Rogue Squadron
Encyclopedia
Rogue Squadron is a starfighter
squadron
in the Star Wars
science fiction
saga. Many of the pilots that will join Rogue Squadron are initially members of Red Squadron, the X-Wing attack force that Luke Skywalker joins during the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
(1977). The squadron appears in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
(1980) as Rogue Group. It is prominently featured in a comic book series, a nine-volume novel series
, and several video games. The unit is depicted as consisting of "the best pilots and the best fighters".
(1977) during the attack on the first Death Star
. This appearance features many notable pilots, including Biggs Darklighter ("Red Three"), Jek Porkins ("Red Six"), Wedge Antilles
("Red Two"), and Luke Skywalker
("Red Five"). The squadron went on to appear in The Empire Strikes Back
at the Battle of Hoth and in Return of the Jedi
during the attack on the second Death Star. However, the squadron was never a prominent feature of these films, and was rarely referred to as "Rogue Squadron" (rather, the "Red Squadron" designation is used). The X-wing comic series
, written by Michael A. Stackpole
and published by Dark Horse Comics
, were the first works of Star Wars literature to focus on the adventures and exploits of the squadron. The comic series picked up with the reformation of the squadron after the Battle of Endor.
Stackpole went on to novelize the squadron's tale in his X-wing book series
, which initially spanned four volumes. Stackpole is credited as the creator of the character Corran Horn, who later starred in his own first-person novel, I, Jedi
, also written by Stackpole. Horn later became a popular character in the Expanded Universe, playing a major part in several New Jedi Order
novels. By the time of the events of The New Jedi Order, Horn was a Jedi Knight
and no longer a member of the squadron, but the Rogues are still a vital fighting force and command a presence in several of the New Jedi Order novels as well.
The squadron is the focus of several video games: Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
, Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
, and Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
.
at the Battle of Yavin. After the battle, the squadron operated as two groups. The first was the Renegade Flight under Commander Narra, the squadron leader, and the second was the Rogue Flight under Luke Skywalker
. As the Rogues became more autonomous, they became a group with no standing orders, ready any time or place for urgent missions that would arise. Their core was Luke Skywalker
, Wedge Antilles
, Zev Senesca, and Wes Janson.
The Renegade Flight was eventually destroyed before the Battle of Hoth on an escort mission with a convoy carrying supplies for the Rebel Base. The Rogues on Hoth
had now the burden to defend Echo Base although new pilots were already added to their roster, like Derek Klivian and Tycho Celchu. During the Battle of Hoth, the Rogues had to add many "guest" members into their squadron. The twelve snowspeeder
s of the Rogues gave the Rebels enough time to evacuate Echo Base and were destroyed later in the battle.
After the evacuation of Hoth, Antilles took command during the "unexplained" absence of Skywalker while he trained with Yoda
at Dagobah
. After the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Skywalker and Antilles formed a squadron of twelve units around the core group and the Rogue Squadron was formed. Antilles often commanded the squadron when Luke had important off-flight missions. One of Luke's last missions was the Battle of Gall against the Empire, in an attempt to capture the bounty hunters who had abducted Han Solo
.
During the Battle of Endor, Rogue Squadron was dissolved and absorbed into the general fleet and Antilles took the role of Red Leader, in memory of the Battle of Yavin. After that, the squadron was hastily and temporarily reformed by Antilles with the best rebel pilots in order to defend the planet Bakura. Rogue Squadron was now a lean team of six units: Antilles, Janson, Klivian, Celchu, Plourr Ilo and Dllr Nep. One of the important missions during the New Republic
's creation was the failed rescue mission of Sate Pestage, which bolstered the fame of New Republic.
Since Janson and Klivian moved on to train new pilots and squadrons, Antilles had to reinvent Rogue Squadron, now with pilots from a wide variety of planets, clearly for political reasons. This "new" Rogue Squadron destroyed some of the Imperial forces led by Ysanne Isard and contributed heavily to the retaking of Coruscant
. After resigning from the Alliance
military, the squadron fought in the Bacta War to retake the world of Thyferra from Isard. During that time, Klivian led a temporary Rogue Squadron in the absence of the "true" Rogue Squadron. Upon their return from Thyferra, Antilles turned command over to Tycho Celchu and founded Wraith Squadron. Antilles commanded both squadrons against Warlord Zsinj and after that he returned to his command as Rogue Leader to battle against Thrawn
, Krennel, Palpatine
's clones and lead the team to other battles.
The squadron played a role in the Battle for Mon Calamari during Admiral Daala's campaign against the New Republic. Around this time, former squadron leader Luke Skywalker was teaching his first class of Jedi Knights, including Rogue Squadron member Corran Horn. The squadron was led by Tycho Celchu after the campaign against Krennel, and was then led by Gavin Darklighter during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Later on during a brewing civil war within the Republic, the squadron would temporarily be led by Jaina Solo.
In the original script for A New Hope, Antilles is the pilot that expresses his doubt that the pilots will be able to shoot a proton torpedo down the thermal exhaust port. This part however was not played by the actor who portrays Wedge in the attack scene.
pilot that acts as a decoy for Lando Calrissian
during the attack run on the second Death Star
. Celchu, however, plays a major role in Stackpole's X-wing series, and also appears in numerous other novels, all of which give him a rich character background. Celchu was an Imperial
TIE fighter
pilot that defected to the Rebel Alliance
after his homeworld, Alderaan, was destroyed by the first Death Star
, killing all of his immediate family and his fiancée. Celchu's Imperial past drives much of the plot of Stackpole's X-wing novels, as he is continually suspected of being an undercover Imperial agent
. After the battle of Coruscant, Celchu was put on trial for treason and the murder of Corran Horn, but the prosecution dropped the case when Horn returned from the Lusankya. Celchu also holds the noteworthy distinction of being one of very few Rebel pilots to have flown in the Hoth, Endor and Bakura campaigns. This is a very rare accomplishment, and one that is matched by longtime wingman and friend Wedge Antillies.
Biggs Darklighter briefly appeared in A New Hope
. Biggs was in the Battle of Yavin scene, where he joined Luke Skywalker
and Luke's other wingman, Wedge Antilles
, in their attack run on the first Death Star. Biggs was killed when Darth Vader fired upon him while he was flanking Luke down the Death Star trench.
Biggs had a larger role in earlier drafts of the script for the movie and several of the additional scenes appeared in the novelisation. His additional scenes include a conversation with Luke on Tatooine
where Biggs tells Luke of his secret desire to join the Rebel Alliance despite his training at the Imperial Academy. This scene was deleted from A New Hope, but the book Inside the Worlds of the Star Wars Trilogy depicts the missing scene at Tosche Station. It can also be seen in its entirety on the Star Wars: Behind the Magic
CD-ROM
Encyclopedia. Biggs also showed up on Yavin 4 in the Rebel base hangar where he met Luke in a surprise encounter, just before the rebel ships took off to attack the Death Star. Biggs assured the rebel flight leader that Luke could handle the X-Wing fighters. This scene was reintroduced in the 1997
re-release of the film. However, a line in which the flight leader referred to Luke’s father and said that if he had his skill he would do fine remained on the cutting room floor.
Biggs has a larger role in the Expanded Universe
on his way to the Alliance. According to the Dark Horse
comic book, Biggs was a long time friend of Luke's on Tatooine
. Biggs left Tatooine to be trained as an Imperial pilot. During this training he heard rumors of the Death Star from fellow trainees. After several months training he is assigned as first mate on the Imperial starship Rand Ecliptic, with an old enemy named Derek Klivian (nicknamed Hobbie) as second mate. He came back to visit Tatooine to tell his friends and family of his new assignment. He only tells Luke and his family of his hope to join the Rebel Alliance (the deleted scene from A New Hope is re-published in the comic book.) During the events of A New Hope, Biggs is planning a mutiny of the Rand Ecliptic, not realizing that several mutinies are being planned by several different groups. He joins forces with Hobbie, one of the leaders, and the two go AWOL to Yavin 4. Biggs becomes a part of the Alliance's missions to steal their first R2 units and X-wing
s, which they receive just days before the Battle of Yavin. Before going to battle, Biggs saves Hobbie's life by finding medicine for a strange disease Hobbie caught on Yavin 4, which the Rebellion did not have a cure for. Biggs died during the Battle of Yavin while flanking Luke's fighter. The New Republic later named a military base on Coruscant in his honor.
In the radio version, Kale Browne
provided the voice of Biggs. Several games in the Final Fantasy
series have a pair of minor characters named after Biggs and Wedge Antilles.
after the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn
, and was promoted to Colonel and given command of Rogue Squadron at an unspecified date before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Gavin would continue to move up the ranks during the Second Galactic Civil War and beyond, at one point leading the Galactic Alliance Marines.
. However, Horn eventually became a major character in the Expanded Universe, starring in the novel I, Jedi
, as well as several New Jedi Order
novels (in which he is a Jedi Knight, not a Rogue Squadron pilot). Horn hails from Corellia, and originally worked as a security officer for CorSec before fleeing from the pursuit of Kirtan Loor, an Imperial intelligence officer. Horn became an accomplished pilot, and remained with the Rogues for some time after discovering his Force-sensitive heritage. He later trained to become a Jedi Knight after his wife was kidnapped in I, Jedi
. During the events of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Horn was promoted to Jedi Master and eventually went on to serve on the Jedi Council as one of the most powerful and prominent Jedi of his time.
He is also notable for another reason. He carries one example of only a few "dual-phase" lightsabers known to exist. The weapon was crafted by Horn during the time line of the I, Jedi novel. The designs were given to him by Rostek Horn and were possibly the same plans that his great-grandfather Keiran Halcyon had created for his own dual-phase lightsaber.
. He was known as a skilled pilot and an expert shot, and personality-wise is known to be a joker. In his early days as part of the Rebel Alliance
was mainly a gunner in the two seated version of the Y-wing
because of his shooting ability. His first combat kill was New Republic
pilot Kell Tainer's father during a botched mission where Doran was about to stray into an Imperial RADAR
scan. Despite repeated attempts to get him to change course, Janson was forced to shoot him down to save the rest of the squadron. In the Wraith Squadron Series he was the first to implement the saying "Yub Yub Commander." as a joke to Wedge after fooling him during the pilot interviews. The rest of the squadron soon followed and Wedge was hounded by it for many years to come.
, it is said Hobbie is not only the most reckless pilot, he's also the luckiest, having crashed more fighters than all of Rogue Squadron, having come away from them unscathed. He's generally the most dour of all the pilots, having a bleak outlook on life. Despite this, Hobbie has a close camaraderie and friendship with Wes Janson, and often becomes involved in Janson's elaborate pranks and jokes at the expense of other pilots (especially Wedge). Hobbie's sense of humour is extremely dry and sardonic, making for a good counterpoint to Janson's flamboyant and often silly wit.
, Luke Skywalker said that Dak "reminded him of a younger version of himself." He was the son of political prisoners.
, he had been fighting longer than any other Rogues and had quite a few stories to tell. Like Dak, he joined the rebellion for personal and political reasons. He perishes after his speeder is shot down by imperial walkers during the Battle of Hoth.
, which takes place 6 years after Return of the Jedi, shows that Luke is no longer in command, and that Wedge takes over.
Starfighter
"Starfighter" is a science fiction term used to describe small, fast, usually one-manned craft designed for armed combat .The appearance and use of fictional starfighters is often modeled on fighter aircraft, with little regard for the actual physics of spaceflight...
squadron
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
in the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
saga. Many of the pilots that will join Rogue Squadron are initially members of Red Squadron, the X-Wing attack force that Luke Skywalker joins during the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
(1977). The squadron appears in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
(1980) as Rogue Group. It is prominently featured in a comic book series, a nine-volume novel series
Star Wars: X-wing (series)
Star Wars: X-wing is a nine-book series of Star Wars novels by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston. Stackpole's contributions cover the adventures of a new Rogue Squadron formed by Wedge Antilles, while Allston's focus on Wraith Squadron, another creation of Antilles'. The first seven novels...
, and several video games. The unit is depicted as consisting of "the best pilots and the best fighters".
Appearances
Red Squadron, the forerunner of Rogue Squadron, is first featured in A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
(1977) during the attack on the first Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
. This appearance features many notable pilots, including Biggs Darklighter ("Red Three"), Jek Porkins ("Red Six"), Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is a supporting character portrayed by Denis Lawson in the original Star Wars trilogy. Antilles, also called the "greatest ace" pilot in the Rebel Alliance, also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and is the lead...
("Red Two"), and Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
("Red Five"). The squadron went on to appear in The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
at the Battle of Hoth and in Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
during the attack on the second Death Star. However, the squadron was never a prominent feature of these films, and was rarely referred to as "Rogue Squadron" (rather, the "Red Squadron" designation is used). The X-wing comic series
Star Wars: X-wing Rogue Squadron (comics)
Star Wars: X-wing Rogue Squadron is a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. The first issue was released on 1 July 1995. It ran for 35 issues.-Issues:*X-wing Rogue Squadron 1: The Rebel Opposition, Part 1...
, written by Michael A. Stackpole
Michael A. Stackpole
Michael A. Stackpole is a science fiction and fantasy author best known for his Star Wars and Battletech books. He was born in Wausau, Wisconsin, but raised in Vermont...
and published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, were the first works of Star Wars literature to focus on the adventures and exploits of the squadron. The comic series picked up with the reformation of the squadron after the Battle of Endor.
Stackpole went on to novelize the squadron's tale in his X-wing book series
Star Wars: X-wing (series)
Star Wars: X-wing is a nine-book series of Star Wars novels by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston. Stackpole's contributions cover the adventures of a new Rogue Squadron formed by Wedge Antilles, while Allston's focus on Wraith Squadron, another creation of Antilles'. The first seven novels...
, which initially spanned four volumes. Stackpole is credited as the creator of the character Corran Horn, who later starred in his own first-person novel, I, Jedi
I, Jedi
I, Jedi is a novel, written by Michael A. Stackpole that is set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was the first Star Wars novel written in the first-person perspective of a character never seen in the movies....
, also written by Stackpole. Horn later became a popular character in the Expanded Universe, playing a major part in several New Jedi Order
The New Jedi Order
The New Jedi Order is a series of nineteen science fiction novels, published from 1999 to 2003, set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The series revolves around the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy 21–26 years after the events depicted in Return of the Jedi...
novels. By the time of the events of The New Jedi Order, Horn was a Jedi Knight
Jedi Knight
"Jedi Knight" may refer to:*Jedi, Star Wars franchise fictional character*Jedi Knights *Jedi census phenomenonSee also:* Star Wars: Jedi Knight series...
and no longer a member of the squadron, but the Rogues are still a vital fighting force and command a presence in several of the New Jedi Order novels as well.
The squadron is the focus of several video games: Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The first of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and Nintendo and released for Windows and the Nintendo 64 in December 1998...
, Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The second of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and released as a launch title for the Nintendo GameCube on November 9, 2001.Set in the fictional...
, and Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike is a Star Wars video game developed by Factor 5 and published by LucasArts exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. The game follows Rogue Squadron, which, under the command of Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles, uses starfighters to engage and defeat the...
.
Depiction
Red Squadron was essential to the destruction of the Death StarDeath Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
at the Battle of Yavin. After the battle, the squadron operated as two groups. The first was the Renegade Flight under Commander Narra, the squadron leader, and the second was the Rogue Flight under Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
. As the Rogues became more autonomous, they became a group with no standing orders, ready any time or place for urgent missions that would arise. Their core was Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
, Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is a supporting character portrayed by Denis Lawson in the original Star Wars trilogy. Antilles, also called the "greatest ace" pilot in the Rebel Alliance, also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and is the lead...
, Zev Senesca, and Wes Janson.
The Renegade Flight was eventually destroyed before the Battle of Hoth on an escort mission with a convoy carrying supplies for the Rebel Base. The Rogues on Hoth
Hoth
In the fictional universe of Star Wars, Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote system of the same name. It is a terrestrial planet blanketed by snow and ice. Many meteorites from a nearby asteroid belt pelt the planet's surface, making temporary craters in the planet's ever-moving snow drifts. Hoth...
had now the burden to defend Echo Base although new pilots were already added to their roster, like Derek Klivian and Tycho Celchu. During the Battle of Hoth, the Rogues had to add many "guest" members into their squadron. The twelve snowspeeder
Snowspeeder
A snowspeeder is a Rebel Alliance vehicle featured in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and several books, comics, and video games in the Star Wars Expanded Universe...
s of the Rogues gave the Rebels enough time to evacuate Echo Base and were destroyed later in the battle.
After the evacuation of Hoth, Antilles took command during the "unexplained" absence of Skywalker while he trained with Yoda
Yoda
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, appearing in the second and third original films, as well as all three prequel trilogy films. A renowned Jedi master, Yoda made his first on-screen appearance in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back where he is responsible for...
at Dagobah
Dagobah
Dagobah is a fictional planet in the Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It also makes an appearance in a deleted scene from Revenge of the Sith....
. After the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Skywalker and Antilles formed a squadron of twelve units around the core group and the Rogue Squadron was formed. Antilles often commanded the squadron when Luke had important off-flight missions. One of Luke's last missions was the Battle of Gall against the Empire, in an attempt to capture the bounty hunters who had abducted Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
.
During the Battle of Endor, Rogue Squadron was dissolved and absorbed into the general fleet and Antilles took the role of Red Leader, in memory of the Battle of Yavin. After that, the squadron was hastily and temporarily reformed by Antilles with the best rebel pilots in order to defend the planet Bakura. Rogue Squadron was now a lean team of six units: Antilles, Janson, Klivian, Celchu, Plourr Ilo and Dllr Nep. One of the important missions during the New Republic
New Republic (Star Wars)
The New Republic is a government in the fictional Star Wars universe.When the Rebel Alliance re-established the Old Galactic Republic after the downfall of the Galactic Empire, it became known as the New Republic, just as the original Galactic Republic had become known as the Old Republic by that...
's creation was the failed rescue mission of Sate Pestage, which bolstered the fame of New Republic.
Since Janson and Klivian moved on to train new pilots and squadrons, Antilles had to reinvent Rogue Squadron, now with pilots from a wide variety of planets, clearly for political reasons. This "new" Rogue Squadron destroyed some of the Imperial forces led by Ysanne Isard and contributed heavily to the retaking of Coruscant
Coruscant
Coruscant is a planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It first appeared onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire...
. After resigning from the Alliance
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
military, the squadron fought in the Bacta War to retake the world of Thyferra from Isard. During that time, Klivian led a temporary Rogue Squadron in the absence of the "true" Rogue Squadron. Upon their return from Thyferra, Antilles turned command over to Tycho Celchu and founded Wraith Squadron. Antilles commanded both squadrons against Warlord Zsinj and after that he returned to his command as Rogue Leader to battle against Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn is a fictional character and major antagonist from the Star Wars galaxy. He first appeared in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, published between 1992 and 1994...
, Krennel, Palpatine
Palpatine
Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
's clones and lead the team to other battles.
The squadron played a role in the Battle for Mon Calamari during Admiral Daala's campaign against the New Republic. Around this time, former squadron leader Luke Skywalker was teaching his first class of Jedi Knights, including Rogue Squadron member Corran Horn. The squadron was led by Tycho Celchu after the campaign against Krennel, and was then led by Gavin Darklighter during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Later on during a brewing civil war within the Republic, the squadron would temporarily be led by Jaina Solo.
Wedge Antilles
Although Luke Skywalker was the first commander of Rogue Squadron, Antilles is often considered the "face" of the squadron due to his tenure as its leader. Given his later prominence in the Expanded Universe, it is surprising that Antilles had a rather minimal role with few speaking lines in the original Star Wars films. He appears in the films A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, in which he commands the squadron. When seeing the Death Star for the first time in "A New Hope," Wedge utters the memorable line "Look at the size of that thing!"In the original script for A New Hope, Antilles is the pilot that expresses his doubt that the pilots will be able to shoot a proton torpedo down the thermal exhaust port. This part however was not played by the actor who portrays Wedge in the attack scene.
Tycho Celchu
Celchu never appears by name in the original film series, although he is attributed as the A-wingA-wing
A-wings are fictional Rebel Alliance and New Republic starfighters in the Star Wars universe. They first appear in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and subsequently in the Star Wars Expanded Universe's books, comics, and games....
pilot that acts as a decoy for Lando Calrissian
Lando Calrissian
Lando Calrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
during the attack run on the second Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
. Celchu, however, plays a major role in Stackpole's X-wing series, and also appears in numerous other novels, all of which give him a rich character background. Celchu was an Imperial
Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
The Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...
TIE fighter
TIE fighter
TIE fighters are fictional starfighters in the Star Wars universe. Propelled by Twin Ion Engines , TIE fighters are depicted as fast, fragile starfighters produced by Sienar Fleet Systems for the Galactic Empire...
pilot that defected to the Rebel Alliance
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
after his homeworld, Alderaan, was destroyed by the first Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
, killing all of his immediate family and his fiancée. Celchu's Imperial past drives much of the plot of Stackpole's X-wing novels, as he is continually suspected of being an undercover Imperial agent
Mole (espionage)
A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation, but whose loyalty ostensibly lies with his own nation's government. In some usage, a mole differs from a defector in that a mole is a spy before gaining access to classified information, while a defector becomes a spy only after gaining access...
. After the battle of Coruscant, Celchu was put on trial for treason and the murder of Corran Horn, but the prosecution dropped the case when Horn returned from the Lusankya. Celchu also holds the noteworthy distinction of being one of very few Rebel pilots to have flown in the Hoth, Endor and Bakura campaigns. This is a very rare accomplishment, and one that is matched by longtime wingman and friend Wedge Antillies.
Biggs Darklighter
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
. Biggs was in the Battle of Yavin scene, where he joined Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
and Luke's other wingman, Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles
Wedge Antilles is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is a supporting character portrayed by Denis Lawson in the original Star Wars trilogy. Antilles, also called the "greatest ace" pilot in the Rebel Alliance, also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and is the lead...
, in their attack run on the first Death Star. Biggs was killed when Darth Vader fired upon him while he was flanking Luke down the Death Star trench.
Biggs had a larger role in earlier drafts of the script for the movie and several of the additional scenes appeared in the novelisation. His additional scenes include a conversation with Luke on Tatooine
Tatooine
Tatooine is a fictional planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga, appearing in every Star Wars film except The Empire Strikes Back, although it is mentioned at the end of the movie...
where Biggs tells Luke of his secret desire to join the Rebel Alliance despite his training at the Imperial Academy. This scene was deleted from A New Hope, but the book Inside the Worlds of the Star Wars Trilogy depicts the missing scene at Tosche Station. It can also be seen in its entirety on the Star Wars: Behind the Magic
Star Wars: Behind the Magic
Star Wars: Behind the Magic is an interactive CD-ROM released in 1998 by LucasArts.-Summary:It was designed as an in-depth look at the Star Wars trilogy and features a preview for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace....
CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
Encyclopedia. Biggs also showed up on Yavin 4 in the Rebel base hangar where he met Luke in a surprise encounter, just before the rebel ships took off to attack the Death Star. Biggs assured the rebel flight leader that Luke could handle the X-Wing fighters. This scene was reintroduced in the 1997
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
re-release of the film. However, a line in which the flight leader referred to Luke’s father and said that if he had his skill he would do fine remained on the cutting room floor.
Biggs has a larger role in the Expanded Universe
Star Wars Expanded Universe
The Star Wars Expanded Universe encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas. The expanded universe includes books, comic books, video games, spin-off films like Star Wars: The Clone Wars,...
on his way to the Alliance. According to the Dark Horse
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
comic book, Biggs was a long time friend of Luke's on Tatooine
Tatooine
Tatooine is a fictional planet and setting for many key scenes in the Star Wars saga, appearing in every Star Wars film except The Empire Strikes Back, although it is mentioned at the end of the movie...
. Biggs left Tatooine to be trained as an Imperial pilot. During this training he heard rumors of the Death Star from fellow trainees. After several months training he is assigned as first mate on the Imperial starship Rand Ecliptic, with an old enemy named Derek Klivian (nicknamed Hobbie) as second mate. He came back to visit Tatooine to tell his friends and family of his new assignment. He only tells Luke and his family of his hope to join the Rebel Alliance (the deleted scene from A New Hope is re-published in the comic book.) During the events of A New Hope, Biggs is planning a mutiny of the Rand Ecliptic, not realizing that several mutinies are being planned by several different groups. He joins forces with Hobbie, one of the leaders, and the two go AWOL to Yavin 4. Biggs becomes a part of the Alliance's missions to steal their first R2 units and X-wing
X-wing
X-wings are fictional starfighters from the original Star Wars trilogy and the expanded universe. They are depicted as the primary interceptor and dogfighter of the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic...
s, which they receive just days before the Battle of Yavin. Before going to battle, Biggs saves Hobbie's life by finding medicine for a strange disease Hobbie caught on Yavin 4, which the Rebellion did not have a cure for. Biggs died during the Battle of Yavin while flanking Luke's fighter. The New Republic later named a military base on Coruscant in his honor.
In the radio version, Kale Browne
Kale Browne
David Charles "Kale" Browne is an American actor. He was born in San Rafael, California. Browne was the first to play the roles of Michael Hudson on Another World and Sam Rappaport on One Life to Live . Browne has a son, Nicholas, with former wife Karen Allen...
provided the voice of Biggs. Several games in the Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
series have a pair of minor characters named after Biggs and Wedge Antilles.
Gavin Darklighter
Gavin Darklighter, Biggs' cousin, joined Rogue Squadron at 16 years of age and quickly proved to be a more than capable pilot. He became fast friends with Corran Horn, who helped him out of a situation where he was the "worst" pilot in the squadron. Darklighter was wounded during the Imperial invasion of Talasea in the Morobe system. During the Battle of Coruscant, Gavin became emotionally involved with Asyr Sei'Lar, a Bothan who would later join Rogue Squadron. Gavin was promoted to the rank of CaptainCaptain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
after the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Grand Admiral Thrawn is a fictional character and major antagonist from the Star Wars galaxy. He first appeared in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, published between 1992 and 1994...
, and was promoted to Colonel and given command of Rogue Squadron at an unspecified date before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. Gavin would continue to move up the ranks during the Second Galactic Civil War and beyond, at one point leading the Galactic Alliance Marines.
Corran Horn
Corran Horn never appeared in any of the Star Wars films; rather, he was invented by writer Michael Stackpole for the X-wing seriesStar Wars: X-wing (series)
Star Wars: X-wing is a nine-book series of Star Wars novels by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston. Stackpole's contributions cover the adventures of a new Rogue Squadron formed by Wedge Antilles, while Allston's focus on Wraith Squadron, another creation of Antilles'. The first seven novels...
. However, Horn eventually became a major character in the Expanded Universe, starring in the novel I, Jedi
I, Jedi
I, Jedi is a novel, written by Michael A. Stackpole that is set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was the first Star Wars novel written in the first-person perspective of a character never seen in the movies....
, as well as several New Jedi Order
The New Jedi Order
The New Jedi Order is a series of nineteen science fiction novels, published from 1999 to 2003, set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The series revolves around the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy 21–26 years after the events depicted in Return of the Jedi...
novels (in which he is a Jedi Knight, not a Rogue Squadron pilot). Horn hails from Corellia, and originally worked as a security officer for CorSec before fleeing from the pursuit of Kirtan Loor, an Imperial intelligence officer. Horn became an accomplished pilot, and remained with the Rogues for some time after discovering his Force-sensitive heritage. He later trained to become a Jedi Knight after his wife was kidnapped in I, Jedi
I, Jedi
I, Jedi is a novel, written by Michael A. Stackpole that is set in the Star Wars galaxy. It was the first Star Wars novel written in the first-person perspective of a character never seen in the movies....
. During the events of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Horn was promoted to Jedi Master and eventually went on to serve on the Jedi Council as one of the most powerful and prominent Jedi of his time.
He is also notable for another reason. He carries one example of only a few "dual-phase" lightsabers known to exist. The weapon was crafted by Horn during the time line of the I, Jedi novel. The designs were given to him by Rostek Horn and were possibly the same plans that his great-grandfather Keiran Halcyon had created for his own dual-phase lightsaber.
Wes Janson
A minor character in the original films, Janson only appears in The Empire Strikes Back in the role of Wedge Antilles' gunner at the Battle of Hoth. He manages to kill the first AT-AT, emphasized by a terse "Cable detached!" (preceded by "Cable out, let her go!", and Wedge's "Detach cable!"), his only speaking role in the films. Janson also featured as a minor character in Michael A. Stackpole's X-Wing graphic novel series as alternately Wedge and Hobbie's wingman and an integral member of the squadron. However, Janson wasn't brought fully to life and fleshed out with any real character development until Aaron Allston included the character in his installments in the X-wing novel series which followed from the comics, although Janson in those novels is prominent as a member of Wraith Squadron, not Rogue Squadron. Janson also fought against the Yuuzhan Vong during the New Jedi Order series of novels, and kept an eye on Han Solo after the death of ChewbaccaChewbacca
Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...
. He was known as a skilled pilot and an expert shot, and personality-wise is known to be a joker. In his early days as part of the Rebel Alliance
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
was mainly a gunner in the two seated version of the Y-wing
Y-wing
Y-wings are fictional Rebel Alliance and New Republic starfighters in the Star Wars universe. They appear in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as well as the Clone Wars TV series and the Expanded Universe's...
because of his shooting ability. His first combat kill was New Republic
New Republic (Star Wars)
The New Republic is a government in the fictional Star Wars universe.When the Rebel Alliance re-established the Old Galactic Republic after the downfall of the Galactic Empire, it became known as the New Republic, just as the original Galactic Republic had become known as the Old Republic by that...
pilot Kell Tainer's father during a botched mission where Doran was about to stray into an Imperial RADAR
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
scan. Despite repeated attempts to get him to change course, Janson was forced to shoot him down to save the rest of the squadron. In the Wraith Squadron Series he was the first to implement the saying "Yub Yub Commander." as a joke to Wedge after fooling him during the pilot interviews. The rest of the squadron soon followed and Wedge was hounded by it for many years to come.
Derek "Hobbie" Klivian
Klivian flies as Luke Skywalker's wingman during the Battle of Hoth. Originally doomed to die when his snowspeeder crashes into General Veer's walker, his life was spared after that scene from the fourth draft was cut. His first film appearance, however, was in Leia's briefing before the battle, when he questions the plan by rhetorically asking, "Two fighters against a Star Destroyer?" (although it should be noted this was originally supposed to be Wedge, and is Wedge in the script). In Star Wars: Rogue SquadronStar Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The first of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and Nintendo and released for Windows and the Nintendo 64 in December 1998...
, it is said Hobbie is not only the most reckless pilot, he's also the luckiest, having crashed more fighters than all of Rogue Squadron, having come away from them unscathed. He's generally the most dour of all the pilots, having a bleak outlook on life. Despite this, Hobbie has a close camaraderie and friendship with Wes Janson, and often becomes involved in Janson's elaborate pranks and jokes at the expense of other pilots (especially Wedge). Hobbie's sense of humour is extremely dry and sardonic, making for a good counterpoint to Janson's flamboyant and often silly wit.
Jek "Piggy" Porkins
Jek Porkins is a famously overweight Red Squadron pilot whose death is depicted in A New Hope when his X-wing is destroyed by the Death Star surface laser batteries. Another character trivial to the original trilogy, Porkins only gained prominence in the Expanded Universe literature, most notably Stackpole's X-wing series. He has also been occasionally parodied in popular media, most notably in the Family Guy Star Wars spoof "Blue Harvest", in which he is depicted as being too fat to fit in his fighter and crashes, and in YouTube user Vionix's video "Niga members play Star Wars".Dak Ralter
Dak Ralter is depicted in The Empire Strikes Back as Luke Skywalker's gunner. He was killed in battle, either by a flak explosion from the AT-AT's heavy guns, or due to the crushing of his speeder by the AT-AT moments after. However, the same actor is part of an attack squadron above Endor. In the video game Star Wars: Rogue SquadronStar Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The first of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and Nintendo and released for Windows and the Nintendo 64 in December 1998...
, Luke Skywalker said that Dak "reminded him of a younger version of himself." He was the son of political prisoners.
Zev Senesca
Zev Senesca appears in The Empire Strikes Back, and is the pilot who locates Han Solo and Luke Skywalker after they get lost on Hoth at the beginning of the film. In Star Wars: Rogue SquadronStar Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The first of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and Nintendo and released for Windows and the Nintendo 64 in December 1998...
, he had been fighting longer than any other Rogues and had quite a few stories to tell. Like Dak, he joined the rebellion for personal and political reasons. He perishes after his speeder is shot down by imperial walkers during the Battle of Hoth.
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker's debut with the Rebel Alliance came as Red Five at the Battle of Yavin, as portrayed in the film A New Hope. His career with Rogue Squadron was long and distinguished, but by the time of Return of the Jedi, he was focusing on his training as a Jedi Knight, and rarely flew with the squadron anymore. The last mission of Star Wars: Rogue SquadronStar Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The first of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and Nintendo and released for Windows and the Nintendo 64 in December 1998...
, which takes place 6 years after Return of the Jedi, shows that Luke is no longer in command, and that Wedge takes over.