Supreme Leader Snoke

Supreme Leader Snoke is one of the main antagonists of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Snoke is the Supreme Leader of the First Order and Kylo Ren's master until the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, when he is betrayed by his apprentice, who chooses to kill his own master to save Rey's life.
In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Snoke is revealed to be an artificially humanoid alien created by the Sith Eternal and the resurrected Sheev Palpatine as part of his plan to return to power and take revenge on the Skywalkers, thus creating Snoke to seduce Ben Solo to the dark side and rule the First Order in his stead while the Sith Eternal’s fleet, the Final Order, is being built on Exegol.
==Background==
Unknown to all, Sheev Palpatine and the Sith cultists experimented with dark side science and genetic tampering on the hidden Sith world of Exegol. Several genetic copies were created and kept in a vat of nutrient fluid on the planet within the Sith Citadel where his creator eventually resided. Darth Vader once visited Exegol and passed these copies when they were still in their tanks.
Snoke was created through these experiments as a partially assembled strandcast clone shortly after Palpatine's demise at the Battle of Endor. Despite being a puppet, Snoke possessed free will and was capable of independent thought, with only a few of his actions and goals being manipulated and orchestrated by the Emperor without his knowledge. Ultimately though, he remained unaware of his own true nature.
After his resurrection, Palpatine's clone body was unstable and too weak to contain him due to his power, so he looked for another body to use as his vessel. He deemed Snoke's body unworthy to house his spirit, but found other uses for Snoke, considering his natural force-sensitivity to be able to grant him the ability to still make a powerful puppet nonetheless. He was designated to be Palpatine's proxy in power; the one who would build and rule the First Order while the latter healed in the Unknown Regions, built his new Sith Empire, and found a new vessel for his spirit. Despite his origins, Snoke was not a Sith, but was used as a tool by them to groom and mold Ben Solo, the eventual Kylo Ren, into an heir worthy of Darth Vader's legacy, testing his capacity to inherit the Sith legacy as a whole and rule the galaxy as the new Emperor. Snoke was the ultimate test and crucible in his training.
Snoke was originally the leader of a group of mute alien navigators from the galaxy's Unknown Regions called the Attendant and a seeker of arcane ancient lore, keeping the obscure relics and arcana he recovered scattered in bases across the galaxy. He was a master of the Force, who had vast experience and knowledge of the dark side, having rediscovered and learned lost truths of the Force hidden within the Unknown Regions, whilst his creator hidden, and also having legions of dead adversaries who he killed for underestimating him.
In the years prior to the Cold War, Snoke became the Supreme Leader of the First Order, much to the surprise and occasional outrage of many Imperial remnants. Snoke's rise to power was a surprise to the surviving Imperial leaders that survived the Battle of Jakku, such as Gallius Rax and Brendol Hux. As a result, Snoke was able to orchestrate their deaths or personally kill them himself, consolidating his power thoroughly. After the Sith Lord's death, Snoke journeyed to Mustafar and recovered an obsidian stone from beneath Vader's castle.
Snoke's most prized pupil being Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, the nephew of Luke Skywalker, and the grandson of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, but he trained at least one other apprentice in unison with or prior to the Skywalker heir. Snoke was critical in the seduction of Ben to the dark side, and when his turn was complete, Snoke christened him as Kylo Ren after Ben killed the leader of the Knights of Ren, becoming the master of the group. Snoke gave Kylo his blessing to lead the knights as gift for proving worthy. Snoke once also encountered the Jedi Master himself, and Luke damaged him in a fight, leading to an unspecified wound.
===Personality===
Snoke is a sophisticated and calculating individual, knowing how to act in situations of danger or when things do not go like he wanted. However, he is also a subtle manipulator as he exploited Force-sensitive individuals, such as Ben Solo, only for their power without them catching on to his true intentions.
Snoke has unusual tendencies for practitioners of the dark side of the Force. He usually displays little emotion, being normally very calm and collected, as did not appear to be in any form of worry or distress despite the circumstances against him and the First Order. When Starkiller Base was being destroyed, he calmly expressed his wishes without showing any form of anger or annoyance, a stark contrast to his apprentice Kylo Ren, who is prone to violent outbursts when faced with frustration. Despite this, Snoke did demonstrate a considerable level of anger and frustration after learning of failures from Armitage Hux and Ren, though he only directed his anger and frustration towards Hux. Despite his calm and level-headed demeanor, Snoke can be incredibly sinister and subtly cunning, a feature he employs when earning obedience from individuals. He is also exceedingly predatory, preying upon the fears, weaknesses and and hopes of his underlings to keep them under his control and anticipate their actions. Like Snoke's creator Sheev Palpatine, he is evil and sinister.
Snoke's reason for choosing Ben Solo as his apprentice (as explained in the novelization of Star Wars: The Force Awakens) is that as Anakin Skywalker's grandson, he is a focal point in the Force: a perfect balance of light and dark. Snoke also has a dislike for Luke Skywalker.
The film's novelization also reveals that, despite being created after Return of the Jedi, Snoke believed he lived through the reign of the Galactic Empire, and considered Vader's redemption as the error that brought it to its end, rather than the Rebel Alliance's pursuit of Justice and independence. Snoke believed that Vader's compassion, sentiment, and love for Luke Skywalker, that led the Dark Lord to fail to kill his son is what also caused the fall of the Empire and left him with the threat of the eventually legendary Jedi Master. He also passed on this belief to Ren during his apprenticeship.
Snoke is very wise, he knew that the future was always in motion, thus, his motto had become "Be careful or die". It was partly due to this that he was smart in keeping the First Order from making the same mistakes as the Empire did, and would not hesitate to instigate plans that would force his enemies to reveal themselves. In the novelization of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it was on Hux's suggestion that the use of Starkiller Base might force the Resistance to reveal itself which led to his approval of the superweapon's use. He was also cautious, further keeping his personal secret base mobile, so as never to be located by his enemies. Furthermore, once Snoke had seen that Kylo Ren had fulfilled his purpose and once Rey and the Resistance were destroyed, he intended to rethink Ben's future or kill him, a testament to his cunning. Additionally, Snoke's calculations and analysis showed him that he did not need Rey for her powers like Palpatine needed Luke for his, but the Supreme Leader still mused that in times past, she would have made a good apprentice.
Snoke is sadistic, as he enjoyed tormenting his enemies with the Force on a physical and emotional level. He did this to Rey with thoughts of her parents, and the same to Ben when he played with his mind and his soul. Additionally, Snoke is not an individual who tolerates failure, so if anyone from the First Order failed in what they were supposed to do, Snoke does not hesitate in killing them. Regardless of Snoke's evil, he has great respect for his enemies, such as Luke Skywalker, whom he claimed to respect for the fact that the Jedi Master sought the same knowledge of the Force that he did.
Sharing several traits with Sheev but at a greater scale, Snoke is ultimately a tyrannical leader. However, his callousness and negative traits proved to be his downfall, as he repeatedly mistreated his then-apprentice Kylo Ren, such as for his failure to defeat Rey, a Force-sensitive individual who had never utilized a lightsaber in combat before, and for feeling remorse after Han Solo's death. This mistreatment later resulted in Snoke being betrayed and murdered by his own apprentice.
Snoke knew that visions from the Force were often incomplete and that he could not see all ends or outcomes. However, like Palpatine, Snoke is extremely arrogant and overconfident to the point of underestimating his opponents and also relying too heavily on his Force powers. As consequence, he failed to realize that his own Force visions were not absolute, because he did not see a vision of him being killed by Kylo Ren, and did not sense his apprentice feelings of anger towards him. As his creator Palpatine, Snoke also had difficulty to understand how feelings of love might influence one's actions, as he failed to realize that his apprentice developed genuine romantic feelings for Rey during their connections, and this would be determinant for Kylo Ren make the decision to betray his master, as he wanted save her life and rule beside her. Not being able to discern his apprentice's true intentions, led Snoke to let his guard down. Thus, Snoke's arrogance and overconfidence proved to be his downfall, as he could only watch in horror as he was killed by Kylo Ren, the very man whom he thought never would or could betray him.
===Physical appearance===
In appearance, Snoke is heavily disfigured, with large scars across most of his long face and skull. He is quite frail-looking and had large hands and deathly pale skin. Snoke's deformities are partly due to severe damage caused by osteoporosis. But regardless of his illness and disabilities, Snoke stood at an imposing height, well over seven feet tall. His icy blue eyes, according to Rey, are not unlike the dark side cave on Ahch-To. He physically appears to be hundreds of years old (but being created after Palpatine's revival, he is obviously not that old) and he wears golden khalat robes, a complete opposite of the dark robes that often associated with dark side Force-users. He also wears soft slippers on his feet due to his frail state and his ever-present disabilities, which constantly leave him, unending pain. Additionally, he wears a ring made from obsidian collected from the foundations of Fortress Vader on Mustafar that was engraved with runes of the Four Sages of Dwartii, figures who believed in the active study of the dark side of the Force.
===Powers and Abilities===
====Powers====
*The Force: Despite his frail appearance, Snoke has an extremely strong connection to the Force. Wielding unparalleled levels of knowledge and skill, Snoke's powers in the Force made him able to overpower both Ben Solo and Rey individually, despite the two of them being exceptionally powerful Force-users. Snoke's Force powers are surpassed by Sheev Palpatine, who is his creator, and by Luke Skywalker at his peak, which explains why Snoke fears the last Jedi and considers him a threat.
**Telekinesis: Snoke can telekinetically move objects or other individuals without physically touching them, and he utilizes it for offensive or defensive purposes. He was notably able to deactivate Rey's shackles from across a room, in a similar fashion to his creator, Sheev Palpatine.
***Force Choke: Snoke can telekinetically choke his opponents to either weaken, kill or intimidate them.
***Force Grip: Snoke can telekinetically lift his opponents off the ground and into the air, sometimes by the neck, to immobilize them. His telekinetic grip allowed him to restrain his targets effortlessly and manipulate their movements. As demonstrated on both Rey and Hux, Snoke can make his targets glide along the floor or fly through the air while barely concentrating or exerting visible effort. His power in this regard is so strong that he doesn't even have to be in close proximity to his intended target, as he is capable of using his powers on General Hux even though they were not even on the same starship (or solar system, as his ship had not entered the same system yet at that point).
**Telepathy: Snoke can telepathically communicate with other individuals over small or vast distances. He and Sheev Palpatine were able to telepathically communicate with Ben Solo throughout his life, eventually leading to Ben's corruption and fall to the dark side. He can sense Ben's emotions and intentions, but he was only able to sense that his apprentice was about to kill "his true enemy", assuming that it was Rey and not himself.
***Mind Probe: Snoke can telepathically sense and sift through the thoughts and memories of other sentient beings. Snoke's skill with this power is naturally superior to that of his apprentice. Also, unlike Kylo Ren, he did not restrain himself when he searched Rey's mind to discover Luke's location. He showed no mercy, as he easily pried into the mind of the young Jedi apprentice, causing her extreme agony.
**Force Vision: Snoke can see visions of the past, the present and the future. However, like all Force-users, his visions are not always clear or sometimes they happen without warning.
**Force Sense: Snoke can sense another sentient being's emotions, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events, impending danger, and the presence of other light or dark side Force-users. He was able to sense an awakening in the Force, knowing that Kylo Ren felt it as well.
**Force Lightning: Snoke can create and project bright purple, later blue electricity from both his hands or fingers to weaken, kill or intimidate his opponents. He is able to blast it against the floor like a shockwave to knock his apprentice, Kylo Ren, off his feet for his defiance.
====Abilities====
*Genius-Level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leader/Manipulator: Snoke is amazingly intelligent and wise. As the leader of the First Order, Snoke is a highly skilled tactician and a capable leader. Snoke's skill in manipulation is so strong that Snoke even managed to manipulate and deceive Ben Solo into becoming his apprentice, turning him against his own family and the Jedi. Using his vast knowledge of Force lore and mastery of the dark side, Snoke also managed to manipulate Ben and Rey's dyad connection, exposing his apprentice's vulnerability to Rey in order to lure her into a trap and find out Luke Skywalker's location.
==Appearances==
===Star Wars: The Force Awakens===
Snoke sends Kylo Ren and the First Order on a search for Luke Skywalker following his disappearance. On Starkiller Base, Ren and General Hux contact Snoke via hologram to report the progress of their individual assignments. While Snoke is irritated when Ren admits his search has been delayed, Hux proposes using the Starkiller superweapon against several New Republic planets who have been caught supporting the Resistance, which Snoke authorizes. After Hux is dismissed, Snoke confides in Ren of an awakening in the Force and urges Ren to kill his father to overcome the light side's temptation and fully embrace the dark side.
After capturing a scavenger named Rey who had seen a piece of the map to Luke, Ren seeks for Snoke's guidance after she was able to resist and counter his interrogation. Ren claims that the girl was strong in the Force, to which Snoke orders Ren to bring her to him, however, Rey manages to escape before this can happen. Later, Ren was defeated by Rey in a duel while the Resistance attacked the base, causing the planet to collapse. Moments before the base's total destruction, Hux contacts Snoke, who calmly orders Hux to bring Ren to him in order to complete his training.
===Star Wars: The Last Jedi===
Sometime after the destruction of Starkiller Base, Snoke began directing several maneuvers designed to eliminate any possibility of hope returning to the galaxy. He empowered General Hux to pursue and destroy the Resistance fleet and was delighted when Hux found a way to track the fleet's movements through hyperspace, thereby allowing the First Order to immediately pinpoint their location, wherever they might be.
Snoke then summoned Kylo Ren to him, and after questioning if his apprentice was recovering, he proceeded to belittle Ren for his failure, saying that the young warrior was weakened by the conflict in his heart since his father's death, emphasizing his displeasure by electrocuting his apprentice with a blast of Force lightning. He also stated that for all his attempts to emphasize Darth Vader, Kylo Ren was little more than a child in a mask before dismissing him. At some point, Snoke uncovered and used his Force powers to manipulate the Force bond that exists between Rey and Ren. Through the Force, both Rey and Ren could see each other and communicate from different locations in the galaxy, so Snoke tried to manipulate them into revealing Skywalker's location in order for him to eliminate the Jedi once and for all.
Believing she could restore Ben Solo to the light, Rey sought Ren out and was brought to Snoke aboard the Supreme Leader's flagship, the Mega-class Star Dreadnought Supremacy. Using his skills with the Force, Snoke tortured Rey, successfully probing into her mind and discovering Skywalker's whereabouts, laughing with sadistic glee at the idea of killing Rey and Luke.
After obtaining the knowledge he sought, Snoke commanded his apprentice to execute Rey, believing she represented a threat to both himself and the dark side. He was confident that Ren would not turn in spite of Rey's faith in his former persona, that of Ben Solo. While reading his apprentice's mind, he was able to detect Ren's new resolve and thought that his apprentice had decided to strike Rey down, when Ren was in fact aiming for his master. Given the fact that he inherited a singular focus from his creator, Snoke failed to detect Ren using of the Force, subtly turning the Skywalker lightsaber in Snoke's direction, instead believing Ren's actions were to cut Rey down. The blade activated straight through the Supreme Leader, cutting him in half. Shocked and disbelieving, Snoke fell to the floor and died, his reign ended by the man he never thought could betray him. Despite his bodyguards' efforts to avenge their leader, the entire Elite Praetorian Guard was destroyed by the combined efforts of Ren and Rey.
Snoke's death created an immediate power vacuum that Ren took advantage of by assuming his fallen master's role as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, much to the displeasure of Hux. Although Ren desired to rule the galaxy with Rey at his side, the aspiring Jedi rejected his offer, leading Ren to falsely implicate her in Snoke's assassination.
===Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker===
It is revealed that Snoke was a genetically-enhanced being created by Palpatine after he came back to life. Since then, the Sith Lord had been hiding on Exegol for years while manipulating Snoke to rule the First Order and to lead Ben Solo to the dark side. During Snoke's reign, Palpatine bided his time in the Unknown Regions building a massive fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, the Final Order. When Kylo goes to confront Sidious on Exegol, it is also shown that at the underground Sith Citadel there are several Snoke clones that were created by the Sith cultists.
==Relationships==
==Trivia==
*His appearance was created using motion capture (CGI).
**His actor, Andy Serkis, also played Gollum in the Middle Earth films, also via motion capture. Andy Serkis is the second major Middle Earth actor to play a Star Wars villain after Christopher Lee who played Count Dooku in the prequel trilogy.
*His name was officially unveiled on May 28, 2015.
*Andy Serkis has confirmed that Snoke's horribly deformed face was inspired partially by injuries of World War I veterans who came back badly scarred or deformed.
*Andy Serkis also revealed that Snoke also was stricken with severe osteoporosis that left him "as twisted as a corkscrew".
*Andy Serkis considers Snoke to be a much darker character than Palpatine.
*Snoke carries an artifact on his person that reveal his fanaticism with Darth Vader: The ring on his finger is made from obsidian from beneath Fortress Vader on Mustafar.
*The role of Snoke in the sequel trilogy mirrors the role of Emperor Palpatine in the original trilogy. The case of Snoke is similar to the roles of both Kylo Ren and General Hux in the sequel trilogy, who respectively mirror Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin in the original trilogy. The difference being that, Snoke is betrayed and killed in the second installment of the trilogy.
**Likewise, his telling Kylo Ren to "fulfill his destiny" mirrors the Emperor telling Luke the same thing in Return of the Jedi. Shortly after uttering this line, both villains are also betrayed by their respective right-hands (Darth Vader and Kylo Ren) that chose to kill their own masters to save the protagonists' lives (Luke Skywalker and Rey).
*Snoke is the first artificially humanoid creation in the Star Wars universe.
*In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, when Kylo Ren arrives on Exegol during the beginning of the film, several clones of Snoke that were created by the Sith cultists are seen inside a tank. Later in the film, when Rey arrives on the planet, the same tank is seen again, but it is empty. This is also noted in the novelization version, where it is stated that while Rey is walking into the lab, she sees "some kind of tank, all empty and abandoned", which hints that this was done intentionally by the creators of the film and novel, and is not a continuity error of the film.
**When Matt Martin, one of the members of the Lucasfilm Story Group, was asked on his twitter about the disappearance of the Snoke clones, he joked saying that there are somewhere out there partying together and living their best life.
==Gallery==
===Screenshots===
Kylo Ren and Snoke.png
Surpreme Leader Snoke Headshot.jpg
Snoke Speaking to Hux and Ren.jpeg|"Prepare the weapon."
Snoke EW.jpeg
Snoke 3.png|"Leave the base at once and come to me with Kylo Ren."
Snoke Hux.jpg|Snoke punishes General Hux.
Snoke Lightning.png|Snoke uses Force lightning to punish Kylo Ren for his defiance.
Snoke The Last Jedi.jpg
Snoke and Rey.jpg|
Snoke tortures Rey.jpg
The Last Jedi 78.jpg|Snoke torturing Rey.
The Last Jedi 129.jpeg
Snoke Shocked.jpg|Snoke surprised when Kylo Ren kills him to save Rey.
Snoke's Death.jpg|Snoke is cut in half by the Skywalker lightsaber.
===Miscellaneous===
Star Wars The Last Jedi - Snoke.png
Andy Serkis Behind-the-scenes.jpeg|Behind the scenes of Andy Serkis as Snoke.
Supreme Leader Snoke Bust.jpg|Bust of Snoke created by Ivan Manzella.
Snoke and Kylo TLJ concept art.jpg|Concept art of Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Snoke throne concept art.jpg|Supreme Leader Snoke sitting on his throne.
Snoke throne room concept art.jpg|Snoke in the throne room.
Rey and Snoke in the throne room concept art.jpg|Snoke meets Rey in his throne room.
The-last-jedi-dan-mumford-imax-posters-4-of-4-kylo-ren-and-snoke-with-the-praetorian-guard.jpg
Kylo, Snoke and guards in the throne room.jpg
Elite Praetorian Guard mural Fathead.png
Snoke - TLJ promo character art.jpg
The Last Jedi 111.jpg
Snoke and Ren TLJ.jpg
Star Wars The Last Jedi - Snoke.jpg
Snoke and Rey 2.jpg
Snoke's Corpse.jpg
The Rise of Kylo Ren 1 (2).jpg|Ben Solo meets Snoke after feeling betrayed by Luke in The Rise of Kylo Ren Issue 1.
The Rise of Kylo Ren 2 (3).jpg|Snoke tells Ben how he became Snoke for his apprentice to choose his new name and identity.
Age of Resistance - Villains.jpg
Age of Resistance-Supreme Leader Snoke.jpg|Snoke on the cover of Age of Resistance: Supreme Leader Snoke comic.
Age of Resistance Supreme Leader Snoke.jpg
Age of Resistance - Snoke (1).jpg|Snoke trains Kylo to use the dark side to survive a fall in a pit.
Age of Resistance - Snoke (3).jpg
Age of Resistance - Snoke (2).jpg|Snoke beats Kylo for wanting to take his mask to the Cave of Evil.
The-Last-Jedi-Graphic-Novel-Adaptation (2).jpg|Snoke tortures Rey in The Last Jedi Graphic Novel Adaptation.
The-Last-Jedi-Graphic-Novel-Adaptation (9).jpg
The Last Jedi Adaptation 5 (1).jpg|Snoke's death in The Last Jedi Adaptation Issue 5.
Darth Vader (2020) 11.png|Darth Vader passing genetic copies resembling Snoke on Exegol in Darth Vader (2020) Issue 11.
Star wars sdcc 2017 supreme leader snoke funko pop 182.jpg
Funko POP - Supreme Leader Snoke.jpg
Supreme Leader Snoke Black Series.jpg
Snoke - Black Series.jpg
The Last Jedi Figures.jpg
Itty Bittys Star Wars The Last Jedi Snoke and Praetorian Guard.jpg
LEGO Supreme Leader Snoke.jpg|LEGO Supreme Leader Snoke minifigure.
Snoke The Last Jedi Top Cards.jpg
==References==
==External links==
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