Photo courtesy of StarWars.com |Here are some of the best lesser-known characters you won’t have to travel all the way to Kamino to find.
1. Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars: the Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels)
Unless they watched the excellent Star Wars: the Clone Wars TV series, many fans of Star Wars may not know that Anakin Skywalker had a Padawan apprentice. The Prequel Trilogy does not do a good job of showing why Anakin would go from being a loyal Jedi to a traitorous Sith Lord in such a short time. However, in the Clone Wars TV show (Spoiler alert) Obi-Wan tricks Anakin into taking an apprentice. Despite his (and fans’) initial annoyance with Ahsoka, he begins to see his Padawan as a deep and trusted friend. He is then devastated when Ahsoka leaves the Jedi Order after being falsely accused (yet exonerated) of a murder after the Order did not believe her plea of innocence. This all makes her inevitable duel with Darth Vader that more heartbreaking.
2. Clone Captain Rex (Star Wars: the Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels)
The movies do not do the Clone Troopers justice. The problem is the movies portray the Clones and Battle Droids as two endless disposable armies that have no feelings. The Clone Wars revealed the Clones were much more complicated than that, and Captain Rex is the best example of this. He is the captain of the 501st Clone Battalion, which is Anakin Skywalker’s personal unit. Rex loses many of his Clone “brothers” and feels pain with each of their deaths. He begins questioning the meaning of the war and what will happen to him if he survives. He also becomes one of the few to learn of the Emperor’s plot to kill the Jedi and does not participate in Order 66. He then betrays the Empire to continue fighting for the Rebellion in Rebels, hoping to finally end conflict in the Galaxy once and for all.
3. Admiral Thrawn (Novel Thrawn, Star Wars Rebels)
The Empire has never been short on menacing military commanders. Imperials such as Grand Moff Tarkin, Admiral Piet and Director Krennic show how ruthless and tactful the Empire’s high command can be, but none of them may be as cunning as Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn is very different from other Imperials: He has an appreciation for his enemy. He learns their history, their culture and their language. He is even willing to allow a few small victories to discover how they operate and give them the illusion that they are winning, only to crush them in the end.
4. Doctor Aphra (Darth Vader Comic, Doctor Aphra Comic)
If Han Solo met Indiana Jones and became Darth Vader’s sidekick, you’d have Doctor Aphra. She is essentially Han Solo if he stayed an anti-hero and resembes Indiana Jones because she is an archeologist searching for relics of the past. But she isn’t looking for a Holy Grail– she’s looking for weapons to use for herself. Darth Vader recruits her because he is so interested in her talents, which is impressive, considering he chokes his subordinates when they displease him.
5. Rotta the Hutt (Star Wars: the Clone Wars)
Bet you didn’t know that Jabba the Hutt had a kid? Also bet you didn’t know that Anakin Skywalker went on a rescue mission to save him from the Sith? It was a bizarre way to start a television series, but it gave us this weird little dude.
By: Payton Kelly ~Guest Writer~