Thrawn

Mitth'raw'nuruodo, better known as his core name Thrawn, is major antagonist in the Star Wars universe, first appearing in the 1991 novel Heir to the Empire and brought into canon as the main antagonist of third and fourth seasons of Star Wars Rebels. He is a high ranking officer in the military forces of the Galactic Empire, serving as a Grand Admiral in the Imperial Navy. Unlike most Imperial leaders, who are human, Thrawn is a Chiss, a humanoid species characterized by their blue skin, dark blue-black hair, and red eyes, making him one of few nonhuman individuals of great authority within the Empire.
An exceptionally brilliant tactician, Thrawn is among the Empire's most dangerous and feared military commanders, having led the Imperial fleet to some of its greatest victories over the Rebel Alliance. However, even Grand Admiral Thrawn himself fell victim to the heroics of a single Jedi, Ezra Bridger, which led to his defeat on Lothal and their exile to Peridea, an extragalactic planet located in the far galaxy. Five years following the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, rumors spread of Thrawn's return as Heir to the Empire. A plot, led by Morgan Elsbeth, to bring the lost Imperial Grand Admiral out of exile succeeded, despite the efforts of Sabine Wren and former Jedi Ahsoka Tano. Thrawn's imminent return to the galaxy united the various Imperial holdouts under his command, as he plots to topple the recently formed New Republic and restore the Empire to power.
==Background==
Thrawn is a member of the Chiss, a near-human species hailing from the Unknown Regions (better known as "the Chaos" by its inhabitants), a dangerous and unexplored section of the galaxy largely ruled by their oligarchical civilization: the Chiss Ascendency. Thrawn, himself, was born under the name "Kivu'raw'nuru", approximately thirty years prior to the Clone Wars, on the impoverished Chiss colony planet of Rentor, where he spent the early years of his life in poverty. When Kivu'raw'nuru was only three years old, he and his force-sensitive older sister, Kivu'rik'ardok, were forcibly separated when she was taken by the Ascendency to become a sky walker, an elite navigator that was trained to use the force to help the Ascendency's ships navigate through the unpredictable areas of the Chaos. At some point during his later childhood, Kivu'rik'ardok was adopted by the Mitth family, one of the ruling families of the Ascendancy, under the name of Mitth'raw'nuru, and grew to become an officer in the Expansionary Defense Fleet, the naval branch of the Ascendancy's armed forces, and loyally served in it as a commander for many years.
By the time of the Clone Wars, Thrawn was part of scouting force sent to search the rest of the galaxy for possible allies in the Ascendency's war against the hostile Nikardun species. While exploring the Outer Rim, Thrawn came into contact with the Jedi knight and general Anakin Skywalker of the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic, and came to hold him in high regard after they fought together and defeated an army Separatist battle droids. Despite this, Thrawn convinced his superiors that both the Republic and the Jedi would be unsuitable allies to the Ascendency, due to the former's weakened state from the Clone Wars and the latter for their strong moral code which he believed prevented them from achieving necessary results.
Shortly following the rise of the Galactic Empire, Thrawn and his people learned of a powerful extragalactic force that had begun to loom over the galaxy. Out of love and a fierce loyalty towards his people, Thrawn selflessly volunteered to venture off into Imperial space in order to assess their military might and see if they would make a good ally to help defend the galaxy from this threat. In order to do this, Thrawn was formally exiled from Chiss space for military insubordination, although this was all staged in order to fool the Empire into accepting him. Thrawn selected a planet in Wild Space as his spot of "exile", as he knew that it was on the edge of the Galactic Empire. Sure enough, a Star Destroyer visited the planet after several months and Thrawn was discovered by its captain.
Following this, Thrawn was able to win an audience with Emperor Palpatine, and, in order to ensure a possible alliance between his people and the Empire, offered to give him astrological information of the Unknown Regions, of which he deduced that the emperor possessed an interest of. In return, the Emperor, most unexpectedly, gave Thrawn a commission as an officer in the Imperial Navy despite the Empire's deep seated prejudice against nonhuman species, due to recognizing his exceptional talent for military strategy. Thrawn used this new development to his advantage, and infiltrated the Imperial Navy, posing as a loyalist to the Empire, but truly remaining loyal to his people and not the Emperor, who he correctly deduced was actually a Sith Lord.
With help from his aid, translator, and fellow officer, Eli Vanto, Thrawn quickly ascended through the Empire's ranks despite facing prejudice amongst fellow officers, gaining recognition for his unorthodox but effective military tactics in defeating various pirate and rebel factions across the Empire's territories, which further earned him the Emperor's favor. During one these engagements, Thrawn battled against and defeated the rebel naval commander Jun Sato, with the two coming to share a mutual respect for each other following their encounter.
It was during this time that he met Governor Arihnda Pryce of Lothal, an aspiring businesswoman and politician hoping to claw her way up to the top. The two of them became close allies and used each other's own strengths to help the other rise to the higher echelons of the Empire. At some point during his service to the Empire, Thrawn also met the Nightsister and industrialist Morgan Elsbeth, who was responsible for building the vast majority of his fleet utilizing resources she had plundered from numerous worlds across the galaxy, with her becoming one of his most devoted followers. Additionally, he also at times came to work alongside the Emperor's enforcer and Sith apprentice Darth Vader, whom correctly deduced was his old ally Anakin Skywalker: making him one of the very few to know that Vader and Skywalker were the same person.
Following his victory over the rebel leader Nightswan at the Battle of Batonn, Thrawn, much to his own surprise and that of his fellow admirals, such as Kassius Konstantine, promoted to the rank of "Grand Admiral" by the Emperor himself, the highest rank in the Imperial Navy. Following this, Thrawn was given command of the Empire's Seventh Fleet with the Star Destroyer "Chimera" serving as his flagship. Soon after, at the behest of Governor Pryce, Thrawn was dispatched to Lothal to deal with the growing Rebel presence, leading him into conflict with the crew of the Ghost.
===Personality===
Thrawn is highly intelligent, calm, level-headed, and observant, as he believes that understanding an enemy's culture, history, philosophy, and art is crucial in order 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 Free Ryloth Movement, 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 was (until the later part of his career) not a particularly cruel or malicious individual. As a matter of fact, he is quite gentlemanly, being polite and cordial with even his own 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. Despite this, he is not known to kill his own men like Vader and Tarkin are.
Although antagonistic and quite ruthless, Thrawn is not pure evil. Despite his ruthlessness, 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 Battle of Lothal, in which he massacred the citizens of Capital City in order to upset Ezra Bridger into surrendering.
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 actually is, even going as far 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 has to follow Imperial directives, meaning that, in order to fit in, he comes across as far more cruel than he actually is on a moral level. He believes in the ends justifying the means, which is evident when he rigs a speeder to kill 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, and much prefers rewarding success over punishing failure. Despite all of that, Thrawn is still a cold-blooded Imperial and one of the Rebels' most dangerous adversaries.
Thrawn's decade-long exile on Peridea led him to develop a deep personal hatred of all Jedi, resenting them for bringing about the boy who defeated him. His prejudice reached such an extent that, upon discovering that Morgan was accomplished by two Dark Jedi, Thrawn went out of his way to undermine them and ultimately left them behind when he departed Peridea.
However, despite having arguably become more evil during his time in exile, Thrawn continued to show the distinctly un-Imperial trait of caring about his troops. After two of his TIE pilots were killed by Ahsoka, Thrawn ordered for the pilots to be posthumously commended. He was also visibly moved when Morgan and several stormtroopers volunteered to lay down their lives to stall for his escape.
===Physical appearance===
Thrawn is a member of the Chiss species, having blue skin, red eyes, and blue-black hair. He has a slender, yet muscular build. He wears a white version of the standard grey Imperial officer uniform, with gold epaulets to signify his rank.
===Abilities===
*High-Level Intellect/Expert Tactician/Leader: Thrawn is highly intelligent. As the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy, Thrawn is a highly skilled tactician and a very capable leader.
*Master Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Thrawn is highly skilled in unarmed combat, as he was capable of defeating two Imperial Sentry Droids at once in a training session. He also defeated Kallus.
==Appearances==
===Star Wars Rebels===
Grand Admiral Thrawn is appearing as the main antagonist of third and fourth seasons of Star Wars Rebels. He made his debut in the third season premiere "Steps Into Shadow". He is the Commander of the Seventh Fleet. He earned the respect of many Imperials such as Arihnda Pryce for his effective strategies. He earned his rank during the Battle of Batonn, although his critics noted that Thrawn killed far more innocent civilians than rebels in the battle.
He first appeared with Arihnda Pryce, the Imperial Governor of the Lothal System, at a meeting with Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, Agent Alexsandr Kallus, and Admiral Kassius Konstantine. While Konstantine dismisses Governor Pryce's theory that the Rebel Network is a galaxy-wide threat to the Empire, Thrawn agreed with it and vows to pull the Rebels apart piece by piece. Later, Governor Pryce contacts him from Reklam station to tell him the Rebel Fleet is doing what he predicted only for him to tell her that is not the Rebel Fleet and to let them go.
Thrawn made his first major appearance in the episode "Hera's Heroes", when he aided Captain Slavin in capturing the Tann Province of Ryloth, which is Hera's Home. Slavin made Hera's Home his headquarters. When Ezra Bridger (disguised as a Scout Trooper) and Hera Syndulla infiltrated the Syndulla House, while Thrawn had Slavin tighten up the defenses. Slavin told him that it wasn't necessary and that rebel activity is far away. However, Thrawn was able to realize that rebel activity is in the house. He and Slavin letter ran into Hera (who stole her family's Kalikori back) and had a Scout Trooper (which was actually Ezra) take her to Slavin's Office for questioning. Despite of Slavin's protests about the questioning, Thrawn was able to find out Hera is Cham Syndulla's daughter who is the nemesis of Slavin. When Ezra tried to react, Thrawn stunned him. When Slavin asked Thrawn how did he know that the trooper was a rebel, he responded that rebels always had friends rushing to the rescue. Thrawn then had Slavin imprison Hera and Ezra in order to make a prisoner exchange between the father and daughter. He had Hera's Kalikori transported to his ship, and left Slavin in charge of the exchange. Unknown to both of them Hera had C1-10P hotwire the house with explosives. When the prisoner exchange happened Thrawn on an Imperial Light Cruiser witnessed Hera blowing up the house. He then ordered the officers to allow the rebels to escape and made no attempt to stop them
Thrawn then returned in the episode "Iron Squadron" where he heard news that a rebel cell called the Iron Squadron over the Mykapo System, that was led by Mart Marttin (The nephew of Rebel Commander Jun Sato, who is the nemesis of Thrawn). Thrawn was curious about the cell and dispatched Admiral Kassius Konstantine on a single Light Cruiser and two TIE Fighter Transports to deal with the threat. When the Ghost crew along with Sato came to rescue Mart, Konstantine send a call for reinforcements to Thrawn. When Thrawn arrived Konstantine's Light Cruiser was badly damaged. Thrawn the spoke to Jun Sato over a transmitter. Sato vowed to Thrawn the they will meet again, in which Thrawn agreed and let the rebels escape. Thrawn then asked Konstantine if he called for reinforcements. The Admiral tried to deny claiming he was calling to tell him the rebels had fled the system but, Thrawn saw through his lie which forced the Admiral to bow his head down in embarrassment.
Thrawn made his second major appearance in the episode "An Inside Man", when after the Lothal Insurgency led by the former Lothal Governor, Ryder Azadi, begun sabotaging vehicles from the Imperial Factory on Lothal. The Imperial High Command dispatched Thrawn to investigate. Agent Kallus, Governor Pryce, and Lieutenant Lyste, summoned the workers of the factory for an assembly. Thrawn told them that the vehicles assembled in this factory malfunctioned faster than others, and that this isn't tolerable. He then forced Morad Sumar, a member of Azadi's cell to ride a malfunctioned AvA 614 speeder bike to his death. Sumar's death freighted the workers, Kanan and Ezra (who were disguised as workers), and even Kallus, but Pryce smirked.
Thrawn then told the workers everything they make will be tested personally by themselves. He also told Pryce the she shouldn't have compromised security by hiring locals. Thrawn, Pryce, and Kallus, were inspecting vehicles when Pryce thought if Thrawn's new fighter initiative, the TIE Defender, was also compromised. Thrawn explained that the project was top secret and that he had ordered for anyone who attempts to view it without his clearance codes to be killed on sight. When Kallus (who is a secret rebel spy, Fulcrum) asked for more information, Pryce told that all he needed to know was that Thrawn had a new fighter initiative. Thrawn then explained to Kallus the purpose of victory and had him activate a sabotaged AT-DP, when the walker collapsed Thrawn gestured his men to arrest the worker. Later, Thrawn was in his office when he asked Kallus and Lyste about an old Jedi Symbol. Kallus was able to identify that it was the mark of the Phoenix Squadron (A well known rebel cell). Thrawn stated that the rebels have a connection to the planet and will always return. Later, Pryce was in Thrawn's Office along with him when Thrawn stated that an unauthorized C1 unit access the Information Office, and stole his plans. Later the rebels escaped with Thrawn's plans with the help of Kallus, when Ryder attacked the East Gate of the Factory. However, Thrawn was able to realize that the rebels have a mole in the Empire, and decided to wait and have the spy's actions reveal themselves.
Later, Thrawn returned in the episode "Warhead" where he had Agent Kallus and the Seventh Fleet dispatch Imperial Inflitrators such as EXD-9 to survey planets for potential rebel bases. When the infiltrators returned to base EXD-9 exploded, because of being compromised by rebels, due to Kallus' Fulcrum warning. Kallus was later summoned to the Chimaera by Thrawn. Thrawn was surprised that the rebels compromised an Inflitrator Droid, but it narrowed his search to ninety-four planets suspected of housing a rebel base.
Thrawn then made his third major appearance in the episode "Through Imperial Eyes" when Kallus' Fulcrum transmissions caught his attention. He invited ISB Colonel Wullf Yularen (Who was Kallus' ISB Instructor at the Imperial Academy) to help him find the rebel spy Fulcrum. Nextly Thrawn's fleet arrived to Lothal shortly after Kallus and Lyste apprehended a Shuttle Thief (Which was Ezra, who got captured to warn Kallus). Thrawn's next move was to summon Lyste and Kallus to his Star Destroyer, The Chimaera. Lyste brought the prisoner to Thrawn in order to show the Grand Admiral how effective he is dealing with a rebel threat. When they arrived on Thrawn's Command Ship and went to Thrawn's Office they saw him battling his own Imperial Sentry Droids. Once Thrawn closed his door in his dojo, they were greeted in the main office by Admiral Kassius Konstantine and ISB Colonel Wullf Yularen.
When Thrawn entered his main office he told Kallus, Lyste, and Konstantine that they will all by interrogated by Yularen in order to find their spy. Once Kallus, Lyste, and Konstantine left, Governor Pryce asked Thrawn if they made any progress so far. In which Thrawn responded that he was sure that their spy was present at their interviews. When Yularen noted that an off-ship transmission was sent to the rebels after the prisoner was transferred to the Chimaera. Then the three went to interrogate the prisoner. Unknown to them Kallus has deceived Lyste and switched his code cylinder with his own in order to frame Lyste of being Fulcrum. When they arrived they noticed that surveillance was deactivated, the guards weren't at their post, and the prisoner was gone. When Yularen accessed the cell records he stated is was "Lyste" who freed the prisoner and deactivated surveillance, which made the three suspicious of the lieutenant.
When Thrawn returned to his office, Kallus and Ezra (the Shuttle Thief) successfully erased Atollon and added a decoy planet on Thrawn's list and sent the clearance codes to Kanan and Rex from Thrawn's Office. When Thrawn entered Ezra (disguised as Lyste) hid behind one of Thrawn's collections of art. When Kallus reprogrammed the sentry droids and sent them to kill Thrawn, in order for Ezra to escape. Ezra did escape, but Thrawn noticed him and shouted "Lyste!" Shortly after that Thrawn destroyed the sentries that attacked him and told Yularen of "Lyste's Treachery". In response Yularen sent Pryce to arrest the rebels (disguised as stormtroopers) on the incoming Imperial Shuttle. However that plan failed when Lyste stunned Pryce (Since Kallus deceived him into believing Pryce is Fulcrum), with Yularen witnessing Lyste's treachery. The rebels managed to flee and Kallus framed Lyste by returning Lyste's cylinder to him and taking his cylinder back. As the rebels were leaving Kallus told them he is staying in order to continue spying on the Empire. When Yularen arrived with reinforcements Kallus publicly accused Lieutenant Lyste as Fulcrum and had him arrested by stormtroopers. Later, in Thrawn's Office Konstantine and Pryce congratulated Kallus for his brave efforts and the three were dismissed by Thrawn. Alone in his office with Yularen, the two realized that Kallus is Fulcrum and Thrawn decided to use him to find the rebel base, which left Yularen stunned that his "star pupil" betrayed the Empire.
Thrawn returned in the following episode "Secret Cargo", where Imperial Senator, Mon Mothma, was accused of high treason for speaking up and blaming Emperor Palpatine for a massacre of innocent & peaceful protesters. Thrawn, Governor Pryce, and Admiral Konstantine were charged with bringing Mon Mothma to justice for her crimes against the Emperor. Although Thrawn's Seventh Fleet blockaded the system that Mon Mothma and the Ghost Crew were attempting to escape. Thrawn deduced the they were going to escape the system through the Archeon Pass, in the Archeon Nebula, which was a favorite of smugglers. When Pryce stated their their capitol ships can't follow them through the Pass, Thrawn replied the he will send the Empire's best pilot, Vult Skerris, on the TIE Defender, Thrawn's new fighter initiative to flush the rebels out of the pass. Thrawn ordered Pryce and Admiral Konstantine to intercept the Ghost (the ship the Mon Mothma was on) when Commander Vult Skerris of the Imperial Navy flushes them out of the pass, and capture Mothma; Alive. No matter how much Pryce, Konstantine, and Skerris tried Mothma successfully escaped with the Ghost Crew.
Thrawn was mentioned in the following episode "Double Agent Droid" by the Controller, an Imperial Intelligence Officer, that he and his crew of the Imperial Listener Ship were dispatched by Thrawn to find the location of the Rebel Base of the Phoenix Squadron. In order to find the base, the Controller reprogrammed C1-10P(Chopper) and had him trap the Ghost Crew in the cargo bay of their ship. The Controller was close to finding their base, however Hera sent back a powerful electrical signal to the Controller through Chopper, which destroyed the Listener Ship, killed the Controller and his underlings, thwarted Thrawn's plan, and freed Chopper from Imperial Control.
Thrawn made his fourth major appearance in the season finale "Zero Hour", where he arrived to the Imperial Factory on Lothal, and was greeted by Governor Pryce and Admiral Konstantine. He escorted by Death Troopers told them he has urgent news and proceeded to have a secret meeting with the latter. When Konstantine asked if the secrecy was really necessary, in which Thrawn responded that they still have a traitor in the midst and contacted Tarkin. (Unknown to all but Thrawn, Kallus was secretly listening to their conversation) Whilst, the conversation was happening Thrawn informed Tarkin that the Phoenix Squadron was planning an attack on Lothal's TIE Defender Factories. Tarkin thought the rebels would dare, but Thrawn reassured him that they would. Thrawn also informed Tarkin the his Fleet was finally ready to lay siege on Chopper Base (Phoenix Squardron's secret HQ). Tarkin ordered Thrawn to take prisoners in order to make examples of them. Thrawn after the meeting followed Kallus along with his Death Troopers. Thrawn then used a transmission jammer in order to jam Kallus' Fulcrum transmission to "This is Fulcrum with urgent news, Thrawn knows about..." He startled Kallus by reciting the Fulcrum code phrase "By the light of Lothal's Moons." Thrawn preceded in telling Kallus the rebels won't receive his warning which made Kallus fight him. While the fight happened Thrawn successfully defeated Kallus and had his Death Troopers take him into custody, however Kallus managed to send his warning to rebels during the fight. Now having captured Kallus, he showed him how he tracked General Dodonna's Fleet and Kallus' warning into one point and deciphered the planet to be Atollon. Thrawn ordered Konstantine to take the Seventh Fleet there.
Once arrived to Atollon with himself, Governor Pryce, and the captive Kallus in the tow, on the bridge of the Chimaera, he ordered Konstantine to keep his Interdictor Cruiser back until Thrawn orders him to do other-wise. During the battle of the sky, Thrawn had the capital ship hold their position and let the rebels come to them. During the battle of the sky, Konstantine disobeyed Thrawn's orders and went to stop Commander Sato's ship, the Phoenix Nest, but it was a trap which resulted in Konstantine's death, Commander Sato sacrificing himself, and it allowed Ezra and Chopper to escape the blockade on the Nightbrother. Following the incident the Rebel Fleet was decimated and it trapped the surviving rebel ships on Atollon, which later begun the planetary siege. Thrawn ordered Pryce that she is in charge of the blockade and he went to command the planetary invasion, while Kallus laughed at him. Thrawn was surprised and asked him that he found the deaths of his friends amusing. Kallus then taunted him and said the he is about to fail. Once on the surface, Thrawn ordered his men to storm the base, destroy any rebel ships that attempt to leave, and if possible capture the rebel officers. Although Thrawn's army won, The Bendu arrived and trashed most of the Imperial Forces and allowed the rebels to escape the planet. When Thrawn ordered his men to shot Bendu out of the sky, Ezra and Chopper arrived with Sabine, Fenn Rau, and the Mandalorians which took out the remaining Interdictor and allowed the Rebel Fleet along with Kallus (who escaped the Empire and formally joined the Rebellion) to leave Atollon. After the battle, Thrawn attempted to kill Bendu, who taunted him, but failed because Bendu is a Force-Wielder and can't be destroyed by mortal weapons or crafts.
Thrawn then reappeared in "Heroes of Mandalore", where he viewed how The Duchess prototype via through hologram how it destroyed members of Clan Wren. Following the demonstration he ordered Tiber Saxon to capture Sabine Wren to upgrade the prototype.
He later bore witness to the demonstration of the TIE Defender Elite, before discovering that Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger had infiltrated the TIE landing strip. They manage to escape with the Defender Elite, but after Sabine and Ezra shoot down the pursuing TIE Interceptors and disable the tracking beacon, Thrawn orders Governor Pryce to activate the Elite's kill-switch. He then sends out search parties to locate the Elite and find the Rebels as well. When a strike team of Rebel X-wings and Y-Wings appear to breach the Lothal Imperial blockade to attack the Imperial Armory Complex, Thrawn is easily prepared, taking out the entire squadron, and sending Rukh and other forces to find the stragglers who survived, resulting in the capture of Rebel captain Hera Syndulla, who is brought back for interrogation.
Later on, as he is checking in with Pryce regarding Hera and her interrogation, he is summoned to Coruscant to speak with the Emperor regarding funding for the TIE Defender project, as word is the funding might be pulled to fund the Death Star construction instead. Thrawn leaves to have his meeting with the Emperor, but later receives word that the Lothal City fuel depot has been destroyed on Pryce's orders to stop the Rebels, who rescued Hera in the meantime, essentially putting the Imperial Armory Complex out of action and halting all progress on the TIE Defender. Thrawn is livid when he contacts Pryce to confront her on her incompetence, but when Pryce tries to argue that the Rebel Jedi Kanan Jarrus is dead, presenting his lightsaber as proof, Thrawn is in no mood to be happy about that as Pryce destroyed their entire fuel supply, compromising the TIE Defender project, and actually helping the Rebels instead. Warning her that he will personally execute her when he returns to Lothal, he assigns Rukh to hunt the Rebels down, thinking that they will flounder without Kanan to lead them.
Later, as he is returning to Lothal, Rukh contacts him to tell him that the Rebels ambushed his forces and took Governor Pryce hostage, intending to destroy the Imperial Complex in the capital city and with it, all Imperial forces on Lothal. Thrawn arrives sooner than the Lothal Rebels expected and bombards the capital with his Star Destroyers, threatening to destroy it entirely if Ezra does not surrender. Ezra does turn himself in to Thrawn, but as Thrawn prepares to raze Capital City anyway, his attempts to do so are thwarted by the Rebels reactivating the capital's planetary shield, revealing Rukh being killed by Zeb in the process as he's electrocuted to death in the shield generator. Thrawn discovers the entire Imperial blockade wiped out by Purrgils, which also take down the Star Destroyers flanking his flagship, killing thousands of Imperial personnel under his command. The Purrgils then turn their attention to his flagship, grabbing the bridge in their tentacles as they prepare to make the jump into hyperspace while dragging the Chimaera with them. Ezra remains to ensure Thrawn is taken with the Purrgils into lightspeed. Thrawn tries to kill Ezra while his back is turned but fails, leading Ezra to Force-push Thrawn into the Purrgils' tentacles, fulfilling Bendu's prophecy. With that, Thrawn can do nothing but struggle as the Purrgils make the jump, and take the Chimaera with them. Though Thrawn and Ezra survive, nobody else realizes this and they are both declared dead.
Ten years later, after the Battle of Jakku and the founding of the New Republic, Ahsoka and Sabine decide to go searching for Thrawn to stop him from returning to start another war, hoping that they will find Ezra by extension.
===The Mandalorian===
Thrawn plans to re-amass the scattered Imperial forces to stage a coup against the New Republic. He sends the Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth to take over the city of Calodan on the planet Corvus, which attracts the attention of Ahsoka. Thrawn wants Ahsoka dead, but Elsbeth's troops fail to kill her. Following the arrival of Mandalorian Din Djarin and Jedi youngling Grogu, Ahsoka duels and defeats Elsbeth, removes her from power, and demands for her to divulge Thrawn's location. Elsbeth reluctantly directs Ahsoka to a map leading to Thrawn.
After Moff Gideon escapes from New Republic custody, he attends a meeting with the secretive Shadow Council and takes notice of Thrawn's absence. Thrawn's second-in-command, Gilad Pellaeon, states Thrawn will come out of hiding when the council is successful with their mission in restoring the Empire, a claim Gideon is skeptical of.
===Ahsoka===
Upon being freed from Republic custody by the Dark Jedi Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati, Morgan resumes the construction of the Eye of Sion, a massive ship that will bring Thrawn and his fleet back. After Ahsoka and Sabine recover the map to Thrawn, Morgan's assassin droids steal it back, allowing her to locate the Grand Admiral, who is now trapped on the world of Peridea in an entirely separate galaxy.
Ahsoka and Sabine track Morgan and her forces to Seatos, where they are preparing the hyperspace coordinates to jump to Peridea. Ahsoka implores Sabine to destroy the map if necessary, as preventing Thrawn from returning is more important than getting Ezra back. Ahsoka loses a lightsaber duel with Baylan and is apparently killed, allowing Baylan to convince Sabine to surrender the map and come with Morgan's forces with the promise of seeing Ezra again. After they depart, Ahsoka has a near-death experience with her late master Anakin Skywalker in the World Between Worlds and is saved by Hera.
Upon reaching Peridea, the Imperials learn it is a Purrgil graveyard and the original homeworld of the Nightsisters. On the surface they meet the Great Mothers, three Nightsisters who have allied with Thrawn. The Mothers immediately order Sabine imprisoned. The Chimaera docks at the Nightsister fortress and Thrawn makes his grand return, hailed by his surviving stormtroopers now known as Night Troopers. He declares that what was once just a nightmare has become a reality for the New Republic.
Thrawn is introduced to Morgan's allies, already knowing that Baylan was a Jedi general. When Morgan informs Thrawn that Sabine is their prisoner, he has her brought before him. Sabine demands Ezra's location, to which Thrawn responds that Ezra escaped after their arrival and he does not even know if the latter is still alive. However, he agrees to return her weapons and provides her with a mount and Ezra's last known location. After she leaves, Thrawn reasons that he is honoring Baylan's deal with Sabine by letting her reunite with Ezra. He then sends Baylan and Shin after her and explains that he intends to use her to find Ezra so he can kill them both. Sabine does manage to find Ezra and reunites with him, refusing to admit to him that she has enabled Thrawn's return by doing so. Thrawn confides to his allies that he is fully willing to leave Baylan and Shin behind if they do not return by the time he has finished loading his cargo.
Upon learning that Ahsoka was not killed by Baylan as promised, Thrawn begins preparing accordingly. He demands Morgan to give him everything she can find about Ahsoka, including her master, homeworld, and history. Correctly deducing that Ahsoka is hitching a ride in the mouth of a Purrgil, Thrawn orders his forces to set a mine field at the arrival point. Ahsoka arrives and evades the mines, making it to the surface.
Receiving everything about Ahsoka from the Inquisitorial database, Thrawn is shocked to learn that she was trained by Anakin, deciding that she should be treated with the assumption that she is as unpredictable and dangerous as her master. Baylan meanwhile parts ways with Shin, going off on his own and ordering her to finish off Ezra and Sabine before finding her place in Thrawn's new Empire. He has a rematch with Ahsoka, who is unable to defeat him but stalls long enough to escape.
Ezra and Sabine are tracked down by a gang of bandits allied with Baylan and Shin, eventually being cornered by Shin and a contingent of Night Troopers. Shin orders them to open fire, but Ahsoka arrives and saves Ezra and Sabine. Outmatched, the surviving troopers retreat and Shin rides off on her own. Once his forces regroup, Thrawn declares that he still won because Ahsoka has now lost the one thing she could not afford to: time.
With all of Thrawn's cargo loaded onto the Chimaera, Morgan and a group of Night Troopers volunteer to stay behind to delay the three Jedi. Thrawn sends two TIE fighters after Ahsoka. They succeed in disabling her shuttle, but she and Ezra use the Force to throw the disabled ship at the two TIEs. Huyang stays behind to repair the ship while Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra ride towards Thrawn's fortress. Thrawn orders his forces to "rain hellfire" on the trio, but they evade the bombardment and enter the base. They are ambushed by the Night Troopers, who they easily defeat. However, the Great Mothers revive the Night Troopers as zombies, which pursue them all the way to the top. Ahsoka engages Morgan in a final duel, while Ezra and Sabine reach the top level of the fortress just as the Chimaera docks to the Eye of Sion. They are apprehended by two zombified Death Troopers, one of whom disarms Sabine, causing her to finally unlock her ability to use the Force to summon her lightsaber. After defeating the zombies, Sabine helps Ezra sneak aboard the Chimaera, but elects to stay behind to help Ahsoka.
An enraged Morgan orders her remaining Night Troopers to kill Sabine, but is fatally slashed in the chest by Ahsoka. In a last-ditch effort to kill Ahsoka and Sabine, Thrawn orders the entire fortress razed, but Huyang arrives with the repaired ship and rescues them just as the base collapses. They chase the Eye of Sion into space but are too late as Thrawn prepares to jump to hyperspace. Thrawn contacts Ahsoka to gloat about his victory, but tells her that she has been a worthy adversary. With that, the heroes can do nothing as the Eye of Sion makes the jump back to the main galaxy, stranding Ahsoka, Sabine, Huyang, Baylan, and Shin on Peridea.
Ezra steals Baylan's shuttle from the Eye of Sion's hangar and escapes, reuniting with Hera and Chopper. Meanwhile, above Dathomir, Thrawn and the Great Mothers look at their cargo and begin planning their first move against the Republic.
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Thrawn originally appeared in Star Wars Legends after the original trilogy and was created by Timothy Zahn for his series of books known as The Thrawn Trilogy, which include the following books Heir to the Empire (1991), Dark Force Rising (1992), and The Last Command (1993). His popularity with the Star Wars fanbase sparked his introduction into the new Star Wars canon continuity. Zahn had approved of Thrawn's inclusion into Star Wars Rebels and wrote a book titled Thrawn, which was then published in 2017 to expand upon his inclusion into the series and the overall new canon timeline. The novel eventually extended into a whole series of Thrawn novels.
**Timothy Zahn, the author of The Thrawn Trilogy, has also written several other Star Wars books outside of the trilogy itself, but have some reference to Thrawn or an appearance of him as well. Those include Specter of the Past (1997), Vision of the Future (1998), Fool's Bargain (February 1, 2004), Survivor's Quest (2004), Outbound Flight (2006), Allegiance (2007), Choices of One (2011), Scoundrels (January 2013), 2 graphic novels involving Mara Jade (another one of Zahn's creations who was first introduced in The Thrawn Trilogy), a multitude of short stories. Because of these stories, Thrawn is considered to be a popular Star Wars Legends character.
**It should be noted that when the The Thrawn Trilogy was released back in the early 1990's, these books caused a resurgence in the public's interest in the Star Wars franchise for the first time since the premiere of Return of the Jedi.https://web.archive.org/web/20060204162725/http://www.starwars.com/eu/lit/novel/f20060131/index.html
**Thrawn is notably depicted as far less evil in the canon novels than he was in Legends, reimagining him as an anti-villain who is primarily loyal to the Chiss instead of the Empire. However, his portrayal in Rebels and especially in Ahsoka is more similar to his original, more ruthless personality.
*Lars Mikkelsen, Thrawn's actor, is the brother of Mads Mikkelsen, who played Galen Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
*Thrawn is the first Chiss to appear in the new Star Wars Canon, with Thrawn himself bringing his species back into Canon.
*In Star Wars Legends, Thrawn gains the rank of Grand Admiral after stopping a rogue Grand Admiral and taking his place; in Star Wars Rebels, he gains the rank when he takes the credit for Governor Pryce stopping a rebel insurgency by bombarding a planet, killing all of the rebels on the planet but along with most of the planet's population.
*As established in the Star Wars: Aftermath trilogy, which covers events between The Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, Thrawn's knowledge of the Unknown Regions inspired a contingency plan-eventually carried out by Rae Sloane-in which remnants of the Empire traveled into that region of space in order to rebuild, leading to the birth of the First Order.
*Thrawn's species, the Chiss, are one of the few species in the Star Wars universe that are not native to the galaxy the series is set in.
*Thrawn is the second animated character to be portrayed by the same actor in live-action, the first being Bo-Katan Kryze.
==External links==
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==References==
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