Armitage Hux Armitage Hux was a human male military officer who served in the High Command of the First Order , within which he was a leading advocate of the harsh training methods employed to foster absolute obedience amongst its military . As a general in the First Order , he also commanded the Starkiller Base superweapon and led missions of vital importance to the Galactic Empire - inspired regime . He served alongside Kylo Ren , a Force warrior apprenticed to Supreme Leader Snoke who , despite not being part of the military , could also command the forces of the First Order . Hux was born on Arkanis and was rumored to have been sired from an affair between his father , Commandant Brendol Hux of the Arkanis Academy , and a kitchen worker . Hux and his father , whose ruthless training methods at the Arkanis Academy inspired those of the future General Hux and the First Order , were rescued from the Academy when it was about to fall to the New Republic near the end of the Galactic Civil War . When the war ended with the Battle of Jakku and the signing of the Galactic Concordance , the young Hux and his father were part of the Imperial Navy forces who retreated into the Unknown Regions . These forces later emerged as the First Order . The Republic believed that the First Order was just an unimportant band of Imperial holdouts , but Hux ' s training methods forged a formidable military . He also longed to use the Starkiller weapon against the Republic ; Hux believed that the Republic was a threat to galactic stability , and that it was his destiny to rule the galaxy . Nearly thirty years after the end of the Galactic Civil War , Hux was part of the mission to recover a map to Luke Skywalker , the last Jedi , on Jakku . Ren led the search for the map , which they were unable to locate . To prevent the return of the Jedi and to eliminate the Resistance , which , under the command of General Leia Organa , emerged to combat the First Order , Snoke allowed Hux to use the Starkiller weapon against the Republic ' s capital world of Hosnian Prime . The Resistance was left without military support from the Republic , so Hux soon turned the weapon towards the Resistance base on D ' Qar . Before he could destroy them , however , an attack squadron led by Commander Poe Dameron — with ground support from Han Solo , former stormtrooper Finn , and the Jakku scavenger Rey — destroyed Starkiller Base , forcing Hux and his troop s to flee the planet . Immediately afterwards , Hux led a fleet alongside Supreme Leader Snoke to pursue the Resistance . After forcing the Resistance to evacuate D ' Qar , the First Order fleet followed them through hyperspace . Hux had the fleet pursue the Resistance until their fuel reserves ran out , and successfully decimated much of their resources . However , the First Order fleet was taken off - guard by a sudden Resistance counterattack , and Hux discovered that Snoke had been killed and Ren was knocked out . However , Ren came to right as Hux was about to assassinate him and asserted his succession with force , forcing Hux to command the assault against the Resistance on Crait with a Supreme Leader whose motivations he frequently clashed with . Biography . Early life . Armitage Hux was born during the reign of the Galactic Empire , and was the illegitimate son of Brendol Hux , a Commandant for the Imperial Academy on Arkanis , the result of an illicit affair with a kitchen woman . While growing up , Armitage always thought it was his destiny to rule the galaxy . The young Hux remained on Arkanis while the forces of the New Republic laid siege to the system . As he was putting together his Shadow Council ( an intended successor to the Imperial Ruling Council ) onboard the super star destroyer " Ravager " , Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax specifically ordered Grand Admiral Rae Sloane to ensure that Brendol Hux " and " his son were both safely taken off planet , much to Sloane ' s perplexity . He explained this by saying " " The Empire needs children " . " With the assistance of bounty hunter Mercurial Swift , the two were safely taken off planet as Arkanis fell to the enemy . Fall of the Empire . Following the Attack on Chandrila , Armitage followed his father Brendol to the planet Jakku . Gallius Rax had proclaimed himself Counselor to the Empire and brought the Imperial remnants to the desolate world for a final showdown against the New Republic . In the months leading up to the Battle of Jakku , Armitage kept away from Brendol , who physically and psychologically mistreated him . Brendol trained 24 local orphans into Rax ' s personal guard of child soldiers . After the Battle of Jakku had commenced , Armitage traveled with his father , Counselor Rax , the Adviser Yupe Tashu , and the child soldiers aboard a transport to the Jakku Observatory . The Observatory was a secret facility in the Plaintive Hand plateau which was instrumental to the later Emperor Palpatine ' s Contingency plan . Rax planned to detonate the planet Jakku along with the New Republic and Imperial forces . He planned to take Armitage and his father Brendol into the Unknown Regions to rebuild the Empire . During the journey to the Observatory , Hux found himself alone in the transport hold with the child soldiers . Hux was intimidated by the older children , who had been trained into ruthless killers by his father . Counselor Rax then entered the room and asked Armitage if his father had explained anything to him . Armitage confirmed that this was not the case and indicated that his father did not like him . Taking pity on Armitage , Rax told the boy that he , his father , and the other children would be traveling far away . Rax also hinted that Armitage would have a special destiny to play in the future . Gallius Rax informed Armitage that he was giving him command of the child soldiers as a gift . Rax told Armitage that he would succeed his father in training the children into tools of warfare . Rax then addressed the child soldiers and instructed them they were bound to serve Armitage and should be willing to give their lives for him . Armitage thanked Counselor Rax , who told the boy that the future of the Empire needed him . After Rax had exited the transport hold , Armitage ordered one of the boys , who had dark hair and freckled skin , to strike his comrade , a lad with sandy hair and sallow cheeks . After landing at the Jakku Observatory , Rax instructed the Huxes and the child soldiers to board a replica of the Emperor ' s yacht " Imperialis " while he and Tashu entered the Observatory to initiate Jakku ' s destruction . Ultimately , Rax was killed by Grand Admiral Sloane , who managed to stop Rax from destroying Jakku with the help of the rebel couple Norra Wexley and Brentin Lore Wexley . Seeking an opportunity to rebuild the Empire in her own image , Sloane accompanied the Huxes and the child soldiers on their journey into the Unknown Regions . During the journey , Sloane befriend Armitage and struck an agreement to protect the boy from his father if he kept her safe from the children . Sloane subsequently beat Brendol into submission and forced him to stop hurting his son and to teach the boy everything he knew . For several months , the " Imperialis " traveled through the Unknown Regions in order . During the journey , Armitage and his father trained the children . He became more vicious during those months , which Sloane regarded as unusual even for such a small boy . After months of traveling through space , the " Imperialis " rendezvoused with the Emperor ' s Super Star Destroyer , the " Eclipse " . The First Order . Meanwhile , the New Republic signed the Galactic Concordance with the defeated Empire , ending the Galactic Civil War and dissolving the Empire . Growing up in exile , Hux was raised by his father on stories of great Imperials and how the Empire saved the galaxy from the chaos of the Clone Wars . Due to his upbringing , Armitage believed that the New Republic was weak and would never live up to the supreme power of the Old Empire . Many other Imperial officer s also fled to the Unknown Regions along with the Huxes , where they would create the First Order , a military and political junta that rose from the ashes of the fallen Empire and followed its imperial ideology . Using technological terror , Hux achieved military superiority throughout the Order , eventually gaining the rank of General . As General , Hux had complete confidence in his troops , training methods and weapons . His soldiers , who were often trained on capital ships , underwent vivid simulations to create the most loyal soldiers for the Order . This system was an extension of the ideas of his father ' s Commandant ' s Cadets , from the Arkanis Academy . Mission to Parnassos . Around twenty years after the Battle of Endor , Hux ventured to Parnassos to respond to the distress signal sent by Brendol from the crash site of his ship . Hux arrived at the crash site personally , greeting his father , Phasma , Siv , and Frey impersonally and accepting Phasma and Frey into the First Order . Hux told his father that his disappearance had caused concern in the higher ranks of the First Order and that he needed to return immediately , as the Supreme Leader had many things to discuss with him . As he rode with Brendol , Phasma , and Frey to the " Resurgent " - class Star Destroyer " Absolution " , Hux bore witness to Brendol ' s orbital bombardment of Parnassos . Footage recovered from the shuttle that transported them to the " Absolution " was later recovered by Resistance intelligence agents . One of these agents , Vi Moradi , viewed the recording and said that the look she saw Armitage giving Brendol was one of pure loathing . Dealing with Brendol . Sometime after Phasma ' s recruitment and Brendol ' s return from his shipwreck on Parnassos , Phasma and Hux met and conspired to assassinate Brendol . Both agreed that the time had come for Brendol to die , and Hux left the actual killing up to Phasma with his only instruction being that she make it untraceable . Phasma went on to kill Brendol with the toxin from the bite of a Parnassos beetle . Brendol dead , Hux gave a brief address to Captain Cardinal and the First Order stormtrooper corps to inform them of Brendol ' s death . Formalities aside , Hux ascended to his father ' s role in the First Order military , and took his father ' s suite on the " Absolution " as his own . Years later , Cardinal met with Hux to discuss the circumstances of Brendol ' s death . Cardinal reported to Hux that Phasma had killed his father , information he had gotten from interrogating Resistance spy Vi Moradi , but Hux merely laughed in his face . Hux admitted to his role in Brendol ' s assassin ation , telling Cardinal that he had wanted his father dead . After affirming Cardinal ' s loyalty , Hux let him go , fully expecting Phasma to eventually finish the job of silencing him . First Order - Resistance War . General of the First Order . About 30 years after the Battle of Endor , Hux was the general who commanded Starkiller Base , the primary base of operations of the First Order , as well as the " Resurgent " - class Star Destroyer " Finalizer " and answered to Supreme Leader Snoke . Deeming Luke Skywalker , the last Jedi , to be a threat to the First Order , Hux , along with Kylo Ren , were given the directive . Though First Order possessed maps from the Empire that would lead them to the planet where Skywalker was hiding , they lacked a final piece . To that end , the " Finalizer " traveled to Jakku and dispatched a group of stormtroopers to attack the settlement of Tuanul , where Ren captured a Resistance pilot named Poe Dameron , who already acquired and hid the final piece of the map . After Ren interrogated Dameron , he informed Hux that the prisoner had entrusted the map to a BB - 8 unit . Hux dispatched stormtroopers back to Jakku to search for it and posted a bounty on the droid . Subsequently , Dameron was freed by a stormtrooper and the pair attempted to escape on a TIE / sf space superiority fighter , disabling the " Finalizer ' s " turbolasers . Hux ordered the ventral cannons to shoot down the fighter , causing it to crash - land on Jakku . Upon informing Ren of the incident , the dark knight deduced that the traitorous stormtrooper was FN - 2187 . Hux checked with Phasma , who noted that this was FN - 2187 ' s first offense . Subsequently , Supreme Leader Snoke ordered BB - 8 captured or destroyed if necessary . When Hux informed Ren , the latter questioned the competency of their stormtroopers , given that one of them committed high treason , and suggested that the First Order instead appropriate a clone army like the Galactic Republic and early Empire before them . Hux assured him that his stormtroopers were trained from birth to succeed and reminded Ren not to let his obsession with Skywalker interfere with their mission . Commanding Starkiller Base . After BB - 8 fled Jakku aboard the Millennium Falcon , Hux and Ren returned to Starkiller Base , where they spoke to a hologram of Supreme Leader Snoke . Snoke was not happy that they let the droid slip through their fingers and stated that the Jedi would rise again if the map got to the Resistance . Hux humbly took full responsibility for his failure , but the Supreme Leader interrupted him , declaring that their strategy had to change . Hux suggested testing the superweapon and destroy the New Republic for supporting the Resistance , leaving their enemies vulnerable . After receiving authorization for the undertaking , Hux then assembled the First Order army at Starkiller Base and gave a grand speech , proclaiming that the destruction of the Republic would be the beginning of the First Order ' s rise to power in the galaxy . At his signal , the base ' s weapon fired and destroyed the Hosnian system , which at the time hosted the Republic ' s capital and Senate , wiping away its leadership and fleet . Subsequently , the First Order received a tip from an informant on Takodana that BB - 8 was there , so Ren led an attack squadron . However , Ren instead captured BB - 8 ' s accomplice , the Jakku scavenger Rey , because she had seen the map , and ordered the division to retreat as the Resistance engaged them . Ren brought Rey back to Starkiller Base and attempted to extract the map from her mind , only to learn that the girl was strong in the Force and turned his own mind probe against him . Hux later walked in a conversation between Ren and Snoke , the latter asking what happened to BB - 8 . The general humiliated his colleague by telling the Supreme Leader that Ren decided the droid was not longer valuable to the First Order ' s mission , and that the girl was all they needed . He then informed Snoke that they tracked the Resistance scout ship performing recon on Starkiller Base back to the Ileenium system . Snoke ordered Hux to use the superweapon to destroy the Resistance before they could find Skywalker . However , while its weapon was charging up , the Resistance led a starfighter assault against Starkiller Base , which resulted in the base ' s destruction before it could fire on D ' Qar . Hux was then ordered by Snoke to evacuate the planet and to take the defeated Kylo Ren with him , something that Hux , having a very low opinion of Ren , was all too eager to accomplish knowing that Ren suffered a humiliating defeat . Rendezvous with Captain Phasma . A few days after the Assault on Starkiller Base , Hux greeted Phasma personally on his ship , the " Finalizer " . He questioned Phasma ' s late return , to which she replied that she had been preoccupied with chasing down and dispatching the true culprit behind the one who had turned off the shields at Starkiller Base . She named Lieutenant Sol Rivas as the perpetrator . Hux complimented her and promptly left , leaving Phasma to stare off at the sight of the First Order fleet gathering in large numbers . Leading the Siege of D ' Qar . After the Assault on Starkiller Base , Hux led a First Order fleet , including a Dreadnought , to the evacuated main Resistance base on D ' Qar . He also ended up getting an insulting transmission from Poe Dameron , who repeatedly referred to Hux by the mocking term " General Hugs " and implied that Leia wanted to send a message about Hux ' s mother . This ultimately got him incensed enough to have him bellow the order to open fire on Poe ' s ship . He then ordered the dreadnought to destroy the Resistance base , and afterwards , the main fleet . When Resistance bombers came to destroy the Dreadnought , Hux quickly dispatched all but one bomber , which promptly blew up the dreadnought and bought time for the Resistance to escape . However , Hux had a plan to track the Resistance ship through hyperspace , which he presented to Supreme Leader Snoke on his command ship , the " Supremacy " . Pursuit of the Resistance Fleet . During the assault on the Resistance fleet , Hux ordered the Star Destroyers to keep at a distance and continue firing at the Resistance flagship " Raddus " . After the Resistance ' s medical frigate ran out of fuel , Hux ordered it destroyed the second it was in range , though the ship was successfully evacuated prior to its destruction . When Finn and Rose Tico were captured while trying to disable the tracker on the " Supremacy " , they were led to an assembly area of stormtroopers in the hangar , led by General Hux . Hux then struck Finn on the cheek , showing his disdain for him . After insulting the people of the Otomok system , Tico ' s home system , she bit Hux on the hand . Shortly after , Hux left the pair to be executed by Captain Phasma , having figured out the Resistance ' s plan to escape via thirty U - 55 orbital loadlifter s , thanks to DJ divulging this information to the First Order . He also proceeded to have the fleet pick off any and all escape ships one by one . Focused on the annihilation of the transports , Hux brushed off the news that the " Raddus " was preparing a hyperspace jump as a failed ploy to distract them , unaware that Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo was intending to jump the " Raddus " to lightspeed directly at the " Supremacy " . Upon seeing she had turned about face , Hux frantically ordered all firepower concentrated on the " Raddus " , but it was too late . The faster - than - lightspeed collision sliced the " Supremacy " in two , also annihilating several " Resurgent " - class battlecruisers as well . After Holdo ' s suicide attack , General Hux went to the throne room , where during the battle Kylo Ren had killed Snoke . Discovering an unconscious Kylo Ren near the body of the Supreme Leader , Hux tried to take advantage of the situation to kill his rival but Ren woke up before he could act . After he expressed disbelief at seeing Snoke ' s dead body , Kylo told him that Rey killed Snoke and ordered him to move the men to Crait , to crush the Resistance once and for all . Hux protested , stating than Ren had no rights to command him or his men but Kylo Force - choked Hux until he acknowledged him as the new Supreme Leader . Battle of Crait . Hux was in Kylo Ren ' s command shuttle during the Battle of Crait . Once Kylo Ren gave the order to advance , Hux also attempted to issue the command , resulting in a sidelong stare by Kylo . After Kylo Ren fired on Luke Skywalker ' s force projection with All Terrain MegaCaliber Six walker s , Hux shouted at the pilots to stop firing , thinking that Skywalker had been completely destroyed by the barrage . Hux asked if Ren thought he got him , but was startled when the smoke cleared to reveal Skywalker completely unharmed . Ren ordered the command shuttle to land only for Hux to protest that Ren was getting distracted . In response , Kylo Ren hurled Hux against a wall with the Force , temporarily knocking him out . By the time Hux regained consciousness , the Resistance had already fled and reorganized itself into the Rebellion . He was present as Kylo Ren and the First Order Snowtroopers searched through the now - abandoned base . Personality and traits . Armitage Hux was a male human with red hair and pale skin . When he was a young child , his father Brendol Hux regarded him as a weak - willed boy . In his childhood , Hux was frequently belittled by his father . Despite Brendol ' s disdain for his own child , both Gallius Rax and Rae Sloane recognized that Armitage had the potential to become a military commander of the First Order . Under Rax ' s influence , the boy grew more vicious and was willing to order his father ' s child soldiers to hurt each other in order to assert his authority . From childhood , Hux was raised on stories of heroic Imperials and how the Empire had brought peace and order to the galaxy following the Clone Wars . Hux believed that the the galaxy needed to be saved from chaos and that the New Republic was too weak to rein in these problems . Because he was born out of wedlock , he also held some incense against references to his mother , especially those done in a mocking light , which was best evident during the Evacuation of D ' Qar , where Poe Dameron ' s insinuation that Leia wanted to give a message about Hux ' s mother was enough to have Hux angrily order for the ship to open fire on Dameron ' s squadron . As an adult , General Hux was a methodical commander who continued his father ' s program of training stormtroopers from infancy . Hux was a scientific and technologically - minded man who had little patience and understanding for Force - wielders like Kylo Ren . Hux had an acrimonious relationship with Kylo Ren and the two competed for the favor of the First Order ' s Supreme Leader Snoke . Hux was rankled by Kylo Ren ' s questioning of his faith in his men and methods . He also tried to deflect blame onto Kylo after First Order forces on Takodana failed to recover BB - 8 and the map to Luke Skywalker . He likewise hated Kylo Ren , to the extent that he secretly derived pleasure from whenever Kylo failed his mission or whenever Snoke reprimanded him , and also was glad that Kylo needed rescuing from the Starkiller Base after he was beaten by Rey , a lightsaber novice . His disdain for Kylo was such that after Snoke was prematurely killed , he initially considered assassinating Kylo on the spot while the latter was still unconscious prior to his stirring forcing him to abandon that plan , and shortly afterward made clear he had zero intention of acknowledging Kylo as the new Supreme Leader , and only ended up acknowledging it after Kylo telekinetically strangled him . Even afterward , however , he made subtle jabs at Kylo ' s expense , as after the walkers attacked what appeared to be Luke Skywalker himself with a rain of blaster bolts on Kylo ' s orders , Hux proceeded to sarcastically ask if the blasts killed Skywalker before the cloud dispersed and revealed he was still present . Due to his upbringing , Hux believed that he was destined to rule the galaxy . He regarded the New Republic as an illegitimate government that had to be destroyed in order to usher in the First Order . Hux believed that Starkiller Base held the key to retaking the galaxy from the New Republic . Hux never saw the First Order as the restoration of the Empire , but rather a new and improved faction . While Hux was distressed by the Resistance ' s destruction of Starkiller Base , he nevertheless complied with Snoke ' s orders to recover Kylo Ren and bring him to the Supreme Leader . He also showed some degree of sadism , as evidenced during the late stages of the attack on the Resistance fleet , where he had the " Supremacy " pick off the various escaping U - 55 orbital loadlifters . He also was highly ambitious , wanting to have direct control over the " Supremacy " , although he was smart enough to know he should keep such desires buried lest he get negative attention from either Kylo Ren or Snoke . Kylo Ren had always wondered why Snoke would keep Hux around . When this was brought to his attention , an amused Snoke revealed that for all his supposed weaknesses , Hux would always be a reliable asset . Snoke , who used Hux as a tool , was unaware that Hux had ambitions of usurping him to take the title of Supreme Leader for himself . Unfortunately for Hux , Ren had the same idea and took the position of Supreme Leader after killing Snoke , leading Hux to serve him . However , as Hux was known to have ordered Phasma to kill his own father , Ren brought him wherever he went , like Crait , to supervise him and prevent any potential act of treason . Skills and abilities . As a General in the First Order , Armitage Hux commanded the First Order ' s armies and Starkiller Base . He was familiar with the operating systems of a " Resurgent " - class Star Destroyer and Starkiller Base . Although his technical rank was General , he commanded more authority in actuality than a standard general , though Snoke refused to promote him to the more appropriate rank of Grand Marshal . Equipment . General Hux wore a charcoal grey general ' s uniform , black gloves , a polished officer ' s buckle , traditional flared - hip breeches , and insulated boots . He also wore a crested command cap emblazoned with the insignia of the First Order and a gaberwool officer ' s greatcoat . Hux believed that a tidy appearance was essential to maintaining discipline . When addressing his men , he wore a parade uniform designed to broadcast his authority as a First Order General . After the Battle of Starkiller Base , Hux would carry a holstered SE - 44C blaster pistol and a monomolecular dagger hidden in his sleeve . Behind the scenes . Development . The character of General Hux was created for the 2015 film , in which he is portrayed by Domhnall Gleeson . Gleeson was cast in the movie in April 2014 , just one day before appearing in a publicity photo of the cast doing a table read of the script . He afterward rented a screening room in his hometown of Dublin , Ireland , and watched all three installments of the original " Star Wars " trilogy to prepare for shooting the new film — he has described arriving on the set of a " Star Wars " movie on his first day of shooting as a breathtaking , " pinch me " moment . Details of Gleeson ' s character , including the name General Hux , were first revealed to the public at the in July 2015 . While developing Hux ' s character , Gleeson and the film ' s production team posited that he was an obsessive character who does not get a lot of sleep . They created his look with that in mind : pale with dark eyes , and dead - set on his goals . " The Force Awakens " director J . J . Abrams has called Hux a merciless character , and Gleeson has described him as someone who enjoys having authority and holding onto it at all costs . He has also stated that Hux " would just like a little bit more order in the universe " and would do whatever it takes to achieve that order . In the leadup to the film ' s release , he joked that Hux was obviously an evil character due to his British accent , a trait shared by numerous " Star Wars " villains . Gleeson was excited to play such a character , as it was unlike any acting role he had previously done and allowed him to explore the notion of authority . StarWars . com then confirmed that Gleeson was to return in . During filming of " The Force Awakens " , several different versions were shot of a scene where Hux addresses the troops of the First Order , as J . J . Abrams hoped to try it at various levels of intensity . He ultimately " wanted it big , " and he and screenplay writer Lawrence Kasdan believed that it was Hux ' s major moment in the movie . Although the amount of stormtrooper extras present for the scene made Gleeson nervous , he also felt like it gave him a sense of the number of people his speech was intended to affect . The speech has been compared to speaking at a and has been described by reviewers as being an over - the - top and random moment in the film . Continuity . Prior to " The Force Awakens " release , a character named Brendol Hux was introduced in " " , a young readers ' book by Jason Fry that serves as a tie - in to the television program " Star Wars Rebels " . In the book , Brendol Hux reveals his ambition to create an army of soldiers loyal to the Galactic Empire from birth . A StarWars . com Databank entry later revealed that Brendol Hux is General Hux ' s father , and " " went on to confirm that Hux ' s army of stormtroopers in the film — trained from infancy to be loyal to the First Order — are an extension of his father ' s group , the Commandant ' s Cadets . Fry originally conceived of the cadets to advance a plotline in his story , but he was struggling to find them a goal or a purpose that would eventually come into fruition . The idea to connect them with General Hux came in November 2014 when he met with Lucasfilm Ltd . about another project , " " , and was privy to concept art , stills , and a synopsis of the upcoming movie . He then proposed to Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group that the idea of training children to be stormtroopers began with Hux ' s father in the era of " Star Wars Rebels " , and when Hidalgo ran it up the chain of command , the answer came back in the positive . Fry considered inserting a " red - haired baby " Hux into his book , being cared for by a sinister nanny droid , but he ultimately felt that it was a reference for the sake of a reference and cut it from the final draft .