From the iconic figures with fully realized backstories to the characters who only flesh out the background scenes, the nine (so far) Star Wars movies have introduced characters thats are uniquely distinct in their own way. The ones that seem to catch our eye the most, however, seem to be the ones that come demanding our attention... or else. There is a clear moment in A New Hope when the blaster fire has ceased in an all-white hallway. Smoke billows up in tendrils from the floor, Rebel bodies lay strewn on the ground. From beyond the hazy veil emanates a slow and rhythmic breathing. A large, hulking silhouette strides forward, black cape trailing behind. 

When Darth Vader appeared on the screen for the first time, audiences knew the film they were about to see was going to be something as unforgettable as he was. From that point, we were introduced to a number of deadly characters, though not all carried the banner of evil. Whether it’s because they’re a dead-shot with a blaster pistol, can wield a double-bladed lightsaber, or simply have 900 years of accumulated Force knowledge, they make the list of the 25 deadliest characters in the Star Wars Universe.

25 POE DAMERON

In the great tradition of hot shot pilots allying themselves with the underdog side, Poe Dameron represents Han Solo’s cocky self-assuredness with the tactical insight of Wedge Antilles. The son of two military personnel of the Rebel Alliance, Poe followed in his mother’s footsteps and became a skilled pilot, becoming the captain of Rapier Squadron in the New Republic Defense Fleet. When the New Republic did very little to fight back against the First Order’s blatant violation of the Galactic Concordance, he defected to the Resistance, which was led by General Leia Organa. There he served as a trusted operative, friend, and adviser.

Poe knew the threat the First Order represented, and though his methods were often brash and his maneuvers reckless, they got the job done.

He could take on two frigates and a Star Destroyer and live to tell about it. He was a pilot that could do the impossible, which occasionally made him a liability. In The Last Jedi, his decisions during a skirmish with a Dreadnought cost the Resistance its entire bomber squadron and dozens of lives. General Organa often had to rein him in, and he frequently disregarded the proper chain of command. But his passion gave him purpose, and his purpose once focused, was unshakable.

24 WEDGE ANTILLES

Wedge Antilles, though only seen briefly in the films and always from a cockpit, was one of the most renowned fighter pilots in the galaxy. From Han Solo’s home planet of Corellia, Wedge grew up working at a fuel depot, honing his piloting and mechanical skills. Like Han Solo, the Empire offered him the opportunity to have an elite education flying advanced starships, and so he enrolled in Skystrike Academy to become an elite TIE fighter pilot. It was during his brief period serving the Empire that he as made aware of its cruelty, and ultimately defected to the Rebel Alliance along with several other pilots.

Though Wedge stayed on Yavin Base and didn’t fly with the squadron that protected Jyn Erso and the fellow Rebels that landed on Scarif, he did make the announcement for them to redirect to that location, successfully buying Jyn enough time to steal the Death Star plans and beam them up to the Rebel Fleet. Wedge would be part of Red Suadron that, along with Luke Skywalker, made use of those plans and helped blow up the Empire’s superweapon. Only Luke and Wedge survived the mission. Wedge would go on to fly in the Battle of Hoth, the Battle of Endor, and deliver many more blows to the Empire until his retirement at the time of the Peace Accord.

23 LANDO CALRISSIAN

A charismatic raconteur with a penchant for high stakes gambling in his personal and professional life, Lando Calrissian embodies all the qualities of a rogue from a history of working both sides. An old smuggling friend of Han Solo’s, he entered into a game of Sabacc with him that ultimately cost him the Millennium Falcon. Never one to spend too much time licking his wounds, Lando soon found another, more beneficial game of Sabacc with the baron administrator of Cloud City on Bespin. He was able to win the deed to the city and its Tibanna Gas Mining facilities, making him infinitely wealthier than he’d ever have imagined, but with a whole new set of problems.

When the Empire came looking for Han Solo and his Rebel compatriots, Lando pretended that there was honor among thieves.

He gave Han and his friends refuge in Cloud City only to turn them over to Darth Vader. His reasoning? Because it would keep the Empire out of his hair. While he eventually had a change of heart which landed him a cushy general appointment in the Rebel Fleet, there was always the nagging suspicion that he might double cross a friend again. But who can say no to that winning smile?

22 PRINCESS LEIA

From the moment audiences see Princess Leia in A New Hope, she’s a woman of action. Shooting stormtroopers, concealing sensitive military intelligence, and telling giant mystical strongmen to go kick rocks, she embodies all the fiery determination that came to represent the Rebel Alliance and Resistance. A Senator for her home planet of Alderaan at just 18, she was never one to be kept in Senate chambers, instead choosing to be a field operative as much as possible.

Though she would become the face of hope in the galaxy and a symbol of liberation to its citizens, she didn't require the recognition. She was happiest helping people and stopping oppression. While a skilled negotiator, when he diplomatic skills failed her, she was handy with a blaster. When Luke Skywalker and Han Solo came to rescue her, she frequently took one of their blaster rifles to repel enemy fire, or blast a hole in a trash compactor to give them a chance to escape. In Empire Strikes Back, she commanded and advised Alliance Fleet strike forces, and in Return of the Jedi helped disable the Death Star’s shield generator. By the time of The Force Awakens, she was a Resistance general, and a damned good one. She has the highest accuracy for marksmanship in the films.

21 HAN SOLO

Easily one of the most iconic figures in the Star Wars Saga was everyone’s favorite lovable rogue, Han Solo. Fast-talking and fast-shooting, he lived on the edge as an ace fighter pilot and a smuggler. He never let a woman or a game of Sabacc he didn’t like, whether he won or lost both. He grew up as an orphan boy living on the streets of Corellia, where he fell in with a gang of space pirates. This got him offworld and allowed him to see the galaxy, for better or for worse. He picked up all the skills that would later serve him well as a smuggler, but it was his brief stint in the Imperial Navy that would help him hone his piloting skills and gain him the devotion of his co-pilot Chewbacca.

Han may have waffled with his morals on occasion, but ultimately his conscience wouldn’t let him avoid his destiny.

When he helped Luke Skywalker rescue Princess Leia and blow up the Empire’s Death Star, his fate became the same as every freedom fighter that stood up against tyranny. His smuggling days would always call to him, and occasionally the Resistance took a back seat to his wild ways, but in the end, they always were put to better use than he intended.

20 CHEWBACCA

One of the heroes of the Rebel Alliance and the Resistance, as well as being a credit to his species, Chewbacca is one of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars Universe. His altruism belies the ferocity of his species, however, as wookiees have quite the violent reputation for ripping arms out of people’s sockets (especially when they lose at holochess). Chewie comes from a warrior species that has settled its disputes by combat for hundreds of thousands of years. The mighty Chewbacca was enslaved on a Trandoshan ship before he was freed by one Han Solo, years away from his days as a rakish smuggler and still an Imperial cadet. He couldn’t bear the treatment of the wookiees and vowed to help them escape, including Chewie, who would devote his life to protecting Han.

Chewie and Han were an inseparable team, with Chewie often providing the muscle to Han’s brains. When it came time to ferry a young farmboy named Luke Skywalker and his old Jedi companion to Alderaan, Chewie and Han couldn’t refuse the purse attached. They became embroiled with the Rebel Alliance and their fight against the evil Empire, a poignant course of action which Chewie could find meaning in, given that he had fought alongside the Grand Republic Army during the Clone Wars and even helped Master Yoda go into hiding when the Empire was first formed.

19 ORSON KRENNIC

While not as intimidating as Darth Vader or as conniving as Grand Moff Tarkin, Orson Krennic still managed to make his presence felt in the Empire. The Director of Advanced Weapons Research, a division of the Imperial military, he was named the commander of the Death Star up until the Galactic Civil War. When the Empire was formed, he was able to transfer his rank of lieutenant commander in the Republic Fleet into the newly formed Imperial Navy, where he eventually rose to the rank of Admiral. It was during his days in the Republic that he befriended Galen Erso, a crystallographer whom he persuaded to start researching kyber crystals in the name of “sustainability”.

Krennic hunted Galen down when he and his family deserted the Empire, eventually finding them on the remote planet of Vallt. He forced Galen to return to his research and had his wife murdered. He used the moon of Jedha as a demolition testing site for the Death Star’s destructive capabilities, destroying the sacred Temple of the Kyber. Krennic may have been middle management material, but he was ruthless and determined. Underestimating his desperate ambition was foolhardy, a lesson he paid for in blood when he was killed by the very weapon he helped bring into existence.

18 CAPTAIN PHASMA

When Captain Phasma first appeared in The Force Awakens, two things were immediately salient: her stormtrooper armor was entirely chrome instead of the traditional Imperial white, and her voice was distinctly female. In the days of the Galactic Empire, no female served in the Imperial Fleet, just as no alien species did, according to Emperor Palpatine’s personal policy on recruitment. Captain Phasma was often fond of expounding on the “purity” of the First Order, and that it had in many ways surpassed and eclipsed the goals of the Empire. Perhaps that extended to areas of equality as well.

Though she carried the rank of Captain, her position in the hierarchy of the First Order was more than that.

Along with General Hux and Kylo Ren, she formed a trio of terror that were responsible for ensuring that the supremacy of the First Order was known by the will of Supreme Leader Snoke being carried out. After growing up on the harsh world of Parnassos, where she killed her own mother and father to ensure her and her brother’s survival, being able to get offworld and serve with distinction in the First Order was a godsend. A perfectionist, trained in every firearm in the First Order and deadly in combat, she took it upon herself to personally memorize the serial number of every stormtrooper in her division so she could hold them accountable for any negligence of duty.

17 CHIRRUT IMWE

The Force users in the Star Wars Saga have almost exclusively been restricted to Jedi and Sith on-screen. Yet in Rogue One, a prequel to A New Hope, audiences were introduced to a different kind of Force user by the name of Chirrut Imwe. Born on the moon of Jedha, which housed the Temple of the Kyber, he was a member of the Guardians of the Whills, a group of warrior monks that protected the temple as it was renowned to house the kyber crystals vital to power a Jedi’s lightsaber. When the Empire discovered kyber crystals could power the Death Star, it was raided for its contents and the Guardians were left to rot on the streets, still preaching the ways of the Force.

Chirrut Imwe had the gift of sight. Though he could not see, visions of the future came to him. He saw the fate of Jyn Erso, daughter of the man who helped build the Death Star, and who would be the one to destroy it. He joined her raiding party that would steal the plans for the Death Star, ultimately aiding the Rebel Alliance in later delivering one of its greatest blows to the Empire in A New Hope. He could use the Force to guide his movements with a bowstaff, easily dispatching ten stormtroopers single handedly with Zama-shiwo, a dangerous martial art.

16 BOBA FETT

One of the most infamous bounty hunters in the galaxy, Boba Fett was also on of the most mysterious. He first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back as the one to tail Han Solo to Cloud City and alert the Empire to his whereabouts, an act that granted him Solo’s body in carbonite and the means to retrieve the price on his head placed by Jabba the Hutt. Calm, collected, and always two steps ahead of his target, his presence inspired countless theories about his enigmatic origins.

George Lucas revealed in his prequels that Boba Fett was in fact the son of Jango Fett, a Mandalorian warrior turned bounty hunter.

He wore the typical Mandalorian armor of his people, a trademark that Boba would go on to adopt himself. Jango Fett was responsible for taking a contract hit on Padme Amidala, as well as being recruited by Count Dooku to participate in a cloning project that would provide the ranks for the Grand Army of the Republic. Jango requested a steep price for both, but the latter granted him one unaltered clone he would call his son -- Boba. Jango was slain at the hands of Jedi Master Mace Windu at the beginning of the Clone Wars, though how much hate Boba harbored for the Jedi in particular is questionable. If the price was right, his services were available to anyone.

15 JABBA THE HUTT

Though Jabba may not have seemed a menacing figure in the Star Wars Saga, his presence rippled like the folds of his skin throughout the films, beginning with The Phantom Menace. While not seeming particularly threatening in person, his influence in the dark alleyways and dim lit cantinas of the underworld was as omnipresent as one’s shadow. Like any self respecting crime-lord and member of his species, Jabba the Hutt was a greedy, hedonistic, misogynistic worm. His family was responsible for supporting the majority of Tatooine’s economy for generations through gambling dens, brothels, and illegal trade.

Moisture farming was the vocation for most honest laboring folk like the Lars, but Tatooine has no resources of its own to export, which means without the Hutts’ presence, there would cease to be any reason for visitors to come to it. Vagrants, pirates, and ne'er do wells journeyed from all corners of the galaxy to get away with their illegal activities. He hired the smuggler Han Solo to frequently run cargo of illegal contraband for him, a venture which eventually became a poor gamble for Solo when Jabba placed a bounty on his head. He may not have much in the way of physical agency, but he has the resources and credits to get the most elite muscle in the galaxy to make his every command come true.

14 GRAND MOFF WILHUFF TARKIN

A cunning tactician that was politically ambitious, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin may have come to be known as the face of the Empire but he once served the Republic. A captain in the Grand Republic Army under Jedi Even Piell, he was taken prisoner by Count Dooku’s Confederacy of Independent Systems, and rescued by Anakin Skywalker. Tarkin was one of the only people that suspected Darth Vader’s true identity was Skywalker years later when he became in charge of the Death Star project for the Empire.

His elite aristocratic upbringing on his home planet of Eriadu had taught him to be disciplined and hard.

But his familial heritage consisted of settlers that transformed a lawless wilderness, ensuring he learned many survival skills his peers in the Republic Navy did not. He was favored by Chancellor Palpatine, and quickly rose through the ranks to become Admiral. When the Republic became the Galactic Empire, he received the rank of Grand Moff, and continued to be governor of Eriadu and the Outer Rim territories. Exacting and brutal, he believed the Death Star would strike fear in the hearts of a wayward populous, and he had the ability to unleash its power anywhere. His arrogance cost him his life when, in retaliation for the Death Star’s attack on Alderaan, Luke Skywalker led the attack that blew it up, and Tarkin along with it.

13 REY

Though her origins remain unknown to her, Rey’s earliest memories are of Jakku, a remote desert planet far from the galaxy’s problems. She was raised to be a junker, scavenging for scrap metal off the crashed starships that had rained down on her planet as the Galactic Civil War came to an end. When she came upon BB-8, a mysterious droid carrying pieces of a map that led to Luke Skywalker, her hero’s journey began. Aided by a deserting stormtrooper named Finn, she quickly met up with Rebel hero Han Solo (now a part of the Resistance against the First Order) and helped him reconnect with his estranged wife, Leia Organa. At Leia’s insistence, she would accompany Han and hunt for clues to Luke’s whereabouts.

Rey’s perseverance and stubborn nature paid off when her path led her to Skywalker, living in self-imposed exile on the planet of Ahch-To. Though he was unwilling to help her at first, her raw attunement to the Force proved irresistible, and he felt he could train her to use her abilities for good. She had already faced his former apprentice, Kylo Ren, and proved she could go toe-to-toe with someone powerful in the Dark Side. He hoped she would be powerful enough herself to stop the evil that Kylo Ren and the First Order were spreading across the galaxy. With powers that have just begun to be explored, who knows what she’s capable of.

12 GENERAL GRIEVOUS

One of the more interesting villains to come from the Star Wars prequels other than Darth Maul is General Grievous. The Supreme Commander of the Droid Army, he was a cyborg from Kalee who chose to enhance his abilities in combat with cybernetic implants. Count Dooku recruited him to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems and selected him as the best choice to lead the Separatist Droid Army due to his bloodthirsty nature and callous demeanor. Dooku also trained him in the Jedi arts, and Grievous became quite skilled with a lightsaber.

Grievous also served as an agent for Darth Sidious, Dooku’s master, not knowing that the Sith Lord was also Chancellor Palpatine.

When he kidnapped and held him aboard the Invisible Hand, a known Separatist ship, he failed to realize it was all according to Sidious’s master plan. He fought against Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, but was ultimately forced to retreat and hide out on the remote planet of Utapau. Obi-Wan Kenobi eventually tracked him there, where he was surprised to learn that Grievous could fight so expertly with a Jedi weapon (four at the same time, no less!). Not to be outdone, the Jedi Master demonstrated how theatrical showmanship was no match for resolute discipline, and was eventually able to defeat Grievous by slicing off one of his saber-wielding appendages at a time.

11 OBI-WAN KENOBI

Known for being pragmatic, sensible, and unwaveringly patient, Obi-Wan Kenobi had the unenviable task of training the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, and watching him helplessly as he fell to the Dark Side. Though Obi-Wan had been charged by his master Qui-Gon Jinn to train the boy based on an ancient prophecy, Obi-Wan had his doubts -- he sensed much conflict in him. And though he and Anakin grew to be great friends and shared a brotherly bond, he was nevertheless forced to fight against him on the lava planet of Mustafar. Anakin had slaughtered Jedi and sought to aid Darth Sidious in his galactic domination, and Obi-Wan could not sit idly by while his former apprentice sewed the seeds of the Galactic Empire.

Obi-Wan wrestled with the fact that he had a hand in creating the evil that would manifest in Darth Vader, Anakin’s alias as a Sith Lord. He sought to redeem himself by taking his son to Tatooine, unbeknownst to him, where he could live in secret. Obi-Wan watched as Luke Skywalker grew up and wished for a life of interstellar adventure. Seeing now that perhaps it was Luke who would bring Balance to the Force, he did his best to impart his knowledge of the Light Side to the young farmboy, and spark his quest for knowledge in the Force. And even after his old apprentice struck him down, he was powerful enough in the Living Force to return and offer his guidance whenever Luke needed it most.

10 QUI-GON JINN

A controversial figure in the Jedi Order, Qui-Gon Jinn held views that were often polarizing to the rest of his cohort. Though he could have had a seat on the Jedi Council, he felt his place was as a field operative, where his connection to the Living Force would remain strong. As a result, he often defied the Council’s wishes, and used his own judgment when dealing with matters that often blurred the line between professional and personal. He was a powerful Force user, intellectual philosopher, and impressive duelist.

Once a pupil of Count Dooku, Qui-Gon's misgivings led him to seek answers in the form of Anakin Skywalker.

A young slave boy on Tatooine, Qui-Gon felt he was the Chosen One from an ancient prophecy, said to bring Balance to the Force. He pushed to have the boy freed from a life of slavery and delivered to the Jedi Temple, where he would be trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Before he could witness the fate of young Anakin, he faced the apprentice of Darth Sidious, in the hanger of Theed Palace on Naboo. Though he wasn’t strong enough to defeat Darth Maul, his death was just another chance for the inquisitive Jedi to learn a deeper understanding of the Living Force, which would one day help future generations of Jedi commune from beyond the grave.

9 COUNT DOOKU

A Jedi Master that became disillusioned with both the Jedi Order and Republic at large, Count Dooku often wondered what would have happened had he never become a Jedi in the first place. His decision to be Master Yoda’s apprentice meant turning his back on a fortune that would have guaranteed his position as one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the galaxy. But the Jedi favor asceticism and freedom from material possession, so he rejected his family’s title and trained at the Jedi Temple. When he passed his trials, he took Qui-Gon Jinn as his apprentice. Yet even before Qui-Gon and his apprentice Obi-Wan landed on Naboo after failing negotiations with the Viceroy of the Trade Federation, Dooku found himself desiring distance from the corruption of government and his peers.

Ironically, Dooku leaving the Jedi Order and reclaiming his family title set about a series of events that all but secured corruption in both the Senate and the Republic. He was soon approached by Darth Sidious, who offered to make him his apprentice. As Darth Tyranus, he oversaw the creation of clones for what would become the Republic’s clone army, as well as the creation of the droid army that would aid his Confederacy of Independent Systems. Though Sidious would soon grow tired of him and exchange him for a new apprentice, his actions brought about the end of the Jedi Order and the Republic.

8 MACE WINDU

When most people think of a Jedi, the image of a serene, and empathetic figure emerges. The Jedi Code preaches solemn virtues that adhere to ascetic commandments, and doesn’t condone aggression. Yet Mace Windu was a Jedi who straddled the chasm between patience and hostile the entirety of his path as a Force user. Far more militant than his peers on the High Jedi Council, he nevertheless was the biggest supporter of the ancient Jedi Code. Some say, it’s greatest enforcer. He is one of only a handful of Jedi to master Form VII, which requires that the practitioner sustain a hunger for battle.

Mace Windu was a Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic, and during the Clone Wars would have been decorated many times if the Jedi believed in such recognition.

A fierce warrior, he combatted the droid armies of the Confederacy for Independent Systems that threatened to reduce the Old Republic to ruins. He disdained politics even as he served Chancellor Palpatine as an advisor. Perhaps it was this sentiment that clouded his judgment, for he could not see that the instigator behind all of the galaxy’s conflict was right in front of him. When Chancellor Palpatine was revealed to be Darth Sidious, Windu was the first to lead the charge against the Jedi Order’s greatest foe. Ironically, because of Windu’s decisive action, Palpatine could brand the Jedi traitors to the Republic.

7 DARTH MAUL

One of the most gifted duelists to ever wield a lightsaber, Darth Maul had a brief appearance in the Star Wars Saga but left a lasting impression. A Zabrak raised on Dathomir amidst the Force wielding Night Sisters, he was an aggressive youth that like all Zabrak was accustomed to proving himself in battle. His mother was a powerful Force user, one whom Darth Sidious promised he would make his apprentice, but when the Sith Lord made note of her son’s fighting prowess, it was clear who his new apprentice would be. He took Maul from Dathomir and began training him in the Sith arts.

Darth Maul’s fortitude knew no bounds, and he became an incredibly agile and acrobatic warrior. He favored a two-bladed lightsaber, which could only be wielded by the most expert of swordsman. He was Sidious’s secret weapon against the Jedi Knights, who until the start of the Trade Conflict with Naboo hadn’t had much use for dueling with lightsabers. The Sith had been gone from the galaxy for hundreds of years, their threat all but thought a legend. When Maul went at Sidious’s command to Naboo to take on Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, the two Jedi, though formidable duelists themselves, could barely keep up with his fury.

6 KYLO REN

When Kylo Ren first appeared in The Force Awakens, he could be quickly written off as the pale imitation of Darth Vader with his long black robes and masked visage. However, it was apparent from the first time he froze a blaster bolt in mid air with the Force that he was a new villain unlike anyone seen in the Star Wars Saga. A petulant young man with a cruel streak, he thought nothing of throwing temper tantrums in front of members of the First Order, as well as taking out his frustrations on his environment (and those in it). For all his outbursts, he’s a competent duelist who has the ability to freeze victims in mid air.

Kylo Ren was once Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, and had been a troubled boy since he was born.

His mother felt the Dark Side in him even while he was in her womb, and she feared he would grow up to be like his grandfather. It was her hope that her brother, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, could train Ben in the ways of the Light Side and temper his aggression. Luke failed in that regard, and Ben fell to the manipulative machinations of Supreme Leader Snoke. He became an instrument of Snoke’s galactic conquest, and his powers in the Dark Side are considerable, rivaling Vader, Palpatine, and even Snoke himself.