Star Wars remains one of the greatest multi-media franchises of all time, yet most people only explore the metaphorical tip of the iceberg. Everyone keeps up with the massively successful films and many have clamored to series like The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian. A smaller, but passionate, number of folks are also familiar with the books that have been published, all the way back to Splinter of the Mind's Eye.
Yet it's in the various video games that some of the best secrets reside for fans. When Disney took over Lucasfilm, many requested that Star Wars beef up its female presence and they took it to heart, with the new projects featuring characters like Cara Dune, Rey and Jyn Erso. However, fans of the Star Wars games know, over the years, they have been treated to a myriad of terrific female characters. For those just tuning in, here are the ladies of a Galaxy Far, Far Away you may not know.
JAN ORS
One of the first great Star Wars games is Star Wars: Dark Forces, where we are introduced to one of the franchise's most fascinating female characters, Jan Ors. Hailing from Alderaan, Ors is an intelligence operative who started off as a member of the anti-Imperial terrorist cell, Justice Action Network (JAN), founded by her parents. Ors' mom taught her how to choreograph scenarios while her dad trained her to be a mechanic. She utilized both skills as she infiltrated the Empire under the alias Jan Strange. She would trade information first to JAN before sending info to the Rebel Alliance directly, taking on a dangerous double-agent role -- and this is all before Alderaan blew up.
Ors retained a legendary status in the Rebellion, is responsible for countless successful missions, and helped bring Kyle Katarn, one of the Empire's most dangerous Stormtroopers, into the Rebellion. She would go on to help rebuild the New Republic with the rest of the Jedi Order, working alongside Katarn as the former Imperial became one of the first Jedi of the New Jedi Order.
BASTILA SHAN
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is often regarded as one of the greatest Star Wars games ever made, and Bastila Shan proves to be one of the most fascinating characters in the game. Bastila was once an unruly treasure hunter, a young girl always getting into trouble. That is before her mother shipped her off to the Jedi, thinking it would force her to straighten out. However, Bastila soon realized she had the ability to use battle meditation, a means of using the Force that influenced the actions of those around you, strengthening allies while weakening enemies.
Bastila was dispatched to combat Darth Revan and his apprentice, Malak. Before they could fight, however, Malak betrayed Revan. The Sith Lord only survived thanks to Bastila, who nursed him back to life and brought him before the Jedi Council, where she argued the case that she could reform Revan by tampering with his memory. This morally gray figure leads a complicated life, working alongside Revan to combat various threats facing the Old Republic.
MISSION VAO
Not all heroes wear capes. Some are scrappy Twi'leks who fight for their lives. Mission Vao from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is an abandoned child who used her wits and roguish skills in order to survive. In the racist underbelly of the Sith Empire, she ends up standing up for a Wookie she sees getting beaten up, which, ultimately, pits her against several people far stronger than herself.
But this act of selflessness led to her lifelong companion, Zaalbar the Wookie. During their various misadventures, they stumble into Darth Revan, without his memories, and end up joining him on his travels. Along the way, Mission goes from idealistic underbelly rogue to galactic hero.
CERE JUNDA
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order may be the newest Star Wars game, but it has a cast of fascinating female characters. Of all of them, Cere Junda stands out as the highlight, being a former Jedi from the fallen Order. When caught in the horror of Order 66, she was captured and tortured, before eventually surrendering information about her Padawan, Trilla Suduri. While Cere eventually escaped, Trilla experienced a far more disturbing fate, being twisted into one of the Inquisitors, known only as the Second Sister.
Junda cuts herself off from the Force in order to remain in hiding, in part to remain in exile and in part because she realizes that she's actually fairly inclined to use the Dark Side of the Force. In order to combat the Empire and rebuild the Jedi Order, she trains Cal Kestis in the Jedi arts, all in order to find a list of Force-sensitive children kept in the hands of Vader and Trilla. In many ways, this tragic figure serves as an Obi-Wan type -- an aging Jedi, filled with regrets, hoping to fix some of the wrongs they left behind.
NIGHTSISTER MERRIN
One of the most overlooked characters in the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is Nightsister Merrin. Merrin used to be one of the many Nightsisters of Dathomir, a society of witches who use a form of Force magic. Her clan was massacred by General Grievous during the Clone Wars, but she managed to survive. Fearing all who wielded the lightsabers that massacred her people, she feared the day another soldier wielding one would cross her path.
Taron Malicos ended up being that someone, who crashed near Merrin's home. Malicos, a former Jedi turned evil, hoped to use Merrin's knowledge of magic to his advantage. Ultimately, it's thanks to Cal Kestis that Merrin ends up emerging from her shell and into the world as a true hero of the early Rebellion.