Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #1Star Warshas introduced a new nemesis for Luke Skywalker and his fellow Rebels in the immediate aftermath of Endor. Despite the destruction of the second Death Star and the demise of both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, one Imperial governor is determined to continue the Empire’s war with the Rebellion. Beginning his career from the very bottom of the Imperial hierarchy, Governor Adelhard is now a true force to be reckoned with, having connections to the legacies ofGrand Admiral Thrawnand Darth Vader.
As seen inStar Wars: Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #1by Alex Segura, Steffano Raffaele, and Alex Sinclair, the history and background of Governor Adelhard has been revealed. Originally introduced in 2015’sStar Wars: Uprisingmobile game (which was canceled a year later), Adelhard has now become a key antagonist inInsurgency Rising, having locked down the Anoat sector anddetermined to maintain the lie that the “Empire is thriving”, declaring all reports of the Emperor’s death as treasonous lies. Likewise,the end of this new issue reveals more of Adelhard’s backstory, his dedication to the Empire, and his connection to key Imperial figures:
Having proven himself to be quite valuable to his superiors,Governor Adelhard reached the heights of his power due to his great loyalty and ability to effectively wield the Empire’s might with great success, having watched and learned from some of its greatest leaders: Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Moff Tarkin, and Darth Vader himself.
Governor Adelhard’s Was One Of The First Stromtroopers
His Career Began From The Very Bottom
As confirmed by Adelhard himself in this new issue, the governor began his Imperial career as a mere stormtrooper. It’s also revealed via flashbacks that he was one of the Empire’s very first, as evidenced by hisearly TK stormtrooper armor first seen inThe Bad Batchanimated series, the precursor to the more traditional stormtrooper armor as seen in the original trilogy.As such, this means that Adelhard has served the Empire from the very beginning. It also means that he started as low on the Imperial hierarchy as one could be.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Cast
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an action-adventure animated series set after the events of The Clone Wars, following Clone Force 99 (a.k.a. the Bad Batch.) Finding themselves immune to the brainwashing effects of Order 66, the Bad Batch become mercenaries for hire while outrunning the empire, now seeing them as fugitives of the law.
Nevertheless, Adelhard continued to climb the ladder, eventually becoming the governor of an entire sector as he’s shown to be in the wake ofReturn of the Jedi(with the Empire on the brink of its demise). As such, Adelhard’s decades of dedicated service prove he’s not going to give up the Empire without a prolonged fight.It certainly explains whyStar Warsis positioning Adelhard as a key antagonist and likely a core reason why the Galactic Civil War didn’t end with Endor, instead culminating with theBattle of Jakkua year later.
Governor Adelhard Served Under Thrawn, And Vader Saw His Value
Now, Adelhard Will Try To Succeed Where They Failed
Key elements that make Adelhard even more of an imposing threat are his ties and connections to both Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader. As seen through the flashback to earlier points in Adelhard’s career, it’s revealed that the governor once served underThrawn before the Grand Admiral’s exile as seen inStar Wars Rebels. This alone proves his skills as an Imperial leader, as only the best would have been given a place on the bridge of Thrawn’s Star Destroyer,The Chimaera.
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Likewise, the issue ends with Vader himself summoning Adelhard, granting him his governorship due to his decisive yet brutal decision-making in the Anoat sector with the effective destruction of a group of dissidents (as well as millions of innocent lives as collateral damage).Vader himself confirmed the Empire had great plans for Adelhard, hence why the governor is so determined to keep the Empire runningin the aftermath of Vader and Palpatine’s defeat. It’s going to be fascinating to see what Adelhard does next, and how Luke Skywalker and his fellow Rebels handle him ahead of Jakku.
Star Wars: Battle of Jakku - Insurgency Rising #1is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
