Grand Admiral Thrawn

Mitth'raw'nuruodo (mostly called Thrawn or Grand Admiral Thrawn; born Kivu'raw'nuru and known by his core name Vurawn) is one of the main villains of the Star Wars franchise. He was loyal to the Chiss ascendancy before being accepted into the and often uses his analytical skills in art and war to fight the rebels. Thrawn is a cold-blooded imperial who seeks to end the rebellion before it escalates and is the most dangerous Imperial the rebels ever faced.
Originally introduced in the Legends, Thrawn appears in canon as the main antagonist of the second half of the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels and the overarching antagonist of The Mandalorian. He is also the true main antagonist of ' Ahsoka''
He was voiced and portrayed by Lars Mikkelsen in the series. 
==Biography==
===Personality===
Star Wars Rebels presents Thrawn as a cold-blooded Imperial and one of the Rebels' most dangerous adversaries. He was highly intelligent, calm, level-headed, and observant, as he believes that understanding an enemy's culture, history, philosophy, and art is crucial to discern their tactics and ultimately defeat them in battle. He is tactically superior to many other imperial leaders who often used the same strategies and, as a result, were defeated by the Rebels. When Thrawn is dispatched to fight Cham Syndulla and his followers, the latter does not expect his adversary's attacks to be as precise and devastating as they turned out to be. He also used situations to his advantage and could formulate creative strategies in his head that could be achieved without error. Unlike most other Imperial officers, Thrawn is not a particularly cruel or malicious individual. He is quite gentlemanly, being polite and cordial with even his enemies. Thrawn is also very patient, preferring to study the tactics of his enemies rather than to instantly become the aggressor, even if it means allowing them to escape. However, Thrawn's patience does have its limits, as he sometimes becomes annoyed or enraged when others either question his views or fail to understand his appreciation of art. Additionally, Thrawn had an affection for the Skywalkers, young Chiss girls who were Force-sensitive and sent on navigations because the Chiss lacked a navigation system in their vehicles. This was mostly because he had an older sister who was one as well, but she was never seen nor heard from again, and Thrawn's parents never told him what happened to her. 
Although antagonistic and quite ruthless, Thrawn is not pure evil. He generally preferred to avoid causing collateral damage, as was demonstrated during the Battle of Batonn, where he attempted to negotiate with the enemy. However, although reluctantly, Thrawn sometimes condoned civilian casualties if it meant a sure victory, as shown during the Liberation of Lothal. Even though he never told anyone, not even his most trusted friend, Eli Vanto, Thrawn despised the oppressive, racist, and corrupt Imperial culture, viewing many of his fellow officers as either evil or downright stupid. He was also one of the few within the Empire to realize how evil the Emperor is, even going as far as to speculate that he could be in touch with the Force. Being a pragmatist, he believed the Empire to be a necessary evil and that serving it is the best way to defend his people. Ironically, he managed to obtain the rank of Grand Admiral, meaning that he is one of the highest-ranking members of a civilization he neither adores nor originally comes from. Even so, the fact that he purposefully infiltrated the Imperial hierarchy means that he must follow Imperial directives, meaning that, to fit in, he comes across as far crueler than he is on a moral level. He believes in the ends justifying the means, which is evident when he practically kills a mechanic to set an example. Finally, Thrawn inspires loyalty from his men. Where people like Darth Vader and Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin seek to punish those who fail, Thrawn sees those failures as opportunities so that his men can learn to do better and succeed. He views death as a means of punishing soldiers as being wasteful.
==Canon==
===Background===
Kivu'raw'nuru was born on the planet Rentor sometime before the Clone Wars & the invasion of Naboo. He had a Force-sensitive older sister who was two years older than him and one he was rather close toThrawn: Ascendancy – Chaos Rising. At three years old, he remembered his sister had become a Skywalker, a group of Force-sensitive Chiss girls who were used on navigational missions for their abilities. They were used due to the Chiss' lack of navigational systems on their freighter, but Chiss girls noticeably lost their abilities when they matured Thrawn: Alliances. Despite Thrawn asking their parents about his sister's fate, they never had an answer, and all believed that she had died. It was not until he reached the rank of bridge officer that he learned that his sister was part of the Skywalkers and believed she disappeared shortly after her service was over. 
He attended an academy of Rentor and became a merit adoptive of the Mitth family after attracting the attention of the family's patriarch. Instead of being called Vurawn, he gained a new name, Mitth'raw'nuru "Thrawn." He rose to the ranks and became well-liked by some of his colleagues in the Chiss Ascendancy, but was disliked by politicians and members of the military. Eventually gaining his current name, Mitth'raw'nurodo, Thrawn worked closely with Anakin Skywalker and his wife, Padmé Amidala, during the Clone Wars sometime after Ahsoka Tano left the Jedi Order.Thrawn
=== The Ascendancy Trilogy ===
The Ascendancy Trilogy' focuses on Thrawn's younger years in his role in the Chiss Ascendancy before his introduction in the 2017 tie-in novel for Star Wars Rebels. 
==== Chaos Rising ====
===Thrawn===
===Star Wars Rebels: Season 3===
Annoyed by the recent rebel activity going on at Lothal, Arihnda Pryce approaches Grand Moff Tarkin and requests assistance from someone who sees a "bigger picture" about bringing about the downfall of the rebels and requests for the Seventh Fleet led by Grand Admiral Thrawn. While some officers, such as Konstantine, believed that these ships were the rebel fleet, Thrawn and Pryce both believed that this group of rebels was the key for the Empire to destroy the Rebellion before it began. Pryce revealed Thrawn just didn't want to concern himself with just Phoenix Squadron, but the Rebel Alliance as a whole, starting with the rebel cell. 
In his first major appearance, "Hera's Heroes," Thrawn moved his plans to capture rebels to Hera Syndulla's homeworld, Ryloth, where he helped the Captain in command, Slavin, on how to outsmart Cham Syndulla and the Rylothian resistance. During his visit to Syndulla's house, he had a battalion of stormtroopers move up to the Syndulla building. Slavin saw the new tactics unnecessary, believing the battle was nowhere near here, but Thrawn assured that the battle was in that very building. They came across Twi'lek Hera Syndulla trying to escape with her companion, Ezra Bridger, until she was brought back to her father's office while posing as a refugee. However, Thrawn was able to tell who Hera was while Ezra was a scout trooper in disguise. He stunned Ezra and had both rebels locked away. Taking the Kalikori as a trophy, Thrawn acknowledged his respect for Hera and left Slavin to deal with the rebel prisoners, seeing how the rebels would react to rescuing one of their own. After witnessing enough, he allowed the rebels to escape.
 In "Iron Squadron," during a plot to lure Jun Sato out of hiding, he had Imperial forces attack his homeworld of Mykapo. He sent Admiral Konstantine to stop the Rebels from freeing their rebel sympathizers in one ship after learning about Iron Squadron. His plan worked, and Thrawn arrived on Mykapo after being contacted by Konstantine, where he had seen his plan to get Commander Sato out of hiding. Welcoming the commander's return, Thrawn and Sato swore to meet again before the rebels and Iron Squadron made it to hyperspace. The grand admiral contacted Konstantine, who had called fit assistance but covered up his excuses by changing it to report that the rebels escaped. However, Thrawn could see through Konstantine's bluff and easily surmise the rebels didn't just evade capture, but their sympathizers as well.
Following the insurgency of Mykapo, in "An Inside Man," Thrawn returned to the TIE Defender factory on Lothal. During his visit, he killed Morad Sumar (without knowing he was allied with rebels) through a demonstration of a speeder bike that they had rigged. Capturing the rebels was imperative to Thrawn, who wanted to make sure that his TIE defender project was not compromised, which is why he made sure that Section A2 was heavily guarded and those without the proper clearance be killed on sight. Thrawn studied his enemies' art after summoning Lyste and Kallus to his office, including holographic displays of the Spectres, Sabine's art, and a Jedi Temple Guard's helmet and showed Lyste and Kallus Sabine's Starbird painting. While Lyste was dismissive of the artwork, Kallus was able to tell that the graffiti was Phoenix Squadron's symbol. Remembering the specters he encountered on Ryloth, he could speculate that the Ghost crew was connected to Lothal. Based on Lyste's report that two workers went missing after Grand Admiral Thrawn's speech, he was able to tell that the rebels have infiltrated his Imperial factory (Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus and their droid, Chopper); however, Ezra, Kanan and Chopper escaped with help from Kallus and attempted to escape on the AT-AT walkers until Thrawn told the other drives to fire at the ones controlled by Rebels. However, they escaped when Ryder Azadi and Marida Sumar In the end, as Thrawn spoke with Kallus and Pryce and dismissed Lyste, Thrawn was able to tell that there was a mole in the Empire. Governor Pryce proclaimed that they must find the traitor. However, Thrawn told her to remain patient when she asked about questioning all Imperial personnel and that they would set a trap for their Rebel spy.
He is briefly mentioned by Sabine Wren in "Visions and Voices" when she asks if Thrawn is there, but Hera reveals that they have no confirmation. Ezra was going to lead the attack but was relieved of duties after seeing visions of Maul. Kanan and Sabine remained with Ezra to deal with the former Sith Lord.
In "Warhead," Thrawn planned to find out where the rebels were located and had E-XD infiltrator droids deployed to corners of the Galaxy. One found its way to Chopper base on Atollon, but it was defeated by Zeb Orrelios, Chopper, and AP-5. Following the destruction of the Star Destroyer, Thrawn met with Kallus, who reported to the Grand Admiral how he suspected the rebels were able to foil Thrawn's plans with the infiltrator droids. However, the Grand Admiral remained in high spirits, and Kallus was surprised by his superior's response. Thrawn revealed that the incident greatly narrowed down the planets from a thousand planets to ninety-four. Thrawn proclaimed the war would be theirs, as Kallus was left with worry his allies would be discovered.
===Thrawn: Alliances===
===Thrawn: Treason===
===Star Wars Rebels: Season 4===
In the series finale, Thrawn returns from Coruscant, ruining Ezra and his friends' plan in liberating Lothal from the Galactic Empire. he is contacted by Ezra, who confidentially tells Thrawn that he and the rebels have taken the Imperial dome prisoner. However, Thrawn is revealed to be one step ahead of them and instead will only accept the young Jedi's surrender. When Ezra refuses, Thrawn orders a planetary bombardment and sends Rukh to cause the rebels' shield generator to malfunction. unwilling to see his people suffer, Ezra is coerced into giving in to Thrawn's demands. The Grand Admiral warns the young commander to come alone and not to attempt anything heroic or he would continue to bombard the city, unaware of Ezra's ultimate plan to save his homeworld. 
When Ezra arrived on the Chimera as promised, Thrawn had the captive Jedi brought into his office and began mocking him for what he stood for, even following his Jedi training. His taunts only aggravated Ezra, who was appalled by Thrawn's art collection, including one of Sabine's works of art. The Grand Admiral revealed he was not destroying Lothal completely, even keeping several artworks he collected over the years. Ezra angrily confronted Thrawn, reprimanding him for taking things that did not belong to him and telling Thrawn he didn't deserve the artwork in his possession or Lothal. The Grand Admiral refuted that power was what people should truly keep and told Ezra that the Jedi would not teach him that and instead would take him to someone who would. He brought Ezra before a hologram of the Emperor, who used his public image when conversing with Ezra. Palpatine dismissed Thrawn, who left Ezra with the Emperor and ordered his forces to resume the city bombardment. During the liberation of Lothal, Rukh was killed by Garazeb Orrelios after throwing him on the destroyed power generator.
When Thrawn attempted to contact his bodyguard, Zeb answered instead and informed him of the Noghri's death. Despite Thrawn being assured of victory, he was suddenly confronted by Ezra and was generally surprised to see the boy managed to escape capture. Though he only managed to wound the human with his blaster, Ezra used his connection with the Purrgil, who wrapped their tentacles around Thrawn, who was utterly horrified as the creatures disappeared into hyperspace, taking Ezra and Thrawn to parts unknown. 
==Relationships==
===Eli Vanto===
Eli was a loyal friend and follower of Thrawn's, especially acting as his translator whenever Thrawn struggled to speak the Galactic Basic. Vanto helped Thrawn integrate into the galactic society; in return, Thrawn admired Vanto for his understanding. Throughout the beginning of his career, Eli was initially angry that he was turned over for promotion and instead put under Thrawn's services. However, over time, Eli grew loyal to Thrawn. The Chiss grew to see Eli as a friend and a confident but never revealed anything personal from his past. He tried everything to ensure his aid gained promotion within the Galactic Empire. When he was offered to leave Thrawn's services, Vanto refused out of loyalty towards his friend.
Revealed at the end of the novel, Thrawn, in the titular character's diary that he did consider Vanto a friend and knew that his friend's skill would prove to be a valuable asset to the Chiss Ascendancy. 
===Hera Syndulla===
===Ezra Bridger===
Because Ezra is a member of the Rebellion, Ezra is an enemy. He first encountered the Jedi when he and Hera were trying to take Kalikori from Cham's office. Thrawn dismissed Ezra as nothing more than a boy lost in war, believing him to be a lesser opponent than any of the other rebels he had faced. When they finally came face-to-face, Thrawn mocked Ezra for following the same paths as a Jedi. Ezra was disgusted by Thrawn's collection of artwork in his office, which was part of Sabine's artwork and some from Lothal. However, Thrawn never expected to be outsmarted by Ezra when he called the Purrgil and had them take them both to parts unknown.
===Arihnda Pryce===
Grand Admiral Thrawn and Arihnda originally had mutual respect for one another, as Thrawn had immediately answered her request in dealing with Ezra Bridger, Hera Syndulla, and the rest of the rebels. He appeared to hold her in the highest regard, as their relationship dated back ten years before the events of the series, where Arihnda sought advice from Grand Admiral Thrawn on how to deal with a traitorous senator. She agreed with him that the rebels were continually going, and later, Grand Admiral Thrawn left her in charge of the Chimaera. The relationship fell through when Pryce ordered the fuel depot in the TIE defender project, and all respect Thrawn had for Pryce disappeared, as he promised to deal with her when he returned.
She tried capturing Ezra and the other rebels to please Thrawn, but they instead trapped her.
===Family===
*Unnamed Older Sister
*Mitth family - Adopted Family
**Mitth'ras'safis † - Brother 
=== Allies ===
* Chiss Ascendancy
** Ar'alani
** Vah'nya
** Un'hee
** Eli Vanto - Aide, Guide, and Friend
* Galactic Empire
** Emperor Palpatine - Former Superior
** Rukh † - Personal Assassin
** Arihnda Pryce † - Subordinate and Situational Ally
** Kassius Konstantine †
** Yogar Lyste
** Gilad Pallaeon
** Wilhuff Tarkin
** Vult Skerris
** Tiber Saxon †
** Slavin †
** Karyn Faro - Protege
** Imperial Security Bureau
*** Wullf Yularen †
* Skywalker family
** Anakin Skywalker †
** Padmé Amidala †
** R2-D2
* Joruus C'boath † - Temporary Enemy	
=== Enemies ===
* Nightswan †
* Alliance to Restore the Republic
**Hera 
** Ezra Bridger
** Sabine Wren
** C1-10P/Chopper
** Kanan Jarrus †
** Garazeb Orrelios
** Captain Rex
** Jan Dodanna †
** Mon Mothma
* The Bendu
* Purrgil
* Lothal Resistance
** Ryder Azadi
** Morad Sumar
** Commando Gregor
** Commander Wolffe
** Hondo Ohnaka
** Ketsu Onyo
** Melch
* Free Ryloth movement
** Cham Syndulla
* Skywalker Family
** Luke Skywalker 
** Mara Jade Skywalker † - Former Ally 
** Leia Organa 
** Han Solo 
** Lando Calrissian 
* Talon Karrde 
* Galactic Empire
** Grand Admiral Savit
==Other Continuities==
===The Thrawn trilogy===
====Heir to the Empire====
Five years after Return of the Jedi, Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the last twelve Grand Admirals, secretly took command of a shattered Imperial Fleet, planning to attack the New Republic, who themselves are building their armies. He hoped to search for a Dark Jedi to join his side to restore the Galactic Empire. Elsewhere, the Skywalker twins have begun building their lives; Leia has married Han Solo, expecting twins, and Luke has become the long-awaited new line of Jedi Knights. Despite the New Republic's numerical advantage over the remaining Imperial Forces, Thrawn is still rebuilding the Galactic Empire. Visiting Emperor Palpatine's Wayland storehouse, he hopes to gain the storehouse's massive array of Spaarti cloning cylinders.
With Gillad Pellaeon, Talon Karrde, and Mara Jade Skywalker, they obtain several creatures ysalamiri, posing the natural ability to disrupt the Force, to subdue the storehouse's guardian, Joruus C'boath, an evil clone of a Jedi Master Thrawn previously killed. C'boath offers his loyalty to Thrawn in exchange for two acolytes to bend to his will: Darth Vader's twins, Luke Skywalker, and Leia Organa. He sends two Noghri killers to kidnap the twins, but Leia defends herself from one attack, as does Luke. The Noghri surrenders just as Thrawn launches his first offensive to the republic, making hit-and-run attacks on the New Republic's territory. Thrawn invades Nkllon because he requires warships. His stormtroopers use the stolen miners to board and hijack the ships, but they are thwarted when Lando can seize control of the miners remotely. The Grand Admiral withdraws his forces, but thanks to Thrawn's plotting, his New Republic nemesis Admiral Ackbar is soon arrested for treason.
====Dark Force Rising ====
The book reveals that before the Clone Wars, the Old Republic had constructed a fleet of highly automated heavy cruisers, known as the Katana fleet. A virus infected the crews of the entire fleet and drove them insane. The fleet was never seen again until smuggler Talon Karrde discovered it (several years before the events of the first book). With access to Palpatine's private storehouse on the planet Wayland, Thrawn presses his advantage to marshal more forces for the battle against the New Republic. Mara Jade, in an attempt to exonerate the Empire's warrant for Karrde's arrest, goes to Thrawn and offers to reveal the location of the Katana fleet. Instead, he has her followed, and Karrde is captured. Mara and Luke rescue Karrde from Thrawn's Star Destroyer as Thrawn attempts to capture another man who knows about the Katana fleet.
Meanwhile, Leia learns that the Noghri serve the Empire because they revere her late father, the insidious Vader, who they believe saved their planet Honoghr from ecological disaster. Leia convinces them that they have been deceived and effectively enslaved by the Empire, and they switch sides. With Ackbar temporarily neutralized as a tactical opponent, Thrawn leads an army of clones to claim the so-called "Katana fleet," outmaneuvering Luke, Lando, and Han Solo.
====The Last Command====
Set about a month after the previous book, Thrawn uses the Katana fleet, manned with clones, to mount a successful offensive against the New Republic. Seizing one planet after the other, the Grand Admiral soon immobilizes the galactic capital world, Coruscant. He has placed multiple cloaked asteroids around the planet, and through a ruse, he has led the New Republic leadership to believe that Coruscant is surrounded by them. Learning of the deception, the Republic fleet attacks the Imperial shipyards at Bilbringi to capture a device that can find the cloaked asteroids, but Thrawn's forces crush them. Meanwhile, Luke and Leia lead a group to destroy the cloning facility on Wayland. Just as Thrawn and Pellaeon learn that the Noghri aided in the attack on Wayland, Thrawn's own Noghri bodyguard, Rukh, kills the Grand Admiral—whose last words are, "But ... It was so artistically done." With all hope of victory dashed by Thrawn's death, Pellaeon orders the Imperial forces to retreat.
===Vision of the Future===
Admiral Gilad Pellaeon admits that the Empire, down to only a few sectors, is now fighting a losing battle and initiates peace talks with Princess Leia. However, Moff Disra hires a con artist, Flim, to impersonate the deceased Grand Admiral Thrawn to motivate the Imperial forces. Major Grodin Tierce, the clone of a former stormtrooper imbued with Thrawn's tactical intellect by the grand admiral himself, strategizes that the false Thrawn could also rally support for the Empire and intimidate the New Republic. The tactic is successful until Pellaeon and Talon Karrde—on opposing sides but both desiring peace—expose Film. Meanwhile, at a fortress called the Hand of Thrawn, Luke and Mara discover a gestating and near-complete clone of Thrawn, which is killed during their escape. An expedition by Thrawn to the galaxy's Unknown Regions is also mentioned. Finally, a peace treaty is signed by Pellaeon and the New Republic's president.
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==Quotes==
===Legends===
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
===Canon===
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Lars Mikkelsen, Thrawn's voice actor, is the brother of Mads Mikkelsen, who plays Galen Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
* In both the Legends and the Star Wars Canon, Thrawn owned an Imperial Star Destroyer called the Chimaera
*In Legends, he gained the rank of Grand Admiral after taking down a corrupted Grand Admiral. In canon, Thrawn was granted the title for stopping the rebel insurgence on Batuu. 
* The members of the Ghost crew that Thrawn only interacts with in the arts are Hera Syndulla and Ezra Bridger
** He briefly interacted with Kanan Jarrus, asking him why he feared the storm the Bendu took in the form of "Zero Hour."
**Zeb contacted him via Rukh's commlink in a small conversation during the Siege of Lothal.
** However, as of Ahsoka, Thawn officially met Sabine Wren. 
* In the Legends and some of Thrawn's pictures he has no pupils, but in Rebels he has them.
* Thrawn had a brother, Thrass, who was a syndic in the Ascendancy. However, Thrawn does have a sibling in the Canon Universe so far; an older sister. Thrass is mentioned but he and Thrawn are not brothers, however, they were considered close as brothers in Greater Good.
* Considers his former aide and comrade Eli Vanto as his best and only friend. (The 2017 novel of the same name)
* His past is shrouded in mysteries until the release of chaos rising of the Thrawn and the Ascendancy trilogy
* His defeat was hinted at in the series finale of season 3, where the Bendu predicted that he would meet his downfall, wrapped around in a cold embrace. 
** This ends up being the case in the season 4 and series finale, where Ezra Bridger summons a group of Purrgil, who wrap their tentacles around Thrawn and take him and Ezra into the Unknown Regions. 
* Thrawn is considered the savior of the Star Wars franchise because his trilogy by Timothy Zahn when received positive appraisals and gained popular opinion from fans, piquing their interest back into the franchise since the Return of the Jedi was released in 1983. 
* He is a mixture of Sherlock Holmes, Alexander the Great, Hannibal Barca, Erwin Rommel, and Robert e Lee. 
* Dave Filoni confirmed in the last episode of Rebels Recon that Ezra and Thrawn did survive their trip into hyperspace. His survival was also confirmed in the thirteenth episode of The Mandalorian when Ahsoka asked Morgan Elsbeth for Thrawn's whereabouts. 
*Thrawn claims to study the art of war and studying the enemy to understand what actions they would take. 
=Legends=
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