandedly won the Mandalorian Wars for the Republic, Revan slipped to the Dark Side and sacrificed many of the troops whose loyalties he was unsure of. Becoming aware of the True Sith Empire, led by the monstrous Emperor Vitiate, Revan embraced Sith teachings and launched a campaign that crippled the Republic, leaving its infrastructure intact so he may one day harness it as a weapon against Vitiate and his empire. Revan executes a multitude of brilliant, perfect strategies, converting other Jedi to his cause, seeking to both conquer and save the galaxy all at once.
  • Canderous Ordo is a hardened Mandalorian warrior-turned ruthless mercenary. Having lead countless victories over the Republic during the Mandalorian Wars, Canderous was renowned for his skill and honor equally, the man facing the ultimate loss of Mandalore to Revan with pride and dignity in a battle well fought. Eventually allying with Revan himself and considering it the thrill of a lifetime, Canderous works with him to outsmart the Sith on Taris and crime lord Davik Kang, securing the prized Ebon Hawk for Revan's use. Canderous goes on to play a key role in taking down the Sith Lords Malak and Nihilus with his strategic mind, and gains so much prestige that he takes up the mantle of Mandalore the Preserve to reform the Mandalorian armies in preparation for a new campaign of conquering.
  • HK-47 is an assassin droid designed by the Sith Lord Revan. A brilliant assassin in its own right, HK performs countless hits for Revan, eliminating those who might cause political strife throughout the Galaxy. Separated from Revan, HK-47 goes from owner to owner until reunited with Revan. Later managing to win over its inferior duplicates and destroy the rogue Droid GO-TO, HK-47 survives another three centuries to find Revan and assist him again. Destroyed, HK-47 returns in the modern days, manipulating its way to seize control of a Mustafar foundry and mass produce droids for its own revolution. Defeated, HK-47 sends a cheerful, congratulatory message to the spacers who bested it, though not without a light jibe at them as "meatbags".
  • The Sith Lords:
    • Kreia, formerly Darth Traya, is a former Jedi historian turned Sith Lord. Upon meeting the Exile after being stripped of power and position, Kreia spends the entire game manipulating the Exile into serving her plans, while having her form bonds with her comrades so Kreia can exploit them while also blackmailing and manipulating their companions as well. In order to eliminate her former student Darth Nihilius, Kreia has him drawn to the world of Telos so the Exile, the only one capable, is able to destroy him. Reclaiming the mantle of Darth Traya, Kreia takes over the Sith once again with sheer force of will and her immense strength, revealing her plan is to kill the Force itself while also strengthening the Exile to change the course of the galaxy. Even upon defeat, Kreia accepts her loss with grace, while giving the Exile the final pieces necessary to confront the True Sith Empire past the unknown regions.
    • Atton Rand is introduced to Meetra Surik as a snarky smuggler, but hides a dark past and far more potential than he puts forth. A Republic soldier who defected to Revan's ranks, Atton was one of the most proficient Jedi hunter-killers, perfecting his ability to entrap, sneak up on and outwit the powerful Force users until he was killing them with ease. After being enlightened to his own Force sensitivity, Atton fled from Revan and stayed hidden for many years, carving out a new life as a successful, low-rent criminal who has made it a mission to evade prying eyes. Through his adventures with Surik, Atton grows to care about her and teaches her his special skill of inhibiting Force mind reading by playing card games in his head, then allows her to train him in being a powerful Force user in his own right. Atton then helps Surik get out from under Kreia's thumb and save the entire galaxy, even personally facing Darth Sion himself to finally prove his care for Surik.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic:
  • Darth Malgus, born Veradun, is a genius strategist and terrifying warrior in the Dark Side. Rising to prominence after taking advantage of his Sith Master's injuries to dispatch him, Malgus leads countless campaigns for the Sith, even the key victory in the sacking of Coruscant where he personally kills the great Jedi Master Ven Zallow. Despite his true love for the Twi'lek Eleena Daru, Malgus recognizes this as a weakness when Eleena is taken hostage and kills her to free himself and make her a source of rage and pain to draw strength from. Later forming his own coup and declaring himself Sith Emperor, Malgus survives this defeat and breaks free of the Sith Empire's chains anew, intending on bringing a vision of the galaxy plunged into war and purified through it, crafting a more tolerance Darkside empire in the process.
  • Darth Marr is a powerful Sith Lord, the chief of the Sphere of Imperial Defense. One of the finest minds of the Empire, Marr is responsible for numerous victories over the Republic and Jedi, hailed as a hero in the Empire for his safeguarding of it. A cold and practical man, Marr lends his occasional aid to others when it benefits him, but upon the realization of the Emperor's monstrosity, turns on him. Slain by the Emperor in his guise of Valkorion, Marr survives as a Force Ghost to assist Jedi Grandmaster Satele Shan, along with the heroes, to eventually finally destroy the Sith Emperor for good.
  • Jedi Knight story:
    • Lord Scourge is the dreaded executioner and right hand of the Sith Emperor, yet secretly seeks to overthrow his master out of disgust for his omnicidal goals. Beginning as a young Sith Lord who discovers the Emperor devoured his home world for immortality, Scourge aligns with a group of Sith Lords seeking to overthrow the Emperor, but sells them out to the Emperor to earn his trust and to engineer a rescue of Darth Revan and Meetra Surik. Believing Revan could match the Emperor, he aids the duo in infiltrating and confronting Vitiate, but he chooses to betray them as well when a vision reveals an unknown Jedi would ultimately succeed. Scourge becomes the Emperor's Wrath for centuries until the day he meets the fated Jedi Knight and aids their escape from the Emperor's capture. Scourge then guides the Knight in foiling the Emperor's galaxy destroying ritual and ultimately ending his former master's reign of terror.
    • Watcher One is an Imperial agent defined by his charm and intelligence, contrasting many of his more cruel, despicable compatriots. Watcher One arranges the brilliant kidnapping of Dr. Godera through usage of a holographic device to disguise himself as a wounded soldier, and offers to the heroic Jedi seeking him out a true to hand back Godera once Watcher One has extracted information from the doctor. Leading the Jedi into several traps, always complimenting the Jedi's skills and prowess, Watcher One successfully pulls off his scheme. When faced with defeat, Watcher One gracefully accepts it, either staring death down, committing suicide to avoid interrogation, or fleeing the Empire to become a successful corporate espionage agent, which he remarks is just as fun as his former career.
  • Jedi Consular story:
    • The First Son is the original of the Children of the Emperor, deep cover sleeper agents planted in the Republic and imbued with the Sith Emperor's will. Manifesting as an split personality of Jedi Master Syo Bakarn, the First Son subtly guided his host to rising in the Jedi's ranks all the way to the Jedi Council and to became a beloved diplomat with access to vast amounts of Republic intelligence. The First Son serves as the leader of the Children and masks them from detection while guiding them to perform acts of sabotage in both civilians and military roles. Fully taking over Bakarn when galactic war reignites, his dark side uses his agents to sabotage the Rift Alliance seeking to join the Republic while turning potential third parties toward joining the Sith instead. Facing the Jedi Consular on Corellia, the First Son leads his agents to sabotage the planet's defenses before being driven out of Master Bakarn's mind.
    • Zenith is the ruthless revolutionary that leads the Balmorra Resistance and will do anything to drive the Sith Empire from his home world. Zenith is not above using any terror tactic against Imperial forces and sympathizers and is willing to bomb and murder civilian collaborators. When the Consular comes to free Balmorra on behalf of Ambassador Tai Cordon, Zenith has them do dirty work for him before giving his aid to the Republic. This includes threatening a corporation leader's family to ensure compliance and suggesting to use a fatal implant to force the catatonic President to hand over power to Cordon. Refused a spot in the government and joining the Consular, Zenith becomes an equally ruthless politician that uses blackmail against Cordon's allies and opposition to win the election as opposition leader to continue his strict anti-Imperial policies.
  • Trooper story:
    • Commander Harron Tavus of Havoc Squad was among the most respected soldiers in the Republic until he and his team defect to the Sith Empire after they were abandoned by the Galactic Senate. Tavus uses the Trooper as a cover to track a bomb stolen by Separatists only to keep the Separatists one step ahead so he can gift the bomb to the Empire to ensure his status. Convincing hundreds of special forces to defect alongside him, Tavus is honored with his own Imperial Dreadnaught and sends his squad out to various worlds to help the Imperial war effort. When the Trooper begins hunting down their old squad, Tavus steals advanced tech to lure the Trooper into a trap and is willing to face them head on when they invade his ship. Tavus ultimately proves regretful at getting his men killed and tries to surrender to atone but goes down fighting if denied the opportunity.
    • General Arkos Rakton is the greatest tactical genius in the Sith Empire with a legendary reputation of never being defeated. Unique amongst the Empire for his moral code, Rakton masterminded the Gauntlet superweapon to precisely target military assets across hyperspace while preventing civilian casualties. When it's destroyed by the Trooper, Rakton launches the first strikes of the reignited Galactic War by capturing Republic ambassadors and forcing them to allow the Imperial Fleets through their space. The General tries to dispose of the Trooper by using prisoners-of-war as bait then blowing up the prison and bribing a Senator to ruin the Trooper's reputation on the home front. Rakton fulfills his grand desire by capturing the impenetrable Bastion and using its countless databanks of Republic military data to create the perfect strategies but ultimately gets captured by the Trooper and promises to face them again one day.
  • Smuggler story:
    • Risha Drayen is the daughter of legendary pirate Nok Drayen and followed in her father's footsteps to become a master criminal to survive in a cold and cruel galaxy. Left alone when her father was seemingly murdered, Risha used what he taught her to become a suave and sarcastic underworld mastermind whose countless heists brought down the wrath of both the Empire and Republic. Aligning with the Smuggler, she manipulates them into helping her retrieve the Crown of Dubrillion at her father's behest so she can reclaim the throne for the Drayen family. Risha refuses her father's last request to betray the Smuggler but takes his lessons to heart and works to reclaim her birthright. Both blackmail against the current king and the elimination of his allies help to secure her future as she takes advantage of a smitten nobleman to marry him and seeks to be a beloved queen to her people.
    • Nok Drayen is among the most successful crime lords in galactic history and built a mighty underworld empire to further his ultimate goal of reclaiming the throne of Dubrillion. Starting as a mere smuggler, Nok secured a fortune by wiping out a pirate base with a biological weapon and proceeded to dominate the underworld of an entire quadrant of the galaxy after wiping out rival syndicates and eliminating half the Hutt Cartel in a single day. A treacherous lieutenant eventually infects him with a deadly disease, and, after disposing of all his former loyalists "to be sure", Nok survives by freezing himself in carbonite so that he can stay alive long enough to ensure Risha retrieves their legacy. Despite trying to make his daughter as ruthless as he was, her refusal to betray her newest ally leaves Nok dying utterly disappointed in the woman she had become.
    • Darmas Pollaran is a charming and womanizing gambler who runs the largest and most successful information network on Coruscant. Introduced helping the Smuggler stay one step ahead of their rival and retrieve their stolen ship, Darmas introduces them to Senator Dodonna who sponsors them to become a privateer to ruin the operations of the crime lord Rogun the Butcher seeking to dominate the underworld for the Imperial Admiral known as the Voidwolf. Guiding them into ruining Rogun's plans, Darmas is later revealed to be a deep cover agent of Imperial Intelligence working for the Voidwolf to ruin the operations Rogun was secretly working on for the Republic. Manipulating the Smuggler from the very beginning, Darmas used them to secure the underworld for the Voidwolf and goes to ground on Corellia to manipulate the local resistance into unwittingly aiding the Imperial invasion and very nearly escapes to obscurity before the Smuggler can finally track him down.
  • Sith Warrior story:
    • Lord Draahg is the apprentice to Darth Vengean, rival to the Warrior's master Darth Baras, but in truth he is a loyal spy and true right hand of Baras himself. A master of pretending to be far weaker than he appears, Draahg is a supremely skilled and nigh invulnerable lightsaber duelist that feeds information on Vengean to Baras and ensures his downfall with the assistance of the Warrior. He works with Baras to betray and nearly kill the Warrior and personally entraps them into a duel by overpowering and kidnapping their companions. Draahg is only defeated after being pushed into a vat of molten metal, but survives by sheer force of will and unending hate. The now cyborg Draahg nearly assassinates their new benefactor Darth Vowrawn multiple times and prepares a final trap that pushes the Warrior to their brink before Draahg is finally defeated for good.
    • Darth Vowrawn is unique among Sith Lords of the Empire for treating their rivalries and intrigues as a fun game while being skilled enough at them to survive well into old age. Vowrawn is the head of the Sphere of Production and Logistics and keeps the entire economy of the Empire running while controlling the rise and fall of half the Dark Council upon which he sits. Threatened by Baras's claim to be the new Voice of the Emperor, the ever affable Vowrawn becomes the benefactor of the Warrior and uses them to expose Baras's spy network on Corellia and eliminate a Jedi double agent Baras was using to target his Sith rivals. His enemy's downfall is ensured when Vowrawn masterminds the release of the mysterious Entity Baras used to see the future, and sneaks the Warrior into a meeting of the Dark Council to finish off Baras once and for all. Later seen as a threat by the Emperor himself, Vowrawn manipulates the Warrior into destroying droids spying on them both and can ultimately work his way into becoming the new Emperor following the devastating war with the Eternal Empire.
  • Sith Inquisitor story:
    • Lord Aloysius Kallig was an immensely powerful Sith who was both the right hand and greatest rival of the Dark Lord Tulak Hord. Responsible for much of Hord's early victories, Kallig was eventually assassinated when he proved too great a threat, yet he returned as a Force ghost millennia later to guide his descendant the Inquisitor to restore their family name to glory. Kallig would spy on the Inquisitor's master Darth Zash and learn of her body stealing ritual and guide his heir to use their servant Khem Val to disrupt the ritual and imprison Zash in Khem Val's mind. When the Inquisitor becomes a Lord, Kallig saves them from a trap by their rival Darth Thanaton and further guides them into learning a Force ghost devouring technique to make them stronger. Lord Kallig would eventually fade away and find peace after teaching his heir enough to thrive and reclaim their family's glory by becoming a Darth on the Dark Council.
    • Moff Valion Pyron was among the youngest to ever earn the rank of Moff and an adamant believer that the Sith should not interfere in day to day operations of the Imperial military. When his fleet destroying superweapon project is shut down by the traditionalist Darth Thanaton, Pyron enlists the aid of Thanaton's rival the Inquisitor to use their cult to acquire the last piece of the Silencer superweapon and test it on a Republic fleet to earn the respect of much of the Sith hierarchy. Pyron would be the Inquisitor's benefactor during their Kaggath against Thanaton and ensure they win by disposing of his key allies and agents while guaranteeing the Inquisitor's own rise to power on the Dark Council. Wisely allying himself with a pragmatic and intelligent master, Pyron would be unhindered in protecting the Empire without the self destructive ways of the Sith undermining him.
  • Bounty Hunter story:
    • Mandalore the Vindicated, born Artus Lok, was a skilled Mandalorian warrior who challenged puppet ruler Mandalore the Lesser to become a truly worthy leader to his scattered people. Nothing more than pawns to the Sith Empire under the Lesser, the new Mandalore sought to restore his culture's glory days by battling the Jedi Order, considered the true greatest fighters in the galaxy, and formed a new pact with Empire ensuring equality and a vast fortune. He would use superior tactics to quell an uprising led by Jicoln Cadera wanting to ally with the Republic and raised the man's son to hate and hunt down his own father. Meeting the Bounty Hunter for winning the Great Hunt, he gives them a blacklist of nigh impossible bounties and manipulates them into killing Cadera as a target. When the Eternal Empire invades, he rallies his people a final time before dying in glorious battle against an overwhelming enemy.
    • Darth Tormen is a brutal Sith infamous for disdain of intrigue and politics and absolute love of strategy and war. A war criminal who bombs homes and hospitals, Tormen seeks to ascend to the Dark Council by destroying Republic leadership through assassinating the Supreme Chancellor Janarus and Jedi Battlemaster Jun Seros. Tormen truly valued the battle prowess of the Bounty Hunter and became their sponsor when they were blacklisted. He would use them to force the leaders of Corellia to politically ally with the the Empire to lure in Janarus for a treaty and manipulate Seros into exposing himself and revealing the Chancellor's location in the process. Singlehandedly wiping out of Seros's Jedi as a distraction, Tormen plotted the Hunter to sneak aboard Janarus's ship and kill him or resolutely duel the Bounty Hunter to the death should they ally with the Republic instead.
  • Imperial Agent story:
    • Keeper is the leader of Imperial Intelligence and the mastermind behind every infiltration, sabotage, and assassination its agents carry out to ensure the survival of the Sith Empire. First introduced guiding the Agent into manipulating a Hutt to aid the Empire, Keeper silently watches over their handling of the Darth Jadus affair and secretly indoctrinates them in a brainwashing program to satisfy the Sith demanding their death. Keeper proves aware when the Agent breaks the brainwashing and ensures their loyalty by trusting them to help him uncover the Star Cabal seeking the Empire's destruction. When the Cabal arranges the dissolution of Imperial Intelligence, Keeper flees from his house arrest and proves resourceful enough to rebuild from the ground up and masterminds the Agent's eventual discovery and elimination of the entire Star Cabal. Keeper ultimately arranges a Dead Man's Switch that will release damning blackmail against the entire Dark Council that ensures a cozy retirement rather than execution for outwitting the Sith themselves.
    • Darth Jadus is an enigmatic and emotionless Sith Lord who seeks to replace a self destructive and needlessly xenophobic Empire with one strengthened with the power of the Dark Side. Seeking to destroy his rivals on the Dark Council and take control, Jadus secretly backs an anti-Imperial terrorist cell and uses their resources to create a series of superweapons called the Eradicators. Jadus fakes his own death by blowing up his own dreadnaught to finish his schemes while leaving his abused and insane daughter as his replacement to manipulate and weaken his rivals into fighting over his secrets. As the Agent tracks down Jadus after dismantling the terror cell, he reveals his plot to use the weapons to wipe away his enemies and unite the Empire's citizens through fear and hate. The cunning Jadus can convince the Agent to become his right hand and prove successful in his plot, but, even when talked down or defeated, he will remain composed and escape to the furthest reaches of the galaxy to start his grand designs all over again.
    • Watcher X is the greatest success of the secret Imperial eugenics program designed to create the perfect espionage agent. A genius at uncovering conspiracies, X was banished to the Shadow Town prison on Nar Shaddaa when he came close to uncovering the Star Cabal's influence in the Empire. X is forced to help the Agent uncover a terrorist cell creating dangerous stimulants and surgically adds implants to allow them to infiltrate the cell's headquarters. X has the Agent sabotage the terrorist communications while tricking them into shutting down Shadow Town security. While X can either escape or be killed by the Agent, he will nonetheless use the prior implants to guide them as a voice in their head when they are later brainwashed. Informing them the brainwashing was done by the Empire, Watcher X uses them to uncover the Empire's duplicity and later helps give the Agent their freedom back.

• Empire at War: Tyber Zann was once Grand Admiral Thrawn's most capable student at the academy, before Thrawn had him expelled for stealing weapons. The expansion describes how Zann carves out a criminal empire: the Zann Consortium, that rivals that of Jabba the Hutt and manipulates Thrawn himself into executing Xizor, the leader of a rival syndicate, for him. While Thrawn is able to outwit Zann at least once by bribing a mercenary in Zann's employ, Zann comes out on top in that battle, forcing Thrawn to flee. At the end of the campaign, Zann plays the Empire and the Rebellion against one another while he moves in to capture the most powerful ship in the Empire's arsenal—as far as he knows at the time—turning its powerful weapons against both fleets. For the record, the part where Thrawn is able to outwit Zann by bribing Bossk into giving him Zann's holocron was also planned by Zann. Zann planted a homing beacon on the artifact to lead him to his true goal: the Imperial Archives. Thrawn firmly believed that the fleet he left to defeat Zann would easily win. Zann surprised him by bringing out his newest Aggressor-class Star Destroyers and obliterating the force Thrawn left.

Western Animation

• Star Wars: Clone Wars: This microseries' portrayal of General Grievous contrasts his later writing by being a brutally efficient, badass strategist and fighter rolled into one. Stepping onto the scene of the Clone Wars and immediately beginning to turn entire battles into Separatist favor with his tactical mind, Grievous is introduced properly by ambushing and decimating an entire group of Jedi, giving them a "warriors' death" at his hands with the only survivors escaping thanks to a small army of clones holding Grievous back. Later dispatched to kidnap Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Grievous kills his way through clone troopers and chases the Chancellor's Jedi bodyguards across Coruscant, adapting to their techniques and keeping pace with them. Even when temporarily overwhelmed by two Jedi Masters, Grievous reveals his proficiency with using four lightsaber blades at once to murder his opponents and succeed in his mission, ending as the most competent, deadly villain in the series.

Other

• Star Wars Radio Dramas: Darth Vader was once the heroic Jedi Anakin Skywalker, until he turned to the Dark Side and became the feared fist of the Empire. Helping the Emperor institute a galaxy-wide tyranny, Vader uses his power of the Force and his intimidating physique to travel the galaxy and ensure that many worlds remain under Imperial control. When the Death Star plans are stolen, Vader deduces Princess Leia as the thief, and captures her for interrogation while ordering her droids be found for the plans they hide. Though the Rebels and Luke Skywalker destroy the Death Star, Vader strikes back with a vengeance as he hunts down Luke's friends and uses them as hostages to lure Luke into a trap. Revealing he is Luke's father, Vader offers him an alliance to destroy the Emperor and rule together. When Luke spares Vader during a duel and risks himself to face down the Emperor, Vader is so inspired by his son's heroism that he turns on and kills the Emperor at the cost of his own life, using his last words to tell Luke how proud he is.

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