Finn Finn was a human male who fought for the Resistance during their war against the First Order , which he previously served in as a stormtrooper prior to defecting . He was considered one of the best stormtroopers of the FN Corps , where he was designated FN - 2187 , prior to deserting with the help of Commander Poe Dameron of the Resistance . Finn reluctantly became involved with BB - 8 , Rey , Han Solo , and Chewbacca as they made their way to the Resistance base on D ' Qar so BB - 8 could provide General Leia Organa with a map to her brother , Jedi Master Luke Skywalker . Finn teamed with Solo and Chewbacca in the attack on Starkiller Base , but he only intended to rescue Rey after she was captured and brought to the base by Kylo Ren . During the battle , in which he was able to find Rey making her way through the base to escape , Ren seriously injured Finn after they engaged in a brief duel . Finn fell into a coma and , after the battle , was treated for his wounds at the Resistance base . After recovering from his injuries , Finn tried to desert the Resistance due to it being under immediate threat and not wanting Rey to come back to this danger after she returned from seeing Skywalker . He was caught and arrested by Rose Tico , but became involved in a plan to shake off the pursuing First Order Navy since he knew Supreme Leader Snoke ' s flagship the " Supremacy " well . The duo recruited a codebreaker named DJ to help them break into the " Supremacy " , but ended up worsening the Resistance ' s situation when DJ left them behind to be captured by Phasma . They escaped and joined the Resistance on Crait , where Finn tried to sacrifice himself to keep the Resistance safe . However , Rose saved him , and Finn successfully escaped with the remainder of the Resistance . Biography . Serving the First Order . The boy who would become Finn was taken as a child from his family to serve the First Order . Finn later reflected that he had been too young to even remember who his family was . The child received the designation FN - 2187 and was made a stormtrooper of the First Order , a military junta that continued the ideals of the fallen Galactic Empire in the decades after the Galactic Civil War . FN - 2187 served under Captain Phasma as a cadet , alongside fellow troopers FN - 2199 ( " Nines " ) , FN - 2000 ( " Zeroes " ) , and FN - 2003 ( " Slip " ) . FN - 2187 , known to his fellow troopers as Eight - Seven , was seen by his comrades and superiors as an ideal First Order stormtrooper , and consistently scored top marks as a cadet . Finn was also once in charge of sanitation duties at Starkiller Base . On one occasion , Eight - Seven and a squad of stormtroopers were deployed on a jungle planet . While patroling , a Kowakian monkey - lizard got on Eight - Seven ' s shoulders and pulled off his helmet , which made Eight - Seven lose the grip on his blaster and the other stormtroopers from the squad look at him . The monkey - lizard laughed furiously from the prank he made , while Eight - Seven looked uncomfortable . C - 3PO later told this story to some visitors and described it as " comical . " Following this aboard the " Finalizer " , groups of stormtroopers went on Atmospheric Assault Landers to investigate GUHL - JO387O a planet in the Outer Rim Territories . GUHL - JO3870 was know to muddy and Finn complained about scrubbing assault landers . While scrubbing the assault landers , a creature from the surface of GUHL - JO387O , came aboard one of the assault landers . Finn chased the creature all around the " Finalizer " until he caught it finally caught it and let it go on the surface of GUHL - JO387O . During his time as a cadet , Eight - Seven and his fellow troopers underwent a training simulation in which they assaulted a New Republic bunker , with the intention of destroying a heavy repeating blaster manned by Republic soldiers . During their advance on the bunker , Slip fell behind — a common occurrence — and Eight - Seven intended to rescue him . Over the objections of Zeroes and Nines , who wanted to complete their objective and felt that rescuing Slip would lead the Republic to take them all out , Eight - Seven ordered them to rescue their fellow soldier . Eight - Seven sent Zeroes and Nines in different directions in order to divide the Republic ' s attention , while Eight - Seven himself went for Slip and successfully rescued him . Though Zeroes and Nines were pinned down , their diversion gave Eight - Seven a clear path into the Republic bunker , into which he threw a grenade and destroyed the blaster before the Republic could react to his attack . The simulation was monitored by Captain Phasma and General Armitage Hux . After the training session ended , Phasma spoke to the troopers and told them that their performance was adequate . Each was given a review of their performance , with Eight - Seven being commended on his kill rate and the completion of his objective . She further said that his fellow soldiers should follow his example . The other troopers were dismissed , but Eight - Seven was ordered to stay so Phasma could question why he rescued Slip , as it was not the first time Eight - Seven had to help him . Phasma ordered him to stop , as she said the First Order was only as strong as its weakest link . Rather than fixing the problem , Phasma said he was allowing it to persist and weaken the group . Phasma sensed hesitation on his part , but he assured her that he would stop helping Slip . Following this incident , FN - 2187 and his fellow troopers were deployed to a mining colony in an artificial asteroid field known as Pressy ' s Tumble in the Pressylla system of the Outer Rim Territories . Captain Phasma informed the Stormtroopers there that the purpose of their visit was to ' restore order ' after Republic agents had allegedly infiltrated the mining operations , sabotaged equipment and created dissent among the miners there . In reality , the miners had staged a strike to protest the harsh working conditions . Upon arrival , Captain Phasma took FN - 2187 ' s unit to a room of negotiators . Captain Phasma then gave the order that the troopers execute the negotiators . FN - 2187 aimed his rifle at an Abednedo negotiator , yet couldn ' t bring himself to shoot — Slip attacked the negotiator instead . Upon returning from Pressylla , FN - 2187 and his fellow troopers were officially recognized as full - fledged Stormtroopers . Captain Phasma decided that FN - 2187 ought to be deployed in an upcoming battle on Jakku , thinking that he would understand what it meant to be a Stormtrooper and fight back when brought face - to - face with those attacking him back . Cold war . Deserting from the First Order . After Eight - Seven was deployed , he and his fellow troopers were sent on a mission to the desert planet Jakku , where a man named Lor San Tekka allegedly held part of a map that would lead to the location of Luke Skywalker , the last of the Jedi . Eight - Seven was deployed from the Star Destroyer " Finalizer " , along with 4 elite First Order squadrons of Stormtroopers , to the village of Tuanul . The First Order assaulted the village where the man was in hiding , and during the fighting his friend FN - 2003 was killed by Resistance pilot Poe Dameron , wiping his blood on FN - 2187 ' s helmet . This incident affected the Stormtrooper deeply , and when ordered by Kylo Ren to kill the villagers , he refused to fire . Returning to the " Finalizer " , Eight - Seven felt significant stress from the mission , and Captain Phasma noticed his distress . She told him to submit his blaster to be checked , making sure he fired a shot . Knowing he would be re - evaluated and discovered for not firing on the villagers , and with his faith severely shaken in the First Order , he decided to desert . He freed the captured Poe Dameron from his cell , and the two stole a Special Forces TIE Fighter . FN - 2187 manned the guns , killing several of his former comrades in the hanger , and then disabling the " Finalizer " ' s turbolaser s . FN - 2187 ' s new name . During the escape , Dameron asked the Stormtrooper his name , to which he replied with his number . Not content with calling a man a number , Dameron named the trooper Finn , from the FN in his number . Finn liked the name , and went on to use it . Dameron also told him that the map vital to the Resistance was located in his white and orange BB - unit , BB - 8 . Finn demanded not to return to Jakku , insisting that they would be killed , but Dameron pressed on , revealing to Finn that the map led to Luke Skywalker . The TIE was soon after hit by a missile , though , sending it spiraling towards the planet below . Meeting Rey and BB - 8 . Finn ejected from the TIE when Dameron triggered the ejector seat . Unfortunately , Dameron ' s jacket was caught in the ejector mechanism for the ship , which prevented him from escaping . Left with no choice , Dameron piloted the TIE to a crash landing in the aftermath of which he was thrown clear of the crash and knocked unconscious . Making his way to the crash , Finn found Poe ' s jacket , but no other sign of the man , and the fighter sunk into the sand . Believing Dameron to be dead , he discarded his armor and eventually arrived at the nearest settlement , looking for BB - 8 to carry on Poe ' s mission . Once at the settlement , he found BB - 8 along with Rey , a desert scavenger , after witnessing her save the droid from two thugs . Soon after , BB - 8 pointed him out to Rey , identifying Dameron ' s jacket , prompting the woman to chase after him . Finn attempted to outrun her but Rey outflanked him . Held under questioning and accused of stealing Dameron ' s jacket , Finn falsely claimed to be with the Resistance to get them to trust him . The three were immediately targeted by the First Order , looking for Finn and BB - 8 , but they managed to escape Jakku aboard the " Millennium Falcon " . Once in space , the " Falcon " was in need of major repairs , so Rey and Finn attempted to fix the ageing ship . Finn then confessed to BB - 8 that he wasn ' t with the Resistance and tried convincing the droid to tell him where the Resistance base was . At some consideration , BB - 8 revealed that the Resistance base was in the Ileenium system . Just after Rey had completed the repairs , the ship was caught in a tractor beam . Finn initially believed them to be captured by the First Order , and thus had Rey undo her repairs to flood the " Falcon " with poisonous gas , explaining that stormtrooper helmets filter out smoke , not toxins . Putting on breather masks , Finn , along with Rey and BB - 8 , hid in the maintenance duct . Enter Han Solo . Instead of the First Order , the " Millennium Falcon " was boarded by the smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co - pilot Chewbacca , who reclaimed their vessel after it had been stolen from them years earlier . Solo initially mistook Finn and his companions for thieves and questioned them . Finn and Rey quickly recognized Han Solo as the Rebellion general and the famous smuggler and owner of the " Falcon " . Having found his stolen ship , Solo told Chewbacca to put Finn and his traveling companions in an escape pod and drop them off in the nearest inhabited system . However , Finn and Rey convinced Solo and Chewie not to do so by explaining that they needed his help to take BB - 8 to the Resistance because the droid had a map that would lead them to Luke Skywalker . Unfortunately , Han ' s freighter , the " Eravana " had been boarded by two notorious criminal factions , the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub , whom Solo was indebted to . Not wanting Rey and Finn to be involved , Han placed both of them in the lower corridors of the freighter while he and Chewie went to meet with the criminals , with BB - 8 accompanying them . The smuggler tried but failed to convince both parties that he would fix things eventually . The Guavian Death Gang negotiator Bala - Tik recognized the BB - 8 astromech droid from a First Order bounty placed on it and demanded that Han hand over the droid and any stowaways he might have on board . As the scuffle continued , Rey accidentally released three rathtar s while trying to separate the gangs from the smugglers using the blast doors . They successfully escaped the gangs and jumped into hyperspace in the " Falcon " . Bala - tik then ordered his men to inform the First Order that Han Solo and the droid unit had fled aboard the " Falcon " . While traveling through hyperspace , Finn tended to Chewbacca ' s injuries with the Wookiee proving a challenging patient to treat . During the journey , Solo got BB - 8 to display the map that he was carrying . However , the map was incomplete and turned out to be a portion of a much larger map . Finn and Rey learned from Solo that Luke Skywalker had been trying to rebuild the Jedi . However , a male apprentice had turned against Skywalker and undone his efforts . Skywalker had since disappeared for parts unknown . Solo believed that Luke had gone to find the legendary First Jedi Temple . Not wanting to deliver Finn , Rey , and BB - 8 to the Resistance directly , Solo planned to take them to the planet Takodana where he could find suitable transportation for them . Takodana . After landing on Takodana , Finn and his companions visited the pirate and tavern keeper Maz Kanata ' s castle , which served as an inn and bar for space . Finn also managed to meet Maz herself , who counselled him to stop running and fight . Finn was then asked to join the Resistance in its struggle against the First Order , but Finn initially refused , believing the First Order to be too powerful . He then confessed to Rey his true identity as a stormtrooper and stated that he was never going back to the First Order . After she declined his offer to join him in escaping the conflict , he wished her well . He planned to leave with pirate Captain Sidon Ithano . Before he could depart with Captain Sidon , Finn witnessed the Hosnian Cataclysm and realized that the First Order had launched its attack on the New Republic . After reuniting with Han , Chewbacca , and BB - 8 , Finn and his companions went to find Rey . Venturing into the basement of Maz Kanata ' s castle , they instead found Maz , who gave Finn the lightsaber that had once belonged to the Jedi Knight s Anakin and Luke Skywalker . She instructed Finn to pass the weapon to Rey , who had previously discovered the object and fled into the surrounding forest after experiencing a Force vision . Shortly later , Maz Kanata ' s castle was attacked by the First Order , who had been alerted to the presence of BB - 8 by the spy Bazine Netal . During the ensuing battle , Finn wielded the lightsaber , killing at least one stormtrooper and engaging in a duel with FN - 2199 , who brandished a Z6 riot control baton . He was unable to defeat Nines , who was shot by Han Solo wielding Chewbacca ' s bowcaster . Finn , Solo , and Chewbacca were captured , but made an escape when the Resistance counterattacked . Finn witnessed Kylo Ren carrying off Rey into his command shuttle and ran to rescue her , but could do little to help as Ren left the battlefield . Return to Starkiller Base . Finn traveled with Solo , Chewbacca , and BB - 8 to the Resistance base on D ' Qar , where he was reunited with Poe Dameron , who had survived the crash on Jakku . Finn also met General Leia Organa who praised him for renouncing the First Order and helping Poe escape . Finn was also present during the meeting held to discuss the attack on Starkiller Base , and his knowledge of the superweapon proved invaluable in planning the attack . He volunteered to go with Solo and Chewbacca to destroy a shield generator on the planet ' s thermal regulator , but was more interested in rescuing Rey . After crash - landing on the planet , Finn revealed to Han and Chewie that he used to work on sanitation on Starkiller Base , much to Solo ' s annoyance . Finn devised a plan to lower the shield around the planet , which would allow the Resistance pilots to attack the oscillator and destroy the weapon . Chewbacca captured Captain Phasma , and the three , including an overly confident Finn , forced her to lower the shield . She warned them that her troops would storm in and kill them all , but Solo shrugged off her warning , asking Finn if there happened to be any convenient trash compactors in the base and they were able to dump her into one via garbage chute . The three then discovered Rey , who had escaped by herself . Rey and Finn went to set charges on part of the oscillator , and upon their return , witnessed Han Solo confront Kylo Ren , who was revealed to be Han ' s son Ben Solo . After witnessing Kylo murder his father , Rey and Finn attempted to escape , but were met with Kylo again in the woods . Rey attempted to use her blaster against Kylo , but he threw Rey back with a Force push and knocked her out . Finn , enraged , ignited the lightsaber and engaged in a duel against Kylo Ren . Finn briefly held his own , even with him having no training with a lightsaber . Finn used his emotions to drive his fight against Kylo , even managing to inflict a shoulder wound on him . But in the end , Finn sustained wounds in his shoulder and across his spine and was disarmed . Badly injured , Finn was overcome by pain , his muscles going weak and limp . He thought he could hear lightsabers clashing around him , but as the pain increase , he could no longer fight the darkness overcoming him . As he fell into unconsciousness , his last thought was of Rey . After Finn was disabled Rey regained consciousness and used the Force to retrieve the lightsaber and defeat Kylo . Finn was taken by Rey to the " Millennium Falcon " , which was piloted by Chewbacca , and was left in intensive care at the Resistance base while under a coma . Rey wished him a heartfelt goodbye , kissing his forehead , thanking him for everything , and declaring that they will meet again , before departing to find Luke Skywalker . First Order - Resistance war . Finn awoke in a flexpoly bacta suit on the " Raddus " after the Resistance fled D ' Qar . Greeted by Poe , he asked where Rey was , and learned that she had gone to Ahch - To to retrieve Master Skywalker . The First Order intercepted the Resistance fleet when it emerged from hyperspace in the Crait system , attacking and destroying the bridge . General Organa survived , but was gravely injured and taken to the medbay . Finn picked up the transponder beacon that Organa was using to let Rey know their location , and decided he was going to flee so she would not get caught up in the First Order ' s attack . He then made his way to one of the escape pods where he was intercepted by Rose Tico , a former flight engineer and current maintenance worker assigned to guard the pods from deserters . Personality and traits . Finn was a male human . During his time with the First Order , he wore the standard - issue stormtrooper armor . Following his desertion , he discarded his armor , but continued to wear the armor ' s body glove and shoes , and took to wearing Poe Dameron ' s jacket as a way to remember him . Upon discovering that Dameron was alive , Finn offered him his jacket back , but the pilot insisted he keep it . While in service to the First Order , Finn was seen by his training cadre and his fellow soldiers as one of the best stormtroopers that the First Order had to offer . His instructors saw him as loyal to the First Order , as well as dutiful , brave , intelligent , and possessing the strength necessary to be a great stormtrooper and perhaps even eventually one of the group ' s officer s . Finn was trained to believe that the New Republic was depraved and that the First Order was necessary to bring law to a lawless galaxy , and everything he had seen of the galaxy was filtered through his training ; the First Order showed him only what they wanted him to see , but he did not doubt its truth . Nonetheless , though as a cadet he was eager to be deployed and see the galaxy so he could serve the First Order and Supreme Leader Snoke , he was plagued by doubt . That doubt came to a head on Jakku , when he refused to fire on the villagers and deserted from the First Order . Despite his training and education by the First Order , Finn had a good heart and empathy for others . While deployed on Jakku , after witnessing his friend FN - 2003 killed by Poe Dameron , he refused to fire on unarmed villagers . These two events shook his belief in the First Order , inspiring him to desert and free Dameron , and eventually help Rey and BB - 8 and side with the Resistance . Finn was also protective of those he cared about . He risked jeopardizing a training mission in order to save FN - 2003 , and when seeing Rey being carried off by Kylo Ren , ran desperately to rescue her . He later accompanied Han Solo and Chewbacca on a mission to destroy the Starkiller Base ' s shield generator in order to rescue Rey . As soon as he awoke from his comatose state , a result of his unsuccessful duel with Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base , he immediately inquired about Rey ' s wellbeing . He had a crush on Rey , partially what drove him to want to protect , help , and follow her to the point of Rose wondering if Rey had " imprinted " on him . Even after realizing that the conflict was greater than any one person , though , he still seemed to hold feelings for Rey , which kept him going throughout the Battle of Crait . However , Finn was seen to be susceptible to his fear and stress at times , such as during his desertion of the First Order . He seemed desperate to escape their attention and would rather fly across the system than entertain the thought of facing his pursuers . At Maz Kanata ' s castle he almost abandoned Rey , Han Solo , and Chewbacca in an attempt to escape the conflict , but changed his mind and was later pulled into the battle anyways . He also panicked multiple times during his and Rey ' s escape from Jakku aboard the " Millennium Falcon " . When he reunited with Rey outside of the mine on Crait he embraced her tightly , glad to be with her , safe once more . Finn was courageous in battle once he had made his choice to fight . He immediately ran to battle Phasma when he and Rose were faced with her contingent of Stormtroopers on board the " Supremacy ' s " hangar , using the first weapon he could find , a Z6 Riot Control Baton , and ultimately was willing to go into battle and die for the Resistance without regard to his own life ; he would rather die than let the First Order win . As he had little experience with life outside of the conflict , he was initially taken with Canto Bight ' s glitz and glamour , until Rose showed him the extent of the corruption and evil at the heart of it , abusing fathiers and slave children . Skills and abilities . As a stormtrooper , Finn consistently scored top marks in his training and was seen as someone who could become an ideal First Order trooper . His First Order training made him an effective marksman with a high kill rate . This skill with a blaster apparently translated well into skills as a gunner . During the escape from the " Finalizer " aboard a stolen TIE , Finn managed to kill dozens of stormtroopers , destroy the contents of the " Finalizer < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s " hangar bay , knock out several turbolaser batteries and ventral cannons on the underside of the ship , and even destroy an incoming missile despite having no experience with flying starfighter s . In fact , it was only Finn ' s distraction by an argument with Poe Dameron that led to the stolen TIE being struck by an incoming missile and disabled . The next day , Finn would man the ventral quad - laser cannon turret aboard the " Millennium Falcon " during the escape from Jakku , destroying one TIE on his own and one with assistance from Rey . Despite a lack of training in the use of a lightsaber , he had the ability to wield this particular weapon in combat . He was able to hold his own against a stormtrooper with a riot baton , and despite being defeated , managed to inflict a shoulder wound on the more experienced Kylo Ren . Prior to his defection from the First Order , Finn was considered officer material . Behind the scenes . Finn is portrayed by John Boyega in . Boyega ' s casting in the film was first made known on April 29 , 2014 , and his character was first revealed in the first teaser trailer for the film on November 28 , 2014 . His first name was revealed by " Entertainment Weekly " in an exclusive digital trading card . " The Force Awakens " director J . J . Abrams stated prior to the film ' s release that it was " completely intentional " that no last name was provided for the character , the film itself revealing that " Finn " was a name given to the character following his desertion from the stormtrooper ranks . The writers of Episode VII decided to make Finn as a deserting stormtrooper as Lawrence Kasdan felt it would be " incredible " to have their protagonist be from a group of previously " faceless , indistinguishable automatons " . Co - writer Michael Arndt remembered that an exasperated Kasdan blurted out his idea when they were struggling to decide on a unique background for their male lead . Boyega , whom Abrams described as one of the biggest " Star Wars " fans in the cast , auditioned nine times for the role . Unlike his costar Daisy Ridley , Boyega performed with an American accent as Abrams felt his London one was not right for the role , and it was only by switching his accent that Boyega was able to land more auditions . Boyega said he considers Finn to be the audience ' s surrogate , explaining , " During the auditions I found that my niche for this character was definitely in the more humor and fear . So he just represents us in the film — just finally having a " Star Wars " character that goes , ' This is really dangerous . ' Finn is a part of myself , just magnified a tad . " Conversely , he also feels Rey is the lead who gets stressed out by her journey , while Finn is the one having fun .